Category: indie rock

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

The last few days have been insanely busy in the JOVM world — and as a result I haven’t been able to post as much as I would have liked; however, it’s been a fun weekend of a lot of live music from all over the world and time spent with some very dear friends. Naturally, there are a lot of photos and stuff but expect a ton of stuff over the next couple of weeks . . .

In any case, as you all know, I receive quite a bit of emails from an incredibly diverse array of artists, labels, publicity firms, band managers and other folks from all over the world. I recently received an email from London-based quintet Blank Bibles. The British quintet’s latest single “Abigail West” sounds as though it draws heavily from The Smiths as shimmering guitar chords, propulsive drumming, soaring strings and anthemic hooks are paired with plaintive and lovelorn vocals. Unsurprisingly, the Abigail West at the heart of the song seems to be one of the loveliest women in the entire world — the sort of woman that you’d happily sing and dance in the street without a care in the world.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Born in Reno, NV and currently based in Nashville, TN, alt rock/blues rock artist Jack Berry can trace the origins of his recording career to when he wrote and recorded his first album while studying in Los Angeles. Berry then worked and performed along the West Coast as one half a of a duo before before he decided that it was time to go solo. Relocating to Nashville, Berry spent several months couch-surfing and writing and recording material with the hopes that he could catch the attention of that city’s local press.

Eventually, Berry began receiving praise from outlets both locally and nationally from the likes of Nashville Scene, The Deli Magazine, Blues Rock Review and others, which resulted in slots at Toronto‘s North by Northeast (NXNE), CMJ and SXSW‘s Red Gorilla Festival. Since then, Berry has played a number of venues between his home base and NYC; however, 2016 may be his breakthrough year with the Spring 2016 release of his latest album, Mean Machine. 

“The Bull,” Mean Machine‘s first single is a sultry and bluesy single that pairs arena rock friendly power chords, propulsive and carefully syncopated drumming, an anthemic hook and Berry’s seductive crooning and howling that sonically seems to draw from Soundgarden (think of “Mailman” “Spoonman,”and “Fell on Black Days” off Superunknown) as it does from old-school blues and contemporary rock.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Currently comprised of founding members Dabney Dwelle (guitar, vocals and Wurlitzer) and Tim O’Neill, formerly of Rhythm of Black Lines (drums) along with Jonathan Skaggs, formerly of Crime in Choir (bass) and John Hale (keyboards), Austin, TX-based indie rock/indie pop quartet My Golden Calf can actually trace their origins to when Dwelle was searching for a new songwriting approach after his previous band, Quien es, Boom had split up. Eventually Dwelle put his guitar down and began writing songs on an old, broken down Wurlitzer electric piano. Dwelle quickly recruited longtime friend O’Neill to assist him in fleshing out his early demos and ideas. And after a number of lineup changes Skaggs and Hale joined to complete the current lineup.

The quartet spent 2014 writing and demoing songs, and then testing the songs in live shows until the band felt that they had album-ready material, which they recorded during the early part of last year, at their newly-constructed Captain Douglas Studios. The end result is the band’s forthcoming debut full-length effort Perfume Brute, which is slated for a February 26, 2016 release. The album’s first single “Either” begins with a tight driving groove, angular burst of guitar, twisting and turning piano chords and big hooks paired with Dwelle’s plaintive crooning. Sonically the song sounds as though it draws from 70s AM radio rock — while subtly (and jauntily) pushing a familiar sound to the 21st Century.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Emma Wigwam, Mark Jasper and Ed Shellard, Witching Waves emerged from the London, UK DIY scene with a tense sound consisting of angular guitar chords, propulsive drumming and anthemic hooks reminiscent of 90s alternative rock, as you’ll hear on “Twister,” the latest single off the band’s new album, Crystal Cafe. Sonically, the song sounds as though it draws equally from Wire, Gang of Four and Sleater -Kinney — while lyrically, focusing on the contemporary, modern condition. And as a result, the song evokes the sensation of constant tumult, uncertainty and danger, desperate alienation, stagnation and misdirected anger. It’s being pissed off and not always understanding why or how — and not knowing where to direct it because you’re so angry all the time over everything. If that doesn’t describe the life of a great deal of young people, nothing else really will.

 

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Lucius’ New Single Subtly Expands Their Gorgeous Sound

Over the past couple of years, Brooklyn-based quartet Lucius has received critical praise and attention from the blogosphere (including this site) and major media outlets such as  Rolling Stone who had once named them a “Band to Watch.” and Time who […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Perhaps best known for his stint with long-time collaborator David Bazan in Pedro the Lion, TW Walsh emerged as a highly regarded singer/songwriter with the 2011 release of Songs of Pain and Leisure. And as Walsh explained in press notes, after the release of every album he’s worked on, he’s often thought about packing it in and doing something else — and with Songs he had felt as though he may have completed something.

