Category: indie rock

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of brothers Martin (vocals, guitar) and Mads Rehof (bass), along with high school friends Jacob van Deurs Formann (guitar) and Frederik Lind Köppen (drums), the Copenhagen, Denmark-based quartet Communions can trace their origins to when the Rehof Brothers returned to their native Copenhagen after spending several years in Seattle. The Danish quartet initially received attention across the blogosphere, including the site where they’ve become mainstays, for crafting shimmering and plaintive guitar pop songs that sonically owed a debt to The Smiths; however, instead of the material possessing Morrissey’s bitterly ironic lyrics, the Danish quartet’s material possesses a swooning Romanticism — the sort evoke the urgency of first love.

The Copenhagen-based quartet’s much-anticipated full-length debut Blue is slated for a February 3, 2017 release through renowned indie label, Fat Possum Records and from the album’s latest single “It’s Like Air” reveals a band whose songwriting and sound has evolved, while retaining many of the elements that first won the band attention across the blogosphere as the band pairs the swaggering, enormous power chord and anthemic hook sound of 90s Brit Pop — i.e., The Verve, Blur, Oasis and others — with swooning and urgently Romantic lyrics. And although the song will further cement their reputation for writing material that evokes the fervent passions and confusion of youth, the heart and soul of the song, as well as the entire album is about the fact that both life and love are ultimately about taking a leap of faith, even when you may be scared out of your mind about the end result.

 

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Now if you had been frequenting this site towards the end of last year, you might remember that I wrote about the Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter BETS, who quickly came to attention with the release of her critically applauded debut effort Days Hours Night. In the blogosphere age, artists have to strike quickly and while the iron is hot — and building upon the buzz she had received, the Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter and producer initially planned to write and record new, original material when the two collaborators discovered that they shared a mutual fondness of Violent Femmes‘ 1983 self-titled, breakthrough debut. And reportedly, within a few minutes, BETS along with her producer decided that the album of original material should be put on hold for a bit, to allow them some time to write and record an her soon-to-be released Violent Femmes tribute album, in which she re-imagined and reworked the original material into haunting and dreamy shoegaze.

BETS’ Violent Femmes album’s first single was a slow-burning rework of “Blister in the Sun“in which guitars were fed through layers of distortion, fuzz and feedback paired with gently padded drumming and BETS’ dreamily distracted vocals to craft a version of the song that slowly pulls apart the song’s familiar melody and chorus in a way that’s both ethereal and moody.  The album’s latest single is a radically different rendition of “Gone Daddy Gone”/”I Just Want to Make Love to You” that nods at David Lynch and 60s bubblegum pop as twinkling percussion, shuffling drumming and dramatic bursts of guitar are paired with BETS’ coquettish and bratty vocals. Whereas the original possessed a neurotic and urgent need, BETS’ rendition sounds how I would imagine someone like Nancy Sinatra doing it — swinging and sensual as hell.

Uncategorized by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Crocodiles Return with Decidedly Lo-Fi Yet Revealing Visuals for “Not Even In Your Dreams”

JOVM mainstay artists Crocodiles, comprised of primary members and best friends Brandon Welchez and Charles Rowell have an established reputation for scuzzy, swaggering, garage rock with a decidedly pop leaning sensibility throughout the course their five previously released and critically praised full-length albums. However, the band’s latest effort Dreamless found Welchez and Rowell going through a decided change in sonic direction and songwriting approach. The album’s first single “Telepathic Lover,” possesses a stripped down and atmospheric feel, as the band moved more towards piano and synth being primary instrumentation with guitars and pedal effects moved to the background, giving the material a spectral and uneasy feel — and yet, they managed to retain their shuffling pop sensibility and swaggering badassery.

“We’ve always been a guitar band and I think we just wanted to challenge ourselves and our aesthetic,” Crocodiles’ Brandon Welchez explained in press notes. “It didn’t start as a conscious decision but within the first week Charlie’s mantra became ‘fuck guitars.’ Only one song has zero guitar but in general we tried to find alternatives to fill that space.” And much like its its predecessor, Boys, the band’s latest effort was recorded in the band’s adopted hometown Mexico City and was recorded and produced with friend, occasional bandmate and producer Martin Thulin, who’s also known for collaborating with Anika in her new project Exploded View. As the story goes, during the recording recording sessions Welchez, Rowell and Thulin shared instrumental duties with Welchez and Rowell handling most of the guitar and bass work, Thulin handling piano and synths and Thulin and Welchez splitting the live drum work.

