New Music Spotlight Featuring Milky Chance & Tash Sultana, The 1975, Missy Elliott, The Dirty Nil, and Redd Kross

New Music from Milky Chance & Tash Sultana, The 1975, Missy Elliott, The Dirty Nil, and Redd Kross

In a late Friday edition of the New Music Spotlight, I’m delivering music from Germany, Australia, England, Canada and the USA.

I’ve thrown in some alt-rock, regular badass rock and roll, some hip hop, with a hint of punk rock thrown in for good measure. Let me know if any of these speak to you.

Let’s do this!

Artist: Milky Chance & Tash Sultana
Hometown: Kassel, Germany / Melbourne, Australia
Genre: Alt-Rock / Electronic Folk
Related: Vance Joy, Cold War Kids, alt-j
Song: Daydreaming
Notes: Milky Chance, the platinum-selling, electronic folk-pop duo, with millions of streams, are back with the release of a brand new single and video for Daydreaming featuring Tash Sultana. The single is part of a new full-length album, their third, called Mind The Moon, which is set for release on November 15th on BMG. 

Daydreaming features a collaboration with Tash Sultana. The Australian-Maltese singer-songwriter has been drawing a lot of attention, and her vocals on the first single add a truly unique element to the Milky Chance sound. It exemplifies the band’s eclectic style, pairing dream-pop atmospheres with reggae rhythms and a philosophical outlook.

“It’s not just a daydream, it’s more like a vision of how things could be,” says lead singer/guitarist, Clemens Rehbein “and where you could go. It’s about those mechanisms that starts working when you don’t know how to deal with reality.”

We’re expecting tour dates and more singles before November 15th.

Milky Chance’s Links: Web / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Spotify / Apple
Tash Sultana’s Links:  Web / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Spotify / Apple

Artist: The 1975
Hometown: Manchester, England
Genre: rock
Related: Haim, Catfish and the Bottlemen, Bleachers
Song: People
Notes: People is the first single from the band’s 4th studio album, Notes On A Conditional Form. The video starts with a seizure trigger warning. I was in from the first beat. Picture a dark room, with bright lights, and the ability to superimpose your face into the video with a cool Instagram filter. There are deliberate rock star poses, kissing at the camera and kicks delivered on cue.

All the while, Matty Healy delivers an urgent warning to wake up, because time is running out while we sit around doing nothing. Healy delivers an intense rock performance growling, shrieking, barking, spitting a warning and rhyming the shit out of marijuana. Think sauna and Obama. I love the intensity of this delivery.

Links: Web / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Spotify / Apple

Artist: Missy Elliott
Hometown: Portsmouth, Virginia, U.S.
Genre: Hip Hop / Rapper
Related: Lil’ Kim, Eve, Ciara
Song: Throw It Back
Notes: Missy Elliott is back! This morning she dropped a surprise 5 track EP and a music video for Throw it Back. Slated to receive the Vanguard Award at Monday’s MTV VMAs, the rapper reminds us what we’ve been missing.

The video is like Skittles for your eyes. Colourful and cool. She’s so legit.

Links: Web / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Spotify / Apple

Artist: The Dirty Nil
Hometown: Dundas, Ontario, Canada
Genre: Rock
Related: PUP, Direct Hit!, The Flatliners
Song: September Gurls / Without You
Notes: Today The Dirty Nil released the fourth (and possibly last) instalment in their cover set series. September Gurls is a Big Star cover, and we love this one. It’s retro and yet fresh.  Also released today, under the You’re Welcome IV title, is Without You, a Harry Nilsson cover. This one has a stripped-down feel, it’s raw and amazing.

The You’re Welcome series showcases the band’s love for everything rock ‘n roll. The series has already included covers of Culture Abuse, the Jesus and Mary Chain, David Bowie, The Who, April Wine, and Van Halen.

“We can say with complete honesty that we saved the best for last… trimmed down and dimed up!”
– Luke Bentham

Links: Web / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Spotify / Apple

Artist: Redd Kross
Hometown: Hawthorne, California, U.S.
Genre: Punk Rock
Related: The Posies, The Saints, Velvet Crush
Song: Beyond the Door
Notes: California punk rock legends Redd Kross released their first album in seven years, Beyond the Door on Merge Records. The band have also released a new video (directed by Julian Fort) for the title-track and lead single.

The Beyond the Door album is available on CD, digital, and on limited-edition opaque purple Peak Vinyl in the Merge Records store.

How does the band celebrate a new album? They tour! They’re out on tour with The Melvins.

Links: Web / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Spotify / Apple

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Trish Cassling

Writer/Photographer/Editor

Toronto Music Blogger