Here are what we think are 10 great international singles out now ….
1. Valley release end of summer anthem ‘Oh Shit… Are We In Love?’
Featured as Apple Music’s Up Next artist for Canada in September, JUNO nominated, alternative-pop band Valley offers up the shimmering end of summer single, “Oh shit…are we in love?” today through Capitol Records. “Oh shit…are we in love?” arrives as the fourth track from the upcoming EP Last Birthday which Valley is excited to announce will be released on October 1. The new EP will bring together three previously released tracks; “Like 1999”, “SOCIETY” and “Tempo” plus three new tracks. See full track listing below. Last Birthday is available for fans to pre-save/pre-add HERE.
2. Mitchell Tenpenny releases ‘Truth About You’
Mitchell Tenpenny debuted a music video yesterday for his new smash single ‘Truth About You.’ The video was shot in Nashville last month at Bobby’s Idle Hour bar and Warren Studios by Dustin Haney of Bordertown Pictures. The song became the largest streaming debut of his career garnering 2.5 million streams in its first three days of release. That success and the demand from fans sent the song to country radio.
“This video was so much fun to make,” said Mitchell. “I love how real it felt when acting the scenes out. It felt more like making a movie than a video and I can’t wait for the audience to share that emotion with me.”
‘Truth About You,’ written by Mitchell, Matt Alderman and Thomas Archer, is the debut radio single from Mitchell’s Midtown Diaries EP due out 10th September. The project, produced by Mitchell and Jordan M. Schmidt, contains eight songs all co-written by the powerhouse vocalist. Pre-add/pre-save the EP HERE. Mitchell debuted ‘Truth About You’ for television audiences earlier this month with a performance on KTLA’s “Music Fest Fridays.”
3. Sleep Cycles Release New Single Featuring Fred Mascherino
Collegeville, Pennsylvania alt-rockers Sleep Cycles have just released a new single titled “Come On and Say It” (feat. Fred Mascherino).
On DSPs: https://bit.ly/3xSbTMs
The band says, ““Come On and Say It” is a song about lamenting a lost relationship with someone who was so close to you, yet as you grew up you grew apart. More importantly, is the POV of judgment that reigns over the lyrics as you disagree with someone’s growth or change in life. The chorus aggressively repeats the phrase “come on and say it”, an inner loop of hope for what once was against what is. That moment you pray the other person reaches out first to finally see eye to eye, dancing with resentful remorse unapologetically. The song’s explosive end chorus expresses everything you wish they said but never did.”
Sleep Cycles’ mix of melodramatic emo and punk influences drive their songwriting styles as “big, fast and heavy”.
4. Two Year Vacation – Majored in Broken Hearts
“Majored in Broken Hearts” is the third single by Swedish indie-pop-slackers Two Year Vacation from their autumn EP “Getting Into Real Estate”. The single follows the spring release “What Goes Around” and summer anthem “Come Over When You Want”.
Two Year Vacation themselves describes “Majored in Broken Hearts” as “an anthem to the moment of unveiling. The turning of the tides of being caught up in the hype. A person conquers your entire universe only to be stripped down from the altars of supremacy by a poorly pronounced word of high school French. It’s embracing this moment for three minutes and twelve seconds. The death of the honeymoon. The hashtag no filter. It’s Kim Jong Un queuing for milk at the supermarket. It’s judgemental and lacking any self reflection. It’s naive, confident and catchy. A lethal combination”
5. SOFI TUKKER & John Summit – Sun Came Up
SOFI TUKKER shares their new single “Sun Came Up” featuring Chicago phenom John Summit. SOFI TUKKER’s world-centric brand of dance music has always been about bringing people together, and “Sun Came Up” is no exception. It’s a rapturous house track with intricate Spanish guitar work, made complete by Sophie’s breathy and ascendant vocals. In short, “Sun Came Up” feels like levitating.
