It’s time for Your First Listen, where we show you songs you need to discover this week!
This Indie88 feature is presented with Bay Bloor Radio.
Each week we feature five remarkable songs that you need to hear on Your First Listen on air. In case you miss them on air, you can catch up on the weekly tracks right here. Your First Listen airs every day in Indie88 beginning at 10 a.m.
Online, we expand the list with a couple more tunes. This week, we’ve gotten some amazing fresh cuts from Björk, Young The Giant, Cheats, and more.
Check out 11 songs you need to discover this week below.
Björk – “Sorrowful Soil”
Björk has shared a new video for the single “Sorrowful Soil” from the singer’s recent album Fossora. “‘Sorrowful Soil’ is a song I wrote from random improvisations,” Björk said in a statement. “I kinda thought I was writing another song but then when I edited it I threw away most of the stuff and this is what stood there staring at me.”
Young The Giant – “The Walk Home”
American rock outfit Young The Giant released their fifth studio album, American Bollywood, earlier this year. The single “The Walk Home” has hit the airwaves at Indie88 this week.
The Heavy Heavy – “Miles and Miles”
Brighton, U.K.-based duo The Heavy Heavy are making some noise on this side of the Atlantic with their single “Miles and Miles.”
Weird Nightmare – “Our Love Will Still Be There”
One of the year’s best under-the-radar album releases came courtesy of METZ frontman Alex Edkins’ side project, Weird Nightmare, who have delivered a fuzzy cover of The Troggs’ “Our Love Will Still Be There.”
Kali Horse – “In The Water”
The latest video from Toronto-based psych rockers Kali Horse was quite literally made in the water. The video for “In The Water” was shot on film in three different bodies of water and then boiled.
The Men – “God Bless The USA”
Brooklyn-based scuzz rockers The Men are back with another new single, “God Bless The USA,” from their forthcoming release New York City which is set for a February 2023 release.
Cheats – “Machine Jr.”
7-piece Filipino outfit Cheats recently celebrated the release of their album houseplants, and this week the single “Machine Jr.” has landed in the rotation at Indie88.
Tearing Up – “Said Something”
Graham Caldwell formerly said farewell to his previous project Billy Moon with the release of Billy Is Dead, the debut EP from the Toronto-based singer-songwriter’s new enterprise, Tearing Up. His debut LP under the Tearing Up banner, Heavy, arrives January 27, 2023. “Said Something” is the second preview single from the upcoming record.
New Friends – “Ricochet”
Ontario indie-pop outfit New Friends drew inspiration from an 80s car commercial in their new Connor Scheffler-directed video for the single “Ricochet” from the band’s upcoming EP, Camaro.
Blair Lee – “Last Bite”
The debut EP, The Puppy Game, from Toronto-based singer-songwriter Blair Lee arrived today. The records arrival also comes with a video for the single “Last Bite.”
“One thing I hold onto is my inner child, and my right to create freely,” Lee said in a release. “It’s important to me, and I think it comes out most when I am making music. That’s why I called the EP The Puppy Game – it’s a game we played as kids (me and my cousins and siblings), but when I think about it now, I’m still pretending to be a puppy in some ways. This is also probably why I chose to use a childhood photo as the cover art. It’s like an ode to my younger self.”
Jill Barber – “Beautiful Life”
Jill Barber will release a new LP in early 2023, and today we get an advance single in the form of “Beautiful Life.” The song serves as a reminder “that social media doesn’t tell the whole story,” says Barber. “That a pretty picture doesn’t always reflect the whole truth, and that living a rich and beautiful life is about embracing the messy chaos of it all- the raw, authentic, and real moments, rather than just the highlight reel.”
