Juliana Hatfield - "Fall Apart"

By -

Photo by David Doobinin

Boston alt-rock legend Juliana Hatfield has a new single out from her upcoming album, and this one is going to make virtually every one of her fans delighted. "Fall Apart" captures the mood of her earlier, 90's music and combines it with her more recent, more laid back sound. It lands in this great middle ground between The Juliana Hatfield Three and Adult Contemporary. Hatfield was one of the stand-out artists during the 90's alt-rock boom, and "Fall Apart" shows why she's still one of the most beloved and respected artists decades into her career. I'll challenge anyone to hold "Fall Apart" up to any of her work from the 90's. This is truly one of her most compelling songs she's released.

Juliana Hatfield says of her latest single:

“I do make a point to say I fall apart now and then. It's not that I have fallen apart and you can never put me back together. I'm just talking about things that are real. Yes, I fall apart sometimes, but I get back on the horse. This is life.”

You can listen to "Fall Apart" below. Lightning Might Strike is due out December 12 on American Laundromat Records, and is available for pre-order here. For more on Juliana Hatfield, check out the artist's website. She'll be playing an album release show December 14 at The Burren in Somerville. You can find tickets for that show here.

On Repeat...

Minibeast - "High Sea"

By -
Image
Somehow Peter Prescott of Mission of Burma and Volcano Suns has another band that I never knew about. Minibeast already released an album that I completely missed back in 2012, and they are currently at work on the follow up, Free Will. Based on a track from the upcoming album, "High Sea," Minibeast shares some common sonic ground with Mission of Burma, but with an added emphasis on the groovy side of things. It's basically the noise and dissonance of Burma but heard through a 60s surf groove, as if Frankie and Annette were punks. You can listen to "High Sea" below. Minibeast currently have a Kickstarter to help fund the final production of Free Will. You can get more information on that here . It should be out sometime in June.
Read more

The Beths - "Mother, Pray for Me"

By -
Image
Photo by Annabel Kean For their latest single, New Zealand's The Beths have released "Mother, Pray for Me." This is a heartbreaking ballad consisting of Elizabeth Stokes' vocals and guitar with just the slightest hint of organ. It's a deeply personal song for Stokes, made obvious with how intimately the song comes across. It truly feels almost confessional, and it's quite simply beautiful. The Beths are most known for huge little indie rock gems perfect for bopping along to, but "Mother, Pray for Me" is quite the opposite. Stokes' vocals and lyrics are right up front on this one, and I can't imagine it any other way. Elizabeth Stokes says of her latest single: “I cried the whole time writing it. It's not really about my mother, it's about me — what I hope our relationship is, what I think it is, what it maybe actually is, and what I can or can't expect out of it.   “My mother is a first gen Indonesian immigrant, and very Catholic....
Read more

Midnight Peg - "Thirstland"

By -
Image
Photo by Cecil Sykes Midnight Peg are an Edmonton, AB based band that are referred to as "madhouse punk." Their latest single, "Thirstland," is a just barely under control two minute burst of punk. You have guitar riffs that will make you think of At the Drive In, and somewhat spoken and yelled vocals which create a feeling of chaos throughout. This is a loud and angry track that is completely in your face. But, unlike most tracks this loud and punk based, "Thirstland" still keeps a sense of art in their music. Midnight Peg feel like a higher class of loud, angry punk rock. This one is great, with just enough of an emo undercurrent to make the song kind of melodic and almost palatable to a mainstream audience. You can listen to "Thirstland" below. Skinning is due out in October on Thousand Island Records. For more on Midnight Peg, check out the artist's website .
Read more