Category: Indie Pop

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Derek Barber (guitar) Geneva Harrison (drums, percussion, keys) Sandra Lawson-Ndu (vocals, percussion, keys) and Doug Stuart (bass, vocals, keys), the Oakland, CA-based soul pop quintet Bells Atlas specialize in a sound that’s been kaleidoscopic, lushly layered and yet difficult to pigeonhole sound as it incorporates elements of indie rock, Afro pop, jazz, electro pop as you’ll hear on the Bay Area’s trippy, shimmering and atmospheric new single “Spec and Bubbles.” Structurally speaking, the song twists and morphs into several distinct segments held together by stuttering drumming, a sinuous bass line and Lawson-Ndu’s sultry cooing — and in some way it channels renowned soul pop act, Hiatus Kaiyote but with a deliberate and painterly act, as though each chord and each bar were a brushstroke, and each brushstroke added color and texture to the larger whole.

Interestingly, the release of single immediately came on the heels of their upcoming run as the house band for WNYC/NPR’s Snap Judgement, later this year and through 2017.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Playfully Retro-Futuristic, Videogame Inspired Visuals for Kishi Bashi’s “Say Yeah”

Interestingly, Ishibashi’s recently released, third album Sonderlust was produced by Grizzly Bear‘s Chris Taylor and co-engineered by Pat Dillet, who has worked with Angelique Kidjo and David Byrne, and drummer Matt Chamberlain, who has been a member of Morrissey‘s and Fiona Apple’s backing band and a member of Montreal, and the album finds Ishibashi expanding and playing with the sound that won him acclaim across the blogosphere — thanks largely in part to the fact that the album’s material didn’t come about immediately or through his usual creative process. “As I sat down to write songs last summer, I went to all my usual conduits of creation: violin loops, guitar, piano and I came up with the musical equivalent of fumes,” Ishibashi explained in press notes. “I tried to create orchestral pop recordings that I assume were my forte, and in turn, I found myself standing in front of a creative wall of frightening heights.” This period of creative uncertainly, along with significant changes in his personal life, led him experiment with a new musical direction. “I questioned everything about what it means to love and desire…the difference between loving someone and being in love,” Ishibashi says.

The album’s first single “Say Yeah” has Ishibashi pairing twinkling and shimmering synths, lush string and wind arrangements, propulsive drum programming, an incredibly infectious hook and the renowned violinist, vocalist and producer’s tender and aching falsetto in a swooning yet dance-floor friendly song that interestingly enough sounds as though it were indebted to disco and both electro pop — all while still possessing a swooning Romanticism. Lyrically, the song can be seen as a plaintive and urgent plea to a lover to try to make their relationship work, as a charmingly flirtatious come-on to an object of affection in which the narrator is trying to get his lover to finally just be with him — and in another way, as an admission of the sort of perceived (and sometimes real) wrongdoing and misunderstandings that can break up a relationship, and the continued desire to makeup and get it right, even if just for a little while.

The retro-futuristic and charmingly playful take video-game inspired video manages to capture the spirit and tone of the song as it follows a couple, who meets cute, fall desperately and madly in love, and through chance or fate, they’re separated with the male character going through a variety of obstacles to reunite with his love. Twice within the video a timer appears to remind the video’s central character of how much time is left for the song, and during two other points, the protagonist has instruments miraculously appear that he plays — as part of the game.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Although the famed duo of Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart wrote “Blue Moon” in 1934, while commissioned to write music for MGM Studios, the old standard has an unusual history in which the familiar melody was paired with different sets of lyrics  — including a version sung by Jean Harlow in the 1933 film, Hollywood Party, another version titled “It’s Just That Kind of Play” was recorded and filmed for the 1934 film Manhattan Melodrama before being cut and then revised for a nightclub scene, sung by Shirley Ross. After Manhattan Melodrama was released Jack Robbins, the head of MGM’s publishing company decided that the tune was well suited for commercial release but needed more romantic lyrics and a punchier title. As the story goes, Hart was initially reluctant to write another set of lyrics for the same song but he was persuaded and he eventually wrote one of the more beloved and oft-covered pop standards of the past 100 years; in fact, the song was a hit twice in 1949 with Billy Eckstine and Mel Torme recording versions of the song.  And over the years, the song has been covered by an impressive array of beloved artists including Billie Holiday, Elvis Presley, The Mavericks, Elkie Brooks, Rod Stewart and Eric Clapton — with the arguably the most famous version being The Marcels’ doo wop version, which hit number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts and the UK Singles chart.

