Happy Friday! Alternative New Music Friday #Happens with Alice Merton. Her 5-song EP, Heron is out today via her own label Paper Plane Records.

It’s weekend #1 of Coachella. The set times are HERE. 

Speaking of the west coast, The Mission has announced a west coast run before playing at Cruel World Festival next month. I have details in the latest Music Info.

Destroy Boys, Royel Otis, Michael Marcagi & Blame My Youth are on the free “Concerts In The Park 2024” lineup for KKDO (ALT 94.7)/Sacramento. More in The Latest Alternative News.

After a whirlwind first quarter of superstar releases, it appears we’ve hit spring break. There is new music from Blue October that needs to be on your radar. Justin Furstenfeld just stopped by WAQX (95X)/Syracuse. More on that on Alternative Radio & Records Exposure.

 

THIS WEEK’S ALTERNATIVE NEW MUSIC DISCOVERY  

Blue October “Everything We Lost In The Fire” (Up/Down-Brando Records) 

Houston’s Blue October celebrate change on their new single “Everything We Lost In The Fire.” It’s the first single from Blue October’s upcoming 13th album to be released later this year. Early radio support has the new single set to debut on the Alternative chart as the band wraps up their Spinning The Truth Around: Part II Tour on April 20th at the Toyota Music Factory in Dallas. About the new single, Blue October’s Justin Furstenfeld said, “The heaviest times of our lives is when we have to make difficult decisions. Change can be a beautiful part of life if you celebrate it. This is me celebrating change in the loudest way possible.” Blue October has a 30-city co-headline “Help From My Friends Tour ” with Switchfoot and Matt Nathanson beginning July 24th in Charlotte. Find the tour dates HERE.

Listen/Download/Song Info on #HAPPENS Alternative Downloads HERE.

 

New Music Friday #Happens With Alice Merton

Alice Merton has a new EP, Heron, out today on her own label Paper Plane Records via Your Army. The EP features 5 songs including lead single “run away girl” written and produced with James Dring (Lana Del Rey, Self Esteem).

Alice says, “In the Heron EP, I’ve tried to capture individual stories and thoughts of the past year that I’ve collected. The heron was one of the first unusual things I saw in London on a late-night stroll through the city. I wondered how a bird like that could find a home in such an unusual place when I realized I’d been doing that my whole life. When I read that herons symbolized and embodied the spirit of transformation and adaptation in Celtic mythology, I knew that I’d found the right name for what I was trying to convey with these songs. 

“The whole EP is an inner transformation and realisation of what I really want out of this life and which things are important to me. The journey starts with run away girl, where I introduce the feeling of being lost in oneself and not knowing what you are really chasing and ends with between the lines, a song that captures my typical state of daydreaming where I realize the biggest messages and ideas will always be hidden away between words and feelings that I get to share with you, and that is truly what will always bring me the most happiness in this life.”

Alice’s collaborators on the Heron EP include her producer and co-writer Paul Whalley, Jonny Coffer (Beyoncé, Miley Cyrus, Ellie Goulding), James Dring (Gorillaz, Self Esteem), Nick Hahn (Sigrid, IVE) and Tobias Kuhn (Milky Chance). 

Born in Frankfurt, Germany to a German mother and an Irish-born father, Merton was raised in Canada and Germany. Her debut No Roots EP, released in 2017, featured her breakthrough single “No Roots.” She has released two albums Mint (2019) and S.I.D.E.S. (2022).

Alice has headline US tour dates in May. 

US TOUR DATES

May 6, 2024 – Washington, DC – The Atlantis

May 7, 2024 – New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom

May 10, 2024 – Boston, MA – The Sinclair

May 11, 2024 – Columbus, OH – A&R Music Bar

May 13, 2024 – Nashville, TN – Basement East

May 14, 2024 – Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall

May 16, 2024 – Denver, CO – Bluebird Theater

May 18, 2024 – Portland, OR – Doug Fir Lounge

May 19, 2024 – Seattle, WA – Barboza

May 21, 2024 – San Francisco, CA – Rickshaw Stop

May 22, 2024 – Los Angeles, CA – Troubadour

 

New Music Friday Albums To Check Out Today

Alice Merton – Heron (EP) (Paper Plane)

girl in red – I’m Doing It Again Baby! (Columbia)

Jakobs Castle – Enter: The Castle (Epitaph)

Linkin Park – Papercuts (Singles Collection 2000-2023) (Warner)

Maggie Rogers – Don’t Forget Me (Capitol)

Metz – Up On Gravity Hill (Sub Pop)

The Reds, Pinks & Purples – Unwishing Well (Slumberland)

MORE ALT ALBUMS HERE

 

GOING FOR ADDS

Impacting Songs Next Week (4/16):

The Black Keys “On The Game” (Warner) 

Dead Poet Society “My Condition” (Spinefarm) 

The Last Dinner Party “Sinner” (Island/Republic)