Low Detail – Pôrto Alegre

Just like importmedia, Low Detail is a Venezuelan lo-fi music producer who happens to be friends with fellow countryman Blure. I also discovered his music when I wrote about Blure back in September. He started releasing music since 2020 and according to his songs’ credits on Spotify, his full name is Manuel Espinel. That’s about all the personal information that you will be able to find about him online. He lets his music speak for itself.

The picture above is the cover art from Low Detail’s EP, Sunny Days, one of the many releases he made in 2020. My favorite track from it is Pôrto Alegre, a charming track whose only drawback is that it is too short. That’s not a big deal though, as the problem can be easily solved by playing this great tune on repeat. Alternatively, you could simply continue with the rest of Low Detail’s musical catalogue. Totally worth it.

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The Jobs – The Sunrise Over The Hill

The Sunrise Over The Hill is my favourite track from The Jobs‘ new EP: Sailing Upon The Thames, which is on itself a really good album. In case you are wondering who they are, we are talking about an alternative rock band from Cleveland, Ohio that should definitely be on your radar. They started when its two primary songwriters, Trevor Meyer and Thomas Heun, who played on competing bands in high school, decided to join efforts after college. Drawing inspiration from all around the world and adding tones of punk, emo and surf rock to their alt-rock base, they deliver outstanding music with their own distinctive style.

What I love about The Sunrise Over The Hill in particular is, quite simply, its magnetic melody. However, the band added enough rhythmic changes to keep it interesting from beginning to end. The hook-ridden song got the whole package including quality lyrics. See it by yourself below.

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Republica – Ready To Go

While doing some research for yesterday’s post, I got reminded of this classic from the 90s. Ready To Go was an international hit in 1997 (even though it was originally released in 1996) and it is by far the most well-known song from the English band Republica. I can’t say I know much about them, but according to Wikipedia (which of course is always right), they were formed in 1994 and are still active despite releasing their only two albums before the new millennium (they’ve released some compilations afterwards). As an interesting piece of trivia, Saffron, their lead singer, was born in Nigeria.

Anyway, enjoy this week’s #ThrowbackThursday entry!

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Creature Fear – Big Summer Eyes

While they have been together as a band for at least 3 or 4 years, 2020 was the year Creature Fear, a five-piece indie rock band from Australia, started to break out in their home country. They’re about to release their debut EP this year, from which they have released three singles already. All of them are really nice but whereas the first two were more upbeat and closer to the band’s 60s rock influence; their latest single, Big Summer Eyes, is more intimate with a soft acoustic intro that showcases the gorgeous voice of lead singer Jacqui Lumsden. It is not, however, an acoustic track from start to finish. The full band joins the party soon enough.

A song about hope during the darkest times, it surely brings a ray of light to our lives during covid times. Creature Fear is just another example of the really talented artists coming out from Down Under. Check them out as I’m sure you won’t regret it.

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Nathan Mac – The Boy Who Learned To Fly

Nathan Mac is a cinematic pop artist from Ireland who is in the midst of releasing his debut album, Start of Something Blue, one song at a time. With a background in circus performance and stagecraft, and getting inspiration from sources such as Pixar, Studio Ghibli, and Kingdom Hearts (a videogame series), it isn’t surprising that one of his latest releases, The Boy Who Learned To Fly, feels like a song straight out of a movie from them. It is a beautiful and delicate tune about a child who sees his father cry for the first time. Based on Nathan’s relationship with his own father, the track tell us that it is OK to show vulnerability even when we are grown ups.

Without a doubt, Nathan Mac is a creative force that we won’t want to keep out of sight. We won’t wan to miss what he comes up with.

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Diarmuid J Kennedy, sølstrek – Chase A Loss

You may remember Diarmuid J Kennedy from when he was featured here back in September. If that’s the case, you will be happy to hear that he’s back with another beautiful piece called Chase A Loss. This time, he partnered with fellow Irish musician Sinead Hayes, aka sølstrek, who plays the mesmerizing violin part on this piece. A match made in heaven.

This stunning track feels to me like the soundtrack to a beautiful old movie. Call me crazy but I think it got a similar vibe to the Love Theme from Cinema Paradiso, composed by the late legend Ennio Morricone. At the very least, it could be your soundtrack to a perfectly fine Sunday evening. Sit bax, relax, and enjoy!

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Seafei – Mountains

Seafei is a musician and producer from Ohio who lives in Singapore. Naturally, this mix of Western and Eastern cultures get reflected in his work, resulting in ambient and electronic tracks that don’t sound like your typical chill-out tunes. Mountains, his latest single, is a great example of that. It is low-tempo Western electronic music that manages to transport you to the Himalayas at least for a couple of minutes.

By all means, check Seafei‘s engaging music out. He got the talent, creativity and skills to become a renowned name within the genre.

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Foo Fighters – Waiting On A War

Today was one of those days with meetings back-to-back non-stop, which is something that drains my energy levels. For that reason, I’m going to feature today a great band that everybody is aware of. There isn’t much I can tell you about the Foo Fighters you don’t already know.

They’re about to release a new album soon and have dropped 3 song so far, with the latest one being Waiting On A War, released last week. If you haven’t heard it already, do so now. It rocks. I hadn’t liked a new song from the Foo Fighters this much since Walk from 2011’s Wasting Light, so I’m not a diehard fan who will simply love everything Dave Grohl and company do. Believe me when I say that I think this new track is stunning. I love everything about it, from its lyrics (inspired by Grohl’s daughter) to the intro with the soft guitar strums and the strings to its amazing in crescendo finish.

There’s got to be more to this than that!

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FancyNormal – Sober Spaceman

Sober Spaceman is the second single from Australian synth-pop duo FancyNormal. It sounds like the 96th single from a seasoned altpop veteran. The tune is catchy as hell, the production is top-notch and the vocals are simply perfect for this kind of music. In fact, the intro reminded me a bit of “Already Gone” from Kelly Clarkson (co-written by Ryan Tedder from OneRepublic). Lyrically, the song is about conquering fear and living your life to its fullest. I’m telling you, I can’t find a fault on this song.

Influenced by Carly Rae Japsen and MGMT, the duo started during the pandemic and is formed by Noni, the lead singer and who is originally from Indonesia, and Jules, who plays most instruments and is in charge of the smooth production. Together, they are trying to create colorful music at a time when the world really needs it. If you give FancyNormal a chance, it will be easy for you to see they are succeeding at that. This is picture perfect indie pop music.

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The Trusted – Criminals

The first time I listened to Criminals, the latest single from British band The Trusted, it immediately reminded me of some pretty good alternative rock bands from the 2000s, like Vega4 and Carolina Liar (bands that you definitely should check out if they don’t ring a bell to you). This act from Southend-on-Sea started out of secondary school around 2017, when the band members bonded over their admiration of melodic and atmospheric pop-rock. It’s no wonder then that they’ve managed to craft such a great song like Criminals.

Mixed by Grammy nominated Andy Bradfield (Elbow, David Gray), Criminals features hypnotic synth-strings and guitar loops that complement very well the smooth vocals of Tom Cunningham. Sad, honest and beautifully uplifting are adjectives that The Trusted use to describe the track, and they are spot on. The band have garnered acclaim from several magazines and publications and got a strong following in Italy after two successful tours. After listening to Criminals, it’s easy to see why.

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