Last year, rising Montréal-based outfit Choses Sauvages — La Sécurité‘s Félix Bélisle (vocals, synths), Totalement Sublime‘s Marc-Antoine Barbier (guitar), Theirry Malépart (keys), Tony Bélisle (keys), Philippe Gauthier-Boudreau (drums) and Frais Dispo‘s Charles Primeau (bass) — released their third album, Choses Sauvages III through Audiogram.
The album, which featured album singles “Incendie au paradis,”En joue,” and “Cours toujours” showcased a decidedly post-punk sound that featured elements of post-punk, New Wave and krautrock. Released to praise from critics across Quebec and Europe, Choses Sauavages III landed on the 2025 Polaris Music Prize Long List and received an ADISQ nomination for Album of the Year — Alternative.
“Seul,” their first bit of new material since last year’s Choses Sauvages III, continues a run of hook-driven, shimmering post punk — but while showcasing subtle No Wave elements with bursts of funky horns.
“’Seul’ deals with limerence and the romanticization of toxic relationships. This song is a question directed both outward and inward—a moment when the obsession with finding answers to matters of the heart embraces the vulnerability of a lost child in a shopping mall,” Choses Sauvages’ Félix Bélisle explains. “These emotional states unfold against a sonic backdrop that is at once danceable and abrasive, drawing inspiration from the New York No Wave movement.”
New York-based shoegazers Heaven was founded in the wake of its founding members Matt Sumrow (vocals, guitar) and Mikey Jones (drums) touring and recording with Dean and Britta, Swervedriver, Ambulance LTD, Caveman, The Comas, The Lemonheads and a lengthy list of others. With the addition of their newest member, Sonia Manalili, the shoegazer trio are gearing up to release their first full-length album in over seven years, their third album, Dream Aloud.
Slated for an April 4, 2025 release through Little Cloud Records, Dream Aloud is reportedly the New York-based trio’s most somnambulistic album to date. The album, which was recorded here in New York with Jonathan Krienik, features a guest spot from Longwave’s and Wah Together‘s Steve Schlitz.
The album’s second and latest single “I Need You More Somehow” strikes me as sounding a bit like a hook-driven slick synthesis of Heroes-era Bowie, New Zealand jangle pop paired with bursts of feedback and Sumrow’s longing vocal.
“Both at home on the beach in California or a seedy underground nightclub in Glasgow or Berlin, the song layers two worlds,” Heaven’s Matt Sumrow says. “The lyrics are purposefully ambiguous, needing more of someone and longing for more connection, but also sounding content and blissful with the present situation at the same time.”
Filmed at Mercury Lounge, the accompanying video for “I Need You More Somehow” was specifically shot and edited to resemble 80s and 80s video footage, CCTV or straight-to-home-video-like footage, being a loving homage to the era of their influences. And throughout the video, the band is seen performing while enveloped in a hazy blue and pink swirling lights.
Co-founded back in 2018 by three New York music industry vets and longtime friends, former Lorimer Beacon founder and head Mike Bell, Kanine Records‘ founder and label head Lio Kanine and Kepler Events‘ and Dedstrange Records co-founder Steven Matrick, The New Colossus Festival over the course of the past couple of years has featured several hundred handpicked, emerging indie bands and artists from Canada, the UK, the European Union, Singapore, Hong Kong and of course, the US.
Over the past handful of months, the festival’s organizers have announced several waves of the artists playing this year’s edition. And much like previous editions, 2024 will feature an eclectic array of artists from across the US, Canada, the UK, the European Union and more. Just a little under a month out from the start of the fifth New Colossus Festival, its organizers have announced the festival’s final lineup and schedule. Parties will be presented by BandsdoBK, BrooklynVegan, Dedstrange Records, Exclaim!, FOCUS Wales, Groover, Joyzine, Maker Park Radio, M for Montréal, Planetary Group, Radio Free Brooklyn, The Spanish Wave and Tokyo Calling. You can check out the full lineup and official festival playlist below.
