Category: indie rock

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Currently comprised of founding member Brazilian-born and now Los Angeles, CA-based Samira Winter (vocals), Matt Hogan (guitar), Justine Brown (bass), and Garren Orr (drums), indie dream pop/shoegaze act Winter can trace their origins to when Winter along with the band’s co-founder Nolan Ely started the band in Boston. After the release of their 2012 debut effort Daydreaming EP, Winter relocated to Los Angeles where she recruited the band’s current lineup to flesh out the project’s sound.

As a newly formed  quartet, the members of the band went into the studio to write and record their full-length debut Supreme Blue Dream, which Lolipop Records released last year. With material written and sung in both English and Brazilian Portuguese, the album thematically was designed to connect the listener to their inner child while writing shimmering and ethereal pop that interestingly enough sounds as though it could have been released by 4AD Records.

The band is working on their forthcoming sophomore effort Ethereality while making a number of tour dates, which you can check out below. But interestingly enough, the Los Angeles dream pop act’s latest single “Dreaming” was originally written in 2013 and was presumed lost when the band’s laptop was stolen on tour. However, the members of the band recovered a version of a song found on a backup hard drive — and the single will further cement the band’s growing reputation for crafting shimmering and ethereal pop in which Winter’s ethereal melodies are paired with shimmering guitar chords played through reverb pedal, a sinuous bass line and propulsive drumming. Sonically, the song evokes being woken from a pleasant and revelatory reverie.

Check out the aforementioned tour dates below.

Tour Dates:

October 18 Los Angeles, CA – Bootleg Theater *
October 21 San Francisco, CA – Slims #
November 5 San Diego, CA – Blonde Bar ~
November 6 Fullerton, CA – Continental Room ~

* = w/ Ducktails, Ablebody (Record Release), Wyatt Blair
# = w/ Picture Atlantic
~ = w/ So Many Wizards

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Now, as I’ve mentioned last month, if you’ve been frequenting this site at any point throughout its six year history, you’ve likely come across a handful of posts about Brooklyn-based music and art collective Dead Leaf Echo. And over that period of time, the members of the collective have seen a growing national and international profile as they’ve played some of the country’s largest festivals, have opened for the likes of  The Wedding Present, A Place to Bury Strangers, . . . And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, The Psychedelic Furs, Chapterhouse, Ulrich Schnauss, Weekend, Lorelei, The Ocean Blue, The Warlocks, Beach Fossils, and The Telescopes, as well as made appears on KEXP‘s John in the Morning and on Nic Harcourt’s KCSN show.

Since the 2013 release of the band’s 4AD Records-inspired full-length debut effort Thought and Language and its follow up true.deep.sleeper EP, the members of the band have been working on their much-anticipated sophomore, full-length effort but in the meantime, they’re releasing a cassette tape edition of the “Lemonheart” 7 inch through Wiener Records on November 4, 2016, as the two original vinyl pressings are completely sold out. And as I mentioned about that single, it will further cement the band’s reputation for crafting lush, shimmering shoegaze/dream pop in the vein of RIDE, Swervedriver and Slowdive.

“I Will Do (anything)” the band’s latest single consists of ethereal boy and girl harmonizing, their trademark lush and gorgeously shimmering guitar work, propulsive four-on-the-floor-based drumming, a sinuous bass line and a rousing hook to craft a song that’s a swooning declaration of devotion that sounds as though it could have been released during 4AD Records heyday as much as it could easily be released today.

Dead Leaf Echo have embarked on a Fall/Winter tour to support the release of the “Lemonhead” 7 inch cassette tape edition and it includes a two Brooklyn dates. Check out the tour dates below.

Tour Dates 

10.15 – Austin, TX @ Cheer Up Charlie’s (Luscious Heaven: A Night of Shoegaze and Dream Pop)
10.29 – Brooklyn, NY @ ARKHAM: Brooklyn Gothic Party
11.06 – New York, NY @ Berlin (Release Party w/ Midnight Hollow, Big Band)
11.09 – Ft Wayne, IN @ The Brass Rail (w/ March On, Comrade)
11.10 – Chicago, IL @ The Empty Bottle (w/ Lightfoils, Ganser)
11.11 – Detroit, MI @ Echo Fest
11.12 – Kalamazoo, MI @ Louis Trophy Room (Kalamashoegazer Festival)
11.19 – Brooklyn, NY @ Pete’s Candy Store (w/ Solilians, Landing)
11.25 – Nashville. TN @ TBD
12.03 – Philadelphia, PA @ Ortleib’s

 

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Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Michael Ellis, Ryan Ellis, Lewis McGuinness, Lloyd Shearer, and Benjamin Robinson, the members of Liverpool-based shoegaze quintet The Vryll Society have quickly become JOVM favorites over the better part of the past year for crafting material that initially had been largely inspired by Funkadelic, Aphrodite’s Child, krautrock and classic shoegaze.

