MUSIC REVIEW: Song Watch - February 2024
We’re back again this month with another influx of new material! Of course, Metal de Facto’s newest album, “Land of the Rising Sun pt. 1” came out on the 9th, though I didn’t go to the album release show because I was at Frozen Factory’s show in Tiivistämö. The self-titled debut album from Today Was Yesterday also came out this month, with lots of guitar work from Alex Lifeson (Rush) and some contributions also from Robby Krieger (ex-The Doors).
However, we’re really here for the avalanche of new material that’s been coming out in February, right? So here are a bunch of new songs that have tickled me in some way from February 2024. Enjoy my Best of 2024 and my Finndie (best of Finland’s indie, underground, and smaller label bands) playlists at the bottom too—they’re ever in flux, so feel free to follow along if you’re looking for fresh and local releases!
Lost in Grey - “Hailuoto”
Lost in Grey have not slowed down even though they’re coming out of the dark end of the season! Their second single in promotion of “Odyssey into the Grey” is ready to further tease us into the band’s new direction. “Hailuoto” has yet another beautifully-made music video with spectacular atmosphere and heartfelt, sad lyrics, that have a positive push in the end. This is doing everything it needs to get me all sorts of amped up for the new album. Can’t wait!
Arion - “Wings of Twilight”
Ahhh, it’s that time of the year again, the time when Arion release the first single from their next album, with its guest vocalist pulled from the ever-expanding pool of talented female vocalists out there. Always seeking to find a good pair for Lassi Vääränen, guitarist/songwriter Iivo Kaipainen has an interesting knack for picking good matches to compliment his sound. Also, he’s just a really great example of an artist who makes consistently solid melodic metal song compositions… perhaps some people might complain about how polished Arion’s production is, but I think it suits their sound. It’s tough to find any fault in this stuff—just listen to how catchy that chorus is? It’s impossible not to like.
Klara LaFleur - “Depressive Occultry”
If you like slow, trippy, flower-child psych rock, then hopefully you already know about Klara LaFleur. If not, now’s a good time to change that! Their latest single, “Depressive Occultry” is a magnificent dip into that ‘60s psychedelic sound, with gentle, distorted guitars, mellow vocals, and just a hint of drum kick every once in a which to keep it interesting. Check out their other fun new single too, “Catlover,” from February 14th and keep an eye open for their live shows—they’re particularly fun because they have a heavy metal drummer.
Luna Kills - “we were born to die”
Luna Kills are probably one of the hottest to-watch bands in Finland right now. Their first album under that name was easily one of the best releases of 2021, so keeping an eye on them has been endlessly worthwhile. While the first new singles after the album felt like they were in-keeping with the previous release’s sound, the style has taken some further steps in more recent releases, as can be heard in this new single, “we were born to die,” which has a sick electronic breakdown towards the end—can’t recall them having done that before, but it suits their sound perfectly. Hopefully I’ll be getting them on Gathering of Geeks this year sometime—fingers crossed!
King of None - “Low’n’Slow”
King of None are one of those rare bands that I didn’t find—they found me and I’m ever so glad that they did! Their last single was already in the missed-from-2023 part of last month’s New Song Watch for being a high-speed banger, while “Low’n’Slow,” like its name suggests, proves that they don’t need to be rippin’ at top velocity to be great. Also, just because they’ve slowed it down doesn’t mean they’ve let the guitars be any less solo-y. Really, I need to change the fact that I haven’t seen these guys live yet ASAP.
Monotonia - “Tyhmä rakkauslaulu”
Monotonia are one of those bands that I discovered when I was out gig-hopping one night, as they were playing after Johanna von Hertzen. They had a really fun rock ‘n’ roll sound, so I put them on my watch list and this single, “Tyhmä rakkauslaulu” [dumb love song] is their first new single released since I discovered them. Truly, this song is cute as hell, with the main point being that “you deserve a symphony, not this dumb love song.” Highly recommended if you like sweet songs sung in Finnish that are being self-aware in a fun way. Also, can we just take a second to appreciate the happy Finnish faces in the cover art? Finnish smiles are a rare, wonderful treat.
Endline - “Lost”
Your band don’t need to be progressive masterminds to be good and this new song, “Lost,” by a band called Endline is proof of that. First of all, I actually have no idea how I even heard about this song, which amuses me deeply. Where am I even finding new music, at this point? Are press releases spawning directly into my brain? Secondly, this song deserves some attention because it’s fun, catchy, the vocals are really solid, and it brings me into a bit of a state of nostalgia for old bands like Nemeasea, who were bangin’ radio-friendly entertainment back in the day. I have no idea who these guys are, but I might have to keep an ear in their direction in the future.
Classless Act - “Toxic” (Britney Spears cover)
If you know me, you know that I’ve been following Classless Act really closely, since long before their debut album hit shelves and streaming services. These American powerhouses of hard rock last released a couple of David Bowie covers in 2023, which meant that ystävänpäivä [friend’s day, 14.2.2024] marked the release of a new cover, this time from Britney Spears’ back catalog: “Toxic.” There’s nothing I love more than when a band takes an existing song and really spin it into their style and that’s exactly what Classless Act did with this single—it sounds almost nothing like the original, in the best sort of way!
Frozen Factory - “I Am but One”
Oh Frozen Factory, your eclectic combination of things that sound like, among others, Iron Maiden, Depeche Mode, Pink Floyd, and Alice in Chains really is something new and exciting in a world of music that often all sounds the same. There’s definitely a heavy modern Bruce Dickinson vibe in the vocals, combined with a lot of passion and what seems to be a desire to keep things ever in flux and interesting, musically. Often I feel like no two Frozen Factory songs are truly alike, which is a huge part of what keeps them endlessly interesting and exciting!
Mia Hafrén - “I Refuse”
I discovered Mia Hafrén via Oona Kapari, who I believe does some sound mixing for her, or something along those lines (Oona was doing sound at Musamimmit vol. 2, which is how I discovered her, incidentally). Mia has released at least two singles this year, the latter of which is down below in the missed-from-last-month section. From what I understand, she’s a Mamma Mia! star, which makes perfect sense, as this new single is ABBA as hell! But what I really love about her music is her lyrics—she’s very critical of politics and politicians and makes absolutely no secret of it in her music. These are the messages the world needs right now and I’m glad someone is sharing them! You’ll find me at her album release show on March 8th, so don’t miss out if you like this single!
Missed in January
Ayreon - “The Sixth Extinction - Live”
I can’t believe this came out a handful of hours after my New Song Watch for January was already up, but here we are. We finally got the first taste of “Live Beneath the Waves” on January 31st, which fans have been dying for since September. This video is exactly what I needed to start off my year, bringing me back to the amazing experience of seeing this show live. It’s a strange and bold move to release the last song first—spoilery? But it also shows off all of the artists who were present for the show, so perhaps that’s why. Naturally, it’s just fucking awesome, so check it out if you haven’t already!
Mia Hafrén - “Goodness (a letter to a dictator)”
As I said above, I hadn’t heard of Mia Hafrén before, but in my quest to check out all of the indie artists that the indie artists I follow have shouted out, she popped up with this new single. The title really tells you everything you need to know, but I fell in love with the song immediately because of its wonderful message about how the world is just better when we’re good to one another. I look forward to hearing more on her material! Also, I am crazy, crazy, crazy (listen to the song and you’ll get the joke) for how utterly catchy it is—I boogie around in my seat every time I hear it. Fingers crossed that we’ll get to hear these songs live next month!
Thanks for following along! Here’s the backlog of articles from 2024:
New Song Watch - January 2024
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