Earlier this year, Soccer Mommy released the acclaimed and Daniel Lopatin-produced album Sometimes, Forever. One of the highlight off the record, “Shotgun” just got a remix treatment by HighClouds favourites, Magdalena Bay. And as expected, this new version is a synth feast. For the fans of “Killshot – slowed + reverb,” there’s also a similar version of “Shotgun” out now. Listen to the remixes below.

You can also stream “Shotgun” in our Best Tracks of 2022 playlist.

Two years after color theory, Soccer Mommy is readying the release of her new album, Sometimes, Forever. Produced by Daniel Lopatin, aka Oneohtrix Point Never, who recently contributed on The Weeknd’s Dawn FM, the project is spearheaded by lead single “Shotgun,” which dusts off the 90s alt rock influences of soccer mommy’s first album.

“”Shotgun” is all about the joys of losing yourself in love,” Sophie Allison stated. “I wanted it to capture the little moments in a relationship that stick with you.”

“Shotgun” also comes with a video, directed by Kevin Lombardo. Watch and pre-order the album via Bandcamp below.

Last year, Alice Glass released her 6-track debut EP after she left Crystal Castles and entered a legal confrontation with Ethan Kath. She is now following up with new single “Mine” and the accompanying video presents a symbolic scene of resurrection. The Lucas David-directed visuals also feature RuPaul’s Drag Race‘s winner Violet Chachki.

About the track, Alice Glass explained:

[su_quote]‘Mine’ is about someone who hurts themselves in an attempt to regain control of their own life and experiences. It’s a form of self-sacrifice and also an act of personal freedom for someone who feels completely out of control. I do not condone self-harm, but like a lot of my music Mine is about my struggle with coming out of an intensely abusive relationship. In the ritual of hurting myself or taking something from myself I am at the very least in control of that act, when in so many other aspects of my life I felt hopeless.[/su_quote]

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Back in 2013, Rhye released one of the best albums of the year with their debut “Woman”, a delightful chunk of alternative pop that merged its R&B feel with baroque pop levels of sophistication. The future seemed bright for Rhye – their music followed contemporary trends, but it did so with a pinch of savoir-faire which you rarely encounter in albums of this kind, and Michael Milosh’s instantly distinguishable vocals made it sure that you would never mistake Rhye for any other artist. The album was a critical and popular success, but Rhye’s career suddenly came to a halt after they ended touring “Woman”. We soon found out that Grammy-nominated producer and instrumentalist Robin Hannibal had left the project to pursue his own interests, which means that Rhye is now exclusively a Michael Milosh solo affair. Milosh is not exactly on his own, though – Rhye’s new cast includes a range of different musicians with a pretty strong CV–, but it has still taken him years to record and produce “Blood”, the long-awaited follow-up to “Woman”.

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It’s not hard to see why. “Blood” is an intricate album, featuring classy string arrangements and a slick production style that brings it even closer to baroque pop than its predecessor. For a record that’s mostly comprised of straightforward-ish pop songs, “Blood” is complex and multi-layered, an album that resists being deciphered in a single, superficial run-through. It’s not truly embedded in any particular tradition, though it does take a page or two from pop acts that favour adoring their melodies with elaborate, over-layering arrangements. Michael Milosh has gone to state on several occasions that he holds a soft spot for Radiohead, and you can definitely see the influence that Thom Yorke’s band exerts on Rhye creeping up in some of these tracks. With its subdued drumming, dreamy guitar arpeggios and orchestral arrangements that nonetheless never steal the spotlight from the melodies, “Song For You” could pass off as a mid-career Radiohead song, while “Sinful”, which opens with a persistent acoustic guitar riff that mimics Yorke’s playing style, ends up becoming a colossal art pop song that benefits from its pervasive string arrangements.

