The Matinee '18 June 25th

The Matinee ’18 June 25th includes 6 new tracks to get your week started off right. We have a nice mix of synth pop, psych pop and indie rock for your listening pleasure. Artists are representing Canada, Norway, The US and the UK today.

Basement Revolver – “Knocking” (Hamilton, Ontario)

RIYL: Big Thief, Sharon Van Etten, Waxahatchee

Basement Revolver are back with their newest track, “Knocking” and it’s possibly their most intimate. The song is probably also one of their heaviest tracks to date. After listening repeatedly it truly is an uplifting track that reminds us all that no matter what has happened to us, no matter what we have been through or done – we are loved and we are worthy of that love no matter what. Ms. Hurn’s beautiful vocals are truly angelic as she recounts her past struggles and speaks to the hope she is given after coming clean and giving her past up to something greater than herself. The acoustic foundation allows Chrisy’s vocals to shine.

Singer Chrisy Hurn shares about the track:

“I wrote it after writing my family a long letter that came clean about my past, and about some of the shit that I have been through. Hard things that left me feeling shameful, or like a disappointment to them – things that made me feel like I wasn’t the “good Christian woman” that they had hoped I would one day become. The letter came after a few years of hardcore wrestling and rebelling against what I believed in response to a traumatic event in my life. I got to a point where I didn’t recognize myself, or all the anger that I was holding inside. I basically kept telling myself that I was garbage, broken, unlovable, used and a whole other slur of things. Writing this song was my way out of that dark place.”

With so many people out there hurting that possibly have the same feelings of unworthiness or shame, this song offers a hopeful ending to someone else’s darkness. “Knocking” has the power to touch others that can relate to those same struggles and hopefully turn someone that is on a dark path towards the light.

Basement Revolver are Chrisy Hurn, Nimal Agalawatte, and Brandon Munroe. Their debut album, Heavy Eyes, arrives August 24th via Sonic Unyon Records. Pre-orders available here.

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Holy Pinto – “Bitter Enemies” (Milwaukee via Canturbury, England)

RIYL: Boy Rex, Frank Turner, macseal

Holy Pinto just released a brand new EP titled Tales From The Traveling T-Shirt Salesman. “Bitter Enemies” is one of the tracks from the EP. Holy Pinto is fronted by Aymen Saleh. His delivery is similar to Frank Turner’s with honest lyrics that are relatable but upbeat and sing-along worthy.

The lyrics in “Bitter Enemies” bring forth the reality of one’s thought life with the lyrics stating “If we all have 50,000 thoughts each day, then why are 49,000 of mine all the same?”. The song goes further into the realities of the negative thought patterns we all experience and struggles we have including OCD, fears of relationships and even having a family based on past negative experiences.

Holy Pinto’s entire package is great sing along indie pop with a talent for storytelling through their unique lyrical style. They definitely have the potential to gain an enthusiastic following much like Frank Turner. The EP title is a great name for the reality of musicians on tour and with boxes of merchandise, Holy Pinto will be touring in Europe before returning stateside for a US tour later in the year.

Tales From The Traveling T-Shirt Salesman is out now and you can purchase it on vinyl through Monkey Boy Records.

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Lokoy – “Malibu” ft. Girl in Red (Oslo, Norway)

RIYL: Chet Faker/Nick Murphy, Glass Animals, Cut Copy

Lokoy is 21-year-old songwriter, musician and producer Lasse Lokøy. He currently plays in the band Sløtface. “Malibu” is his solo single debut. The track is unique in it’s blend of Indian folk rhythms, synth pads and cello as well as many other diverse elements. The result has an almost industrial art feel to it and with being Mr. Lokøy’s debut track, it’s quite mesmerizing.

Lokoy shares about the meaning behind the track: “It’s about a relationship which is harmed by external factors and how those surroundings can complicate a situation that is fairly uncomplicated to begin with.”

The lead refrain is introspective with the lyrics stating: “It’s not the height of the man that gives the length to his shadow, it’s the height of the sun.” The play of male/female vocals represents the song well as it’s a true representation of the issues within the relationship.

“Malibu” is out now via Propeller Recordings.

