Category: indie electro rock

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Chenzo V Returns with Anthemic “Mechanical Boy”

Chenzo V is an emerging New York-based creative director, producer and artist, whose music sees him drawing from and blending elements of alternative rock, post-punk, New Wave, synth pop and industrial electronica. 

Deeply rooted in classical performance and visual art, the emerging New York-based producer and artist writes, produces and directs every release himself, building immersive multimedia worlds. Thematically, his work touches upon identity, illusion and transformation.

Late last year, he released “Midnight,” an arena friendly ripper that showcases his ability to pair rousingly anthemic hooks and choruses with broodingly cinematic soundscapes and lived-in lyrics.

His latest single “Mechanical Boy” is a woozy blend of industrial electronica, electronic rock, alt rock and synth pop that further cements his growing reputation for crafting remarkably catchy hooks and rousingly anthemic choruses while seemingly drawing from Muse and Radiohead.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Minneapolis’ Solid Gold Shares Shimmering, Politically Charged “Government Grade”

Minneapolis-based electro rock trio Solid Gold — Zachary Coulter, Adam Hurlbut and Matthew Locher — have released two critically applauded albums to date, 2008’s Ryan Olcott-produced Bodies of Water and 2012’s BJ Burton-produced Eat Your Young, as well as a handful of singles. The trio have supported all of their recorded output with a busy international touring schedule.

The trio are currently working on their long-awaited third album. Recorded at Cannon Falls, MN-based Pachyderm Studios, their new album reportedly showcases a dramatic shift in sound and approach: According to the band, the new songs are “maximalist psychedelic dreamscapes filled with shimmering synthesizers and pop vocal hooks.” They add that the album’s “sound is a reflection of the modern world, beautiful, but with an underlying essence of tragedy.”

Solid Gold’s latest single “Government Grade” is a a remarkably crafted and meditative song anchored around a shimmering psych pop arrangement, some incredibly catchy, well-placed hooks and a gorgeous melody. The song as the band explains is a direct response to the ongoing, violent occupation of Minnesota by ICE. And as a result, the song is a forcefully urgent documentation of our moment — one of many, of course — that also feels timeless and absolutely fucking necessary.

The band will be donating all proceeds from the sale of the song on Bandcamp to Minnesota Mutual Aid groups to support the good, resilient. diverse and deeply proud folks of the Twin Cities.

The Bandcamp link to purchase is here: https://solidgold.bandcamp.com/track/government-grade

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Chenzo V Shares Anthemic “Midnight”

Chenzo V is an emerging New York-based creative director, producer and artist, whose music sees him drawing from and blending elements of alternative rock, post-punk, New Wave, synth pop and industrial electronica.

Deeply rooted in classical performance and visual art, the emerging New York-based producer and artist writes, produces and directs every release himself, building immersive multimedia worlds. His work thematically touches upon identity, illusion and transformation.

His latest single “Midnight” is an arena friendly ripper that sounds like a synthesis of contemporary alt pop, nu metal and industrial electronica that showcases an artist with an uncanny ability to pair rousingly anthemic hooks and choruses with broodingly cinematic soundscapes and lived-in lyrics.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Allegories Share Dreamy and Uneasy “Mid Century Nothing”

Since the release of 2022’s Endless, the Canadian experimental pop duo and JOVM mainstays  Allegories — childhood friends Adam Bentley and Jordan Mitchell — have released a growing collection of standalone singles. 

Earlier this year, the duo shared “DREAMCRUSHER” “Stay Out Of The Basement,” and “Baker’s Lung,” the first three of a series of singles that originally started out a bare-bonded ukulele sketches, which gradually transformed into idiosyncratic electronic sound sculptures.

The Canadian duo’s latest single “Mid Century Nothing” is a spacey and subtly uneasy fusion of shoegaze, electronic rock and electro pop that’s arguably the most band-orientated release from the duo in some time, while also capturing the tension between introspection and assertion. And as a result, the song possesses a quiet, unguarded defiance.