It’s rare that I’ll write about or mention pop standards in any fashion, but bear with me here, there’s a reason. Matilda Mård is a Swedish singer/songwriter, who spent several years writing and performing under her name in Stockholm, Sweden before relocating to the small industrial town of Borlänge as an escape from Stockholm’s busier pace and as a way to rejuvenate and revitalize her approach to music somewhere with far less distractions. And as the story goes, Mård found her creative liberation in a rather unlikely place — a Borlänge karaoke bar. The karaoke bar became a “free zone,” Mård explains in press notes, “far away from my own self doubts and prestige about music.” After several years of piling up songs without releasing them, the Swedish singer/songwriter felt relieved of the pressure she had long felt towards her own original material and began again under the moniker Many Voices Speak. Her debut EP as Many Voices Speak Away For All Time is slated for an October 28, 2016 through Hit City USA Records and the EP’s latest single is a gorgeous and atmospheric rendition of “Blue Moon” in which Mård’s tender and aching vocals glide over a sparse arrangement of shimmering guitar chords and swirling feedback — and as a result, Mård’s rendition adds a bitter and aching sense of regret and nostalgia to the song, while retaining the familiar and beloved melody.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Introducing the Classic Soul Channeling Sound of Nottingham UK’s Georgie

Influenced by Fleetwood Mac, Carole King, Janis Joplin, The Pretenders, Crosby Stills and Nash, Carly Simon, The Mamas and the Papas and First Aid Kit, Georgie is a 21 year-old, up-and-coming, Nottingham, UK-based singer/songwriter, who caught the attention of the folks at Spacebomb Records — the label home of Natalie Prass and Julien Baker — for a vocal style that sounds straight out of the mid 1960s and for a lyrical bent that belies her years. Her debut single “Company of Thieves” pairs her husky and soulful vocals with a wah-wah pedaled guitar, a strutting horn arrangement, a sinuous bass line, a steady backbeat and an infectious hook in a carefully crafted song that will remind most listeners of Amy Winehouse, Nancy Sinatra and others.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

 

If you’ve been frequenting this site over the past year, you’d likely be familiar with Sunderland, UK-based indie electro pop act Field Music. Comprised of creative masterminds and primary members, sibling duo Peter and David Brewis and featuring contributions from Kev Dosdale, Andrew Lowther, Ian Black, Liz Corney, Andrew Moore, Damo Waters and a rotating cast of other musicians and friends, the British pop act have developed an internationally recognized profile for a sound that’s comprised of the siblings interwoven harmonies, off kilter chord progressions and a quirkily yet approachable sensibility wrapped with infectiously catchy hooks.

Earlier this year, the duo released Commontime, the first new bit of material from Field Music in several years, and the material was written and recorded over spontaneous bursts over a six month period in their Wearside, UK-based studio. And interestingly enough, the material which embraces a collaborative spirit thematically focused on the passing of time  — acquaintances coming and going, friendships drifting and diffusing over time, random snippets of the every day and real-life conversations between friends and acquaintances being endlessly replayed.

Since the release of Commontime, the duo have hosted a Spotify radio show Commontime Extra Time in which the duo celebrate the influences behind the album’s material. And during the latest episode of their show, the Brewis brothers shared a previously unreleased single “How We Gonna Get There Now,” that was recorded during the sessions for 2012’s Plumb because the duo felt it sounded a bit too much like Todd Rundgren — although to my ears, the song sounds as though the duo were nodding at Steely Dan‘s “Reeling In The Years,” and “Peg“as the song begins with gentle percussion, twinkling keys, strummed guitars and an arena rock-friendly hook an alternating loud and quiet sections — but at its core a deeply British irony. A bluesy guitar solo holds a carefully crafted yet off kilter bit of pop confection.