At the beginning of 2013, Walsh came down with a mysterious and debilitating illness and over the next 18 months, the singer/songwriter struggled to function. “I didn’t have the energy to be creative . . . I could barely function at all. The only diagnosis I ever received was chronic fatigue syndrome. but I’m still not convinced that was correct. I’ll probably never know what was wrong with me. I’m still not nearly 100%. Eventually, I started to feel better, but then I fell off my bike and broke my elbow. This made it impossible to play guitar or drums for several months” Walsh adds in press notes.

Walsh eventually started to feel healthy enough to start messing around with song ideas. He recorded several demos but nothing sounded quite right to him — he wanted the arrangements to be weirder and more varied and didn’t know how exactly to do it. As the story goes, Walsh contacted Yuuki Matthews, known for his work with The Shins, David Bazan, Crystal Skulls and Teardrops in early 2014 to collaborate together. “This approach clicked” Walsh said “so over the course of exactly one year, we finished the ten songs that make up Fruitless Research. In a few cases, Yuuki reworked the songs from the ground up — keeping only the vocal and some drum elements, and building a new chord progression around the melody. In other cases, he added overdubs and did some creative editing. But in every instance, his vision pushed the song over the edge into something exciting . . . something that I wouldn’t have done on my own. His mixes also blew me away. They’re pretty unconventional at times in their saturation and character. It kind of sounds like a tape from the 80’s you left in the car too long.”

Walsh adds, “Lyrically, this record documents a time of upheaval, discovery and change for me. I turned 40 right in the middle of it. I’ve been working through a lot of existential stuff. At some point, you gotta take a hard look at reality. Try to figure out what your life means.”

“Young Rebels,” the first single off Fruitless Research consists of twisting and turning synth chords, buzzing guitar, throbbing bass and thundering drums paired with an incredibly anthemic hook, and in some way it makes the song sound as though it were recorded in 1983 — think of The Fixx‘s “Red Skies” — but on old, warped analog tape that’s sat around in a dusty room.

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The 70s Glam-Inspired Video for Starlight Girls’ “Fancy”

Over the past couple of years, the Brooklyn-based indie rock sextet Starlight Girls have developed a reputation for a unique brand of “noir-ish indie pop” while becoming JOVM mainstays. With the release of well-received, self-produced EP, the […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Although little is known about the Kent, WA-based trio So Pitted, the trio have started to receive attention for a sludgy and abrasive sound that some critics have compared favorably to Nirvana, Metz, Pere Ubu and others. “feed me,” the latest single off the band’s forthcoming album neo will further cement their burgeoning reputation as the band pairs sludgy and acidic guitar chords, layers upon layers of feedback, thundering and propulsive drumming, industrial clang and clatter and distorted vocals in a song that sounds as though it drew influence from Ministry.

The band will be on tour throughout January and February to build up buzz for the album. Check out the tour dates below.

Tour Dates
Jan. 09 – Boston – The Sinclair *
Jan. 11 – Washington, D.C. – Rock & Roll Hotel *
Jan. 12 – Philadelphia, PA – First Unitarian Church *
Mar. 04 – Paris, FR – Mecanique Ondulatoire
Mar. 05 – Amsterdam, NL – Butcher’s Tears
Mar. 07 – London, UK – The Shacklewell Arms
Mar. 08 – Leeds, UK – Brudenell Games Room
Mar. 10 – Lille, UK – La Peniche
Mar. 11 -Brussells, BE – Homepluged
Mar. 12 – Berlin, DE – West Germany
Mar. 15 – Austin, TX – SXSW
Mar. 16 – Austin, TX – SXSW
Mar. 17 – Austin, TX – SXSW
Mar. 18 – Austin, TX – SXSW
Mar. 19 – Austin, TX – SXSW
Mar. 20 – Austin, TX – SXSW
* w/ METZ + Bully

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

As the story goes, Flower‘s frontman and primary songwriter Jack Fowler wrote the band’s forthcoming album Waste of Life while in the middle of a holding pattern. Although he had a rather busy year as the frontman of exwhy, with the band signing to Other People Records and touring with Pujol and Knox Hamilton, Fowler desperately wanted to focus on revealing his vulnerable side; in fact, the album is inspired largely by Fowler’s own experience of being an office drone. As Fowler explains in press notes “I was working a pretty decent office job and doing absolutely nothing beyond working and getting depressed. I was just spinning my wheels and growing bored and really depressed. I was struggling with talking to people, being social at all. That’s the core of this album—anxiety and not being sure how to define yourself. ”

Waste of Life‘s latest single “Dreams” possesses a pent up frustration over ambitions, hopes and a life that seem indefinitely stalled from some larger, unmoving (and unrelenting), outside force and not having an idea as to what would be the best thing to do next; so the song’s narrator winds up sitting inert and inactive on the sidelines out of fear of fucking everything up — and yet, hating himself for his inability to do anything at all. And despite the song’s desperation and hopelessness, there’s a subtle sense of hope; that things will get better and that somehow life will push you in the direction you need to be going.