While “Coshh,” the second single off the band’s debut EP Pangea consisted of a tight, motorik-like groove, propulsive, four-on-the-floor drumming, shimmering guitar chords played through layers of reverb and other effects pedals, atmospheric electronics that helped evoke a cosmic sheen and an anthemic hook, Self-Realization,” Pangea‘s third  nodded at  The Verve, as the song structurally twisted, turned and bent at weird and unpredictable angles — with guitar work that also subtly nodded at Nick McCabe’s expansive and expressive sound. The Liverpool-based shoegazers followed those singles with “La Jette,” an ethereal and dreamy single that nodded at contemporary, 6os inspired shoegazers such as  Elephant Stone, Sleepy Sun, Cool Ghouls and others.

 

The band’s latest single “A Perfect Rhythm” manages to simultaneously be a refinement of their sound and a return to form (of sorts) as the band retains the shimmering guitar chords played through a bit of reverb and effects pedals, a tight, motorik-like groove, a rousingly anthemic hook with a complex, rolling drum pattern, plaintive, falsetto vocals and an expansive song structure fittingly held together by the rhythm section. Interestingly enough while the song reminds me quite a bit of A Storm in Heaven-era The Verve, the song also reminds me of A Perfect Circle as it it possesses a broodingly Romantic undercurrent.

 

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Smoke Season’s Sultry, Synth Pop Cover of Talking Heads’ “Psycho Killer”

Just in time for the Halloween season, the members of Smoke Season released a minimalist synth pop cover of one of my favorite Talking Heads songs “Psycho Killer” in which Wortman’s sultry vocals are paired with cascading layers of shimmering synths, glitchy and stuttering drum programming and wobbling low end. And while the Talking Heads version conveyed a tense and anxious neurosis, the Smoke Season version makes losing one’s mind and killing darkly sexy — much like the visuals for the song, which features Wortman and Rosen dressed in tuxedos with scenes of modern dancers, dancing to the song, footage of trees coming into and out of shadow and the like.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Introducing the Jangling and Anthemic Guitar Rock of French Singer/Songwriter Pamela Hute

Pamela Hute is a Paris-based singer/songwriter, who began her music career in earnest at a very young age — as a teen she formed The Mashed Potatoes before going solo in 2006. And as a solo artist, she’s released two albums, 2010’s Tales From Overseas and 2013’s Bandit, with Bandit being mixed by John Agnello, who has worked with the likes of The Kills, Sonic Youth and Cyndi Lauper. Interestingly both albums revealed that Hute specialized in jangling guitar pop and synth pop with rousingly anthemic hooks paired earnest lyrics as you’ll hear on The Breeders and 90s alt rock channeling “Banshees,” the second and latest single off her self-produced effort Today. But at its core, Today manages to reveal what may arguably be Hute’s most personal songwriting, influenced by a trip she took to California.

The recently released music video is shot in a gorgeous and cinematic black and white, and captures Hute with her backing band performing “Banshees” live at La Fourmi in Limoges, France.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Creepy, Grindhouse-Inspired Visuals for ExSage’s Anthemic “Tripwire”

Interestingly, the duo’s soon-to-be released EP Out of the Blue was produced by Alain Johannes, who has collaborated with Mark Lanegan, Them Crooked Vultures, Brody Dalle, and Queens of the Stone Age, and as you’ll hear on Out of the Blue’s first single “Tripwire,” the band sonically speaking sounds as though they were indebted to The Raveonettes and The Kills. In other words, enormous blazing power chords are paired with thunderous and propulsive drumming and harmonized vocals led by Clover’s pop star-like vocals, and a rousingly anthemic hook — all of which gives the song a larger than life swagger just underneath the song’s bluesy psychedelia.