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Initially beginning his recording career as a member of Regina Spektor‘s and Sondre Lerche‘s backing bands, as well as a co-producer and full-time member of critically acclaimed indie act of Montreal, violinist, vocalist, composer, and producer K. Ishibashi through the release of critically applauded two full-length efforts — 151a and Lighght — with his solo recording project Kishi Bashi has developed a reputation for decidedly crafted and swooning orchestral pop with a subtly modern take, as K. Ishibashi would frequently use looping machines and samplers for a lush, layered sound.

Produced by Grizzly Bear‘s Chris Taylor and engineered by Pat Dillet, who has worked with Angelique Kidjo and David Byrne, and drummer Matt Chamberlain, who has been a member of Morrissey‘s and Fiona Apple‘s backing band, as well as being a member of Montreal, Ishibashi’s third full-lenght effort Sonderlust reportedly finds the renowned composer and vocalist expanding upon the sound that first captured the attention of the blogosphere. Interestingly, Ishibashi has publicly mentioned that Sonderlust‘s material didn’t come immediately or through his usual creative process. “As I sat down to write songs last summer, I went to all my usual conduits of creation: violin loops, guitar, piano and I came up with the musical equivalent of fumes,” Ishibashi explains. “I tried to create orchestral pop recordings that I assume were my forte, and in turn, I found myself standing in front of a creative wall of frightening heights.” This period of creative uncertainly, along with significant changes in his personal life, led the composer, violinist, vocalist and producer to experiment with a new musical direction. “I questioned everything about what it means to love and desire…the difference between loving someone and being in love,” Ishibashi explained.

The album’s first single “Say Yeah” has Ishibashi pairing twinkling and shimmering synths, lush string and wind arrangements, propulsive drum programming, an incredibly infectious hook and the renowned violinist, vocalist and producer’s tender and aching falsetto in a swooning yet dance-floor friendly song that interestingly enough sounds as though it were indebted to disco and both 80s and contemporary electro pop — all while still possessing a swooning Romanticism. Lyrically, the song is a plaintive and urgent plea to a lover to stay and try to make it work because the narrator can’t just bear to be without his love.

You can catch Kish Bashi on a lengthy North American tour this fall, and it includes an October 2, 2016 stop at Webster Hall. Check out tour dates and ticket information below.

Tour Dates:
9/27: Athens, GA @ Georgia Theatre (tickets)
9/28: Charlotte, NC @ Visulite (tickets)
9/30: Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle (tickets)
10/1: Silver Spring, MD @ The Fillmore – Silver Spring (tickets)
10/2: New York, NY @ Webster Hall (tickets)
10/3: Boston, MA @ Royale (tickets)
10/4: Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer (tickets)
10/6: Toronto, ON @ MOD Club (tickets)
10/8: Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom & Tavern (tickets)
10/9: Pontiac, MI @ Crofoot Ballroom (tickets)
10/10: Chicago, IL @ Vic Theatre (tickets)
10/11: St. Louis, MO @ Delmar Hall (tickets)
10/12: Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue Mainroom (tickets)
10/14: Omaha, NE @ Slowdown (tickets)
10/15: Englewood, CO @ Gothic Theatre (tickets)
10/16: Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge (tickets)
10/18: Seattle, WA @ The Showbox (tickets)
10/19: Vancouver, BC @ The Fox Cabaret (tickets)
10/20: Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom (tickets)
10/21: San Francisco, CA @ The Masonic (tickets)
10/22: Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst Atrium (tickets)
10/23: San Diego, CA @ Irenic (tickets)
10/24: Los Angeles, CA @ The Belasco Theater (tickets)
10/26: Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress (tickets)
10/28: San Antonio, TX @ Paper Tiger (tickets)
10/29: Austin, TX @ Mohawk (tickets)
10/30: Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall (tickets)
11/1: New Orleans, LA @ One Eyed Jacks (tickets)
11/2: Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse (tickets)

 

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Swooning and Heartbreaking Visuals and Sounds of Charlotte Cardin’s Latest “Like It Doesn’t Hurt”

Big Boy’s latest single “Like It Doesn’t Hurt” will further cement Cardin’s burgeoning reputation for aching jazz/soul and pop vocals — and in this case paired with a sparse yet extremely contemporary production featuring twinkling and moody keys, undulating synths and electronics and stuttering boom bap-like drum programming and a guest spot from Montreal-based emcee Husser; while lyrically, the song describes a turbulent and dysfunctional relationship full of ecstatic highs, crushing lows, bitter and aching separations. And as a result of both Cardin’s vocals and the production, the song possesses a swooning almost drunken urgency — and it should remind the listener of young, foolish, passionate, heartbreaking love.

