One of Canada’s best kept secrets (which you may have read about here first!), which could soon change with the release of new songs, is southern Ontario trio In My Coma. The band has just unleashed a fluid lyric video for one of the most rocking songs from their enduring album Magnets And Miracles, “Lined Up Locked Away”. It’s one of their more progressive rock-meets-grunge influenced songs and is always a treat in concert. In My Coma toured across Canada in 2013 so you can bet that more’s to come, and they’ve also added some interesting cover songs (by the likes of Depeche Mode) to their sets. In the meantime vocalist/guitarist Jasper James, bassist LauraDoll, and drummer Mike Paterson are all hard at work on those new originals, and if you are in the western part of southern Ontario, you’re likely to find them at a festival in August near you. Check outtheir website“Tour” taband watch the lyric video for “Lined Up Locked Away” below.
We hadn’t heard from 21 year old Louisiana-born L.A.-based MacKenzie Bourg for a hot moment since last year’s heart-warming single “Everyone’s Got A Story”. The singer/songwriter who dazzled us with his unique underdog take on Foster The People’s “Pumped Up Kicks” in 2012 on “The Voice” has been busy working on new songs. So to whet our appetite for what’s to come, MacKenzie unleashed “Impossible Things” online. It’s a fine, empowering song about not being browbeaten and striving for the impossible. Hardly surprising considering MacKenzie battled congestive heart disease shortly before his appearance on “The Voice” – he is an inspiration. Not sure who the other artist was that recorded “Impossible Things”, but MacKenzie’s own version to me is pretty hard to beat and I hope it gets official release. Listen above.
While Jane Badler is better known as an actress whose characters you love to hate – raise your hands if you love Diana from “V” – she is developing another career as a singer of unpredictable alternative pop. From her forthcoming album Opus, the USA-born, Australia-based Jane brings us “Losing You”, a Latin-influenced smoky-jazz pop tune which may contain the best vocal yet that I’ve heard from her – and I’m a big fan of her “Yesterday’s Tomorrows” from a few years back. You could put “Losing You” somewhere between Eartha Kitt and Amy Winehouse, and like those two singers it’s largely because Jane’s voice doesn’t bring another particular singer’s voice to mind… so I’d love to have her duet with Rufus Wainwright! But I digress. The video for the song is a treat. While we’ve seen other videos use the door-to-door imagery many times before, the director draws us in regardless of how unsympathetic Jane’s character is. Does she get what she deserves in the end of her own personal hell? You decide! Beautiful costumes, unique makeup and characterizations, and a convincing story all make it work. Watch below and get “Losing You” on iTunes on August 11.
DAVE AUDE featuring ANDY BELL, “Aftermath (Here We Go)”
I was thrilled to find out this summer that Erasure is back not only on record with The Violet Flame in September, but shortly after its release, they will be touring and making a stop in my city *tickets bought*… I first saw them in 1986 and last (of five times, I think) in 2011!! So first on deck we have “Elevation” (ab0ve), a sparkling mid-tempo song which takes us back to their mid-90’s songs such as “Always” courtesy of glistening Richard X production. It’s going to sound great in concert! Next up is a US club #1 for “Aftermath (Here We Go)” (below), and if this was a radio era like 20 years ago, you’d be hearing it to death everywhere. Truly, this song has HIT written all over it and shouldn’t be overlooked. Dave Audé clearly put his Erasure inspiration hat on and gives us one of Andy’s best recent vocals (and Andy’s looking wonderfully fit in the video as ever). At times it sounds so much like Erasure that even hardcore Erasure fans wouldn’t know! The last quarter of 2014 looks to bring us great music and shows from Erasure and maybe even more songs from Andy given the success of “Aftermath”.
I must say that it was with “Killer Whales” that Smallpools caught my attention when they opened for Neon Trees last month in Toronto, so I’m glad to see it appear so soon after. Very clever these guys, incorporating an unlikely phrase as not only lyrics in their song but as the title! Smallpools is led by singer/songwriter Sean Scanlon, and “Killer Whales” is really a bright and shiny alt.pop song about trying to figure out a relationship where the girl keeps disappearing only to of course reappear. It’s the lead song from the tight and personable L.A.-based quartet’s upcoming second release, and you can get it for free by subscribing to their email list using the link below the song above. Smallpools is keeping busy on another mid-west/west USA/Canada tour with Magic Man and Panama Wedding, so make sure you get out to see them.
I’m a tad late due to vacationing in New York City but there’s plenty brewing on the new chart that’s of interest!!
