ANCHR Magazine

Holding you down with the best new music

Filtering by Tag: Bastille

ANCHR's Artist of the Week: Ralph Pelleymounter

Photo by Flore Diamant

I first became acquainted with the songwriting of Ralph Pelleymounter through his band To Kill a King several years ago. The band’s music and Pelleymounter ’s voice instantly made an impression on me for a few reasons. First, Pelleymounter ‘s vocals have such a velvety richness and captivating depth to them—he’s one of those singers who listeners can immediately identify even if they don’t know the song because he has such a unique tone. To complement his voice, Pelleymounter has a songwriting knack for crafting lyrics that are both ruminative and descriptive, while remaining catchy and melodic.

While it’s been a few years since To Kill a King released music as a group, Pelleymounter has released a handful of singles and an album, 2019’s Dead Debutante’s Ball, as a solo artist. Following his debut record as a solo act, Pelleymounter filled his time during the pandemic performing online gigs, working on new material for himself, and even co-writing Bastille’s latest album Give Me The Future. Pelleymounter gave listeners their first taste of his new material just last week with the release of his single called “Steady Love.” The track begins with a harmonized embrace from Pelleymounter’s vocals blending with the backing vocals of Edith Violet from the band Fours, which is followed up by a guitar-driven melody that you can’t help but tap your foot along to. Pelleymounter describes the song as his reaction during the pandemic to “the 'will-they, won't-they' stories I was watching, and a thank you to those who showed me such kindness and love while everything was falling apart.”

To celebrate his new music, Pelleymounter has announced a show at The Social venue in London on April 6th. Tune into the new track below, and if you’re in London, snag tickets to the show here.





New Music Friday 11/10

New Music Friday this week brings a few comebacks and collaboration between Chicagoans. The Wombats returned with brand new single, which came backed with the news of a 2018 tour and new album called Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life, out in February. Bastille also released their new single and video for "World Gone Mad" from an upcoming Netflix movie, and TEN FÉ are also back with their first single release since their debut album, which came out earlier this year. Another ANCHR favorite, Two Feet, teased news of a new EP coming early next year, releasing his first single from the EP today. As for the Chicago collaboration, NE-HI and Jamila Woods brought their own distinct styles to their new single ""The Times I'm Not There." On the album front, Tennis and Jagara have new EPS, while Spinning Coin, Sleigh Bells and TEST put out full lengths. Get listening to all that and more below, and stay tuned for an interview with TEST coming next week!


Paul Cherry- "Like Yesterday"

TEN FE- "Single, No Return"

LPX- "Slide"

The Wombats- "Lemon To a Knife Fight"

NE-HI and Jamila Woods- "The Times I'm Not There"

Two Feet- "I Feel Like I'm Drowning"

Sigrid-"Strangers"

Bastille-"World Gone Mad"

Tennis- We Can Die Happy EP

Jagara- Twice EP

Spinning Coin- Permo

Sleigh Bells- Kid Kruschev

TEST- Brain in / Brain Out

New Music Friday 8/18

Lots going on for this week's New Music Friday! In addition to new singles from Alvvays, Varsity, Gordi, and Farebrother, Bastille have released an Orchestreal version of Green Day's "Basket Case." On the new album front, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard have teamed up with Mild High Club for a collaborative album, and our pals Gang of Youths have released their long awaited album. Listen to all that and more below!

Alvvays- "PLIMSOLL PUNKS"

Rose Gray- "Ring The Alarm"

Varsity- "Settle Down"

Farebrother-"Rewind"

Bastille- "Basket Case" (Green Day Cover)

Julien Baker- "Appointments"

Gordi- "Bitter End"

Blaenavon- Prague '99 EP

Everything Everything- A Fever Dream

Gang of Youths- Go Further in Lightness

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard/Mild High Club- Sketches of Brunswick East

Friendship, Relationships, and Memory: Bastille Drop Their Highly Anticipated Video For New Single "Glory"

"Friendship, relationships and memory is the ball park we're aiming for," Bastille's frontman Dan Smith tweeted in early April, revealing his take on the band's brand new video for "Glory," out today. 

Filmed in Texas while Bastille brought their "Wild, Wild World Tour" to America this past Spring, the video for Bastille's fifth single from Wild World evokes a strong sense of nostalgia using the themes that Smith set up. Playing on the lyrics "stories told to me, and stories told to you," the video depicts the common narrative of two people in a relationship, be it platonic or romantic, recalling the same memory from varying perspectives. Starring Smith and May Daniels, the five minute clip begins with Daniels and Smith sharing a drink and reminiscing while they lay on the hood of a car, watching planes fly by above. The story line unfolds in subtitles; As the pair recall partying in a dive bar, stealing a car, and jumping into pools, viewers see these flashbacks of the relationship between Daniels' and Smith's characters from both of their points of view. 

As with most of Bastille's work, Smith's appreciation of film shines through in this music video, from the layered story line down to the camera shots that add such a depth to the song. The music video comes across as more like a trailer for an indie drama, holding more weight than most music videos these days.  Never a band to do things the traditional way, Bastille also teased the video for days before the release, with Smith posting polaroids taken on set, which further evoke a sense of nostalgia and memories. 

Image Courtesy of Bastille

Image Courtesy of Bastille

With every listen of "Glory," I've always been reminded of memories of friendship and late nights, which ties in so closely to the story portrayed in the music video. To Smith's point in his tweet, they have definitely done it justice. Watch the video below.