Deriving their name from the American-born rocket propulsion engineer, chemist and occultist Jack Parsons, the Atlanta, GA-based quintet Parsons Rocket Project can trace their origins back to 2015 when Jody Hasty (drums and lyrics) began […]
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.
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Over the past 12-18 months, I’ve written quite a bit about Therman Munsin, an up-and-coming New Jersey-born emcee, who has had a long-time collaboration with Hempstead, NY-based emcee and producer Roc Marciano, which has resulted in a number of blogosphere attention grabbing singles. And as you may recall, “Plastic Surgery Face,” an album single off Munsin’s full-length debut Sabbath featured a guest spot from one of my favorite, contemporary emcees, Guilty Simpson trading gritty, gangsta shit bars full of murder, mayhem and braggadocio over a menacing production featuring a looped, twisting and turning organ sample paired with stuttering beats. “I Ain’t With the Evil Empire,” Sabbath’s latest single features the up-and-coming New Jersey-based emcee trading gritty, NYC area gangsta shit bars with Infamous Mob‘s Big Twins over a warm, 70s blues-inspired production featuring a looped wah wah pedal-based guitar sample paired with big, tweeter and woofer rocking beats.
With the release of her first two singles “Sleep,” which was released last year and “Strangers,” which was released earlier this year, the Gothenburg, Sweden-based singer/songwriter Sarah Klang quickly received praise from critics across the blogosphere for achingly melancholy material, reminiscent of Roy Orbison and Jeff Buckley, and others — and interestingly, the Gothenburg-based singer/songwriter is influenced Barbra Streisand and ambient electronica while visually, she’s frequently pictured in old bridal dresses with cheap plastic flowers, creating the appearance that she’s been left at the altar, and doesn’t quite know how to handle the growing sense of embarrassment, shame, humiliation and hurt that have just overcome her.
“Left Me On Fire,” Klang’s latest single continues a long-time collaboration with writer/producer Kevin Anderson and was mixed by Thom Monahan, who was worked with Pernice Brothers, Devandra Banhart, Vetiver, Beachwood Sparks and others, and much like the preceding singles is an achingly soulful yet delicate ballad based around Klang’s bluesy crooning singing a song that was written and inspired by the “. . . vacuum you feel after a break-up,” Klang explains in press notes. “You continue your life but you are burned. For me the song is about moving forward with your life, while still in love with the person who broke your heart, and nothing will ever be the same from that moment on.” Klang’s latest single will further her growing reputation as “the saddest girl in Sweden,” in part for crafting spectral and aching ballads, coming from the bitter, uneasiness and messiness of lived-in experience.
Coincidentally, the last few posts over the past 12 hours or so have been focused on long-time JOVM mainstays — and interestingly enough, the London, UK-based indie rock quintet and JOVM mainstays The Horrors came back into my radar again, as they’re building up buzz for a brief Stateside tour that will include two NYC area dates at Rough Trade — September 18, 2017 and September 19, 2017 — and for their soon-to-be released fifth studio album, aptly titled V, which is slated for a September 22, 2017 release through Wolftone Records/Caroline Records.
And while being the first batch of new material from the London-based JOVM mainstays, the Paul Epworth-produced album reportedly finds the band experimenting and expanding upon their sound — the album’s first official single “Machine” seemed to have the British indie rock quintet incorporating elements of the Manchester sound — in particular, Evil Heat-era Primal Scream with abrasive, industrial electronica, along the lines of Nine Inch Nails and Earthling-era David Bowie while retaining the band’s rousing and anthemic hooks to craft what may arguably be one of the most swaggering and assertive songs of their growing catalog. “Something to Remember Me By,” V’s second single was a propulsive, trance-inducing, dance floor-friendly track featuring a sinuous bass line paired with shimmering and cascading layers of synths, four-on-the floor drumming and a soaring hook in a song that nodded at Get Ready, Waiting for the Siren’s Call and Music Complete-era New Order, complete with a swooning romanticism.
“Weighed Down,” V‘s moody, third single nods at dub and dubstep and features a pulsing yet tweeter and woofer rocking electronic beat, squalling and squelching feedback, soaring keys, cosmic ray-like bursts and a hazily lysergic bridge before ending with an ethereal coda. Interestingly, while the song strikes me as a trippy yet fitting synthesis of the sound of Skying and Luminous but while revealing an expansive and experimental bit of songwriting with the band focusing on creating and sustaining a particular mood, much like Interpol‘s Antics.
The Horrors currently have three Stateside dates, and it includes two NYC area dates — September 18, 2017 and September 19, 2017 at Rough Trade. Check out the dates below.
The Horrors U.S. Tour Dates
Sep 16 Los Angeles, CA – Spaceland Block Party
Sep 18 Brooklyn, NY – Rough Trade NYC
Sep 19 Brooklyn, NY – Rough Trade NYC
Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site throughout its seven-year history, you’d know that I’ve written quite a bit about the Grand Rapids, MI-based psych rock quartet and JOVM mainstays HEATERS. And as you may recall, the band, which formed back in 2014 quickly received a growing national and international profile with their attention grabbing appearance on Stolen Body‘s Vegetarian Meat psych rock compilation. The Grand Rapids, MI-based quartet quickly followed up with the Solstice EP, released through Dizzybird Records and the “Mean Green” 7 inch. Renowned, Brooklyn-based indie label Beyond Is Beyond Records released their full-length debut Holy Water Pool to critical applause throughout the blogosphere back in 2015. And with each successive recorded effort, the band began to firmly cement a reputation for crafting a spacey, motorik-like take on West Coast, 60s psych rock and garage rock.