“It came from our ukulele songs and slowly turned into one of our weirdo electronic tracks,” the duo shares. “We were about 85 percent of the way through arranging it when we decided to perform it at a winter festival. We don’t play live very often – we’ve only done it twice in the last 10 years. Something about rehearsing and being on stage changes the way we approach the music. This song became more defiant, touched on what’s happening in the world, and ended up way more assertive and confrontational than anything we made in the studio.”

“It reminded us that we actually come from jamming things out in a rehearsal space,” they add. “Maybe we should spend more time in that mode. Either way, we could probably play live more than twice a decade.”

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Orphan Prodigy Shares Madchester-Inspired Anthem “Get Away”

Ian Keller, is Queens-based singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and creative mastermind behind the emerging solo recording project Orphan Prodigy. After spending nearly two decades as the frontman of an alternative rock band, Keller decided to branch off and start studying music production and engineering.

As it turns out, it wasn’t very long after he was introduced to digital workstations that the Queens-based artist found his way back to writing songs — and subsequently began working on material that would eventually become his Orphan Prodigy debut album.

With roots in early 90s and 2000s alternative rock and metal, Keller’s Orphan Prodigy sees him writing music digitally and alone, which has allowed him to explore musical horizons organically and outside the confines of a conventional band. Orphan Prodigy sees Keller dabbling with influences in electronic dance music, house and trance.

Keller’s recently Orphan Prodigy debut, Medication For A Modern World sees the Queens-based artist pushing the boundaries of contemporary rock and filling every sonic space possible. Thematically, the album’s material harnesses the anxiety and concerns of our moment — and turns them into a soundtrack for the contemporary era. The album encourages listeners to tackle their mental health head-on, urging listeners to confront their struggles, rather than numb them as modern, late-stage capitalism would want you to do.

Medication For A Modern World‘s lead single “Get Away” manages to recall Electronic and the Madchester sound with the song featuring glistening and arpeggiated bursts of Larry Levan-like keys, skittering, club rocking boom-bap, a supple bass line paired with Keller’s emphatic delivery. “Get Away” showcases an artist who can craft a slickly produced, rousingly anthemic song with some remarkably catchy hooks.

At its core, the song expresses a familiar desire to escape a crazy, overstimulated world, one that’s sliding into fascism in a feverish pace. If you’re not at that point yet, then you’re ignoring reality.

The accompanying video features Keller playing all the song’s instruments in a clean, white studio. And fittingly, it reminds me of several videos from the 80s.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Death Drive Teams Up with Dogs on Shady Lane’s Tori Hall on Dreamy “Let The Wound Heal”

Brooklyn-based electro shoegaze outfit Death Drive‘s latest single, the recently released “Let the Wound Heal,” features Dogs on Shady Lane‘s Tori Hall. Coming on the heels of last September’s split EP with Yuurusu, A Bit Closer to Heaven, “Let the Wound Heal” pairs Hall’s ethereal and plaintive delivery with a lush retro-futuristic leaning production featuring twinkling synths, swirling guitar textures, live drumming and a supple bass line.

While influenced by a wide range of influences including The Postal Service and Radiohead, the song sonically reminds me a bit of BLACKSTONE RNGRS, No Swoon, The Orielles‘ recent output and Death By Piano. The song’s lyrics, which were written by Hall, were inspired by the monologue delivered by Rutger Hauer’s character Roy Batty in the climax of the 1982 film Blade Runner.

“The demo was named ‘harrisonfordbladerunner,'” Death Drive bandleader and sampler Raj explains. ” That’s where the idea took off for Tori with the lyrics, and I named it that because that was the poster in front of me in the room where we finished the demo.”

