New Music from Birds of Bellwoods, Tool, Post Malone, Angels & Airwaves, Lewis Capaldi, and Amber Run

While Mother Nature has been messing with our hot, hazy days of summer,  my inbox hasn’t  been letting us down. It’s full of hot music.

In this week’s New Music Spotlight, I’m bringing you all kinds of rock, with a hint of hip hop.

Let’s get straight to it!

Artist: Birds of Bellwoods
Hometown: Toronto, ON, Canada
Genre: Alt Rock
Related: Duncan Fellows, Young in the City, The Corcoran Brothers
Song: Easy
Notes: At the top of this week’s New Music Spotlight list is one of our local favourites, Birds of Bellwoods. Easy, was dropped worldwide via eOne Music this week. It’s a story song, one that tells us about their journey, so far. 

“Easy is a diary of how far we’ve come and a recognition of how far there is left to go: a point of reflection on a never-ending journey. It’s bigger, bolder, and brighter than anything we’ve released so far, and we are so happy to finally share it with our flock.” – Birds of Bellwoods

The band will be heading out on the very cool Rock the Rink tour with some of Canada’s favourite skating legends including Tessa Virtue, Scott Moir, and Elvis Stojko. This kicks off on October 5th. They’re currently out on a headlining tour through September with shows in Jasper, AB, Edmonton, Toronto, and at Beau’s Oktoberfest.

Check the list and if they’re anywhere near you, get out and support them live.
Links: Web / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Spotify / Apple

Artist: Tool
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA, United States
Genre: Progressive Rock / Metal
Related: A Perfect Circle, Deftones, Korn
Song: Pneuma
Notes: After a thirteen-year wait, Tool fans have been richly rewarded with new music. Their new album, Fear Inoculum, was released on August 30th. It delivers everything we hoped it would. The only real question now is, when’s the next album coming, Maynard?

The tracks are a mixture of sublime songs with some coming close to the 12-minute mark, with others playing under 2 minutes. Pneuma, tracks at 11 minutes and 54 seconds. It delivers the classic quiet/loud, strumming/slashing guitars, shadowy lyrics, and a super catchy chorus. All of the audio tracks are now available on YouTube. Watch them all and pick your favourite. Pneuma is mine.
Links: Web / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Spotify / Apple

Artist: Post Malone
Hometown: Syracuse, NY, United States
Genre: Hip Hop
Related: Rae Sremmurd, Migos, French Montana
Song: Circles
Notes: Reviews of Circles are coming back from critics with mixed opinions. It’s the third release from his upcoming album, Hollywood’s Bleeding, which has a release date of September 6th, 2019, 

Some are loving this track. Some are thinking he’s completely missed the mark. I think fans will like this track. The lyrics are relatable; we’ve all been in relationships we thought were going to be great, only to realize, nope, that’s it. Sometimes these things run their course quickly. 

The chorus is catchy, and this tune works for me.
Links: Web / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Spotify

Artist: Angels & Airwaves
Hometown: San Diego, CA, United States
Genre: Alternative Rock
Related: Boxcar Racer, blink-182, Jimmy Eat World
Song: Kiss & Tell
Notes: Angels & Airwaves, Tom DeLonge’s band, released a video for Kiss & Tell this week. It’s the band’s first new song since releasing Rebel Girl in April.

“It opens with three-part harmonies to create an introduction with multi-dimensionality. We wanted to create a sound that had electronic elements right alongside classic rock and pop punk melodic structures. Lyrically, this song is specifically about balancing on the edge of a razor blade. Doing something you’re not supposed to be doing, and although you might die while doing it, it’s still very much keeping you feeling alive.” – Tom DeLonge

The band has a penchant for film and have released multiple films during their time together. Peter McKinnon (photographer/videographer and winner of the Shorty Award for Breakout YouTuber), is currently working on something fresh for them. Stay tuned.

Tour dates are almost all sold out, check out the list of cities and dates, and see if you can still grab tickets.

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

Artist: Lewis Capaldi
Hometown: Glasgow, Scotland
Genre: Folk Rock / Pop
Related: James Bay, Picture This, Gavin James
Song: Someone You Loved
Notes: While it’s not a new song, it’s a brand new official video. I love this song and the heartbreaking take in this video. The latest version is hoping to break further into the North American market. This version has Lewis starring in the video.  He plays the heartbroken man right after breaking up with his girlfriend. His friends try to stop him from chasing after her, and Lewis let is spill that his brother makes a cameo.

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

Artist: Amber Run
Hometown: London/Nottingham, England
Genre: Rock
Related: Banners, Aquilo, Seafret
Song: The Darkness Has a Voice
Notes: Amber Run have released a lyric video for The Darkness Has a Voice. It’s the band’s fourth single from their upcoming album, Philophobia (fear of falling in love) which is due out September 27. The song was written to make us think about the human connection. To date, the band has over 250 million global streams and have sold close to 30,000 headlining tickets throughout the US and UK.

Fans will be rewarded with their longest North America tour to date, including a stop at Toronto’s Opera House in November. The tour kicks off  in October with a 16-city run with back-to-back shows in San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Tickets are available here.

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

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Trish Cassling

Writer/Photographer/Editor

Toronto Music Blogger