JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 118th anniversary of the birth of Lionel Hampton.
Throwback: Happy 75th Birthday, Luther Vandross!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 75th anniversary of the birth of Luther Vandross.
New Video: Bummer Camp Shares “120 Minutes” MTV-Like “One Bullet”
Originally formed as a solo loop-based recording project by its founder and frontman, Teenage Halloween‘s Eli Frank, Queens-based grungegaze outfit Bummer Camp evolved into a full fledged band after the project’s earliest releases, 2017’s Winnebago Vacation EP, 2019’s Camp Somewhere, 2023’s Big Deal EP and last year’s full-length debut, Stuck In A Dream.
The band’s sophomore album, Fake My Death is slated for a May 8, 2026 release through Trash Casual. Recorded at a New Jersey-based The Animal, Farm, the album features Brett Bivona (lead guitar) and Jon “Steel Wolf” Markson playing bass, recording, production and mixing. Compared to the previously released home-recorded work, the Fake My Death sessions brought about a much tighter timeline and a more intentional approach, while still leaving room for extra texture and character.
“When I record at home I can take as long as I want goofing around and playing with different instruments,” Bummer Camp’s frontman Eli Frank explains. ““In the studio, time is literally money… a lot of money. So you gotta be focused and use your time wisely. We did end up getting the main bits done early so we could play around with percussion and other random stuff, I think it’s important to leave time for things like that because A) it’s fun and B) it adds character to the album.”
With Fake My Death, the Queens-based grungegaze outfit aims for a much, bigger, more focused album that thematically tackles anxieties that surface and fade, and the push and pull of wanting to disappear and wanting to continue onward. Rather than featuring songwriting at a distance, the album’s material frames those thoughts and feelings plainly and turns them into direct, melodic songs specifically meant to be lived with.
“‘Wanna fake my death cause I can’t stomach anything’ is a line from the song ‘Perfect Storm,'” Eli Frank says, talking about the inspiration behind the album and its title. “The desire to tune everything out to such a point that you just want to actually disappear forever is not going to help anything, especially yourself. You gotta take the good, the bad, the beautiful, the ugly, and roll with it. In my opinion, whether you’re being punched or hugged, feeling something is better than not feeling anything at all.”
Fake My Death‘s first single, “One Bullet” is a melodic and hook-driven anthem that channels 120 Minutes-era MTV-era grunge featuring bruising, crunchy power chord-driven riffs while describing acute anxiety, depression and dissociation with an almost lived-in precision.
The single is accompanied by an trippy and mind-bending music video directed by longtime collaborator and multimedia artist Preston Spurlock.
New Audio: rhythmspitter Shares Vibey “Candle Magic”
San Francisco-based musician, composer, producer Michael Mosley is best known for playing bass in Red Thread Theory and for being the creative mastermind behind the JOVM mainstay act rhythmspitter. With rhythmspitter, Mosley explores instrumental indie rock and lo-fi beat-driven material that draws from an eclectic array of sources, including Bill Laswell’s Material and Jah Wobble‘s Invaders of the Heart.
Mosley weaves together a rich tapestry of instruments and rhythms from across the world into a meticulously crafted composition that provides a chill and captivating vibe that’s entrancing. His work seeks to break down barriers and introduce audiences to a world of sonic exploration that they may not have encountered before, while opening minds to the beauty of different styles, instruments and sounds.
Earlier this month, the JOVM mainstay released his full-length debut, Cosmological Exigency and the Astrological Paradigm. The album’s latest single “Candle Magic” is a vibey, meditative track featuring hypnotic, Middle Eastern-inspired percussion and shimmering reverb-soaked guitar that seemingly channels experimental jazz and New Age while being lounge friendly and remarkably accessible.
