Category: Indie Pop

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Sam Himself’s Lovingly Schlocky Send-Up of Country Western Specials

With the release of 2020’s Slow Drugs EP and last year’s critically applauded full-length debut Power Ballads, Swiss-born, Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Sam Himself had quickly made a name for himself both nationally and internationally: Power Ballads was called a “well-crafted set of atmospheric post-punk” by KEXP; the album landed on the national charts while receiving airplay across both the States and Europe. The Swiss-born, Brooklyn-based artist also earned two Swiss Music Award nominations.

Sam Himself was supporting the highly buzzed around Slow Drugs with a European tour when the COVID-19 pandemic threw a monkey wrench into everyone’s plans and hopes — including his plans to return back to NYC, his home for the past decade. The resulting shock and sense of powerlessness in almost every aspect of his life wound up inspiring the sardonically titled Power Ballads.

Early in his career, the Swiss-born, Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist has proven to be remarkably prolific. Building upon that reputation, Himself’s Daniel Scheltt-produced sophomore album is slated for an early 2023 release. Unlike its predecessor, the new album’s material reportedly brims with the hope and promise of a reopening world, where it’s possible to record, perform and even tour together. While continuing his successful collaboration with Schlett, the album also sees the Swiss-born, Brooklyn-based artist working with longtime musical collaborators JD Werner (bass) and Chris Egan (drums).

“I definitely didn’t plan to cut an entire album when I went back into the studio earlier this year, but the initial session went so well, we walked out with just under ten songs,” the rising artist explains in press notes. “On a whim, I asked Daniel for more dates before everyone was gonna be busy again for months. He was all for it, provided that I had more songs ready to record – which of course I didn’t, but that didn’t stop me. I bluffed, the dates went on the calendar and just like that, I had about a week to write two whole songs from scratch.”

Recorded with his backing band in the same room at Schlett’s Brooklyn-based Strange Weather Studio, the album’s second and latest single, “Golden Days” is a slick and well-crafted synthesis of Bruce Springsteen/Sam Fender-like arena rock power ballad and atmospheric Patsy Cline-meets-Daughn Gibson-like country as you’ll hear glistening synth arpeggios, chugging guitar doused in a little bit of reverb paired with a big hooks and even bigger choruses and Himself’s unique delivery which displays vulnerability, assertiveness and resilience within the turn of a phrase. Throughout the song, it’s narrator manages to turn heartbreak and regret into the resilience of a teachable moment — about both life and fittingly, himself. (No pun intended here.)

“I got the chorus for Golden Days together pretty quick, but I heard it as a more of a slow, Western ballad type of thing; I’d just been on tour, meaning days and days in the van listening to nothing but Country – ask my band, they love it! – so all I could come up with was, like, Patsy Cline!” Himself says in press notes. ” Luckily for me, JD (Werner) is a prolific songwriter in his own right who just makes stacks of demos at all times! I told him about my conundrum, he offered to show me some of the material he’d been working on. The very first demo he shared gave me the instrumental parts for the verses and those beautiful guitar themes. Then all I had to do was write some words, find a vocal melody, speed up my Country chorus and that’s how we made Golden Days.” 

Filmed by Stefan Tschumi, the accompanying video for “Golden Days” stars Sam and his touring band, Benjamin Noti and Georg Diller in a lovingly schlocky and hokey homage to classic Country Western TV specials, like Grand Ole Opry, The Porter Wagoner Show, The Johnny Cash Show and others, full of showbiz cliches, performative nostalgia for the gold ol’ days, and some self-parody as well.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Austin indie outfit High Heavens can trace the bulk of their origins back to 1996: Austin-based emo punk troubadours Glorium were invited to do a southern US tour with DC punk legends Fugazi. During this tour, Glorium’s guitarist Ernest Salaz met and befriended Fugazi’s front of house engineer Nick Pelicciotto, who also played in Edsel and New Wet Kojak.

Salaz went on to play with I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness but he remained friends with Pelicciotto. Back in 2017, the duo started High Heavens, a band built on their mutual musical interests over the past decade. The band’s first lineup featured Jeremy Erwin (keys), Crime in Choir’s Jonathan Saggs (bass), and John Matthew Walker (vocals).

