New Music Friday – 12/3/21

Happy Friday! The weekend has finally arrived! It’s that time of the week again and our favourite day for music: #NewMusicFriday. Week two is below and we are excited to see so many Irish artists releasing music this week alongside our International friends! So, without further ado, let’s dive right into it!

If you’re someone who likes to head straight to the playlist click here.

Weapon – Against the Current

First up this week, we have the fantastic band that is Against The Current with their new single ‘Weapon’. If you are not familiar with Against The Current, they are a pop-rock band based in New York. They began their music journey back in 2011 and have grown from strength to strength with each release. ‘Weapon’ was released to the world on Wednesday March 10th with the music video dropping too. It has also quickly carved out a spot in my top 5 favourite Against The Current songs to date!

If I Didn’t Have You – BANNERS

BANNERS’ ‘If I Didn’t Have You’ is a song that is both upbeat and emotional. The song is trying to imagine life without someone so very important, knowing that you made a mistake letting that particular person go and realizing that this is the person you needed all along. The very person who helps you survive. The image of a house crumbling is life without the person this song was written about. It really is a gorgeous track both lyrically and sonically from BANNERS who seem to be able to deliver every time.

Over It – Bella Renee

The first artist on our list that we found thanks to Instagram is Bella Renee. Her new single ‘Over It’ came out today! Bella is from Arizona and only started releasing music last year! Her music is bluntly honest and captivates her audience from her emotion and lyrics. Bella truly is a star that is only beginning to shine bright! She is only going to get bigger and more well known from here! With a number of personal things happening in the past year, us here at Our Muchness Guide didn’t know we needed this song in our life until we finished listening to it for the first time! If you were to look up one new Artist today make sure you check out Bella Renee’s music.

Learning to Cope with Nihilism – Bleak Soul

Bleak Soul is the solo project of Benjamin Langford-Bliss, a UK Artist. You may know him from his eight years with his former band As It Is. His music journey since 2020 has opened up fans to another side of Ben’s creativity. His songs cover tough topics and questions; making fans reflect on their own lives and not just on what Ben’s story is showing. ‘Learning to Cope with Nihilism’ has transcended to the next level from his debut LP ‘Existential Meditation’. From the overall emo genre feel to the honest lyrics, the song is not for the faint hearted! This is Niamh’s favourite song from Bleak Soul and we cannot wait to see what is next.

Groupie – Cate Canning

The song that has made Niamh grateful to TikTok, thanks to a preview of this song appearing on her For You Page weeks ago. Cate Canning’s ‘Groupie’ finally made its way onto all streaming platforms on Wednesday March 10th and this one is for anyone who was dating someone who was only interested in themselves and not about putting effort into the relationship! It has been dubbed on TikTok as the song that perfectly describes fan’s crushes on musicians. Cate is an amazing rising star and singer-songwriter from Canada, now living in the UK.

-!- – Dead Poet Society

LA based alt rock band Dead Poet Society released their debut album -!- on February 12th and though that doesn’t count as a new release, it’s new to me. The album includes a full rework of the fan favourite CoDA which was released in 2018. The album version allows the full potential of the track to shine through while remaining faithful to the original at the same time. The album shows the range the band is capable of as they go from ballads to riffs and none of it sounds out of place or definable as a specific genre. My personal favourite track from the album, which I’ve included in the playlist, is ‘I Never Loved Myself Like I Loved You’.

Crying – Emma Blackery

Next, we have Emma Blackery with her new single ‘Crying’. Despite the fact that Emma Blackery is one of Niamh’s favourite artists, we can honestly say ‘Crying’ is an emotional, blunt roller coaster that we are happy is out in the world! Emma’s music never disappoints from honest lyrics, to catchy melodies and a sense of you’re not alone going through the same emotion’s Emma was when writing her songs. ‘Crying’ took over two years to finish writing and all we can say is that it was definitely worth the wait! This is definitely one of the top songs today we have been blasting while dancing around the room.

Magma – Emma Negrete

Emma Negrete is an American independent artist who is based in Los Angeles. In terms of music genre influences, she looks to Soul/R&B and Pop. An artist we found while scrolling through the New Music Friday tag on Instagram, Emma voice is amazing, ‘Magma’ itself is an interesting listen which we love. We’re hoping ‘Magma’ brings a lot of new listeners Emma Negrete’s way. Another new artist we’d urge you to take a listen to today on New Music Friday.

Calculated (Acoustic) – Erica Cody

Erica Cody is a singer-songwriter from North Dublin. The original version came out back in October but this fantastic acoustic version dropped today! Erica has such a unique voice that truly blows you away. ‘Calculated (Acoustic)’ adds to the overall vibe of Erica’s sound which can be firmly placed in the RnB scene. She truly is a powerful singer, if you don’t believe us give this song a listen! It shows off Erica’s vocals perfectly. 

Slow Clap – Gwen Stefani

Gwen Stefani’s new single ‘Slow Clap’ is a return to the reggae inspired music from the early days of No Doubt. It sounds like an exploration of her whole career and life in general, all the wins and losses, and the song shows Stefani’s resilience through every episode of her life. This song is so catchy and has an almost child-like skipping song vibe to the chorus; a definite earworm. Definitely one of those tunes that will put a big smile on your face and have you bopping around after the first chorus.

Friends Like This – Hey Violet

Next up, we have the new single from American pop-rock band Hey Violet! ‘Friends Like This’ came out today and trust us when we say the wait was certainly worth it! ‘Friends Like This’ is Hey Violet’s first release since 2019 and we are here for it! Another hard hitting song with lyrics that are going to hit hard during these trying times! This song is an easy pop song that you can’t help but bop along to. Welcome back to Hey Violet and we cannot wait to hear all the new material coming our way that they have been working on during the past year!