As you may recall, after the release of their sophomore effort Baptistina the band went through a massive lineup change in which the band’s founding members Nolan Krebs and Joshua Korf are currently paired with newest recruits Ryan Hagan and Ben Taber. And interestingly enough “Seance,” the first single off the band’s forthcoming third album Matterhorn retains the gorgeously shimmering guitar lines, propulsive, motorik-like groove and enveloping sound that first caught the attention of this site and the e rest of the blogosphere; however, there’s a noticeably different energy and vibe to the proceedings — simply put, “Seance” reveals a band with a swaggering self-assuredness within what arguably may be their most expansive and ambitious songwriting. Matterhorn‘s second single “Thanksgiving II” continued along a similar vein as its predecessor, as it prominently featured the band’s propensity for crafting tight, motorik grooves paired with shimmering guitar lines and ethereal vocals. But while the song may be among the most trance-inducing they’ve released, it’s also one of the more arena friendly songs they’ve written and released to date, with the song slowly unfurling to reveal its creators’ ambitious and expansive songwriting.
“Kingsday,” Matterhorn‘s third and latest single while possessing the stalwart elements of their sound — towering and shimmering layers of guitar chords and ethereal vocals and a trance-inducing, lysergic vibe, but within its four minute run time, the song reveals an expansive song structure consisting of four subtle yet discernible movements connected by a chugging motorik groove — and interestingly enough, the song may arguably be one of the most decidedly 60s influenced songs they’ve released in quite some time.
New Video: The 60s Inspired Sounds and Visuals of Melbourne Australia’s The Babe Rainbow
Comprised of Bryon Bay, Australia-born and based founding members, Jack “Cool-Breeze” and Angus Darling The Hothouse Flower and Venezuelan-born pianist Lu-Lu-Felix Domingo, the Australia-based trio The Babe Rainbow can trace their origins to when its founding […]
Over the past few months, Anna of the North, an up-and-coming Norwegian/Aussie (by way of New Zealand) electro pop duo, comprised of Gjøvik, Norway-born and-based singer/songwriter and musician Anna Lotterud and New Zealand-born, Melbourne-based producer Brady Daniell-Smith have quickly added themselves to the lengthy list of mainstay artists on this site. And as you may recall, the duo’s debut single “Sway,” began an incredible run of attention grabbing, blogosphere dominating singles that have accumulated more than 60 million streams across all the streaming services, multiple number 1 spots on Hype Machine’s charts and regular rotation on BBC Radio 1, Triple J and Beats 1, thanks in part to the duo’s unique sound and aesthetic, which pairs a brooding, icily Nordic minimalism with bright, buoyant New Zealand/Southern Hemisphere-inspired pop — and doing so while being both club and radio-friendly.
Lovers, the duo’s full-length debut is slated to drop today and unsurprisingly, the album’s material focuses on heartbreak, in particular, the typical emotional stages people feel after a relationship ends — i.e., turmoil, grief, confusion and the tentative pangs of joy in letting yourself start moving forward with your life. But along with that, there’s the recognition that knowing and having love, including its inevitable heartbreak is necessary and wonderful, all because you will know them both over and over again in your life.
“Always,” Lovers‘ latest single is a swaggering yet breezy track that simultaneously draws from 80s synth pop and contemporary pop as it features a production consisting of swirling, ambient electronics, layers of shimmering arpeggio synths, stuttering beats, a sinuous bass line and a soaring hook, and while further cementing their reputation for crafting breezy and infectious pop, the song is under-pinned by two conflicting emotions — the bitterness of being and feeling as though you’re someone’s second or third option when you’ve been faithful and the triumphant feeling of knowing that you’re about to move on with your life from a shitty situation.
Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site over the course of its seven-year history, you’ve likely come across a few posts featuring the internationally renowned Melbourne, Australia-based indie electro pop act Miami Horror. Initially formed as a quartet, comprised of founding member Benjamin Plant (production), along with Joshua Moriarty (vocals, guitar), Aaron Shanahan (guitar, vocals and production) and Daniel Whitchurch (bass, keys, guitar), the Aussie pop act exploded into the international scene with the release of 2010’s Illumination, an effort that was praised for a sound that drew from fellow countrymen Cut Copy, as well as New Order, Prince, Michael Jackson, E.L.O. and others. The members of the quartet then spent the next three years shuttling back and forth between their hometown, Los Angeles and Paris writing and recording the material that would comprise 2013’s critically praised sophomore effort All Possible Futures, a breezy and summery, dance floor-friendly effort that was deeply inspired by the time the band spent writing and recording in Southern California — and while continuing to draw from 80s synth pop, the material hinted at 60s surf pop.
