HotWax - "Wanna Be a Doll"

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Photo by Louise Mason

Hailing from the UK, the latest from HotWax is kind of a glorious mess. "Wanna Be a Doll" is wonderfully noisy. At times the vocals are almost drowned out by the music. It's dissonant throughout, but it's also incredibly poppy and catchy. The guitars are crunchy and have a ton of feedback through nearly the entire song. There's also some unexpected twang at times. It's reminding me of a combination of early, more lo-fi Veruca Salt meets later, more pop-focused Veruca Salt. Despite all of the noise, "Wanna Be a Doll" has some fantastic harmonies and melodies. 

Tallulah Sim-Savage says of her band's single:

“This is the first song we wrote for the album and we re-wrote it in so many different ways. And it ended up pretty similar to the first version, which seems to be how it goes. It’s a song where I am writing about myself from someone else’s point of view, being self aware of my bad, sometimes destructive, traits.”

You can watch the video for "Wanna Be a Doll" below. Hot Shock is due out March 7 on Marathon Artists, and is available for pre-order here. For more on HotWax, check out the band's website. Upcoming tour dates are below the video.


Mar 3 - Music’s Not Dead, De La Warr Pavilion +

Mar 7 - Resident Brighton +

Mar 8 - Rough Trade Nottingham (Midday) +

Mar 8 - Rough Trade Liverpool (Evening) +

Mar 9 - Rough Trade Bristol +

Mar 10 - Vinyl Whistle Leeds +

Mar 11 - Rough Trade East +

Mar 12 - Vinilo Southampton +

Mar 13 - Truck Oxford +

May 31 - Temple Newsam Park, Leeds - Kaiser Chiefs All Dayer

On Repeat...

Liam Kazar - "Shoes Too Tight"

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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. ...
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The Freqs - "Witch"

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Photo via Facebook When you're a rock band from Salem, MA, you have to have at least one song about witchcraft. The Freqs have fulfilled their obligation with a banger of a song. "Witch" is this giant monster of a song, filled with fuzz and strained, screaming vocals. This is the type of song that doesn't usually exist in this century. It's giving me some serious 90's flashbacks, like if Hum got aggressive or Alice in Chains decided to do some damage on the college charts. As great as the vocals are in "Witch," what's really drawing me in is the instrumental break down that takes over about halfway through. This is the kind of song to make the hipsters and the headbangers equally excited. You can listen to "Witch" below. For more on The Freqs, check out the band on Facebook and Instagram . The Freqs · Witch
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Dutch ReBelle - "GOONIEZ"

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How is Dutch ReBelle not a national superstar at this point? The Boston MC just released "GOONIEZ," and I know I'm a bit out of touch with current mainstream hip hop, but this song is absolutely killer. It's a stripped down hip hop song that has this futuristic space age sound to it. Plus, ReBelle's flow is unsurpassed. You can't listen to her and not be completely sucked in. The song has a feel reminiscent of classic Missy Elliott. As much as I love that we can still see Dutch ReBelle in smaller Boston venues, "GOONIEZ" proves she should be playing much larger venues nationwide very, very soon. You can watch the video for "GOONIEZ" below. For more on Dutch ReBelle, check out the artist's website . 
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