Happy Holidays!

This time of the year, the number of new releases drops significantly as the industry takes a break. Fortunately, some indie artists take advantage of the quieter time and put out new music until the very end of the year, so our Song Pick of the Day features will continue without a break. We will, however, skip the newsletter for the next two weeks and return on January 9, 2023.

Aside from the mounting celebratory mood, December is perfect for reflecting on the past and the outlook on a new year. It is hard to say if 2022 was a good or disappointing year, but many things have changed in unexpected ways. And some of them impact how we see our work at glamglare.

It is difficult to pinpoint when exactly glamglare started as a music blog because it has had several different shapes over the years and was not always called “glamglare.” However, we have consistently presented a song per day since September 2015. If you have Apple Music, you can listen to them here: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022.

A lot has changed in the blogging world since then. When we started, SoundCloud was the primary distribution channel for indie artists. Now they assume that everybody has a Spotify subscription anyway. Facebook used to be king regarding fan connection, but then it became Instagram and now TikTok.

Music blogs – which had their heyday in the late 2000s to early teens – continue to exist, but the number of people who go to a website to discover new music is probably declining. Many blogs have closed shop because running an editorial team is not profitable anymore,

We always saw glamglare as a means to make connections, not money. So as long as there are artists who want their music to be presented on our blog, we continue. But we cannot ignore the signs of the times either: the declining importance of the blogosphere, the potential implosion of social media, and the ever-changing technology landscape. Hence, we will implement new ideas and expand our scope. This will start with the next edition of this newsletter on January 9, 2023.

What will not change is our dedication to giving musical artists a platform that is not driven by the number of streams or followers and the potential to sell advertising.

We wish you a joyous and happy holiday season! Don’t forget to check on our Song Picks of the Day on our site and our Apple Music and Spotify playlists. Also, if you need a variation in holiday music, this playlist is for you.

Song Picks of the Day

Listen to all our daily song picks on our playlists on Spotify and Apple Music.

Craig John Davidson – Lesson Learned

Craig John Davidson is a singer/songwriter and producer from Aberdeen, Scotland, who has been recording and releasing music since the early 2000s. The newest single, “Lesson Learned,” showcases the guitarist’s fantastic fingerpicking skills and puts them to exquisite use. The irresistible ebb and flow of the track are beautiful yet also bittersweet because one can feel that having learned the lesson(s) didn’t come without pain. Asked about the song, Craig says:

“It’s a play on words about how many mistakes you have to make in order to finally learn from them. It’s documenting that I’ve had to make some serious mistakes, to the point of no return, before sorting it out. And it seems like I’ve finally learned a lesson in life. It’s quite a novelty, because it has been a decade of quite brutal going with touring and the situations I’ve ended up in to finally be a bit more balanced. Now I’m focused, it’s like: Here I am, I’m back, I’ve got my eye on the ball, I’m gonna do this properly.”

Listen to “Lesson Learned,” our Song Pick of the Day:

Aniqo – This Has to Stop

The Berlin-based dark pop singer/songwriter Aniqo released her debut album “Birth” last spring, but she does not want end the year without brand new music. “This Has to Stop” probably speaks to the minds of many of us, and there is no better time to change things than a new year.

Watch the video, created by Aniqo herself, here:

Nuovo Testamento – Heartbeat

Italo disco and Hi-NRG trio Nuovo Testamento announce their upcoming album Love Lines with the release of their new single “Heartbeat.” While many contemporaries sound nostalgic or, at the very least, a bit wistful, “Heartbeat” sounds as authentic and real as anything put out in Europe during the 80s. This makes -and pun totally intended- my heart beat a little faster because I absolutely love this new song by this Los Angeles- and Bologna-based synth-pop three-piece.

Love Lines sees its release on March 6, 2023, via Discoteca Italia; pre-order it here. And there’s a video for “Heartbeat,” shot and edited by Gamal Sharaf El Deen. Listen to “Heartbeat,” our Song Pick of the Day, and check out the video too:

Zoe Sky Jordan – Just Fine

“I always live up to the hype, never crack under the pressure,” sings Toronto artist Zoe Sky Jordan like a mantra in her new song “Just Fine.” The daughter of two musicians knows a thing about the industry, and that good attitude helps to get through the headwinds that female artists still face. “Just Fine” is delightful indie rock, and you may catch yourself singing along with the chorus.

Zoe is working on an EP, Selfish, for release next year. Listen to our Song Pick of the Day below on SoundCloud or Spotify:

Hibou – Night Fell

Exciting where life can take you or to where you take your life. In the case of multi-instrumentalist Peter Michael, better known as Hibou, he exchanged his birthplace Seattle, WA, with France’s capital Paris, where he’s at home if he’s not touring. Hibou made a splash with his 2015 beautifully dreamy, self-titled album. With his new single “Night Fell,” he announces his new EP Arc, scheduled for January 13, 2023. Musically, Hibou picks and plucks from shoegaze and new wave to synth-pop, what seems fit for his desired sound, and holds it all beautifully together with his warm and breezy vocals.

Listen to “Night Fell,” our Song Pick of the Day:

Andria Rose – Drink Me Like Wine

Texas singer/songwriter Andria Rose has her own brand of lush, sumptuous pop music, not unlike a good, full-bodied red wine. Hence, “Drink Me Like Wine” is an apt title for Andria’s latest song, which transports you straight to a retro-futuristic late-night party.

Watch the lyric video for our Song Pick of the Day, “Drink Me Like Wine,” below or listen to the song on Spotify:

The Frisbys – Hurt Me

“Hurt Me” swirls and swishes, glitters and glimmers, and with its infectious, pulsating drive, is a welcomed antidote to any melancholic feelings many of us might have this time of year. It sounds surprising that a song titled “Hurt Me” would be elevating, yet this is exactly the effect of the newest single by indie-folk sextet The Frisbys. The London-based folk-rockers are fronted by the twin sisters Helen(vocals, flute) and Nicola Frisby (vocals, acoustic guitar). They offer beautifully intricate vocal harmonies and a chemistry that can easily be compared to the likes of Sweden’s First Aid Kit or Australia’s Charm of Finches.

Asked about the track, The Frisbys say:

“It’s about starting a new relationship after a significant heartbreak and the battle of deciding whether you are ready to pursue something new when you are still recovering from past hurts. It’s also about the responsibility of protecting other people and recognising that if you’re not ready to move on, you might end up causing someone else pain. Basically… it’s a no win. It sucks to break up with someone and it sucks to be broken up with. The song is pretty upbeat though so it isn’t quite as depressing as it sounds!”

Listen to “Hurt Me,” our Song Pick of the Day:

glamglare favorite albums of the year

Here it is, the first collaborative list of our favorite 20 albums. This was possible because we listened to many albums all year long, so our favorites just naturally fell in place. Head over to the glamglare site and check out these 20 fantastic records.