JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates The Fixx frontman Cy Curnin’s 68th birthday.
Author: William Ruben Helms
William Ruben Helms is a Corona, Queens, NYC-born and-based African American music journalist, freelance writer, editor, photographer and founder of the DIY, independent music and photography site, The Joy of Violent Movement. Over the course of the past two decades, Helms’ writing and photography has been published in Downbeat, Premier Guitar Magazine (photography), Consequence, The Inventory, Glide Magazine.com (words and photography), Publisher’s Weekly, Sheckys.com, Shecky’s Bar and Nightlife Guide 2004, New York Press, Ins&Outs Magazine, Dish Du Jour Magazine, Aussie music publication Musicology.xyz (photography) and countless others, including his own site.
With The Joy of Violent Movement, Helms specializes in covering music with an eclectic, globe-trotting, and genre-defying perspective that’s deeply inspired by and informed by his birthplace and home, arguably one of the most diverse places in the world. Since its founding back in 2010, The Joy of Violent Movement can proudly claim readers across the US, Canada, the UK, The Netherlands, France, Australia, and several others throughout its history.
https://www.joyofviolentmovement.com
https://www.joyofviolentmovement.com/shop
https://www.instagram.com/william_ruben_helms
Twitter: @yankee32879
@joyofviolent
become a fan of the joy of violent movement:
https://www.facebook.com/TheJoyofViolentMovement
support the joy of violent movement on patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/TheJoyofViolentMovement
hire me for headshots, portraits and event photography: https://www.photobooker.com/photographer/ny/new-york/william-h?duration=1?duration=1#
Throwback: Happy 68th Birthday, Sheila E!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Sheila E’s 68th birthday.
New Audio: JOVM Mainstay Sylvia Black Returns with “Long Gone Garden”
Los Angeles-based multifaceted producer, singer/songwriter, bassist, performer, restless performer and JOVM mainstay Sylvia Black has had a long-held reputation for being difficult to pin down. Since her first job singing and entertaining at a resort hotel in Northern Japan as teen, music has been her lifeline.
Throughout her career, Black has steadily gained momentum as a writer and producer, consistently creating music on her own terms, simultaneously cementing her place in the post-punk and goth-romantic renaissance, while being restlessly creative. Her lengthy credits reflect her eclectic tastes and wide-ranging abilities. She was the frontperson of the New York-based trio KUDU with Deantoni Parks (drums, production) and Nicci Kasper (keys, production) in the early 00s. Black also has writing and recording credits with Grammy Award-winning pop act Black Eyed Peas, Daphne Guinness and more. Her lengthy and impressive resume includes collaborations with legends like Tony Visconti, Lydia Lunch and Moby, as well as The Knocks, Armand Van Helden and French electro pop duo Telepopmusik. And last, but definitely not lease, her sultry rendition of ‘I Put A Spell On You” appeared on the hit Netflix series Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.
As a bassist, Black has played with The Brand New Heavies‘ N’Dea Davenport, Living Colour‘s Muzz Skillings and with Maya Rudolph’s Prince cover band Princess.
The JOVM mainstay’s long-awaited new album, the 11-song Shadowtime is slated for a January 16, 2026 release. The album rsees Black continuing her long-held approach of songwriting from the bottom up. “I find a beat that I’m in love with and go forward,” Black says. “The bass provides the floor, but as a singer, I’m also coming in with the roof. If you can write a beautiful song with just those two elements, bass notes and the voice, that’s a job well done.”
Written, produced and performed primarily by the JOVM mainstay, the album was crafted with support from longtime mix engineer and creative foil Ruddy Lee Cullers. The album’s material will reportedly be a haunting exploration of nostalgia and futurism, that sees Black pushing her sound in new directions by weaving hypnotic rhythms, cinematic layers and raw, visceral emotion, while moving effortlessly from dance floor anthems to atmospheric meditations on love, loss and transcendence. “This album is about finding beauty in ruins,” Black says. “About letting the shadows speak through me. Returning to California brought out the memory and soul of my goth days gone by.”
Shadowtime will feature the previously released “Talking in Tongues,” a brooding blend of goth, New Wave and shoegaze that seemed to nod at Suicide, The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees and others, while being the perfect, atmospheric bed for Black’s sultry delivery. The album will also feature, its second and latest single, “Long Gone Gardens.”
