WRABEL & DUNCAN LAURENCE | BACK TO BACK
Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Wrabel has teamed up with Dutch singer-songwriter Duncan Laurence to release his third single titled "Back To Back." Written alongside Kurtis McKenize (formerly The Arcade), Léon, and Jon Mills, the video finds the two laying back to back in bed, internally spiralling through questions of heartbreak, self-worth, and disconnection. The song is earnest songwriting at its finest, and Wrabel & Duncan’s performances (especially together on the star-bound chorus) are masterclasses in the emotive vocal delivery. The track is off Wrabel’s much-anticipated debut full-length album, ‘these words are all for you,’ which will drop on Sept. 24 via Big Gay Records/Nettwerk. The album will usher into the world the next chapter from modern music’s most celebrated, versatile, powerhouse songwriters and rising artists. It was recently announced of a short, intimate run of live dates, "the nothing but the piano tour," which includes a stop at NYC’s Le Poisson Rouge and an album release show at LA’s The Regent Theater.
UPSAHL | TIME OF MY LIFE
Alternative breakout artist UPSAHL has shared her next single, “Time of my Life,” which will serve as the third single she has released this year in anticipation of her debut album scheduled to be released in October. Talking about the single, UPSAHL commented that “Time of my Life” is “… about living my best life and living my worst life, and having mixed feelings about that”. To promote the single, UPSAHL also performed the song live on Discord and has added a short clip of the song onto TikTok. UPSAHL’s first single, titled “Douchebag,” was previously released on May 14. It describes the start of her story, written when she went through a messy breakup and faced the difficult reality of a final ending. Her second single, “Melatonin,” was dropped on June 11, which she described as being about “… being so overwhelmed with your emotions that you can’t even escape your problems in your dreams.”
AU/RA | SCREW FEELINGS
Antiguan-German singer-songwriter Au/Ra released a new song, “Screw Feelings,” as the track is a follow-up to two previous singles, “Dead Girl!” and “Bite Marks." As for her fanbase will not have to wait much longer for a full project, as she has also announced the release of her project ‘Soundtrack To An Existential Crisis’ to be released on August 27th. Au/Ra said of the song, This song is special to me, not only but also because it's going here. So firstly, feeling so much fear is a certain thick skin that you have to have to protect yourself, so screw feelings really it's just about being like,...Ah, screw it.” She continued, “Emotions suck sometimes, and sometimes it is easier just to try not to care so much, there's like a kind of velious kind of feeling within that because it's so amazing to feel, but this song really it's just about the moment where you don't want to think we all go through everything just becomes too much.”
ELIAS | HOLD IT OUT
Sweden's Elias has one of the most interesting voices, and today he releases his second single of the year. With its dark soul voice and incredible nerve, we get "Hold it Out." It's perhaps not so strange that Elias is releasing a new single right now, given the monumental success of the Netflix series "Young Royals" and his taste of new music in six years since the artist released a song, and now the masses are discerning him. But for me, Revolution is just timeless and just as amazing today. "Hold it Out" begins by showing the incredible depth in his voice with difficult tones for even the most skilled bass to hit. Here we hear him sing about broken love and about how feelings can literally feel like holding out your heart for someone else to cut it. With his moving and raw voice, the singer creates magic as usual, and the song's just over three minutes are magnetizing. With similar voice abilities as Rag’n’Bone Man and Sam Smith, Elias shows that he plays in an international league.
NICHOLAS MCCOPPIN | PERFECT PICTURES
New York Queer pop star Nicolas McCoppin has just released his brand new single "Perfect Pictures," an upbeat electro-pop song taken from his recently released album, "Loverboy (The Heartthrob Edition)," via Loverboy Recordings, AWAL/Kobalt Music Group. With his passionate vocal delivery that New Yorksoars effortlessly over the vibrant electronic production. "Perfect Pictures," tells the not-so-perfect tale of young, queer heartbreak and shows a darker and deeper side to McCoppin's sound. The bright synths and catchy percussion instantly got me in a good mood and wanting to get up and dance. This song beautifully showcases both his vocal range & clever lyricism and has an overall feel-good atmosphere perfect for a fun summer's weekend. Nicolas has been singing since the age of 10 and aged 14, wrote and released his first song. He cites his influences from Carly Rae Jepsen, Kim Petras and Troye Sivan, and they can be heard on this first full collection of his previously released tracks as well as a few new, unheard ones.
X AMBASSADORS | OKAY
Multi-platinum-selling rock band X Ambassadors release a new song called “Okay” via KIDinaKORNER/Interscope Records. “Okay” follows the June release of their darkly cinematic track “My Own Monster,” whose black-and-white visual finds Sam Nelson Harris performing a choreographed routine with his own shadow. Both songs will be featured on the band’s third studio album, "The Beautiful Liar," set for release on September 24th. “Okay” and “My Own Monster” mark the start of a compelling new lyrical direction for X Ambassadors and is the first new music from the band since their hyper-creative multi-part project "(Eg)." A three-song effort released in early 2021, "(Eg)" found the band collaborating with a series of similarly forward-thinking artists, including Earl St. Clair, Terrell Hines, and Jensen McRae. The band’s The Beautiful Liar Tour kicks off October 15th in San Diego, CA, at the House of Blues and will hit North America this fall with dates planned for Europe in early 2022. Scarypoolparty and Taylor Janzen will open North American.