The recently released video for the song is indebted to creepy, Grindhouse movies and includes a deranged doctor performing surgery without anesthesia, and his bandaged victims walking around like mummies before being driven around in the duo’s sweet Dodge Charger.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Introducing the Debaucherous Old School Rock Sounds and Visuals of NYC’s Cheena

Cheena is a New York based indie rock act, who specializes in a gritty and scuzzy old-school sound that draws from glam rock and punk paired with lyrics full of sleazy, rock ‘n’ roll mayhem and debauchery — or as the liner notes of a great EP by a now-defunct band once read these are “songs to fight and fuck for.” And with the release of their full-length debut, Spend the Night With . . . , the band has received both national and international attention for a sound that seems inspired by T. Rex, Thin Lizzy, Ziggy Stardust-era David Bowie and others, as you’ll hear on the anthemic, barn-burner “Stupor.” Frankly, just listening to this song reminds me of all the great dive bars I used to drink irresponsibly in — oh how, I miss them so!

Interestingly, as the band announced their first European tour, they also released the video for “Stupor,” a video that captures the members of the band, in tight jeans and leather, drinking beer, running around and shot on grainy VHS-style tape to give it that proper old-school, shitty feel

New Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Surreal Visuals for Teeth and Tongue’s “Turn Turn Turn”

Give Up On Your Health’s second and latest single “Turn Turn Turn” much like its predecessor is inspired by a painful breakup — and lyrically, the song is full of the bitter regret, uncertainty, self-deception and gradual acceptance that occurs in the aftermath of a breakup, while sonically speaking, the song draws from 80s New Wave, synth pop and the DFA Records roster. Or in other words, undulating and propulsive synths are paired with cowbell-led percussion, angular guitar chords in a sensual and slinky arrangement, along with an infectious, dance-floor friendly hook. And somehow, every time I’ve heard it I’m reminded of Stevie Nicks’ “Stand Back” and Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ “Heads Will Roll.”

The recently released video for the song turns the simple act of eating into something surreal, disgusting and detached and mechanical — and perhaps in some way, the video’s actors are deluding themselves into this being normal.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of founding  members Kos Island, Greece-born, Athens, Greece-based Angelos Krallis (vocals, guitar, lute, tsambouna, and udu), Evangelos Aslanides (drums, percussion, djembe, darbuka and bendir) and Pantelis Karasevdas (drums, percussion, congas, djembe) and a rotating cast of friends and collaborations, Chickn is a Athens, Greece-based indie act, whose work has largely been influenced by Eastern Mediterranean music, psych rock, prog rock and jazz fusion. And since their formation in 2012, the band has developed a reputation for free flowing improvisation and a constantly morphing lineup that fits their particular needs at the time.

The band’s self-titled debut was written over the course of 2014-2014 in Athens and Valencia and was recorded from July 2015 to October 2015 at Sonic Playground Studio and at Iraklis Vlachakis’ Athens home, where it was co-produced by Chickn and Nikos Triantafyllou before being mastered by Alan Douches at New York’s West Side Studios. And interestingly enough, the album’s first single “Aleppo/Jam” will remind some listeners of Animals-era Pink Floyd, Drakkar Nowhere, Rush and several others as a persistent bass line is paired with shimmering synths, swirling electronics, a buzzing guitar solo and an anthemic hook — all while drawing from jazz fusion, sci fi and psych rock in a trippy yet loose arrangement that manages to emphasize some exceptional musicianship.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Earlier this year, I wrote about the South Devon, UK-based shoegaze/dream pop/indie rock duo Matthew and Me. And with the previous release of singles such as “Patterns” and “Kitsune,” the duo received a reputation across their native UK for a sound that seemed to draw from the likes of Sigur Ros and Mogwai, and as a result, the duo received airplay on BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 6, XFM, and they’ve made appearances at some of Britain’s largest festivals including  including Field Day, Somersault, Port Eliot, and Glastonbury. Now “Joy,” the single I wrote about at the time, was a slow-burning and expansive song that began with a lengthy, delicate and hazy introduction in which Board’s aching falsetto was paired with shimmering and swirling guitar chords and gently padded drumming — with each individual chord feeling as though it were painter’s brushstroke adding color and texture in a fashion that was reminiscent of both the aforementioned Sigur Ros and A Storm in Heaven-era The Verve.

