Category: Indie Pop

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstay MUNYA Releases a Gorgeous and Dreamy Visual for Shimmering “Pour Toi”

During the course of 2018 and 2019, I’ve managed to write quite a bit about Québec-born and-based multi-instrumentalist, singer/songwriter and producer Josie Boivin, the creative mastermind behind the critically applauded recording project and JOVM mainstay act MUNYA.

When Boivin was asked to play at 2017’s Pop Montreal, she had only written one song. Ironically, at the time, Boivin never intended to pursue music full-time; but after playing at the festival, she quickly realized that music was what she was meant to do. So, Boivin quit her day job, moved in with her sister and turned their kitchen into a home recording studio, where she wrote every day. Those recordings would become part of an EP trilogy with each individual EP named after a significant place in Boivin’s life: Her debut North Hatley EP derived its name from one of Boivin’s favorite little Québecois villages. Her second EP, the critically applauded Delmano EP derived its name from Williamsburg, Brooklyn-based bar Hotel Delmano. The third and final EP of the trilogy, Blue Pine derived its name from the Blue Pine Mountains in David Lynch’s Twin Peaks.

Washed Out-like “Pour Toi” is centered around an aching and unfulfilled longing: The song as Boivin explains is about speaking to a loved one from a distance.

Co-directed by MUNYA and Josh Aldecoa, the recently released, gorgeously shot and surreal dream of a video for “Pour Toi” was shot in Williamsburg, a beautiful, sun-filled apartment and elsewhere. We see the acclaimed Québecois artist chatting on an old red dial tone phone in a variety of places , which manages to emphasize the longing at the center of the song.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Mini Malibu is a self-taught, emerging Biarritz, France-based singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer, who employs a decidedly DIY ethos to his work: he writes, records, produces and mixes everything himself — and every new project finds the emerging French artist yearning to switch styles and sounds while being centered around his love of bass and guitar.

The emerging French producer’s debut effort ily EP was released a few days ago and the effort’s first single “Surf In Spain” is centered around a sinuous groove, glistening synths, the French artist’s plaintive vocals and a big hook. And while sonically recalling a lo-fi version of Currents-era Tame Impala, thanks to his effortless mixing of psych pop, synth pop, psych pop and funk, the song as the emerging French producer explains “is like a photograph of the end of a 6 year relationship, between funny stories and heavy feelings.”

Video by William Ruben Helms

Live Footage: Rising Paris-based act BLOW Performs Languorous and Woozy “Shake The Disease” on A COLORS SHOW

BLOW, a rising Paris-based indie pop act featuring Quentin Gugliemi (vocals), Thomas Clarice (bass), Jean-Etienne Maillard (guitar) can trace their origins back to Nancy, France’s Music Academy International, where Claire and Maillard first met — as roommates. With the release of their earliest material — 2017’s Fall in Deep EP and 2018’s full-length debut Vertigo — the French indie pop trio quickly established a a sleek, modern pop sound inspired by acts like Moderat, Jungle, The xx and others, paired with lyrics written and sung in English.

The Disease is slated for release this fall. Much like their previously released work, Shake The Disease’s material is written and sung completely in English; but unlike its predecessors, the album sonically and aesthetically is a creative left turn for the members of BLOW: While largely inspired by a collective love of hip-hop, particularly for obsessive hip-hop fans Crayon and Clarice, Shake The Disease finds the members of BLOW driven by the collective instinct to leaven the electronic textures of their previously released work with more organic sounds.

Written both prior to and amidst France’s pandemic-related lockdowns over the past 18 months, Shake The Disease reportedly is deeply inspired by the immediate circumstances of its creators, and as as a result, the album’s material reportedly throbs with the anxiety and unease of living in an increasingly unsettled world on the verge of collapse. Lyrically and thematically, the album’s material often seems to hold a mirror up to a generation — or two — that finds themselves forced to increasing question everything they’ve done and been told.

Shake The Disease’s latest single, album title track “Shake The Disease” is a languorous and woozy track featuring an elastic groove, tweeter and roofer rattling beats, swelling atmospheric synths, twinkling keys, bursts of strummed guitar and a scuzzy yet soulful guitar solo reminiscent of Steely Dan’s “Peg.” Crayon’s Yacht Rock meets Quiet Storm-like production serves as a lush and sultry bed for achingly vulnerable vocal performances from BLOW’s Gugliemi and HAUTE’s Anna Madison that express longing, confusion, a desperate desire for connection with someone in a complicated, mad world.

