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| Photo - Anna Azarov |
Beloved folk-pop singer-songwriter Rachael Sage and her longtime band The Sequins have released the animated “Kill The Clock” music video. Appearing on their new album Canopy and excavated from a demo Sage recorded in her teens, “Kill The Clock” is quickly becoming a fan favorite after receiving play listing love from NPR's All Songs Considered and combats the oppressive, exhausting feeling of being stuck in a never-ending rat race that can never be sated -- the perfect sentiment to take into the holiday season as we slow down to focus on family and the things that really matter.
The animated music video, is a chaotic, left-of-center collaboration between two New York polymaths which combines the talents of Fuel Heart Productions’ multimedia artist Carissa Johnson as a director and animator with Sage’s own original paintings.
“‘Kill The Clock’ is a song I rediscovered from a teenage demo my mom found in the basement a couple of years ago,” shares Sage. “While the lyrics are a bit abstract and cryptic compared to how I’ve been writing more recently, I believe I understand the meaning of them more now than I did when I first composed it. It’s about cultural and personal alienation and feeling like everyone and everything around you is geared toward some incomprehensible rat-race, to be more, to own more, to do more… it’s very ’80s greed’ inspired.
It reflects on the insanely competitive aspects of the college application process and some of the unfortunate bullying I experienced not only in school but also when I was a ballet student, when body-imagery as well as social status was as much a part of our roller-coaster conservatory dynamics as dancing itself. I chose to include a grown-up version of this song on ‘Canopy’ not only because I thought that The Sequins could bring it to new life, but because it’s essentially about corruption, written from a child’s perspective.”
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Step inside. The lights are low, the air is thick, and the night feels endless. Welcome to Amber Hotel — five rooms, five stories, one descent into the heart of modern desire and disconnection.
Across Lean Closer, the Chicago-based trio turns post-punk and darkwave into a cinematic fever dream. It begins with Amber Hotel, a statement of intent — pulsing basslines, sharp guitars, and a voice that commands and confesses in the same breath. It’s not just a song; it’s an invitation. Check in, and let the walls start whispering.
From there, the descent deepens. Digital Ghost drifts through blue-light hauntings and broken connections. Automatic Devotion dances in obsession’s glow — seductive and claustrophobic all at once. Shadowed Face forces you to confront the version of yourself you’ve been hiding from, while Midnight’s Echo pulls you fully into the dark — a slow hypnosis where time dissolves and echoes replace memory.
Influenced by the timeless pulse of Bauhaus, The Cure, and She Wants Revenge, Lean Closer captures a world where emotion and machinery blur. Every track hums with the tension between control and surrender, reflection and release. Amber Hotel isn’t nostalgia. It’s a mirror for now — flickering, dangerous, and alive. Five songs. Five keys. One door you may not want to close again. Welcome to Amber Hotel. Check in. Lean closer. Don’t count on checking out.
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Emerging Georgia singer/songwriter Clover County has announced her debut headline Finer Things Tour, which will begin in February and will take her through Los Angeles, Brooklyn, Nashville and more. Tickets go on sale this Friday December 12 at 10 a.m. local time. She will also rejoin Sam Barber for a slew of dates next year, following a widely acclaimed run with Barber earlier this year. For a full list of dates, please visit clovercounty.com.
To accompany this announcement, Clover also shared that Finer Things (Deluxe), the deluxe edition of her debut album that came out earlier this year via Undercover Lover Records / Thirty Tigers, will come out on January 23. The LP features two new songs and an acoustic version of fan favorite “Virginia Slim.” Last week, she previewed the deluxe with the release of gentle new single “Suitcase,” produced by Brad Cook (Waxahatachee, Snail Mail, Bon Iver).
On the new song, Clover shares: “Not too far off from John Denver’s ‘Leaving on a Jet Plane’ or Townes Van Zandt’s ‘I’ll Be Here in the Morning,’ ‘Suitcase’ is an apology to a lover for leaving — again (and again, and again). In my version of this very unoriginal story, I’m not actually planning on coming back this time. I’m pleading — hoping this person will come with me, find their own purpose in this wild, selfish journey by my side. It breaks my heart to keep going it alone but that’s exactly how it always ends.”
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With images captured during one of their recent live performances, director Pablo Delpedro sought to highlight the intensity that is so characteristic of Dead Chic. The release of the band’s new single “The Bells and The Fists” was the perfect opportunity to illustrate this: a strange, shadowy track where flesh and steel collide, the soundtrack to a pagan ceremony unfolding somewhere deep in the bowels of the earth.
The video immerses us in the world of the four band members. Through their looks, their movements, their chaos and fury, we find ourselves at the heart of the storm, in the thick, sweaty atmosphere that turns each of their concerts into a dark and intense ritual.
Dead Chic originally formed from the partnership between Andy Balcon and Damien Félix. They met a few years ago while touring with their respective bands (Heymooshaker and Catfish), frequently crossing paths on the road and catching up backstage to discuss music, idols, and the possibility of collaborating. After a few years without crossing paths, they reconnected in the fall of 2020. Before discussing musical influences, Andy and Damien shared visual references, illustrations, and landscapes that would form the foundation and direction of their work. The idea of working together then took a serious turn, and after some exchanges, "Too Far Gone," their first track, was released in 2022.
They were then joined by Rémi Ferbus on drums (known for his work with Kimberose, Mélissa Laveaux, among others), who had previously collaborated with Andy; and Mathis Akengin on keyboards, a long-time collaborator of Damien in Catfish. Over the years, through tours and travels, the musicians have honed their skills, enriched their cultural knowledge, and defined their individual styles. The combination of the four immediately sparked.
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