“Silver,” the is the duo’s latest single and the first single off their forthcoming EP Startpoint, which is slated for a November 18, 2016 release through Beatnik Creative Records. Recorded between their home studio, Deep Litter Studios and Startpoint Studios, and was produced by Chris Bond, who has worked with Ben Howard and Eliza Shaddad. Interestingly, the single  is an sparse and atmospheric song in which shimmering guitar chords, swirling and soaring electronics, and a steady backbeat are paired with Board’s plaintive and aching falsetto to craft a song that sounds reminiscent of Death Cab for Cutie‘s Narrow Stairs — but with an anthemic hook.

 

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Cinematic Visuals for The Deltahorse’s “Call It a Day”

Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site for some time, you’re most likely familiar with The Deltahorse in some fashion or another — and you’d know that earlier this month I wrote about “Happy Heart (Can Go For Miles),” the first single off the act’s long-anticipated and soon-to-be released, full-length debut Transatlantic. “Happy Heart” consisted of Colley’s swaggering and sultry electric baritone saxophone passages, stuttering drumming and drum programming, Sash’s propulsive bass lines with Vadim’s plaintive vocals signing lyrics about how a happy heart can endure almost everything; however, just under the surface was an underlying bitter irony. The album’s second and latest single “Call It A Day” is a cinematic and forceful single consisting of slashing, staccato piano chords, boom bap drum programming, Colley’s swaggering and strutting electric baritone sax skronking, subtly ominous and swirling guitar and bass chords, propulsive percussion and Zeberg’s coolly ironic vocals singing lyrics that hint at the desire to continually move forward and physical desire while beginning to cement their reputation for crafting material with deep, danceable grooves paired with a literate, cinematic sound.

The recently released music video employs a rather simple concept — the band’s Vadim Zeberg in close up singing the song with the Atlantic Ocean behind him. Throughout Zeberg is revealed to have a rather expressive face, at one point after briefly looking at his shoulder at something, he begins to smile mischievously, at other points bobbing his head while singing, and at other points looking at things with an ironically, raised eyebrow.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Dark Psychedelic Sounds and Visuals of Chocolat’s “Ah Ouin”

The band’s third and forthcoming effort, Rencontrer Looloo is slated for a November 11, 2016 release through Beyond Beyond Is Beyond Records and while being the band’s second post-hiatus album, it also has the band experimenting with their songwriting approach and sound as the band’s material is heavily modal-leaning while possessing elements of skronking experimental jazz, surf metal and psych rock as you’ll hear on the menacing and trippy yet strangely radio-friendly new single “Ah Ouin.”

Directed by Jonathan Robert, who also designed the album’s artwork, the recently released animated video for “Ah Ouin,” according to the band was inspired by 60s psychedelic cartoons and sci-fi cartoons of the 70s and 80s. As the members of the band mention “It’s like a meeting between Yellow Submarine and sci-fi comic book Heavy Metal — and in fact, it employs the same bright yet darkly surreal imagery.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Continued Psychedelic Sounds and Visuals of JOVM Mainstay GOAT

Building on the growing attention they’ve received internationally, GOAT will be releasing their highly-anticipated third, full-length effort Requiem on Friday. And from the album’s first single “Try My Robe,” the band continues on a similar path to the singles they’ve released earlier this year, as the song revealed an acoustic, psych folk sound that at times seems influenced by African and Middle Eastern music, which gives the song a mind-bending and mesmerizingly hypnotic quality. The album’s latest single “Union of Mind and Soul,” is based around a looping flute line, layers of jangling and propulsive bass and guitar chords, a buzzing and trippy guitar solo and howled lyrics focused on opening one’s mind towards greater understanding of themselves and the universe. And while sonically drawing from 60s folk and psych rock, the song may arguably be the most urgent and yet old-timey song they’ve released to date.

The recently released video is a fittingly psychedelic video that looks as though it could have been shot in the 1960s, thanks to the Instagram-like filters and the use of slow-motion and the use of rewound footage. And in some way, the video accurately captures small town Swedish life in all of its beauty, boredom and sameness.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Sub Pop Records Re-Releases the Early (and Lost) Catalog of a Grunge Pioneer

Sub Pop Records re-releases the early and lost catalog of a grunge rock pioneer, TAD with the release of the video for mosh pit worthy “Stumblin’ Man.”