Death Drive will celebrate the release of their new single at The Woodshop in Brooklyn on April 4th, alongside Holiem, Blood Estate, and MKUltra.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Miki Berenyi Trio Shares Dance Floor Friendly “Big I Am”

Miki Berenyi Trio features an acclaimed and accomplished group of artists:

  • Miki Berenyi (vocals/ guitar), a founding member, frontperson and rhythm guitarist of acclaimed and iconic shoegazer outfit Lush — and the founder and frontperson of acclaimed outfit Piroshka

  • Kevin “Moose” McKillop (guitar), a founding member of acclaimed shoegazers Moose, Berenyi’s spouse and Piroshka bandmate 

  • Oliver Cherer (bass)

The band is named after its lead singer — a direct way to convey the presence of former Lush frontperson Miki Berenyi, one of the most beloved figures and recognizable faces of 1990s alternative rock and shoeegaze. Their highly-anticipated full-length debut, Tripla derives it name from the Hungarian word for “triple” acknowledging that the band’s songwriting is entirely a three-way collaboration.

Slated for an April 4, 2025 release through Bella Union, the trio’s debut album, is reportedly a landmark album for the acclaimed trio that sees the trio crafting a rich and lushly layered, imaginative and uniquely slanted take on dream pop that features an often euphoric and occasionally melancholic mix of guitars and electronics paired with Berenyi’s imitable vocal and a worldview that vacillates between profound, yearning and abrasive — perhaps from lived-in experience and wisdom.

Interestingly, despite the album’s sophisticated sound, the trio have done so with a focus on the basics, not only recording at home, but driving around in a car packed with their gear, loading in and out of venues themselves — much like in the old days. “There is something very ‘grass roots’ about what we’re doing,” Miki Berenyi Trio’s Miki Berenyi says.  “There’s no point following the ‘announce the album, then tour, then record the next album’ route – we just want to wring as much enjoyment out of this as we can, and hope that it resonates somewhere!”

Tripla‘s latest single “Big I Am” sees the trio pairing dance floor New Wave-meets-electro pop beats, shoegazer textures and a slick motorik groove but the song eviscerates the pretend alpha/macho aggression of social media creeps like Andrew Tate and others, revealing that they’re insecure, frightened buffoons.

“I’ve witnessed 50+ years of the trends in masculinity and frankly, nothing much changes – as ever, there are good men and there are shit men, and there are boys who can be misguided but easily mature into the best of their sex,” Miki Berenyi says. “But this latest incarnation of ‘winning’ the sex war is a laughably infantile and willfully regressive new low.”

Directed by Sébastien Faits-Divers, the accompanying video was filmed at the Consortium Museum (Contemporary Art Center) in Dijon, France, in one of the Isabella Ducrot “Profusione” exhibition rooms, and features the band performing the song and includes some trippy fish-eye lens shots.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Belfast’s Chalk Shares Brooding “Pool Scene”

Rising Belfast-based electronic outfit Chalk — Ross Cullen (vocals), Benedict Goddard (guitar, sampler) and Luke Niblock (drums) — features three award-winning musicians and filmmakers, who can trace the origins of the band to their meeting while attending film school. The trio bonded over having the same musical vision and ambitions. 

Inspired by the ferocity of Dublin‘s guitar band scene’s live shows and the sweaty hardcore dance scenes of their native Belfast, the band has developed and crafted a sound that has been dubbed by some critics as techno-infused, gothic post-punk — and as the band has dubbed Berghain-rock blended with techno punk. 

2023 saw the Northern Ireland-based post punk/electronic trio release their debut EP Conditions. But the band quickly made a name for themselves as a live unit: They exploded out of the gates with opening slots for London-based outfit PVA for their first ever shows, before selling out shows across the UK. Quickly building upon a growing profile across the region and elsewhere, the band landed sets across the European major festival circuit, closing out 2023 with a set at Rencontres Trans Musicales and a KEXP live session. 

Coming off the heels of their Northern Irish Music Prize 2023 Best Live Act win, the band has begun to make noise globally: Their Chris Ryan and Ross Cullen co-produced sophomore EP Conditions II was released last year. The EP featured singles “The Gate” and “Claw,” which received praise from The Independent, NME, DIY, Dork, Rolling Stone UK, So Young, The New Cue, Rough Trade, Consequence and others while landing on a BBC 6 Music playlist with tracks from PJ Harvey, IDLES, Sampha, Yard Act and more.

