The delightfully ebullient “Murder on the Dancefloor ”, by Australian guitar-pop duo Royel Otis, remains on top for a second week, while “Too Sweet” by Irish singer-songwriter Hozier slides into second place. Entering the top 10 are “Creatures in Heaven” by English indie rock band Glass Animals, “Capricorn” by New York indie art pop/rock band Vampire Weekend, and “Mustang” by Nashville alt-rock band Kings of Leon, which leaps nine spots to #10, making it the biggest upward mover this week.
There are three debut songs again this week. First up is the lovely and heartwarming “Scared To Start” by Cincinnati, Ohio-based Americana singer-songwriter Michael Marcagi, which frankly should have entered my chart a month ago, but better late than never. He began his music career as a member of the band the Heavy Hours, but released his first single, “The Other Side”, as a solo artist last December. In January, he signed with Warner Records and released “Scared to Start”, which soon gained popularity on TikTok. The song recently peaked at #54 on the Billboard Hot 100, though it’s reached the top 10 in Ireland and the UK, as well as on the Billboard Adult Alternative Airplay chart. Both singles are included on his debut EP American Romance, which was released in February.
The second debut, at #29, is “On The Game” by Nashville duo The Black Keys. The bluesy anthemic song follows their recent #1 hit “Beautiful People (Stay High)”, both of which are from their latest album Ohio Players. Last, but certainly not least, is “Adrift”, by Missouri rock band Voodoo Planet, featuring some lovely cello by Australian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Mikey J. The bittersweet song, which I reviewed last month, is another long-overdue entry into my Weekly Top 30,
MURDER ON THE DANCEFLOOR – Royel Otis (1)
TOO SWEET – Hozier (4)
OVERCOMPENSATE – twenty one pilots (3)
DILEMMA – Green Day (2)
DON’T FORGET ME – Maggie Rogers (6)
TIME – MISSIO (5)
ICE CREAM (PAY PHONE) – Black Pumas (7)
CREATURES IN HEAVEN – Glass Animals (11)
CAPRICORN – Vampire Weekend (15)
MUSTANG – Kings of Leon (19)
WANTING AND WAITING – The Black Crowes (12)
TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT – Dead Slow Hoot (17)
I’VE GOT LOVING FOR YOU – Bottlecap Mountain (18)
MY GOLDEN YEARS – The Lemon Twigs (8)
NEON PILL – Cage the Elephant (9)
EVERYTHING WE NEED – Mojave Grey (10)
FORTNIGHT – Taylor Swift feat. Post Malone (20)
GOOD TIMES GO – The Kid and I (21)
BROKEN MAN – St. Vincent (22)
LONELINESS – Pet Shop Boys (23)
FOR US ALL – Asgard Raven (24)
KOOL AID BLUE – The Sylvia Platters (13)
BURIAL GROUND – The Decemberists & James Mercer (28)
PANORAMIC VIEW – AWOLNATION (29)
DARK MATTER – Pearl Jam (14)
THOUGHTS I HAVE WHILE LYING IN BED – The Maine, Beach Weather (16)
“Murder on the Dancefloor ”, by Australian guitar-pop duo Royel Otis (comprised of Royel Maddell and Otis Pavlovi), is turning out to be one of my favorite songs of 2024. I can honestly listen to it on repeat, and love it more each time I hear it! It’s a marvelous cover of the 2001 hit “Murder on the Dancefloor” by British singer-songwriter Sophie Ellis-Bextor, which Royel Otis performed on the Australian radio station Triple J for their Like a Version program. Interestingly, the song does not appear on their debut album PRATTS & PAIN that was released in February. The two have been putting out music since 2021, and I really like their sound a lot.
