Category: indie rock

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Dario Torre (vocals and guitar), Giacomo Salzano (bass), Raffaele Bocchetti (guitar), and Davide Fusco (drums), Italian psych rock quartet Stella Diana have gradually developed a national and international reputation for a sound that draws from Catherine Wheel, RIDE, Joy Division, Psychedelic Furs, The Chameleons, Pale Saints, Lush, The Stone Roses, Talk Talk and others; in other words, it’s a sound that possesses familiar elements of shoegaze, post-punk, dream pop and new wave — with lyrics sung primarily in their native Italian. And as a result, the quartet have been considered the forefront of a purely Italian version of shoegaze which the Italian press have considered an unprecedented achievement.

Adding to a growing international profile, their single “41 61 93” was not only released to critical acclaim, it was included on the Revolution — The Shoegaze Revival compilation, a compilation that was touted by Creation Records‘ Joe Foster as an unprecedented collection of the best contemporary crop of shoegazers across the world. They were also commissioned by Brazil’s TBTCI Records to cover RIDE’s “Leave Them All Behind” for a RIDE tribute album and recorded a track for Seashell Records‘ Slowdive tribute album Souvlaki Reheated.

Now if you’ve been frequenting this site for some time, you’d know that last year I wrote about “Shohet,” the densely layered, lush, shimmering and anthemic RIDE and  My Vitriol channeling first single off their 2015 Alhena EP, which was released through Vipchoyo Sound Factory Records. The band released their latest effort Nitrocris earlier this year and the album’s latest single “Sulphur” reveals a band that’s gone through a change in sonic direction and approach as the quartet employs the use of swirling and shimmering guitar chords paired with a gentle yet propulsive rhythm section and ethereal vocals gently floating over the mix to create a hauntingly dreamy song that possess a bracing chill just underneath its surface while remaining (subtly) anthemic.

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Radiohead “Paranoid Android”-like Visuals for Coastgaard’s “A Well Adjusted Man”

“A Well Adjusted Man,” the first single off Coastgaard’s forthcoming sophomore full-length Devil on the Balcony pairs upbeat jangling guitar pop with lyrics that follow the psychological makeup and inner monologue of a decidedly average man, who frequently vacillates between brooding self-reflection and self-doubt and self-assured potency — often simultaneously, ultimately revealing that the kingdoms of heaven and hell are actually within.

The recently released, animated video follows the daily exploits of a decidedly average man, struggling to survive through the indignities of working a corporate job, stopping at a local shitty bar before presumably dying in a car accident that quickly sends him to his own hell. Visually speaking, the video reminds me quite a bit of the visuals for Radiohead’s “Paranoid Android.”

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Post-Modern Art-Inspired Visuals for Preoccupations “Degraded”

The self-titled album’s second single “Degraded” pairs their tense and angular song with what may arguably be the possess the most straightforward and hook-friendly song structure they’ve written to date; however, the song lyrically reveals itself to be full of bilious accusation and recrimination, ill-feeling and seems to evoke a relationship slowly splintering at its core, complete with the realization that as a result the relationship will be irrevocably altered; but simultaneously being a plaintive and urgent plea for understanding, for forgiveness, for the dysfunctional train ride to just stop. Sonically, the band employs synths to give their already tense material a subtle atmospheric feel much like “Anxiety;” however, the album’s latest single pushes that feeling of anxiety outward so that it becomes an enveloping fog.

Although the recently video manages to evoke a post modern painting with colors and shapes appearing as though reduced to abstraction, as the video’s director Valentina Tapia explains “The video offers an encounter with the primordial ruins of a post-human landscape, where sentient sculptural artifacts attempt to reassemble themselves piece by piece.” And while being surreal, the video manages to evoke a world splintering apart into something both unrecognizable and recognizable if you were to pay close attention, accurately capturing the tense and anxious sensibility within the song.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Featuring Peter Bartsocas (vocals, guitar), Drew Demaio (guitar, vocals), David Diem (bass, vocals) and Jeff Gensterblum (drums, percussion), New York-based indie rock quartet Robes is comprised of a group of grizzled professional musicians, whose careers can be traced back to several different projects in the 90s. Demaio helped put Gainesville, FL on to the post hardcore map with stints in bands such as Gus, Strikeforce Diablo, Argentina, Asshole Parade and Floor — all before he decided to relocate to New York. Diem, was also a member of Gainesville, FL-based band Twelve Hour Turn. And after the band dissolved, Diem decided to pursue a career as a teacher before he also relocated to New York, where they caught up and began writing and sharing musical ideas through email. Gensterbaum was originally based in Michigan, where he was a member of Small Brown Fox, Able Baker Fox, Unwed, States and Kingdoms and Your Skull My Closet. As it turns out Gensterbaum was labelmates at No Idea Records with Diem and Demaio, with whom he had toured with quite a bit over the years. And when he relocated to New York, Gensterbaum called his old labelmates. Adding to the six degrees of musical separation at the heart of the band, Bartsocas also hailed from Florida and was a member of Pagan Girls, As Friends Rust and Bird of Ill Omen and — and as the story goes, Bartsocas and Demaio were good friends, who had talked about collaborating together before Bartsocas relocated to New York to finalize the new band’s lineup.

