Press Releases For February: Here Are The Artists

Charlie & Margot, The Clamor, Jordi Up Late, St. Paul & The Broken Bones, Franklin Jonas, Harrison, and Abraham Alexander are the artists among these press releases for February.

Charlie & Margot – “Lonely”: A dynamic, foot-taping rock song reminiscent of rock-Americana classics and delivered with conviction and convincing guitar solos. Charlie & Margot is the musical project of Matteo DeBenedetti who said of the song: “Lonely is written about self-evaluation during a time of intense isolation, in this instance, during the quarantine and subsequent months. It has a lot to do with managing my insecurities, and creating a healthy perception of how I see myself vs how others see me in the world, and managing expectations between life partners while growing to try to understand each other.” This is the single from his upcoming debut album “Joyride,” out on April 7. The 8-song LP spans from indie to Americana and alternative and isn’t afraid to wear influences like Jason Isbell and Dr. Dog on its sleeve while still feeling like its own unique piece of art. Produced by longtime friend and collaborator Erik Kase Romero (the Front Bottoms, Lorde, The Bouncing Souls), the fully live-tracked debut LP comes with a sense of urgency that can only instill the feeling this is just the opening page of a longer story to come.

The Clamor – “Cardiac Soundtrack”: A buoyant and upbeat track with visceral energy, a punk tempo, and a desire for chaos. Punk outfit and brainchild of Aaron Louis The Clamor has announced their upcoming self-titled album with the release of double singles “Cardiac Soundtrack” and “Turing Toy.” In comparison, “Turing Toy” is even rawer and aggressive and reminiscent of The Clash. About the release, Louis says: “I have spent so many years working in other mediums, film, theater, fiction, and working in the art world, that I wanted to return to my roots, where I feel most at home being creative. That’s music. Like a lot of people, I had a pretty wrecked childhood and the only thing that kept me sane was being a part of the insane punk rock community around me and listening to and making music and I miss it more and more as I get older.  The album is not me trying to recreate that atmosphere but a place to begin where I left off.  Even if that just means having fun – like not being too precious, finding ways to be vulnerable, and embracing the collision of styles, all of which I hope you feel in this album. I like this moment in my life and feel like this album was a way to create a sort of sonic snapshot of what I’ve been thinking about and what’s important to me. And thinking of how fast it goes. Like in “Cardiac Soundtrack” –  I wondered what it was that the great Joe Strummer might have been listening to when he had his heart attack.  “U-Roy? The Jay Tees?” What will I go out listening to? And what music can I leave behind? I wrote all the music and brought the song demos to the producer, Omer Leibovitz, and he assembled a group of killer Brooklyn musicians (himself included), to get the full band sound that I wanted. And then he brought along the excellent engineer at Studio G, Jeff Berner, and with Alan Douches mastering I felt I couldn’t be in better hands. The album artwork was done by one of my favorite illustrators, Roxanna Bikadorroff. I first discovered her artwork on the cover of my favorite Flannery O’Connor books and I actually cold-called her and coaxed her out of “applied art” retirement with punk rock.” The Clamor LP will be released in March.

JORDI UP LATE – “PUNX”: Saturated spacey synths, infectious and propulsive beats, and heavily autotuned vocals for this electro-pop collage with hooks. Following the release of her latest single, “TO BE YOUR FRIEND,” 26-year-old LA-based electropop artist & producer JORDI UP LATE has returned with this new single, a collaboration with Wyatt Thunder. As JORDI UP LATE wrote on her most recent single: “Sometimes, we give a lot of energy and time to people who aren’t true about their intentions, and we feel that we have been played. However, in the end, those people are really just playing themselves out of healthy friendships and kind lovers. ‘PUNX’ is basically about telling someone to F*** off and letting toxic people go while also unapologetically and happily reminding them of what they are losing and what we are gaining.” On its accompanying music video, she continued: “The ‘PUNX’ music video revolved around shooting on a green screen set. I utilized the green screen throughout the entire video as a tool for creating movement, motion, effort, and sweat, without actually going anywhere or accomplishing any distance. This mirrors the idea of putting effort into a relationship that goes unappreciated. The song is also about gaining freedom by saying F*** it and letting my unfiltered feelings guide the way. Green screen also provided an amazing opportunity to get whacky and surreal in post, like a dream – unfiltered. I then purposefully like to reveal the green screen as a comment on fakery and manipulation explored in the lyrics. Overall, the visuals needed to reflect both the dark but fun sensibilities of the track.”

St. Paul & The Broken Bones – “Sea Star”: Delicate high-pitched vocals over lo-key instrumentation that explodes into harmonies intertwined with swirling and poignant keys after a minute. “Angels in Science Fiction,” the new album from St. Paul & The Broken Bones, is set for release on April 21 via ATO Records. The record’s first single, “Sea Star,” with its accompanying video directed by Gus Black, is an homage to the band’s home state of Alabama that introduces the album’s themes—life and death, beauty and truth. Bandleader Paul Janeway says about the song: “‘Sea Star’ comes from a story told to me when I was young. The story goes that there was a man on the seashore, picking up starfish that had washed up and throwing them back into the sea. A person walked by and said, ‘Sir, you’re not going to make a dent in this. It’s not possible.’ The man chucked a starfish into the ocean and said, ‘I made a difference for that one.’ Then picked up another one, threw it into the ocean, and again said, ‘I made a difference for that one.’ I think about that story a lot in my own life, and I hope that the moral is one that I teach my child: ‘Try your best to make a difference, starting with the people that are around you.’ My daughter is a strong tide that has pulled me back in. Having a child can give people a feeling of redemption, and a renewed sense of purpose—especially when they’re feeling lost and empty. That theme found its way into ‘Sea Star.’” “Angels in Science Fiction” was written in the span of a few weeks after Paul Janeway learned that his wife was pregnant with their daughter, Marigold. Following the examples set by greats like Aristotle, William James, and John Steinbeck, Janeway penned the album as a series of letters to his then-unborn daughter. “A few people told me it would be a good idea to write letters to my yet-to-be-born daughter before she arrived into the world,” says Janeway. “That is what Angels in Science Fiction is. Themes throughout the album are faith, nature vs nurture, anxiety, and beauty. This is a record I would have written whether I did this for a living or not. I don’t know if those records come along all the time.” The album was recorded at Sam Phillips Recording Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, and was produced by Matt Ross-Spang (Jason Isbell, John Prine, Elvis Presley). It follows the band’s critically acclaimed 2022 album, “The Alien Coast.”