In addition to the festival schedule, New Colossus Festival’s organizers announced the return of their partnership with Ditto, who will present another series of music industry related panel discussions, which will feature representatives from Netflix, VEVO, Music Managers Forum, Chartmetric and more. And they’ll be a performance from Ditto artist min.a. More details on that will be coming soon.
Co-founded back in 2018 by three New York music industry vets and longtime friends, former Lorimer Beacon founder and head Mike Bell, Kanine Records‘ founder and label head Lio Kanine and Kepler Events‘ and Dedstrange Records co-founder Steven Matrick, The New Colossus Festival over the course of the past couple of years has featured several hundred handpicked, emerging indie bands and artists from Canada, the UK, the European Union, Singapore, Hong Kong and of course, the US.
The festival’s fifth — er fourth? — edition will take place March 6, 2024 – March 10, 2024 in some of the Lower East Side’s best and renowned independent venues including Mercury Lounge, Berlin Under A,Arlene’s Grocery, Bowery Ballroom, The Bowery Electric, Heaven Can Wait, Pianos, and more. Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site over the course of this past year, you’d recall that earlier this year, the festival’s organizers announced the first wave of artists, which featured an eclectic array of artists from across the US, Canada, the European Union and more.
The first wave of artists included the following:
AY WING & CHUUWEE (DE/CH/US)
Bells Larsen (CA)
Bruiser and Bicycle (US)
Canned Pineapple (UK)
CHAII (NZ)
Chavez Cartel (AU)
church crush (US)CLT DRP (UK)
Coral Moons (US)
Crows (UK)Crystal Canyon (US)
Cucamaras (UK)
Data Animal (DE)
DD Island (US)
Diary (US)
Dirty Sound Magnet (CH)
Durian Silo (US)
DYE CRAP (FR)
Factual Brains (US)
Family Jools (UK)
flirting. (UK)
Flowers for the Dead (US)
FRANKIIE (CA)
Getdown Services (UK)
Head North (US)
Heffner (US)
Hiding Places (US)
Holiday Ghosts (UK)
Hollows (UK)
HUGMYND (UK)
Housewife (CA)
Human Colonies (IT)
Iceblynk (US)
Idle Hours (UK)
iskwē (CA)
Jelly Kelly (US)
Keep (US)
King Bug (US)
Kingfisher (SE)
KT Laine (CA)
Langkamer (UK)
Last Waltzon (CA)
Lavender Blush (US)
Los Premios (ES)
Love Language (CA)
Loveseat Pete (US)
Loviet (CA)
LOW-RES (SE)
Lucy Kruger & The Lost Boys (DE)
Luge (CA)
Moon Walker (US)
Nara’s Room (US)
Niño Disco (US)
NOBRO (CA)
Oceans (AU)
Orange Doors (US)
Orchestra Gold (US)
OSKA (AT)
Palomino Blond (US)
PANIK FLOWER (US)
Petite League (US)
P.H.0 (US)
Phantom Handshakes (US)
Phantom Signals (US)
Phantom Wave (US)
Prewn (US)
Programmique (US)
Radio Trapani (IT/NL)
Raue (US)
Retrofile (CA)
Rip Pop Mutant (CA)
Roost.World (US)
Rosier (CA)
Ruby Tingle (UK)
Saloon Dion (UK)
Sasha Cay (CA)
Scrounge (UK)
Sham Family (CA)
Shelf Lives (UK)
Shunk (CA)
Silent Mass (US)
Silver Liz (US)
Slash Need (CA)
Spyres (UK)
Starcleaner Reunion (US)
Strawberry Launch (US)
Subsonic Eye (SG)
Sugar For The Pill (GR)
Sun Entire (CA)
sunnsetter (CA)
Swutscher (DE)
Talking to Shadows (US)
Teddy Hunter (UK)
Telula (US)
The Band Cope (US)
The National Honor Society (US)
The Tazers (ZA)
The Wesleys (CA)
Two-Man Giant Squid (US)
Ugly (UK)
Uninvited (UK)
Venus Grrrls (UK)
Vox Rea (CA)
WAN (PE)
Winona Forever (CA)
The New Colossus Festival closes out the year by announcing the second wave of artists and bands comprising their handpicked lineup for 2024. The lineup includes:
airu (ES)
Big Bliss (US)
Bloody Knives (US)