Directed by Kristof Brandl, the recently released video for “Like It Doesn’t Hurt” features the song’s collaborators Charlotte Cardin and Husser as the video’s central couple and with a series of frenetic cuts and flashbacks, the video emphasizes the turbulent and tumultuous relationship at the core of the song as you’ll see a couple who fight and love passionately and are separated after a violent incident, which has Husser arrested and sent to jail.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Over the past few years renowned indie labels Slumberland Records and Fortuna POP! Records have collaborated on a number of releases — as Slumberland Records has released the work of Fortuna POP! artists across North America; and Fortuna POP! releasing the work of Slumberland Records’ artists elsewhere. And August 26, the two labels continue their fruitful collaboration with the release of the Continental Drift compilation, which features 8 songs from four of this year’s most buzz worthy indie rock/pop acts across both North America and Europe — and naturally, both labels believe the bands on the compilation are set to be breakout stars.

Comprised of members of Literature, Little Big League and Pet Milk, the members of Philadelphia, PA-based act Mercury Girls have received quite a bit of buzz with the release of “Arianna” for a jangling post-punk sound, complete with a soaring and anthemic hook and a gorgeous harmonies; and while, their latest single “Holly,” which is featured on the Continental Drift compilation will further cement their burgeoning reputation for shimmering and jangling post-punk that sounds deeply indebted to The Smiths — while also possibly reminding some listeners of the likes of Veronica Falls and several others.

The members of Mercury Girls will be hitting the road throughout October and November with Balance and Composure and Foxing and it includes a November stop at Warsaw. Check out tour dates below.

Tour Dates:
 
(All dates w/ Balance & Composure and Foxing)

 

Thu-Oct-13 – Richmond, VA – – Broadberry
Fri-Oct-14 – Chapel Hill, NC – Cat’s Cradle
Sat-Oct-15 – Atlanta, GA – Masquerade – Hell
Sun-Oct-16 – Jacksonville, FL – 1904 Music Hall
Tue-Oct-18 – Lake Park, FL – Kelsey Theatre
Wed-Oct-19 – Orlando, FL – The Social
Fri-Oct-21 – Houston, TX – White Oak Music Hall
Sat-Oct-22 – Austin, TX – Mohawk
Sun-Oct-23 – Dallas, TX – Club Dada (So What?! Music Festival)
Tue-Oct-25 – Phoenix, AZ – The Nile
Thu-Oct-27 – San Diego, CA – Observatory North Park
Fri-Oct-28 – Los Angeles, CA – Regent
Sat-Oct-29 – Santa Cruz, CA – The Catalyst Atrium
Sun-Oct-30 – San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall
Tue-Nov-01 – Portland, OR – Hawthorne Theatre
Wed-Nov-02 – Seattle, WA – Crocodile
Fri-Nov-04 – Salt Lake City, UT – Complex
Sat-Nov-05 – Denver, CO – Marquis
Sun-Nov-06 – Lawrence, KS – Granada
Thu-Nov-10 – Cleveland, OH – Beachland Ballroom
Fri-Nov-11 – Detroit, MI – St. Andrews
Sat-Nov-12 – Toronto, ON – Opera House
Mon-Nov-14 – Boston, MA – Royale
Tue-Nov-15 – Portland, ME – Port City Music Hall
Wed-Nov-16 – New Haven, CT – College Street Music Hall
Thu-Nov-17 – Brooklyn, NY – Warsaw
Fri-Nov-18 – Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer
Sat-Nov-19 – Baltimore, MD – Baltimore Soundstage
Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Gorgeously Cinematic and Symbolic Video for Joseph’s “White Flag”

Now, as you may remember “White Flag” is the first single off the trio’s forthcoming full-length debut I’m Alone, No You’re Not, which is slated for an August 26, 2016 release. And as you’ll hear the song pairs an ambient and gently undulating production consisting of swirling and ambient electronics, handclap-led percussion and folky guitar chords, a rousingly cathartic and anthemic hook and the Closner Sisters’ gorgeous vocals in a song that sonically reminds me of Pearl and the Beard and Lucius, complete with the same earnest urgency. While lyrically, the song possesses a powerfully positive message — that despite what everyone around you may tell you about your dreams and desires that you should never give up if it’s what you desperately feel that it’s what you must be doing.

