Comprised of Isabel Reidy (who we’ll kindly refer to with the pronouns they/them when referring to the third person), their brother Silas Reidy and dear friends Angela DeVivo and Jon Samuels, Trumansburg, NY-based punk rock […]
Category: indie rock
With the release of their previous singles “Patterns” and “Kitsune,” South Devon, UK-based shoegaze/indie rock duo Matthew and Me, comprised of Matthew Board (vocals, guitar) and Lucy Fawcett (drums) hve developed a reputation across the UK for a sound that draws from the delicate soundscapes of Sigur Ros, Mogwai and others; in fact, received airplay on BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 6, XFM — and as a result, they’ve played some of Britain’s largest festivals including Field Day, Somersault, Port Eliot, and Glastonbury.
The duo’s latest single “Joy” is a slow-burning and expansive song that begins with a lengthy yet delicate and hazy introduction in which Board’s aching falsetto is paired with shimmering and swirling guitar chords and gently padded drumming in a hauntingly gorgeous arrangement that reveals a deliberate and deeply conscientious nature — with each individual note feeling as though it were a painter’s brushstroke adding color and texture to the entire soundscape before concluding with a thundering cacophony (that peters out into a slow fade out). While sonically bearing a resemblance to Sigur Ros and A Storm in Heaven-era The Verve, the song manages to posses an aching and woozy spiritual yearning for something much larger at its core.
New Video: Hot Flash Heat Wave Returns with a Swaggering, New Single and Sleazy Visuals
The band’s latest single “Bye Bye Baby,” which will appear OIM Records’ OIM Records Volume 2 compilation and the single will further cement their reputation for blistering garage rock with infectious and anthemic hooks; however, the song find the band playing with a larger-than-life swaggering self-assuredness that subtly nods towards a gritty, sleazy psych rock — all while being a kiss off to a tepid, unfaithful lover.
The recently released music video emphasizes the song’s sleaziness while nodding at 80s porn, cheap art flicks, 80s horror movies and features sequences shot on grainy VHS tape.
Earlier this year you may recall that I wrote about Joshua Tree, CA-based psych rock quartet Sugar Candy Mountain. Comprised of founding member Will Halsey (vocals, guitar), Ash Reiter (vocals, guitar), The Beehavers‘ Bryant Dennison (guitar) and The Electric Magpie‘s Peter Maffei (bass), the psych rock quartet can trace their origins to when Halsey, who has had stints as a drummer in renowned Bay Area-based bands like The Blank Tapes, fpodbpod and Ash Reiter‘s backing band, began the project as a bedroom recording project in which Halsey initially wrong songs in the vein of of Montreal and The Beach Boys. Shortly after Halsey began the project, Reiter joined him and the duo began writing songs together. And interestingly enough, there was a brief period in which they experimented with electro pop songs before they had gone on a decidedly psychedelic direction after Reiter had started obsessively collecting effects pedals. Denison, who also was a bassist and former bandmate in Ash Reiter’s backing band with Reiter and Halsey, joined on as a guitarist (which was interestingly enough, his first instrument).
The band’s recently released album 666, the Joshua Tree, CA-based quartet will further cement their burgeoning reputation for a sound that has been described as being indebted to Jacco Gardner, Tame Impala and the classic psych rock sounds of 60s Laurel Canyon. The album’s first single, album title track “666” possessed an uncanny attention o dreamy melody with the band pairing Reiter’s gorgeous and chilly crooning with gently fuzzy guitar chords, soaring and ethereal organ chords with gentle almost minimalist drumming. Yes, it sounds as though it could have been was recently discovered in a used record store — perhaps one like Last Vestige in Albany — but with a subtly modern production sheen. 666‘s latest single “Windows” is a slow-burning and contemplative track that features some gorgeously shimmering guitar work, gently padded drumming and jazz-like xylophone with Reiter’s ethereal vocals floating through a mix that will further cement the band’s burgeoning reputation for a classic psych sound straight out of 1966.