Their Stuart Sikes-produced full-length debut, Springtime Don’t Call features album title track “Springtime Don’t Call.” The band was able to play one last year but tensions arose: Erwin had enough of Austin and moved to Colorado; Pelicciotto and Skaggs decided to purse other musical interests. As a result of this massive lineup change, the band itself went through a radical transformation.

Salaz and Walker decided to record a few more songs with Sikes — without a band. Salaz then reached out to his former Glorium bandmate, George Lara who’s now playing with ’60s Chicano soul outfit Eddie & The Valiants and San Antonio-based pop outfit The Please Help to record some bass parts and Lara’s The Please Help bandmate Juan Ramos to record some drum parts. Additional recording was done at The BBQ Shack by Austin-based guitarist Jason Morales, who has played with Tia Carrera, Black Mercy, Migas and Olympia, WA-based Helltrout. The band’s old friend . . . And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead’s Conrad Keely contributed sax and Rhodes on “Hundred Bullets” and additional keyboard on their latest single “Life is a Loan Shark.”

“Life is a Loan Shark” is a slow-burning and dreamy bit of nostalgia-inducing pop centered around Walker’s plaintive delivery, twinkling Rhodes, atmospheric synths, supple bass lines and gently strummed guitar. Featuring key work from Jeremy Erwin, “Life is a Loan Shark” is inspired by Angelo Badalamenti‘s Twin Peaks score and Richie Valens — but also seems to nod at Scott Walker, thanks in part to its melancholy and heartbroken air.

The band explains that the song is about boyhood memories and lost love.

High Heavens is currently rehearsing with a new lineup and will be playing shows across Texas in November. So for my Texan friends, be on the lookout.

. 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

“

Sophia Hansen-Knarhoi is a Perth-based singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and composer with a background in composition and sound design for contemporary dance, which allows the Perth-based artist and her work to create and enhance an intricate visual world.

As a singer/songwriter, composer, and multi-instrumentalist, Hansen-Knarhoi is influenced by Björk, Julia Holter and others — with her work also drawing from the natural world she grew up in and its connection to womanhood.

“Disguise” is Hansen-Knarhoi’s debut single and the first single off her forthcoming debut EP, Wildflowers, which is slated for an October release. Centered around an ethereal and lush arrangement of cello, guitar, horns paired with layers vocals, “Disguise” may bring Kishi Bashi’s unique meshing of chamber pop, folk and pop with intimate, lived-in and deeply introspective lyrics.

“I was going through a time in my life where I was struggling to fill the gaps in who I was, so I tried to fill them with the wrong people,” Hansen-Knarhoi explains. “I believed I could find what I needed outside of myself.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Jonna Martin is a Swedish-born, Melbourne-based singer/songwriter and producer, who released her debut single “Master of Hearts” earlier this year. Martin’s latest single, the slow-burning ballad “Lies” reveals a songwriter with a maturity and self-assuredness beyond both the relative youth of her career and her relative youth. And just as important, the song simultaneously showcases a young vocalist with a soulful, dynamic pop star/pop belter-like range. But underneath all of that, the song’s narrator conveys sadness, disillusionment and frustration.

Interestingly, “Lies” is rooted in astute and incisive observation. According to Martin, the song was inspired by unrealistic relationship dynamics that are idealized in media and television. “As women, are are taught through movies and tv that we are supposed to find a broken man and fix him through our love and devotion, which creates unstable relationships and unmet expectations,” the Swedish-born, Melbourne-based artist explains. “This song paints the picture of relationship built on these bricks and the grand fall of it.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Dans Le Kosmos is an emerging French sextet that specializes in a soulful and groove-driven take on pop rooted in their quirky and bewitching universe featuring lyrics that are simultaneously raw and romantic.

The act’s first released single “Pardon My French” is an infectious and coquettish, hook-driven bop that sonically brings Off the Wall-era Michael Jackson, Jamiroquai, and Tako Tsubo-era L’Imperatice to mind — but featuring lyrics sultrily delivered in French and English. It’s a charming and funky little bop with a nostalgic flair that’s simply irresistible.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Young French Artist farah Shares Remarkably Self-Assured Bop

farah is a 15 year-old — yes, 15~! — French singer/songwriter. She wrote her debut single “Hurry Up” when she was 14, and the song reveals a remarkably self-assured songwriter beyond her relative youth. Centered around glistening synths, skittering beats and the young French artist’s sultry delivery, “Hurry Up” captures and evokes feelings teenagers often feel, when they feel they must quickly fit in and fulfill expectations that often means giving up on their dreams.

As the young French artist explains, the song reminds the listener to take their time, even if the world is rushing you. But also suggests that time is short and that if you don’t want to “do the adult thing.” you better hurry towards the goals and dreams that you hold dear before you get caught up into a world of uncomfortable compromise. If there’s one thing I’m certain of it’s this: This young artist has a bright future ahead of them.

The accompanying visual is an animated Dali-esque world in which a young woman walks down a path with running clocks surrounding her. The hands on the literal watch faces spin wildly, representing time’s rapid passing. She’s walking towards an angry looking sun. But throughout, she seems determined to make her own path.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Montreal’s Vanille Shares Swooning “À bientôt”

Rachel Leblanc is a Montreal-based singer/songwriter and creative mastermind behind the rising recording project Vanille. With Vanille, Leblanc specializes in a sound that exists somewhere between of 60s folk and French chanson and brings the listener into a dreamlike world of dense forests and swooning heartbreak.

Leblanc’s sophomore album, which will reportedly feature lush arrangements and melodies is slated for a February 2023 release through Bonbonbon Records in Canada and Boogie Drugstore in Europe. And to build up buzz for the new album, the French Canadian artist will be busy touring along the European festival circuit this fall, making stops at Austria’s Waves Festival, France’s MAMA Festival and Belgium’s FrancoFaune Festival.

The French Canadian artist’s latest single, the swooning “À bientôt,” translates into English as “see you soon.” And although the song is centered around a lush arrangement of strummed, reverb-drenched guitars, gently padded drumming paired with Leblanc’s achingly tender falsetto delivery and an expansive psych folk-meets-psych rock song structure. But at its core is a tale as old as time itself: a heartbroken narrator, left with the devastation of a newly-ended relationship, their memories — and naturally, their bitter heartbreak.

Directed by Gabriella Quesnel-Olivo, the accompanying video for “À bienôt” is seemingly set in 17th or 18th century France: We’re introduced to Leblanc/Vanille riding a horse through a field before a flashback to Leblanc with her beloved at a picnic in the same fields. The video ends with an equally ironic and shocking conclusion — Leblanc’s character poisoning her lover and escaping.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstay James Chatburn Shares a Woozy, Classic Soul-Inspired Jam

James Chatburn is a rising, Sydney-born, Berlin-based singer/songwriter and producer. Since relocating to the German capital back in 2015, Chatburn has carved out a reputation for being a highly in-demand singer/songwriter and producer, who has collaborated with acclaimed Aussie hip-hop outfit Hilltop Hoods‘ certified Gold single “Higher,”  rum.gold, Jordan Rakei, Noah Slee, Sedric Perry, and a growing list of others. As a solo artist, the Sydney-born, Berlin-based JOVM mainstay has developed and honed a sound that meshes elements of soul, blues, electro pop, neo-soul and psych pop with the release of his full-length debut, 2020’s David Tobias co-produced Faible. 

During the lead-up to Fabile‘s release, I managed to write about three of the album’s singles: 

  • “In My House,” a warm and vibey, two-step inducing bit of soul, centered around introspective, earnest songwriting, reverb-drenched guitars and thumping beats.
  • “Jewellery and Gold,” one of the album’s more tongue-in-cheek tracks, featuring a narrator looking forward to a future, where he’s flush with cash, and as a result, any of the major issues of his life being settled with that newfound cash — because dollar dollar bill y’all. 
  • “The Hurt,” a ballad that saw the Aussie-born, German-based JOVM mainstay express longing and heartache in a way that reminded me quite a bit of Nick Hakim.

Chatburn’s highly-anticipated sophomore album Late Night Howling officially dropped today. And if you’ve been following this site over the past month, you might recall that I wrote about “Do You Wanna Live Like That,” feat. Noah Slee, an expansive and mind-bending take on neo-soul and pop centered around a unique and woozily dynamic song structure that rapidly shifts in tone, time signature and instrumentation: The song’s introduction begins with twinkling pianos in a Latin jazz like tempo before quickly shifting to tweeter and woofer rattling trap beats and then shifting again to a vibey 70s neo-soul-inspired coda. 