The band’s latest single “Unholy Moon” owes a major sonic debt to 90s alt rock — in particular Superunknown-era Soundgarden, Alice in Chains and Pearl Jam — as the band pairs layers of enormous power chords, thundering drumming, extremely downtuned and rumbling bass chords with an anthemic hook, an alternating quiet, loud, quiet structure and Bartsocas’ baritone crooning. And as a result, the quartet reveals that they can craft a moshpit and beer-raising worthy hook.

The band is opening for acclaimed synth rock/prog rock at Milemarker at Shea Stadium next Wednesday.

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Elijah Ford is a California-born, Austin, TX-based singer/songwriter and guitarist, and the son of former Black Crowes‘ guitarist Marc Ford, and in fact the younger Ford toured with his father’s band Fuzz Machine when he was 17, before hooking up with Oscar and Grammy-winning artist Ryan Bingham, with whom Elijah Ford recorded and toured with for several years before going solo with the 2011 release of his full-length debut Upon Walking and its follow up, an EP Ashes in 2012.

“The Way We Were” Ford’s latest single off his forthcoming full-length As We Were slated for release on September 16, 2016 borrows heavily from bluesy and boozy old school rock — while possessing a finely crafted feel, thanks in part to a soaring and anthemic hook and a shimmying and shuffling sound reminiscent of The Black Crowes, Elvis Costello and others.

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

Live Footage: The Mystery Lights Performing “What Happens When The Devil Turns You Down” on Daptone Records’ “Live From The House of Soul” Video Series

Daptone Records recently released some gorgeously cinematic, black and white shot footage of The Mystery Lights performing “What Happens When The Devil Turns You Down” as part of their “Live From The House Of Soul” video series. And the song is comprised of layers of guitar chords fed through reverb, an incredibly dexterous guitar solo reminiscent of Robby Krieger’s solo in “Light My Fire,” and propulsive yet subtly jazz-like drumming paired with Brandon’s falsetto singing lyrics about a surreal encounter with the devil.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Woozy and Trippy Visuals and Sounds of Amber Arcades’ “Turning Light”

According to de Graaf, “Turning Light,” Fading Lines’ latest single is about time, continuity and the magic in that; about being the protagonist in your own story while simultaneously being a supporting player in the lives of everyone around you and about how those roles and lines intertwine.” And as the Dutch singer/songwriter and musician explains the recently released video “captures these sentiments in a continuing movement (a.k.a. the most basic dance I could think of – and probably the only one I am capable of” and it continues throughout the video uninterrupted while locations, perspectives and even boundaries between moments fade and seem to collide into each other.

Sonically speaking, de Graaf and her backing band pair rapid fire, four-on-the-floor drumming, swirling and shimmering strings, twinkling electronics, a driving bass line and de Graaf’s ethereal vocals singing lyrics that reflect the relativistic nature of time and as a result, the woozy single manages to sound as though it draws from shoegaze and Brit pop equally.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Led by frontman Bradford Bucknum, Philadelphia, PA-based indie rock quartet Oldermost’s debut single “Honey With Tea” manages to sound as though it were indebted to Nick Drake, Wish You Were Here-era Pink Floyd and 70s AM radio friendly rock as layers of twangy pedal guitar, shimmering electric guitar chords, propulsive drumming, a lush and shimmering string arrangement are paired with Bucknam’s plaintive and tender crooning and up-and-coming Philadelphia-based singer/songwriter Rosali’s ethereal yet tender backing vocals in one of the prettier songs I’ve heard this year. And although “Honey With Tea” sounds quite a bit like Psychic Ills‘ equally gorgeous “Baby,” and possesses the sort of lived-in feel that can only come from actual life experiences, the Philadelphia-based quartet’s debut single manages to possess a world weariness behind its psychedelic country leanings. In some way, the song evokes life’s bitter recognitions, uneasy compromises and uncertainties — and how frequently we have to grit our teeth and accept what is and move forward.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Led by frontman and primary member Alexander Mann and featuring a rotating cast of collaborators, friends and studio and touring musicians, San Francisco, CA-based psych rock project Silent Pictures have started to receive both regional and national attention with the release of their latest full-length effort Let It Begin,  an effort that consists of material that on a superficial level fits under the psych rock umbrella but manages to be mischievously and effortlessly plays with its boundaries as the band reportedly channels the likes of T-Rex, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Stone Roses and 90s Brit Pop — sometimes simultaneously.

