Category: Premiere

Triples Returns With New Song and Video, “So Soon” | Single

June 11th, 2024

Triples is one of Canada’s best-kept secrets. With an emphasis on loose and energetic DIY performances, the band has put out some of the most heartwarming and fun pop songs in recent memory. Today, the Toronto-based project of songwriter and actress, Eva Link, has released her long awaited new single, “So Soon”. As a follow up to 2019’s debut full length, Big Time – an album with no shortage of glittery attitude and loveable hooks, Link returns to her form more confident than ever, with powered up, jangly guitars and an enduring melody that reminds her to embrace what she knows best.

Triples has always gravitated towards a nostalgic feel – taking inspiration from 90’s alt-pop legends like Guided by Voices and Liz Phair, as well as that underground punk charm that is both invigorating in spirit and timeless by nature. “So Soon” showcases the band with a more expansive, rock-forward sound, but at no loss to the heart and pure enjoyment that comes with Link’s songwriting.

“Whose guilty conscious keeps them hiding away/ Fear of fucking up with things you say,” Link sings, as a steady guitar introduces the song – a batch of open ended doubt setting the scene. It doesn’t take long before her layered harmonies become responsive and the driving drum fills and heavy guitars turn the song into a pop-rock classic, as “So Soon” reaches for that joy of embracing what fills us up.

“This song is about coming out of a hibernation, where you’re just used to feeling bad or sad, and then reemerging into the world and remembering what it’s like to feel like yourself again doing the things that made you feel happy, actually doing the things that matter to you (the “cool and right things”) you recognize the YOU that starts to come back,” Link shares about the song.

“So Soon” is accompanied by a music video shot by Seamus Patterson at Paste Studios back in 2023. The video plays with a coming-of-age feel, as the band rocks out in a twinkle lit garage, capturing a new and exciting step forward for Triples.

Triples will be performing with PACKS (Eva’s sister and frequent collaborator, Madeline Link’s band) at the Drake Underground in Toronto on July 6, and look to release their forthcoming EP in the near future.

Written by Shea Roney | Photo by Ryan McCoy
Claire Ozmun Shares “I-90” | Music Video Premiere

June 1st, 2024

Today marks one day since New York-based singer-songwriter Claire Ozmun’s song “I-90” entered the world; now, with an accompanying music video made with hand-written lyric animations (by the Ugly Hug’s own Audrey Keelin) and home video recordings from Ozmun’s personal family archive, Better Company Records’ newest signing makes an exciting entrance through her foray into a released discography.

Ozmun says, “I started writing ‘I-90’ in 2020 while living in my parent’s basement. I was facing student loan debt, a waning relationship, and changing family dynamics. ‘I-90’ is about granting myself permission to feel the weight and silliness of that time.”

Ozmun’s EP, set for release on July 19, is titled “Dying in the Wool.” As described in a press release, “I-90” “offers a candid look at early adulthood, capturing the experience of comparing personal achievements with those of peers and navigating complex relationships and self-discovery. Set against Midwest-imbued guitar parts, vocal harmonies, and nostalgic field recordings, “I-90” reflects Claire’s introspective nature and trust in the future.”

If you’re in New York, her EP release show (with support from Hiding Places and Adeline Hotel) will be held at Sultan Room on July 24th and you can buy tickets here.

Written by Audrey Keelin | Photo by Mara Rothman
Helenor shares “Bad2” | Music Video Premiere

May 14th, 2024

Brooklyn-based project Helenor emboldens the sensations of grief on the new music video for “Bad2”, out today. Conceived by visual artist Indie DiMartino, you can watch the video for “Bad2” now premiering on the ugly hug.

Helenor is the creative DIY project of David DiAngelis, who, last month released his sophomore record, A public place, off of Mtn. Laurel Recording Co. After dropping everything and moving to New York as the pandemic let up, A public place is representative of this wandering – a buffer between where he’s been and where he’s going as the world seemingly blows by.

Opening A public place, “Bad2” grows from a mellow haze – an episode of brain fog reluctant to part as DiAngelis feels fated to grief’s plot. Though his life appears to be static, the song presses onward with a blend of grounded acoustic guitars and revitalizing synthesizers.

“This song is a soundtrack for pretending you have the ability to be present, so for the video we wanted it to feel like an erratic playback of memory,” DiAngelis says.

