Hazel English is finally releasing her debut album, WAKE Up! in a couple weeks after we named her an Artist To Watch all the way back in 2016. We’ve heard a good chunk of songs from it already — “Combat,” “Shaking,” and Off My Mind” — and today she’s sharing another one, the snapping and breezy “Five And Dime.”
“It’s about the desire for space and independence when feeling stifled in a relationship. I wrote it about a trip I took to Oakland when I just needed to get out of LA for a bit,” English explains in a statement. “‘Five and Dime’ is actually an old slang term for the area code 510 which covers the East Bay, so I thought it would be a fun way to refer to the place that once used to be my home, while also invoking a sense of nostalgia for a time when a phrase like five and dime was very common.”
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A certain air of nostalgia drips from the longing arms of Choir Boys new single “Sweet Candy” from their upcoming release Gathering Swans. Amassed by the beauty of an uplifting bass with synths that swell behind the backdrop of guitarist Michael Paulsen’s eloquent notes, the instrumentals make you long for a love that makes you lose reason. A perfect soundtrack to nights among a darkened city with only the glittering beams of light from faint street lamps illuminating your drive, the roads are emptied but you can feel them come alive. The group’s mastermind Adam Klopp delivers impassioned vocals that reveal the story of a man named Andy unable to deal with the temptation creeping from his desires (“Have you ever noticed Andy can’t have candy can he? / His appetite left pending… And temptation haunts the chronic masturbator”). During the writing process of the track, Klopp details that he was aiming for the idyllic virtues “as a neighborhood in a 1950’s musical”. While people look on this era as a golden age for America, it held many constraints that didn’t allow for expression or any sense of sexuality. People were confined to recreating an image that had nothing to do with the individual but based its priorities on a family unit that slowly came apart. Klopp’s vocals offer a mix of romantic dissonance with a Morrissey-esque dark humor twist that can be comforting hiding its punchline. A track that encapsulates the double edged swords of being hopeless in love or a repressed desire that soothes on the idea of finding hope in sweet candy someday.
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Major Lazer have shared a new remix of the Weeknd’s After Hours single “Blinding Lights.” It follows Chromatics’ remix of the track. Hear the new song below.
The Weeknd released “Blinding Lights” back in November 2019. He went on to perform the song on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and Saturday Night Live.
Major Lazer’s last album, Peace Is the Mission, was released in 2015. The Diplo-led group recently shared “Rave de Favela” (with MC Lan, Anitta, and BEAM) and “Lay Your Head on Me” (featuring Marcus Mumford). Major Lazer also recently remixed Rema’s “Dumebi.”
Read “6 Takeaways From the Weeknd’s New Album, After Hours” over on the Pitch.
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Just two months after the release of his last album, Bad Bunny is back with a surprise new album. It’s called Las Que No Iban a Salir, and it features Nicky Jam, Don Omar, Zion & Lennox, Yandel, Gabriela, and Jhay Cortez. Listen to it below.
Leading up to the album’s release, Bad Bunny has been previewing new songs on his Instagram Live feed. He recently made a cameo in an SNL sketch (as “Big Bunny,” who sells giant pots and sweatpants).
Bad Bunny’s last album YHLQMDLG came out in March. Read Pitchfork’s feature “A Day in the Life of Bad Bunny, Introverted Superstar.”
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Pet Shop Boys will release new single ‘I don’t wanna’ next month.
The synth pop duo’s excellent new album ‘Hotspot’ is out now, with LP highlight ‘I don’t wanna’ becoming a favourite with fans.
The iconic pairing will give the track a full single release, with Pet Shop Boys commissioning new remixes.
Mano Le Rough and David Jackson will have their wicked way with those original stems, while the package also includes bonus song ‘New boy’ – initially penned by Pet Shop Boys in 1984, it was finally finished recently.
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