New Video: The Surreal and Ironic Visuals for Courtney Barnett’s Equally Ironic “Elevator Operator”
With the release of her first two critically applauded EPs I’ve Got a Friend Called Emily Farris and How to Carve a Carrot Into a Rose, Melbourne, Australia-based singer/songwriter and guitarist Courtney Barnett quickly received attention from the North American, British […]
Comprised Anna Haara Kristoferson (vocals, melodica), Joanna Curwood (guitar, vocals), Moa Papillon (guitar, vocals), Raissa Pardini (bass, vocals) and Ruth Nitkiewicz (drums), London, UK-based indie rock quintet Yassassin can trace their origins to the members of the band spent time in The History of Apple Pie and LUST, and with their first single “Social Politics,” the London-based quintet specialize in 90s alt rock inspired indie rock that sounds as though it draws from Sonic Youth, The Breeders and others as shimmering guitar chords are paired with a propulsive groove and shouted lyrics — but with a subtly political bent. As the the band notes within press notes that the song “ is about standing up to the bullies, both in personal life and in today’s society. It’s about not always fitting the norm but daring to go your own way. It’s about rebelling against the ‘zombie scene,’ which could be either a social clique where only certain people are accepted, or a society where racism is becoming more glaringly visible.” Based on how things are going, we need more songs and art that encourage people to be individuals and to go their own away.
Although they’ve gone through a number of lineup changes and members relocating to various locations up an down the Pacific Coast — with members currently based in Seattle, Vancouver and Oakland — Happy Diving is a indie rock quintet that initially formed in the Bay Area back in 2013 and within a short period of time, the quintet developed a reputation regionally for high-energy live shows and for being remarkably prolific. Building on the buzz that they’ve received, the quintet reconvened to write and record the material that would comprise their forthcoming full-length Electric Soul Unity which is slated for an August 19, 2016 through Tophself Records.
“Head Spell,” the latest single off Electric Soul Unity is a slow-burning 90s alt-rock inspired ballad consisting of enormous, buzzing and sludgy power chord and anthemic hook that sounds as though it draws from the likes of Pavement, Dinosaur, Jr. and others — while also firmly adding their names to a growing list of 90s alt rock inspired contemporary acts, including Brooklyn-based trio Dead Stars.
The band will be on tour throughout the summer and it’ll include an August 8, 2016 stop at Shea Stadium. Check out the tour dates below.
TOUR DATES
JUL 23 – Oakland, CA @ The Rat’s Nest
JUL 24 – Santa Rosa, CA @ Arlene Francis Center (w/ Gun Outfit, Tony Molina)
JUL 25 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hi Hat
JUL 26 – San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar
JUL 27 – Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress
JUL 28 – Albuquerque, NM @ Small Engine Gallery
JUL 29 – Oklahoma City, OK @ TBD
JUL 30 – Ft Worth, TX @ Purple Palace
JUL 31 – Houston, TX @ Vinyl Edge Records
AUG 1 – New Orleans, LA @ Saturn Bar
AUG 2 – Nashville, TN @ Two Boots
AUG 4 – Richmond, VA @ TBD
AUG 5 – Raleigh, NC @ Pinhook
AUG 6 – Baltimore, MD @ TBD
AUG 7 – Philadelphia, PA @ Lava Space
AUG 8 – Brooklyn, NY @ Shea Stadium (w/ Ovlov, Patio, Peaer)
AUG 10 – Providence, RI @ Tommy’s Place
AUG 11 – Boston, MA @ Great Scott (w/ Kindling, California X)
AUG 12 – Amherst, MA @ TBD
AUG 13 – Montreal, QB @ Poisson Noir
AUG 14 – Toronto, ON @ Smiling Buddha
AUG 15 – Detroit, MI @ TBD
AUG 16 – Milwaukee, WI @ High Dive
AUG 17 – Bloomington, IN @ Jan’s Rooms
AUG 18 – Eau Claire, WI @ TBD
AUG 19 – Duluth, MN @ Northern Isolation Fest
AUG 20 – Minneapolis, MN @ Dead Media (early show)
AUG 21 – Sioux Falls, SD @ Total Drag
AUG 24 – Calgary, AB @ Tubby Dog
AUG 26 – Vancouver, BC @ Antisocial Skate Shop
AUG 27 – Olympia, WA @ TBD
AUG 27 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos (w/ Chastity Belt, So Pitted)
AUG 29 – Portland, OR @ TBD
AUG 30 – San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill (w/ Creative Adult, Never Young, Plush)
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Comprised of brothers Andrew (guitar) and Steven McKeller (bass, lead vocals and keys), Richard Wouters (drums and percussion) and Kevin Dailey (keyboards and backing vocals), indie rock quartet Civil Twilight initially formed as a at trio in Cape Town, South Africa influenced by The Police, early U2, Muse, Jeff Buckley and Radiohead before recently relocating to Nashville, TN. And with the release of their critically applauded Story of an Immigrant, the newly constituted quartet have quickly developed a reputation for a soaring, anthemic and broodingly atmospheric songs that sound indebted to The Unforgettable Fire and Joshua Tree-era U2 — with a subtle bit of shoegaze thrown in.
