Fenne Lily has relocated from the UK to New York, and her upcoming album was written over the course of a relationship. The first single off that album, "Lights Light Up," was written during the better part of a relationship but recorded after the relationship ended. It gives the song this odd melancholy that you normally don't get in a love song. Fenne Lily has created a song that is a lovely and insightful singer/songwriter track. It's mostly straightforward and mainstream, but Lily gives it this unique quality with these quiet and kinda sorta twangy guitar licks over her intimately sung vocals. We've been fans of hers for a while, but something feels special about this particular release.
Fenne Lily says of her new single:
“I’d never really written about love in the present tense before this, but even though I was still in love and not thinking about the end, there was something else going on subconsciously that led to a song about moving on before the moving on had begun. When it came time to record, the band and I had been playing it live for a while and it’d become something joyful and positive, but when I started recording vocals, the lyrics made me cry. By that point the song was over a year old and I thought those wounds had healed but I guess it hurt to admit I’d been letting go of something while still trying to hold on."
You can watch the video for "Lights Light Up" below. Big Picture is due out April 14 on Dead Oceans. The album can be pre-ordered here. For more on Fenne Lily, check out the artist's website. Upcoming tour dates are below the video.
Sat. Apr. 15 - Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club Sun. Apr. 16 - Dublin, IE @ Workman’s Club Tue. Apr. 18 - Glasgow, UK @ St Luke’s Wed. Apr. 19 - Manchester, UK @ YES Thu. Apr. 20 - London, UK @ Islington Assembly Hall Fri. Apr. 21 - Bristol, UK @ Trinity Sun. Apr. 23 - Brighton, UK @ Patterns Mon. Apr. 24 - Brussels, BE @ AB Club Tue. Apr. 25 - Amsterdam, NL @ Bitterzoet Thu. Apr. 27 - Hamburg, DE @ Nochtspeicher Fri. Apr. 28 - Copenhagen, DK @ VEGA Ideal Bar Sat. Apr. 29 - Berlin, DE @ Frannz Mon. May 1 - Munich, DE @ Ampere Tue. May 2 - Cologne, DE @ Stadtgarten Wed. May 3 - Paris, FR @ FMR Thu. May 11 - Santa Ana, CA @ Constellation Room * Fri. May 12 - Felton, CA @ Felton Music Hall * Sat. May 13 - San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall * Mon. May 15 - Seattle, WA @ Neumos * Tue. May 16 - Portland, Oregon @ Aladdin Theater * Wed. May 17 - Vancouver, BC @ Hollywood Theatre * Fri. May 19 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court * Sat. May 20 - Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater * Mon. May 22 - Lawrence, KS @ The Bottleneck * Tue. May 23 - Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line * Wed. May 24- Milwaukee, WI @ Back Room at Colectivo Coffee * Thu. May 25 - Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall * Fri. May 26 - Kalamazoo, MI @ Bell’s Eccentric Cafe * Sat. May 27 - Toronto, ON @ The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern * Tue. May 30 - Portsmouth, NH @ 3S Artspace * Wed. May 31 - Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair * Fri. Jun. 2 - Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg * Sat. Jun. 3 - Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer * Sun. Jun. 4 - Washington, DC @ Black Cat * Mon. Jun. 5 - Durham, NC @ Motorco Music Hall * Tue. Jun. 6 - Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West * Wed. Jun. 7 - Nashville, TN @ The Basement East * Fri. Jun. 9 - Fayetteville, AR @ George’s Majestic Lounge * Sat. Jun. 10 - Fort Worth, TX @ Tulips * Sun. Jun. 11 - Austin, TX @ The Parish * Tue. Jun. 13 - Santa Fe, NM @ Meow Wolf * Thu. Jun. 15 - Phoenix, AZ @ Rebel Lounge * Fri. Jun. 16 - West Hollywood, CA @ Troubadour * * = co-headline with Christian Lee Hutson
Photo by Alexa Viscius This may be Liam Kazar's debut single, but the Chicago based musician already has an impressive resume, having worked with Jeff Tweedy, Chance the Rapper, Steve Gunn, Daniel Johnston, and others. "Shoes Too Tight" features childhood friend Spencer Tweedy on drums, Lane Beckstrom on bass, and Ohmme on vocals. It's an absurdly fun and groovy little song that is a party waiting to happen. What he gives us here is a timeless song that could truly have been released any time since the 1960's (ok... maybe not the 80's...) There are elements of classic rock, 60's crooners and R&B, indie rock, modern Americana... it's really just packed with everything in a cohesive song that maintains the vibe the entire way through. You can watch the video for "Shoes Too Tight" below. For more on Liam Kazar, check him out on Instagram and Twitter . He's also raising money on his Bandcamp for Constellation and The Hungry Brain. ...
Photo by Joanna Chattman I've been referring to Northampton, MA based Izzy Heltai's music as mainstream modern folk with just enough of a unique spin to keep it appealing to music snobs, too. His latest single, "Father," might be the perfect example of that. It's a quiet, deeply personal song that starts off painfully sparse but ever so slowly builds and builds as it goes on. It walks that line between accessible/mainstream and indie expertly. You can watch the video for "Father" below. Father , the upcoming debut album from Izzy Heltai, will be out October 9. You can pre-order a copy here . For more on Izzy Heltai, check out the artist's website .
Photo via Instagram Any time J Mascis releases new music will always be a big deal at If It's Too Loud... November will see the release of Elastic Days , his new solo album. Judging by the first single, "See You At the Movies," Elastic Days will be exactly what we expect and want in a Mascis solo album. The first single is much prettier than Dinosaur Jr is. Mascis's solo work tends to be calmer and almost folky. "See You At the Movies" is exactly that, and is even almost orchestral in some places. You add in some of Mascis's guitar solos (a more tame version than Dino Jr's thunderous ones), and you've got a classic Mascis solo track. It's a typically great song, but at this point I'd like to see Mascis mix things up a bit. You can listen to "See You At the Movies" below. Elastic Days will be out November 9 on Sub Pop Records. There are some pretty reasonable pre-order bundles available, including a CD and t-shirt for $24....