New Audio: Crá CroÍ Returns with Brooding “Flesh Machines”
Deriving their name from the Gaelic phrase for “heartache,” or “vexation of spirit,” County Cork-based duo Crá Croí — RG (songwriting, production, mixing and mastering) and CD (vocals and visuals) — have employed a fiercely DIY ethos while establishing a sound that meshes elements of 1980s New Wave, post-punk and goth, featuring melancholic synths, dark melodies, angular guitars and sharp, hook-driven vocals.
The Irish duo’s work explores themes of nihilism, love and destruction, dystopian collapsed and nuclear annihilation, often wrapped in irony and paired with post-apocalyptic metaphors.
The Cork-based duo’s self-produced, 12-song, full-length debut, Tá brón orm is slated for an October 30, 2026. The album’s title derives its title from the Irish phrase for “sadness” or “sorrow is on me.” The album will feature 12 completely new tracks, but to build up buzz for the band and the forthcoming album, the Irish JOVM mainstays have released a handful of standalone singles including “Radiation Romance,” “Fires At Dawn,” “Feeding The Fear,” and “Lost In The Electric Blood.”
The duo’s latest single “Flesh Machines” continues a remarkable run of material that meshes elements of goth with Joy Division and Interpol-like post punk that showcases their ability to pair socially conscious lyrics with their unerring knack for razor sharp hooks and rousingly anthemic choruses. Thematically, the new single as the band explains, paints a picture of modern existence that invites the listener to reflect on their own relationship with the digital world.
New Audio: Velatine Shares Forceful “Whisper Park”
Melbourne-based songwriter and producer Loki Lockwood is the creative mastermind behind the darkwave/goth recording project Velatine. For the bulk of Velatine’s history, Lockwood collaborated with different vocalists while crafting a unique and fresh take on the familiar and beloved darkwave/goth sound.
If you were frequenting this site over the course of last year, the Aussie producer and musician collaborated with Nocturna on “Till Death Do We Art” and Holly Purnell, who was discovered through an Instagram ad for “Oh See Me — The Siren.” While working on “Oh See Me — The Siren” Purnell joined Velatine as the project’s full-time vocalist.
Velatine’s latest single “Whisper Park” is a subtle change in sonic direction, seeing the band leaning more towards a forceful, goth and doom-like direction than their previously released material. Anchored around slashing, angular guitar attack and dramatic drumming, the cinematic “Whisper Park” channels contemporary fare like Bonnie Trash and others, while showcasing Purnell’s remarkable vocal.
New Audio: Johan Hiro Shares Vibey and Trippy “the vacancy”
Jonah Hiro is a Boston-based singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer, who specializes in a brand of bedroom psych pop informed by his obsession with blown out sounds, trippy and hypnotic soundscapes, paired with dreamy vocals.
Hiro released his debut EP, lost at sea earlier this year. The EP features the mesmerizing opening track “i gaze at mars” and “the vacancy.” Featuring twinkling keys, quivering synths, blown out beats paired with Hiro’s layered and dreamily delivered harmonies, “the vacancy” seemingly channels a mind-bending synthesis of Sgt. Pepper-era The Beatles, Dark Side of the Moon and Tame Impala to create a lo-fi, lysergic vibey tune.
New Video: SHUB and Sebastian Gaskin Team Up on Sleek, Intimate “I Know”
Dan “SHUB” General is a Mohawk producer and member of the Six Nations of the Grand River, the largest First Nation reserve in Canada. As a co-founder of the trailblazing and acclaimed, Juno Award-winning Indigenous electronic music outfit A Tribe Called Red, now known as The Hallucci Nation, General has been instrumental in the development of powwow-step, a blend of the ancient rhythms of powwow music with scratching, hip-hop, and modern, bass-heavy electronic music production.
In 2014, General left A Tribe Called Red and stepped out into the spotlight as a solo artist and producer. His debut, 2016’s six-song PowWowStep EP featured collaborations with the Northern Cree Singers, smoke dance singer Frazer Sundown and a Blackfeet Nation-based drum group, Black Lodge Singers. Th EP won an Indigenous Music Award for Best Instrumental Album and the Canadian Organization of Campus Activities (COCA) named him DJ of the Year in 2017.
