Hey girls. Ever wish your guy would be more expressive with his feelings, or affectionate in public? This cute, catchy little jam from L.A.'s Saint Motel is for you. The indie pop group has been around since 2009, but so far lacks a breakout hit. "Cold Cold Man" seems likely to change that. I give it a month before it features in some commercial or another.
This track by Oxford's A Silent Film is the first in a series of alternative singles we will be featuring this week. The band's music is in the style of Coldplay, Snow Patrol, and the Killers. Their third and eponymous album is due in October, produced by the band's own Robert Stevenson and Spencer Walker, with assistance from Matthew Wilcox (Foster the People).
For all of its harmonica rifs and dance beats, however, this collection falls a little flat. The songs "Lonely" and "Marry Well" come closest to recapturing the magic of her debut, but still miss the mark. Although they share many of the same elements as earlier gems like "Put the Gun Down" and "Move Like U Stole It," those elements don't click together in quite the same way -- the hooks are less engaging, the blend of genres less smooth.
The former Soundgarden and Audioslave frontman has a new solo album scheduled for release on September 18 from Universal Music Group. "Nearly Forgot My Broken Heart" is the powerful acoustic lead single for the set, a nice homecoming following Cornell's most recent Timbaland-produced solo work on 2009's Scream. The album will be entitled Higher Ground, and was produced by longtime collaborator and grunge producer Brendan O'Brien.
Oh Wonder are a London-based songwriting duo that has been releasing a track a month for the past year. Their eponymous debut album was released this week, of which "Livewire" is the romantic opening track.
On the opening track of her debut album, Halsey appears to acknowledge some of this hype. "I'm heading straight for the castle, they want to make me their queen" she sings, noting that "now my neck is open wide, begging for a first around it." She's "sick" and "tired" of the attention already, as well as those who would try to control her. On "Hold Me Down," she sings about selling "her soul to a three-piece" who "told her she was holy," but refers to the demons inside herself as the real danger. These tracks suggest a girl struggling to adapt to a new environment, or rather, to keep from losing herself in the process.
Troy Sivan's bio is a little all over the place. He's a South-African born Australian actor, singer, and Youtuber. X-Men fans may recognize him as young James Howlett in the 2009 X-Men Origins: Wolverine film. His first major label EP, TRXYE, peaked at #5 on the Billboard 200 about a year ago. "WILD" is a track from his follow-up EP, also entitled WILD. It's a smooth little indie pop / electronic jam perfect for a warm September night.