Building on the buzz that Story of an Immigrant received, the Nashville-based quartet will be re-releasing the album through Wind Up Records on July 16; however, this time with all acoustic versions of the album’s material. And to celebrate both the re-issuing of Story of an Immigrant and the announcement of a headlining tour throughout the Midwest, the band released a bonus track from the re-issue, a hauntingly spectral, slow-burning cover of Billy Idol‘s “Dancing With Myself,” which manages to give a completely different reinterpretation of a familiar and overplayed 80s mega-hit, turning the song into a lonely, late night ballad that you’d slow dance to with a lover — or as the song says, by yourself.
As I mentioned earlier, the band will be on tour throughout July. Check out tour dates below:
TOUR DATES:
* with Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness
7/03 National Cherry Festival – Traverse City MI
7/05 Adado Riverfront Park – Lansing MI
7/07 The Intersection – Grand Rapids MI *
7/08 Blissfest Roots Music Festival – Petoskey MI
7/14 New Daisy Theatre – Memphis TN *
7/19 The Old Rock House – St Louis MO
7/20 Schubas Tavern – Chicago IL
7/21 Wooly’s – Des Moines IA *
7/22 The Blue Note – Columbia MO *
Comprised of four singer/songwriters Adrian Olsen, Alexandra Spalding, James Mason and JL Hodges, along with multi-instrumentalist Charlie Glenn, the Richmond, VA-based quintet Avers first caught national attention with the release of their 2014 debut effort, Empty Light, an effort that had them opening for Foo Fighters and J. Roddy Walston and The Business, along with an appearance at last year’s SXSW that was praised by a number of major outlets including Esquire and The Daily Beast. Building upon the buzz they’ve received, the Virginia-based quintet’s anticipated sophomore effort Omega/Whatever was written, recorded and self-produced at their unofficial headquarters Montrose Recording — and the album, which is slated for a July 29, 2016 release through Egghunt Records reportedly focuses on struggling through life in the modern world; in fact, the material covers divorce, how technology influences our lives, changing societal norms, corrupt politicians and more. And interestingly enough, the material also manages to continue the creative process that the band established for the sessions that comprised their debut effort — each songwriter brought in sketches and ideas with the entire group then pitching in to flesh out the idea into a song and quickly recording the material that same day, whenever possible. As you can hear on the album’s 90s alt rock-channeling single “Insects,” the result is a song that feels at times hushed and improvised and rousingly anthemic wall of sound-channeling song that captures a sense of powerlessness over the things you can’t control — while saying “Well, that’s life sometimes. Get on with it.”
New Audio: The Raveonettes Venomous, Post-Break Up Tell Off “Won’t You Leave Me Alone”
The Rave Sound of the Month’s latest single “Won’t You Leave Me Alone” is a bitter tell off from a jilted and exasperated lover, who’s sick of a partner, who just won’t get the hint that she has had enough — and it’s time for them to go. And the song is paired with a towering and jagged soundscape of swirling and buzzing guitar chords, and thundering drumming that reminds me of The Jesus and Mary Chain — but much more anthemic. And while listening to the song I guarantee you that you’ll be familiar with the sentiment from both ends.
New Video: Israeli Superstar Ninet Tayeb is Set to Take Over the World with Ass-Kicking Visuals for “Superstar”
With a relocation to Los Angeles and the forthcoming Stateside release of her fifth full-length release this fall, Tayeb hopes to become an international superstar — and with the aptly titled first single “Superstar” Tayeb may well be the next big thing. Although some have said that the Israeli-born singer/songwriter and actress seems to take cues from Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Karen O., The Kills’ Allison Mossheart, sonically her sound reminds me quite a bit of Garbage — namely the self-titled debut and Version 2.0 — as the song is comprised of buzzing power chords, propulsive and thundering drumming, rousingly anthemic hooks and a towering self-assuredness that simply says “I’m here and I ain’t fucking around.”
The recently released music video directed by Yoni Ronn features Tayeb in action movie-like music video that features the singer/songwriter as a vengeance-seeking assassin, following her enemy through the streets of New York.