Since then, the Canadian producer and DJ has released two albums, 2020’s War Club and last year’s Heritage (Part One). Conceived as part of a two-part series, Heritage (Part One) saw General stepping beyond the DJ both and boldly stepping forward as a composer, storyteller and artist dedicated to expanding the reach of Indigenous music on a global scale.
The second part of the series, Heritage (Part Two) is slated for a May 1, 2026 release. Across Heritage, SHUB brings together Indigenous artists across generations, using collaboration as a way to explore identity, community and continuity within contemporary music. The Canadian producer and artist is helping to actively expanding the space Indigenous artists occupy within modern music. Heritage (Part Two) completes that vision, bringing together voices across cultures and styles into a single body of work. “This album is about movement and growth,” SHUB explains. “It’s not trying to be one genre — it’s just where I’m at right now.”
Heritage (Part Two)‘s latest single “I Know,” feat. Sebastian Gaskin is a sleek, hook-driven bit of club friendly, contemporary R&B/contemporary pop featuring glistening synth arpeggios, thumping beats serving as a lush bed for Gaskin’s yearning and plaintive falsetto. While SHUB’s work has been known for being centered on blending traditional Indigenous sounds with electronic production, “I Know” is a deliberate and thoughtful shift in sound, stripping the more ceremonial aspects of his sound for an emphasis on intimacy and personal connection that will feel familiar — and universal.
The song also captures the organic and seemingly effortless chemistry of the duo’s collaboration. “Working on this one with Sebastian was one of those sessions where the chemistry was instant,” SHUB explains. “We actually ended up writing two songs that day, but this one stood out straight away. Sometimes a record just finds its own lane when the right people are in the room.”
That sense of connection carried into the song’s overall themes. “Shub & I wrote this imagining our cultures as a lover,” Sebastian Gaskin says. “It’s about returning to where we come from and remembering that our roots don’t just ground us — they hold us.”
Directed by Matt Guarrasi, the accompanying video for “I Know” feat. Sebastian Gaskin follows the duo through a late-night drive through Toronto, with the city’s light reflected on windshield that features stops on various rooftops for the duo to rock out on. Fittingly, the video further emphasizes the deeply reflective, almost brooding energy of the track.
New Audio: PATRICIJA Shares Broodingly Cinematic and Cathartic “Angel With a Broken Harp”
PATRICIJA is a Lithuanian-born, German-based alt-pop artist, who specializes in crafting a broodingly cinematic sound that blends elements of art pop, indie pop and melancholic electronica paired with powerhouse vocals, emotional intensity and a distinct goth edge. Her work explores themes of vulnerability, inner conflict and quiet resilience.
The Lithuanian artist gained international attention through her participation in Season 12 of The Voice Lithuania. She reached the Super Finals and delivered one of the most viewed performances in the show’s history on YouTube. Her performances have also been featured in global The Voice compilations, which has helped her expand her reach internationally. And adding to a growing international profile, her work has received airplay from BBC Radio 1 Introducing.
PATRICIJA’s latest single, the lush “Angel With a Broken Harp” sees her blending elements of goth, trip-hop, classic rock, ambient music and alt-pop to create a brooding, cinematic song that sounds as though it could have been part of a James Bond soundtrack — or a long lost and previously unreleased Dark Side of the Moon/Rolling Stones track. The song builds up from an intimate, whispered and cooed verses into a cathartic, arena rock-like climax, but at its core is an aching, lived-in vulnerability.
New Audio: Sizelle Shares Spellbinding “Unwords”
Sizelle is an emerging American artist, who specializes in a unique brand of alt-pop built on restraint and things left unsaid, informed by the gap between feelings that you can’t quite name and for the quiet end of a feeling.
Her debut single “Unwords” features a lush, dream-like production that — to my ears, at least — sounds like a synthesis of flamenco, Still Corners-like dream pop, Tales of Us-era Goldfrapp-like trip hop and Amy Winehouse-like soul paired with the emerging artist’s spellbinding delivery.