Thematically speaking, the material on the album may arguably be the duo’s most personal, most bitter and fucked up work they’ve released to date — with the album’s title managing to work on both a deeply literal and metaphorical level. As the band’s primary lyricist explained in press notes ““I suffered insomnia throughout the whole session. I was literally dreamless. The past two years had been fraught with difficulty for us – relationship troubles, career woes, financial catastrophe, health issues. In that pessimistic mindset it was easy to feel as if the dream was over.” Dreamless’ latest single “Not Even In Your Dreams” is a jangling bubblegum pop-leaning bit of indie rock in which twinkling piano chords, strummed guitar and a propulsive rhythm section are paired with Welchez’s ironic, deadpan vocals singing lyrics describing the frayed nerves and boredom of the insomniac, whose inability to sleep will further fuel his inability to sleep, leaving his narrator with his running self-flaggelating thoughts of how his life and his career have been a momentous and laughable failure. And in some way it captures both the ghosts the linger in your life and the endless battle against your own crushing self-doubts.

The recently released music video will further cement the band’s reputation for pairing their sound with decidedly lo-fi, grainy videos, and in this case the video is comprised of brief footage of the band performing and goofing off both before and after shows and old movies — and despite its purposely shitty quality, it’s a revealing look into the band, their individual personalities and in a small way, the life of an indie musician.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Lyric Video: The Moody and Anthemic Post Pop Sound of London’s Keroscene

With the release of “I Can’t Do A Thing,” and several other singles, the London-based post-punk/indie rock quartet Keroscene — comprised of David Troster, Edd Wilding, Francesco Bond, and Jake Sorbie — received praise from the likes of Q Magazine and have had material land on Spotify’s Hot New Bands and Fresh Finds: Six Strings playlists for an ethereal yet brooding sound that draws from post-punk, shoegaze and Brit Pop; however, the quartet’s latest single “Feel Like The First Time” possesses a much darker, moodier feel as the song beings with tribal drumming-based slow-burning, lurching and atmospheric dirge, layers of slashing and shimmering guitar chords before picking up the pace with four-on-the-floor drumming for the song’s anthemic and soaring hook. And it’s all held together by a propulsive groove.

As the members of the band explain in press notes “With all our modern distractions and the need to be constantly connected, people have grown uncomfortable with being by themselves, alone in silence. We may all belong to our society and feel the need to connect with others but ultimately, you will leave just as you came in; by yourself.” And as a result, the song suggests a couple of things — that loneliness is a part of human life; and that accepting it and being content with it is critical to achieving true understanding and contentedness. Interestingly, the recently released lyric video is carefully and deliberately opaque, suggesting our smallness, loneliness and vulnerability in the face of a cruel and indifferent universe.

New Audio by William Ruben Helms

Featuring primary and founding members Ryan Needham and Liza Violet, along with a rotating cast of friends, collaborators and others, the Leeds, UK-based indie rock band Menace Beach received both national and international attention with the release of their full-length debut Ratworld and its follow-up Super Transporterreum EP — both of which were praised for an off-kilter, buzzing and fucked up take on 90s rock. The band’s forthcoming sophomore effort Lemon Memory was written in  Ibiza and recorded in Sheffield, UK with Russ Orton, who’s worked with M.I.A., Arctic Monkeys and The Fall and the album was reportedly written as a way to lift a citrus-based curse that the band’s primary duo believe was placed on their house — yes, the band does believe this — as well as a way for them to forge their own sound and identity.

Now as you may remember last month, I had written about Lemon Memory‘s first single “Give Blood,” an anthemic, scuzzy power chord and thundering drum-based single in which Needham and Violet sing about death in an ironically detached tone — while nodding at Blur and psych rock. The album’s second and latest single “Suck It Out” maintains the anthemic hooks the band is known for, while being the most psych rock-leaning song the band has released to date as twisting and turning guitar chords, played through gentle amounts of reverb, thundering drumming and a propulsive bass line are paired with Needham’s vocals singing with a bratty and nasal snarl.

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Dan Matthews (vocals, guitar), Neil Hayes (guitar, vocals), Gary Moses (bass, vocals) and Cory King (drums, vocals), the Asbury Park, NJ-based indie rock quartet The Black Clouds have developed a reputation for a DIY approach to an increasingly busy touring schedule, for self-recording and self-producing their first two albums, and attention-grabbing collaborations with Jack Endino, who has produced, mixed and recorded some of Seattle‘s most beloved and renowned bands and Mudhoney‘s Mark Arm. And over the past 18 months or so, the New Jersey-based quartet have added themselves to this site’s growing list of mainstay artists — thanks to when I caught them open for Mudhoney at the Bell House some time ago and the release of “Photograph” and “Vice” the first two singles off the band’s third album, After All. 

