Halloween is a week away; but we’ve resisted going all spooky with our playlist update this week. We’ve got ten more tracks for you, including two we hosted exclusive premieres for earlier in the week. Melbourne’s Gordon’s Grandson takes home our Track of the Week with his new single “6pm” – a hazy, romantic ode to first dates and fleeting connections.
“6pm” is a continuation of Gordon’s Grandson’s DIY approach to music; with every track penned, recorded and produced in his bedroom. The result is a charming blend of vintage tones with an altogether more modern and indie sensibility; or as GG describes it “I wrote 6pm about a first date. I don’t often do such literal storytelling so this was very fun to create. The production and mix is very inspired by The Innovations’ Seabird cover. I wanted to add a lot of 60s character, from the vintage mellotron flute to the nasally John Lennonesque vocal.” It’s whimsical, wistful bedroom pop with a twist; and a large side order of nostalgia; and frankly we’re here for it.
“Beacon” is the lead single from Crook Decker; the new solo venture of British singer-songwriter Jude Lilley (Moreish Idols), with the album Graffiti Lagoon arriving on November 12th via all my thoughts. The project was born in the COVID-19 lockdowns of 2020; and what started as a bit of an experiment has developed over the last five years into something more. “Beacon” is one of the newer tracks on the album; and takes its inspiration from an old folk tradition from Yorkshire, where volunteers blow a cow horn from each corner of the town square every night at 9pm to protect the town from a curse. According to Lilley, ‘“Beacon” felt like the final piece of the puzzle—an act of gratitude and admiration towards those who keep things moving while we’re all galavanting, pretending to be artists.’
On “The Burning of Cork”, Ireland’s Cardinals channel raw historical grievance into an urgent two-minute roar, drawing from the December 1920 terror inflicted on Cork City by the British Army’s Black and Tan forces.
The track feels like the band’s heaviest, most menacing outing to date—boldly marrying brooding atmospherics with pointed political weight.
Released ahead of their debut album, Masquerade, out on the 13th of February, the song signals that Cardinals are not afraid to press into disquiet and unrest. They have unleashed the shackles.
Indie folk singer-songwriter Queen Quail returns this week with new single “Southside” from her forthcoming EP Narcissus (out November 18th). The single explores ideas of restlessness and grief of losing time; as Queen Quail describes it, ‘It’s about continuing to be haunted by an experience even after trying so hard to process it and get over it. I guess sometimes things just stick with you even years after.’. It’s evocative and emotive, with some subtle, and gorgeous instrumentation; before this powerful explosion of guitar towards the song’s final stages.
“Mad Rooter” is another epic slice of controlled chaos from Sydney punk duo Party Dozen. Of the new track, they write: “It doesn’t always happen, but sometimes it’s your night. You feel like the maddest rooter. Every step you take is a step closer to glory. No fucks left to give, the charisma of Jon Hamm. ‘Mad Rooter’ is 10 feet tall and can walk through a wall. Stuck here with all you rookies eating fortune cookies.”
Keeping things folkier and more introspective, we’ve also added “Shouldn’t I Be Done?”, the new single from Portland’s Katy & the Null Sets to the playlist. The single is from the album Troublemaker (out today). Meanwhile, on other end of the spectrum we have “Good, Real”, the euphoric new single from UK/US indie pop artist Ber. Reminiscent of early HAIM, this one is a blast of positive energy and light.
Scattrbrain are a new project for the Atlanta rapper Grip, who has described it as ‘an art punk project built for chaos, catharsis, and reinvention’. The debut track “Bombs Away” is a brilliant genre-hopping ball of energy, a driving beat, melodic vocals and effortlessly cool. It was produced with Daniel Gleason (Grouplove) and T.J. Elias. We can’t wait to hear more.
Finally, we’ve added two premieres from earlier in the week – “Kaleidoscope” from Isabelle Skye, and “Wishing Your Life Away from Darcy Piltz.
Catch all the new music updated every Friday on Apple Music:
and on Spotify:
Here’s the complete list of new additions this week:
Gordon’s Grandson “6pm”
Crook Decker “Beacon”
Cardinals “The Burning of Cork”
Katy and the Null Sets “Shouldn’t I Be Done?”
Queen Quail “Southside”
Party Dozen “Mad Rooter”
Ber “Good, Real”
Scattrbrain “Bombs Away”
Isabelle Skye “Kaleidoscope” [Exclusive Single Premiere]
Darcy Piltz “Wishing Your Life Away” [Exclusive Video Premiere]
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