“This is not a love song,” the members of BLOW explain. “It’s a call for help written during a complicated time where we were losing our marks. We naturally thought of Anna to perform and embody one of the two characters in the track’s narrative. We love her voice which was perfect to bring warmth and sensuality to the track, which she effortlessly did. We’re very proud and happy to have her on the album. 

Gugliemi and HAUTE’s Majidson recently performed “Shake The Disease” on A COLORS SHOW, an ongoing live series by ColorsxStudios that features emerging artists performing material in an extremely minimalist fashion: in a room with floors and walls in a single color and a microphone.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Rising French Artist Carole Cettolin Releases a Thoughtful Ode to Living in the Moment

Carole Cettolin is a Paris-born and-based singer/songwriter, whose career started in earnest with the her acclaimed, solo recording project Et Maxence. And with Et Maxence, Cettolin wins the 2010 Crédit Mutuel Young Talent Revelation Award in the French song category. Cettolin catches the attention of Edith Fambuena, who produces material off her Et Maxence debut EP. And with a growing profile, Cettolin eventually winds up opening for the likes of La Grande Sophie and Sia.

ger/songwriter to pursue a new, synth-based sound — under her own name. The end result will be Cettolin’s official debut, the five-song EP A Boy, which is slated for a Fall 2021 release. Thematically, the EP’s material touches upon reconnecting with one’s inner child, haunting images and stubborn ghosts. The EP’s latest single is the breezy pop song “Tant que le temps est radieux.” Centered around glinting synth arpeggios, shimmering strings, thumping beats and Cettolin’s yearning vocals, the song is a bit hedonistic while reminding the listener to cherish every moment of life –and those, who are dear to us. But underneath the breeziness is a melancholy awareness that nothing is guaranteed.

hovin, the recently released video for “Tant que le temps est radieux” features a collection of women, who are over 45. Cettolin explains that this was done on purpose: in French media, women over 45 are largely ignored — despite the fact that half of France’s women are 45 and over. According to the French singer/songwriter, it’s necessary to combat sexist and agist stereotypes linked to child-rearing. Each woman in the club is full of joie de vivre and dances to the music — without concern about how others may think or view them. You see them enjoying themselves and their lives, and their joy is infectious. Certainly, in these women you may see yourself or someone you know and love.

singer/songwriters by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Emerging French Artist Esther Maud Releases an Infectious Bop

photographer, videographer and singer/songwriter, who also designs clothes and draws. As a songwriter, the rising French artist records sketches and snippets of melodies and verses as vice memos, that over time eventually become acapella recorded songs that are often simultaneously melancholy and playful. She then sends them off to producers across French to flesh out.

Maud’s debut EP Puisque rien ne dure thematically touches upon love, particularly lost love, heartbreak, romantic reunions, longing and so on while seemingly drawing comparisons to the great French chanson singers like Françoise Hardy, Jacquline Taïeb and contemporaries like Claire Laffut and Clara Luciani. Puisque rien ne dure’s latest single “Etranger solitaire” is a hook driven pop confection centered around the rising French artist’s breathy and coquettish cooing and a slick, dance floor friendly production that — to my ears — reminds me a little bit of Daft Punk. But underneath the song’s breezy exterior is a a sweet and swooning tale of reunited love.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: KUNZITE Returns with a Euphoric, Dance Floor Friendly Banger

UNZITE allowed the duo the ability to merge their mind and missions with a sound that blends psychedelia with beat-heavy electronic production and live, organic instrumentation.

e duo’s debut effort, 2018’s Birds Don’t Fly was written and recorded mostly through email. But their forthcoming sophomore album VISUALS, which will be released through Lowly/Wilder Records on August 29, 2021 sees the duo writing and recording material together — in the same space and at the same time. During the recording process, the duo realized that they sounded best when they harmonized. Interestingly, VISUALS’ third single “FROSTY” saw the duo changing things up a bit with KUNZITE’s Stroud takes cup lead vocal duties. Sonically, the track is a summery/beach friendly jam centered around a trippy and cosmic groove, easy-going bass line, shimmering synths and Stroud’s laid-back vocals.