Lyrically, the song is intimate and introspective, with its narrator vacillating between self-doubt, analysis, progression and gratefulness. “‘Do You Wanna Live Like That’ is a track I created which ended up kind of being a few different tracks in one, inspired by people like Tyler, The Creator with just these sudden drops and Sault with this vibe – simple not perfect, but just perfectly imperfect,” James Chatburn explains. “Noah Slee and I have been friends basically since we both moved to Berlin, it just took 7 years but we finally got around to releasing a track together.” 

Late Night Howling‘s latest single “Some Kind of Fool” sonically is indebted to Quiet Storm-meets-classic, late 60s-mid 70s psych soul as it’s centered around an arrangement of shimmering Rhodes, supple and sinuous bass lines, some metronomic time keeping, squiggling bursts of funk guitar and a soaring string arrangement serving as an ethereal and brooding bed for Chatburn, who fittingly adopts a yearning and heartbroken falsetto for most of the song. Although the song’s narrator is heartbroken and deceived, they have taken some degree of power back by clearly calling out someone, who has manipulated and exploited them.

“This song is about noticing being taken advantage of by other people and manipulated, but taking power over that situation by noticing it and calling out the behaviour,” Chatburn explains. “When producing and performing this song I wanted to land somewhere between Cleo Sol, Shuggie Otis, and Curtis Mayfield, I was like fuck it, I love it, I am going to make one of these songs.”

Directed by Dhanesh Jayaselan and featuring set design by Shari Annabel Marks, the accompanying video for “Some Kind of Fool” is an ethereal, fever dream that features an entirely black-clad Chatburn with his entirely white-clad backing band performing the song in a mistily lit, loft space. Local dancers — Nino Benito Marks, Kandi Alum and Lara Scheiber — perform some free, floating movements to the song’s slow-burning groove, and it gives the entire affair a woozy and floating feel.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Night Talks Share Mischievous Visual for Cathartic “Overcome”

Los Angeles-based indie outfit Night Talks — Soraya Sebghati (vocals), Jacob Butler (guitar) and Josh Arteaga (bass) — released their sophomore album Same Time Tomorrow earlier this year. 

Recorded between 2019 and 2020, Same Time Tomorrow sees the band firmly establishing a pop rock sound centered around Sebghati’s pop star belter vocals, shimmering guitar lines, propulsive bass, forceful drums and anthemic choruses. The album as the band explains “is a refined rock/pop album with plenty of material to dance, cry and feel to.”

When the pandemic forced a change to their release plans, the members of the band took the opportunity to make its roll out special: They used their newfound free time to give each of the album’s songs an accompanying music video. And each video was conceptualized, directed, edited, costumed, set-designed and colored by the band. 

Last month, I wrote about album single “On and On,” which debuted on KROQ’s Locals Only show back in February and since then, it has been in the top five, including eight weeks at #1 — and once you hear it, you’ll see why it’s been topping the charts: Simply put, it’s a big, heart-worn-on-sleeve, pop anthem featuring twinkling synths, glistening guitars, propulsive rhythms, Sebghati’s powerhouse vocals and their penchant for enormous, arena friendly choruses and hooks. The first time I heard it, I could picture a room full of sweaty concertgoers singing along with the song’s chorus — while pointing at a deeper, universal truth within all of our relationships 

“The song ‘On And On’ came from my realization that though relationships will come and go throughout your life, they often follow similar paths,” Night Talk’s Soraya Sebghati explains. “The relationships I had with friends and family when I was a kid have changed considerably in my adult life, but they have a lot of the same rhythms. The phrase ‘Same Time Tomorrow’ represents a willingness to show up and put in the work to fix or maintain a relationship, especially when you’re in a rough patch. Things might be difficult, but that doesn’t mean you’re done– it just means that you’ll show up the next day and try again.”

Same Time Tomorrow‘s latest single “Overcome” continues a run of sleek, slickly produced, radio friendly, pop rock built around earnest, lived-in songwriting, and well-placed, rousingly anthemic, cathartic hooks and choruses. While arguably being one of the most defiantly upbeat songs I’ve come across in the past few weeks, “Overcome” is rooted in a heartbreak that’s devastating and all too familiar.

“Overcome is about the dissolution of a friendship. I feel like friend breakups are just as painful as romantic relationship breakups, but it can feel so much weirder,” Night Talks’ Soraya Sebghati explains. “Sometimes you grow out of friendships or grow apart from each other, and sometimes you realize that the friendship isn’t serving either person in a positive or healthy way.

