indie-rocker tyler cole enlists willow smith in alt-rock revolution anthem “blow up your tv!”
Jumping from a croon to a yowl beneath a guitar distorted beyond comprehension, Tyler Cole delivers one hell of an opening salvo:
“Let’s get rid of it all / I’m sick of it all / There’s an answer here / We need to blow up our TVs.”
The singer / producer / director has been popping up on tracks for a few years now (particularly as a collaborator with Willow Smith), but truly comes into his own on his latest single. It’s an anthem for disaffected youth frustrated with a media that wants their views and clicks but doesn’t actually care about them. The sentiment is an old one: as long as there’s been media to co-opt youth culture and sell it back to them, there have been calls for revolution against it, but the sound and attitude are all new. Tyler Cole’s new record, We’re In Love and the World Is Ending, drops soon. If the single’s any indication it’s going to be a juggernaut.
providence rock band downtown boys are back with head-banging new anthem “lips that bite”
Rock is revolution in the eyes of Providence-based group Downtown Boys, and with the release of their latest single “Lips that Bite”, they succeed in further reshaping the genre.
The track itself is an exciting, emotion-filled anthem that gets the listener jumping and sweating from the first notes. It’s explosive, mosh-worthy rhythm, accompanied by a head-bangingly melodic talk-sing reminiscent of a young Joan Jett stands as the antidote to monotony and tradition.
The AFROPUNK alums produce more than music; their presence alone is activism. Each track is a protest, as they’re recognized for their powerhouse performances and active dedication to dispelling cultural “phobias” and “isms.”
Thanks to Downtown Boys and their latest song “Lips that Bite”, the Chicana, queer, and Latinx voice is getting its play in a white-washed medium, and the results couldn’t be better.
Look out for the release of their upcoming EP “Cost of Living“out August 11th- along with their October UK-wide tour- and check out “Lips that Bite” below.
new york-based soul/rock singer steff reed inspires in liberation anthem “power of love”
A musician and educator from NYC, Steff Reed has played across the world in venues such as NYC’s Apollo Theater, London’s Royal Albert Hall and SOB’s. Now, the alternative-soul/rock singer is back with a joyous reminder of “The Power of Love”. A timely reflection on the trials of current times, the track reiterates that the artist still believes in this power, and encourages us to hold on the that belief as well. Check out the moving track below!:
Song: Produced/Written/Arranged/All Instruments by Steff Reed for New Soul Renaissance Cover Artwork: by Jypsy Jeyfree for Jypsyland and Corey
Follow Steff Reed: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
Banner photo by Sucre @Phbs.jpg
premiere: barbados-born soul singer bobby saint makes us fall in love in passionate new single “sexy”
Barbados-born, Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter Bobby Saint hopes to change the game with his forthcoming Unholy EP, out May 19. As his debut solo release, Saint comes with a clean slate and complete creative control over his sound. In addition to writing and producing the EP, the artist sings and plays guitar on all five of the tracks, and no style or genre is off-limits. On his appropriately titled lead single, “Sexy”, Saint charms over a passionately soulful melody dripping of love, lust, and desire.
“This song came about thinking about the elusive ‘dream’ and taking a snap shot of the case, the manifestation, the look, the feel, fear and falling in love with this sexy creature that shines brighter than the sun. Further more failure is never an option, abyss or mountain tops…. Once her light glimmers, the greatest story will always be told.”
Check out the track below!
Follow Bobby Saint:Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
video premiere: punk band the younger lovers gives a triumphant, fun (and trippy) ode to the working class with “whiskey and water”
The punk rock project The Younger Lovers started in 2003 as the bedroom demo of Brontez Purnell, after he moved to the Bay Area aspiring to become a dancer, writer, and musician. The sound of The Younger Lovers is owed to Purnell’s love of all melody based rock forms–indie, Blues, garage, surf, riot-grrrl, soul and punk–blended into a sound that is as unique as it is audacious.
Purnell’s varied career has seen him as a part of the punk/electro-clash/riot-rrrrl band Gravy Train!!!, and touring alongside Le Tigre, Jr.Sr., ESG and a host of other influential bands on the electronic scene. He returned to Rock N Roll with self-recording all of the tracks for the first 3 of The Younger Lovers LPs, but this year’s Young Brothers LP is a pointed departure from previous original releases, marking the first time Purnell has recorded with band mates Rich Gutierrez and Ezra Rabin (now with Sean Tevis switching out Gutierrez on drums).
Their first single off of the project shows the band embracing more melodic territory with “Whiskey And Water”, which Purnell describes as “an anthemic ode to working class ennui, alcoholism, and strangely enough (and perhaps most importantly) triumph.”
Take a look at the fun video below!:
Video by Gary “Fembot” Gregerson
Photos by Fabian Echevarria
Banner photo by Gary “Fembot” Gregerson
Follow The Younger Lovers: Bandcamp
new music: cardiff’s baby queens reinvent the classic vocal group sound on the infectious “hear me” #soundcheck
By Nathan Leigh, AFROPUNK contributor
Like a primordial Motown band frozen in a glacier, the rapid onset of catastrophic climate change leaving them suddenly visible through 6 feet of solid ice, Baby Queen spin out classic hooks through an icy sea of reverb, their indelibly tight rhythm section fighting through the haze. Their latest single “Hear Me” borrows the production aesthetic of early 80’s goth and post-punk and marries it to a classic pop soul melody for something totally infectious. It’s a fight to be heard from this band of band of two sisters, two cousins, and their adopted sister. Through the deftly densly layered effects: we hear you loud and clear.
Banner Photo: David Krosnia Photography
Follow Baby Queens: Facebook | Soundcloud | Twitter