Northern England has launched yet another pristine pop act, a three-piece called TV ME. Led by Thomas McConnell, the band returned to their Liverpool home this past weekent, at the end of a regional tour, just in time to celebrate the release of their four-song EP, A Broadcast From TV ME. At turns breezy and jarring, the EP mixes synthesized and organic instruments in a Harry Nilsson-meets-Brian Wilson-meets-Jon Brion Optigan blur, infused with some extra-modern electronic grooves. Dig it.
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One of Atlanta’s very best hip-hop artists, Se’von is back with a new full length album, Stadium of Hearts. It’s truly a tour de force, with Se’von not just declaring his supremacy, but also proving it on a barrage of assertive anthems. He builds a modern pop masterwork upon the foundation of classic rap and hip-hop. Look no further than the opener, “Bang Bang,” in which he traces a lineage from LL Cool J to Kanye before shouting out, nationwide, his own booming voice. Se’von has good-sized clips of every song on the LP here. and you can listen to some full tracks below.
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The closest analog we could think of while enjoying the new album from Beecher’s Fault, The Easiest Drug To Sell, was Talking Heads. Immediately, the mechanized groove of the opening track, “Moneymouth,” mirrors that of the Heads’ classic “Once In A Lifetime.” The rest of the song and album (at seven songs and just over 26 minutes, it’s technically an EP) is wholly original, but Beecher’s Fault’s meshing of electronic and precisely processed sounds with natural instrumentation, warm lead vocals and tight male-female harmonies (from vocalists Ben Taylor and Lauren Hunt) follows a blueprint created by that seminal NYC art rock band. The Easiest Drug To Sell feels carefully sequenced to invite in the listener, from that somewhat clinical intro through a flat-out rocking and gospel-tinged closer, “Life In This Light” (and doesn’t that title also just evoke the Talking Heads?), which we wrote about when it was released last summer. The lyrics match this flow, beginning with the despairing “Moneymouth” to that final song’s grand zen-like acceptance, via some ebb and flow anxiety and uncertainty on tracks like “Last Disaster.” You can hear the entire record at the Soundcloud link at the bottom:
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Three prominent members of our artist community here at OurStage are featured in the new Spike Lee series She’s Gotta Have It on Netflix. Soulful R&B singer Shawndrell, winner of multiple chart awards on OurStage, had her song “Save Yourself” added to episodes five and six of the new show, which is a reimagining of Lee’s groundbreaking 1986 film of the same name.
Multi-talented New York artist Brittany Campbell, who plays the character Black Diamond in three episodes of the new comedy series, is featured on the soundtrack as well, with her 2016 single “Buzz” (watch her great video for the song, below).
Lee also selected Nikki Lynette‘s “My Mind Ain’t Right,” after personally inspiring and encouraging the singer and songwriter to begin a new phase in her creative life. When we spoke to her back in September, Lynette told us, “Spike is the ultimate storyteller, and he is always super excited about everything he is working on. Being around him made me feel like maybe I could be passionate about music again if I just told a story that would be bigger than me, the way Spike does.” (Read our full interview here.)
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London indie rock quartet Silent Party has been, well, if not silent, then relatively quiet over the past two years. The band has been working during that time, writing and gigging, but there have been no proper new releases. That’s changed now with the release of a new EP, including two singles so far. First was “Playing Small,” a pulsing, moody track with rapid-fire lyrics that somewhat evokes “The Boys Of Summer” with a bit of U2 guitar. Now comes “Offline,” a recording no less atmospheric, particularly in its restrained verse, but with a chorus that turns it into more of a dancefloor banger than “Playing Small.” Listen to both below, and follow @silentpartyldn.
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Singer and songwriter Luke James Shaffer, routinely found at the top of our ‘Best of the Best’ charts, has dropped a new video cover of “Silence,” originally a collaboration between EDM producer Marshmello and soul singer Khalid. Shaffer pares back the song to its core, and then builds his own robust arrangement, in a single live take, creating a series of loops of his own percussion and backing vocals. In doing so, he emphasizes the quality of the lyrics and melody that are the backbone of the sleeper hit. Watch:
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