On paper, Angèle, Snõõper, and mary in the junkyard don’t have too much in common. But whether it’s Angèle’s dancefloor-ready team-up with Caroline Polachek and SebastiAn, Snõõper’s relentless rhythms, or mary in the junkyard’s menstrual ballad, each song will have you hitting repeat, whatever mood you’re in.
Angèle with Caroline Polachek & SebastiAn “Love Triangle”
“Love Triangle” or not, Angèle, Caroline Polachek, and SebastiAn have great chemistry on their new club-ready single off the Belgian singer-songwriter’s upcoming album, INSTINCT, out Oct. 16 via GGL Records / Sony Music.
The features are enough clues to show what direction Angèle is taking. By taking Caroline Polachek, one of pop music’s leading alternative voices, and SebastiAn, a fixture of the electronic music scene, listeners are being roped into the club. But it’s also about the “drama” behind the single’s title.
“This song first came from a conversation I overheard at a dinner in Brussels. Some friends were debating the particularities of a love triangle, and I remember being completely captivated by their stories. I wrote ‘Love Triangle’ down on a little piece of paper under the table.”
The blaring synth and sinister bass feel more like a warning than an invitation to dance. But the resulting beat is the sort of thing best reserved for a catwalk. While it remains Angèle’s song, it makes perfect sense why such unorthodox production attracted Polachek.
At the same time, she adapts to the energy, complementing Angèle’s vocal style as the two morph into each other when that emergency signal-esque synth returns at the halfway mark. Whether using “Love Triangle” to get feet moving on the dance floor or out the door, the single succeeds on both fronts.
Listen to “Love Triangle” the new single from Angèle.
Snõõper “Mouth Closed”
Contrary to the title, Nashville band Snõõper aren’t keeping their “Mouth Closed” on the new single ahead of a US tour. While they’ve already made the transition into making major studio albums, the original ingredients for their early success–high-intensity singles for the sweatiest of punk gigs–remain ever present.
So it’s no surprise that “Mouth Closed” is the epitome of not caring and saying it like it is. Starting with a driving guitar that operates at the same speed as the drum machine, the distorted vocals feel almost inevitable the way they add to the wall of sound–and not in a Ronettes way.
Instead, “Mouth Closed” is a cheese grater of a song in the best way possible, taking a thumping rhythm so relentless it wouldn’t be a surprise if Snõõper made it solely to ruin seedy basement floors.
And when the last minute turns things up to an 11, with the track nearly collapsing under its own weight, it leaves you wondering how you’ll keep up during a live show.
Listen to “Mouth Closed” the new single from Snõõper.
mary in the junkyard “Jane”
Not long after dropping their debut album, Role Model Hermit, earlier this year via AMF Records, mary in the junkyard is giving fans another treat ahead of their upcoming tour with their new song “Jane.”
You wouldn’t be wrong to think the band pulled all the stops for Role Model Hermit. But “Jane” is as focused as that album’s tracklist, processing their emotions through a ballad.
About the song, the band said, “It is about my period (Jane) who is annoying and too honest. You might find it satisfying if you have those circumstances.”
From the start, the gentle guitar sets up lead singer Clari Freeman-Taylor’s vocals, which carry a mix of emotions ranging from fed up to longing. At the same time, the strings add weight to each word, cutting through any ambiguity a listener might have about the song’s meaning and allowing them to take in the lyrics.
And there is no shortage of devastating lines, including but not limited to “It’s hard to be a woman, is it harder to be here?” and “It’s a busy city with no one to come and get me.”
Listen to “Jane” the new single from mary in the junkyard.
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