Rhye‘s “Blood” is a charming, intricate and intriguing sophomore album

At a more general level, “Blood” touches on the same things that made Rhye’s debut album stand out. Still led by Milosh’s soft, androgynous vocals, the album is sensual and erotic but not lewd, poppy and relatively straightforward but not shallow. Rhye is ultimately something akin to confessional pop music, all about lyrical and musical restraint. It doesn’t matter whether Milosh is trying to express sexual longing (see “Taste” and its multiple sexual innuendos), uncertainty about the future (as anticipated in the opening track “Waste” and its sorrowful, revealing hook) or pure, unmediated love that directly addresses the singer’s lover (“Song For You”) – his feelings always come to the surface in the form of quiet, delicate melodies that are meant to leave you soothed, not shook. By applying that R&B sensibility of which he’s so fond to his slick art-pop songs, Milosh approaches what some might see as worn-out tropes from an unusual perspective, granting them a genuine freshness that turns Rhye into one of the most compelling and interesting pop acts of the decade. Granted, their shtick can come across as excessively sentimental and doe-eyed at times, particularly lyrics-wise, but the gentle, intricate instrumentation makes up for it.

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If there’s something lacking in Rhye’s latest album, it’s Milosh’s ability to write instantly memorable melodies. Not that “Blood” really needs them – this is an album that slowly unfolds itself, drawing the listener to its warm, intimate atmosphere as the songs progressively turn from low, minimalistic ramblings to expansive art pop monuments. “Blood” rewards close, repeated listens, but it’s missing that initial appeal that was definitely present in “Woman”; it awkwardly stands in that shaky middle ground between wanting to be an easy-listening pop album with a bit more depth and going full artsy. Even if it’s not without its flaws, “Blood” is a charming and intriguing album, a worthy follow-up to one of the most interesting alt-pop records of the early 2010s.

Coming after the legal issues she has with former band partner Ethan Kath, the new track is a very evident response to the diffamation lawsuit. The noise-rock track features additional writing/production from Jupiter Keyes and Dreamcrusher. The main lyrics of the track recalls her situation with her duo and the problems that followed: “Promise me/ You’re never the victim/ You have to fight right now.”. About the track, Alice Glass explained:

[su_quote]This song is a call to arms for all survivors. But being a survivor often means feeling afraid, it means sometimes feeling worthless, like you can’t go on. We need to fight back against those who have victimized us and against the feelings that tell us to give up inside. Sometimes we think we deserve the pain others have inflicted on us. This song is what I need to tell myself to get through each day, and what I hope other survivors can remember when they feel like they can’t make it through the darkness of their own recovery. Every day is a fight.[/su_quote]
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Alice Glass‘ “Cease And Desist” is out now via Loma Vista.

Last Summer, Alice Glass released her self-titled debut EP and so far, we saw the video of lead single “Without Love”. With this new offering, which was directed by Lindsey Mann, Alice Glass adopts a VHS, lo-fi aesthetics and features some footage of her lives in the video. In a statement, Glass detailed:

[su_quote]This song is about rejecting the idea of forgiveness. Forgiveness isn’t always a moral act, the way some religions portray it. Sometimes forgiveness can be exploitative or even predatory, especially when people use it as a means to guilt someone rather than heal them. When forgiveness is used to create a false sense of superiority it is a toxic act.[/su_quote]

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“Forgiveness” is taken from Alice Glass‘ self-titled debut EP out now via Loma Vista.

Kepp things up with Alice Glass via Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Rhye, the Los Angeles-based duo comprised of Canadian singer Milosh and Danish instrumentalist Robin Hannibal, follow up to “Please” and “Summer Days” with their aptly-named single, “Taste”. Watch the video below.
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Rhye‘s sophomore album will be released early 2018 via Loma Vista. Meanwhile, connect with the band via Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and check their itinerary below.

02/01 Mexico City, MX @ Fronton Mexico
02/02 Guadalajara, MX @ C3 Stage
02/22 Miami, FL @ The Ground
02/23 Orlando, FL @ The Social
02/24 Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West
02/26 Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
02/27 Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
02/28 Boston, MA @ Paradise
03/02 Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel
03/03 Montreal, QC @ Corona Theatre
03/05 Toronto, ON @ Massey Hall
03/06 Detroit, MI @ El Club
03/08 Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall
03/09 Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line Music Club
03/17 Los Angeles, CA @ Orpheum
03/23 Paris, FR @ Le Trabendo
03/24 Zurich, @ CH M4 Music Festival
03/25 Brussels, BE @ AB Ballroom
03/27 Copenhagen, DK @ Vega
03/28 Stockholm, SE @ Vasateatern
03/30 Berlin, DE @ Funkhaus
03/31 Hamburg, DE @ Gruenspan
04/01 Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso