Category: indie rock

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Trippy and Mischievous Visuals for The Kills’ “Whirling Eye”

Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site for some time, you’d be fairly familiar with the internationally acclaimed indie rock duo The Kills. And as you may recall, the band’s latest effort, Ash and Ice was the first album of new material from the duo in over five years — and from the album singles “Heart Of A Dog” “Siberian Nights,” and “Impossible Tracks,” the material off their latest album revealed a refinement of the sound that first caught the attention of fans and critics.

Fire and Ash’s fourth and latest single “Whirling Eye” continues in a similar vein to the album’s preceding singles as the duo pair tweeter and woofer rocking boom bap beats, layers of shimmering shoegazer rock-like guitar chords, a towering and anthemic hook and Mossheart’s imitable wail in a swaggering and bluesy song that builds up to stormy intensity — but much like their previously recorded output, there’s a palpable sensuality and sexual tension at its core.

Directed by Sophie Muller, the recently released music video for “Whirling Eye” was shot using several Go Pro cameras to create a 360º virtual reality video that follows the members of the band swaggering and strutting about in a variety of surreal and artistically shot scenarios and while giving the viewer an incredible amount of control to change camera angles at will and placing the viewer within the world of Mossheart and Hince, the video also manages to evoke the trippy sensation of the song’s whirling eye. (Please note, that in order to capture the 360º effect, you will have to view the video on Google Chrome.)

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Initially begun as the solo recording project of Salt Lake City, UT-based founding member and frontman Jordon Strang and now currently a quartet, indie rock/shoegazer rock band  No Sun has seen regional and national attention for a harder and more modern take on shoegaze that draws from the genre’s masters,  Swervedriver, RIDE and Failure and contemporaries including Pity Sex, Silversun Pickups and others. The Salt Lake City, UT-based band’s full-length debut It’s Only was released through  The Native Sound Records and hot on its heels, the members of No Sun released a brooding, sludgy grunge rock-leaning cover of Dead Kennedys “Nazi Punks Fuck Off,” a song that’s become much more urgent, in light of increasing anti-Semitic and racist-based attacks and bullying across the country.

“America has shown its very disgusting underbelly over the past few months, and I’m sure it will only get worse. Going to shows, and the DIY community in general shoudl be a place where everyone feels safe, except for those that live to make others feel unsafe for something as simple as the color of their skin, their gender identity or their sexual orientation. We covered this song to let everyone know that we think Nazism and bigotry is not welcome, and will not be tolerated within our fanbase or at any of our shows,” the band’s founder and frontman Jordon Stang says of why they decided to cover the song.

Lyrics 

Punk ain’t no religious cult

Punk means thinkin’ for yourself
You ain’t hardcore ’cause you spike your hair
When a jock still lives inside your head

Nazi punks
Nazi punks
Nazi punks fuck off
Nazi punks
Nazi punks
Nazi punks fuck off

If you’ve come to fight, get outta here
You ain’t no better than the bouncers
We ain’t tryin’ to be police
When you ape the cops it ain’t anarchy
Nazi punks
Nazi punks
Nazi punks fuck off
Nazi punks
Nazi punks
Nazi punks fuck off

Ten guys jump one, what a man
You fight each other, the police state wins
Stab your backs when you trash our halls
Trash a bank if you’ve got real balls

You still think Swastikas look cool
The real Nazis run your schools
They’re coaches, businessmen and cops
In a real fourth Reich you’ll be the first to go

Nazi punks
Nazi punks
Nazi punks fuck off
Nazi punks
Nazi punks
Nazi punks fuck off

You’ll be the first to go
You’ll be the first to go
You’ll be the first to go
Unless you think
No Sun will be embarking on a lengthy tour to support their debut album throughout March and April — and it’ll include an NYC area stop at Saint Vitus on March 25, 2017. Check out tour dates below.