The recently released music video for the song is a gorgeously cinematic video that features the Closner sisters in what appears to be the Oregon woods, building a bonfire to set a white flag on fire — and as a result the video manages to be both literal and symbolic.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Live Footage: Check Out a Gorgeous and Aching, Acoustic Version of “Hurts Like Hell”

Building on the buzz of her critically praised and commercially successful EP Arrows, the Nashville-based singer/songwriter release “Hurts Like Hell, ” last year, and the single was featured on MTV’s Scream. Recently the folks at OurVinyl TV invited Straham in for an acoustic single and the first released bit of footage from that session is a gorgeous and stripped down rendition of “Hurts Like Hell” that features Straham accompanying herself on piano.

Lyrically, the song focuses on the conflicting feelings in the aftermath of a breakup — loss, longing, emptiness, heartache and self doubt, along with the sensations of self-reflection, of finality and of one’s life being altered in ways that are frequently beyond your own control and influence. And if you’ve been through a particularly messy and disastrous breakup the song should feel deeply familiar.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Wistful and Gorgeous Visuals for Charlotte Cardin’s “Faufile”

Cardin’s latest single “Faufile,” which translates into English as “to slip or sneak away” features Cardin’s gorgeous and aching vocals paired with the singer/songwriter accompanied by a sparse yet eerie piano accompaniment, and the single will further cement the French Canadian singer/songwriter’s growing reputation for crafting hauntingly eerie pop that owes a debt to jazz. And hot on the heels of the release of “Faufile,” comes the wistful music video, which features a brooding and seemingly heartbroken on the rooftops and streets of what appears to be Montreal after a devastating breakup.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Breezy Visuals and Sounds of Quebec City’s Men I Trust

With the release of their sophomore full-length effort Headroom, the newly constituted quartet began receiving international attention as their material landed on Hype Machine’s charts, as well as several Spotify and SoundCloud playlists. Building on the increasing buzz around the Quebec City-based quartet, their first single of 2016, “Humming man” was released to critical praise across the blogosphere; however, I suspect that the act’s latest single “Lauren” may arguably be their breakout single as the band pairs a sinuous and sleek bass line, shimmering guitar chords and skittering drum programming with hauntingly ethereal vocal melodies to craft a song that sounds as though it were equally influenced by 70s funk and R&B, 80s synth pop and contemporary electro pop. Interestingly enough, the song sounds as though it should have been released through Cascine Records, a label that specializes in releasing silky smooth and breezy 70s and 80s inspired pop while being the sort of song you’d do a little two step to in the club.
The recently released music video follows an extremely fair skinned woman bicycling down a country road while hinting at the follow-the -bouncing ball/karaoke-styled video which fits the song’s breezy yet sensual air.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Up-and-coming Quebec-born vocalist Charlotte Cardin initially received attention as a model, who once worked for renowned Elite Model Management before deciding to commit to music full-time when she signed with Montreal indie label Cult Nation. Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site over the past year, you may recall that I wrote about “Big Boy,” the first single off Cardin’s recently released debut EP, Big Boy. Interestingly, that single revealed that Cardin specialized in meshing contemporary electronic production with jazz, pop and soul vocal stylings reminiscent of Amy Winehouse and Melanie De BIasio; in fact, that single also revealed that Cardin’s effortlessly soulful vocals possesses a profound ache.

The EP’s latest single “Faufile,” which translates into English as “to slip or sneak away” features Cardin’s gorgeous and aching vocals paired with the singer/songwriter accompanied by a sparse yet eerie piano accompaniment, and the single will further cement the French Canadian singer/songwriter’s growing reputation for crafting hauntingly eerie pop that owes a debt to jazz.