Songs of November 2021

«Superstar», the debut record from Norwegian art-pop outfit Mall Girl, represents an exciting new chapter for the buzzed-about band. The release follows a string of successful singles, including their 2018 track “Slay Queen,” which introduced them as an act to watch in the alt-pop arena. The chaotic year of 2020 brought a string of infectious, vibey singles, including “My Sweet Mall Girl” and the fierce “Bad Girl." 

Members Iver Armand Tandsether, Hannah Veslemøy Narvesen, Eskild Myrvoll and Bethany Forseth-Reichberg were forced to get creative when the pandemic hit, sidelining best-laid plans to flesh out some songs before heading into the studio together. 

"Because of COVID regulations and the four of us living in two different cities, we changed the way we worked with the songs quite radically in the months leading up to the studio recording,” Narvesen says. "We’ve always been very oriented towards the live performance of the songs, including when we compose them together in our rehearsal space. That way of working has led to some challenges when recording, as you end up listening to the songs in a different manner and might figure out you should have done everything differently."

While others put their creative endeavors on hold, Mall Girl opted to try something different. Many of the songs on «Superstar» were tracks that the band regularly performed, but they wanted to seize the opportunity to evolve their sound even more.

“We actually ended up ‘remote composing’ big parts of the album, with everyone working from their own home studio and bouncing ideas back and forth,” Narvesen explains. "This was a very welcome change of workflow for us, and it lead to us making some songs which probably wouldn’t have turned out that way had we been together in the same room."

This experimental shift in their creative process led to the creation of songs bursting with infectious hooks, hypnotizing grooves and punchy lyrics. It brings all of the edginess from their previously releases, just through a slightly different lens.

“In many ways I think we’ve kept most of the spirit in the music, just the joy of playing together while exploring different genres and breaking conventions.”

Recorded at Studio Paradiso in Oslo with longtime collaborator Marcus Forsgren, «Superstar» runs the gamut of emotions and moments of reflection on our fleeting experiences. “Feel Like Crying,” the first song Mall Girl ever wrote together, taps into the overwhelming question of where we all belong in the universe. “Machine Gun Mystery” dives into a darker realm, presenting an alter ego we all wrestle with, who thrives on power. The beautiful chaos of love is at the center of “You And I,” while “Dance Alone” highlights just how much can be said through a wave of silence. 

As a whole, «Superstar» finds Mall Girl fully realized, with a fresh perspective that positions them as one of pop’s most intriguing new acts.

Mall Girl - Bubbly Cool Drink

Circles, the new single from Chris Liebing with Tom Adams (@oceantemple) and @ralfhildenbeutel
Single Mix feat. additional production from @janblomqvist
Album Version taken from the forthcoming #AnotherDay on @muterecords

Pre-order Another Day: http://mute.ffm.to/cl-ad or pre-save: http://mute.ffm.to/ad-ps
Subscribe to the Chris Liebing Newsletter here: http://bit.ly/CLMAILER

Circles (feat. Tom Adams)

Circles (feat. Tom Adams) - Single Edit

Circles (feat. Tom Adams) (Single Mix)

RHODODENDRON

Eat The Moon

Annie J’s debut solo single “Slow It Back Down” puts her stunning vocals on display over a sultry roller skating disco groove. Heralded as “one of the best singers in Seattle and beyond” by Seattle Music Insider, Annie is a household name in the Pacific Northwest music scene performing with 45th St Brass, Seattle Rock Orchestra, and the late blues legend Cedell Davis. “Slow It Back Down” is a model track to launch her first solo body of work as it both sonically and vocally imparts the message of needing to slow it back down to get into the groove. Her pop-soul style of vocals can be compared to the likes of Janelle Monae, Solange, and the Bee Gees coming from a place of joy, movement, and self-expression. Annie collaborated with other stalwarts of the Seattle scene including Andrew Vait (Sisters, Little Wins), Nick Foster (Nick Foster Band), Scott Paul Johnson (Hot Bodies In Motion), and Stephanie Anne Johnson (the Hidogs), among others on her debut EP release ‘Get Back’ that will be released on Color Red in early 2022.

Produced by Andrew Vait, Nick Foster

Credits:
Annie Jantzer - Vocals
David Dawda - Bass
Andrew Vait - Guitar, Keyboards
Chris Littlefield - Horn Arrangements

Tracking Engineer - Floyd Reitsma, Andrew Vait
Studio Litho

Mixing Engineer - Brandon Busch

Mastering Engineer - Brandon Busch

Slow It Back Down

Color Red Music

Annie J - Slow It Back Down | Color Red Music

Nate Beier - drums / Teresa - guitars, vocals / Ryan Offield - bass

Basic tracks recorded at Station To Station Recording in Grass Valley, CA on December 21, 2009, engineered by Dana Gumbiner.  Vocals and electric guitar recorded at Frogville Studios in Santa Fe, NM on May 8, 2014, engineered by Bill Palmer.

