Category: indie psych pop

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: St. Franck Shares a Buzzing, Christmas Season Original

Franck Lada is a Bordeaux-based producer, singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and creative mastermind behind the emerging psych pop, solo recording project St Franck. Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site for some time, you might recall that the French producer, singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist’s career started in earnest through his participation in a number of UK-baed projects, including sitting in on bass with Saint Leonard’s Horses for a few shows. 

Lada stepped out into the spotlight with his debut EP, 2018’s Gamma Wave and a handful of singles that saw him establish a DIY/bedroom pop-meets- electro pop-meets psych pop sound, which he developed with some barebones equipment during flat shares in London: a computer, an 808, an MS20 and Ableton. 

Since his humble beginnings, the French artist has upgraded to a professional studio in Bordeaux’s bohemian La Bastide neighborhood, where he worked on his full-length debut, last year’s Hard Drive Oddities. The album showcased a producer and artist, who’s part of a new generation of producers and artists, who are searching for meaning in a mad, mad, mad world. Sonically, the album’s material is anchored around lush, sculpted arrangements paired lyrics that encourage the listener to explore the inner world of their dreams and the subconscious.

Hard Drive Oddities featured the MGMT and Tame Impala-like “Dream Trap,” a song that evoked the blissful nostalgia of a gorgeous summer afternoon — and the warm buzz of a half-remembered dream.

Lada’s latest single, the Christmastime/Holiday Season-themed song “It’s Christmas Time” is a slickly produced yet retro-feeling tune, anchored around buzzing bass synths, chiming bells, twinkling keys that simultaneously showcases the French artist’s uncanny knack for catchy hooks paired with earnest songwriting about the holiday season. At it core, the song warmly reminds the listener that the season is for loved ones who are here, and remembering the ones who aren’t — without resorting to the familiar, worn-out cliches.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Live Footage: JOVM Mainstays Tame Impala Perform “Borderline” at Coachella

I’ve written quite a bit about the Perth, Australia-born and-based singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and JOVM mainstay Kevin Parker and his acclaimed solo recording project Tame Impala over the past few years. And as you may recall, his third album, 2015’s Currents was a commercial and critical breakthrough as it was a Grammy-nominated, RIAA Gold-Certified effort that reflected a decided change in songwriting and approach that resulted in some of the most emotionally direct lyrics of his growing catalog paired with a more nuanced, textured sound that drew from psych rock, psych pop, synth pop, prog rock and R&B.

“Patience,” which was released last month, was the first bit of new, solo material from Parker in several years, and while being a decidedly upbeat banger that seamlessly bridged 90s house and 70s funk, thematically the track was a thoughtful meditation on the cycles and phases of life. “Borderline,” Parker’s latest single is a blissed out, shimmering, mid-tempo track centered around arpeggiated synths, Parker’s imitable, plaintive falsetto and a soaring hook. And while showcasing the flourishes of the house music-inspired instrumentation of its predecessor, the track should serve as a reminder that Parker has a deep collection of hook-driven bangers.

Parker and his backing band will be making appearances across the international festival circuit that will include stops at Coachella Festival, Shaky Knees Festival, Corona Capital Festival, Boston Calling, Primavera Sound Festival, Glastonbury Festival, Lollapalooza with more dates to come. Coachella recently released live footage of Tame Impala’s headlining set last week, and it included footage of “Borderline.” Check it out, and then check out the tour dates below.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

I’ve written quite a bit about the Perth, Australia-born and-based singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and JOVM mainstay Kevin Parker and his acclaimed solo recording project Tame Impala. And as you may recall, his third album, 2015’s Currents was a commercial and critical breakthrough as it was a Grammy-nominated, RIAA Gold-Certified effort that reflected a decided change in songwriting and approach that resulted in some of the most emotionally direct lyrics of his growing catalog paired with a more nuanced, textured sound that drew from psych rock, psych pop, synth pop, prog rock and R&B.

“Patience,” which was released last month, was the first bit of new, solo material from Parker in several years, and while being a decidedly upbeat banger that seamlessly bridged 90s house and 70s funk, thematically the track was a thoughtful meditation on the cycles and phases of life. “Borderline,” Parker’s latest single is a blissed out, shimmering, mid-tempo track centered around arpeggiated synths, Parker’s imitable, plaintive falsetto and a soaring hook. And while showcasing the flourishes of the house music-inspired instrumentation of its predecessor, the track should serve as a reminder that Parker has a deep collection of hook-driven bangers.

