Category: Alt-rock

Throwback: Happy 63rd Birthday, Flea!

JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea’s 63rd birthday.

New Audio: Still Blank Shares Punchy and Anthemic “Same Sun”

Rising, transcontinental duo Still Blank — Kaua’i, HI-born, Los Angeles-based Jordy and Manchester, UK-based Ben — have quickly established a difficult to pigeonhole, often minimalist yet emotionally rich sound that draws from shoegaze, grunge and folk.

The duo’s unique sound comes from other unlikely roots: Jordy grew up immersed in the natural rhythms of island life in Hawaii, gigging at weddings and fundraisers by the time she was in her early teens. Her early musical efforts drew inspiration from Hawaiian traditions and Kaua’i’s solitude. Ben, who ,was raised steeped in Manchester’s rich and deep musical legacy, played some of his earliest gigs in pubs with his dad’s band. He developed a love of ambient textures, citing The Durutti Column and Vini Reilly as formative influences.

The duo’s unlikely meeting in the UK sparked a lightning-in-a-bottle creative partnership that started as casual jam sessions in a Liverpool basement and quickly evolved to sessions ranging from stripped-back recordings on a broken, classical guitar to long studio sessions fueled by long walks through rural Wales and a shared commitment to imperfect perfection. 

As a band, the transcontinental duo’s work seemingly echoes the mood and vibe of acts like Yo La TengoBig Thief and Cat Power paired with lyrics informed by people-watching, dreams, nature, introspection and existential observation.

The pair’s highly anticipated self-titled, full-length debut is slated for a November release through National Anthem/Capitol Records. “This was a transformational period of our lives, which is reflected throughout the entirety of the record,” Still Blank’s Jordy explains. “Some of the songs were written when we first met, some on other sides of the world while navigating separation, and others born into existence in less than a day, after we initially thought we’d finished the record. With a record written before we’d even conjured up a name, the whole creation of this album felt serendipitous – from a chance meeting between ourselves to magically finding likeminded collaborators who took a chance on 2 kids and allowed us to experiment without any pressure from outside sources.”

The self-titled debut will feature their debut single “What About Jane,” which received praise from the Under The RadarClashDorkDIY and more, the breakneck post-punk-like “Ain’t Quite Right,” and their latest single “Same Sun.” “Same Sun” is a punchy and propulsive tune that sees the transcontinental duo pairing rousingly anthemic hooks and choruses with a gritty, 90s grunge-meets-post punk-like arrangement. And it may arguably be the pair’s most urgent, forceful song they’ve recorded to date.

Built around a hypnotic baritone guitar riff and recorded in a single take, the song as Jordy explain is “about how we can be so disconnected from the reality of other people’s lives around the world, but at the same time we’re all connected in a fundamental way, we’re all staring at the same sun.”

New Video: Weird Nightmare Shares Defiantly Upbeat Anthem “Forever Elsewhere”

Known for his decade-plus stint as frontman of Toronto-based JOVM mainstays METZ, singer/songwriter and guitarist Alex Edkins developed and honed a reputation for being a master craftsman of eardrum splitting, hooky rippers.

Edkins’ recording project Weird Nightmare saw the longtime METZ frontman showcasing a sugary and distorted pop sensibility to his long-established reputation for enormous power chord riffs and rousingly anthemic hooks with the project’s 2022 self-titled, full-length debut and a handful of one-off singles.

His latest single, the Jim Eno co-produced “Forever Elsewhere” is a rollicking and defiantly upbeat, hook-driven anthem that sounds to me a bit like a synthesis of Edkins’ work with METZ and The Replacements. While retaining the anthemic hooks of his Weird Nightmare debut album, “Forever Elsewhere” is a decided departure from the lo-fi bedroom approach, and step forward into the high-fiddly, shout-along with your friends anthems. And lord knows, we need a few more of those right now.

“‘Forever Elsewhere’ is the most optimistic song I’ve written to date. I wanted to send an unequivocal positive message into the world,” Edkins explains. “The line ‘Love, it will come,’ summarizes the overall theme: if things feel hopeless and the world is bleak, don’t give up, keep pushing. I like to think of it as a pep talk wrapped in fuzzy guitars. 
 
“I recorded with Seth Manchester (he engineered the last two METZ records) and Jim Eno (Spoon), and we tracked this one really quickly. Drummer Loel Campbell (Wintersleep) and Roddy Kuester (Julianna Riolino/Sadies) nailed it in 2 takes, and you can really hear the ramshackle energy in the song where the wheels almost fall off a couple of times. We tried to keep it loose.”

Directed by Colin Medley, the accompanying video for “Forever Elsewhere,” is an adorable and fairly accurate portrayal of adolescence turning into young adulthood, with the bitter recognition that occasionally adulthood is some asshole trying to take advantage of you. And yet, love and kindness somehow sets things straight.