The song was co-written by Ellis-Bextor and Gregg Alexander, former frontman of the band The New Radicals (who had a hit in the late 90s with “You Get What You Give”), and produced by Alexander and Matt Rowe. Ellis-Bextor’s original version gained renewed popularity earlier this year after appearing in the 2023 black comedy thriller film Saltburn, causing it to re-enter the UK Dance Singles Chart, where it reached #1. It also peaked at #3 on the US Billboard Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart and #51 on the Hot 100, her first song to ever appear on that chart. The delightful version by Royel Otis currently sits at #7 on the Alternative Airplay chart, and this week takes over the top spot on my own Top 30 chart.
In other major chart developments, Maggie Rogers enters the top 10 with her poignant ballad “Don’t Forget Me”, which climbs five spots to #6. The song recently spent two weeks at #1 on the Adult Alternative Airplay chart. “Creatures in Heaven” by Glass Animals jumps eight spots to #11, and “Fortnight” by Taylor Swift, featuring Post Malone, leaps 10 spots to #20, making it this week’s biggest upward mover.
Three songs make their debut this week: Entering at #28 is the infectiously pleasing “Burial Ground” by Portland, Oregon-based indie folk-rock band The Decemberists, featuring James Mercer, who’s also a member of the bands The Shins and Broken Bells. The Decemberists have been putting out music off and on since forming in 2001. “Burial Ground” is the lead single from their forthcoming ninth studio album As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again, to be released June 14th. I love those jangly guitars and cool horns. Next up is “Panoramic View”, the beautiful new single by L.A.-based alt-rock band AWOLNATION. Fronted by Aaron Bruno, who has a distinctive singing voice I love, the band blasted onto the music scene in 2011 with their monster hit “Sail”, one of the many great songs from their debut album Megalithic Symphony. They’ve released a total of four albums and numerous singles, several of which have appeared on my Top 30 chart. Entering at #30 is the bold and brassy “Gold”, by uber-talented Welsh-Gibraltarian singer-songwriter Caitlin Lavagna, which I reviewed last month. This is Caitlin’s third song to appear on my chart, the previous two being “How Not to Start a Fight” and “Night Bus”.
MURDER ON THE DANCEFLOOR – Royel Otis (3)
DILEMMA – Green Day (2)
OVERCOMPENSATE – twenty one pilots (4)
TOO SWEET – Hozier (7)
TIME – MISSIO (1)
DON’T FORGET ME – Maggie Rogers (11)
ICE CREAM (PAY PHONE) – Black Pumas (10)
MY GOLDEN YEARS – The Lemon Twigs (5)
NEON PILL – Cage the Elephant (6)
EVERYTHING WE NEED – Mojave Grey (9)
CREATURES IN HEAVEN – Glass Animals (19)
WANTING AND WAITING – The Black Crowes (13)
KOOL AID BLUE – The Sylvia Platters (8)
DARK MATTER – Pearl Jam (12)
CAPRICORN – Vampire Weekend (18)
THOUGHTS I HAVE WHILE LYING IN BED – The Maine, Beach Weather (16)
TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT – Dead Slow Hoot (17)
I’VE GOT LOVING FOR YOU – Bottlecap Mountain (21)
MUSTANG – Kings of Leon (23)
FORTNIGHT – Taylor Swift feat. Post Malone (30)
GOOD TIMES GO – The Kid and I (22)
BROKEN MAN – St. Vincent (26)
LONELINESS – Pet Shop Boys (27)
FOR US ALL – Asgard Raven (28)
I’M IN LOVE – Jelani Aryeh (14)
GOOD PEOPLE – Mumford & Sons, Pharrell Williams (15)
THE GLASS – Foo Fighters (20)
BURIAL GROUND – The Decemberists & James Mercer (N)
MISSIO holds on to the top spot on my chart for a third week with “Time”, one of the many outstanding songs from their latest album I AM CINCO, an epic work featuring 26 tracks that dropped this past Friday, May 3rd. (Read my review and interview with the guys here.) Green Day moves into second place with “Dilemma”, while Royel Otis climb two spots to #3 with their delightful cover of “Murder on the Dance Floor”. Hozier‘s “Too Sweet” leaps another eight spots this week, entering the top 10 at #7, while Black Pumas‘ “Ice Cream (Pay Phone)” moves up a notch to enter the top 10 at #10. Also moving up eight spots are “Capricorn” by Vampire Weekend, to #18, and “Creatures in Heaven” by Glass Animals, to #19.