VISUALS’ fourth and latest single “LEMON SWAYZE” was recorded between Stroud’s upstate New York barn-based studio and White’s Oregon-based domed shaped studio. Sonically, the track is a decidedly dance floor friendly jam, centered around rapid-fire, four-on-the-floor, buzzing guitars, a sinuous, motorik groove and a rousingly anthemic, euphoria-inducing hook — with a playful nod at Cyndi Lauper. As the story goes while recording the song Agustin stood in the middle of his Oregon-based domed studio and felt a channel of energy through the line that came through the studio, and began singing the first thing that came out of his mouth — which are heard on the final track.

“‘LEMON SWAYZE’ was created with the mission of bringing listeners to their feet, dancing in exaltation while on a crazy joyride,” the members of KUNZITE explain. “The track’s title was inspired by a vision Agustin had of lemons as spaceships, induced by the consumption of a favorite cannabis strain, Lemon Cake.”

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Mackenzie Leighton Returns with a Playful Visual for “Mona by the Seaside”

Mackenzie Leighton is a rising San Diego-born, Paris-based indie folk singer/songwriter and musician. Leighton’s family moved to a small, seaside town in Maine, where she grew up and spent her formative years. Interestingly, the San Diego-born, Paris-based singer/songwriter […]

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstay Yola Releases a Gorgeous and Tender Visual for Smoldering New Single “Starlight”

With the release of her critically applauded, Dan Auerbach-produced full-length debut, 2019’s Walk Through Fire, the Bristol, UK-born, Nashville-based singer/songwriter, guitarist and JOVM mainstay Yola had a breakthrough year that year with a series of career-defining highlights including:

making her New York debut at Rockwood Music Hall
playing a buzz-worthy, breakout performance at that year’s SXSW
opening for a list of acclaimed artists including Kacey Musgraves, Lake Street Dive and Andrew Bird on a select series of US tour dates that featured stops at Newport Folk Festival, Hollywood Bowl, Austin City Limits Festival, and Lincoln Center Out of Doors
playing a YouTube session at YouTube Space New York
making her nationally televised debut on CBS This Morning: Saturday Sessions
receiving a Grammy nomination for Best Artist, along with fellow JOVM mainstays The Black Pumas
making her late night national television debut on Jimmy Kimmel Live! 
releasing a soulful cover of Elton John‘s “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,”that not only quickly became a staple of her live sets — but caught the attention of Sir Elton John, who praised her and her cover

Last year, the Bristol-born, Nashville-based JOVM mainstay had hopes to build upon 2019’s momentum with a handful of opportunities that came her way last year that many artists across the world would kill for: Early last year, it was announced that she was casted as blues and rock ‘n’ roll pioneer Sister Rosetta Tharpe in Baz Luhrmann’s musical drama Elvis alongside Austin Butler in the title role, Tom Hanks as Colonel Tom Parker and Maggie Gyllenhaal as Presley’s mother. Unfortunately, much like with everyone else,the COVID-19 pandemic threw a series of monkey wrenches into her hopes and plans: Tom Hanks wound up contracting COVID-19 while filming in Australia and because of pandemic-related lockdowns and restrictions, filming was delayed. During breaks in the Elvis filming schedule, she was supposed to play a series of dates opening for country superstar Chris Stapleton and Grammy Award-winning acts  The Black Keys and Brandi Carlile — with one of those shows being at Madison Square Garden, which also got postponed until later on this year. (More on that below.) 

cluded a stop at Music Hall of Williamsburg, a few weeks before the world went into lockdown.  In lieu of actual touring, the Bristol-born, Nashville-based JOVM mainstay wound up making a virtual tour of the domestic, late night television show circuit that saw her playing bonus track “I Don’t Want to Lie” on The Late Late Show with James Corden — and gospel-tleaning cover of Nina Simone‘s classic and beloved “To Be Young, Gifted and Black” filmed at The Ryman Auditorium for Late Night with Seth Meyers. 