Last year, I wrote about Conditions II single “Bliss,” a track that featured angular and reverb-drenched shoegazer-like guitar textures with relentless four-on-the-floor and bursts of glistening synth serving as a brooding yet cinematic bed for Ross Cullen’s punchy yet stoic shouts and Constance Keane, a.k.a. Fears‘ ethereal voice acting as a dreamy counterbalance. Nodding at Joy Division, New Order, Luminous and V-era The Horrors and others, the track thematically moves from longing to loss and regret. 

Thematically, Conditions II continued upon the themes of its predecessor but while diving deeper into subconscious feelings and self-discovery. Sonically, the effort saw the band leaning into the industrial/techno rock sound that they established with Conditions. Aesthetically, the trio continued the monochromatic, goth-inspired goth visual landscape in an evocative and seamless manner. 

“We see Conditions II as a natural evolution from our debut EP, Conditions. These new tracks are a product of our first year as a touring band. They were tried and tested at most of our shows before being taken into the studio,” Chalk’s Ross Cullen says. “We wanted to expand upon existing themes and ideas we touched upon in our debut, but with this continuation, we could explore ourselves and the world we had created deeper, both lyrically and sonically. In this second installment, we wanted to dive further into the electronic element of our music, bringing the experience of our live shows to our recordings.”

The third and final part of the Northern Ireland-based trio’s trilogy Conditions III EP officially dropped today through Nice Swan Records. Recorded against the backdrop of bleak landscapes and Nordic vistas in remote northern Iceland, Conditions III sees the Belfast-based trio fusing elements of heavy guitar music, electronica and breakbeat into a euphoric and frightening finished project. The result is an effort that showcases another evolution in the band’s already confrontational sound and approach. 

In the lead-up to the EP’s release, I wrote about two EP singles:

  • “Tell Me,” a goth-meets-industrial banger featuring thumping and skittering beats, oscillating synths and a relentless, motorik groove paired with Cullen’s reverb and distortion-drizzled, emotionally detached delivery. At its core, “Tell Me,” evokes unease, desperation and euphoria simultaneously.  “‘Tell Me’ is the first release of our trilogy-ending third EP Conditions III. For this track, we conjured up a world in which the song’s protagonist is running away from a dark past into unknown territory, encountering an unsuspecting new acquaintance on their journey,” the band’s Ross Cullen says. It’s a song that dives head-first into themes of the unknown, breaking norms, and a feeling of running away and never wanting to return again. It explores the idea that life is moving rapidly around us and the lack of belonging, confusion, and disassociation one experiences on their journey, growing older in an increasingly discouraging and bleak urban landscape. These are themes of which we’ve scratched the surface with Conditions and Conditions II; but we want to delve even deeper into their grittier sides as we continue to figure ourselves out along the way.”

  • “Afraid,” a bruiser of a track that’s one-part Gang of Four-era post-punk and scorching industrial electronica that feels tense, uneasy yet euphoric. “‘Afraid’ captures the raw fear and exhilaration of stepping into the unknown, a reminder that growth only happens when you leave your comfort zone. It’s a reflection on the strength it takes to move forward,” the band explains. 

Today, the band shared EP closing track “Pool Scene,” which sees the band meshing brooding and yearning post-punk with propulsive, dance floor friendly house music in a way that to my ears brings to mind a synthesis of Joy Division and I Love You It’s Cool-era Bear in Heaven.

The accompanying video by Colin Peppard features black and white camcorder footage of the band performing by Morgyn Lutton and Sienna Munn, and photography by Glen Bollard, Lee Anderson and Tom Ham.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: CHALK Shares Surreal Visual for Bruising “Afraid”

Rising Belfast-based electronic outfit Chalk — Ross Cullen (vocals), Benedict Goddard (guitar, sampler) and Luke Niblock (drums) — features three award-winning musicians and filmmakers, who can trace the origins of the band to their meeting while attending film school. The trio bonded over having the same musical vision and ambitions. 

Inspired by the ferocity of Dublin‘s guitar band scene’s live shows and the sweaty hardcore dance scenes of their native Belfast, the band has developed and crafted a sound that has been dubbed by some critics as techno-infused, gothic post-punk — and as the band has dubbed Berghain-rock blended with techno punk. 