According to Sizelle, “Unwords” lives in the gap before grief becomes grief, before a loss becomes a loss, anchored in the instinctive sensation that something isn’t quite right, and it probably can’t be fixed.
New Audio: TOMORA Returns with Luminous and Euphoric “I DRINK THE LIGHT”
TOMORA is a collaborative project featuring:
- The Chemical Brothers‘ Tom Rowlands: As one-half of The Chemical Brothers, Rowlands has produced and recorded six widely acclaimed UK #1 albums and won six Grammy Awards.
- Norwegian artist AURORA: AURORA has released four studio albums and has quickly become one of Norway’s most influential and globally recognized contemporary artists. Her single “Runaway” has amassed over one-billion Spotify streams to date.
TOMORA builds upon a creative relationship that can be traced to the recording sessions for The Chemical Brothers’ 2019 album No Geography. AURORA contributed vocals to three tracks, including “Eve of Destruction.” Rowlands then went on to contribute to AURORA’s 2024 effort, What Happened to the Heart?, which landed on the UK Top 10.
Initially, speculation was rife as to who — or what — the then-mysterious TOMORA was or could be, after the name appeared on Coachella’s 2026 Festival lineup post without any additional information last year. Last December, the duo released their debut single “Ring The Alarm,” which received praise from Spin, BrooklynVegan, Stereogum and DJ Mag. “Ring The Alarm” also received DJ support from Erol Alkan, ¥ØU$UK€ ¥UK1MAT$U and a long list of others.
The duo’s TOMORA debut single was then released on a very limited and collectible white label vinyl, alongside B-side “The Thing,” which showcases a glimpse of the tender and hauntingly beautiful downtempo tracks that appear on the duo’s full-length debut, COME CLOSER.
Officially released today through Capitol Records, COME CLOSER was written and produced jointly by Rowlands and AURORA. The 12-song album sees the duo pairing the Norwegian artist’s distinctive vocal with the acclaimed British producer’s unparalleled studio expertise. The album sees the duo creating their own unique space, somewhere they can produce the kind of magic that comes from flicking through a perfect record collection, flowing from wigged-out 1960s psychedelia to the hyper-futurism of sounds imagined for the 2060s.
The album is less about two separate and distinct artists finding a fertile middle ground and more the sound of two tenacious individuals connecting in the studio and hitting massive creative peaks together.
“This is our album COME CLOSER, it is everything we dreamt of. We made it without obligation or expectation, just a joy in creation,” the duo says. “It’s the sound where we meet, the landing zone of our musical escape pods. It is a special place to us. We hope you dig it as much as we do.”
The album also features the previously released “COME CLOSER” “SOMEWHERE ELSE” and its latest single “I DRINK THE LIGHT.” “I DRINK THE LIGHT” is a euphoric and luminous song featuring glistening synth arpeggios and skittering boom bap as a lush yet woozy bed for AURORA’s remarkably Björk-like delivery. Sonically nodding at a slick synthesis of Madonna‘s “Ray of Light,” Come with Us-era Chemical Brothers, “I DRINK THE LIGHT” evokes the otherworldly and almost childlike sense of awe and delight of seeing a natural wonder for the first time.
“We wrote ‘I DRINK THE LIGHT’ whilst watching the light glitter and dance off the shimmering fjord in Norway. We wanted to write a song that felt like witnessing the wonders of Earth for the very first time,” TOMORA explains. “The song is an exploration of light sensations and fluid dynamics. We taste the earth, we swallow the sun, we are one with the fabric of life, and most importantly of all, we drink the light.”
New Video: Massive Attack Teams Up with Tom Waits on Hauntingly Eerie “Boots on the Ground”
Acclaimed Bristol-based trip hop pioneers Massive Attack — currently, Robert “3D” Del Naja and Grant “Daddy G” Marshall — signed to Play It Again Sam, and they celebrated the occasion in grand style: sharing a collaboration with the legendary Tom Waits, “Boots on the Ground”/”The Fly.”
