Hi Gigantic Gang,
Roses are red, violets are blue. Valentine’s Day is for suckers so here’s the #NewMusicFriday blog and playlist especially for you!
Unlike that cheating ex or current significant other that forgot to even get a card, Gigantic will never let you down and we tirelessly bring you the very best newly released tunes that you need to know every single week. Plus, the deets behind the tunes and even the option to grab yourself a ticket so you can fall in love with your latest music crush as they play live.
So, say ‘I Do’ to #NewMusicFriday and enjoy your essential soundtrack to the weekend! Big love to each and every #GiganticGigGoer! xx
SINGLES
VC PINES – ‘Bluebird’
Rising London based solo songwriter Jack Mercer AKA VC Pines is fast becoming the tastemakers’ favourite and now he releases his reflective single ‘Bluebird’. Inspired by Charles Bukowski’s poem of the same title, Mercer explores how the false promise of digital self-expression actually leads to superficial posing.
Mercer is more interested in the internal world and finds authenticity from what comes within, which is laden with colour owing to his personal experiences of synaesthesia which overlays each word and sound with the sensation of colour which he channels to help write his music.
“I found out what synaesthesia was during a lecture at music college, when the lecturer seemed to be describing how my brain worked. I always thought that that’s how everyone saw the world and that various senses were triggered by certain things and that’s just how we lived. Then when I realised that wasn’t the case, and that I had something different, I started to use it as a tool. I still think it must have something to do with my epilepsy.” – Jack Mercer
VC Pines is signed to Theory Records for the release of ‘Bluebird’ which is accompanied with a video that explores the songs connection to the Bukowksi poem, filmed, directed and edited by Benjamin Edward Simmons.
“The video for ‘Bluebirds’ follows the running themes of the song and is a gentle nod to Charles Bukowski’s Bluebird. The subject is in tight restraints, living a life and working a job he hates and it’s eating away at him. His inner bluebird is eager to escape and help him be who he wants to be. After killing off his outer demons, the bluebird comes out and our subject begins to live life to the fullest. As we all should eh...” – Jack Mercer
VC Pines tickets are currently available.
ALBUMS
Summer Camp – ‘Romantic Comedy’
Indie pop duo Summer Camp return with their long awaited fifth LP ‘Romantic Comedy’ – their first new album since 2019! Married couple Elizabeth Sankey and Jeremy Warmsley certainly haven’t scrimped as ‘Romantic Comedy’ is packed full of fifteen dreamy love songs, full of idyllic imagery and perfect movie moments which they have chosen to drop on Valentine’s Day (of course!) through Apricot Recordings.
You can see Summer Camp showcase their new material when they play The Lexington in London on Thursday 28th of May.
Summer Camp tickets are currently available.
TAME IMPALA – ‘The Slow Rush’
Tame Impala is the incredible work of 34 year old psyche revivalist and today he drops fourth album ‘The Slow Rush’ which sees him take a more considered approach and, dare we say it, could even be considered a modern masterpiece!
The recording of their fourth album was split between session held in Los Angeles and Parker’s very own studio found in his hometown of Fremantle in Australia, and you can really feel the woozy heat of the sun permeating through the twelve tracks which he self-produced and mixed.
Check out the album cover which sees the inside of a building filled with dunes, representing the sands of time brushing away all human endeavour as the world is indifferent to our vain efforts. The cyclical nature of growth, destruction and rebirth is central to the themes found throughout ‘The Slow Rush’ and the image was conceived and captured by visionary photographer Neil Krug.
Tame Impala tickets are currently available.
BONIFACE – (Self-titled)
Diving deep into the retro 80’s aesthetic, synthwave enthusiast Boniface now released his eponymously titled debut double album which sounds remarkably accomplished for first outing. Canadian songwriter Micah Visser reveals his vulnerable side across eighteen emotionally charged yet euphorically optimistic songs.
Visser first started writing about the stories he saw in the streets of his Winnipeg hometown, initially working solo with an acoustic guitar. As his sound developed whilst working with a band, he embraced a more bombastic style as electronic instrumentation changed the sound yet the intimate nature remained
“At first, I wrote this whispery acoustic stuff, which was a great way to hone my songwriting, but when I started playing shows with a band things changed. We had a few more uptempo tracks, and I got hooked on the energy. Getting a crowd going and really going for something. Since then, I've mostly written songs that mean something to me, but will be fun to play and fun to hear live for the first time.”
Produced and engineered by Neil Comber (M.I.A., Charli XCX, Glass Animals), you can bet we will all be hearing a lot from Boniface for a long time to come.
Boniface tickets are currently available.
Beach Bunny – ‘Honeymoon’
‘Honeymoon’ is the debut album from bright young hopefuls Beach Bunny. The indie rock fourpiece recruited producer Joe Reinhart (Hop Along, Algernon Caldwaller) to record their first LP at the Electrical Audio studio found in Chicago who succeeded in putting their optimism and vigour to tape. Recalling aspects of Sleater Kinney and pairing it with the poppier side of The Cardigans,
Whilst only nine tracks long, ‘Honeymoon’ is certainly not short on charm and energy. Definitely check out swooning song ‘April’ which has all the flourish of first love, the giddy headrush of lead track ‘Promises’, the calypso cool of ‘Colourblind’ and the impassioned anthem ‘Dream Boy’.
Beach Bunny will be hitting The Pink Room at YES in Manchester on Monday 8th of June.