Fancy That, Another New #1
It’s probably one of the more obscure songs to top my chart, but you owe it to yourself to check out “Electrify The Night” by House Rockerz, Davis Redfield and vocalist Carl Man below. It’s one energetic romp with great lyrics that will connect to the music lover and club goer inside you 🙂 Right now, I’m only aware of it being available on a European dance compilation “House Rockerz – Feiern ist wichtig! Vol. 2” released by Kontor Records.
The Rest of the Top 10
That clever, swirling Steve Smart & Wildfunk remix of “Little Me” by Little Mix finds its way to the dance-filled Top 5 at #4!
I’m hoping that the fun “This Could Be Something” by Sweden’s Anton Ewald and Denmark’s Medina finds its way to international clubs and radio, it’s too irresistible to pass up. It climbs 9 to 5 🙂 Watch the video right here! I don’t know why it can’t be made available on You Tube or Vevo…
The last chart’s fastest riser, “Time Has Come” by Finland’s Hannis, makes another big bold move 13-6, and should find itself easily in the Top 5 in two weeks.
“Good News (For People Who Love Bad News)” (below) takes Zorro Blakk & fellow vocalist Deniz Olivieri to a new peak of #7! El Zorro is also moving up the chart further down with “Big City Girls (Don’t Fall In Love With Small Town Boys)” at #18 as well!
Also new to the Top 10 are Charli XCX’s soon-to-be-seminal-summer-song “Boom Clap” at #8, and Kongos’ rollicking “Hey I Don’t Know” at #9 🙂
Movin’ On Up
UK alt.rock performer E-Mute’s intense, rocking “Miracle” climbs up a few more notches to #12!
Don’t be surprised if more songs from Adam Tyler’s deluxe edition of Shattered Ice start appearing on the chart soon! In the meantime, “Knew You Better” continues to rise up 18-13.
Sam Dickinson’s deluxe edition of The Stories That Occurred is coming soon, and just ahead of that is the classic-sounding “When You Left Me”, moving up the chart 19-14.
The fastest riser on the chart is no surprise at all, “I Believe” (27-16), the new single by Bright Light Bright Light from his album Life Is Easy. North American audiences will now be able to see Bright Light Bright Light open for Elton John on select dates 😀
We should see Simone Denny’s new album The Stereo Dynamite Sessions Volume One later in the year, but for now enjoy the change of pace for her with the torch ballad “Your Love Fades Away”, climbing 20-17. It’s available on iTunes.
Two of the three performers at #1 this week have their own collaboration jumping up 28-23 – “Music Gods” by Davis Redfield and UK singer Carl Man. This one’s available on iTunes.
New to the Chart
I’ve written about all three recently, so that’s always a good sign for songs to start appearing on the chart 🙂
Dutch producer/DJ Afrojack and American singer/songwriter (Stephen) Wrabel collaborate on “Ten Feet Tall”, bowing at #20, it’s gorgeous and affecting lyrical dance-pop which I still think you will hear soon on your local Top 40 radio station.
“No Fun” by Australian duo The Presets is more fun than a lot of songs you will hear right now. It’s got a great playful funky groove to it that’s different from the lads’ last efforts, while retaining the big stadium-like anthemic feel of many of their songs. It arrives at #21 as a single available on iTunes.
Another slice of funky business, early 80’s style, is “Stranger” by New York producer/DJ Chris Malinchak, pairing up with versatile Mikky Ekko, who has never sounded so soulful. It debuts at #22.
The full chart can be found further down the page…
Listen for My New Music Pick Of The Week onD-Moos.com!
As many of you are already aware, after many years away from the microphone, I am now pleased to be back as a voice on D-Moos.comCanada’s National Internet Radio Station, which mainly plays a selection of oldies, mostly from the 50’s to the 90’s, with soon to be more intrusions from the 2000’s and other new music.
Do listen in for my New Music Pick of the Week feature onD-Moos.com8 times per day starting at 2:05 AM EST on Mondays, and while the station is only live in the evenings from 9:00 pm to midnight (with my long-time musical partner in crime “The Musicman” James Rogers), you can hear my voice at other odd times, particularly if you’re an oldies loving night owl on the weekend overnights 🙂
The Full Chart
Listen to the songs or watch the videos using the links on the pictures on the pretty and detailed web edition of my chart.