But besides that, much like the rest of us Yola had a lot of time on her hands. The Bristol-born, Nashville-based JOVM mainstay used the unexpected gift of time and space to ground herself physically and mentally as she began to write the material that would become her highly-anticipated sophomore album Stand For Myself. Some of the album’s material was written several years previously and inspired by deeply personal moments, like her mother’s funeral. Other songs were written during pandemic isolation, and as a result they reflect on her personal and collective moments of longing and awakening — inspired and informed by Black Lives Matter, #MeToo and other movements. 

Tracks were also cowritten with Ruby Amanfu, John Bettis, Pat McLaughlin, Natalie Hemby, Joy Oladokun, Paul Overstreet, Liz Rose, Aaron Lee Tasjan, Hannah Vasanth and Bobby Wood. But importantly, the album’s material will make a connection with anyone who has experienced feeling as though they were an “other” while urging the listener to challenge the biases and assumptions that fuel bigotry, inequality and tokenism — all of which have impacted her personal life and career. “It’s a collection of stories of allyship, black feminine strength through vulnerability, and loving connection from the sexual to the social. All celebrating a change in thinking and paradigm shift at their core.” Yola says in press note, adding, “It is an album not blindly positive and it does not simply plead for everyone to come together. It instead explores ways that we need to stand for ourselves throughout our lives, what limits our connection as humans and declares that real change will come when we challenge our thinking and acknowledge our true complexity.” Ultimately, the JOVM mainstay’s hope is that the album will encourage both empathy and self actualization, all while returning to where she started, to the real Yola. “I kind of got talked out of being me, and now I’m here. This is who I’ve always been in music and in life. There was a little hiatus where I got brainwashed out of my own majesty, but a bitch is back.”

usician and label head Dan Auerbach, the album which was recorded late last year at Easy Eye Sound is inspired by the seminal albums she initially discovered through her mother’s record collection, as well as the eclectic mixtapes she created while listening to British radio that featured neo soul, R&B, Brit Pop and others. Featuring a backing band that includes Nick Movshon (bass), best known for his work with Amy Winehouse and Bruno Mars alongside Aaron Frazier (drums), a rising solo artist in his own right, the album is sonically is a noticeable shift from her debut, with the album’s aesthetic meshing symphonic soul and classic pop while occasionally hinting at the country soul of her critically applauded debut. 

In the buildup to the album’s July 30, 2021 release through Easy Eye Sound, I’ve written about two of Stand For Myself’s singles:

“Diamond Studded Shoes,” a woozy yet seamless synthesis of densely layered Phil Spector-like Wall of Sound pop, country, 70s singer/songwriter pop and late 60s/early 70s Motown soul centered around the JOVM mainstay’s powerhouse vocals and some of the most incisive sociopolitical commentary of her growing catalog. “This song explores the false divides created to distract us from those few who are in charge of the majority of the world’s wealth and use the ‘divide and conquer’ tactic to keep it,” Yola explained in press notes. “This song calls on us to unite and turn our focus to those with a stranglehold on humanity.”
“Stand For Myself,” a bold and proudly feminist anthem written from the perspective of a survivor, who wants to do more than just survive; she wants to thrive and be wholly herself — at all costs. While featuring a rousing, shout-along worthy hook. a clean pop-leaning take on the famous Nashville sound and a the JOVM mainstay’s powerhouse vocals, the song, much like its immediate predecessor is undermined by incisive social commentary: Essentially, the track reflects on Yola’s belief in the possibility of paradigm shift beyond the mental programming that creates both tokenism and bigotry. “The song’s protagonist ‘token,’ has been shrinking themselves to fit into the narrative of another’s making, but it becomes clear that shrinking is pointless,” Yola explains. “This song is about a celebration of being awake from the nightmare supremacist paradigm. Truly alive, awake and eyes finally wide open and trained on your path to self actualisation. You are thinking freely and working on undoing the mental programming that has made you live in fear. It is about standing for ourselves throughout our lives and real change coming when we challenge our thinking. This is who I’ve always been in music and in life.”

“Starlight,” Stand For Myself’s third and latest single is a sultry and lush, Quiet Storm-inspired song featuring twinkling keys, a sinuous bass line, a soaring hook, strummed guitar, shuffling rhythms paired with Yola’s vocals expressing vulnerability and longing for human connection and touch. Certainly, if you’ve been single over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, this song will resonate in a much deeper and intimate way.

