Welcome to another edition of What’s Going On, Biff Bam Pop!’s weekly new music round. We’ve sifted through the sonic landscape to bring you the hottest tunes to get you through the week. From big shiny rock hooks to cross-cultural collaborations, we’ve got your ears covered. Grab your earbuds, crank up the volume, and let’s dive into the latest tracks making waves in the music world or at least, on Biff Bam Pop!. As always, if you dig what you hear, be sure to stream and follow the artists.
Cadet Carter – Munich-based rockers Cadet Carter have got a new album on the way! Self-Maintenance is due out April 12th via SBÄM Records, marking the band’s first release on the Austria-based punk label. The band, fronted by Welsh singer Nick Sauter, have won European crowds over with their pop-punk meets power-pop sound. Their latest single “My Favourite Place,” with guest vocals from Kayleigh Goldsworthy, is sure to attract even more listeners with its catchy melody and big shiny hooks. “My Favourite Place” has an upbeat feel and you definitely expect more of that from the album. “All these songs are like little odes to taking care of yourself and focusing on what’s good in life rather than letting the more gloomy side of your character win“, says Nick. “Many of these songs are about keeping yourself together and the mundane activities we do to keep ourselves alive and function adequately in society. I think it’s something not only I but many people struggle with, so we decided to write some songs about it.“
Photo Credit: Nikki Lindner
Listen to Cadet Carter’s new single “My Favourite Place” ft. Kayleigh Goldsworthy below.
Mat Kearney – Nashville-based, Oregon-born singer-songwriter Mat Kearney has announced his long-awaited new self-titled studio album. Due out on May 17th via Middle Kid Records, this will be Kearney’s first album in over three years. Along with the announcement of the album and an accompanying US headline tour came the release of the new single “Palisades.” Bright and captivating, the track produced by Kearney and Micah Tawkls is an ebullient slice of road-ready guitar pop. Explaining what “Palisades” is all about, Kearney shares: “Someone once told me as a young musician ‘enjoy it now cause you can only start a journey once.’ I look back at some pinnacle moments and realize they were lost on me at the time. That feeling of leaving home and being in the middle of a highlight reel, is what ‘Palisades’ sounds like to me where the journey is the destination.”
Listen to Matt Kearney’s new single “Palisades” below.
Leona Naess – Singer-songwriter Leona Naess is out now with “Karma’s Comet,” her first new single of 2024 via Stem. After several weeks of social media teases, it’s safe to say that “Karma’s Comet” lives up to the hype. Produced by Max Cooke (Ellie Goulding, Winona Oak), the track is the personal manifesto that we all need for the new year. Lyrically, the track inspires listeners to embark on a self-discovery journey without ever feeling preachy. How did “Karma’s Comet” come to be? Leona Naess explains: “I’ve always heard about a song that comes from ‘the universe’ but it hasn’t happened to me until now. ‘Karma’s Comet’ was written and recorded within two hours. The lyrics just poured out of me during a tough time last year. I’ve been obsessed with ‘Song for Zula’ by Phosphorescent for years. I usually come to the studio with a song or an idea – this time we started with a beat Max Cooke and I made together. We used that as the backbone of the song and I basically freestyled over it. That’s how it came to be. We never changed any of the original ideas – it’s stayed exactly as it was made.” There’s a new full-length Leona Naess studio album in the works. We’ll keep you posted with more info on that!
Listen to Leona Naess’ new single “Karma’s Comet” below.
d4vd – 18-year-old singer-songwriter d4vd has already made major waves with his genre-defiant sound and smooth falsetto vocals. His latest single “My House Is Not A Home” is perhaps his most personal and introspective release yet. The poignant alternative-leaning ballad details the tumultuous period of d4vd leaving home to move to Los Angeles. With his confessional diary-style lyrics and soaring vocal delivery, this single is sure to keep the momentum going for this rising star. Speaking about his new single, d4vd states: “‘My House Is Not A Home’ is an introspective track about how I viewed my life after moving to Los Angeles – the themes of falling in love with the wrong person in the wrong place at the wrong time are explored throughout the song, and how I navigate those situations are in the lyrics.”
Listen to d4vd’s new single “My House Is Not A Home” below.
Soweto Gospel Choir & Groove Terminator – The cross-genre collaboration you didn’t know you needed. South Africa-based, GRAMMY-winning collective Soweto Gospel Choir and a staple of the Australian electronic scene Groove Terminator have teamed up for a joint EP History of House, Vol. 1, due out on May 3rd via Music is Fun. The project sees the Choir putting their spin on classic house tracks as a way to showcase both the Black roots of dance music and the innovative sounds coming out of South Africa. The latest release from the EP is their cover of “Everybody’s Free (To Feel Good),” a floor-filler originally released in 1991 by Zambia-born, Zimbabwean dance diva Rozalla. You can see just how well their cover translates live as the Soweto Gospel Choir & Groove Terminator recently performed “Everybody’s Free (To Feel Good)” for GRAMMY Global Spin.
Watch Soweto Gospel Choir & Groove Terminator perform “Everybody’s Free (To Feel Good)” for GRAMMY Global Spin below.
