Stream: Stale Heart - Neon Coast

Stale Heart is the new single from Neon Coast, real name Travis Crawford, and it’s a belter in the vein of Springsteen - the sound of an aching heart plodding on tired legs towards an unknown destination with just enough hope to continue.

There is a steady rim shot that feels like the momentum of those plodding legs, the thing that keeps us going. Layers of guitar create our gutfull of hope and eventually the vocals tentatively soar, reaching for the stars. It’s like our tired old legs and worn out heart can’t really keep us down... They never could, not when there are people in the world who can make things feel right.

Stale Heart is about the period following a break-up, when it can be hard to feel things, and the need to push against that:

“If you’ve loved someone and it ends, the time after it’s over can often be characterized by a lack of emotion and ability to connect to other people. Sometimes with those really deep connections, that period can last for years.

“To not be able to return to that place of emotion and feeling can be a frustrating experience, which ironically is a powerful emotion itself. This song is about that struggle; the process of trying to crawl out of that hole to find closure and come to terms with your situation.”

This song captures that struggle so perfectly. I still feel. I’m still here with my beating heart.

Stream: Abinger - West Parade

West Parade is West London producer Charlie Chipchase and the focus here is on combining warm electronics with glitchy, shuffling rhythms and a subdued pop feel.

Abinger was initially created the morning after a house party whilst Charlie was studying in Manchester - he deliberately chose that moment because he liked the way his voice sounded in that tired and hungover state.

But Abinger sat on the shelf when other things in his life took over. It was only later, when he decided to make songwriting a focus, that Charlie ended up coming back to Abinger to finish it.

This is Chipchase’s first release as West Parade and he chose Abinger as it felt like a suitable bridge between his past, student days and the future he is pursuing as a producer. There is a lovely downtrodden feel to this, capturing the emotionally vulnerable but tired feeling of the morning after the night before. The vocals feel like the half remembered memories of what happened the night before, and the music cautiously ramps to an funk fuelled conclusion. It’s a little tentatively optimistic, and I love the mood captured here.

Video: Love Fast Die Young (Live) - FAANGS

I hadn’t listened to Love Fast Die Young by FAANGS before being sent this video of a live studio rendition, and I have to say it stopped me in my tracks. The original is a powerful piece of melancholic pop music - this live version strips it back and really shows you how great the song is.

The beauty here is in the simplicity of it all. The camera circles the two performers as they both give this their all, and yet whilst the vocal is belted out like it has come straight from the heart there is a remarkable level of restraint to the whole thing.

Check it out below:

Stream: Far - Komplement

Far is the new release from duo Komplement, who focus on crafting music through sensitively layered electronic production.

Komplement originally started as two solo artists - multi-instrumentalist De Rien and singer-songwriter Head Under Water. Having met last year and collatorated on a single Soar, they began playing live shows and DJ sets in Germany and further afield. Working together De Rien is able to create the underlying groove behind their music, providing the bass and percussion, whilst Head Under Water creates the melodic centre of the music through chords and vocals. Talking about their style and approach, Komplement highlight that their music isn’t just about the words and lyrics, but the way the songs come together:

“Our storytelling is just as much a matter of the right synthesizer at the right time, as it is about a word, it’s pitch, the evocation of context.”

Far is a considered and artfully constructed piece of music. With emotive vocals combining with gently deconstructed rhythms and synths, the song makes good use of space. Indeed the duo make references to sparsity and creating space in their description of the song:

“If this song were a shot in a film, it would be a scene where the actor simply moves out of the screen, disappearing, and leaving the camera still filming.”

I can feel that mood coming through here - loneliness, determination and vulnerability.

Video: Hospice - Moscow Youth Cult

London duo Moscow Youth Cult have just released their latest single Hospice in anticipation of their forthcoming second album, Brutalist, and it’s a wonderfully intense piece of industrial pop.

In a story that feels a little perfect for their sound, duo Jon Dix and Dan O’Donnell-Smith formed Moscow Youth Cult after they collaborated on an electronic sound installation to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Elite for GameCity, Europe’s biggest video games cultural festival.

With a sound that is suitably modernist given their background, Moscow Youth Cult combined driving electronic synth noise with ethereal vocals. As a result Hospice sounds both violent and innocent. There is a little bit of a Health and Crystal Castles sound here, but Hospice shows MYC have something unique to offer in the way it builds to a climax that feels overlwhelming, in a good way.

Check out Hospice below.