After touring to support All Possible Futures, the band had been on an informal hiatus as the band’s Benjamin Plant spent time as a go-to songwriter, co-writing tracks for fellow Aussie pop acts Client Liaison and Roland Tings. Somehow, the exceptionally busy Plant found time to write new material — material that would eventually comprise their conceptual EP The Shapes, which was released earlier this year. Before the recording sessions for The Shapes, the band went through a lineup change as they went from a quartet to a trio; but perhaps more important, The Shapes found the newly constituted trio expanding upon their sound with the EP’s material drawing from Talking Heads, Caribbean funk and African percussion while retaining elements of the sound that won them international attention; in fact, the EP’s dance floor friendly first single “Lelia” nodded at Tom Tom Club, Remain in Light-era Talking Heads, but with a soaring and rousing hook, shimmering synths and a ridiculously funky bass line, which Moriarty’s plaintive vocals float over.
Although he’s best known as the voice behind Miami Horror, the act’s Joshua Moriarty has stepped out from behind the band with the release of his solo debut album War Is Over. And interestingly enough, War Is Over‘s first single “R.T.F.L.” was a decided departure from his primary gig’s sound as the single leaned heavily towards contemporary electro pop and electro soul. The album’s second and latest single “All I Want Is You” manages to lean much more towards his work with Miami Horror, with the slickly produced song drawing from Giorgio Moroder-era disco and Tame Impala-like psych pop, complete with rousingly anthemic hooks and a sinuous dance floor — but the main difference to me is that Moriarty’s solo work possesses a plaintive and carnal sensuality.
New Video: The Mischievously Surreal Visuals for Geowulf’s “Drink Too Much”
Now, if you had been frequenting this site over the past year, you’d recall that I’ve written quite a bit about Geowulf, a dream pop duo, comprised of Noosa, Australia-born Star Kendrick and Toma Benjamin and although currently the duo split their time between London, UK, Gothenburg, Sweden and Berlin, Germany, their musical project can trace its origins to Benjamin’s and Kendrick’s long-time friendship, a friendship that they can trace to when they were both in their teams; however, their musical collaboration began in earnest when Kendrick, whose parents were also professional musicians, began to seriously pursue music a few years ago, and enlisted the help of her closest friend to flesh out her early demos.
With the release of their debut single “Saltwater” Kendrick and Benjamin quickly saw attention across the blogosphere and elsewhere as the single received over 1 million Spotify streams and reached Hype Machine‘s top ten before breaking at #4 on Spotify’s US Viral Charts. The Australian-born, European-based duo followed up on the buzz of their debut with the release of “Don’t Talk About You,” a single that channeled Fleetwood Mac and Mazzy Star as Kendrick’s gorgeously ethereal vocals were paired with lush, shimmering and jangling guitar chords, but underneath the self-assured, 70s AM Rock vibes was a lovelorn ache. As the duo’s Star Kendrick explained in press notes at the time, “This song went through a geographical and creative metamorphosis over almost two years. We originally wrote it in Copenhagen, demo’ed it in Stockholm and then revisited it recently when Toma and I were both in London. I guess the song speaks for itself but ultimately it falls in the good ol’ ‘wanting-something-that-ain’t-good-for-you’ vein …”
The duo’s latest single “Drink Too Much” is arguably one of the duo’s most playful and subversively upbeat songs they’ve released to date, as it features jangling guitars, twinkling keys, propulsive drumming and an anthemic, soaring hook to create a sound and aesthetic that nods at Phil Spector and Still Corners while nodding at something much darker; in fact, as the duo explain in press notes, the song is ultimately about “bulk red wine + tired relationships = bad news, baby” but below the surface is the sense that ghosts haunt and linger when we’re at our most vulnerable.
The recently released video for “Drink Too Much” is cinematic and feverish vision, featuring the duo at the pool of a resort — but instead of being surrounded by the expected young, lithe, buxom and beautiful, the duo is surrounded by a collection of middle-aged retirees with way too much time on their hands. And while initially suggesting a slowly creeping dread, the video turns mischievously surreal as the members of the duo lead a poolside dance party; but underneath there’s a wistfulness for the passing of yet another summer.
Throwback: Van Halen’s “Hot For Teacher” — or Happy First Day of School
Most of New York City’s Public Schools started today, and unsurprisingly, as a product of New York City Public Schools — PS 206 in Rego Park, Stephen A. Halsey JHS/JHS 157 in Rego Park and Francis Lewis High School in Fresh Meadows — today brings back all kinds of memories good, bad and indifferent; but thankfully, mostly good.
As an adult, I also know a number of caring and dedicated educators and teachers, who will be molding the minds and inspiring the next generation of artists, writers, thinkers, doers, musicians and rabble-rousers, as well as parents of the next generation of artists, writers, etc. etc.
So with that in mind, I wanted to bring back what was a briefly annual tradition — of dedicating Van Halen’s “Hot For Teacher” for those dedicated educators and teachers. And we all know, that one of those little knuckleheads will be hot for one of their teachers because — well, I bet you were at some point, yourself.
Happy first day of school, everyone!