2023 saw the Northern Ireland-based post punk/electronic trio release their debut EP Conditions. But the band quickly made a name for themselves as a live unit: They exploded out of the gates with opening slots for London-based outfit PVA for their first ever shows, before selling out shows across the UK. Quickly building upon a growing profile across the region and elsewhere, the band landed sets across the European major festival circuit, closing out 2023 with a set at Rencontres Trans Musicales and a KEXP live session. 

Coming off the heels of their Northern Irish Music Prize 2023 Best Live Act win, the band has begun to make noise globally: Their Chris Ryan and Ross Cullen co-produced sophomore EP Conditions II was released last year. The EP featured singles

“The Gate” and “Claw,” which received praise from The Independent, NME, DIY, Dork, Rolling Stone UK, So Young, The New Cue, Rough Trade, Consequence and others while landing on a BBC 6 Music playlist with tracks from PJ Harvey, IDLES, Sampha, Yard Act and more. And if you were following this site last year, you might recall that I wrote about “Bliss,” a track that featured angular and reverb-drenched shoegazer-like guitar textures with relentless four-on-the-floor and bursts of glistening synth serving as a brooding yet cinematic bed for Ross Cullen’s punchy yet stoic shouts and Constance Keane, a.k.a. Fears‘ ethereal voice acting as a dreamy counterbalance. Nodding at Joy Division, New Order, Luminous and V-era The Horrors and others, the track thematically moves from longing to loss and regret.

Thematically, Conditions II continued upon the themes of its predecessor but while diving deeper into subconscious feelings and self-discovery. Sonically, the effort saw the band leaning into the industrial/techno rock sound that they established with Conditions. Aesthetically, the trio continued the monochromatic, goth-inspired goth visual landscape in an evocative and seamless manner. 

“We see Conditions II as a natural evolution from our debut EP, Conditions. These new tracks are a product of our first year as a touring band. They were tried and tested at most of our shows before being taken into the studio,” Chalk’s Ross Cullen says. “We wanted to expand upon existing themes and ideas we touched upon in our debut, but with this continuation, we could explore ourselves and the world we had created deeper, both lyrically and sonically. In this second installment, we wanted to dive further into the electronic element of our music, bringing the experience of our live shows to our recordings.”

The third and final part of the Northern Ireland-based trio’s trilogy Conditions III EP is slated for a February 21, 2025 release through Nice Swan Records. Recorded against the backdrop of bleak landscapes and Nordic vistas in remote northern Iceland, Conditions III reportedly sees the Belfast-based trio fusing elements of heavy guitar music, electronica and breakbeat into a euphoric and frightening finished project. The result tis an effort that showcases another evolution in the band’s already confrontational sound and approach. 

Late last year, I wrote about Conditions III single “Tell Me,” a goth-meets-industrial banger featuring thumping and skittering beats, oscillating synths and a relentless, motorik groove paired with Cullen’s reverb and distortion-drizzled, emotionally detached delivery. At its core, “Tell Me,” evokes unease, desperation and euphoria simultaneously. 

“‘Tell Me’ is the first release of our trilogy-ending third EP Conditions III. For this track, we conjured up a world in which the song’s protagonist is running away from a dark past into unknown territory, encountering an unsuspecting new acquaintance on their journey,” the band’s Ross Cullen says. It’s a song that dives head-first into themes of the unknown, breaking norms, and a feeling of running away and never wanting to return again. It explores the idea that life is moving rapidly around us and the lack of belonging, confusion, and disassociation one experiences on their journey, growing older in an increasingly discouraging and bleak urban landscape. These are themes of which we’ve scratched the surface with ‘Conditions’ and ‘Conditions II’; but we want to delve even deeper into their grittier sides as we continue to figure ourselves out along the way.”

