New Tunes 17.1.2025

#Hello, music lovers! 🎶

It's Friday, and the weekend is upon us! As usual, here's a selection of fresh #newtunes tunes to help us get through it. I'm still discovering songs from last year, but some are really fresh. Some well-known and several lesser-known musicians will keep us entertained.

Eight songs of different genres, maybe one will leave a mark, maybe not. If you like music and have the time, you can spare a few minutes to listen; if you don't like something, you can easily skip it!

Music4life!

#Franz Ferdinand - Build It Up

Scottish band Franz Ferdinand has been riding the indie rock wave for over two decades and can't seem to get out of their skin - not even on their latest album, The Human Fear, released a week ago. Their music always sounds fresh and pop-rock. The vocals are distinctly upbeat, and the overall sound picture of each song goes quickly into the ears.

#Xiu Xiu - Veneficium

Xiu Xiu is a Los Angeles, California trio active in the music scene for over twenty years. They have released 14 studio albums, most recently the 13" Frank Beltrame Italian Stiletto with Bison Horn Grips, last September. As an experimental rock band, it's clear that they are unpredictable. But they never give up distortion, dissonance, and other sonic hallmarks of misery and fear. If you start listening to them, they push you somewhere where there is no way out. Or, as someone remarked, when listening to and watching the song Veneficum - my favorite episode of Black Mirror. I agree.

#Teho Teardo & Blixa Bargeld - Dear Carlo

Teho Teardo and Blixa Bargeld have been collaborating for a few years, releasing three albums together, the last one Christian & Mauro, last October. Both are established artists, Teho Teardo (Meathead, Lydia Lunch, film music) and Blixa Bargeld (Einstürzende Neubauten, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds), so this collaboration is primal, that is to say, without any limitations except those that are in the minds of the creators. On the new album, Blixa also practices and declaims multilingually - mainly English, German, and Italian, but sometimes a French word escapes his throat like "c'est la vie." Dear Carlo, as the song is called, is supposedly about Italian astrophysicist Carlo Rovelli, who is also a good pastry baker.

#Skagos - Which in Turn Meet the Sea

Skagos, a duo from Courtenay, Canada, has been performing since 2007 and is into black metal in its original form. Anyone unfamiliar with the genre can start with this band, which performs the essence of traditional atmospheric black metal. They paint mountainous landscapes covered in coniferous forests with clouds gently crashing in. Chariot Sun Blazing is their third album, released at the end of December last year. It features the Quatuor Esca string quartet, Maude Lussier on French horn, and Wagner tuba.

#Jethro Tull - Curious Ruminant

The old-timers of progressive rock, Jethro Tull, who I would have expected to settle down after twenty-three studio albums, say it's not enough. They've announced a new album, Curious Ruminant, for 7 March. Here's the song of the same name.

#The Mistery Lights - Memories

The Mystery Lights is an American band based in New York with roots in Salinas, California. They have released two albums, most recently Purgatory, at the end of October last year. It brings us a remarkable mix of musical influences from the sixties, summing up everything from psychedelic rock, Americana, garage, and country. I recommend the whole album and watch the show on KEXP.

#The Weather Station - Mirror

The Weather Station is a Canadian band from Toronto, Ontario, performing since 2006. The lineup has changed, but Tamara Lindeman has led the band from the start. Humanhood is their seventh album, which was released today. Mirror is the album's opening song. They have come far, very far from the folk music they started with.

#David Lynch - The Big Dream

One of the more influential film directors died yesterday. Here is his filmography if anyone reading this doesn't know if they want to watch a movie or series for the weekend. As a sci-fi fan, I was most impressed with the film Dune, specifically its archaic visualization of a feudal space empire. This new remake does not come close. I would not mention the other movies, series, videos, and commercials because they are just as excellent. But he was also a musician. The song is from the 2013 album of the same name. R.I.P. David.

🎶That's all for today, and enjoy your weekend with new songs!

#newtunes2025: 10.1.2025

If you're interested in #newtunes suggestions from the past six years, you can listen to them at these links - there are Spotify playlists for each year:

newtunes2019 | newtunes2020 | newtunes2021 newtunes2022 | newtunes2023 | newtunes2024

If you like rare and alternative lo-fi live performances, check out my recordings on the 3speak video channel or Seckorama Music Podcast—audio.

If you like jazz, I recommend Jazz-Matinee regular Sunday blog by @w74.

The main image is created in Night Cafe and edited in Photoshop.

Support and vote for those exceptional witnesses:
@good-karma, @liotes, @fbslo and @detlev.witness.