Our July 2021 Track Selects To Keep Your Headphones On For

Listen to King No One, and the first thing that comes to mind is the similar sound of The Kooks and The Catfish. The band is probably the next generation of UK indie music, complimenting messages in the music they want to make (and rather on point), as well as all about equality as suggested in their band name. Their latest single ‘Apologies’ emphatic number, beginning as an outright heartfelt ballad that describes the shackles of what strong feelings can do to you. King No One shares, “You are bound to love and you are helpless in controlling the feelings involved. Sometimes it’s easier to not love, and be free. The emotion and honesty in the vocals however, prove that to love and to feel is far greater than the supposed freedom of not loving.”

Listen to ‘’Apologies’

Rising US-based indie-pop multi-instrumentalist artist Boyu crafts his sound blending indie-pop and hip hop. As with his previous single, ‘Flower Garden’, his latest track ‘Hands Around Your Throat’ is a surprisingly addictive and polished track with a different narrative, making up part of his upcoming EP. While the accompanying music video is literal to the lyrics of a girl Boyu had met while studying abroad, and the chaotic benzos & liquor-fueled night that resulted from it, the first 30 seconds make you want to rewind and see Boyu sing to the first verse all over again.

Backed by hard-hitting arrangements that experiment with indie rock and foley elements, Singaporean experiential band, m1sty as1oth debuts their first track ‘Take It’ which talks about an encounter with an indecisive robber. The track’s combination of pensiveness, internal conflict, and lyrical comedy leads its listeners on a light-hearted journey together with it. ‘Take It’ is the first track taken off the band’s upcoming full-length album.

Listen to ‘Take It‘

Cyrano welcomes listeners into the idiosyncrasies of his indie for dusk with a new single, ‘Tundra’: an honest exploration of social anxiety personified in leftfield beats with electronic soul. Consoling us with the constant lyrical mantra “but I’ve never really lost my mind”, the Scottish producer and multi-instrumentalist reminds us to battle on when things feel like they’re falling apart.

Listen to ‘Tundra’

Indonesian R&B artist, Rinni Wulandari has always conveyed messages of empowerment and liberation through her music. Call it a follow up from her previous music and starting out a brand new chapter of stories to share to make up her upcoming album ‘SKINS’, Wulandari’s‘Snake On Apple Trees’ has music influences of 90s’ R&B, gospel, and soul from the likes of Chistina Aguilera, and possibly even some Mary J. Blige or Faith Evans. The single is all about taking control of the situation where the realization of a best friend becoming a fake friend, learning the truth, and putting a stop to making bad choices has made the artist come out stronger than ever. TRUE STORY.

Dark themed, unapologetic, and bold. Alternative rock band Chasing Daylight returns with a new track ‘Deserter‘, the first track from their slated release EP in Q1 of 2022. This is the story of rising above – from hard training and overcoming obstacles of doubt and fear, to reach a moment of “bankai 卍解” or full release. Blending a distortion of guitars, electronic stabs, string hits, and affirmative lyrics worthy of an anthem, the band borns a refreshing take on the marriage of rock and gospel – two genres rarely tackled by Southeast Asian bands. The song is haunted by the dark theme of war through the mind of a soldier facing his psychological fear while fleeing the battlefield, coming to grips with what it means to fight back. Listeners will resonate with the single’s defiant thunderclap of angst and grit, harnessing to rise up and fight your inner wars. 

‘Deserter‘ is out on 30 July 2021, with an accompanying lyric visualizer by the talented Montreal-based 3D motion designer, Maxime Truchon on 5 August 2021.

Pre-save ‘Deserter‘ and follow the band for a preview of the track.

Singer-songwriter Linying has had huge news back to back in the recent weeks her signing to Sony Music Singapore’s artist roster, the release of Singapore’s 2021 National Day song ‘The Road Ahead’ (also co-written by Linying) together with Sezairi, Shye, and Shabir, and now this new heartfelt ballad ‘Daylight Blows Into One Door‘ which was co-written with Chris Walla, formerly of Death Cab For Cutie (can we say JEALOUS MUCH?). Linying’s penchant for moving lyricism and vivid production shines in this hypnotic ballad about happiness and loss.

From singing Death Cab for Cutie’s ‘I Will Follow You Into the Dark’ to her dying pet rabbit, to meeting Chris Walla and working on this song together, “it wasn’t until months later when I was home in Singapore that I looked over at the patio bench we sat on with Bunny, remembered that I’d just written a song about loss with the person who made the song I experienced my first loss to, and realized how much full-on, full-circle, cosmic conspiracy was actually going on.”

And finally, one more that’s giving everyone a taste of what’s to come for their much-awaited 5th studio album, ‘Observer’, Singaporean Neo-soul band The Steve McQueens. The McQueens celebrate their 8th year on the road with this release of coy and inconspicuous observations, Balancing unique forms, ear-catching sounds, and clever storytelling with an accessible pop sensibility, simultaneously invokes alternative R&B, chill-pop, 60’s Motown, and nu-soul.

In a press release, keyboardist Joshua Wan answers in typical cryptic form,“Mila Ascending is about the 3 cornerstones of maturing: Expectations/maintenance, thinking vs feeling, failure and eating cow tongue. Coincidentally, these also apply to cheese…”

The new album, ‘The Observer‘ will drop on September 16 2021, in conjunction with an album launch concert at The Esplanade Concert Hall in Singapore. The Observer is the band’s fifth studio release and will feature eight new tracks.

Listen to ‘Mila Ascending‘