The sole debut this week, at #30, is “Fortnight” by Taylor Swift, featuring Post Malone, who co-wrote the song with Swift and singer-songwriter/producer Jack Antonoff. The downtempo synthpop ballad is from her latest and 15th album The Tortured Poets Department, which has received generally positive reviews and broken numerous sales and streaming records. The album, released April 19th after weeks of advance hype, features 16 tracks. But only two hours later, Swift surprise-released a double album edition, subtitled The Anthology and containing 15 bonus tracks, for a total of 31 in two volumes. While I’m not a huge fan of Swift, I do acknowledge her strong songwriting abilities, and really like some of her songs. As an example of her massive popularity, she currently holds every single one of the top 14 spots on the Billboard Hot 100, with “Fortnight” at #1.
TIME – MISSIO (1)
DILEMMA – Green Day (3)
MURDER ON THE DANCE FLOOR – Royel Otis (5)
OVERCOMPENSATE – twenty one pilots (2)
MY GOLDEN YEARS – The Lemon Twigs (4)
NEON PILL – Cage the Elephant (6)
TOO SWEET – Hozier (15)
KOOL AID BLUE – The Sylvia Platters (7)
EVERYTHING WE NEED – Mojave Grey (9)
ICE CREAM (PAY PHONE) – Black Pumas (11)
DON’T FORGET ME – Maggie Rogers (13)
DARK MATTER – Pearl Jam (12)
WANTING AND WAITING – The Black Crowes (14)
I’M IN LOVE – Jelani Aryeh (8)
GOOD PEOPLE – Mumford & Sons, Pharrell Williams (10)
THOUGHTS I HAVE WHILE LYING IN BED – The Maine, Beach Weather (19)
MISSIO remain on top for a second week with their hauntingly beautiful song “Time”, one of the many great tracks that will be featured on their forthcoming monumental album I AM CINCO, to be released next Friday, May 3rd. “Overcompensate” by twenty one pilots moves up a notch to #2, while “Dilemma” by Green Day reverses course by moving back up to #3. Australian duo Royel Otis climb two spots to #5 with their delightful cover of “Murder on the Dance Floor”, and “Good People”, by Mumford & Sons and Pharrell Williams, finally enters the top 10 at #10. The song recently spent one week at #1 on the Billboard Adult Alternative Airplay chart.
The biggest upward mover is “Too Sweet”, by Irish singer-songwriter Hozier, jumping eight spots to #15. The song has quickly become an unexpected hit that’s even surprised the singer, reaching #1 in many countries including the U.S., where it’s become his highest-charting single and first #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100, besting his monster hit “Take Me to Church”, which peaked at #2.
Three songs make their debut this week, the first of which is “Broken Man” by American artist St. Vincent, the musical project of uniquely talented and innovative singer-songwriter and musician Annie Clark, coming in at #28. The song is from her seventh studio album All Born Screaming, which dropped this past Friday, April 26th. The second new entry, at #29, is “Loneliness” by the legendary British synthpop duo Pet Shop Boys. The song is the lead single from their fifteenth studio album Nonetheless, which also dropped this past Friday. They were one of my favorite acts from 1986-88, and I’m happy they’re still putting out new music all these years later. The third new entry is “For Us All”, a superb song by English singer-songwriter Asgard Raven, which I reviewed last week.