The music video consists of an impressive and sensory fulfilling array of filming techniques and artistic mediums, as DiMartino, the video’s creator, explains:

“The film for Bad2 exists as an erratic playback of a memory. To portray this feeling of messy dissociation, its process pulled from an array of experimental analog compositing practices and mediums. The project’s footage and titles were shot to 8mm film, with some shots relying on in camera mattes and rear projection. Just as well, some of these film scans were manually scrubbed through and reshot on an old LCD the width of a thumb. A quarter of the project’s runtime was physically printed and rescanned frame by frame. A technique was implemented to further distress these selected sequences by “hand-blooming” the highlights with paint and charcoal.”

Although these styles transition and blur, creating a feeling of disconnection between settings and sensations, the one thing that remains consistent through it all is DiAngelis’ presence, no matter how disorienting it may appear.

Helenor will be playing a Palestine Benefit Event along with Katy Kirby and Jules Olsen on May 21. You can stream A public place on all platforms as well as purchase it on vinyl or CD.
Feller Share “New Cotton” and “Air Mail Tablet” | Single Premiere

May 14th, 2024

Today, Feller, the Chicago-based post-rock duo, share two new singles from their forthcoming debut EP, Universal Miracle Worker (due May 28 via Angel Tapes/Fire Talk). Both tracks are accompanied by a visualizer made by Brady Sheridan, and you can listen to “New Cotton” and “Air Mail Tablet” premiering on the ugly hug.

Feller is composed of drummer Ethan Toenjes (Sleepwalk, Old Coke) and guitarist/vocalist Pete Willson (Cafe Racer), whose concise, far-reaching and captivating sound has found a comfortable home in Chicago’s expansive DIY scene. Making no sacrifice to their individuality, though, Feller stands out in their unique disposition; heavy, eccentric, patient, volatile – and every which reactionary pleasure that they feel fits in the moment.

“Air Mail Tablet” and “New Cotton” showcase Feller as a rock n’ roll assemblage; embodying the most endearing parts of post-punk, post-rock and post-hardcore that still feels fresh in delivery and irresistible in nature. “Air Mail Tablet” is a fever dream, energized by an instrumental groove that floats between loose guitar layers, haunting vocal manipulations and Toenjes’ snug and propulsive drumming. “New Cotton” demonstrates the duo’s natural ability to shift and build around a centralized idea. As patterns melt and mold, showcasing the duo’s extensive knowledge of rock music structures – and lack thereof – the song always returns to its melodic, and often restorative, center.

Universal Miracle Worker will be available on limited edition orange cassettes via Fire Talk’s extension, Angel Tapes.

Written by Shea Roney | Photo by Kevin Allen
New Issue share “Pottery” | Music Video Premiere

May 8th, 2024

Written by Shea Roney

Today, New Issue, the three-piece art-rock band from Anacortes, WA have shared a new single “Pottery”, along with an accompanying music video. Directed and shot by the band, you can watch the video for “Pottery” premiering here on the ugly hug.

A super group of sorts, members Nicholas Wilbur, Allyson Foster and Paul Frunzi have had a part in a handful of other PNW groups like Mount Eerie, Ever Ending Kicks, Hoop and the Stephen Steinbrink band over the years. Having released two LP’s and a handful of tapes under various names, (most notably under Hungry Cloud Darkening), the three piece have always been a source for growing creativity, blending their gentle manner with sweet rock n’ roll experiments into their own unique style.

Later this month, the band is returning with Diminished and Transmitting, their first full length album under the name New Issue. The name change is a relic in itself, as the band is constantly shapeshifting, finding method in expanding and collaboration as their tastes mold over time – each project marking a fresh approach to artistry and variety.

“Pottery” is spacious – breathing deeply within its short run time, as both Foster’s soft, hypnotic vocal phrasings and atmospheric synth tones build upon a feeling of loneliness and despondency. But living prominently in the song’s heart is a light bass melody and echoing drum beat that feels relatively conscious of the life within the track, making an effort to make its presence be heard and felt.

With the subtlety of camera work and a Twin Peaks-esque style of strobe lights, rabid use of slow motion and an eerie atmospheric setting, the music video for “Pottery” was shot late one night in the band’s “low-key-haunted” recording studio called the Unknown in Anacortes. As the band shares, “Nich and Allyson spotted the resident ghost between shots. Paul always misses it.”

In its stillness, as the camera pans over tattered paint tarps (borrowed from Anacortes/Whidbey Island artist and painter David Halland) and the harsh flickering blue glow of a TV screen, we finally land on Foster in a distant and brightly lit room, absentmindedly molding clay – unaware of who may be present in the room with her.