New Audio: dune reaper Shares Bruising Ripper “forever asleep”

Burlington, ON-based duo dune reaper — Hunter Murray (drums, vocals) and Nathanael Smith (guitar) — can trace their origins to when its members first met while working at a construction site. The duo bonded over a shared passion for music and they spent countless hours crafting a sound that meshes elements of stoner rock, punk rock, alternative metal and alternative rock, rooted in their motto to “make music loud again.”

Released earlier this year, the duo’s debut single “forever asleep” is a bruising and forceful ripper, featuring Murray’s thunderous drumming and impassioned delivery and Smith’s muscular riffage paired with rousingly anthemic, mosh pit friendly hooks and choruses. Sonically channeling 90s alt rock — think Nirvana‘s “Dive,” Melvins and the like — the Canadian duo’s debut single is informed and inspired by their own lives, in which they struggle with juggling physically demanding blue-collar jobs while chasing their musical dreams in their free time. And as a result, the song captures and expresses frustration, exhaustion, and the desperate desire to make it at all costs in a way that should feel familiar to anyone, who’s working for a living and hustling big dreams on the side.

“Balancing 60-hour workweeks in the construction industry while trying to bring this song to life was an intense challenge. Every verse, every line of the lyrics was forged in the pressure and exhaustion of that grind,” the Canadian duo explain. “That struggle is what shaped the song’s raw, aggressive energy — it’s the sound of frustration turned into fire. At its core, the track captures the voices of two kids who are tired of only being able to chase their passion in the slivers of time left over from their day jobs. It’s a rebellion against limitation, a release of pent-up creativity that had to wait until the weekend to breathe.”

New Video: Black Polish Shares Bruising “Lush”

Black Polish mastermind Jayden “Jay” Binnix is a young, rising artist who spent their formative years split between Florida and Maryland, before later relocating to Los Angeles. Binnix, who says that they “popped out of the womb singing,” took piano lessons at five, and later picked up ukulele and guitar. After receiving encouragement from a vocal teacher, Binnix wrote their first song “Sophie,” inspired by their childhood girlfriend.

Released back in 2020, “Sophie” saw the young artist quickly establishing their own style of earnest, emotionally piercing lyricism and a dynamic sound blending alternative, electronic and pop music influences like Halsey, Twenty One Pilots and girl in red.

Binnix’s emotive and lived-in songwriting was sharpened through their 2021 Out of Place EP and last year’s full-length debut, Forest, which examined how their upbringing made it difficult for them to fully explore and express their identity — but eventually finding clarity through the other side. Their songs have landed on Spotify’s New Music Friday and All-New Indie playlists, and building upon a growing profile, they contributed “Armageddon,” to the acclaimed Hulu series, Love, Victor.

“I just want to make people feel less alone, to remind people that they don’t have to hate themselves, to inspire others to pursue creativeness and passion without embarrassment,” Binnix says. “I love hearing a listener respond to my music and say, ‘This is my comfort song.’ It makes me feel so sure about myself.

Binnix’s highly-anticipated Black Polish sophomore album YUNA is slated for an October 29, 2025 release through BMG. The album is a work of fiction and fantasy that centers around Black Polish’s alter-ego “Yuna,” a man-eating succubus, who allows Binnix to explore their most depraved instincts and hyperfeminine abilities to beguile and seduce.

Throughout the album, Binnix dives deep into the Yuna character’s psyche while presenting playful, dark-sided lyrics and ever-shifting sonics to relay the album’s intricate narrative. Ultimately, the album’s story suggests that some aspects of ourselves can never be fully banished or hidden, but must be understood and accepting. And at the core of the material, is the question: Can you learn to forgive and accept the darkest, most fucked up parts of yourself?

YUNA will feature the previously released singles “BONDAGE” AND “BE WITH YOU,” which received praise from Alternative Press, Paste Magazine, Out Magazine, Queerty and more, and the album’s third and latest single “LUSH.” Sonically channeling 90s grunge, Paramore and others, “LUSH” reveals an artist with an uncanny knack for pairing forceful rock bombast and arena rock friendly hooks with earnest, seemingly lived-in lyricism. The song also evokes the weird — and sometimes thrilling — push and pull of a dysfunctional relationship.

 “I don’t talk to anyone, knowing I won’t hear what’s good for me,” Binnix says of the new single. “If dysfunction is all you know, naturally, you’ll gravitate towards the familiar. Ignoring the fact that this will ultimately fail creates the illusion of freedom so you can experience a relationship without feeling trapped.”

The accompanying video features the rising Los Angeles-based artist as both Black Polish and their alter-ego Yuna at the beach at night, alternating between seductiveness and unhinged fury.