Throughout the course of this site’s history, there have been a number of insanely talented artists, who have released work that I’ve become obsessed with — and have spilled copious amounts of (virtual) ink. Now, […]
Category: indie rock
Comprised of three audio engineers, Paige Coley (vocals, guitar), Ryan Snow (guitar), and Grant Freeman (drums), the Orlando, FL-based trio Kinder Than Wolves made the process of writing and recording their debut EP Mean Something an entirely DIY and collaborative effort — with the EP being produced, engineered and mixed by Coley in the band’s home studio. And Mean Something’s first single “Hazel Days” pairs shimmering guitars, a gently driving rhythm and Coley’s hazy and ethereal vocals to create a wistful and moody shoegaze song that sounds as though it could have been released in 1983 — but with a subtly modern sheen.
New Video: halfsour’s 120 Minutes-Channeling Visuals for “ik”
Initially, the Boston, MA-based indie rock trio halfsour began as a Guided By Voices cover band before they started writing their own original material. And as you’ll hear on “ik,” the latest single (and video) […]
Comprised of Björn Rudling (drums), Carl Vikberg (vocals, guitar), Johan Melander (guitar and keys) and Viktor Åström (bass), the Stockholm, Sweden-based indie rock quartet Chirping have quickly received international attention across the European Union; in fact, their previously released singles have received airplay on Steve Lamacq‘s BBC Radio 6 show, Tom Robinson’s Fresh On The Net, Gary Crowley‘s BBC London show and Frank Skinner’s Absolute Radio show. Of course, with the forthcoming release of their EP Dancing With The Stars, slated for a March 4 release, the Stockholm-based quartet hope to expand their international profile. And with the release of the EP’s anthemic first single “Heist,” I suspect that the blogosphere will be hearing quite a bit about them over the next few months.
As for the single, you’ll hear Vikberg’s rich baritone, which to my ears bears an uncanny resemblance to Echo and the Bunnymen‘s young Ian McCulloch paired with a driving and propulsive rhythm section, angular guitar chords and an infectiously anthemic hook. Sonically, the song sounds as though it draws from the aforementioned Bunnymen, U2, Arctic Monkeys and others — but with a much-needed, warm, summery blast that evokes swooning, passionate, urgent and confusing summer flings.
New Video: Check Out the Sci-Fi, Country-Western Video for La Sera’s “High Notes”
Initially begun as a solo side project from her time with Vivian Girls and All Saints Day, Katy Goodman’s current musical project La Sera developed a national profile with the release of three critically applauded albums — the project’s self-titled debut, Sees […]
Comprised of Stephanie Chan (vocals, guitar), a former member of Finally Punk and The Carrots; Kate Hall (drums), formerly of Mika Miko; Mark Greshowak (guitar, synths), formerly of Talbot Tagora; and Dave Reichardt (guitar, bass, synths), Los Angeles, CA-based post-punk quartet Dunes features members of some of Southern California’s most renowned, defunct punk bands.
The Los Angeles, CA-based quartet’s forthcoming sophomore effort Bitter Charm is slated for a March 12 release and the album, which was produced by Alex DeGroot, best known for his work with Zola Jesus has the band expanding upon their sound while being deeply informed by personal experiences — including Greshowak’s near fatal bike accident, which occurred the same day that they were slated to play with No Age at the Eagle Rock Center for Performing Arts. As Greshowak explains in press notes, the album in some way represents “the process of coming to terms with all transitions in life, voluntarily or involuntarily.”
The album’s latest single “Runner” pairs shimmering guitars played through gentle amount of reverb, a driving and propulsive rhythm with ethereal vocals to craft a melancholy and wistful song that sounds as though it could have been released during 4AD Records heyday.
New Video: High Waisted’s Sexy, Girl-Powered Party Video for “Party In The Back”
Fronted by Jessica Louise Dye, the NYC-based indie rock quartet High Waisted formed in 2014 and have quickly developed a reputation for a sound that possesses elements of old school surf rock, lo-fi garage rock […]
Currently comprised of Pete Baxter, Max Turner, Josh Delaney and Liam Gough SMILE is a Melbourne, Australia-based band, that has cloaked themselves in mystery; in fact, the band has been so mysterious that beyond the fact that there are somewhere between 4 members and that the band formed back in 2012, very little else is know about them. “Holiday,” the second single off the band’s forthcoming album Rhythm Method consists of jangling and shimmering guitar chords, a wobbling bass line, a propulsive bass line and an anthemic hook paired with ironically disaffected vocals in a song that’s reminiscent of classic shoegaze and 90s Brit Pop; in some way, the song reminds me of both of Oasis and The Verve – but with a bluesier swagger. At the core of the song is an extremely modern sense of existential angst, based upon the realization that most people waste away their lives and their time on things they hate and are unfulfilling while consuming useless products until they die.
Perhaps best known for this time spent in New England-based psych rock band MMOSS, singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Doug Tuttle had developed a reputation as a artist of his own right with the release of his solo debut, an effort that had been praised for possessing a jittery, love-lorn anxiety paired with Tuttle’s dexterous guitar work and his carefully crafted psychedelic-tinged pop. Tuttle’s forthcoming sophomore effort, It Calls On Me, slated for a February 26 release through renowned indie label Trouble In Mind Records will further cement the New Hampshire-born singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist’s reputation for crafted psych pop while revealing a subtle yet marked change in sonic direction as the material is dreamier and more ethereal, as you’ll hear on the album’s latest single and album title track “It Calls On Me.” Thanks to some impressive guitar licks played through a variety of effects pedals, paired with cymbal-led propulsive percussion, an equally propulsive bass line, Tuttle’s lilting and cooed vocals, the song sounds as though it could have been released sometime between 1963-1969 as the guitar solo reminds me quite a bit of Robby Kreiger’s expressive and expansive solo in The Doors‘ “Light My Fire,” while the song manages to be subtly modern as it channels contemporary acts such as Raccoon Fighter.
Tuttle and his touring band will play a number of dates throughout February and March to support the new album and it includes a stop in Brooklyn. Check out tour dates below.
Tour Dates
2/17: Detroit, MI – Marble Bar
2/18: Chicago, IL – The Owl #
2/19: Cleveland, OH – Happy Dog #
2/20: Cincinnati, OH – The Comet #
2/21: Nashville, TN- East Room #
2/22: Atlanta, GA- 529 #
2/23: Chapel Hill, NC – Local 506
2/24: Richmond, VA – TBA
2/25: Brooklyn, NY – Rough Trade
2/26: Providence, RI – AS220 ^
2/27: Boston, MA – Lillypad ^
2/28: Portsmouth, NH – 3S Artspace ^
# – w/ Paperhead
^ – w/ Herbcraft
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.
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.
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.
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.