Just in time for the album’s official release today, the members of The Black Clouds released After All‘s third and latest single “Self Control,” will further cement the band’s reputation for crating  120 Minutes-era MTV/90s-inspired indie rock, complete with enormous, arena-rock friendly hooks and a radio-friendly vibe; but thanks to an uncanny sense of melody within the song, After All‘s latest single may arguably be the most Foo Fighters-leaning song on the album.

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Currently comprised of husband and wife and founding duo of Cristina Martinez (vocals) and Jon Spencer (guitar, vocals), equally known for his two other bands Pussy Galore and the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion; along with Jens Jurgensen (bass), who had a stint in renowned punk/metal band The Giraffes; Hollis Queens (drums, vocals) and Mickey Finn (keys), Boss Hog formed back in 1989 as a sort of accidental side project, when the band’s founding duo of Spencer and Martinez were told of a last minute vacancy on the bill at CBGB’s. Spencer and Martinez reached out to friends and collaborators and quickly put together a band featuring members of The Honeymoon Killers and Unsane, along with Spencer’s Pussy Galore bandmate Kurt Wolf. That first gig together was reportedly an underground sensation — partially because Spencer played the entire set completely naked. And although the band has gone through a series of lineup changes, over their 28 year run, the band have developed a reputation for releasing disturbing and sexually incendiary material through some incredibly renowned record labels — including Amphetamine Reptile Records, In The Red Records, and DGC/Geffen.

BROOD X is Boss Hog’s first full-length album in almost 20 years, and from the album’s first single “17,” the material on the album is a wild and heady mix of dusty, shuffling, sleazy, whiskey-soaked blues, snarling punk rock attitude, noisy no-wave-inspired art rock, shoegazer rock and seductive baroque-inspired pop to create a sound that not just uncompromisingly defies genre conventions while expressing the bilious and strange mix of hopelessness, fear, uncertainty, fury, bitterness and the uneasy, desperate longing to make sense of an absurd, dangerous, new world run by an ignorant maniac. Part existential howl into an indifferent void and part a clattering yet sensual and subversive call to have art be your solace in desperate times, the song may arguably be a call to get out there and resist through one of the most human ways we can — through art.

 

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Knol Tate (vocals, guitar), known as a member of Askeleton and Killsadie; Travis Collins (bass, vocals), known as a member of Spirit of 76 and We Are The Willows; Josh McKay (drum, percussion), known as a member of Farewell Continental, Small Towns Burn A Little Slower; and Jordan Morantez (guitar), known as a member of Blue Green and The King and The Thief, the Minneapolis, MN-based punk rock/post-punk quartet Deleter initially formed in 2012 as a side project for all of its members to deal with pent up musical and personal frustrations in which they would create not by over-thinking or over-producing their material and focusing on the immediacy of their first thoughts, as well as concerning themselves with playing by their instincts. After a series of self-released singles, which further developed their sound and approach throughout 2013 and the subsequent release of several EPs, the Minneapolis-based post-punk quartet released their full-length debut Oblique Seasons late in 2015.

The band’s soon to be released effort Meaningless Chants is slated for a January 21 release by Land Ski Records and the soon-to-be-released effort reportedly will be a gentle refinement of their sound — while retaining the thoughtfulness and conciseness of their previous releases, Meaningless Chants’ material may arguably be some of their manic, most outright political effort they’ve released to date. And considering the very urgency of the political moment, it seems fitting that artists are beginning to comment on our new absurd normal. Interestingly, the tense and anxious single “Start to Watch” sounds as though it owes a debt to both R.E.M., Gang of Four and Mission of Burma; but with a paranoid sense of something being terribly and irrevocably wrong, and an infectiously anthemic hook.

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

With the release of the We’re Set EP, which featured standout singles “Wild” and “Surfer Girl,” the San Francisco, CA-based indie rock/garage rock quartet The Band Ice Cream, comprised of Kevin Fielding (vocals, guitar), Joe Sample (vocals guitar), Bryce Fernandez (bass) and Louie Rappoport (drums), quickly developed a national reputation for a fuzzy, scuzzy alt rock-leaning sound that draws from Nirvana, The Strokes, The White Stripes, The Orwells, Pavement and Link Wray — and for opening for the likes of Hinds, Night Beats, Adult Books, SWMRS, The Aquadolls and others. Adding to a growing profile, the band’s last EP caught the attention of legendary producer and sound engineer Bruce Botnick, who’s best known for his work with The Doors and The Beach Boys, and along with San Francisco underground rock legend Mike Carnahan worked with the band on their forthcoming full-length debut Classical Trained, slated for a March 10, 2017.