Parker and his backing band will be making appearances across the international festival circuit that will include stops at Coachella Festival, Shaky Knees Festival, Corona Capital Festival, Boston Calling, Primavera Sound Festival, Glastonbury Festival, Lollapalooza with more dates to come. Check out the tour dates below.

TOUR DATES

April 13 – Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival – Indio, CA

April 20 – Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival – Indio,CA

May 02 – Ascend Amphitheatre – Nashville, TN

May 03 – ExploreAsheville.com Arena – Asheville, NC

May 05 – Shaky Knees Music Festival – Atlanta, GA

May 06 – St. Augustine Amphitheater – St. Augustine, FL

May 07 – Fillmore Miami Beach at the Jackie Gleason Theater – Miami Beach FL

May 11 – Corona Capital Festival – Guadalajara, MEXICO

May 25 – Boston Calling Festival – Boston, MA

May 31 – Primavera Festival – Barcelona, SPAIN

June 01 – We Love Green – Paris, FRANCE

June 05 – Garden – Gotenberg, SWEDEN

June 06 – NorthSide – Aarhus, DENMARK

June 21 – Hurricane Festival – Sheebel, GERMANY

June 22 – Southside Festival – Neuhausen ob eck, GERMANY

June 26 – Glasonbury – Pilton, ENGLAND

August 01-04 – Lollapalooza – Chicago, IL

August 09 – Flow Festival – Helsinki, FINLAND

August 14 – Pukkelpop – Hasselt, BELGIUM

August 15 – La Route Du Rock – Rennes, FRANCE

August 16 – Lowlands Festival – Walibi Holland, NETHERLANDS

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Currently comprised of frontman and primary songwriter TOBACCO (born Thomas Fec), keyboardist The Seven Fields of Aphelion (born Maureen “Maux” Boyle), guitarist Ryan Graveface and bassist Pony Driver, the Pittsburgh, PA-based experimental electronic act Black Moth Super Rainbow can trace their origins back to two previous projects that featured BMSR’s TOBACCO — Allegheny White Fish, which was active from 1996-2000 and satanstompingcaterpillars, which was active from 2000-2002 and released three albums, including their last album under that name, The Most Wonderfulest Thing before the addition of three new members Father Hummingbird, The Seven Fields of Aphelion and Iffernaut. And with the addition of new members, the band renamed themselves Black Moth Super Rainbow in 2003.

 

Over the past decade both Black Moth Super Rainbow and TOBACCO have recorded material that explored the periphery of evil and extreme color, rapidly alternating between absurdly bright beauty and murderously sinister with the end result being a woozy, psychedelic uneasiness.  TOBACCO (a.k.a Thomas Fec) throughout his career has been a rather mysterious figure; in fact, if you Google images of him, most of them have his face obscured by a mask, a ball cap or a hood.  Interestingly though, he’s known for patient and thoughtful interviews where he breaks down his creative process and the ideas espoused throughout his work while never revealing much about his personal life or about him. And in that sense, he’s been periodically visible but opaque, emotional but unwilling to exploit self-mythology; however, Black Moth Super Rainbow’s Panic Blooms, the first album from the band in six years, finds TOBACCO reportedly writing what may arguably be the most raw and direct lyrics of his entire career, inspired in some way by the current sociopolitical climate. As a result, the material is an account of depression and human frailty paired with their unique sound featuring gorgeous yet warped melodies. . .

The album’s first single “Mr. No One” features shimmering and twinkling synths, boom-bap drums and heavily vocodered vocals and while the song initially seems as though it has a dreamy and ethereal air, the song possesses an underlying murky and sinister vibe, which the band has long been known for, giving the song a desperate yet hopeful ache, a pleasant reverie within a feverish, waking nightmare.

Black Moth Super Rainbow will be on tour to support their new effort, and it’ll include a June 2, 2018 stop at Music Hall of Williamsburg. Check out the rest of the tour dates below.