“Boots on the Ground” is a hauntingly eerie track featuring sparse, twinkling piano, off-kilter and skittering percussion paired with the legendary Tom Waits’ distinctive gravelly vocal and some additional vocals from Waits’ son Casey. The song is the first bit of new material from Waits since 2011’s Bad As Me.
Sonically nodding at Johnny Cash‘s “God’s Gonna Cut You Down,” “Boots on the Ground” evokes a similar sense of Biblical apocalypse — but somehow much more venal, bloodthirsty, stupid and fucked up. It’s a song that lingers, reminding you of the horror-fueled hellscape we’re in.
“It’s a career honour to collaborate with an artist of the magnitude, originality and integrity of Tom, but this track is arriving in an atmosphere of chaos,” Massive Attack says. “Across the western hemisphere, state authoritarianism and the militarisation of police forces are fusing again with neo-fascist politics. Seen within the American emergency, at home and overseas, this track contains pulses of callous impulse & abandoned mind.”
“One day many years ago I accepted an invitation from Massive Attack to collaborate,” Waits explains. “Way back then, we sent them ‘Boots on the Ground’. Their long release delay never worried me. Today, as in all of mankind’s yesterdays, guarantees this song will never go out of style. Man’s fiasco folly is a feast for the flies. Hence, the B side of Massive Attack’s upcoming 12 inch ‘The Fly’ features my appreciation for the winged nuisance.
The new song is accompanied by a short film created by the trip hop pioneers, who collaborated with enigmatic photographer and visual artist thefinaleye. The evocative, high-intensity photo montage portrays the momentous and troubling American epoch that we currently inhabit and is yet to be named. And it comes in the aftermath of the largest public protests in American history focused on opposition to ICE/CBP raids, the militarization of domestic forces and state authoritarianism.
The short film quotes statistics and research by the following sources: American Immigration Council, American Civil Liberties Union, Inside Higher Ed, National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, US National Library of Medicine, US National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), Privacy International and FactCheck.org. Viewers seeking further information or wishing to take action are encouraged to visit aclu.org, veterans-aid.net,immigrantdefenseproject.org, and freedomforimmigrants.org.
Along with the single and video, Massive Attack have published an exclusive spoken word reflection on the themes of the work of novelist Omar El Akkad, who wrote American War, What Strange Paradise and One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This.
“Boots on the Ground”/”The Fly” is the first bit of Massive Attack material distributed under a Spotify exemption policy. More material is scheduled to be released prior and subsequent to their run of live performances, including their forthcoming European tour and summer festival headlining dates.
In keeping with their ongoing efforts to reduce carbon emissions across both the live activity and recorded output, Massive Attack have partnered with Good Neighbor to produce an ‘EcoSonic’ pressing of the single. Manufactured using 100% recycled PET (rPET) rather than traditional PVC, the record is fully recyclable and produced via an energy-efficient injection moulding process – a significant shift in record manufacturing. Packaging follows the same approach, with sleeves made from 100% recycled, FSC®-certified paper stock and outer slipcases produced from recycled polyethylene.
If you want to pre-order the vinyl, you can visit the Official Massive Attack Store or go your local indie record store for the limited edition 180g ‘EcoSonic’ record, mixed at random in red, white and blue, in a full color sleeve with additional screen printing. The band will be donating all profits of the sale of the vinyl edition to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the US Immigrant Defense Project. Both are very worthy causes, so if you have a few bucks, buy some vinyl and by supporting these musicians, you’re making sure these organizations can continue to fight the good, necessary fight.
Throwback: Happy 56th Birthday, Redman!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Redman’s 56th birthday.
Throwback: Happy 59th Birthday, Liz Phair!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Liz Phair’s 59th birthday.
Throwback: Happy Belated 134th Birthday, Bessie Smith!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms belatedly celebrates the 134th anniversary of Bessie Smith’s birth.