02 01 ELECTRIFY THE NIGHT House Rockerz featuring Davis Redfield & Carl Man 01 02 TIDAL WAVE Tristan Thompson 03 03 TELL IT TO MY HEART Jason Walker featuring Bimbo Jones 06 04 LITTLE ME (Steve Smart & Wildfunk radio edit) Little Mix 09 05 THIS COULD BE SOMETHING Anton Ewald featuring Medina 13 06 TIME HAS COME Hannis 08 07 GOOD NEWS (FOR PEOPLE WHO LOVE BAD NEWS) Zorro Blakk featuring Deniz Olivieri 11 08 BOOM CLAP Charli XCX 12 09 HEY I DON’T KNOW Kongos 04 10 STAY WITH ME Sam Smith 07 11 THE DAY YOU LEFT Convulsic 14 12 MIRACLE E-Mute 18 13 KNEW YOU BETTER Adam Tyler 19 14 WHEN YOU LEFT ME Sam Dickinson 05 15 PROXY Martin Garrix 27 16 I BELIEVE Bright Light Bright Light 20 17 YOUR LOVE FADES AWAY Simone Denny 23 18 BIG CITY GIRLS (DON’T FALL IN LOVE WITH SMALL TOWN BOYS) Zorro Blakk 21 19 TRUST IT Nick Hagelin New 20 TEN FEET TALL Afrojack featuring Wrabel New 21 NO FUN The Presets New 22 STRANGER Chris Malinchak featuring Mikky Ekko 28 23 MUSIC GODS Davis Redfield featuring Carl Man 10 24 BACK HOME Andy Grammer 29 25 LOVE IN THE 21ST CENTURY Neon Trees 15 26 NOT IN THAT WAY Sam Smith 17 27 TEENAGER IN LOVE Neon Trees 22 28 ME AND MY BROKEN HEART Rixton 16 29 THIS IS DIRTY DVBBS & MOTi 26 30 SHE LOOKS SO PERFECT 5 Seconds Of Summer
Iowa born singer/songwriter Eli Lieb has created one of those songs that will become ingrained in the musical part of your being after you hear it just once. It’s “Zeppelin”, and while some people might think “why Zeppelin?”, others will think “as in Led Zeppelin?” – and then “but why is Eli Lieb singing about Led Zeppelin?” Well Eli hasn’t risen to new heights for nothing after five years of You Tube recognition, a 2011 self-titled independent album, connections with the likes of Adam Lambert and Cheyenne Jackson, and his powerful 2013 song about male romance “Young Love”. He’s zeroed in on how we sometimes relate to relationships, gay or otherwise, and that is through music and our favourite performers. In this case, his video unfolds below referencing back to great times listening to songs by Led Zeppelin. And while it seem easy to include pop culture in the lyrics, Eli convincingly makes you listen to hear how references to Led Zeppelin songs unfold. “Zeppelin” is destined to put Eli Lieb’s name into the ears of the 18-45 set in the same way that 5 Seconds Of Summer now make the younger set think of American Apparel underwear, and all you have to do is lend it your eyes and ears. It’s available on iTunes.
Somehow like others I’ve missed Melanie Martinez’s major label debut arriving on the scene. I suspect with the success of Lorde, Lana Del Rey, and Charli XCX that Melanie’s release has been overshadowed. But that’s no reason not to notice now. Her EP The Dollhouse arrived in May on Atlantic Records, and she’s one of the few contestants from “The Voice” to land on a major label. You will remember her inspired and original takes on Britney Spears’ “Toxic” and The White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army” from two years back. “Dollhouse” captures her unique style and chameleon appearance perfectly, and it’s a pretty creepy visit inside of the outwardly perfect family only to find things are hardly perfect on the inside. The video has some striking images which would work just fine at Hallowe’en. Take a look and listen, and get it on iTunes.
Following 2012’s album Pacifica and the single “Goodbye Future” from earlier this year, “No Fun” could be one of the best and most anthemic songs yet from Australian electronic music duo The Presets. The single was launched by a “cube” video – six videos all in one directed by Barnaby Roper, which you can purchase on Google Play. I have not yet seen the cube project, but it was quickly followed by a video surrounding two protagonists, stories of which are apparently part of the cube. So we have a dancer venting in the streets of L.A. while a young woman has a trippy bath, and somehow the images of the two merge. The song itself is a funk-laced club banger, an anthem that Presets fans all over the world will have vocalize at the band’s intense live shows. Let’s hope there’s more to come like this from Jules and Kim – because “No Fun” quite frankly is a whole lot of fun in my books!
I was pleased to see another video surface by the talented River Tiber (aka masterful multi-instrumentalist and videographer Tommy Paxton-Beesley). “Prophets” was initially heard on the now-unavailable free download album Synapses, one of my favourites from last year, and I’ve heard it a few times in concert too. As EP’s and singles slowly resurface of songs from that album, I think we will see it reissued or reshaped for release later in the year. In any case, the video for “Prophets” is definitely a weird dreamscape of images which could all be connected to each other, or mean something important, as the title characters of the song might imply. The repeated images glide along with the variety of electronic movements within the song, and though the video gets to be a bit much towards the end of “Prophets”, it’s certainly memorable. Get it on iTunes (I’ve also read that a 7″ vinyl might be forthcoming).
BILLCSMUSIC BLOG 
You must be logged in to post a comment.