TIME – MISSIO (1)
OVERCOMPENSATE – twenty one pilots (3)
DILEMMA – Green Day (5)
MY GOLDEN YEARS – The Lemon Twigs (2)
MURDER ON THE DANCE FLOOR – Royel Otis (7)
NEON PILL – Cage the Elephant (4)
KOOL AID BLUE – The Sylvia Platters (6)
I’M IN LOVE – Jelani Aryeh (9)
EVERYTHING WE NEED – Mojave Grey (10)
GOOD PEOPLE – Mumford & Sons, Pharrell Williams (12)
ICE CREAM (PAY PHONE) – Black Pumas (14)
DARK MATTER – Pearl Jam (15)
DON’T FORGET ME – Maggie Rogers (17)
WANTING AND WAITING – The Black Crowes (16)
TOO SWEET – Hozier (23)
LUNAR ECLIPSE – The Vaccines (8)
DIAMOND AND THE MISSING SON – Unquiet Nights (11)
THE GLASS – Foo Fighters (19)
THOUGHTS I HAVE WHILE LYING IN BED – The Maine, Beach Weather (20)
TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT – Dead Slow Hoot (22)
FIND MY WAY – Ships Have Sailed (13)
GOOD TIMES GO – The Kid and I (24)
I’VE GOT LOVING FOR YOU – Bottlecap Mountain (25)
MUSTANG – Kings of Leon (26)
BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE (STAY HIGH) – The Black Keys (18)
Austin, Texas-based duo MISSIO have been one of my favorite acts ever since I first learned about them and their music back in 2017. I love their uniquely eclectic sound that’s an arresting blend of alternative rock, electronic and hip hop, and have written about them several times on this blog. Three of their songs – “I See You”, “Underground” and “Can You Feel the Sun” – have reached #1 on my Weekly Top 30, and now their darkly captivating “Time” joins that esteemed group by ascending to the top spot on my latest chart. The gorgeous song will be included on their forthcoming fifth album I AM CINCO, an epic work scheduled for release on May 3rd. I love Matthew Brue’s distinctive tenor voice, which sounds especially vulnerable and heartfelt here. And the complexity of their arrangements, combined with intricate instrumentation, always makes for an exciting listen. The simple but profound lyrics touch on anxieties over some of the issues facing our current world and society, with MISSIO reminding us that “time goes wherever you are, now, in each moment” and to “live like it’s your last because you’re not guaranteed a tomorrow.”
In other chart highlights, “Overcompensate” by twenty one pilots inches up a notch to #3, “Kool Aid Blue” by Canadian band The Sylvia Platters moves up one to #6 and “Murder On the Dance Floor” by Australian duo Royel Otis advances three spots to #7. The dreamy “Everything We Need” by electro-rock duo Mojave Grey enters the top 10 at #10.
Two songs make their debut this week. The first, and long overdue, is “Capricorn” by New York City-based indie rock/art pop band Vampire Weekend, entering at #29. I love frontman Ezra Koenig’s pleasing drawl, that lovely piano riff and the gnarly cinematic chorus. The poignant song, described by Alex Hudson of Canadian music webzine Exclaim! as being about the “aching, unavoidable melancholy of growing old and discovering that adults feel just as powerless as kids do“, is from their fifth studio album Only God Was Above Us, which dropped April 5th.
Entering at #30 is “Creatures in Heaven” by English indie/psychedelic pop/rock band Glass Animals. Like the aforementioned Vampire Weekend, their music is hard to classify, as both bands incorporate a myriad of genres and styles into their sound. The song is the lead single from their forthcoming fourth album I Love You So F***ing Much, scheduled for release on July 19th. In an interview with Consequence Sound, band frontman Dave Bayley – whose singing voice I adore – said the song is about “a moment in time, having the capacity to be enormously formative and life-changing.”
