Category: indie rock

Video by William Ruben Helms

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.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

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.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

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.

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

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.

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Initially began as a solo recording project of Cincinnati, OH-based singer/songwriter Michael Oliva, The Harlequins became a fully-fleshed out band when Oliva met and recruited bassist Alex Stenard in 2006 and drummer Rob Stamler in 2008. Since 2008, the trio have self-released five full-length albums that revealed a band that specialized in a garage rock/psych rock sound wth elements of punk rock, surfer rock and krautrock — and  as a result, the Cincinnati-based trio have played sets at SXSW, Bunbury Music Festival and Midpoint Music Festival, as well as receiving praise from a number of major websites including The Onion‘s AV Club, Exclaim!, Performer Magazine, Vice’s Noisey and others. Additionally, the band has developed a reputation for energetic live shows paired with light displays; in fact, after the release and tour to support 2013’s Sex Change EP, the trio signed with Dizzybird Records and spent the better part of 2015 writing, revising and then recording the material, which would comprise their recently released label debut, One With You.

One With You‘s latest single “Hear Me Out” will further cement the band’s reputation for crafting noisy, infectious and anthemic garage/surfer punk as scuzzy guitar chords are paired with a propulsive and driving rhythm section, an uncannily mischievous sense of melody and howled and sung vocals fed through effects pedals. Sonically, the song bears an uncanny resemblance to Crocodiles‘ Crimes of Passion as it does to Raccoon Fighter, as it possesses a wild, unabated passion that almost takes the song completely off the rails — but while still remaining breezy.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Comprised of Kacee Hedit, Benny Tamblyn and Oli Kirk, Adelaide, Australia-based indie rock/indie electro pop trio Flamingo have developed a reputation both locally and nationally for a sleek, downtempo electronic sound with the release of their first two EPs, with their second EP Drip Drip being released to widespread critical praise. And as a result, the trio not only embarked on their first national tour with stops in their homeland’s largest cities — Perth, Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney and their hometown — they’ve found their profile growing opening for Bonobo, Rüfüs, Giraffage and The Kite String Tangle, as well as appearances at Splendour on the Grass and Groovin’ the Moo.

Interestingly, the trio’s latest single is about a topic that has been in the international spotlight for some time — refugees, who arrive by boat to a new and perhaps unforgiving and unwelcoming land. And as the band’s vocalist Kacee Heidt explains “Leaving your home and everything you have ever known to travel to the other side of the world in search of a life free from tyranny and devastation with nothing but your family and the clothes on your back. This is one of the hardest things a person can possibly go through and something most Australians couldn’t possibly imagine.”  And as a result, the song portrays refugees with a profound sense of empathy — an empathy the the members of the band feel has long been missing from their national conversation on the issue. Sonically speaking, the trio pairs shimmering guitar chords, skittering beats, gently undulating synths and Heidt’s plaintive vocals singing lyrics that point at asylum seekers’ plight with a bitterly sarcastic irony at its core, opening suggesting that those who were desperate enough to risk everything for the chance at asylum need not just the most empathy but the most assistance.

 

 

 

 


Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The 80s Inspired Visuals and Sounds of Brooklyn’s Very White

Comprised of Washington State-born and Brooklyn-based Aaron Hamel and Texas-born and Brooklyn-based Brent Nettles, indie rock duo Very White can trace their origins to when the duo became roommates and discovered that they each were musicians. And as the story goes, the duo decided to start a band named after a playful joke the duo had shared that some will probably find a bit offensive — but they decided to roll with it.

Produced by friends Taylor Johnson, best known for his work with Robert Schwartzman; Tyler Halford, best known for his work with Foster the People; and Mckenzie Smith, best known for work with St. Vincent, the duo’s debut EP Make Believe is slated for release later this week — June 24, 2016 to be precise. The EP’s latest single “Howl with Me” is a moody and plaintive song that reminds me a little bit of Yukon Blonde and several other contemporary indie rock bands as the duo pair propulsive drumming with atmospheric synths and twangy guitar chords while thematically, the song wistfully focuses on love — from the perspective of someone whose relationship seems to have either ended or have been on the rocks for some time. And at some point, the narrator who longs for his lover and for what once was.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Kino Kimino and Son of Stan Team Up for a 80s Synth Pop-leaning Cover of Sophie B. Hawkins’ 90s Mega-Hit, “Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover”

