“Worldview” by Fragile Animals – A Song Feature

 

     The Australian band Fragile Animals has been compared to Wolf Alice, Phoebe Bridgers, and Fontaines D.C. With a focus on the lead vocals, we add Berlin and Metric. The members of Fragile Animals are Victoria Jenkins (vocals, bass), Daniel Parkinson (guitars, backing vocals), and Kyle Shipton (drums, backing vocals) (and videos consistently show Melinda Huurdeman playing guitar). Particularly on the song “Worldview,” Victoria Jenkins’ voice is a positive blend of Terri Nunn (Berlin) and Emily Haines (Metric).
 
     The song is social and political commentary on today’s world:
  “Being informed about what’s happening in the world and not letting the harshness of that reality ruin being alive is a real fight. Being aware and engaged mostly makes me feel like we’ve lost our humanity entirely. But there’s so much beauty too. I feel consciously being aware of kindness, selflessness and hope is just as important as being aware of greed, discrimination and violence. We need the awful truth so that we keep trying to steer the ship away from the rocks, but it’s the beautiful stuff that gives us a reason to want to live. This song is me crying out for a dose of something good.”
 
     “Worldview” by Fragile Animals

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fragileanimalsmusic
Website: https://fragileanimalsmusic.com.au/
Bandcamp: https://fragileanimals.bandcamp.com/

Lyrics of “Worldview” by Fragile Animals
I’m tired of seeing all the sadness.
I want to see beauty too.
I need to know the truth but,
I want a whole worldview.
 
I want to see the love in the eyes.
The gentle hand.
An unselfish surprise.
I’m tired of seeing all the sadness.
I want to see beauty too.
 
It’s good to feel my heartbeat breaking.
Good to know I’m alive.
It’s good to see my hands start shaking.
Good to know I’m alive.
 
I’m tired of seeing all the sadness.
I want to know the truth but I want to see beauty too.
I wanna see the love in the eyes.
The gentle hand.
An unselfish surprise.
 
We’re not so broken. Have not so lost our way.
I wanna learn about you and understand and not look away.
And with you, take the sadness, guide it to the rails.
Wrap it up in warmer clothes.
Send it off in search of fairer tales.
It’s good to feel my heartbeat breaking.
Good to know I’m still alive.
But I’d sooner walk the darkened alley with glitter at my side.
 
We’re not so broken. Have not so lost our way.
We’re not so broken. Have not so lost our way.

“We Will Collide” by TAPE TRASH – A Song Feature

 

     The song by TAPE TRASH creates a collision between a sense of urgency and a feeling of frenzy. During the first verse (which begins around 0:26), “We Will Collide” features purposeful lead and enchanting backing vocals, driven instrumentally by pressing percussion. The frenzy - propelled by guitars - bookends that first verse with intensity. The frenzy subsides at 1:13, clearing the way for the second verse. One difference is that this second verse is adorned with attention-commanding high pitched guitar interjections (first heard at 1:25). As the song progresses, frenzy displaces urgency, even during verses.
 
    “We Will Collide” is consistent with what TAPE TRASH describe as their “more is more mentality.” The song is the title track from an upcoming sophomore album, which will be via the Tiny Engines label. The band interestingly describes the song as:
  “A lush, fuzz-drenched shoegaze anthem that nods to the golden age of ’90s fuzzpop, it’s perfect for summer car rides. But beneath the sweet pop melodies lies a quiet uneasiness—like a daydream on the verge of unraveling.”
 
     TAPE TRASH is the Norway-based project of Anders Magnor Killerud and Kristofer Mathias Staxrud. On “We Will Collide,” Killerud plays guitar and keys, as well as contributing the lead vocals. Staxrud plays guitar, bass, and drums. The backing vocals are the voices of Hallvard Bonden and Juliane Killerud.
 