Tour Dates: 

3/9     Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge
3/10    Denver, CO @ Mutiny Information Cafe
3/11    Kansas City, MO @ The Couch
3/12    St. Louis, MO @ Foam
3/13    Milwaukee, MN @ Ground Zero
3/14    Minneapolis, MN @ Safe Haus
3/15    Chicago, IL @ Quenchers
3/16    Fort Wayne, IN @ The Tiger Room
3/17    Elyria, OH @ Blank State Elyria
3/18    Toronto, ON @ The Smiling Buddha
3/19    Montreal, QC @ Brasserie Beaubien
3/20    Syracuse, NY @ The Reformed Church of Syracuse
3/21    Florence, MA – 13th Floor Music Lounge
3/22    Boston, MA @ The Middle East
3/24    Montclair, NJ @ Meatlocker
3/25    Brooklyn, NY @ St. Vitus
3/26    Wilkes Barre, PA @ The Other Side
3/27    Baltimore, MD @ The Windup Space
3/28    Philadelphia, Pa @ Kung Fu Necktie
3/29    Richmond, VA – @ The Castle
3/30    Charlotte, NC @ The Station On Central
04/1    Houston, TX @ Satellite Bar
04/2    Austin, TX @ Beerland
04/4    El Paso, TX @ The Sandbox
04/5    Tempe, AZ @ 51 West

 

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Frenetic Visuals for Alexander F’s “Call Me Pretty”

Best known as a co-founding member and co-primary songwriter of renowned indie dance pop/indie funk act and JOVM mainstay Rubblebucket, Alex Toth’s side project, Alexander F, which features Steve Marion, Dandy McDowell. Christian Peslak and Noah Rubin as part of the project’s touring band, along with contributions from Kimbra is a decided change in sonic direction for him. Reeling emotionally after the suicides of a couple of musician friends and struggling with living as recovering alcoholic, Toth went to an eleven day, Buddhist, silent meditation retreat in Quebec. And as the story goes, during the retreat, a handful of Buddhist-themed experimental punk songs exploded in Toth’s head — and as a jazz-trained musician, it was a rather unexpected revelation. Now, if you had been frequenting this site towards the end of last year, you may recall that I wrote about “Swimmers,” off Alexander F’s self-titled debut, and from that single Toth and company revealed that his newest project would specialize in infectiously anthemic, frenetic and stompingly boisterous, pop-leaning take on punk rock — while in the case of that particular single, a mischievous take on the concept of prenatal memory in which the song’s narrator imagines how it must have been to be sperm swimming towards an egg to fertilize it.

The self-titled album’s third and latest single “Call Me Pretty” is a decidedly off-kilter yet rousingly anthemic track featuring guest vocals from Kimbra that sonically seems to owe a debt to New Wave and punk rock, with a neurotic and frenetic energy at its core — and in some way, to my ears at least, the song seems like what I’d imagine if Talking Heads randomly decided to cover A Flock of Seagulls. (In the alternative facts universe, indeed, right?) Lyrically, the song evokes the cripplingly neurotic self-doubt, shame and confusion of the song’s narrator, who despite his every effort, has begun to realize that he can’t run from himself — or his own foolish mistakes. And in someway his only hope is that his friends and lovers will ignore him and his perceived ugliness and unworthiness by “shutting their eyes and calling him pretty.”

The recently released music video for the song employs a relatively simple concept as it captures Toth and his backing band playing with a frenetic, unhinged energy — while nodding at the fact that being defiantly, proudly weird and loving music and art, and participating in music and art are the best way to resist.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of founding members Ryan Walker (guitar) and Alex Hartman (bass), along with Suki San (vocals), the Los Angeles, CA-based post-punk trio Second Still can trace their origins to when Walker and Hartman met in 2007 in Los Angeles. By the time Walker and Hartman relocated to New York in 2011, they had recorded over 100 instrumental demos, which were largely inspired by French coldwave and No Wave. And as the story goes, after the band’s founding duo, while in New York they searched high and low for a vocalist that they felt could match their intensity and creative output, eventually meeting Suki San, with whom they felt an instant simpatico.

The trio’s first show was a party at the now-condemned McKibbin Street Lofts that was famously shut down by the police during their set’s second song. And building upon the buzz of that incident, the band recorded their debut EP, Early Forms, which was released last March as a limited edition cassette that quickly sold out.  While they were living in Brooklyn, the members of the band wrote the material, which would eventually comprise their forthcoming, self-titled, full-length debut — and the material on the album thematically covers deeply post-modern subjects: depression, frustration, anxiety and alienation. And before they all relocated to Los Angeles in November 2015, the members of the band hunkered down at Brooklyn’s Studio G and Seaside Lounge Studios to record their Hilary Johnson co-produced debut in two days.