Classically Trained‘s latest single “Seventeen” manages to evoke the awkwardness and uncertainty of being a stupid teenage kid while looking back at it with a wistful nostalgia over that period’s seeming simplicity and deep friendships– and without as many devastating mistakes, poor choices, unending complications and uneasy compromises. And while the band has developed reputation for scuzzy garage rock, the band’s latest single manages to be clearly indebted to power pop, thanks to anthemic hooks and some guitar pyrotechnics; but in an expansive, and meandering song structure that possesses both a muscular insistence and a mischievous and ironic wit.

 

 

 

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Renowned Riot Grrrl Act Sleater-Kinney to Release a Blistering, Live Album from Paris

Currently comprised of founding members Corin Tucker (vocals, guitar), Carrie Brownstein (guitar, vocals) and Janet Weiss (drums), the Olympia, WA-based indie rock trio Sleater-Kinney was initially formed as a side project from its founding members then-primary projects — Tucker was a member of renowned and influential riot grrl act Heavens to Betsy while Brownstein was a member of Excuse 17. And when Tucker and Brownstein’s primary projects broke up, Sleater-Kinney quickly became its founding duo’s new focus. And through the release of their first seven full-length efforts, 1995’s self-titled debut, 1996’s Call the Doctor, 1997’s Dig Me Out, 1999’s The Hot Rock, 2000’s Hands on the Bad One, 2002’s One Beat and 2005’s The Woods the band developed a reputation for material based around feminist and left-leaning politics — and for being among one of the more influential and beloved acts of their era. Interestingly enough, I can still remember at least reading at least one music journalist, who wrote an article expressing her devastation upon hearing about Sleater -Kinney’s largely unexpected split up back in 2006.

And upon Sleater-Kinney’s breakup, the members of the trio went on to pursue a number of creative pursuits. Weiss, who is also a member of Quasi, joined her bandmate Joanna Bolme for a stint in Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, recording two albums with the band 2008’s Emotional Trash and 2011’s Mirror Traffic. Tucker wrote and released two solo albums, 2010’s 1,000 Years and 2012’s Kill My Blues, which featured Unwound’s Sara Lund and Golden Bears’ and Circus Lupus’ Seth Lorinczi as her backing band. Brownstein formed Wild Flag, which featured her Sleater-Kinney bandmate Weiss along with The Minders’ Mary Timony and Rebecca Cole, a project that released a critically applauded debut effort before splitting up in 2014. And adding to a busy and prolific period of creativity for each of the band’s members, Brownstein along with co-creator and co-star Fred Armisen created the critically applauded IFC series Portlandia, which will start its seventh season on Thursday.

In October 2014, Tucker, Brownstein and Weiss announced that they had reconvened after several years pursuing a variety of projects to write and record their most recent studio album, 2015’s No Cities to Love, which was released to great fanfare and then followed by a tour across North America and Western Europe. Along with the release of the Start Together box set, the Pacific Northwest-based trio confidently reminded critics, fans and others of their importance, relevance and influence on a a number of contemporary band and artists.

Speaking of 2015’s North American and Western European tour, Sub Pop Records will be releasing a live album, Live in Paris on January 27, 2017 and the album consists of a live set recorded at La Cigale on March 20, 2015 — and the first single from the live album is a blistering, furious and incredibly passionate rendition of “Surface Envy,” which is accompanied by live footage lovingly shot by fans over the years. And from the live footage one thing is obvious, these ladies take names and kick serious ass.

New Audio by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of founding members Marvin Nygaard (bass) and Vidar Landa (guitar), along with Børild Haughom (vocals) and Espen Kvaløy (drums), the Oslo and Stavanger, Norway-based indie rock quartet Beachheads can trace their origins to when its founding members Nygaard and Landa were members of renowned heavy rock Norwegian band Kverlertak. As the story goes, Beachheads’ founding duo had dreamt of playing anthemic power pop based around fuzzy guitars and a strong sense of melody, along the lines of Husker Du, Teenage Fanclub and others; however, because of their primary project’s busy touring schedule, Beachheads endured as a dream reserved for their limited free time — and not their ideal situation.

