Happy New Year mother hubbards!! TOTW is back with a bang. 2024 is shaping up to be a ball bouncingly brilliant year. Lots of releases in the pipeline so lots of singles and tracks to stuff into your ear ‘oles.
Check these face slappers to bring you into the new year with a b-b-b-bang.
Slift – Weaver’s Weft
Why we love it: Because what better way is there to launch this year’s Tracks of the Week than with a huge slab of cosmic noise that clocks in at just under 10 minutes in length? Fresh from their appearance in the final TOTW in 2023, the French cosmonauts Slift are back again, this time with ‘Weaver’s Weft’, the third and final pre-release single from their upcoming Sub Pop debut album, ILION.
The band shares this about the song: “‘Weavers’ Weft’ is the song that opens the album’s second half. There was a tipping point in the narrative at the end of the first half of the album. The second half of the record is no longer situated in the linear flow of time that serves as a backdrop for many stories. From ‘Weavers’ Weft’ onwards, time goes both into the past and into the future. The piece talks about weavers of the fabric of time, entities who continually create space-times, each containing its share of universes. Everything that exists is written there, and it is possible to travel between frames. Everything is cyclical and infinite. To illustrate this (or maybe it’s the other way around?), we wanted something monolithic and timeless. It is as if this song has been sung for millennia (time goes back to the past!). The heavier parts are inspired by bands like Part Chimp and Gnod.”
In short, it’s a wonderful example of heavy-duty space rock. (Simon Godley)
The Baby Seals – Mild Misogynist
Why we love it: Oh boy it’s good to have The Baby Seals back. The Cambridgeshire based punk trio have released new single ‘Mild Misogynist’, the first to be taken from their debut album Chaos which is set for release on 19 April on their own label Trapped Animal. In fact it’s been one heck of a news week with the band announcing their signing to label mate’s Grrrl Gang’s Indonesian label, Green Island Music for Asia / Pacific plus Big Romantic Records for Japan & Taiwan and the band plus they have also signed to Wipe Out Music Publishing, home of DIY legends such as Pigsx7 and JOHN!
The three-piece share the following on the new single: “Misogyny. Still a thing! As with all our songs, we sing from our own personal experiences, yet these experiences are pretty universal. Undoubtedly, many people can relate to this song in terms of situations in which they’ve felt vulnerable or threatened, verbally or physically, from people you hoped were your allies.”
The Baby Seals are not shy to make their point. Enveloped in a glorious garage punk aesthetic they are clear and to the point, with a scuzzy guitar leading the way. Forthright and driven, however there is a lightness to The Baby Seals. ‘Mild Misogynist’ is a return to the fray of the business of making music, and it sounds good. Fresh and yet with that slight edge. The vocals are playful, but only up to a point. The passion ramps up as the track progresses. Do not be fooled, The Baby Seals mean business. Welcome Back. (Julia Mason)
Lucy McWilliams – Follow Me
Why we love it: Because with ‘Follow Me’, Lucy McWilliams invites us to find our way out of the festive period and into a bright new year. With its delicate ethereal vibe, the latest track to come from this emerging Irish alt-pop artist is a most perfect introduction to 2024. After last year’s impressive singles ‘Slow Dancing’ and ‘Plastic’, McWilliams’ digs even deeper into her songcraft and this time round produces a really delightful, translucent tune that brims with relaxed confidence.
Speaking about the track she explains, “’Follow Me’ at its core is just a straightforward love song. It’s about being excited about someone, and feeling all the possibilities of the world in that person. At a time, that was a different kind of love that I hadn’t experienced. I think it’s a weird feeling, going through different relationships, but never really feeling loved. But then stumbling upon someone and within a small window of time, suddenly feeling at ease.” (Simon Godley)
Library Card – Well, Actually
Why we love it: Dutch outfit Library Card have released their new single ‘Well, Actually’. The band state it is their own “love letter to the patriarchy”. It’s a twitchy, sarcastic, abrasive track which begins with anxiety fuelled guitars. The lyrics are beguiling. Immediately impactful. I suspect vocalist Lot van Teylingen has experienced such condescending behaviour. The building frustration is so good on the ear. The vocals are spoken but it works brilliantly here. The soundscape builds, increasing the intensity until the final “I’m done”.