A Thousand Keys

Nate Beier - drums, keyboards / Teresa - guitars, vocals / Ryan Offield - bass

Basic tracks recorded at Station To Station Recording in Grass Valley, CA on December 21, 2009, engineered by Dana Gumbiner. Vocals and electric guitar recorded at Frogville Studios in Santa Fe, NM on May 8, 2014, engineered by Bill Palmer.


The Big Sky

Nate Beier - drums / Teresa - guitars, vocals / Ryan Offield - bass / everyone on handclaps

Basic tracks recorded at Station To Station Recording in Grass Valley, CA on December 21, 2009, engineered by Dana Gumbiner. Vocals and electric guitar recorded at Frogville Studios in Santa Fe, NM on May 8, 2014, engineered by Bill Palmer.


Every Fiery Scene Imaginable

"Easy Coming" is the lead single from A Love Sleeps Deep, the new album from Northwest rockers The Moondoggies, out April 13th on LP, CD, digital and cassette. Pre-order your copy today from http://smarturl.it/alovesleepsdeep

The Moondoggies Website: http://moondoggiesmusic.com/
Follow The Moondoggies on Twitter: http://twitter.com/themoondoggies
Follow The Moondoggies on Instagram: http://instagram.com/themoondoggies
Like The Moondoggies on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheMoondoggies

A Love Sleeps Deep

The Moondoggies - "Easy Coming"

We received this note into the Morning Show with John Richards on KEXP  inbox from a listener named Sheila. Be prepared to be blown away by these amazing kids. And yes, it is dusty in here. Talk about kids living the phrase "you are not alone." Blown away by their kindness.

--

Hi John,

You recently mentioned how horrible some of Arlie’s classmates have been so I thought you would appreciate this. The super long version: my oldest (the one in the middle) was supposed to go to his senior prom on Saturday. He was invited to go with a group of his band friends. He bought the $150 ticket and I bought him his first custom-tailored suit for the night. On Saturday, a group text went out that the pre-prom pictures were cancelled, so he waited until about 6:00 to get dressed and ready to go. And then he waited, and he waited, and he waited. No one responded to his texts or picked up his calls. His younger brother and sister and I watched him as he started to realize that he was being ditched and I have to tell you that in my 18 yrs of parenting I have never felt so much pain. It was mixed with an indescribable amount of rage. This was...painful. Then, after he changed out of his suit, he saw all of their pre-prom pictures on Facebook and he all but collapsed in the kitchen. 

He’s never felt like he belonged anywhere. He’s always been “quirky”, kind of a dork (he readily admits that!), and all he’s ever wanted was to feel like he was part of a group. He thought he found it with the band kids because they always seemed like a safe, accepting group of people—a bunch of shameless music nerds who could be themselves. He completely fell apart, as did I. The 4 of us talked all night and played cards. Then while we were playing, I got a text from a band friend of his who is a junior and couldn’t go to prom. She told me she and other junior band kids had heard what seniors had done to him and it made them sick and they wanted to throw him a surprise “fake prom” on Monday. She asked me to sneak his suit into the trunk of his car and she would invite him over for pizza, and behind the scenes they all got dressed up, bought flowers and food and played music in the backyard. He was stunned. He cried when he saw them there and saw how much thought went into it—for him. I’m still crying, except now it’s because of the knee jerk display of compassion and kindness to someone who has always felt like the “invisible, throwaway loser” (his words from Saturday...). I had to send this picture along because these kids are truly amazing human beings and they kind of restore my faith in humanity, during a time when inhumanity seems to be around every single corner of this world. 

Thank god for band kids. At least some of them. Short version: If you get around to it, he loves LCD Soundsystem so I wanted to request All My Friends in honor of this epic group of kind souls.

-Sheila

These Heroes of Prom Will Renew Your Faith in Kids

Demo cover of "You've Got A Woman" by Lion (1975)
Instrumentation by Jamie Henwood (Bañana)
Vocals by Jessie Allen (@gnossinoise)

You've Got A Woman (feat. Gnossienne)

UNITY

released March 20, 2020

--Smokey Brights --

Ryan Devlin - guitars and vocals
Kim West - keys and vocals
Nick Krivchenia - drums and percussion
Luke Logan - bass guitar and vocals

--Featuring --
Aaron Benson - percussion
Andy D. Park - additional synthesizers

Recorded, produced, and mixed by Andy D. Park at Hall of Justice, Studio X, and The Crumb in Seattle, WA.

Sam Rosson is the Second Engineer on these recordings. Mastered by Ed Brooks at Resonant Mastering.

Photography, design, and art direction by Jake Hanson and Travis Trautt.

Motherless Child

Unlock The Door

AM Pop Magic / Dark & Dusty Vintage Vibes

More info at SmokeyBrights.com

We are not music snobs. We prefer music connoisseurs.

UNITY

Smokey Brights

Related tracks