Seven Fresh Songs #42
Samantha Margaret — Feminist gf
The future is female and faking support for feminist causes will not save patriarchalism. That is the message singer, songwriter and producer Samantha Margret has for a particular annoying type of man. There is a good dose of menace in way the song builds: she knows that she will win, but it is not going to be easy. Samantha recalls the inspiration for “Feminist gf”:
After the call, I was mad at him; I was mad at myself,” Margret explains. “Sometimes it cuts deeper when that kind of patriarchal hurt comes from someone you think is on your team. I think of myself as really outspoken and try to be the first to speak up when another woman is in trouble, but I sometimes have trouble when the comments are directed at me.
Listen to our Song Pick of Song “feminist gf”:
Connect with Samantha Margret on Facebook or Instagram.
Elise Boulanger — Cigarettes et Rosé
Canadian singer/songwriter Elise Boulanger releases the utterly gorgeous “Cigarettes et Rosé” today. With her crisp and confident vocals, as well as impressive songwriting creativity and skills, she evokes the legendary Kate Bush big time.
Warm string tones are contrasting with austere drum rolls and marching beats. While living in France, Elise observed the following:
“At times people wouldn’t trust others to come into their homes. Thus, they would avoid having at-home gatherings. This absolutely fascinated me, especially given that Canadians are so welcoming and accepting.”
Making it through the pandemic, one day at a time, this resonated with me, aside from the beautiful song itself. We haven’t had friends over since Valentine’s Day, where we had a lovely party. I definitely miss this, having friends over for drinks or dinner.
We asked Elise how she thinks about this now and she says:
“At the time when I composed this song in both Nice and Lyon, France I was surrounded by beautiful strangers with whom I wanted to be friends. Now, during this Great Pause, we find that some friendships have transformed. Others have been created from unorthodox realms whether it be educational online webinars in our respective industries, brief social interactions in public spaces, or a more meaningful chat in one’s neighbourhood.”
Listen to “Cigarettes et Rosé”, our Song Pick of the Day:
Connect with Elise Boulanger on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Pauline Andres — Til the End of the World
When we heard of Nashville-based singer/songwriter Pauline Andres for the first time in 2016, she did a particular dark brand of Americana. But now, in times when it is difficult to get together to make music, she turned to warm electronics to craft her new track “Til The End of the World.”
While the song is about what you probably think it would be, she also embeds an homage to human resiliency and a message of hope and love:
I never thought the world was ending. I know a world is ending, which is the very definition of an apocalypse. That process started years ago. It’s gonna take a few more but we are obviously in the middle of it. I don’t know how exactly this will continue to manifest. But I’ve decided to be cool with it, to keep making art, and believing in the absolute, almost absurd power of love and music.”
“Til the End of the World” is out today. Listen to our Song Pick of the Day below:
Connect with Pauline Andres on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.
Dream Prescription — Never Giving Up On You
Tim Robert (vocals, guitar) and Kent Friedman (synthesizer) first met while working as DJs and producers in New York City dance clubs. They had made a name for themselves in the electronic music scene individually and chose the not exactly easy year of 2020 to start their collaborative project Dream Prescription. Now, the dark-wave duo is following their dancefloor-ready debut single “Double Life” with the release of the equally clubby, and maybe even more beautifully catchy “Never Giving Up On You”.
Here, Tim Robert’s vocals are effortlessly reminiscent of Dave Gahan’s, something that makes us love the track immediately! Add fat beats and thick, infectious synths layers and the result is “electronic music for the future”, as the duo describes their sound:
“Why doesn’t the real world live up to the world of dreams? How can we know what we want in the face of the bizarre distortions of modern society? Dream Prescription drives headlong into these questions with electronic music for the future.”
Dream Prescription had used the three months leading into 2020 to make new fans by playing some of New York City’s independent venues and are part of this year’s virtual Mondo Festival, scheduled to perform on Thursday, October 15th. For more info, click here.
Listen to “Never Giving Up On You”, our Song Pick of the Day:
Connect with Dream Prescription on Facebook and Instagram.
Ian Sweet — Power
“I wanna feel the power of holding no-one every again.” Where is L.A. singer/songwriter Jilian Medford aka Ian Sweet going with her latest track “Power?” Not depending on anybody can be an advantage. She says: “’Power’ is a manifestation of strength; something I was looking up and looking towards. I wrote this song to try to get closer to trusting the magnitude of myself as a solitary being.” The song brings her point home with a driving pattern of alternating melancholic guitar lines and crunchy riffs. After all, everything has its ups and downs.
“Power” is out now on Polyvinyl together with Ian Sweet’s previous singles “Sword” and “Dumb Driver”. Listen to our Song Pick of the Day below:
Connect with Ian Sweet on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.
GLDED — Paine
Indiana-born, Chicago-based musician Ben Harper, makes gorgeous indie-electronic folk-pop under the moniker GLDED and just released his new single “Paine”. The track combines vital electronics with tender finger-picked guitars, all held together by Harper’s mellow and utterly beautiful vocals. After the previous single “Waiting Up”, “Paine” is yet another delicious taste from GLDED’s upcoming EP “Moraine”.
Harper says about his newest song:
“‘Paine’ is based on my experience during a weeklong backpacking trek in Torres del Paine National Park in southern Chile. Paine translates to “blue” in the native Tehuelche language, and Torres “towers”. The trek was physically demanding and served as a reminder that time and vitality are fleeting. These sentiments are reflected in the lyrics, informed by the physicality of the rugged landscape and the emotions experienced in recognition of that vitality”.
Listen to “Paine”, our Song Pick of the Day:
Connect with GLDED on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Promise and the Monster — Closed My Eyes
Promise and the Monster is the project of Swedish singer/songwriter Billie Lidahl. Listen to her new song “Closed My Eyes” and it becomes clear why she has shared stages with Chelsea Wolfe. With a similar haunting intensity the music seems to come from a different world, where darkness is beautiful and soothing.
You would think it took some time to get the sophisticated sounds of “Closed My Eyes” right, but Billie reveals the opposite:
I wrote ‘Closed My Eyes’ surprisingly quickly after thinking about the ambiguity in that image, closing one’s eyes for various reasons. It was good fuel. The women in this song are out roaming in the streets. Marilyn is famous and Kimberly and Brenda got killed by Ted Bundy. The song was pretty easy to record compared to the other songs — it was a Paranoid moment so to speak. You know when Black Sabbath recorded their album Paranoid they just needed an extra song and came up with that riff, and bam: history. It worked just that same way with this song.
“Closed My Eyes” is out today now on Icons Create Evil Art. Listen to our Song Pick of the Day here:
Connect with Promise and the Monster on Facebook or Instagram.