Sonically, the band pairs bitter and confused sentiment and anthemic hooks with layers of shimmering guitar and  driving rhythms in a song that sounds as though it draws influence from The Smiths and 80s post-punk. Much like the previous post, Flower’s sound is something that should sound warmly familiar to anyone who grew up in the 80s — but it manages to place that sound and feeling in high contemporary context, proving that the more things change, the more things wind up the same.

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Austin Knecht, Tamara Simons, Crystal Napoles, Kai Dodson and Joey Felkins, the up-and-coming Ventura, CA-based dream pop quintet Curtsy have started to receive attention across the blogosphere with the release of “One Less Thing,” a shimmering bit of guitar-led pop  that pairs a driving rhythm with anthemic hooks and gorgeous, ethereal harmonies that manages to sound as though it draws from classic shoegaze and 120 Minutes-era alt rock. Sure, their sound is warmly familiar to my ears, and it will be familiar to anyone who grew up in the 80s and 90s — but they manage a heart wrenching sincerity that will likely bring back memories when we are all a bit more idealistic and a lot less cynical.

 

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

 

Comprised of multi-instrumentalists Rashie Rosenfarb, Matt Francis and Dan Avant, the Virginia Beach, VA-based trio Feral Conservatives have developed a reputation for a sound that balances anthemic pop/arena rock-leaning songwriting with lush, old-time folk arrangements and instrumentation. It shouldn’t be terribly surprising that the band’s sound has been compared favorably to the likes of 90s alt rock acts like Velocity Girl, The Cranberries and Cocteau Twins. Interestingly enough, in true DIY fashion, the members of the Virginia Beach, VA-based trio released a series of self-released EPs, purchased a $15 distortion pedal and then toured the East Coast in a station wagon before they signed to Richmond, VA-based label EggHunt Records last year.

Here’s To Almost, the band’s full-length debut is slated for a January 22 release, and the album’s second single “Wait For Me” possesses earnest and enormously anthemic, power ballad hooks that pair power chord rock with folk instrumentation that will likely further cement the band’s reputation for crafting rousing and heartfelt pop/indie rock that feels and sounds as though it could have been released in 1992. As the band’s frontwoman Rashie Rosenfarb explains “Wait For Me’ delves into growing up with this unrealistic idea of what love is suppose to look like presented by movies and TV and realizing it’s flawed — and then navigating through that.” The song manages such youthful earnest passion with the adult realization that love is confusing, complex and messy — and that it actually requires both work and acceptance of one’s positive qualities and their flaws.

The band will be on a short tour to support the new effort. Check out the tour dates below.

Tour dates:
Jan 23rd @ Velvet Lounge , D.C.
Jan 24th @ Bourbon and Branch, Philadelphia, PA
Jan 30th @ FM Restaurant, Norfolk, VA

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: More Face-Melting Power Chord Rock from Toronto’s METZ

With the release of their self-titled debut effort through Sub Pop Records, the Toronto, ON-based trio Metz received both national and international attention for a sludgy, face-melting power chord-based sound reminiscent of Bleach and In Utereo-era Nirvana, A […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Comprised of Matt Miller (guitar, lead vocals), Sean Glassman (guitar, vocals and keys), Brian d’Alessandro (drums, vocals and keys) and Paolo Codega (bass, vocals), the Brooklyn-based indie rock quartet Coastgaard can trace their origins to when the band’s founding members d’Alessandro and Miller first began playing together in Sons of Huns back in 2009. Sons of Huns eventually split up but d’Alessandro and Miller continued playing with other.  d’Alessandro and Miller recruited Glassman and Codega to flesh out the band’s sound.

Over the past couple of years, the Brooklyn-based quartet has seen increasing attention across the blogosphere and on this site for a jangling, guitar pop sound that draws heavily from 60s surfer rock and 90s alt rock — and in a way that’s reminiscent of Raccoon Fighter and Vampire Weekend, The Smiths and others.

“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 inner monologue of a man who vacillates between brooding self-reflection and self-assured potency which gives the song a subtle noir-ish feel. Interestingly enough, the song is arguably the most cinematic song the band has released to date; in fact, I can envision the song as part of the soundtrack of an art film that focuses on alienation and the difficulty of connecting with another.

 

 

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Introducing the 80s-Influenced Sound of Atlanta’s The Head

Comprised of Jacob Morrell (guitarist), Mike Shaw (vocals and bass) and Mike’s brother Jack (drums), the Atlanta-based indie rock trio The Head can trace their origins to when the members of the band were in […]