TIME – MISSIO (2)
MY GOLDEN YEARS – The Lemon Twigs (1)
OVERCOMPENSATE – twenty one pilots (4)
NEON PILL – Cage the Elephant (3)
DILEMMA – Green Day (5)
KOOL AID BLUE – The Sylvia Platters (7)
MURDER ON THE DANCE FLOOR – Royel Otis (10)
LUNAR ECLIPSE – The Vaccines (6)
I’M IN LOVE – Jelani Aryeh (9)
EVERYTHING WE NEED – Mojave Grey (12)
DIAMOND AND THE MISSING SON – Unquiet Nights (8)
GOOD PEOPLE – Mumford & Sons, Pharrell Williams (15)
FIND MY WAY – Ships Have Sailed (11)
ICE CREAM (PAY PHONE) – Black Pumas (16)
DARK MATTER – Pearl Jam (17)
WANTING AND WAITING – The Black Crowes (18)
DON’T FORGET ME – Maggie Rogers (19)
BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE (STAY HIGH) – The Black Keys (13)
THE GLASS – Foo Fighters (20)
THOUGHTS I HAVE WHILE LYING IN BED – The Maine, Beach Weather (22)
I think “My Golden Years” by The Lemon Twigs is a perfect power pop tune, and I just can’t get enough of it. Consequently, it remains at #1 on my Top 30 for a third week. Aiming for the top spot, the hauntingly beautiful “Time” by MISSIO slides into second place, while twenty one pilots‘ “Overcompensate” moves up a notch to #4. Entering the top 10 at #9 is the delightful dance-pop song “I’m in Love” by San Diego singer-songwriter Jelani Aryeh, followed by the equally delightful “Murder On the Dance Floor” by Australian guitar-pop duo Royel Otis, jumping six spots to #10.
Two songs make their debut on my chart this week, the first of which is “Mustang” by Kings of Leon. While I’m a pretty big fan of theirs, this song took a while to grow on me, as I initially found Caleb Followill’s screaming vocals a bit off-putting. “Mustang” was the lead single from their forthcoming ninth studio album Can We Please Have Fun, scheduled for release on May 10. Entering at #30 is “Two Sweet” by Irish singer-songwriter Hozier. Shockingly, the song debuted at #5 two weeks ago on the Billboard Hot 100, and currently sits at #4, a major feat for an artist like Hozier in today’s streaming-dominated chart. My guess is that the song must have gone viral on TikTok. In any case, it’s another great song by this talented and beloved artist, so seeing it ranked so highly on the Hot 100 is a welcome sight indeed.
MY GOLDEN YEARS – The Lemon Twigs (1)
TIME – MISSIO (3)
NEON PILL – Cage the Elephant (2)
OVERCOMPENSATE – twenty one pilots (5)
DILEMMA – Green Day (4)
LUNAR ECLIPSE – The Vaccines (9)
KOOL AID BLUE – The Sylvia Platters (10)
DIAMOND AND THE MISSING SON – Unquiet Nights (9)
I’M IN LOVE – Jelani Aryeh (11)
MURDER ON THE DANCE FLOOR – Royel Otis (16)
FIND MY WAY – Ships Have Sailed (12)
EVERYTHING WE NEED – Mojave Grey (13)
BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE (STAY HIGH) – The Black Keys (6)
BLUSH – Vazum (7)
GOOD PEOPLE – Mumford & Sons, Pharrell Williams (15)
ICE CREAM (PAY PHONE) – Black Pumas (17)
DARK MATTER – Pearl Jam (18)
WANTING AND WAITING – The Black Crowes (19)
DON’T FORGET ME – Maggie Rogers (22)
THE GLASS – Foo Fighters (23)
LOVIN ON ME – Jack Harlow (14)
THOUGHTS I HAVE WHILE LYING IN BED – The Maine, Beach Weather (24)
The marvelous jangle-pop masterpiece “My Golden Years” by The Lemon Twigs holds firm at #1 for a second week on my latest Top 30 chart. I love this song, and never tire of hearing it. “Neon Pill” by Cage the Elephant holds at #2 for a second week, after spending two weeks at #1, and the gorgeous “Time” by MISSIO inches up a notch to #3. Another wonderful jangle-pop/rock song, “Kool Aid Blue” by Canadian band The Sylvia Platters, enters the top 10. The biggest upward mover this week is “Murder On the Dance Floor” by Australian guitar-pop duo Royel Otis, jumping seven spots to #16.
