Press Releases For August: Here Are The Artists

Dear Boy, Suki Waterhouse, Sports Team, Saint Christopher, Kramer, benny blanco, BTS and Snoop Dogg, and Beverly Crusher are among these press releases for August.

Dear Boy – “Forever Sometimes”: A vaporous ethereal beginning for a post-punk-inspired track with punchy drums, airy guitars, and hushed/nostalgic vocals. The song comes with a black and white video. This is the titled track off Los Angeles-based Dear Boy’s highly anticipated full-length album, out on September 16 via Last Gang Records. This is the first collaboration of Dear Boy with the legendary label. Produced by the band and mixed by Tony Hoffer (Air, Phoenix, M83), the record also features contributions from Day Wave, Hazel English, Rogue Wave, AFI & Ian Hultquist of Passion Pit. Dear Boy is the torch bearer of lyric-forward guitar music and melody-focused indie rock. The band has become an important voice in the LA underground music scene, crafting bittersweet songs inspired by late ’70s / early ’80s post-punk and early ’90s Britpop, seen through their unique modern lens. “This album and honestly, the band itself, is a study in ‘goodbyes,'” said Ben Grey. Life after death, love afterlife, life after love, the paradox of closeness, the complexity of what it means to leave something or someone behind, when do you say goodbye? These are some of the ideas that Dear Boy has been exploring since their first days as a band…And in that way, “Forever Sometimes” is as close to a concept album as a non-concept album gets. “A lot of this record is about our shared time on Earth and the idea that for so many of us, love is truly the hereafter we’re looking for,” says Grey. He adds, “The night sky isn’t any one person’s territory. There are answers up there for everybody.” The album is also meant to feel like a full life lived. “Since we were producing it ourselves, we wanted to infuse as much of our shared personal history into the details as we could,” says Grey. There isn’t a moment on this album that doesn’t feature something important, unique, or special to us. It’s the most personal record any of us could have imagined making.”

Suki Waterhouse – “Good Looking”: With the lush soundscapes of Beach House and Suki Waterhouse’s bright vocals (whose style has been compared to what a Lana Del Rey deep cut mixed with Joni Mitchell’s ‘Both Sides, Now’ would sound like), this deliciously slow waltz is already a few years old, but it has peaked at #1 on Spotify’s Viral USA Chart, recently went viral on TikTok and continues to accumulate more than 700 thousand streams daily across Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music. The multitalented British vocalist and songwriter has kicked off a run of tour dates with Father John Misty, first at the legendary Red Rocks Amphitheater, with further stops at Los Angeles’ Hollywood Forever Cemetery (very soon), New York’s Radio City Music Hall, and more. The tour is in support of Waterhouse’s debut album, “I Can’t Let Go,” produced by Grammy-nominated Brad Cook (The War On Drugs, Bon Iver) and out now via Sub Pop Records. More music from Waterhouse is imminent.

Sports Team – “The Drop”: A perfectly executed brit pop-rock song reminiscent of the classics of the ‘90s, with sharply observational lyrics sung with a badass attitude. This is a new single from the breakthrough British band Sports Team, and unveiled on BBC Radio 1’s Hottest Record In The World. It comes with an accompanying video directed by A.T. Mann.  The group says about the song” “It’s questioning a constant striving for achievement, never really enjoying the moments and ‘Katie dying waiting for the right time to retire.’ Today the internet told me they’ve found ‘pits on the moon where humans could comfortably live and work,’ brilliant.” The new track is the latest from the band’s highly anticipated new album, “Gulp!,” which is set for release on September 23 via Island UK/Bright Antenna. The group previously debuted three singles: “R Entertainment,” “Cool It Kid” and “The Game” premiering on BBC Radio. Sports Team is Alex Rice (lead vocals), Rob Knaggs (rhythm guitar, vocals), Henry Young (lead guitar), Oli Dewdney (bass), Al Greenwood (drums), and Ben Mack (keyboard, percussion). Formed in 2016, the band released two EPs, “Winter Nets” and “Keep Walking!,” prior to their 2020 Mercury Prize-nominated debut album “Deep Down Happy,” which reached #2 on the UK’s Official Charts, achieving the biggest vinyl sales for a debut British artist that year. Rolling Stone hails: “The crisp, jagged tunes on their debut LP, “Deep Down Happy,” recall Franz Ferdinand or the early Arctic Monkeys; their weird-angled guitars can evoke Pavement or Silkworm; their clever critiques of British life recall Pulp and the Kinks, and singer Alex Rice’s ranting style has shades of Art Brut’s Eddie Argos and Mark E. Smith of the Fall. It’s all conjured with a buoyant sense of good-natured humor, so they sound like they’re having fun even when they’re pissed off. The album bounces by with the logic of a free-for-all pub debate.” Sports Team’s vivid vignettes of modern Britain and inspections of the follies, foibles, and frustrations of youth have earned them an impassioned fanbase, a real community who come together at the band’s electrifying and infectious live shows. They currently have a series of shows across Europe. Let’s wait for their arrival in the US.

