Kodaline - Head Held High /  by E

Kodaline delivers yet another beautiful - and uplifting in a realistic sort of way - video with their latest "Head Held High" off the forthcoming album Politics Of Living.

There's a pureness to the track that glows as if it's not afraid to go forth and be heard: a simple mirror of the sweet message it's hoping to spread.

It's lovely, and you should give it a listen or two. In a gentle turn from their previous work, these new tracks seem to breathe with actual life, an energy that sparks with those raw moments of the present, leaving behind the tragedy of the what-ifs and finding solid ground among the real and true of the now. Politics Of Living could be their best to date.

Watch the video below, follow those sites, and pre-order your copy of Politics Of Living, to be released September 28.

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Anna Calvi - Hunter - Press Release /  by E

Photo Credit Maisie Cousins

Photo Credit Maisie Cousins

Anna Calvi shares two new videos - a film for her current single "Hunter" and a performance video for a brand new track, "As A Man" - both taken from her much anticipated album, Hunter, due for release today, August 31st, 2018, via Domino. Both were directed by the Berlin-based filmmaker and photographer, Matt Lambert, much of whose work explores queer love and intimacy.

In the track "Hunter", Calvi celebrates the transcendent aspects of pleasure and finding a community and home in queer spaces. According to Calvi, it is about "exploring a more subversive sexuality, which goes further than what is expected of a woman in our patriarchal heteronormative society." The film for "Hunter", which was premiered via Dazed, was a chance to follow an ongoing theme of creating honest and authentic portrayals of intimacy. Lambert said the following: "The ritual of self-love and body-exploration for many queer individuals is the first step toward feeling confident intimate moments with others".

About the track "As A Man", Calvi said the following: "If a woman wants to be powerful she's expected to exhibit 'male' traits. The woman in the song is trying to understand a man by imagining becoming him, but as it progresses she asks the man to become more like her instead. There's been a lot of encouragement for women to become more like men if they want to get their voices heard, or be powerful. But there hasn't been enough effort to get men to become more like women. Men are brought up believing that to be feminine is to be weak. If there is to be equality, both sexes need to be able to move to the middle of the spectrum. This song is about finding freedom in the non-binary world."

Produced by Nick Launay (Nick Cave, Grinderman) at Konk Studios in London with some further production in LA, Hunter was recorded with Anna's band - Mally Harpaz on various instruments and Alex Thomas on drums - with the addition of Adrian Utley from Portishead on keys and Martyn Casey from The Bad Seeds on bass. It has a new rawness, a primal energy into which Calvi pushes the limits of her guitar and voice beyond anything she's recorded before.

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Dagny - Used To You - Press Release /  by E

dagny - use.jpg

An intoxicating blend of throbbing synths and cutting lyrics "nothing's feeling like it used to do / is it because I got used to you?" - "Used To You" is one of Dagny's finest moments to date.

On the new song Dagny said: "It's a song full of energy and guts, but with a heartbreaking undertone." That energy, a trait Dagny has become renowned for, is there for all to see on 'Used To You'. A sparkling electro-pop cut; the captivating contrast between its uplifting production and the reflective lyrical tone - is a joy to behold.

Speaking a little more on the release, her second in a matter of months - Dagny explained: "Emotionally it was my hardest song to write to date. Lyrically it reflects and observes a relationship that's coming to an end. But as always, wrapped with a production full of hope and positivity."

With a singular sound, style, and spirit, Dagny is quietly ascending to the forefront of pop. Supporting the likes of LANY on tour, between her own sold out headline dates in Norway, the UK and the US - she has also just announced a new European co-headline tour with fellow Nowegians, Lemaitre.

October

16 The Button Factory, Dublin, Ireland
18 Heaven, London
19 La Gaite Lyrique, Paris, France
20 Le Botanique, Bruxelles, Belgium
22 Melkweg OZ, Amsterdam, Netherlands
24 Berghain Kantine, Berlin, Germany
25 Nochtspeicher, Hamburg, Germany
27 Debaser Strand, Stockholm, Sweden
28 Pumpehuset, Store Sal, Copenhagen, Denmark

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