Interestingly, between the release of their debut EP and their forthcoming album, they released “Walls,” a single that revealed that the material on their self-titled album would be a decided sonic departure from their EP; in fact, as you’ll hear on their album’s latest single “Recover,” the band’s sound nods to 80s post-punk — in particular Sixousie and the Banshees as San’s gorgeous vocals, which to my ears bear an uncanny resemblance to Sixousie Sioux’s are paired with angular and shimmering guitar chords played through reverb and delay pedal, a propulsive bass line and stark, industrial-leaning drum programming. And as a result, the song simultaneously possesses a brooding chilliness and a motorik groove.

The band will be touring up and down the Pacific Coast around the time of the album’s official release. Check out tour dates below.

TOUR DATES

03.30 – The Acerogami – Pomona, CA
03.31 – Venue TBD – La Puente, CA
04.01 – Venue TBD –  San Diego, CA
04.04 – The Knockout – San Francisco, CA
04.05 – Starlight Lounge – Sacramento, CA
04.06 – Venue TBD – Oakland, CA
04.07 – Out From The Shadows Festival – Portland, OR
04.08 – The Black Lodge – Seattle, WA
04.16 – Part Time Punks @ The Echo – Los Angeles, CA

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Introducing Scotland’s Acrylic and Their Soaring and Anthemic Single “Coast”

Initially formed in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK and comprised of Andreas Christodoulidis, Ross Patrizio, Ruairidh Smith, Lewis Doig and Jack Lyall, the Glasgow-based indie rock quintet Acrylic specialize in an atmospheric and intricate psych rock — and with the release of singles like “Awake,” and “Overrun,” airplay on XFM Scotland, Amazing Radio and BBC Scotland and a sold-out, headline show at Glasgow’s Hug and Pint last month, the quintet have seen a rapidly growing national profile. And building upon the buzz that the band has been receiving, the band’s lated single “Coast,” produced by Paul Savage will further cement their burgeoning reputation for crafting brooding and atmospheric psych rock with anthemic hooks — although it possesses an unusual song structure in which there’s a short and dreamy introduction, a couple of short verses, a repeated refrain/chorus that brings in a series of dreamily atmospheric and soaring hooks in a fashion reminiscent to the likes of Foals and others.

Interestingly, as the band’s Ross Patrizio explains in press notes “‘Coast’ is Acrylic’s oldest song. We’ve had it in some form pretty much since the band started. Andreas [Christodoulidis] and I used to write songs separately, then bring them to the band, but this was the first we wore together, and so it’s always been on elf our favorites. It has a weird structure, and we don’t have any other songs like it. it’s definitely one of the most upbeat Acrylic song; it’s fun to play live.”

The recently released video begins with a man, presumably one of the band members bathing in one of the most gorgeous settings you can set your eyes in time elapsed footage, before cutting to the band performing the song in a studio/rehearsal space and ending with a time elapsed footage of the beach we were introduced to at the beginning of the video.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Lou Nutting (guitar, harmonica, vocals) and Ben Brock Wilkes (drums, vocals), the up-and-coming Virginia-born, Brooklyn-based duo Winstons can actually trace their origins to when the duo met while working at Williamsburg hotspot Baby’s All Right. With the release of two EPs Turpentine and Black Dust back in 2015, the Brooklyn-based duo received attention for a soulful, garage, blues rock that owes an equal debt to The Black Keys, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins complete with a visceral and forceful earnestness — and for making a decided point of recording live to tape, with no touch-ups, no overdubs, no retakes; first thought, best thought.

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about “Without You,” off their “Without You”/”Enough” 7 inch, a single bluesy single that possessed a forceful immediacy and heartache and an anthemic, arena rock sized hook. And building upon the buzz that “Without You” has received, the duo released the B side single “Enough” a single which will further cement their burgeoning reputation for crafting raw, urgent, blues-leaning garage rock with arena-friendly, anthemic hooks — and while drawing from The Black Keys, the mid-tempo barnburner manages to nod at The Band and The Animals.

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Live Footage of Wax Idols Performing Brooding and Anthemic “Deborah”

American Tragic’s single “Deborah” is a brooding, New Wave-leaning sound that much like “Lonely You” sounds like it’s been influenced by the likes of Concrete Blonde and Siouxsie and the Banshees, as the song is a brooding and atmospheric song in which Fortune’s plaintive vocals are paired with shimmering guitar chords, four-on-the-floor drumming, gentle layers of buzzing and ethereal synths and a sinuous bass line, and a spoken word-like bridge, while Fortune’s lyrics focuses on character, who is reeling from heartache and can’t figure out what to do next or how to move on — directly from the perspective of the song’s Deborah.

