We’re kicking off August by adding ten new tracks to our Discovery playlist on Spotify and Apple Music; including two singles we exclusively premiered earlier this week. Our Track of the Week is “Hey You” the brand new indie disco banger from AU favourites Ducks!.
The Berlin-based Australian duo of Lani Bagley and Craig Schuftan have once again delivered another off kilter and jarring slice of electronic indie – practically their speciality. With its frayed repetitive vocal lines, detuned synths and a stolen language learning record sample, the song captures a spiralling state of mind. The repeated lyrics, are literally, “I’ve had a breakdown”. It’s all kind of disconcerting; made even more so by how danceable the whole thing is. A banger for the socially anxious; but a banger none the less.
Stella Donnelly is back with another single, “How Was Your Day?” from her forthcoming album, Flood (out 26th August). As well as being ridiculously charming and effervescent in concert, Stella continues to develop as an artist. The track is written from the perspective of a couple in a long-term relationship, that perhaps shouldn’t be. They are unable to broach the subject of whether they should stay together. She mixes it up with some spoken word, alternating with upbeat floating vocals.
“Happiness” from The 1975 is a great reminder of why this band is so popular. This one will end up on plenty of playlists. It will be on their next album, Being Funny In A Foreign Language, out 14th October.
Cousin Tony’s Brand New Firebird have released “Red Dirt Angel”, an ode to the Australian outback, written during the claustrophobic Melbourne lockdowns. Vocalist Lachlan Rose writes how this difficult period inspired the song: “I began dreaming constantly of the outback. The red dirt angel was a faceless usher who continuously led me through the arid, red-earth deserts of Australia. I longed to be behind the wheel of a filthy car with no real destination.”
“Around And Around” is the new single from Alt/Indie-pop trio The Happy Fits. The single is from the New Jersey band’s forthcoming third album Under The Shade Of Green, which is out at the end of the month.
The track, which is built around an existing riff from guitarist Ross Monteith, expands upon the idea that life can sometimes feel like an endless loop. It also captures the inertia of pandemic life, where we all hurtled from one thing to the next. As vocalist Calvin Langman says, “One week, millennials were making sourdough bread, and the next we were on the streets taking part in the largest civil rights protest in history for Black Lives Matter. One week, we’d all be binging the next Netflix show, and the next we’d have to internalize a fascist coup.”
We also have “Just Keep Dancing”, the latest single from Lebanese Dubai-based singer-songwriter Son Savage, who was behind the excellent single “Superglue” we featured on the playlist a few months ago. Son Savage is onto another winner here. It’s bright, uplifting and full of joy and energy. A certifiable bop that will have you dancing. Joyful!
Rounding the playlist are new tracks from US duo R. Missing, and Parisian producer DFNSE. There are also new singles from Clay J Gladstone and Nicole Quigley which we exclusively premiered this week.
Catch the new music updated every Friday on Apple Music
and on Spotify:
Here’s the complete list of additions this week:
Ducks! “Hey You”
Stella Donnelly “How Was Your Day?”
The 1975 “Happiness”
The Happy Fits “Around And Around”
Cousin Tony’s Brand New Firebird “Red Dirt Angel”
R. Missing “New Present City”
Son Savage “Just Keep Dancing”
DFNSE “Good Enough”
Clay J Gladstone “Hate Club” [Exclusive Single Premiere]
Nicole Quigley “Sip of Summer” [Exclusive Single Premiere]
Header Image: Harriet Richardson