For a second consecutive week, there are three new entries to my chart. The first, coming in at #28, is “Take It Or Leave It”, a melancholy but beautiful song by Sheffield, England-based alternative rock band Dead Slow Hoot, who’ve been putting out great indie rock since 2016. Next up is the delightfully boisterous “Good Times Go” by another English alternative indie rock four-piece, London-based The Kid and I, which I reviewed a few weeks ago. Bringing up the rear at #30 is the terrific “I’ve Got Loving For You” by Austin, Texas-based rock & roll band Bottlecap Mountain, which I also recently reviewedin a Fresh New Tracks post.
MY GOLDEN YEARS – The Lemon Twigs (1)
NEON PILL – Cage the Elephant (2)
TIME – MISSIO (4)
DILEMMA – Green Day (3)
OVERCOMPENSATE – twenty one pilots (5)
BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE (STAY HIGH) – The Black Keys (6)
BLUSH – Vazum (8)
LUNAR ECLIPSE – The Vaccines (9)
DIAMOND AND THE MISSING SON – Unquiet Nights (10)
KOOL AID BLUE – The Sylvia Platters (11)
I’M IN LOVE – Jelani Aryeh (12)
FIND MY WAY – Ships Have Sailed (13)
EVERYTHING WE NEED – Mojave Grey (14)
LOVIN ON ME – Jack Harlow (7)
GOOD PEOPLE – Mumford & Sons, Pharrell Williams (17)
MURDER ON THE DANCE FLOOR – Royel Otis (23)
ICE CREAM (PAY PHONE) – Black Pumas (20)
DARK MATTER – Pearl Jam (21)
WANTING AND WAITING – The Black Crowes (22)
WATER UNDERGROUND – Real Estate (18)
LANDMINES – Sum 41 (19)
DON’T FORGET ME – Maggie Rogers (25)
THE GLASS – Foo Fighters (28)
THOUGHTS I HAVE WHILE LYING IN BED – The Maine, Beach Weather (29)
Artists and bands I follow on social media continue to release new music at a dizzying pace, so in order to try and showcase even some of it, it’s time for another Fresh New Tracks installment. Today, I’m featuring four recently-released songs by, in alphabetical order – Texas rock’n’roll band Bottlecap Mountain, English musician and composer Josephine Pascoe, English singer-songwriter Lissy Taylor, and New Jersey singer-songwriter Loud Hound, all of them quite prolific in their musical output. I’ve previously written about Josephine Pascoe and Loud Hound, while this is the first time I’m featuring Bottlecap Mountain and Lissy Taylor. So let’s get to it!
BOTTLECAP MOUNTAIN – “I’ve Got Loving For You”
Bottlecap Mountain is a self-described “24 Carat Rock & Roll” band from Austin, Texas, comprised of Stewart Gersmann (lead vocals, lead guitar), Chris Stangland (bass), Yvonne Love (organ, backing vocals), Doug Pena (rhythm guitar, backing vocals) and Ray Flynt (drums). Their sound is a happy mix of alternative, garage and indie rock, infused with generous doses of power pop and classic rock & roll, accompanied by honest, thought-provoking and relatable lyrics delivered with pleasing vocals and wonderful harmonies.
Over the past 10 years, the prolific band has released six full-length albums, their most recent being their brilliant 0! Fantastik Melancholy last year. Today they return with “I’ve Got Loving For You”, the first single from their upcoming seventh album Electric Love Spree, due out this summer. The song opens with sounds of a revving motorcycle engine, then we’re off to the races with a cool, retro-sounding rock & roll gem that harkens back to some of the great songs of the 60s and 70s, but with a fresh approach. I love the stabbing guitar notes, spirited drumbeats and abundant crashing cymbals, all layered over a charming organ riff and punctuated here and there with some tasty acoustic and electric guitar work. The straightforward lyrics are a simple yet profound declaration of love, beautifully sung by Stewart and backed by his fellow bandmembers’ warm harmonies.