Franklin Jonas – “Cocaine”: A doo-wop-vibe for this languid tune with smooth vocals and awakening beats; it works like a tranquil ballad along the beach, despite being an ode to a specific hard drug. “‘Cocaine’ is about longing for the coping mechanisms you don’t have or can’t do anymore,” says Franklin. “It’s the point where you become nostalgic for the bad times because even the bad times had good distractions.” This is the first-ever track from rising artist Franklin Jonas. The new single was written and produced with Charlie Brand (Miniature Tigers, Weezer, Skizzy Mars), and is out on Pizzaslime Records (via Mad Decent) with an accompanying video directed by Henry Kornaros (Jay Z, Kevin Hart, Kaia Gerber). Franklin’s solo musical journey began when he started experimenting with beat-making in college, crafting samples directly from vinyl and diving deep into the world of music production. After studying audio engineering under mixing mastermind John McBride—whose distinctive voice appears at the beginning of “Cocaine”—Franklin took a break from music until inspiration struck during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was roommate and fellow musician Clint Michigan who encouraged him to pursue his creative streak; and it was a peer who, after hearing Franklin’s work-in-progress, connected him with the guys behind Pizzaslime Records. Franklin takes inspiration from a bevy of foundational influences—the frenetic bombast of The Prodigy, the synth-y zest of Passion Pit, Ringo Starr’s solo output, and Bon Iver’s electro-acoustic experimentation—to craft his own sound. More music from Franklin is imminent.

Harrison – “Float”: An immersing track with synthetic beats, jazz-like arrangements, and smooth ethereal vocals. This is one of the singles from the forthcoming album of JUNO and Polaris-nominated jazz and R&B producer, composer, and musician Harrison. “Float” features the remarkable Kadhja Bonet, while the other single, titled “A View From The Sky,” is a meditative key-driven instrumental. Both tracks demonstrate the evolution of Harrison’s sound since releasing his first two JUNO-nominated albums, as well as his recent composition work on video games (Nintendo Switch’s LOUD) and commercials (NERF, Play-Doh). The cartoon-inspired single artwork was designed by illustrator Elijah Watson aka spacehose and the visualizers for each single were animated by Jeremy White. “Float” and “A View From The Sky” follow a string of standout songs Harrison released between 2021 and 2022. Last year’s “Outta This World” marked another collaborative effort with JUNO Award-winning and fellow Toronto and RCA-signed artist, TOBi. Additionally, Harrison released captivating instrumental singles, “Around You” and “Like When We Were Kids,” which saw over 3 million combined global streams. At only 27, Harrison has accomplished more than many artists twice his age, all while not being afraid to take himself too seriously. After getting his start making beats and putting sample-heavy songs on Soundcloud, he found a following and global community of like-minded producers and collaborators including Ryan Hemsworth, Star Slinger, and more. With two critically acclaimed albums to his name, 2016’s JUNO Award-nominated Checkpoint Titanium, and 2018’s Apricity, his versatility has led him to produce for some of Canada’s most boundary-pushing artists including al l i e, Daniela Andrade, DijahSB, Sean Leon, and TOBi.

Abraham Alexander – “Tears Run Dry”: A soulful song with emotive vocals, sentimental-romantic guitar solos, and a big pop hook. Singer-songwriter Abraham Alexander’s highly anticipated debut album, SEA/SONS, is due on April 14 via Dualtone Records. In anticipation of the forthcoming record—which features appearances by Mavis Staples and Gary Clark Jr.—Alexander has shared this single alongside a video. “In writing ‘Tears Run Dry,’ I was inspired by family friends celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. As they were sharing their story with me, I was determined to inject the emotions I was feeling into a song,” Alexander explains. “The song is about love and wonder. The longing to love someone through a hard time and make whatever pain they are feeling disappear.” Abraham Alexander is also featured in a short documentary film about his music and debut record titled “Abraham Alexander: The Making of SEA/SONS,” describing the genesis of the album and its underlying concept. In addition, Alexander will perform at this year’s Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, on June 15 in Manchester, TN. Most recently he appeared at The Troubadour in Los Angeles as part of the Americana Music Association’s pre-Grammys tribute to Lucinda Williams, standing out amongst the star-studded lineup of Mumford & Sons, Dwight Yoakam, Allison Russell, Molly Tuttle, and more. The Tennessean raved, “The best tribute shows introduce audiences to at least one artist they won’t soon forget. Saturday night, that was Abraham Alexander,” while Bob Lefsetz praised, “the surprise was one man band, Abraham Alexander, making his Gibson talk and sing while he pounded the big bass drum.”