Comprised of Kim Talon, who’s perhaps best known for playing with Deerhoof, Jawbreaker’s Blake Schwarzenbach and Sia, and Sonic Youth’s Lee Ranaldo and Steve Shelley, post-punk/indie rock trio Kino Kimino recently released their full-length debut album Bait Is For Sissies to critical praise from the likes of Pitchfork and FADER. Continuing on the buzz the trio have received off their full-length debut, they recently collaborated with former Ben Harper’s Relentless7 member Jordan Richardson, a.k.a. Son of Stan to cover Sophie B. Hawkins “Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover,”a song that was a major hit back in 1992 — and if you were alive and coherent back then, you’d probably remember that Z100 used to play the song at least 3 times an hour. Anyway, the key take away here is that the song is incredibly sexy and the Kino Kimino and Son of Stan cover manages to retain some of that sexiness while turning the song into a subtly propulsive synth pop song and in some strange way, it strikes as what the song would sound if Tears for Fears had covered it.

singer/songwriters by William Ruben Helms

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Over the course of the soon-to-be six year history of JOVM, New York-based singer/songwriter Anna Rose has developed a growing national profile with the release of a self-titled EP and two full-length efforts Nomad and Behold A Pale Horse — and of course, over that time, the New York-based singer/songwriter has also been a JOVM mainstay artist since its inception.

Officially seeing its release today, Strays in the Cut is the long-awaited follow-up to the New York-based singer/songwriter’s exceptional Pale Horse and as Anna Rose has explained in press notes, the songwriting and recording process forced her and her collaborators to look at everything differently, with a careful and deliberate attention to telling a particular story and evoking a particular period within the artist’s life with a conciseness that wouldn’t necessarily happen on a full-length album. Interestingly, because of that very conciseness the material manages to possess a laser focus — not only do the New York-based singer/songwriter and her backing band play and sing with a greater sense of self-assuredness, the material possesses a visceral and emotional weight to it, as lyrically the songs come from a much more personal, truer place.

I recently spent a few minutes chatting with Anna Rose about the new EP, her and her collaborators songwriting and recording process and how it changed for the EP, her upcoming acoustic tour with guitarist Adam Stoler, her father’s influence on her and her music, the video concept for the EP’s first single “Start A War” and much more in a revealing and very funny interview. Check it out.

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Los Angeles, CA-based quintet Hunny specialize in an infectious, hook-laden party rock/dance rock sound/pop sound that seems to channel several contemporary acts including Hands, St. Lucia, Phoenix and others — while subtly nodding at early 80s New Wave. And the act’s latest single “Vowels (and The Importance of Being Me) will further cement the act’s burgeoning reputation for hook-laden summertime anthems as the band pairs soaring synths, four-on-the floor drumming, shimmering and angular chords and an undulating bass line with deeply earnest vocals singing lyrics about ridiculously passionate, confusing and urgent, young love. Certainly, in an age of sneering cynicism and disbelief, such earnestness is a breath of fresh air; but perhaps more important, thanks to a larger-than-life anthemic hook, I can imagine a packed club full of young people singing lustily along to the song.

The band will be on a lengthy tour throughout July and August, which also will include an August 5, 2016 stop at The Knitting Factory.

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Comprised of Kazu Makino (lead vocals, rhythm guitar) and twin brothers Simone (drums) and Amedeo Pace (guitar, vocals), New York-based indie rock trio Blonde Redhead can trace their origins to when the Pace Brothers met Makino — by complete chance, no less — at an Italian restaurant. Deriving their name from “Blonde Redhead,” a song by no wave act DNA, the trio has developed a reputation for a constantly evolving sound with their earliest recorded efforts drawing heavily from both noise rock and experimental rock — in particular, think of Sonic Youth and others; however, over the past 15 years the band has incorporated elements of dream pop, shoegaze, psych rock and other genres. And if you’ve been frequenting this site for some time, you may well be aware of the fact that back in 2014, the trio quietly released their ninth all-length album Barragan, an album that featured the shimmering and sultry single “Dripping.”