“‘Starlight’ is a song about looking for positive physical, sexual and human connections at every level of your journey towards love,” Yola explains. She adds:
 “The world seems to attach a negative trope of cold heartlessness to the concept of any sexual connection that isn’t marriage, this song looks through a lens of warmth specifically when it comes to sex positivity. Understanding the necessity of every stage of connection and that it is possible for every stage of your journey in love, sex and connection to be nurturing. Temporary or transitory doesn’t have to be meaningless or miserable. In the right situations every connection can teach us something valuable about who we are, what we want and what is healthy.”

by Ford Farichild, the recently released video for “Starlight” is set in a late-night and noir-ish neon cityscape. We follow our protagonist — Yola — walking through the streets full of longing and desire, until she meets her equally beautiful object of desire in a wonderful moment of tenderness and connection. It’s simple yet very beautiful and completely human moment. “I wanted to put something into the world that showed people what my dating life is like now,” Yola says of the video. “I’m currently single, yes, but I’m not neglected or some soulless sex robot. The volume of media dedicated to showing dark skinned Black women having a nice normal time in romantic situations, be it true love or just dating, is still lacking in my opinion.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Rossi Scarlette Releases a Sultry and Breezy Single

Anna Scarfagna Rossi is an emerging Paliano, Italy-born, Paris-based singer/songwriter and musician, who writes and performs as Rossi Scarlette. Rossi, who grew up listening to and loving Italian music, relocated to Paris when she was 25. And upon relocating to Paris, Rossi attended a local music school, where she took jazz classes and fell in love with improvisation.

ntually Rossi began writing original material inspired by her life and sonically drawing from her native Italy, her adopted home and West Africa: Rossi cites the likes of Claude Nougaro, Lucio Batisti, Nina Simone, Christine and the Queens, Pomme, Grand Corps Malade, Mahmoud, and Amy Winehouse as influences.

Rossi is currently working on two very different projects — an album of French and Italian covers and an album of original material. Her latest single “La Vague” mixes shimmering African-like instrumentation with modern production featuring finger snaps, strummed ukulele and thumping beats paired with Rossi’s sultry vocals and an infectious hook. The song manages to be deceptively breezy with its craft being revealed on multiple listens.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Mackenzie Leighton Returns with a Breezy New Single

Mackenzie Leighton is a rising San Diego-born, Paris-based indie folk singer/songwriter and musician. Leighton’s family moved to a small, seaside town in Maine, where she grew up. The San Diego-born, Paris-based artist can trace much of the origins of her music career to her father taking her to classical piano lessons as a young girl. When Leighton turned 18, she attended my alma mater, New York University — and while in New York, she played in several jazz and folk inspired bands. 

Upon graduation, Leighton relocated to Paris. She landed a day job as a florist and launched a solo career with the release of 2017’s self-titled EP, a singer/songwriter folk effort that was released to praise and comparisons to Phoebe Bridgers and Julia Jacklin. Leighton’s sophomore EP, last year’s Tourist(e) was a decided change in sonic direction that found the rising American-born, French-based artist working with French musicians and producers while pairing folk-inspired songwriting with lush yet contemporary instrumentation and production. Leighton has supported both of her recorded efforts with shows in and around Paris, as well as with tours in Italy, Belgium and here in the States. 

Earlier this week, I wrote about EP track “Un jour la vie.” Centered around Leighton’s coquettish vocals, a sinuous yet propulsive bass line, thumping beats and shimmering guitars, “Un jour la vie” is a playful and infectious invitation to dream of an escape to Italy, to drink endless Aperol Spritzes and to dance the night away without a care in the world. A wondrous dream considering the last 18 months, eh? The EP’s third and latest single, EP title track “Flueriste” is a hook-driven pop confection featuring shimmering synths, a buoyant bass line and Leighton singing the song’s lyrics in a gorgeous and breezy English. The song manages to address the plight of contemporary musicians unable to work — but hoping for a bright future of live shows, and all of things we missed so very much.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Elishéva-Lilla Sabbah is an emerging 21 year-old French-American singer/songwriter, who writes and records as elishéva. Deeply influenced by jazz, Billie Eilish, Charlie Puth, Jazmine Sullivan Peter Collins, spill tab and John Coltrane, Sabbah employs different harmonic and melodic colors into her songwriting. Interestingly, her debut single “Bring Me Back” is a breezy and infectious bop centered around the emerging French-American artist’s coquettish vocals and a slick production consisting of twinkling keys, tweeter and woofer rocking beats — and a bridge sung completely in French.