Follow You/Cutthroat – Imagine Dragons

As soon as this appeared on my New Releases, I knew it needed to be included because I adore Imagine Dragons and they released not one but two singles simultaneously. ‘Follow You’ and ‘Cutthroat’ are two hugely different songs. Follow You is a song of devotion, loyalty and love which appeared from a huge moment during lead singer Reynolds’ marriage. He was on his way to sign divorce papers but his wife sent him a text, they postponed their divorce for the next week and then for good. While Cutthroat is different in every sense of the word; it sounds vastly different to Follow You and is essentially about silencing your personal critic. Cutthroat is the anthem that you listen to to pull yourself out of your pity party

Be Somebody – James Vincent McMorrow & Rudimental

Rudimental & James Vincent McMorrow collaborated and have dropped ‘Be Somebody’ this week which gives McMorrow a fresh electro-pop sound and it genuinely suits the track. McMorrow is probably more well known for lyrically powerful ballads and emotion but this track doesn’t lack any of the emotion even though it can’t be called a ballad. It highlights the uncertainty someone can have in themselves and the fact that a person may not like the changes they make to themselves to make someone else happy. This track single also reminds the listener that “there’s a kindness in cutting ourselves free.”

Wanna Get Down – Marty Guilfoyle ft. Donna Bissett

The song on the list this week that makes us wish we were back inside a nightclub is: Marty Guilfoyle ft. Donna Bissett ‘Wanna Get Down’. You’ll be bopping along from the very first beat! Marty is another of our homegrown talent hailing from Ireland. If you don’t know his music, you might recognize his voice from the radio: Spin 103.8 & Spin South West. His partner in crime for this song is Donna Bissett who is a new singer-songwriter from Dublin. She released her debut single last August and is back with a vengeance with Marty in ‘Wanna Get Down’. Wishing we were in a nightclub bopping away to this one really but our bedrooms will do for now!

Spaceman (Classics Edition) – Nick Jonas

Nick Jonas’ album Spaceman (Classics Edition) is the 15 track version of the Spaceman album and is both new and old all at the same time. We get new tracks like Heights, Death Do Us Part and Nervous but also classics from Nick’s solo career like Levels, Jealous and Chains and it all culminates in a very love-centric album. The album looks at the good, the bad and all the aspects of life and love in a very personal way. If I Fall will be the track that makes an appearance on the playlist as it is my personal favourite and such a hopeful bop to listen to but I do recommend listening to the album in order and watching the story unfold as the album plays.

The Hurt You Gave Me – Robert Grace

Robert Grace ‘The Hurt You Gave Me’ also came out today! We love to champion our own here at Our Muchness Guide and Robert Grace is from Kilkenny like Niamh so, we are naturally proud of all his deserved success! ‘The Hurt You Gave Me’ is Robert Grace’s first single since ‘Fake Fine’ last year. His songs can be summed up as pop anthems that resonate with a lot of people. We cannot wait to see ‘The Hurt You Gave Me’ soar on the Irish and international charts! The chorus is going to be stuck in your head long after you finish listening to it and keep an ear out for the fun music and sound choices Robert included into the song! Robert Grace is certainly an artist that we suggest you start listening to before everyone and their mother start raving to you about his music!

Revelación – Selena Gomez

An entire Spanish language EP from Ms. Gomez not only embraces Selena’s Mexican heritage but is also full of love and self-confidence. It is a fantastic blend of R&B, electro-pop and reggae and I, for one, certainly hope that Revelación is not Selena’s last musical offering as she shows once again that she is capable of so much with just 7 tracks. Including the previous singles ‘De Una Vez,’ ‘Baila Conmigo’ and ‘Selfish Love’, the EP is vibrant, uplifting and summery and the track that I’m picking for the playlist is ‘Adiós.’

Timothy – Tim Chadwick

Tim Chadwick ‘Timothy’ EP. If you are not familiar with Tim Chadwick, he is a Dublin born and raised singer-songwriter. We’ve been fortunate enough to catch one of Tim’s sets during the Music Festival Season back in 2019 and look forward to seeing him again when gigs are a thing again! ‘Timothy’ EP has been such a journey for Tim personally, he has stated that it got him “through probably the hardest/most beautiful year of my life”. From the very first song ‘Favourite Song’ to the last song ‘If I Gotta Run’, you’ll understand just how impactful this EP is to its listeners. The EP is made up of five songs which are simply stunning and feel like a comfort blanket at times while you reminisce back on the past year. All of the songs are also easy to listen to as both background music and for blasting as you are singing and dancing around the room!

Evering Road – Tom Grennan

The entirety if Evering Road is feeling. Tom Grennan has really created something amazing here and the singles released before the album dropped, ‘Amen’ and Make My Mind Up’, were only a taster of what Tom is capable of. This album shows heartbreak and loss along with growth and has some stunning tracks like ‘Something Better’ and ‘You Matter To Me’. The whole album comes across as a therapy session put to music which gives it this undeniably relatable quality. It seems with his second album Tom has found his niche in music.

Can’t Say No – Wild Youth

Last, but certainly not least, we have Wild Youth ‘Can’t Say No’. This Irish pop band seems to be on fire in 2021 with ‘Can’t Say No’ being their second single of the year! This song is different to anything else they have brought out. Emotions are high in this one and not the good kind. Conor O Donohoe, their songwriter and also a member of the band, truly captured the darkness of the situation this song tells. A warning to those of you who feel the emotions of the song along with the artists get ready for the onslaught.

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Until next week, enjoy the music!