Josephine Pascoe is a classically trained pianist, violinist and flautist based in the London suburbs. With a life-long love of music, she studied at Trinity College of Music in London, where she began composing her own music. She also trained to be a secondary school music teacher, but prefers giving one-on-one instrumental instruction on piano and violin. Since 2017, she’s collaborated with guitarist and producer Neil Thom, who she met the year before when she began taking guitar lessons from him, in the creation of exceptional instrumental music with ever-changing elements of jazz, acid jazz, classical, blues and funk.
Together, they’ve released an impressive amount of singles – 17 to be exact. One of them, “Starfish”, I reviewed last May. Their latest single, released March 23, is “Odyssey“, a beautiful acid jazz instrumental. For the track’s recording, Josephine played piano, strings and flute, while Neil played guitar, bass and drums. Like all their songs, Neil handled production and engineering. Whereas “Starfish” has a spirited dance-oriented feel with a strong lively beat, “Odyssey” is more contemplative and bluesy. I love Josephine’s warm piano keys, soothing strings and lilting flute, and as always, Neil’s bluesy guitars and funky bass provide a marvelous and edgy counterpoint to her more classical-sounding instrumentals.
Lissy Taylor is a lovely, hard-working young singer-songwriter from Stoke-On-Trent, England. From what I can tell, she’s been releasing music since January 2020, including numerous singles and two EPs. According to her bio, she toured fairly extensively in 2023 in support of such acts as The View, Sea Girls and The Lottery Winners, and performed at the Isle of Wight Festival. Her songs have garnered airplay on Radio 1 Future Alternative, BBC Radio 2, John Kennedy Radio X and Amazing Radio. This year, she’s already played shows in support of Circa Waves and Haiku Hands, and is set to open the mainstage at YNOT Festival ahead of Headliner Noel Gallagher. She was also chosen by an expert panel of artists to perform at Manchester City FC opening for Barclays Women’s Super League on April 21.
Her latest single is “Life Changing“, released on March 15th. The song is an indie rock banger, fueled by an infectious driving beat overlain with a glorious mix of reverb-soaked guitars, humming bass, roiling synths and thunderous drums. Lissy’s vocals, which remind me a bit of fellow English songstress Ellie Goulding, are soft yet commanding here. About the song’s meaning, she elaborates “There’s so many people that go through struggles, myself included, and this song champions pulling yourself through to the otherside. This is a song to cheer you on when there’s doubts and to throw you up in the air when you’re winning. This is the sound of the underdog.”
LOUD HOUND is the music project of Tommy Florio, a talented singer/songwriter from Ventnor City, New Jersey. The silky-voiced artist fuses elements of garage, surf and psych rock with dream pop to create wonderful songs filled with infectious melodies, honest lyrics and irresistible guitar grooves. He’s recorded and released a tremendous amount of music since 2018, including two albums – It’s Okay to Be Lonely Part I in 2022 and It’s Okay to Be Lonely Part II in 2023, as well as more than 20 singles, two of which, “Runnin'” and “Youthful Stranger”, I reviewed. Hard to believe it’s been over five years since I’ve featured him on this blog, so it’s high time I revisit his music.
Since the beginning of this year, he’s been dropping new songs in “waterfall releases”, in which singles are released in a progressive series, with each new release adding to the previous one to eventually create a kind of EP. It seems to be an increasingly popular way artists are releasing their music, as I’ve seen numerous examples of this. LOUD HOUND’s latest release is “Clumsy”, a delightfully catchy song he says he wrote “back in 2020 as a romantic ode to my clumsiness while in pursuit of an uninterested lover.“It’s a perfect pop-rock tune, with wonderful twangy guitars and swirling keyboards layered over a breezy melody. The lyrics are a heartfelt plea to a woman he desires to love him back: “With your golden smile that made me spill my coffee, I want you forever I’m just a little clumsy. Won’t you come and stay with me? I heard you needed some company. The love that you want and the love that you need, it’s right here baby don’t you see.”
ECLECTIC MUSIC LOVER 