“Within the ‘Tell Me’ video we wanted to focus on creating a pressure cooker of tension encapsulated in the confined space of a car and heightened by the physical presence of a guilty conscience,” the band’s Ben Goddard explains. “Visually, we were inspired by the dramatic lighting of 1970s Italian horror films, such as Suspiria. We wanted to add further intensity and stylisation to the video through the use of constant heavy rain and hand-built a rain machine to achieve this effect. We were able to realise this vision with our fantastic cast and crew, including Desmond Eastwood, Venetia Bowe and our director of photography, Alba Fernandez.”

Conditions III‘s latest single “Afraid” is a bruiser of a track that’s one-part Gang of Four-era post-punk and scorching industrial electronica that feels tense, uneasy yet euphoric.

“‘Afraid’ captures the raw fear and exhilaration of stepping into the unknown, a reminder that growth only happens when you leave your comfort zone. It’s a reflection on the strength it takes to move forward,” the band explains.

Co-directed by the band’s Benedict Goddard and Colin Peppard, the accompanying video stars Loughlin Gannon as prisoner presumably condemned to death; Peter Trant as the senior prison guard; Nicky J. Kearney as the junior guard; and Roy Gilmore as the priest. The prisoner is served a pimento stuffed olive as a meal. The olive causes the prisoner to choke, and as he’s gasping for breath, the junior guard and senior guard fight over what to do. This leads to a surreal and ironic array of events that are equally as frightening and unsettling.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Droid Metal Share sultry Debut “Pleather”

Giuliano Pizzulo is a Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter and musician, whose career started in earnest with a stint in the acclaimed indie rock outfit Incan Abraham, an act that received praise from the likes of Pitchfork, NPR and Spin. Since then Pizzulo has spent the past decade as a touring musician for Lorde, Childish Gambino and Passion Pit.

Pizzulo’s solo recording project, Droid Metal sees the acclaimed Los Angeles-based musician crafting a sound that meshes elements of 90s rave music, industrial electronica and pop. His Droid Metal debut “Pleather” is a synthesis of Downward Spiral-era Nine Inch Nails and Tweekend-era The Crystal Method and JOVM mainstay Blak Emoji featuring dense layers of woozy synths and skittering breakbeats paired with Pizzulo’s sultry falsetto.

The acclaimed Los Angeles-based artist explains that the song came out of a dance with a dangerous muse that took him to some new, illicit places both literally and metaphorically.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: STOLEN Shares Dystopian Anthem “I-Generated”

Formed back in 2010, STOLEN is a pioneering and award-winning, Chengdu, China-based electronica quintet that specializes in a high-energy, dance floor friendly sound that features elements of techno, darkwave and post-punk. 

Since the release of their full-length debut, 2015’s Loop, the Chinese outfit has built an international profile: Through collaborations with renowned brands like Hermés, Burberry and BMW, they’ve managed to merge their unique sound with current fashion trends. And adding to a growing international profile, they opened for New Order during the British New Wave legends’ 2019 European Union tour. 

2024 has been a busy year for the Chinese outfit: Earlier this year, they released the Remanufactured EP, which featured the slow-burning and brooding “Drown With Me,” a song that reminded me ab it of Trentemøller’s “A Different Light” and Goldfrapp’s Tales of Us.

Their second EP of the year, the recently released, three-song effort, I-Generated is a journey into the world of AI. Each track is a separate chapter in the story, with each song focusing on three different moments in AI’s history. Sonically, the EP features a much more electronic sound, driven by catchy keyboard melodies and subtle guitar work.

The EP’s first single, EP opening track “I-Generated” is a Nine Inch Nail-meets-Tool-meets-Rush-like ripper featuring driving rhythms, glitchy bursts of electronics, oscillating synths, rousingly anthemic, shout along worthy hooks, arena rock friendly power chords. It’s the sort of song that sounds as though it would fit perfectly within the universe of The Matrix or some near-apocalyptic sci-fi thriller that closely misers or our seemingly dystopian world.

The song’s lyrically talks about present-day humanity in seeming free-fall, about to put its fate in the hands of AI as a desperate, last resort. Both lyrically and musically, the song evokes the hope and unease that we all feel at this particular moment.