Kristóf Hajós: Dark Matter, Light Heart

photo: Marcel Heijnen

Amsterdam-based Hungarian indie crooner Kristóf Hajós teamed up with like-minded American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jesse Blake Rundle for his new album Dark Matter, Light Heart. Rundle wrote and performed nearly all of the music, providing a safe space for all the doubts and fears that Hajós put into his words.

After tackling ageing on 6:00PM and feelings of displacement on Geography, he is now going for a lighter, more contented and self-assured approach while confronting life's roadblocks and pitfalls. Naming one of his songs Bravo, You Made Me Cry sums up that attitude quite nicely. And laughing at yourself with Oh Hope, You Whore can be helpful as well.

Cover Me: Kiss From A Rose

Watch Tame Impala perform the Seal classic Kiss From A Rose for Like A Version, a segment on Australian radio station triple-j. Pretty impressive call-and-response vocals on this one.

» tameimpala.com

Martyrs: Grey Wolf Grey

Welsh synth duo Martyrs are in full-on retro mode on their new single Grey Wolf Grey, using every '80s production trick they had at their disposal as they look into the mirror to find out that their hair has lost its shine and is turning grey. Lamenting the fact that nobody warned them that this could happen - "They don’t sing about it on the radio".

Jon Howells put his recently acquired Fender Bass VI to good use to supply both rhythm and melody, besides his array of guitars, synths and choice bits of tubular bells. Singer Michael Hall unleashed his inner New Romantics crooner capabilities. It does not sound new, but it does sound that it has been always there waiting to make itself finally heard decades after it was created.

The Bullfight: "Swaying Dimly in Darkness" live video

Watch Dutch folk noir band The Bullfight perform Swaying Dimly in Darkness at Beauforthuis in Zeist on October 4th. It is a song about couple who have been together for many years and now both of them that the boat they are in is no longer big enough to hold them both. Originally released on their One Was A Snake album, the song was also included on the bonus disc with that album in full that came with Shame, Guilt, Deception - Individuals Chapter I and the retrospective 3CD set The Storm Behind Our Smiles.

Bad Waitress: In The Hollow

Toronto quartet Bad Waitress have left the constraints of punk far behind on their In The Hollow album. The anger and angst are still there, but they cast a far wider net both musically and lyrically. Naming one of their songs I Wish I Was A Mars Volta is a dead giveaway. They have inserted elements from art-rock, noise and progressive metal into their sounds, plus quite a few good old power chords, as the solid bit adventurous backing for songs that deal with gender and sexuality, growing up in the sticks and rampant consumerism.

They cover a lot of ground, running the risk to take on more than they can chew, but somehow it all fits. It has been five years since their previous album No Taste, after which the band members went their separate ways before regrouping and discussing what they had learny in between. That pause plus life experience did wonders for the intensity and far more mature subjects that have found their way into their art.