Filmed by producer Omar Acosta of Stretch and Bobbito fame, the recently released video for “Deborah” features footage of the band performing “Deborah” and other songs during sets in Oakland, CA and Los Angeles CA.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Initially formed in 2013 to primarily play “what they wanted to hear” the Philadelphia, PA-based heavy psych act Ecstatic Vision, currently comprised of Doug Sabolik, Michael Field Connor, Jordan Crouse, and Kevin Nickles, quickly developed both a regional and national reputation for a sound that draws from a wild variety of influences including Krautrock, Fela Kuti, Sun Ra, Hawkwind,  Aphrodite’s Child, Olatunji, Can, and early Amon Duul ll, primal, psychedelic, freak out live sets and the release of one of 2015 debut Sonic Praise, one of that year’s best rock albums — and arguably one of that year’s best albums, period. Adding to a growing profile, after the release of Sonic Praise, the band toured with an impressive array of internationally renowned acts including Enslaved, YOB and Uncle Acid and The Dead Beats, as well as shows with Earthless, Red Fang, Acid King and others. This was followed by a lengthy European tour, which included dates with Bang and Pentagram, as well as a set at the Roadburn Festival.

Now, it’s been some time since I’ve written about the Philadelphia-based hard psych band; however, the band’s much-anticipated sophomore, follow-up effort, Raw Rock Fury is lated for an April 7, 2017 release through Relapse Records and as the band explains “With Raw Rock Fury, we set up to make an album that would remind listeners  of what an unpolished, dangerous rock recording should sound like.” The album’s first single, album opening track “You Got It (Or You Don’t)” as the band describes it is a “searing mash-up of the driving rhythms of Sly and the Family Stone mixed with the sound of Hawkwind playing Funhouse-era Troglodyte Rock.” Or simply put, it’s a song that that channels The MC5, Hawkwind and The Stooges with a scorching, raw, and noisily primal, frenetic feel while evoking a much-needed sense of unpredictability and danger that most contemporary rock sorely lacks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

April 7th, 2017 will see the worldwide release of Raw Rock Fury via Relapse Records on CD/LP/Digital. Physical pre-order and bundles are available via Relapse HERE and digital downloads can be pre-ordered by Bandcamp HERE.

 

Raw Rock Fury exhibits the band locking in on primordial, troglodyte Detroit rock grooves, krautian motorik sounds that recall the obscure one-time collaboration between NEU and the MC5, grimy harmonica flourishes that evoke Beefheart at his most savage, and the Hawkwindian, primal world heavy psych their debut expertly showcased. All of this is captured on four songs and 35+ minutes of the dirtiest sounding recordings since Kick Out The Jams. Do you miss the days when rock recordings were dangerous? If so, you must crave Raw Rock Fury.

After touring extensively with the likes of YOB, Uncle Acid and the deadbeats and others, ECSTATIC VISION head out again with Creepoid. The leg includes SXSW, Chicago, Denver and more before traveling to Europe for an appearance at Desertfest.  All dates available below

 

ECSTATIC VISION Live Dates:

 

Mar 16-18: Austin, TX – SXSW

Mar 20: Oklahoma City, OK – 89th Street Collective #

Mar 21: Wichita, KS – Kirby’s Beer Store #

Mar 22: Fort Collins, CO – Surfside #

Mar 23: Denver, CO – Hi-Dive #

Mar 24: Salt Lake City, UT – Diabolical Records #

Mar 25-26: Boise, ID – Treefort Music Fest #

Mar 28: Omaha, NE – O’Leavers #

Mar 29: Chicago, IL – Subterranean #

Mar 30: Cleveland, OH – Now That’s Class #

 

# – w/ Creepoid 

 

Europe

Apr 21: Roma, IT – HPS Night

Apr 22: Parma, IT – Titty Twister

Apr 24: Trieste, IT – Tertis

Apr 25: Salzburg, AT – Rockhouse

Apr 26: Bologna, IT – Alchemica Club

Apr 27: Olten, CH – Le Coq D’Or

Apr 28: Liege, BE – Garage

Apr 29: Nijmegen, NL – Doornroosje

Apr 30: Berlin, DE – Desertfest

May 02: Koln, DE – Limes

May 03: Paris, FR – Glazart

May 04: Lille, FR – Biplan

May 05: Rennes, FR – Mondo Bizarro

May 06: Clermont Ferrand, FR – Raymond Bar

May 09: Sevilla, ES – Sala X

May 10: Louele, PT – Bafo Baraco

May 11: Cascais, PT – Stairway Club

May 12: Madrid, ES – Wulrlitzer Ballroom

May 13: San Sebastian, ES – DABADABA

May 14: Bordeaux, FR – VOID

May 16: Lucerne, CH – Treibhaus Luzern

May 17: Bolzano, IT – Sudwerk

May 18: Zagreb, HR – Vintage Bar

May 19: Ravenna,  IT – Bronson

May 20: Milano,  IT – BLOOD

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Gorgeous and Brooding Visuals for BETS Shoegazer Rework of The Violent Femmes’ “Blister in the Sun”