As a native New Yorker, I miss the energy, griminess and grittiness of pre-Giuliani New York — a New York that I’ll never, ever get back. And as you can imagine, Blonde Redhead’s material, along with countless other bands writing and recording in NYC during the late 80s and early 90s is full of the same teeming energy and seedy grit, while possessing an urgent carnal need. Sadly, a great deal of the band’s earliest recordings haven’t been in print for some time — and they will be seeing the light of day for the first time in almost 20 years as Numero Group is issuing a 4LP/2 CD box seat featuring the band’s first two albums, their singles, existing demos and radio performances, as well unpublished photographs and two lengthy essays on the band and their work to date. And it’s the newest installment in Numero’s 200 Line series, which has also included releases from  Unwound, Bedhead, Codeine, White Zombie and The Scientists.

 

“Big Song” is the first single off the box set and the single is a decidedly large song consisting of time signature and tempo changes, explosive blasts of feedback, angular bass and guitar chords — with the guitar chords being played through effects and delay pedals, paired with Makino’s sensual and vaguely nonsensical vocals. Certainly, as soon as you hear the song, it also sounds like the time period it was recorded in — in particular 1993 or so. Certainly if you’re a fan, there’s the excitement of hearing and owning material that had long been discontinued, as well as capturing a band in their early days, attempting to discover their own unique voice.

 

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Donkeys’ Shoegazer/Psych Rock-Channeling New Single “No Need For Oxygen”

In order to build up buzz for their upcoming cross country tour, which includes an early August stop at Baby’s All Right, The Donkeys released a live video performing their moody and stunningly gorgeous, shoegaze-leaning new single “No Need for Oxygen” which has the band pairing shimmering keyboard and guitar chords, propulsive drumming, a with plaintive and aching vocals in an expansive song structure that owes a debt to classic psych rock as it does to prog rock and held together with an impressive and gorgeous guitar solo.

Check out tour dates below.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Dario Argento-Inspired Visuals for Preoccupations’ Latest Single “Anxiety”

Although they received a massive amount of attention across the blogosphere with the 2014 release of their self-titled full-length debut, the Calgary, Alberta-based quartet originally known as Viet Cong actually formed in 2012 and can trace their origins […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Now, if you’ve been frequenting JOVM over the past month or so, you would have come across a couple of posts on Los Angeles, CA-based songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Stefan Weich. Weich specializes in a dreamy exploration of traditional music structures, alternate guitar tunings and analog synthesizers and has released music under a number of monikers, including Das Bowls, Chicle, Couch Baby and others; however, his latest effort, Granite Prism is Weich’s (true) solo debut and first album under his own name. Thematically, the album explores the Los Angeles-based songwriter and multi-instrumentalist’s feelings of loneliness, aimlessness and his search for love and acceptance in a large, modern metropolis.

With Granite Prism‘s first single and video “Holy Nights,” Weich paired his plaintive falsetto croon with dreamily ambient synths, soft padded drumming and gently strummed guitar in a deliberate and carefully crafted song that sounded indebted to Brian Eno –but with a plaintive yearning at its core. The album’s second single “Louie,” continued on the same vein as Weich paired swirling and ambient electronics are paired with soft padded drumming, bursts of bluesy guitar chords and his plaintive falsetto crooning lyrics about a relationship in which both people are slowly drifting apart.  At the heart of the song is the unspoken and built up resentments that can cause people to slowly drift apart over time, and a lingering sense of regret of what happened — and how it happened.

Granite Prism‘s third and latest single “Toxic Landscape” is a subtly more muscular song and as a result it sounds as though it owes a sonic debt to shoegaze than ambient electronica as Weich pairs his plaintive falsetto with feedback-laden and buzzing power chords, strummed guitar chords played through layers of reverb, subtly forceful drumming and soaring synths in a song that to my ears reminds me quite a bit of A Storm in Heaven-era The Verve and Silversun Pickups. Much like the previously released singles, the song focuses on the slow dissolution of a relationship and its aftermath, complete with the feelings of bitterness, isolation, confusion, heartache and more — and in a way that’s reminiscent of 120 Minutes-era MTV indie rock.