U.S. Girls, the Toronto collective headed by Meg Remy, has just shared the second single from the upcoming album Heavy Light, which will be out next month. Despite its warm and funky arrangements, “4 American Dollars” is actually a pamphlet against excessive consumerism and the American dream. It’s not the first time that they use this chiaroscuro combination as their infectious disco track “M.A.H.” was a protest song about war and Obama. The accompanying colourful visuals were directed and edited by Emily Pelstring and Meg Remy. Watch below.

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U.S. Girls, aka multi-talented artist Meg Remy, is one of our favourite acts, both in studio and on stage. Her last two albums, Half Free (2015) and In a Poem Unlimited (2018), were amazing and we’re totally excited to listen to her seventh project, which will be released early March. According to the press release, the 13 tracks of Heavy Light were produced by Remy herself and conceived as a balance between orchestral percussion and the human voice. It was recorded live with 20 session musicians – including E Street Band saxophonist Jake Clemons – in Montreal’s acclaimed Hotel 2 Tango studio.

The album will feature three re-worked tracks, including the lead single “Overtime.” The track comes with a video entirely made by Remy and starring Andrea Nann of the Dreamwalker Dance Company. Watch below.

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First, no one can be objective, there’s no truth in music. Then, it can be mentally difficult for artists to accept these insights. We are music fans above all and we never want to hurt anyone. Our goal is only to discover new talents and to bring them to our readers’ ears. We know they don’t always have the time to listen to everything we scan and write about during the year so these lists are just recommendations of what they should first focus on. Nothing more.

We know it’s a shared subjective feeling: 2018 has been another great year for music. We got introduced to fascinating newcomers with strong concepts that prove that albums are certainly not dead yet. Some rising singer-songwriters confirmed their defining style while a few established artists successfully re-recorded their masterpiece or explored challenging new soundscapes. You can find below the 30 albums that made 2018 according to our staff and stay tuned for our usual 100 Tracks of the year list next week.

30) Amen Dunes – Freedom

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29) Kadhja Bonet – Childqueen

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28) Yves Tumor – Safe in the Hands of Love

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27) Whitney Ballen – You’re A Shooting Star, I’m A Sinking Ship

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26) Tirzah – Devotion

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25) CupcakKe – Eden

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24) Rosalía – El Mal Querer

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23) Tomberlin – At Weddings

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22) Sidney Gish – No Dogs Allowed

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21) Ezra Furman – Transangelic Exodus

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20) Kali Uchis – Isolation

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19) Janelle Monáe – Dirty Computer

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18) Frankie Cosmos – Vessel

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17) U.S. Girls – In A Poem Unlimited

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16) Ariana Grande – Sweetener

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15) Ex:Re – Ex:Re

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14) Car Seat Headrest – Twin Fantasy

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13) Tierra Whack – Whack World

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12) IDLES – Joy As An Act of Resistance.

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11) illuminaties hoties – Kiss Yr Frenemies

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10) Mr Twin Sister – Salt

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9) SOPHIE – Oil of Every Pearl’s Un-Sides

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8) Low – Double Negative

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7) noname – Room 25

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6) Soccer Mommy – Clean

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5) Beach House – 7

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4) Robyn – Honey

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3) Lucy Dacus – Historian

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2) Snail Mail – Lush

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1) Mitski – Be The Cowboy

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Each spring, Brussels’ cultural institution Le Botanique opens the festival season with their inescapable Les Nuits Bota. This year again and before everyone, they bring exciting, emerging and established artists to Belgium, in human-sized venues. Even if some shows are already sold-out, there is still a lot of jewels to discover and we made a small selection to help you make your program.

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First of all, let’s focus on the boiling Belgian line-up and if you’re familiar with HighClouds, all these names should sound familiar. The amazing Blackwave. and YellowStraps will make you move with their chill and groovy vibes. If you prefer cinematic and emotional electronic music, then Haring and Rari are here for you. We take the bet that the two girls of Juicy will energise the crowd with their retro-futuristic R&B and hip-hop music. Ulysse, Pale Grey and Tessa Dixson are certainly the most exciting acts on the Belgian indie pop scene at the moment.

Amongst the international acts that we don’t need to introduce, we’d like to mention the -already sold-out- concert of Charlotte Gainsbourg whose last album “Rest” was particularly good. Impossible to miss the noise-pop os U.S. Girls, the synth-pop odyssey of Porches, the style of Eddy de Pretto and the groove of Jungle.

French acts Malik Djoudi, Royaume, Polo & Pan, Bagarre and L’Impératrice should undoubtedly make memorable sparks. Amen Dunes just released one of the best albums of 2018 so far and he’ll be playing it in Brussels. South African queer artist Nakhane will bewitch you with the songs of his new album “You Will Not Die”. Be ready to dance with pop princess Mabel and to swag with Little Simz. Finally, new alternative sensation Yellow Days will also join the party.

Check the 2018’s full line-up of Les Nuits on their website and via their Spotify playlist below.

Next month, U.S. Girls will be releasing their sixth studio album “In a Poem Unlimited”. So far, we’ve heard the disco-infused first single “Mad As Hell” as well as “Velvet 4 Sale” and the third single, “Pearly Gates”, is a featuring with vocalist James Baley. The music is signed by their longtime contributor Louis Percival. Like for the previously released tracks, “Pealy Gates” comes with a video and it was directed by Chrissy Jones.

About the track and video, Meg Remy detailed:

[su_quote]Some years back a story was recounted to me about a man attempting to convince a woman to engage in unprotected sex by saying, ‘Don’t worry, I’m really good at pulling out.’ I thought this was a hilariously stupid thing to say and knew one day I would build a song around this line.[/su_quote]

Watch the religiously charged video of U.S. Girls‘ “Pearly Gates” below:

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“Pearly Gates” is featured on U.S. Girls‘ upcoming sixth LP “In a Poem Unlimited” due out on February 16 via 4AD/Royal Mountain. Check the tracklist below:

1. Velvet 4 Sale

2. Rage Of Plastics

3. Mad As Hell

4. Why Do I Lose My Voice When I Have Something To Say

5. Rosebud

6. Incidental Boogie

7. L-Over

8. Pearly Gates

9. Poem

10. Traviata

11. Time

U.S. Girls will also be playing their new album on stage through North America and Europe, including a gig in Brussels at Botanique for festival Les Nuits on May 1 [to be announced soon]. If you want to know more about it, follow the band over Facebook and Twitter.