TOUR DATES

THU 5/31 WASHINGTON, DC Black Cat
FRI 6/1 PHILADELPHIA, PA Union Transfer
SAT 6/2 NEW YORK, NY Music Hall of Williamsburg
SUN 6/3 BOSTON, MA Brighton Music Hall
THU 6/14 CINCINNATI, OH Urban Artifact
FRI 6/15 DETROIT, MI El Club
SAT 6/16 CHICAGO, IL Metro
SUN 6/17 COLUMBUS, OH Skully’s Music Diner
FRI 8/10 PITTSBURGH, PA Mr. Smalls
SAT 8/11 LOUISVILLE, KY Headliners
SUN 8/12 ASHEVILLE, NC Orange Peel
TUE 8/14 AUSTIN, TX Mohawk
WED 8/15 HOUSTON, TX White Oak Music Hall
FRI 8/17 ATLANTA, GA Masquerade (Hell)
SAT 8/18 NASHVILLE, TN Mercy Lounge

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Surreal and Psychedelic Visuals for HOTT MT’s “Tranceforming”

Earlier this year, I wrote about the Los Angeles, CA-based experimental pop Hour Of The Time Majesty Twelve (HOTT MT) — and you may recall that the duo, which is currently comprised of Spooki Tavi (guitar, vocals) and Ashi Dala (bass, vocals) have a developed a reputation for their former collaborative warehouse-based art space Non Plus Ultra, for crafting shimmering, psychedelic-leaning experimental pop, and for ambitious collaborations with The Flaming Lips, Ariel Pink, Erykah Badu and Ke$ha. Adding to a growing profile. the duo have opened for The Flaming Lips, Bat for Lashes, and Galaxie 500.
The duo’s sophomore full-length effort AU (Alternate Universe) is slated for a May 2017 release through the duo’s Mutation Records, and the album’s previous single “A Night in China Town” was a moody and dreamy song featuring shimmering synths, tinny and distorted Casio-like beats and angular guitar chords paired with a soaring hook while Spooki Tavi’s ethereal vocals floated over the mix. And while drawing from 60s psych pop and bubblegum pop and classic shoegazer rock, the song manages to also be reminiscent of Washington D.C.’s The Galaxy Electric but with a chillier air. AU (Alternate Universe)’s latest single “Tranceforming,” continues on a similar vein as its preceding single as you’ll hear a song that clearly draws from 60s psych pop and bubblegum pop — thanks in part to the use of what sounds like vintage, analog synths; but unlike the previous single, “Tranceforming” possesses a plaintive and visceral yearning, proving to be a subtle shading on a particular series of emotions.

Directed by the band’s Spooki Tavi, the recently released music video for “Tranceforming” builds upon a picture within a picture motif, as part of the video consists of its protagonist shoving a videocassette into the VCR — and the video is full of appropriately sugary and psychedelic imagery that at points features our very three dimensional protagonist in a 2 dimensional world. Pulling back to it’s viewer, the same protagonist is in a mind-altering trance.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: The Trippy and Psychedelic Sounds and Visuals of The Seshen’s “Colors Collide”

Throughout the end of last year, I wrote quite a bit about San Francisco Bay Area-based electro pop/electro R&B/electro soul act The Seshen. Interestingly, the act comprised of founding members Lalin St. Juste (vocals) and Akiyoshi Ehara (bass, production) with Kasha Rockland (vocals), Mizra Kopelman (percussion) and Kumar Butler (sampler) have recede attention both across the Bay Area and elsewhere for a sound and aesthetic that draws from a diverse and eclectic array of influences including Erykah Badu, Jai Paul, James Blake, Radiohead, Broadcast, hip-hop, indie rock, electronica — with the result being a sound that managed to be simultaneously contemporary and retro-futuristic.

Now you may recall that I had written about the first two singles off the act’s sophomore full-length effort Flames and Figures — “Distant Heart,” a slickly produced, sleek and sensual, synth-based single that sounded as though it were influenced by 80s synth-based R&B and pop and “Already Gone,” a sultry and sensual track that subtly nodded at Giorgio Moroder’s legendary and incredibly sexy productions. However, the album’s third and latest single “Colors Collide” finds the Bay Area-based act pairing St. Juste’s nostalgic, stream-of-consciousness lyrics and sultry vocals with hazy mellotron, layered rhythms, a distorted and chopped up vocal sample, swirling electronics and shimmering synths to craft a sound that nods at trippy, 60s-inspired psych pop, experimental pop and prog rock thanks to a song structure that consists of several shifting and morphing sections held together by the song’s hazy vibe and a deep longing for more.