Anchored around a forceful and commanding bass line and bursts of shimmering, reverb-soaked guitars and twinkling keys, “Lone Gone Gardens” seemingly nods at Siouxsie and the Banshees — for example, think of “Hong Kong Garden,” and “Happy House” — while channeling Black’s childhood bond with the natural world, amidst the fruits and flora grown by her grandmother. But the song also subtly evokes the Biblical garden of Eden: You can almost picture Adam and Eve at the tree of knowledge, and what happens right as they eat the fruit . . .
“The track is a reflection about a choice that seemingly lets you lose everything but puts you on a new path to find salvation again in another form,” the JOVM mainstay explains.
Throwback: Happy Belated 51st Birthday, Nick Zinner!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms belatedly celebrates Yeah Yean Yeahs guitarist Nick Zinner’s 51st birthday.
Throwback: Happy 67th Birthday, Nikki Sixx!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Nikki Sixx’s 67th birthday.
Throwback: Happy 87th Birthday, McCoy Tyner!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 87th anniversary of the birth of McCoy Tyner.
Throwback: Happy 99th Birthday, Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 99th anniversary of the birth of Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton.
New Audio: The Afghan Whigs Share Covers of Poliça and Still Corners
l
JOVM mainstays The Afghan Whigs — currently Greg Dulli (vocals, guitar), John Curley (bass), Patrick Keeler (drums), multi-instrumentalist Rick Nelson and the band’s newest member, Blind Melon’s Christopher Thorn (guitar) — released their ninth album, 2022’s How Do You Burn? to widespread critical acclaim from Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, Los Angeles Times, Spin, Stereogum, Billboard and others.
The acclaimed JOVM mainstays first bit of new material since How Do You Burn sees the band tackling two songs — Poliça‘s “Fake Like” and Still Corners “Downtown” — that seem tailor-made for the Whigs treatment. “Poliça’s “Fake Lake” strikes me as being a breezy synthesis of synth pop, Laurel Canyon and blue-eyed soul, featuring twinkling keys and a broodingly cinematic string arrangement serving as a lush bed for Channy Leaneagh’s yearning delivery. The Afghan Whigs pull out the blue-eyed soul-inspired element of the original and give it a swaggering and anthemic rock ballad vibe, while retaining the cinematic string section. The result is a song that emphasizes the smoldering lust and aching need at the heart of the song.
Now, as you may recall, the London-based duo Still Corners are among one of this site’s oldest mainstay acts. “Downtown,” which appears on 2016’s Dead Blue is an brooding and icy track, featuring shimmering, motiorik pulse and a gorgeous Greg Hughes Country/Western-meets-Johnny Marr styled guitar solo serving as a lush soundscape for Tessa Murray’s yearning vocal. The Afghan Whigs take turns the song into a brooding, piano-driven tune that’s a steady in tension and delayed release that would have fit perfectly on 2017’s In Spades.
“Both of these songs were born out of soundcheck jams. Each song holds a particular resonance for me and I really felt the lyrics, so they both flowed freely and felt good to sing,” the band’s Greg Dulli explains.
Both songs are available on all major DSP. And a limited 45 RPM single has been created and will be sold by Cincinnati’s Shake It Records.
New Video: La Femme Co-Founder, Marlon Magnée Shares Breakneck and Punchy “Plus Fort Que Toi”
Marlon Magnée, the co-founder of the acclaimed, French psych outfit and JOVM mainstay act La Femme is stepping out in the spotlight as a solo artist with his debut solo album, the Renaud Letang co-produced Dark Star, which is slated for a March 6, 2026 release through Disque Pointu.
As a member of La Femme, Magnée has earned numerous accolades including Album Révélation of the Year at the Victories de la Musique Awards and multiple RIAA Certified Gold records. He has played sets on some of the world’s biggest and most important stages, including Accor Hotel Arena, Zénith, Glastonbury, Austin City Limits, Lollapalooza and Osheaga.
After 15 years recording, releasing music and touring the world as a member of La Femme, Magnée’s solo debut reportedly sees the La Femme co-founder reconnecting to his earliest passions. The album reflects his long-held taste for unusual blends and singular styles — with lyrics sung in both French and English.
The result is a breakneck, restless, sometimes radical music, conceived “for those with blood in their hearts and the urge to fight back.”
Recorded at Paris‘ legendary Ferber Studios, Dark Star is an oddball, frenzied collision of shadow and light with songs that wrestle with one’s darkest impulses, bad mushroom trips, ayahuasca-fueled revelations, limerence, overwhelming romantic love, family love and self-sabotage. Sonically, the album draws from 60s guitars, an “orgy of synths” from the 80s, pounding drum machines, analog delays and a deliberately raw energy, that sees the La Femme co-founder blending punk rockabilly, punk and coldwave.
