“What am I to build, if my hands are broken, if I’m not the chosen one?” sings Steven McKellar of Civil Twilight on “Story of An Immigrant”, over a lush, dynamic beat that evokes the sounds of his native South Africa while steeped in the band’s everevolving present. The foursome (Steven, his brother and guitarist Andrew, drummer Richard Wouters and Kevin Dailey on keys and guitar) are living proof of what happens when you stop worrying about being the chosen one and make music built on both the roots that grew you and the love that keeps you thriving every day. Civil Twilight’s songs embrace every corner of human emotion, balancing delicate, poetic lyrics with sweeping arrangements that touch all the senses: a phrase to make you think; a rolling drumbeat you can feel in your bones; a guitar vamp as illustrative as a picture; a shimmer of keys whose light can nearly be seen and heard. Produced by Ben H. Allen (Gnarls Barkley, Bombay Bicycle Club, Cut Copy), their third record on Wind-Up is built on this vibrancy, on the permanent dust of a Cape Town youth; on the connection that unites them all as brothers beyond blood and on their new home in America where they pull from the innate, thriving musicianship of Nashville, where they live. When you listen to Civil Twilight, from their self-titled debut, to 2012’s widely lauded Holy Weather to now, it’s easy to understand why the band has topped five million YouTube views and reached historic success with film and television syncs – because it’s music you can’t shake, that translates experience into moments and creates melodies that become imbedded deep under the skin. We’re all immigrants, in some way, and Civil Twilight’s singing our national anthem.

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Papa Roach doesn’t do lanes.

Be it rap-rock, electronic rock, rock ’n’ roll or anything in between, the quartet - vocalist Jacoby Shaddix, guitarist Jerry Horton, bassist Tobin Esperance and drummer Tony Palermo - have spent more than 20 years veering across freeways that most bands barely have the nerve to occupy, creating one of the most diverse and fearless discographies in music.


A hard left turn that sees them making their most daring maneuver yet, new single ‘Swerve’ is breathless in its unpredictability. Drawing inspiration from everything from jazz, funk and old-school hip-hop to hard rock and electronica, it’s a white-knuckle ride featuring a blistering array of rock solid beats, thumping bass lines, curveball saxophone licks and crunching guitar grooves, built around a chorus that features a stark warning cry of “Don’t swerve in my lane”, the track displays the fearless ability of its creators to cross as many as they desire.

With Fever 333 frontman Jason Aalon Butler and rap sensation Sueco joining proceedings to create a triple-pronged vocal attack, ‘Swerve’ provides a first glimpse at one of the most varied and compelling periods of the the group’s career. Clear, confident and above all competitive, it sees them challenging perceptions and breaking new ground, tossing the handbrake out of the window in the process.

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