     The band describes their music as Rock for people who like Pop and Pop for people who like Rock. Pounding drums and a wall of guitars meet sweet Pop melodies in a joyful mix between Indie Rock, Punk, Emo, Dream Pop, and Shoegaze. Thematically, the songs find themselves in a fine balance between ecstasy and panic.
 
     “We Will Collide” by TAPE TRASH

Bandcamp: https://tapetrashmusic.bandcamp.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tapetrashmusic/
Streaming opportunities: https://te.lsnto.me/we-will-collide

“Cinnamon” by Band of Muses – Sitar Rock

 

     “Cinnamon” stirs the senses as if born by bringing a turntable’s needle to a cherished album of a no-longer-young music lover, rather than in an age of algorithms and competing music streaming platforms. The debut single from Band of Muses channels the Psychedelic Era of the late 1960s. The sitar dances atop a strong bass line, while compelling vocals deliver lyrics that challenge the listener attach personalized meaning.
 
     Band of Muses comprise “sisterly sorceresses, Penny-Scarlett Muse and Daisy Rose Muse.” Their voices harmonize during some portions of “Cinnamon,” but with appealingly different “attitudes” that ensure that the two are clearly distinguishable. During other portions of the song, one voice hauntingly echoes the lead vocals.
 
     The single includes only two verses. Quoting a helpful explanation of the lyrics:
  Enigmatic yet disarmingly confessional, Penny-Scarlett's lyrics flirt with abstraction yet cut through the lush haze, revealing a raw, lingering ache beneath the shimmering surface. "I've been waiting near your gates of love and always wondering if you're there," Penny-Scarlett sings. Lyrically, Cinnamon stirs the restlessness between longing and fate—caught in the blur where desire fades into distance and waiting for someone that may never come. It's a song that lays bare the vulnerability of holding onto feelings that still linger, despite it all.
 
     Still, it’s the sitar-guitar that sets “Cinnamon” apart from other song singles. Embedded in this post is a video by Rick Beato. The video shows the sitar-guitar and presents his Top 10 sitar songs (electric or “original”). Also embedded is our Spotify list of personal sitar-featured favorites.
 
     The description of Band of Muses is insightful:
  Inspired by the free-spirited essence of the 1960s Laurel Canyon music scene with a heavy nod to the electrically charged golden era of 1970s rock grandeur, Band of Muses conjures a genre-bending experience of sound and spirit. Their music moves like a séance and hits like a cosmic exorcism— a slow burn that simmers with hypnotic tension, lo-fi bite, and something strangely untamed.
  More than just a debut, Cinnamon is a doorway into the mythos of Band of Muses. As the song takes effect, it takes listeners on a phantasmagoric trip they'll never want to come down from. Drenched in Penny-Scarlett's molten-honey lead vocals, Daisy Rose's ethereal harmonies and the band's devil-may-care production style, amplify the intricate allure of Cinnamon with visceral flair. As Cinnamon smolders into a rush of psychedelic euphoria, it's carried by lush swells of Daisy Rose's avant-garde instrumentation. With laser-focused command, Daisy Rose brings her multi-instrumentalist prowess to Cinnamon, using every weapon in her arsenal to full effect. Daisy Rose's gritty bassline slithers into a trippy sitar-guitar interlude before unleashing a technicolor electric guitar solo—a sonic supernova in full force.
 
     “Cinnamon” by Band of Muses

Social Platforms: https://linktr.ee/bandofmuses
Bandcamp: https://bandofmuses.bandcamp.com/track/cinnamon

Lyrics of “Cinnamon” by Band of Muses
I’ve been waiting
For so long to feel you
Slowly lingering on my skin
Under the moonlight we’re just flesh and bone with the
Sweet smell of cinnamon in the air
 
In the air
In the air
In the air
 
I’ve been waiting
Near your gates of love and
Always wondering if you’re there
If you want me I will follow you with the
Sweet smell of cinnamon in the air
 
In the air
[Repeating]