The single for “Pottery” will be released on all platforms this Friday, May 10 New Issue’s first full length album, Diminished and Transmitting will be out on Friday, May 17 off of Butte, Montana tape label, Anything Bagel.
“Frozen in Place” and “That’s How I Feel” by STEEF | Singles Premiere

April 19th, 2024

Written by Shea Roney

Splattering hot oil from the fryer; burning and boiling, New Orleans based project, STEEF, have self released two new singles today, “Frozen in Place” and “That’s How I Feel”. Founded and fronted by Stevie Spring, these songs are acting one-offs for more STEEF material to come, as they shift their sound towards apocalypse energy, proving time and time again that if you can’t handle the heat, then get out of the kitchen – before it comes to life and destroys you.

During the pandemic, Spring had an urge to make the “perfect” pop record. But the word “perfect”, bearing weight in its undertones, became an obsessive; hyper fixated on critiques and changes to the point where music wasn’t fun for him anymore. Trashing it all and starting over lead to 2022’s, Post F, a sonically offbeat, stress free and notably fun record that brought out a new urge – to trust the gut. Spring knew that somehow, somewhere in the acidic lining of his stomach were beautiful characters of freaky sounds, stringy apple-peeled pop hooks and a love of creating again that brought out all of the things that STEEF could be.

These two new songs lead with cynicism, playing into cyclical patterns and harmful noises that we are often exposed to in the modern world. “Frozen in Place”, introduced by a bass line stuck in commute with a poised click track, feels stuck as the edge of impending doom begins to speed towards us. “I perceive it all burning down”, Spring repeats, almost in a plea before the song is smothered and consumed by the same click track – power hungry in its own ability to control time.

“That’s how I Feel” is the embodiment of the voice that lives in Spring’s head, echoing internal dialogs, faults, and intrusive thoughts around the walls of his cranium. With a blend of hyper electronics and a tight Minutemen-esque rhythm section, “That’s How I Feel” is stiff, yet potently lethargic as Spring uses his most fatal flaws in the name of persistent betterment.

STEEF is announcing a limited edition run of 30 tapes by Kiln Recordings in New Orleans upon this release. You can stream “That’s How I Feel” and “Frozen in Place” on all platforms.
hemlock | “garbage truck” Music Video Premiere

March 11th, 2024

Written by Shea Roney

Album cover by Camille Delaune

hemlock is the swamp-raised and untethered (Chicago / LA / Texas) project of Carolina Chauffe who, as of today, is celebrating the two year anniversary of their album, talk soon. To commemorate the anniversary, hemlock, alongside Ghost Mountain Records, is announcing the release of a limited pressing of talk soon for the first time ever on vinyl as well as a new music video for the song “garbage truck”.

With a brush of gradual guitar, Chauffe begins, “I’ve always been so afraid of the things I can’t control / Like accepting that you couldn’t stay, and the sound of the garbage truck.” This line, opening the song “garbage truck” with a gentle admission, sets both tone and desire in the wake of a relationship while also putting weight on the things that feel inevitable. As the track goes on, with a steady heartbeat behind flourishing instrumentation, the music begins to drive with purpose – Chauffe admitting with sincerity, “I wanna be a better person to you.”

Two years after its original release, “garbage truck” only feels stronger in its deliverance, both towards its confessional imperfections and the confident strides of growth that hemlock has so genuinely crafted in their career. “I’ve always been so afraid of the things I can’t control,” Chauffe repeats one last time, before affirming, “But I am not bound to make the mistakes I did before.” With accountability, reassigning the things that we can control, soon, the conditioned racket of the garbage truck outside begins to feel less harsh in its composition – our unfavorable habits are no more foundational to who we are as is the stuff that is hauled away every week by that same darn truck.

To celebrate the two year anniversary today, hemlock has shared a DIY made music video for “garbage truck” compiled of footage shot back in 2021. With a bike basket full of flowers, Chauffe rides around the city of Chicago in hopes to hand out the beautiful bundles to the people at the helm of these dynamic machines. You can watch the full video for “garbage truck” premiering here on the ugly hug today.

The limited double LP pressing of talk soon is pressed on coke bottle clear vinyl. It also contains the bonus track, “Monarch” added in its original intended position on the track list. Side D has an etch designed by Carolina Chauffe. You can preorder the vinyl on hemlock’s bandcamp or at Ghost Mountain Records.

Related: “A Conversation with hemlock”