New Music: There Will Be Fireworks, Warpaint, and Teen Daze

It used to be a lot easier for me to find new music. I knew a bunch of people in college that would always point me in the direction of great new music. Unfortunately, it seems there are just fewer hipsters in the business world than there were at Brown.

Big surprise, right?

Here's some new stuff I've been listening to. Please let me know if you've heard anything else that's new and good!

There Will Be Fireworks - There Will Be Fireworks - As was aptly pointed out by a friend of mine, "There Will Be Fireworks" seems like a fairly obvious reference to the band Explosions in the Sky. And, frankly, that accurately describes a good portion of this album - there are very clear post-rock influences that manifest themselves in grand crescendos of guitar and drums. But apparently the name There Will Be Fireworks is not a tribute to Explosions: "One night we'd all been round at a friend's house and woke up the next day with 'There Will Be Fireworks' in our phone inboxes," says singer and guitarist Nicky McManus. "We'd been struggling to think of a name so we just went with it. There's probably a meaning behind it that the beer haze of that night has since erased, but it eludes us."¹

So it kind of sounds like Explosions. It also kind of sounds like Frightened Rabbit. OK, so that may just be because they're Scottish (with heavy accents no less), but the style and sentiment is certainly similar. Every track is big, filled to the brim with attempts at drama and significance. And in nearly every case, those attempts hit their targets - each track takes you on an emotional journey that leaves you with the feeling that something really important has just happened.

I especially like the monologue in "Colombian Fireworks".

There Will Be Fireworks - "Foreign Thoughts"


There Will Be Fireworks - "Colombian Fireworks"



Warpaint - The Fool - Alright, so this band isn't really new in my book. I played them on WBRU almost a year ago, and have seen them live twice. But they finally released their debut LP The Fool at the end of October, and I picked it up shortly thereafter. And it's damn good. It's dark, creative, and engaging, with beautiful, faded vocals and well-orchestrated instrumentals. In fact, it's so heavy, so thorough, that it can be almost exhausting to listen to. There are no light, buoyant moments to give you a break and let your attention wander - quite an impressive feat. But it does make it difficult to listen to the album over and over.

Warpaint - "Undertow"



Teen Daze - Four More Years - If The Fool is too heavy, Teen Daze's Four More Years is much to light. But that seems to be the whole driving force behind chillwave - I mean, "chill" is right there in the name. Every track is light - simple, bubbly, and not very serious. The lightness extends to the album structure too - it has only eight tracks and barely breaks the 30 minute mark. All and all, it's really easy - easy to listen to and easy to take in. But also very easy to like. Sure, it's light, but that's not necessarily a bad thing, and it does it really well. It's fun, catchy, and thoroughly enjoyable.

Teen Daze - "Four More Years"



¹Source: Last.FM