JOVM’S William Ruben Helms celebrates PJ Harvey’s 54th birthday.
Category: Alt-rock
Throwback: Happy 55th Birthday, Thom Yorke!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Thom Yorke’s 55th birthday.
New Audio: Ryder Waite Shares Gorgeous, Atmospheric “Praying”
Ryder Waite is a female-fronted, genre-defying rock quintet born from the dust of the Mojave Desert. While little is currently known about them, the band describes their approach and sound as raw and unapologetic, and pairing naked lyricism with soul-moving solos.
Their latest single, the atmospheric “Praying” is built around a gorgeous and expressive vocal, paired with shimmering reverb-drenched guitars, dramatic drumming and an expressive guitar solo. Sonically speaking, “Praying” sees the mysterious quintet drawing from nu-metal, post rock, shoegaze and metal to create something familiar yet a little bit difficult to pigeonhole.
New Video: The Joy Formidable Share Expansive, Mind-Bending “Share My Heat”
Splitting their time between Northern Wales and Utah, the celebrated alt rock outfit The Joy Formidable — Ritzy Bryan (vocals, guitar), Rhydian Daybed (bass, vocals) and Matt Thomas (drums) — have managed to remain close to their loyal fanbase: Back in 2019, they launched TJF Music Club with members able to request backstage access, watch online shows and get exclusive songs and merchandise. During the pandemic, with a lack of live shows and touring, the club grew and evolved.
Their last album was 2021’s critically applauded Into The Blue. Since then, the Welsh band have followed up with a recent a collection of singles that include “Cut Your Face,” “The Hat” and the third and final single of the series “Share My Heat,” which were released through Enci Records across North America, Full Time Hobby/Hassle in Europe and Soundly Distro across the rest of the world.
Clocking in at an epic 15:10, “Share My Heat” is an arena rock friendly, prog rock ripper featuring thunderous drumming, angular and propulsive bass lines, dexterous, scorching riffage and shimmering synth arpeggios within a mind-bending song structure that bends, twists and turns before closing out with a face-melting, headbang worthy coda.
throughout the song’s run-time. “‘Share My Heat’ is about true connection & love. Deep, selfless love between humans is a beautiful part of our existence, but I’m also singing about our inherent love for nature, the living world & our kinship to everything : plants, animals, mountains & lake,” The Joy Formidable’s Ritzy Bryan explains. “Can we repair our relationship & bring more reciprocity, compassion and companionship to a world that already gives us so much?”
The accompanying, animated video by Vids Invader touches upon the themes of the song while being a hallucinogenic journey through both love and our current dystopian hellscape.
The Joy Formidable are currently on tour in the UK tour with all remaining shows listed below. The band plans to return to North America in 2024.
Throwback: Happy 56th Birthday, Layne Staley!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 56th anniversary of former Alice in Chains frontman Layne Staley’s birth.
Throwback: Happy 65th Birthday, Bill Berry!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Bill Berry’s 65th birthday.
Vienna-based sibling electro pop duo FANTAST — Mario and Daniel Gschwendtner — specialize in a sound influenced by hip-hop, Fever Ray, Sleaford Mods and others. They’re currently working on an EP that’s slated for release later this year, but in the meantime, the Austrian electro pop duo share their latest single “CUTW,” a cover of Radiohead‘s “Climbing Up The Walls,” one of my favorite tracks off OK Computer.
“CUTW” sees the members of FANTAST replacing the guitar-driven melody of the original with glistening synth arpeggios and tweeter and woofer rattling beats paired with a trip hop-like delivery. FANTAST’s cover sees the Viennese sibling duo transforming the song into a brooding trip-hop banger that subtly changes the overall mood — but while retaining the sense of creeping unease.
Throwback: Happy 58th Birthday, Greg Dulli!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Greg Dulli’s 58th birthday.
Slated for a June 2, 2023 release through Roswell Records/RCA Records, Foo Fighters‘ 11th album, the Greg Kurstin and Foo Fighters co-produced But Here We Are is informed and inspired by a year of staggering losses, personal introspection and bittersweet remembrances. While reportedly being a brutally honest and emotionally raw response to everything the band members have endured over the past year, But Here We Are is also a testament to the healing powers of music, friendship and family.
Fittingly, the 10-song album run the emotional gamut from rage and sorrow, to serenity and acceptance and all the myriad points in between. But the album is also marks the first chapter of the band’s new life.
The album’s first single, the anthemic album opener “Rescued” manages to channel The Colour and the Shape-era and There Is Nothing Left to Lose-era Foos but with a grizzled, hard-earned and harder-fought-for wisdom and maturity. Perhaps more than ever, there’s a weary, heartbroken exhaustion.. And yet, there’s also an irrepressible joy. Life will kick your ass and spit in your face. But if you’ve got your favorite tunes, your best pals and your family by your side, you can somehow get through almost anything.
But Here We Are is available for pre-order and presale now. All pre-orders and pre-saves include “Rescued” as an instant free download.