Saint Christopher – “Crashing”: A synth-driven pop tune opening a pleasant dancefloor with light propelling beats, and emotive moments while the track sounds both old and new. Saint Christopher is the project of Los Angeles musician Christopher Kalil (formerly of Arms Akimbo) and this is the new single off his debut LP, “Pop Shit, “due October 7. About his new single, Chris wrote: “Falling for someone is great… Until it’s not. One day you’re riding high into the clouds & the next you’re headed face-first for the pavement. But choosing to be vulnerable despite the risks is worth celebrating. We’re all looking to find a bit of ourselves in everyone, and, if you embrace the chaos of love, you just might find it. Crashing is all about getting ahead of yourself, saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, taking a big swing and missing, and failing with the best intentions. So, keep at it. Vulnerability is the greatest strength we have.” Kalil has turned his attention to a new sound rooted in a unique blend of pop, emo, folk, and soul. Mixing tongue-in-cheek religious iconography with commentary on modern culture and artistry, Saint Christopher has created a singular visual and sonic atmosphere that is both avant-garde and familiar. His debut album is an expansive and diverse body of work that is at once an incisive commentary on the music industry, an earnest and heartfelt expression of the ups and downs of making a living as an artist, and a shot across the bow of popular culture, and a genuinely great and un-ironic pop record.

Kramer – “Stars Will Die Tonight”: An immersive sonic experience with vibrant orchestration and a strong cinematic vibe. The result is both minimalist and grandiose, slowly progressing through pulsing percussion, keys, and electronic swells. This is the latest single off iconic musician and producer Kramer’s recently announced LP, “Music for Films Edited by Moths,” out on August 26 via Shimmy-Disc/Joyful Noise Recordings. The new track comes alongside an accompanying video by Tinca Veerman, part of a video series that will be slowly revealed alongside the LP release. Visual Artist by Tinca Veerman creates a uniquely visual soundboard for Kramer’s ambient compositions. The two artists collaborate as equals to create an audio-visual experience for the listener-viewer that compels him/her to re-focus their attention inward, from the objective to the deeply subjective. Speaking on his forthcoming LP of ambient, atmospheric works, Kramer wrote: “What I have come to embrace is the working notion that there is no Past, and no Future. There is only a constantly evolving series of microscopic moments that constitute the miraculous Present. As fertile as it is and always has been, for me, Memory is a chimera. So if you asked me what it is exactly that i am trying to do now, with Music, be it through song, or through ambiance, I would confess that what I’m doing couldn’t be more simple; I am just trying to explain myself. I’m trying to show you who I am.” The ten compositions on Music for Films Edited by Moths represent the first flickerings of Ambient Cinema. Ambient Cinema is what happens when a composer imagines a film in his head, then performs and records the music for that subconscious film, and then creates a film to accompany the music (or, in this case, collaborates with a visual artist to bring that imaginary film to life). Imagination first, music second, film last. One, two, three.

benny blanco, BTS and Snoop Dogg – “Bad Decisions”: A radio-ready dance-pop tune with Snoop Dogg’s undeniable delivery and the first ever collaboration between the acclaimed artist and producer benny blanco, Jin, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook of 21st-century pop icons BTS and rapper Snoop Dogg. Watch the video, directed by Ben Sinclair of “High Maintenance.” “Bad Decisions” is the first single to be released from benny’s forthcoming third LP, set for release later this year. “I’m still pinching myself,” says benny. “I can’t believe I have a song coming out with Jin, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook of BTS and Snoop Dogg. It doesn’t even feel real!” benny blanco, a multi-Platinum, award-winning artist, record producer, songwriter, and musician, has already released two albums to date—”FRIENDS KEEP SECRETS” and “FRIENDS KEEP SECRETS 2”— which have been streamed more than 8 billion times to date. He has collaborated with Justin Bieber (their two-time Platinum hit “Lonely” reached #1 on Top 40 radio and has been streamed more than 2 billion times), Halsey and Khalid (on the six times Platinum “Eastside,” a worldwide smash hit and Top 40 #1), Juice WRLD; Selena Gomez, J Balvin, Tainy, Calvin Harris and a host of others. As a producer and songwriter, blanco is responsible for hundreds of millions of album sales worldwide due to his work with artists including Ed Sheeran, Justin Bieber, Halsey, Maroon 5, Rihanna, Katy Perry, Kesha, Sia, The Weeknd, Selena Gomez, Wiz Khalifa, Kanye West and many more. He is the founder of two labels in collaboration with Interscope Records: Mad Love Records and Friends Keep Secrets. The song is his new and improbable collaboration with GRAMMY-nominated South Korean boyband BTS and entertainment industry mogul, rapper, singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, DJ, media personality, businessman, and icon Snoop Dogg, who has reigned for nearly three decades as an unparalleled force.

Beverly Crusher – “Gimmie the Power”: A powerful, driving, hard rocking, and gritty single with spiking guitars, metal-like riffs, pummeling rhythms, and anxious energy slowly released throughout the song. This is a single off Seattle punk rock band Beverly Crusher’s upcoming album, “Waste of Waves,” out on August 12 via Freakout Records. As with their past releases, this new single exhibits the group’s effortlessly infectious punk-rock flair. Speaking on their newest single, the band says: “‘Gimmie the Power’ is an anthem that takes many forms. Sometimes it’s a chant for revolution, sometimes it’s a call to the after world asking for unworldly help, but always, it’s about Cozell’s irrational fear and obsession with Chucky (the doll from Child’s Play).” As commanding as their namesake, Beverly Crusher’s slick riffs and heavy shredding evoke flying car chases of the future. Pedal-to-the-metal bass played by Max Stiles and the volcanic drumming of Sam Stiles are perfect ride-or-dies for Cozell Wilson’s ruthless guitar and vox. Formed in 2014, the trio offers heavy, high-energy rock that’s guaranteed to make your ears smirk.