At the end of the day, things did turn out okay. The pain is not permanent and it is possible to overcome the hurt and weird feelings that come from losing a friend.”

The accompanying video for “Overcome” continues a run of mischievous, playful visuals created, edited and shot by the band. Opening with a literal blank canvas, the video explodes into color and is chock full of hilarious visual gags and easter eggs that reveal themselves with repeated viewings.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Emily Elbert Shares Sinuous and Sultry “Stream of Consciousness”

Emily Elbert is an acclaimed and highly-regarded singer/songwriter and guitarist, who has spent much of the past few years focusing on co-writes, studio work and touring with Gwen Stefani, Esperanza Spalding, Leon Bridges, Sara Bareilles, Jacob Collier, Jenny Lewis, and a lengthy list of others. 

The Elbert and Alex Krispin co-produced Woven Together is slated for a Friday release. Marking the first batch of original music from Elbert since 2018’s We Who Believe in Freedom, the album features additional instrumentation from bassist Solomon Dorsey, who has played with Lucius, KT Tunstall and Jose James; drummer Abe Rounds, who has played with Meshell Ndegeocello, Andrew Bird, Blake Mills and Seal; and Hailey Niswagner, who has played with Clairo and Kali Uchis on woodwinds. 

Woven Together sees Elbert and her collaborators meshing psych soul and folk over ideas of transcendentalism with the album’s material touching on themes of community, self-inquiry, vulnerability and gratitude with the album bringing the listener to the turbulence-free journey from self to universe. “Making it felt process-oriented and exploratory, without any sense of capitalistic pressure – music for the sake of making something loving and true.” Elbert says. 

“One thing that feels central to the whole project (and my being) is the idea that any act can be an act of prayer, pleasure or play,” Elbert adds “It felt that way making this whole album, really – rooted in the Earth, but reaching for the stars.” 

Last month, I wrote about “For Free,” a strutting bit of soul-meets-folk featuring sinuous bass lines, glistening bursts of Rhodes, Dylan Day’s swampy and funky guitar lines paired with Elbert’s effortlessly soulful vocals and her unerring knack for an infectious, euphoric hook. Seemingly indebted to Muscle Shoals and Bill Withers, the song is rooted in old-timey craftsmanship and earnest songwriting. “It’s about experiencing joy in simple, innate pleasures; but also a dig at the systems that try to convince us that we’re more ‘consumer’ than spirit or animal,” Elbert explains.

“Stream of Consciousness,” Woven Together‘s last single before its release is centered around a snaking bass line, trotting horse-like percussion paired with Elbert’s honeyed cooing. Sonically seeming like a slick synthesis of classic rock and neo-soul, “Stream of Consciousness” lyrically references the writings of philosopher J. Krishnamurti and the Buddhist concept of Mahamudra, the union of all apparent dualities. “It’s intention-setting, a prayer; lovingly and respectfully acknowledging the perpetual cycle of life and death,” Elbert explains.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Sophie Jamieson Shares Devastating “Sink”

Rising British singer/songwriter Sophie Jamieson released two EPs back in 2020 that caught the attention of Bella Union Records, who signed Jamieson — and will be releasing her full-length debut, the Steph Marziano-produced Choosing. Slated for a December 2, 2022 release, Choosing is a subtle rework of the sound that Jamieson quickly established through her first two EPs: While those EPs flirted with playful experimentation, Choosing‘s sound is both more organic simpler and intimate, featuring arrangements of live drums, bass, cello and piano, which are roomy enough for the British singer/songwriter’s mesmerizing vocals to take the spotlight.

Jamieson has described the songs on those two EPs as “black holes” and while Choosing covers similar ground, it reportedly never takes it eyes from what lies beyond, never fully releases its grip when everything is telling her to let go. The album is a deeply personal documentation of a journey from the painful rock bottom of self-destruction to a safer place, imbued with the faint light of hope. Focusing on the bare bones of each song, the album’s material is influenced by songwriters like Elena Tonra, Sharon Van Etten and Scott Hutchinson, and sees Jamieson singing openly about longing and searching, of trying, failing and trying again, and the strength of love in its varying forms.

“The title of this album is so important,” Sophie explains. “Without it, this might sound like another record about self-destruction and pain, but at heart, it’s about hope, and finding strength. It’s about finding the light at the end of the tunnel, and crawling towards it.” 