If you’ve been frequenting this site over the last two months or so, you’d recall that the Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter BETS came to attention last year with the release of her critical applauded debut, Days Hours Night. Building upon the buzz of her debut, the Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter and her producer were set to write and record new, original material when the duo discovered that they shared a mutual love of Violent Femmes 1983 self-titled breakout debut effort. Reportedly, within a few minutes, BETS and her producer decided to put the sophomore effort of original material on hold to work on a Violent Femmes cover album in which she reimagines the familiar and beloved material.

In fact, as you’ll hear on BETS’ slow-burning, shoegazer rework of “Blister in the Sun” guitars are fed through layers of distortion, fuzz and feedback paired with gentle drumming and BETS’ dreamily distracted vocals, while pulling apart the song’s melody and chorus to the point of it being dimly recognizable and giving her version an ethereal moodiness.

Directed by Valerie Sute, the recently released video for BETS’ gauzy and dreamy rendition of “Blister in the Sun” begins with some glorious footage of New York City before following a young woman wandering through the desert brush — both by car and by foot with a brooding moodiness.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Surreal and Darkly Psychedelic Visuals for Thee Oh Sees’ “Gelatinous Cube”

If you’ve been frequenting this site over its nearly 7 year history, you’d likely be familiar with JOVM mainstays Thee Oh Sees. Led by Castle Face Records co-founder, and the band’s founder and creative mastermind, John Dwyer, the Bay Area-based garage rock/psych rock band has a long-held reputation for being incredibly prolific and last year further cemented that, as the band released two more albums — a live album, Live in San Francisco recorded over three nights at The Chapel and the second album, Weird Exit being the first entry of a planned series of albums.

One of the first singles off both Live in San Francisco and Weird Exit was “Gelatinous Cube,” a single that in prototypical Thee Oh Sees fashion managed to be a towering, buzzing barnburner of a song, complete with layers of scorching guitar pyrotechnics, a throbbing and propulsive rhythm section, Dywer’s growling falsetto and a primal, guttural fury — all while possessing an unusual song structure and an almost surf rock-like hook that reminded me a bit of The Blind Shake.

The recently released animated video features some disturbing and wildly psychedelic imagery that for most of the song’s length could very well be a warning n the evil’s of exploitative capitalism until the video’s protagonist becomes one with the song’s gelatinous cube — and by then, the video becomes even more surreal than the first few minutes.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Currently comprised of co-founding members Huw Edwards (lead vocals, guitar) and Jacob Price (synths and samplers), along with Seb Knee-Wright (guitar), Dan Comlay (bass) and Tom Higham (drums), the Leeds-based indie rock quintet KOYO‘s sound draws from several varied sources — including 90s grunge and alt rock, Edwards’ and Price’s parents’ classic rock and prog rock-heavy record collections. Although recently the band has started to incorporate a variety of electronica and post-rock such as Floating Points, JOVM mainstays Mogwai and Brian Eno‘s influential ambient soundtracks, and as a result the band expanded to a quintet to fully flesh out their sound to incorporate their expanding influences and sonic palette. Naturally, the band’s forthcoming full-length debut is slated for release later this year will reportedly mesh psych rock, prog rock and ambient electronic in a way that will remind listeners of Tame Impala, Pink Floyd, Yes and Radiohead — but with a decidedly modern turn, as you’ll hear on the atmospheric, moody and slow-burning “Tetrochromat,” the album title track off the band’s forthcoming debut, Tetrochromat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Currently comprised of Sheila Bosco (drums), Brian Lucas (bass), Kelly Ann Nelson (vocals, wooden flute), Jeffrey Alexander (guitar, wooden sax), Arjun Mendiratta (violin), Laura Naukkarinen (vocals) and Michael Whitaker (flute, sax), the San Francisco, CA/Oakland, CA-based septet Dire Wolves have developed a reputation for crating deeply hypnotic folk-leaning indie rock — and for being incredibly prolific, as they’ve released 12 full-length albums since their formation 2008.