SOFI TUKKER share about “Sun Came Up”:
“We made this song when we were deep in quarantine, while we were dreaming about the sun coming up, so to speak. We were dreaming about dancing with people again. It’s about being together, in darkness and in sunshine. And about being able to recall that experience over and over again in our imagination and memory. It’s both nostalgic and hopeful. Looking back and looking forward to that one perfect vignette of togetherness.”
About working with John Summit, SOFI TUKKER adds:
“We’re fans of the dynamics of his music and really love what he added,” SOFI TUKKER say about the collaboration. “He’s a joy to work with–he works really hard and is a perfectionist like we are, constantly thinking about how to make the song better.”
6. Grace Blue – IDGAF
Upstart Los Angeles-based label MGW Records has announced the signing of Israeli born, LA-based, alternative-pop artist Grace Blue.
Her hypnotic new single “IDGAF” is now streaming on DSPs HERE: https://distrokid.com/
Grace says, “”IDGAF” was written about how low loneliness can bring you. It’s about a time in my life that I preferred being involved with somebody just for the sake of having somebody and feeling something, even if that meant hurting myself.
So many people choose toxic friendships and relationships over being alone, but it’s hard to admit since loneliness feels like such a taboo subject to share. That’s why it was important for me to open up about it.”
7. Sam Ryder – More
Sam Ryder has shared new single “More.” The track arrives alongside an official lyric video, which is streaming now on Sam’s official YouTube channel. Co-written with Wayne Hector (Nicki Minaj, Sigma) and Red Triangle (James Arthur, Little Mix, Charlie Puth), with production from Red Triangle and Freedo, “More” is available now on all streaming platforms via Parlophone Records/Elektra Records.
Sam’s unmistakeable vocals soar throughout the song as he passionately calls out for more of the things that truly matter in life. Commenting on the track’s inspiration, Sam added, “Life’s ornaments can distract us from life’s treasures… and that’s what I wrote this song about.”
8. vaultboy – Aftermath
Rising singer-songwriter, vaultboy, has released his 2nd single as an artist, “aftermath,” today. Named by Rolling Stone as the “King of Sad Songs,” “aftermath” follows the release of vaultboy’s explosively viral debut track “everything sucks,” which saw hundreds of thousands of UGC videos created with the audio on TikTok. Having only one official release under his belt at the time, “everything sucks” skyrocketed not only to the #1 spot on Spotify’s Global Viral Chart, but also hit #1 on the Western music chart in China for two weeks straight, beating out Billie Eilish’s “Lost Cause.”
A track inspired by a past relationship, “aftermath” was “pulled from a relationship, but not mine!” vaultboy states. He elaborates; “It was actually inspired by a close friend’s breakup who went through a really rough time. Sometimes I feel like I have an easier time telling a really important story when I’m not the one who experienced it first hand. That being said, there is a lot of inspiration from my own life in the song as well. I like to tell stories that can help me convey emotions that I have trouble facing head on, and this one is a big example of that!”
9. Forester – Falling Water
10. Ayokay – I Still Need You
“I Still Need You” — is the captivating new single from L.A.-based artist/vocalist/producer ayokay. Released via Astralwerks, the track is accompanied by an official video that continues the mysterious narrative begun with ayokay’s acclaimed recent single “Better With You.” Go HERE to download/stream “I Still Need You,” and check out the video HERE
On “I Still Need You,” ayokay again reveals his gift for crafting emotionally honest electronic songs that take the listener on an unpredictable journey. To that end, the track foregrounds his soul-stirring melodies and vulnerable lyrics while embedding its soundscape with endlessly surprising details: warped textures, bright and dizzying beats, shimmering pulses of synth. In that sophisticated sound design, the Detroit-bred musician showcases the boundless ingenuity he’s also brought to his work in producing for hitmakers like Carly Rae Jepsen and Grouplove.
““I still need you” is the best representation of the sound of my new album. It tells the story of a relationship that extremely formative to me both creatively and as a human being during the process of putting this project together,” says ayokay. “It merges the upbeat progressive and ambient electronic worlds that have been inspiring me the most lately, topped with an emotional vocal that tells a story I felt I needed to get off my chest.”