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Marsicans – “Pop-Ups (Sunny at the Weekend)” (Leeds, England)

RIYL: Circa Waves, High Tyde, The Night Café

Marsicans are back with a new song titled “Pop-Ups (Sunny at the Weekend)”. It’s a super catchy ready for the weekend track as the chorus soars “May it always be sunny at the weekend”. The rest of the lyrics tackle the reality of annoying online pop-up ads that promise what they don’t really deliver just to get a click through.

James Newbigging explains about their newest track:

“I came back into the rehearsal room one day and found (drummer) Cale playing a riff on my guitar. When I got home from rehearsal with the riff stuck in my head, I was watching a film online and got a pop-up ad along the lines of “Wow, look how much money I’ve made.” It got me thinking about the people in life that make all these false promises to you and try and get you into their crazy schemes. Lyrically, the song is basically just poking fun at those chancers.”

Even though the song is about annoying online advertising, it’s super upbeat and can definitely be added to your sunny weekend playlist as we all truly wish for sunny weekends from here on out. The vocals go perfectly with the anthem like rock feel as keen guitar riffs and pounding percussion turn this track into indie pop gold.

“Pop-Ups (Sunny at the Weekend)” is out now on LAB Records. Marsicans are James Newbigging (lead vocals/guitar), Oli Jameson (guitar), Rob Brander (bass/keys), and Cale McHale (drums). Marsicans will be busy this summer as they hop on the summer festival circuit including Leeds and Reading.

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Prinze George – “Airborne” (Brooklyn, USA)

RIYL: Cathedrals, HAERTS, Scavenger Hunt

“Airborne” is the newest track by Brooklyn based Prinze George. We are so happy to hear vocalist Naomi Almquist’s bold and strong vocals. Immediately once the first lyric is sung, it’s hard not to be enthralled by Naomi’s glorious voice as she describes the events of a plane crash (if the exit’s open, if the engine gives…). “Airborne” is a lovely slice of synth pop even though the subject matter is quite dark, it’s a soaring track with many upbeat elements.

Prinze George shares about the track:

“Airborne was written on a plane, about a hypothetical plane crash. The crash is a metaphor for the risk involved in pursuing a career in the music industry with the one you love. In the end there are highs, lows, glory and no regrets.”

Prinze George are Naomi Almquist, Kenny Grimm, and Isabelle De Leon. This single is out on AntiFragile Music.

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Spaceface – “Calm Before” (Memphis, USA)

RIYL: The Flaming Lips, Pink Floyd, Tame Impala

“Calm Before” is the newest single released by Spaceface. The song is cosmically ethereal as Ingall’s vocals float in and out of heavy reverb and trippy guitar. The song in it’s entirety is quite epic, much like early era Pink Floyd. The song is almost like auditory acid as you are whisked away to a foreign place as the song fully permeates your headphones.

Jake Ingalls shares a bit about the track:

“In the down time between when we recorded the song and when Mike mixed it, we kept revisiting it and couldn’t put our finger down on what’s missing from it. We even gave it to Wayne (Coyne) who has his own mix of it lying around somewhere but I think he got busy with other stuff so it never quite got finished. I think this might be our most collaborative song to date – it started as just song words Eric sang to wrote to a loop I’d accidentally left up in our practice space, then Matt added all these beautiful chords to it, Big Red added some crazy synths and I got that sorta out of control guitar on it.

“Eventually, I called up Mikaela and asked her to sing on it and she added this sort of Adventure Time style ethereal vocals that kinda lift it out of the drudge it was. I also took it over to Non Plus Ultra’s studio in L.A. to work on it with Vinyl Williams – he lent his hand to some bass guitar and keyboards but I lost the tracks right before he went on tour and ended up having to rerecord what I best remembered to be his parts which added this sorta more mystical turn between the verses. Then it all got handed over to Mike and we just let him do his thing to it (which is also a first for us, we’re usually very hands on with the mixing process) but sorta just letting everyone add their own flavor uninhibited has been a really liberating process.”

The collaboration with their newest track has been a success and might be one of their most impressive singles to date.

Spaceface are Jake Ingalls, Matthew Strong, Eric Martin, “Big Red” Daniel Quinlan, Peter Armstrong, and Miles “Dravis” Young.

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