Ultimately, the album asks the listener to look deep within themselves and to show them that they can take whatever pain they’re experiencing, and choose, to some extent, how they let it affect them; whether they let it burn them down or whether they choose to look it straight in the face. “The songs are bursting with something, and that energy just needs to be reshaped into love for the self,” Sophie explains. “I can say this from a place of having learned now how to love and care for myself. The love that reverberates through this album is like the green shoots of something I have happily learned to nurture into my present day.”

“The few times I have listened to this album from start to finish, I have realized that there is a huge amount of love in it,” Jamieson says “I think there is a strong potential for real, healthy, healing love. It’s like a line of relief that runs along through all the songs. It’s never unleashed, it hasn’t yet learned how, but it’s present in an underlying tension and potential.” 

Choosing‘s first single, the devastating “Sink” is centered around a sparse arrangement of twinkling and wobbling keys that seem both childlike and ironically detached, skittering boom bap-like drumming that’s roomy enough for Jamieson’s weary and heartbroken delivery to take the lead. The song is an unflinchingly honest look at someone on the edge — and not quite knowing what’s next. “Sink” was written as a love letter to alcohol amid an increasing dependence upon it, informed by a recurring image Sophie had of herself on a desert island, a quiet, calm place that was just too good to be true. “’Sink’ presents a purgatory between being able to choose and begging not to be pulled under,” Sophie explains. “It’s about teetering on the edge, looking over the cliff, asking not to be pulled over before realising you only have to choose not to jump.” 

Co-directed by Jamieson and Rosamund Bullard and filmed and edited by Bullard, the accompanying video follows Jamieson taking a train to the coast. We follow her as she walks along the shore, looking at the horizon in front of her. “This song began as a love letter to alcohol, written from the cusp of falling into addiction. I had begun to trust this tool but I could feel it turning on me, like a bad friend,” Jamieson says of the song and accompanying video. “I knew I was close to losing control over it, and realized that I had to choose whether to fall in or not. This song exists at the brink of choice: whether to abandon yourself, or whether to make the colossal effort to rescue yourself. The video, like the song, approaches the edge – the tantalizing mystery and comfort of it, the openness of possibility and also the quiet knowledge of the dead end. The shoreline is that edge: beautiful, eerie, infinite, and empty.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Lillian Frances is a Sacramento-based singer/songwriter, producer and self-professed “sonic collager.” Inspired by the creative and imaginative nature of children, Frances’ work generally isn’t bound to genre or style conventions. Her work frequently meshes and blurs genre and style lines, often within the same song with lyrics sung in English and Spanish.

Frances’ 2018 EP Timeism featured a sound that some have compared to Lorde, Sylvan Esso, and Billie Eilish — and received praise from NPR’s Heavy Rotation, Indie Shuffle, and Cap Radio.  She supported the EP with appearances across the state and regional festival circuit with sets at  Sacramento PorchFest, the Davis Music Festival and the Davis Cherry Blossom Festival among others. Adding to a growing profile, Frances has opened for Sylvan Esso — and she has played alongside Shakey Graves, Sage the Gemini, and Lexi Panterra.

The Sacramento-based artist released her full-length debut Moonrise Queendom back in 2020 and the album featured “Raincheck Summer,” a breezy and forward-thinking, summery pop confection centered around a coquettish and mischievous push and pull — and a deep, timely sense of irony: A summertime bop for the summer in which you never actually saw anyone. Interestingly, underlying the song’s bold playfulness and irony, the song as Frances explains “explores the idea of authentic connection.”

This February, Frances did something she had been dreaming of for years: She finally moved out of her parents’ home and into her own apartment. The pandemic had been in full swing for about a year, and she was — understandably — champing at the bit to get out of the way-too-close quarters with her mother, father and sister.

When she moved, the Sacramento-based artist was overwhelmed by what she describes as a beautiful wave of freedom. She felt as though she could go anywhere, do anything, be anyone (within reason) — and so she did.

Week after week, Frances would jump into her Chevy Volt and head to some new outdoorsy location, usually revolving around rock climbing, like Joshua Tree, CA; Smith Rock, OR; Red Rocks, NV; and so on. Through her road trips, the Sacramento-based artist experienced a level of freedom, adventure and romance that reminded her of what it’s like to be truly alive and present.