The Bay Area-based band’s forthcoming, 13th release Excursions to Cloudland will reportedly further cement the band’s reputation for crafting hypotonic, trance-inducing music — but on the album’s second and latest single, the expansive and slow-burning “Cerebration Day,” the single while slowly building up steam, manages to evoke the sensation of spinning without getting too dizzy; it also simultaneously manages to be ethereal yet grounded within the earthly realm, celebratory but with a bit of menace just under the surface.

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Nathan Lithow (vocals, bass), known as a touring and recording bassist for My Brightest Diamond, Inlets, and Gabriel and the Hounds; and Garth Macaleavey (drums), a former Inlets touring percussionist and head sound engineer at Williamsburg, Brooklyn’s newest and intimate National Sawdust, the Brooklyn-based post-punk duo NØMADS incubated and forged a sound and songwriting process that owes a debt to Nirvana, Fugazi and Girls Against Boys — while subtly updating it in a way that reminds me of Zack De La Rocha’s post-Rage Against the Machine project, One Day As A Lion and Japandroids.

The duo received some attention with the release of their 2014 full-length debut, Free My Animal, an effort that reportedly drew from Death From Above 1979 and Queens of the Stone Age. After a year hiatus from touring and recording, the Brooklyn-based duo have re-emerged with new material off their newest effort, PHOBIAC, a conceptual collection of 12 songs, based on a different phobia — all approached in a very abstract, almost clinical fashion, capturing the inner thoughts of someone in the grips of their own fears. But just underneath the frantic, paranoid and irrational surface is a rather cautionary and rational message — that when we succumb to irrational fears, chaos will ultimately be the end of result. And with the current sociopolitical climate, the Brooklyn-based duo’s newest material is incredibly fitting and necessary, especially in light of the fact that there are large groups of people, who are currently ruled by their fears of “the other,” to the point of actually endangering everyone.

Each song off the album will be released every month over the next year, with the full album being released in 2018. The album’s latest single “Achluphobia” focuses on a fear of darkness, and throughout you can feel the narrator’s palpable and overwhelmingly primal dread and fear as darkness begins to envelope everything around him  — and it’s further emphasized by angular and forceful bass chords, thundering and propulsive drumming and Lithgow’s growled vocals. But the subliminal message of the song is that fear turns something that’s perfectly natural and normal into something horrible and dangerous.

 

 

–

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Currently comprised of founding members and primary songwriters Slowdive‘s Christian Savil  (guitar, bass, keys, and vocals), Sean Hewson (guitar, bass, keys, and vocals), along with Air Formation’s James Harrison (drums) and Slowdive’s Nick Chaplin (bass),  shoegazer act Monster Movie can trace their origins to Savil and Hewson playing in number of bands together going back to the late 80s — including a band called Eternal, which released the “Breathe” single on Sarah Records that featured dreamy, fuzzy guitars and soaring pop melodies that Savil gradually began to become known for. Shortly after the release of “Breathe,”Savil left Eternal to join renowned and influential shoegazer act Slowdive. About a decade later, Savil and Hewson started Monster Movie initially as an attempt to write and record something more Krautrock-leaning; however, their first EP only managed to possessed a few seconds of Krautrock while being primarily shoegazer rock.

During the period of 2002-2010, Savil and Hewson released four full-length albums, a mini album and a few EPs mostly through Graveface Records. Unsurprisingly,  the band had been on a bit of a hiatus as Savil and Hewson had been involved with Slowdive’s highly-anticipated reunion and subsequent touring; however Savil and Hewson’s involvement in Slowdive was instrumental in helping the band’s primary songwriters and founding members realize that they needed to move from being a purely studio project, to become a proper band.

Produced by Graveface Records’ founder and head Ryan Graveface and recorded with Martin Nichols at Weston-super-Mare, the band’s fifth album Keep The Voices Distant is slated for a March 31, 2017 release through Graveface Records — and while marking the first release in over 5 years; however, as you’ll hear on Keep The Voices Distant‘s first single “Shouldn’t Stay From The Shadows,” the single will further cement the band’s reputation for crafting material with soaring and anthemic hooks paired with fuzzy shoegazer and Brit Pop power chords, thundering drumming and a subtly pop power leaning sensibility.