Dark Matter‘s latest single “Plus Fort Que Toi” is a perfect example of what to expect from the new album: It’s a seamless and breakneck blend of rockabilly, krautrock and coldwave pulse and punchy punk rock choruses with lyrics delivered in French. Channeling his mind-bending, genre blurring work with La Femme, “Plus Fort Que Toi,” as the La Femme co-founder explains is “about familial love, affirming that when you love, you protect.”
Directed by J.F. Julian, the accompanying video for “Plus Fort Que Toi,” playfully draws from 50s rockabilly and rock tropes, and fittingly is shot in sunny California — while also proudly featuring synths.
Throwback: Happy 60th Birthday, J. Mascis!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates J. Mascis’ 60th birthday.
New Audio: Ruthven Shares Dance floor Friendly “Kiss Goodnight”
Throughout his nearly decade-long career, South London-based producer, singer/songwriter and musician Sean Nelson, best known as Ruthven, emerged in 2017 as a co-founding member of The Paul Institute with A.K.Paul and Jai Paul, while Nelson was simultaneously as a firefighter with the London Fire Brigade.
Between emergency calls and equipment checks, the South London-based artist meticulously shaped the songs that would eventually comprise last year’s Rough & Ready, which was released to widespread praise across the UK and elsewhere. The response to the album lead to collaborations and opening slots with Sampha, Berwyn and Overmono, helping to further cement Nelson’s growing reputation as one of the UK’s most compelling, emerging voices.
Ruthven closes out 2025 with the recently released Precognition EP, an exploratory three-track EP that marks the beginning of a bold new chapter for the South London-based artist. Where Rough & Ready introduced an artist with a meticulous production style and a fiercely individual voice, Precognition EP captures Nelson writing much more instinctively, leaning deeply into the warmth and dynamism of live instrumentation, inspired by his recent live shows. “This small body of work feels like a good segue into the next era for me” Ruthven says. “I’m using a lot more live instrumentation and programming a little bit less. Playing more guitar, more acoustic drums – all of which have formed a new sound for me. The fundamental DNA of my music is there, but there’s a new evolution. This is the first of it.”
The EP sees Nelson moving freely between funk, disco and classic songwriting. And as you’ll hear on the hook-driven, disco funk-tinged “Kiss Goodnight,” Nelson has an unerring knack for crafting a catchy, dance floor friendly groove anchored around glistening synth arpeggios and a supple bass line paired with Nelson’s effortless yet heartfelt croon. If you’re a fellow old, this one will likely bring memories of Prince, Morris Day and The Time, Cherrelle and several others.
New Video: JOVM Mainstays Draag Shares Genre-Bending “Miracle Drug”
With the release of their full-length debut, 2023’s Dark Fire Heresy and last year’s Actually, the quiet is nice EP, Los Angeles-based shoegazers and JOVM mainstays Draag — Adrian Acosta (vocals, guitar), Jessica Huang (vocals, synths), Ray Montes (guitar), Nick Kelley (bass) and Nathan Najera (drums) — received nationally and elsewhere for boldly pushing the boundaries of shoegaze into new, wild directions. And adding to a growing profile, the JOVM mainstay outfit have toured with Wednesday, MSPAINT, Glitterer and are about to wrap up a run of dates with They Are Gutting A Body Of Water.
Building upon growing momentum, the Los Angeles-based JOVM mainstays will start the new year with the Miracle Drug EP, which is slated for a January 23, 2026 through Oakland-based tastemaker label, Smoking Room.
The EP’s first single, EP title track “Miracle Drug” is a mind-bending blend of shoegaze, post-punk and nu-metal that evokes the inner turmoil of someone, who’s suffering from something that they know others can’t see — or even really understand. But in the song’s dreamier moments, there’s a sense of awe and appreciation over the small things.
“Living with an autoimmune condition is an invisible daily fight. Some days you want a miracle drug to escape what feels like a prison in your body,” Draag’s Adrian Acosta says about the new single. “But you don’t take your health for granted. And you learn how to appreciate life and super simple moments deeply. I feel like it’s given me a sharp vision of what really matters.”
The accompanying video is heavily inspired by the aesthetic and feel 80s and 90s Public Access TV including footage of local performers in a shitty studio, the band performing the song in a studio, home footage of young kids in their first band, as well as a lengthy call-in segment with calls from deranged viewers.