Speaking on the release of new single ‘Well, Actually’, the band said: “This is our love letter to the patriarchy. One must view ‘Well, Actually’ as a friendly yet firm reminder of what unsolicited advice not to give to a band that’s fresh off the stage, often fuelled by mansplaining or perpetuated by heteronormative norms. We are perfectly capable of asking for it ourselves when in need.“
With the promise of a debut EP which will “restlessly fluctuate from angular post-punk to beguiling post-rock and fast-paced garage”, the release of Nothing, Interesting, produced and mixed by Daan Duurland (Personal Trainer) alongside a number of festivals already announced, I have no doubt Library Card will have made a ton of new fans by the end of the year. (Julia Mason)
Solar Eyes – Let’s Run Away
Why we love it: Because the new single from Solar Eyes readily conveys a sonic world in motion. ‘Let’s Run Away’ heralds the arrival of Solar Eyes’ self-titled debut album which is due for release on 16 February via the Fierce Panda label.
The Birmingham duo of Glenn Smyth and Sebastian Maynard Francis formed Solar Eyes in 2021 and have since built up a considerable head of steam through a cracking run of singles plus three great EPs – ‘Dreaming Of The Moon’,‘Alcatraz’ and ‘Naked Monkey On A Spaceship’ – alongside some notable appearances at SXSW and The Great Escape festivals. To suggest their first album is eagerly awaited would go down as chronic understatement.
Talking about the new single, Solar Eyes say: “‘Let’s Run Away’ was one of the last songs to be written on the album, it was written in Texas last March when we were out there playing south by. You can sort of hear it as well, there’s that Americana haze type sound. Spaghetti western vibe. I sort of had in my head – now this might sound a bit mad – Tracey Chapman ‘Fast Car’ – in essence. But with a brummie slant. A Bonnie and Clyde type thing.”
It certainly has that escapist, find the cost of freedom thing going down, an essence that is wonderfully magnified by the accompanying video which was created by the Solar Eyes bassist Emily Doyle. (Simon Godley)
C Turtle – Shake It Down
Why we love it: Lo-fi indie rock quartet C Turtle return with new single ‘Shake It Down’ from their new album, Expensive Thrills, which is set for release on 8 March on Blitzcat Records. What a fun track this is. It may start calmly enough before the grungy guitar kicks in. The deadpan delivery of Mimi McVeigh combines with the manic vibe of Cole Flynn Quirke. The guitars are twitchy and unpredictable, dipping in and out at random during the verses. The chorus is utter mayhem, and is just an absolute riot. The lyrics are tongue-in-cheek, my favourite being “everybody move your hips” said in a monotone.
Quirke says of the track: “A big influence to C Turtle is early Beck. Albums like Stereopathic Soulmanure and Mellow Gold which use genre bending to merge hip-hop notions with indie rock have always been really interesting to me so I wanted to try and structure something in a similar way.
My first band Honey Creeper did this sort of thing all the time but we rarely could get our live sound to match the recordings but with ‘Shake it Down’ I think we’ve achieved this. So I see it as kind of a rap song! The lyrics I wrote for it were actually intended for a separate project but when we tried them out on this they worked perfectly. We got Mimiko to sing this one because she pulls off the rapping better than I could.” (Julia Mason)
Beans – Calling
Why we love it: Because ‘Calling’ is taken from the Melbourne garage-psych band Beans‘ third album Boots N Cats, which is out 1st March 2024 on Fuzz Club and that in itself is a good enough cause for celebration.
Beans’ frontman Matt Blach says: “‘Calling’ is about that period of Covid time where everyone, including myself, felt like they were going insane. When people were being really sensitive and reactive, calling people out over pure boredom – obviously sometimes worthy, sometimes far-fetched.”
With its repetitive groove, and hypnotically somnambulant sound, ‘Calling’ most certainly captures the essence of that difficult time in our lives and many of the feelings of isolation and frustration that we all experienced. (Simon Godley)
Pissed Jeans – Moving On
Why we love it: Because whilst you wouldn’t necessarily recommend wearing a pair on a night out, listening to the new single from Pissed Jeans is a far more enjoyable experience. ‘Moving On’ is the lead track from Half Divorced, the sixth album from the American hardcore punk band from Allentown, Pennsylvania which is scheduled for release on the 1st of March via Sub Pop.
Half Divorced will be Pissed Jeans’ first album in seven years – the follow-up to 2017’s Why Love Now – and ‘Moving On’ quickly confirms that the intervening period has not diluted any of the quartet’s unbridled power and aggression. Yet to that bludgeoning filth and fury, Pissed Jeans have brought an unquestionably softer touch. Here, throttling compulsion and an undeniable lightness of being make for a winning combination. (Simon Godley)