Interestingly, as the band’s St. Juste explains in press notes, “Colors Collide is about the illusory spaces that are created for us, and how we wrestle with the identities and experiences that grow out of those creations. It reflects the journey of leaving this current space for another. Perhaps in this next place, I can be free. It’s not a physical space, but rather, the place within myself that I hope to reach.”

Directed by Jesse Cafiero, the recently released music video for “Colors Collide” employs the use of classic, stop-motion animation to create a detailed yet surreal world that adds and emphasizes the song’s psychedelia-tinged take on pop

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Nostalgic Visuals and 60s Psych Pop-Leaning Sounds of Hour Of The Time Majesty Twelve

Comprised of primary songwriter duo Spooki Tavi (guitar, vocals) and Ashi Dala (bass, vocals), the Los Angeles, CA-based experimental pop Hour Of The Time Majesty Twelve (HOTT MT) have built a profile for their collaborative warehouse, art space Non Plus Ultra, for crafting shimmering, psychedelic-leaning pop, and for ambitious collaborations with The Flaming Lips, Ariel Pink, Erykah Badu and Ke$ha. And adding to a growing profile, the Los Angeles-based experimental pop duo have opened for the aforementioned The Flaming Lips, Bat for Lashes, and Galaxie 500.

The duo’s sophomore full-length effort AU (Alternate Universe) is slated for a May 2017 release through the duo’s Mutation Records. “At Night in China Town” features the duo pairing shimmering synths, tinny and distorted Casio-like beats, angular guitar chords with Spooki Tavi’s ethereal vocals and a soaring hook in a moody yet mischievously anachronistic song that sounds as though it simultaneously draws from 60s psych pop and bubble gum pop, shoegazer rock — and in a similar fashion to Washington D.C.’s The Galaxy Electric but with a chillier air.

The recently released music video for “At Night in China Town” features footage shot at their warehouse art space Non Plus Ultra, which was recently shut down. And much like losing a favorite bar or a favorite music venue, there’s a palpable sense of friendships being made and possibly lost, of uncertainty as to what’s next and what everyone will do now that their place is gone; but along with that a hope that there may be someplace new that will leave some indelible memory on you. As the members of HOTT MT say of their recent loss ” “All of us at Non Plus Ultra have been together for years. Our ideals brought us together, and we built a space and a business on them. Non Plus Ultra showed us that we aren’t alone in our desires. There are so many people in this town who share our values. We’ve made and lost spaces before, but this time we’ve got an incredible support system.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

With the release of two critically applauded EPs, We Are Sound and Everything You Imagine Is Real, the New York-based electro pop duo Corbu received praise from the likes of NYLON, Stereogum, The Guardian, NME and others for a sound that’s heavily influenced by the Warp Records roster, sci-fi imagery,  psychedelia and their own dreams. Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site over the past couple of weeks you may recall that I wrote about the cinematic “Battles,” one of the first singles off the duo’s highly-anticipated, soon-to-be released, full-length debut effort Crayon Soul; a track that has the band pairing a soaring and anthemic hook with a shimmering and breezy melody and plaintive vocals in a way that’s reminiscent to Moonbabies and M83.

Crayon Soul‘s latest single “Better Better Off” is a lush and shimmering psych pop, psych rock track that has the duo pairing angular guitar chords fed through gentle reverb and delay pedals, layers upon layers of gorgeous harmonies, shimmering synth cascades,  a soaring and anthemic hook, and a propulsive rhythm section in a song that sounds indebted to trippy 60s psych rock as much as it does to the likes of In Ghost Colours-era Cut Copy and the dream pop of the aforementioned Moonbabies, Summer Heart – but with a palpable bittersweet wistfulness under the song’s breezy surface.

 

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Mournful Sounds and Surreal Visuals for Stefan Weich’s Latest Single “Louie”

Stefan Weich’s second and latest single “Louie” continues on the same vein as “Holy Night” as swirling and ambient electronics are paired with soft padded drumming, bursts of bluesy guitar chords and Weich’s plaintive falsetto crooning lyrics about a relationship in which both people are slowly drifting apart. At the heart of the song is the unspoken and built up resentments that can cause people to slowly drift apart over time, and a lingering sense of regret of what happened — and how it happened.