Boy With Apple (SE)
Carinae (US)
Chalk (UK)
Hot Garbage
(CA)Currls (UK)
Data Animal (DE)
DIVES (AT)
Dream Nails (UK)
Earth Dad (US)
Earth Tongue (NZ)
Empty Nesters (CA)
Friend of a Friend (US)
Georgie Boyd (UK)
Hadda Be (UK)
Hause Plants (PT)
High. (US)
Hotel Lux (UK)
Hotel Mira (CA)
Keegan Powell (CA)
La Sécurité (CA)
Mary Shelley (US)
Melody Fields (SE)
MINAS (UK)
Mother Tongues (CA)
Nicole Yun (US)
Outer Shapes (US)
Paper Lady (US)
PAPISA (BR)
“partygirl” (US)
Pony Girl (CA)
poolblood (CA)
POSTDATA (CA)
Rain on Fridays (US)
Reme (ES/UK)
RIP Dunes (US)
Sara Parigi (IT)
Sarakiniko (FR)
Stuck In The Sound (FR)
Tagua Tagua (BR)
The Gulps (UK)
Them Airs (US)
Ultra Q (US)
William The Conqueror (UK)
Wince (US)
Wynona Bleach (UK)
yael s. copeland (US)
There’s an updated festival playlist featuring sections of tunes from the artists and bands playing next March. Y’all can check that out here:
There are already a handful of bands from the festival’s first two waves that I’m really excited to catch. But I’m also looking forward to discovering some new favorites over the next few months.
Growing up on the outskirts of Detroit, Olivia Jean found her first musical love in 1960’s instrumental surf bands. Taking up guitar at an early age, she became enamored by the city’s thriving garage rock scene, drawing inspiration from its unique rawness. By the time, she was a teenager, the Detroit-area based singer/songwriter and musician began regarding her own surf music compositions. After years of self-recording, she put together a demo that led to the founding of the Black Belles and the band’s signing to Jack White‘s Third Man Records.
After the release of the Black Belles’ 2011 self-titled full-length debut, Olivia Jean stepped out into the spotlight as a solo artist with her full-length debut, 2014’s Bathtub Love Killings. She then followed with her self-produced sophomore album, 2019’s Night Owl.
Slated for a Friday release through Third Man Records, Olivia Jean’s highly-anticipated third album Raving Ghost is populated by mysterious characters in various states of danger — cursed lovers, doomed souls, women deliriously hunted by unseen forces. Featuring backing from a collection of top players, including My Morning Jacket’s Bo Koster (keys), Jellyfish‘s Roger Joseph Manning, Jr. (keys). T-Bone Burnett‘s and Nikki Lane‘s Carla Azar (drums) and The Raconteurs‘ and The Afghan Whigs‘ Patrick Keeler (drums), the 11-song album sees Olivia Jean amplifying the drama with her wildly melodic take on garage rock, with each riff handled with the power and precision she’s shown as a member of the Black Belles and as an in-demand session and touring musician. As a whole, the album is reportedly an evolution of the retro-surf sound featured on her previously released solo work while arguably being among the most mesmerizing material she’s released to date.
The album’s latest single is the slinky and darkly seductive album title title track “Raving Ghost.” Built around a looping, Link Wray-meets-Jack White gutter line paired with twinkling keys, a rousing anthemic, power chord-driven chorus paired with Olivia Jean’s mesmerizing vocal, “Raving Ghost” is a groovy but unsettling tale of a woman being hunted by a creepy and determined, unseen force.
Directed by Erica Salazar and Olivia Jean, the accompanying video for “Raving Ghost” fittingly features the acclaimed singer/songwriter and musician being followed by monstrous and shadowy figures, who at times surround her.