With the 2010 release of a lo-fi folk project, Talking Machine, North Carolina-based multi-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter Stephen Warwick first caught local attention as the album landed on Shuffle Magazine‘s top 10 list that year. By 2013, Warwick sought out a new musical outlet and when he went into the studio to write and record material, he enlisted friends to join him, including The New Familiars’ Justin Fedor, with whom Warwick set out on tour as Ancient Cities, a project that derives its name from a childhood dream. After recruiting a rotating cast of musicians including Justin Faircloth (organ, synth) and Matt Curl (drums), the band has spent time touring up and down the East Coast while working on their sophomore effort Supermoon Blackout which will drop tomorrow.
With the release of the album’s latest single “Marmalade,” the band has expanded upon the sound that has first caught the attention of the blogosphere — while sounding as though it were inspired by The Black Keys as the members of Ancient Cities pair layers of buzzing guitars, propulsive rhythms, an anthemic hook that you hear a packed house yelling along and a swaggering self-assuredness that gives the song a larger-than-life feel.
New Video: JOVM Mainstays, The Coathangers Return with 60s Girl Group Inspired Visuals and Sounds for New Single “Down Down”
“Down Down” Nosebleed Weekend’s latest single will further cement the band’s reputation for crafting incredibly catchy hook in a song that possesses an obvious studio sheen — but without removing the scuzzy and primal feel of the album’s previously released material; in fact, “Down Down” possesses a mosh pit-ready feel while pairing it with a 60s girl group-leaning harmonies and layers of distorted and towering guitar chords.
Directed by Matt Odom, the recently released music video for “Down Down” interestingly enough draws from old footage and videos of 60s girls groups playing on American Bandstand, The Ed Sullivan Show and others complete with the members of the band singing and playing in front of psychedelic and art school projects — but with a clean, hyper-modern feel.
Initially known for his work in the Frail, Danny Lannon’s latest project Vacances can trace their origins when Lannon had begun writing material for The Frail and quickly realized that the material didn’t quite fit. Lannon began collaborating with Allen Davis on some additional material and then decided that to relocate from San Francisco to New York — and when Lannon arrived in Brooklyn, he connected with Nic Gonzalez (guitar), who was a member of The Restless Hearts; Dan Bindschedler (bass), who played in Robin Bacior; and Chris Heinz, who was member of renowned New York-based act Walking Shapes. Building on the buzz of their debut show at Bowery Ballroom earlier this year, the new quartet released a single “Runaway,” earlier this year and announced the forthcoming release of an EP this summer.
“Only You,” the quartet’s latest single pairs Lannon’s urgent and plaintive vocals with surfer rock-inspired guitar chords, propulsive drumming and percussion, layers of harmony, undulating synths and an anthemic hook and while meshing 80s-inspired New Wave with surfer rock in a similar fashion to Painted Palms and also drawing from 80s U2. Sonically and lyrically speaking, it’s the sort of upbeat and earnest song that you can dance to — while making a large, dramatic gesture towards a lover; however, the song to me possesses a bittersweet undertone, as on a certain level there’s a sense of the narrator reaching for something and someone he can’t possibly have again.
Comprised of Trond Fagernes (vocals, guitar), Rune Øverby (guitar), Petter Gudim Marberg (bass), Ola Jørgen Kyrkjeeide (drums) and live contributions from Kenneth Ekes (synth), Olso, Norway quartet Mayflower Madame specialize in a moody and dark post-punk/darkwave/chillwave sound that immediately brings to mind 4AD Records heyday along with several contemporary bands, including Interpol, JOVM mainstay artists The Harrow and others. And since the 2013 release of their debut EP Into the Haze, the Norwegian quartet have developed a reputation nationally for their live shows; in fact, they’ve played two of their homelands biggest festivals Norwegian Wood and Oya Festival, as well as opening for a number of renowned acts including Crystal Stilts, Night Beats, Moon Duo and JOVM mainstay acts Disappears, Crocodiles and La Femme.
Mayflower Madame’s full-length debut Observed in a Dream was released earlier this year across Europe through Night Cult Records and was released across North America through Custom Made Music earlier this month and the album’s first latest single “Weightless” consists of a tight motorik groove paired with shimmering guitar chords and Fagernes’ brooding baritone in a song that will further cement the quartet’s growing reputation for moody 4AD Records era post-punk — but in a remarkably hazy and ethereal song.