Let It Begin‘s latest single “Time Has Broken/Let It Begin” will further cement the band’s burgeoning reputation as it features layers of guitars played through reverb and effects pedals, a propulsive, motorik-like groove with thundering drumming, an anthemic hook paired with lyrics that focus on a relativistic view of time. Sonically speaking the song sounds indebted to The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Stone Roses and Hookworms — while subtly hinting at shoegaze.

The recently released music video was filmed at an early 19th century Rosicrucian Temple and with shaky cameras, rapid fire cuts and cult symbolism, the video evokes a paranoid, trippy and frenetic world of conspiracies run by secret societies — while bearing an uncanny resemblance to 120 Minutes-era MTV.

 

 

 

 

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

Live Footage: Beach House Performing “Rough Song” on Charlie Rose

Interestingly, although released last October, Thank Your Lucky Stars was recorded during the same two month period as its predecessor Depression Cherry and continued an ongoing collaboration between the band and co-producer Chris Coady. Naturally, both albums build upon similar aesthetics, making them inseparably companion albums. Now you may remember that I recently wrote about “The Traveller” off Thank Your Lucky Stars. The duo were recently on Charlie Rose’s show where they performed a gorgeous and aching version of “Rough Song.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Over the past few weeks, I’ve written quite a bit about Nashville, TN-based sibling duo JEFF The Brotherhood, as they’ve released two singles “Punishment,” and “Idiot” off their forthcoming full-length Zone, an experimental rock album that is the third and final part of a spiritual trilogy of albums that includes 2009’s Heavy Days and 2011’s critically applauded We Are The Champions.  The forthcoming album’s third and latest single “Roachin,” features Bully‘s Alicia Bognano on vocals in a scorching, power-chord heavy dirge that sounds deeply indebted to 90s alt rock — in particular, the Melvins —  as the song structurally consists of alternating quiet and loud sections, and an anthemic hook that you can picture kids moshing out to in a sweaty club. And much like “Punishment” and “Idiot,” the album’s latest single will cement the sibling duo’s reputation for crafting trippy, weed and beer inspired anthems full of enormous power chords, infectious and anthemic hooks.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstays Crocodiles Reveal a Bittersweet, Aching New Single and Visuals

The album’s first single “Telepathic Lover” possesses a bittersweet ache that comes from the recognition that people are weak, damaged and fucked up, that connection and love may seem like illusions, that life is full of struggle and suffering — and although while jangling, the stripped down approach allows the ache at the heart of the song to be viscerally felt.

The recently released music video features the duo performing the song in an empty studio and was shot on grainy VHS tape but it pulls out to show a couple watching the video, while just behind them they are first passionately in love before viciously and bitterly fighting, leaving behind at least one person to be heartbroken, confused and struggling with lingering ghosts.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Surreal and Playful Visuals for Izzy True’s “Mr. Romance”

Renowned punk label Don Giovanni Records released the band’s debut EP Troll last year, and their much-anticipated full-length debut Nope officially released today, and reportedly draws from frontperson Isabel Reidy’s experiences dropping out of school, returning back home to deal with mental illness and a desire to find a cathartic and joyful way to combat them all — and ultimately, about loneliness, hating yourself and then leaning how to actually like yourself. Much like the album’s first single “Total Body Erasure,” the album’s latest single “Mr. Romance” consists of a scuzzy, classic rock-leaning that sounds as though it owes equal debts to Marquee Moon-era Television, The Rolling Stones and Pretenders; however, unlike the preceding single, this single manages to deal with the anxious confusion about one’s self and who and what they should want and love, with a self-effacing irony — and in some way, the song’s narrator knows those answers will be difficult to come by, especially if you’re strange.

The recently released video features Isabel in an aluminum jump suit, playing and singing the song, drinking and making out with a variety of people and a shit ton of glitter and makeup.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Party and Fuck Around with Madrid’s Indie Rock Sensations The Parrots

Recorded at Paco Loco Studios in El Puerto de Santa Maria in Cadiz, Southern Spain, The Parrots’ latest single is reportedly inspired by the members of the band drinking beers and Horchata, eating Moroccan delicacies and feelings of deep friendship and loyalty and as a result the song possesses a shuffling, intoxicated feel of elation and adventure — the sort that would come about when you’ve drunkenly stumbled along a new best friend. Sonically, the song will further cement the Spanish trio’s growing reputation for raw and shaggy garage rock as Garcia’s passionate howls are paired with a shuffling and jangling garage rock chords, propulsive drumming and a throbbing bass line, and in some way the song sounds as though it could have easily been released in 1962 or so.

Directed by Pablo Amores, the recently released music video features the members of the Spanish quartet drinking 40s, looking for the next party and goofing off in the streets — and it serves as a reminder that the Spanish quartet are a wild, rollicking party.