Nygaard and Landa recruited the Stavanger, Norway-based duo of Espen Kvaløy, a local metal drummer and  Børild Haughom, a locally-based synth pop singer to record three tracks, which were playlisted by Norwegian and British national radio, much to the surprise of the band, who didn’t have immediate plans for the project, besides maybe recording an album sometime in the future; however, the members of the band discovered that Haughom had a drawer full of lyrics based around his own personal experiences, including the death of his father. And building upon the growing buzz that the Norwegian quartet had been receiving, they went into the studio to record the material, which would comprise their highly-awaited, self-titled, full-length debut, slated for a February 3, 2017 release.

 

“Your Highness,” the Norwegian quartet’s third and latest single off the album is a ragged and anthemic single in which Haughom’s plaintive and achingly earnest vocals are paired with jangling and fuzzy power chords and propulsive drumming — and while drawing from 80s power pop and 90s alt rock, the song lyrically focuses on a relationship that’s somewhat unrequited and full of highly charged, yet unfulfilling emotional games that has the song’s narrator spinning.

 

 

 

New Audio by William Ruben Helms

With the 2015 release of their excellent, sophomore effort Manual, the Brazilian psych rock quartet Boogarins received attention internationally and the band quickly became a JOVM mainstay artist for a decidedly Brazilian take on psych rock as their work has drawn from their country’s incredibly rich and diverse musical and cultural history — with lyrics completely written and sung in Brazilian Portuguese, making them among the forefront of an burgeoning Brazilian rock renaissance.

During a busy run of international touring, the Latin Grammy-nominated act holed up in house near Austin, TX‘s SPACE Studios for most of the summer, and they spent their time writing and recording new material in between a several weeks- long Austin club residency, which included the recently released  “Elogio a Instituição do Cinismo,” a single that’s a decided sonic departure as the band incorporated thumping beats and backbeats, swirling electronics and abrasive and buzzing guitars to create a malevolently brewing storm of sound that evoked both a fucked up hallucination and a rowdy, dance-floor friendly stomp.

The band’s latest single was quietly released the hallucinatory, Beatles “Revolution # 9” meets Middle Eastern and classical Indian music-like single “Olhos” as a special Christmas gift to their friends and fans, adding to a big Christmas Day 2016 bounty that included Run The Jewels‘ third album, Run The Jewels 3.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Gorgeously Eerie Visuals for The History of Colour TV’s “Wreck”

Led by its founding member, British artist Jaike Stambach, and currently featuring bandmembers Markus Mocydlarz and Janek Sprachta, the Berlin, Germany-based indie rock trio The History of Colour TV was initially conceived as a solo, experimental multimedia project. With the release of two full-length albums and several EPs released through Bruit Blanc Records and renowned shoegazer label Saint Marie Records, the members of the Berlin-based have developed a reputation for restless expansion and experimentation with their sound as their recorded output has consisted of noise rock, sound collages, shimmering deram pop and recently more straightforward rock — and for extensive touring and live shows across both Berlin and Continental Europe.

As the story goes, earlier this year the trio of Stambach, Mocydlarz and Sprachta set off to Black Box Recording Studio to write and record the material which would eventually comprise their third, full-length effort Something Like Eternity with Peter Deimel, who’s best known for this work with The Wedding Present, Shellac and The Ex. And as you’ll hear on the album’s latest single “Wreck,” the band wanted to focus on a raw, live-like sound; in fact, the band recorded the song with minimal overdubs and as a result, it feels like an accurate representation of their live sound while evoking 90s alt rock — in particular, the song reminds me of Pablo Honey and The Bends-era Radiohead as the band pairs a shimmering yet slightly ragged arpeggio guitar chord-led melody, propulsive and stormy drumming and Stambach’s plaintive vocals signing lyrics recounting the story of a group friendship/group dynamic tarnished by disaffection and apathy.

As the band explained in press notes as a member of the group, the narrator describes feelings of confusion, helplessness and hurt over the members of the group’s inability to figure out a way to positively change the situation. At one point, the song’s narrator implies that the friends wind up in a car crash — leaving the narrator to contemplate both the randomness and the aftermath of an event that nullified any possibility of reconciliation. And as a result, the song possesses a bitter and unresolved sense of confusion, ache and resignation.

The recently released music video while shot in a gorgeous and cinematic black and white begins to slowly reveal a car that’s been totaled in an accident, complete with the effects of several people haphazardly left behind, which gives the video a spectral and eerie vibe.