Those road trips wound up informing and influencing her latest single “Direct Sunlight.” Around the time, she started writing the song, she was figuring out how to be a good plant mom — i.e., figuring out where in the house is the sunniest? shadiest? how much water? etc. — she was figuring out how much sunlight and care, she really needed.

Written, recorded and produced by Frances, “Direct Sunlight” is a breezy pop confection centered around skittering trap-like beats, atmospheric synths and glistening bursts of mandolin paired with Frances’ coquettish, come hither delivery. The song captures the feeling of being on the road — perhaps for the first time in some time — and the sense of adventure and possibility that every single trip brings with it. Add it to your road trip playlist.




Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: James Chatburn and Noah Slee Team Up with Local Musicians in Intimate Visual for Woozy “Do You Wanna Live Like That”

James Chatburn is a rising, Sydney-born, Berlin-based singer/songwriter and producer. Since relocating to the German capital back in 2015, Chatburn has carved out a reputation for being a highly in-demand singer/songwriter and producer, who has collaborated with acclaimed Aussie hip-hop outfit Hilltop Hoods‘ certified Gold single “Higher,”  rum.gold, Jordan Rakei, Noah Slee, Sedric Perry, and a growing list of others. As a solo artist, the Sydney-born, Berlin-based JOVM mainstay has developed and honed a sound that meshes elements of soul, blues, electro pop, neo-soul and psych pop with the release of his full-length debut, 2020’s David Tobias co-produced Faible. 

During the lead-up to Fabile‘s release, I managed to write about three of the album’s singles: 

  • “In My House,” a warm and vibey, two-step inducing bit of soul, centered around introspective, earnest songwriting, reverb-drenched guitars and thumping beats.
  • “Jewellery and Gold,” one of the album’s more tongue-in-cheek tracks, featuring a narrator looking forward to a future, where he’s flush with cash, and as a result, any of the major issues of his life being settled with that newfound cash — because dollar dollar bill y’all. 
  • “The Hurt,” a ballad that saw the Aussie-born, German-based JOVM mainstay express longing and heartache in a way that reminded me quite a bit of Nick Hakim.

Chatburn’s highly-anticipated sophomore album Late Night Howling is forthcoming. The album’s latest single “Do You Wanna Live Like That,” feat. Noah Slee is an expansive and mind-bending take on neo-soul and pop centered around a unique and woozily dynamic song structure that rapidly shifts in tone, time signature and instrumentation: The song’s introduction begins with twinkling pianos in a Latin jazz like tempo before quickly shifting to tweeter and woofer rattling trap beats and then shifting again to a vibey 70s neo-soul-inspired coda. 

Lyrically, the song is intimate and introspective, with its narrator vacillating between self-doubt, analysis, progression and gratefulness. “‘Do You Wanna Live Like That’ is a track I created which ended up kind of being a few different tracks in one, inspired by people like Tyler, The Creator with just these sudden drops and Sault with this vibe – simple not perfect, but just perfectly imperfect,” James Chatburn explains. “Noah Slee and I have been friends basically since we both moved to Berlin, it just took 7 years but we finally got around to releasing a track together.” 

Directed by Dhanesh Jayaselan, the accompanying video is a live performance-styled video shot at Callie’s in Berlin and features Chatburn and Slee with a backing band featuring Berlin-based musicians Tim Granbacka (keys, vocals), Johnny Kulo (guitar, vocals), Adam Sait (bass) and Richard Young (drums). The live footage is intimate and stylish but ends with Chatburn walking over to contemplatively strum an acoustic guitar.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

max is an emerging Wisconsin-based singer/songwriter, musician and producer, who says he focuses “on making music my younger self would enjoy.”

The Wisconsin-based producer and artist’s latest single, “it’s just a little crush, i swear” is a breezy bit of lo-fi, bedroom pop centered around glistening reverb-drenched guitars, max’s plaintive vocals and a driving groove paired with enormous, shout-along worthy choruses. While sonically bearing a bit of a resemblance to JOVM mainstays Summer Heart and Brothertiger, “it’s just a little crush, i swear” is a deceptively upbeat song rooted in earnest, lived-in lyricism that captures the swoon and angst of new crushes and new love — especially those crushes that may not be requited.

this is an infectious lo-fi pop song. i’d love to write about it but i’d like to know more about the artist. can you send me a press release with an artist bio?