The recently released music video for the song also fittingly featured some warped and kaleidoscopic, psychedelic imagery — in some way, it evokes what I would imagine tripping on hallucinogens would feel like as you were wandering around a lonely and surreal city landscape.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Formed by Moon Magnet Studios founder and ringleader Reed Fuchs back in 2009, Denver, CO-based collective deCollage features members of several locally and regionally known bands including Rose Quartz, Sound of Ceres, Candy Claws, Rubedo and others. Since their formation, the collective has developed a reputation for an immersive and interactive live show – and for material that sonically employs the use of synths, accordion, glockenspiel, found sounds such as typewriters, trains, crunched leaves, zippers, cirtcut bending among others and for material that lyrically focuses on metaphysics, surrealism, abstraction, wonder and navigating the fragmented post-modern world we live in.Unsurprisingly, as a result of their growing reputation in psych music circles, the members of the collective have opened for the likes of Animal Collective, of Montreal, Zammuto, Fever The Ghost and Linear Downfall among others.

“Crystal Choir,” the latest single off the collective’s soon-to-be released, new effort Magnetize is a hazy and swaggering bit of psych pop that possesses elements of contemporary electro pop and R&B as enormous boom-bap drums are paired with layers of shimmering synths, and layers of harmonized vocals in song that reminds me of In Ghost Colours-era Cut Copy — but with a mischievous and playful sense of hope.

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Yeasayer’s Ethereal and Psychedelic New Single

Yeasayer, the New York-based experimental/psych/electro pop trio comprised of Chris Keating (vocals, songwriting and production), Ira Wolf Tuton (vocals, songwriting and production) and Anand Wilder have been blogosphere darlings for the better part of a decade […]

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstays La Femme Return with Psychedelic, Egypt-Inspired Visuals for “Sphynx”

Comprised of founding members Marlon Magnée (keyboards), Sacha Got (guitar), Sam Lefevre (bass), Noé Delmas (drums) and Lucas Nunez, along with a rotating cast of vocalists including current lead vocalist Clémence Quélennec, lara Luciani, Jane Peynot and Marilou […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

If you’ve been frequenting JOVM over the past couple of years, you’ve likely come across several posts on Toronto, ON/Montreal, QC-based electro pop act Doomsquad. Comprised of  siblings Allie, Jaclyn and Trevor Blumas, the electro pop act initially began as an acoustic-leaning folk act but with their shared admiration and love of electronic music, electronic dance music and electro pop, the Blumases began increasingly experimenting with electronic beats, synthesizers, electronic drums and contemporary electronic music production techniques. The trio won attention won both national and Stateside attention with the release of their full-length debut Kalaboogie, a downtempo electro pop-leaning effort that evoked what art, life and music would sound like post-apocaylpse as stark minimalist beats, shimmering synths and alternating chanted and call and response vocals.

The Blumases followed Kalaboogie with 2015’s Pageantry Suite EP and EP singles Apocalypso,” and “Two Way Mirror” revealed a group that relentlessly experimented with their sound as they employed Nile Rodgers-like funk guitar lines, African and Caribbean-inspired polyrhythms, ambient electronics, shimmering synths and sinuous bass lines were paired with half spoken, half sung vocals leading a call and response harmonized vocal section at the song’s hook, which interestingly enough pushed their sound a bit closer Talking Heads’ Speaking in Tongues and Fear of Music. And much like those two albums, the material on Pageantry Suite evoked a neurotic anxiousness over an impending doom that may — or may not happen.

 

Doomsquad’s sophomore full-length effort, Total Time is slated for an April 29, 2016 release through renowned indie label Bella Union Records globally and Hand Drawn Dracula Records throughout Canada. Reportedly inspired by some of the trio’s favorite artists — Georges Bataille, Richard Tuttle, Tanya Tagaq, and Genesis P-Orridge, Total Time was largely recorded in the New Mexico desert and thematically, the material was specifically written to lead the listener to a genderless experience of transition — from owning time, losing time and becoming timeless while making you move your ass.  Interestingly, the album’s second and latest single “Pyramids On Mars” manages to continue on the sonic path of Pageantry Suite as the song begins with an ambient intro of gently undulating synths and off-kilter vocals and quickly becomes a propulsive and shimmering dance-floor ready track that pairs shimmering synths, wobbling low end, chanted and call and response vocals, African and Caribbean-inspired vocals, funk guitar — and much like their most recent tracks sounds as though it could have been released as a B-side to a Talking Heads single.