So, it’s the third Friday of January and we are wondering how all those New Year Resolutions you made are going? Don’t worry if all those well-meant promises of self-improvement are already long forgotten because Gigantic is back with the soundtrack for your big weekend with the #NewMusicFriday playlist!
And not only that, we have everything you need to know about the latest releases found in our blog below plus even tickets to hear your new favourite tunes played live!
Singles
HEAVY LUNGS – ‘Jealous’
Out on Balley Records, ‘Jealous’ is the latest aural onslaught from abrasive post punks Heavy Lungs. It follows on from their debut EP ‘Abstract Thoughts’ and swaggering single ‘Blood Brother’, both released just last year and make for essential listening.
The new song sees the Bristolian boys explore all aspects of the green eyed monster with explosive bursts of distortion and painfully acute lyrics which recognise the self-destructive nature of jealousy and how the endless searching desire for more makes you endlessly empty, always unable to appreciate whatever you do have and ultimately separates you from even the closest people in your life; ‘Blissful clarity never lasts / Despite all the effort to hold it down / Thus overtly I regress into someone that I resent / So painfully self-aware unsure of every desire I bare / Crippled by the mortals qualms / Jealous of the ones I love’
The combination of articulated intelligence and furious energy as exhibited on ‘Jealous’ is yet another example of why Heavy Lungs are amongst the most vital British bands currently tearing it up on stages right now so make sure you catch them when they kick off their tour at the end of this month!
Heavy Lungs tickets are currently available.
IN FLAMES – ‘I, The Mask’
If you want metal done properly, then make sure you get a Swedish band on the case! ‘I, The Mask’ is the title track found on IN FLAMES next album. Recruiting multi-Grammy Award Howard Benson (Motörhead, My Chemical Romance), the recording sessions saw them up sticks for the sunny skies of Los Angeles to develop their melodic death metal.
Speaking on the band and the developments featured on the upcoming record, vocalist Anders Fridén assured fans that IN FLAMES will continue doing what they do best whilst also embracing new ideas; “I think it's very difficult for IN FLAMES to be something we're not and that dichotomy of melody and aggression will always be at the core of our identity. We are always open to new ideas and don't let anything limit us.”
While Fridén made it clear that the Gothenburg face-melters refuse to be limited in the studio by what is expected of them, guitarist Björn Gelotte guarantees their gigs will continue to be as thrilling as ever; “We just ask ourselves if we will love playing this stuff live... and as long as we feel that, nothing can really touch us.”
IN FLAMES tickets are currently available.
DRENGE – ‘Never See The Signs’
In 2013, something strange happened. Castleton grunge enthusiasts Drenge (Rory Loveless – drummer, Eoin Loveless – lead vocals, guitar, Rob Graham – bass) released their eponymously titled debut album and rose from being ever the outsiders to be the band everyone always likes to mention that they love. Now the trio are back with a new sound as heard on ‘Never See The Signs’, released earlier this week.
Taken from the lads next album ‘Strange Creatures’ which comes out on Friday 22nd of February through Infectious, this new number sees them drop the fuzz pedals and turn on the disco ball as they invite you onto the dancefloor.
“Our latest exploration of the pop song involves a battle re-enactment between razor sharp synthesisers and punishingly shrill guitars, set sometime in the late 1970s. The ghosts of Italo disco mutter disapprovingly in the corner as they sip Disaronno on ice. The snare drum rattles like the tail of a desert snake with a fondness for pop gossip and internet culture. I never see the signs.”
We cannot wait to see how the rest of the LP is going to turn out, just make sure you turn up to their Spring gigs to find out!
Drenge tickets are currently available.
THE MAINE – ‘Numb Without You’
Just days before the band’s second 8123 Fest, pop rock band The Maine release new single Numb Without You’ – a rousing anthem loaded full of powerful, if not conflicted, statements aimed at an unknown antagonistic love. The emo influenced gang have certainly done a good job of raising interest, having plastered posters of the lyrics all over city landscapes and posting photos every 24 hours on their Instagram account. Little did we know the very same slogans would also be projected against their bodies in the new video.
‘Numb Without You’ is the first single to be taken from the Arizonian band’s forthcoming seventh studio album ‘You Are OK’ which is scheduled for release on Friday 29th of March.
The Maine tickets are currently available.
Albums
MAGGIE ROGERS – ‘Heard It In A Past Life’
Delighting all with her folk inflected indie pop, Maryland singer Maggie Rogers has been inching her way to the mainstream with a number of strong singles including ‘Alaska’ (which achieved over 100 million combined streams) and ‘On and Off’ which have reached modest commercial success and huge critical acclaim plus her ‘Now The Light Is Fading’ EP which came out last year.
This building momentum has now led to the release of her awaited debut LP ‘Heard It In A Past Life’ which just dropped today. Expanding on her cross-over between pop beats and more traditional guitar song writing style, it includes re-worked versions of the fore-mentioned singles in addition to the new material which really benefit from having time to expand on her initial ideas. Prior to the album release, fans were treated to her heartfelt single ‘Light On’.
“This song is a letter to my fans about the last two years of my life. There was so much change that happened so fast, I wasn’t always sure how to make all this stuff feel like me. I was really overwhelmed for a while, and scared too – my life became so public so fast and there were times I wasn’t sure that this was all for me. But I never had doubts about the music. And every night I got on stage and was reminded why I love doing this. This is the most vulnerable I’ve felt in a song and its me saying thank you for all the light my fans brought me when I couldn’t find it for myself. I love music more than anything else in the whole world and I always have. This song is me actively choosing this life – in my way and in my time. I couldn’t be more excited that “Light On” is out in the world today.”
Maggie Rogers tickets are currently available.