While indebted to Billie Eilish, the track reveals a potential superstar in the Francophone and English speaking music worlds.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Paupiére’s Julia Daigle Releases a Crafted and infectious Single

With the release of their first handful of releases — 2016’s Jeunes instants EP, 2017’s full-length debut À jamais privé de réponses and 2019’s Jettatura EP — the rising Montreal-based indie electro pop duo Paupiére, visual artist Julia Daigle and Polipe’s and We Are Wolves‘ Pierre-Luc Bégin, quickly established a sound that finds the duo meshing elements of 80s synth pop and New Wave — think  The Human League, Depeche Mode and others — with French chanson. But under their breezy pop melodies and catchy hooks, the duo’s work thematically touches upon naive, adolescent and hedonistic romanticism, disenchantment and ennui.

continues their ongoing and successful collaboration with We Are Wolves’ Vincent Levesque, who produced all of their previously released material. Over the past couple of months I’ve written about two of that album’s previously released singles:

“Coeur monarque,” a playful, hook-driven mix of  Phil Spector-era pop and Ace of Base-like synth pop centered around shimmering synth arpeggios, skittering polyrhythmic beats and boy-girl harmonies. Despite the infectious nature of the song, thematically the song as the duo explained, is much darker: “‘Coeur Monarque’ is an imaginary tale about a girl, who lives her life according to her moods. Her freedom contributes to her isolation and she loses herself in it. ‘Coeur monarque’ is a light and poppy piece, just like the protagonist of the story. 
“Sade Sati,” a sugary, sweet pop confection centered around an enormous hook, shimmering synth arpeggios and Daigle’s plaintive vocals singing lyrics about the movements of the planets — in particular Saturn — and how they impact and influence all things in our lives.

Adding to a busy year, Paupiére’s Julia Daigle steps out into the limelight as a solo artist with her full-length debut, the Dominic Vanchesteing-produced Un singe sur l’épaule. Slated for a November 5, 2021 release through Lisbon Lux, Daigle’s forthcoming debut effort is a decided sonic departure from her work with Paupiére. Featuring a backing band of impressive local talent including Chocolat’s Guillame Ethier, Marie Davidson’s Asaël Robitalle, Jackson Macintosh, Phillipe Roberge, Alex Crow and Dominic Vanchesteing, the album’s material is a slick synthesis of contemporary alternative pop, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Quebec-based 70s prog act Contraction paired with storytelling-driven lyrics.

Un singe sur l’épaule’s first single is the sleek “Usage Domestique.” Centered around shimmering and looping mandolin, atmospheric synths, an infectious, motorik-like groove and an enormous hook paired with Daigle’s sultry yet insouciant vocals, the song finds Daigle and her collaborators crafting glossy, radio friendly pop with an art rock scene in a way that brings Kate Bush and Steve Nicks to mind. “‘Usage Domestique’ talks about an object of us,” Daigle explains. “The life span of a material and its value are directly linked to its solidity. When the object of use is abused for ornamental purposes, its life span is shortened b because being subject to fashion, it is doomed to die sooner.”

and White Night, the recently released video for “Usage Domestique” is an intimate peek at Daigle and her collaborators in the studio, rocking out to the song’s infectious groove.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Vancouver-based electro pop duo Carbon Mass — multi-instrumentalist and producer Sina Lankarani, and vocalist and guitarist Tim Clariddge — can trace their origins to a chance meeting back in 2016. And since their formation, the members of Carbon Mass have been busy developing and honing their sound while writing and releasing material that the duo say is informed by Radiohead and David Bowie‘s Blackstar.

The duo’s latest single “French Call Girl” is a carefully crafted song centered around shimmering guitar, atmospheric synths, skittering beats, a motorik-like groove, a soaring hook that serves as an chilly bed for Claridge’s plaintive, Thom Yorke-like vocals. And while their sound continues to sound informed by Radiohead and Blackstar-era Bowie, to my ears, I also hear JOVM mainstays Palace Winter‘s Nowadays album. In other words, hook driven and breezy pop that’s paired with sobering thematic concerns.

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