Holy Bouncer is a Barcelona, Spain-based indie rock quintet, who will be releasing their full-length debut later this year, and from the album’s second and latest single “Hippie Girl Lover,” the band specializes in a sound that clearly draws from early era The Doors (their self-titled album in particular), Steppenwolf‘s “Magic Carpet Ride” and the incredible Brown Acid proto-metal/proto-stoner rock compilations released by the folks at RidingEasy Records, complete with a gritty, primal, and grungy self-assuredness. Certainly, if it wasn’t for the subtle, contemporary production sheen — you’ll notice it with a pair of good headphones or a good speaker — the song sounds as though it could have been released in 1966, and some devoted record collector or blogger stumbled upon this one in a dusty, used record store in Milwaukee or Albany. But perhaps much more important, is that Holy Bouncer along with Madrid‘s The Parrots should prove that Spain has a vital and burgeoning indie rock scene that’s worthy of international attention.
Category: New Single
Currently comprised of primary members Tres Warren (vocals, guitar) and Elizabeth Hart (bass) along with a rotating cast of collaborators and friends, New York-based psych rock act Psychic Ills have developed a reputation over the past decade for following wherever their muses takes them. Interestingly, the band’s forthcoming and highly-anticipated fifth full-length effort Inner Journey Out stems from the culmination of three years of playing shows, touring, writing and recording — and reportedly, the album finds the band expanding upon the sound and aesthetic that first caught the attention of the blogosphere as the album’s material possesses elements of country, blues, gospel and jazz. In fact, whereas the previous records found Warren overdubbing himself to create a blown-out, widescreen sound, Inner Journey Out focuses on Warren and Hart’s collaborations with an array of highly-accomplished guests including Mazzy Star’s Hope Sandoval, touring keyboardist Brent Cordero, Chris Millstein, Endless Boogie’s Harry Druzd, The Entrance Band’s Derek James, Charles Burst and a host of friends and associates, who also provide pedal steel guitar, horns, strings and backing vocals. Thematically speaking, the new album explores the interior and exterior and the pathway between the two — and as you’ll hear on the album’s latest single “Baby,” the album’s sound manages to be much more intimate and plaintive, while drawing from The Rolling Stones “Gimme Shelter” and Pink Floyd’s “The Great Gig in the Sky” but with a subtle yet gorgeous country twang underneath the moody psychdelia.
At the core of the song is a narrator, who has spent a long time seeking love and recognizing that he’s stumbled upon the love he’s always needed while quietly suggesting that when we love others and share ourselves with others, that we find our true, essential selves. And as a result, the sentiment gives the song a quiet contemplative nature.
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Over the six year history of this site, I’ve written quite a bit about New York-based singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Rene Lopez, one of JOVM‘s earliest mainstay artists. And throughout that time, Lopez has uncompromisingly refused to be pigeonholed into one particular genre — the New York based singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist has managed to mesh salsa, boogaloo, old-school hip-hop, meringue and electronica into one cohesive whole on E.L.S. (short for Electric Latin Soul); salsa and 7os Brazilian music on his most deeply personal effort Paint the Moon Gold; and slinkily seductive synth-based R&B and funk, inspired by Prince, The Gap Band, Rick James, Chic and others on Love Has No Mercy and its subsequent releases. This shouldn’t be surprising as Lopez has told me in an interview, he grew up in a household where salsa, merengue and disco were frequently played — and his first band The Authority was deeply influenced by his love of Prince and funk. So in some way, Lopez has come back full circle.
Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site over the past year in particular, you’d likely know that Lopez is among a handful of artists who has focused on a single of the month series. While on one level, such a phenomenon points to the death of the album, it also allows artists to be creative without concerning themselves with the strict thematic and lyrical structure of an album — but with fairly strict deadlines to compete and release material. Lopez’s latest Jam of the Month, “Run Run Baby,” is a sleek, slinky and sensual synth-based pop/R&B that strikes me as a modernized version of Prince’s “The Beautiful Ones” if covered by Dam-Funk as Lopez’s sultry crooning is paired with shimmering and wobbling synths, skittering drum programming.
With the release of their debut effort In The Red, Los Angeles, CA-based thrash punk trio Zig Zags –comprised of Jed Maheu (guitar/vocals), Caleb Miller (bass/vocals), and Dane Arnold (drums) — quickly received attention for a blistering, face-melting, no-bullshit thrash metal/thrash punk aesthetic that sounds as though it owes a massive debt to early 80s Metallica, Slayer, Iron Maiden and others. “The Sadist,” the latest single off the soon-to-be released Running Out of Red will further cement the trio’s reputation for pairing scuzzy, face-melting, ass-kicking power chords guitar pyrotechnics, propulsive drumming and shouted vocals. It’s the sound of kids with very little options, shitty lives and shittier jobs, playing in garages and basements, wishing for something — hell, anything to happen to break up the tedium of their lives.
With the 2012 release of the “Ribbons” 7 inch and the 2013 critically applauded release of their full-length debut, A Constant Sea, Brooklyn-based indie rock/psych rock act Heliotropes — comprised of frontwoman, founding member and primary songwriter Jessica Numsuwankijkul along with a rotating cast of collaborators that include Gregg Giuffre (drums), Richard Thomas (bass) and Ricci Swift (guitar) — have quickly exploded on to the national scene; in fact, A Constant Sea landed on the top ten of Mother Jones’ Best of 2013 list, and as a result, the band has opened for (and toured with)a diverse array of artists including Esben and The Witch, Thurston Moore, The Geto Boys, Matt and Kim, Kurt Vile, Parquet Courts, The Black Angels and The Raveonettes — and they’ve played sets at SXSW, Firefly and Culture Collide.
Building upon that buzz, the Brooklyn-based indie rock band will be releasing their highly-anticipated sophomore effort Over There That Way on July 15, 2016 through The End Records. And the album’s latest single “Normandy” is sweetly, old-fashioned garage rock that pairs shimmering and jangling guitar chords, and a propulsive rhythm section with Numsuwankijkul’s plaintive and ethereal vocals. And as soon as you hear the song it shouldn’t be surprising that the band’s sound has been described as Mazzy Star’s Hope Sandoval doing jangling psych rock.
Comprised of Jonas Ronnberg, the co-owner of Northern Electronics who’s known for recording caustic techno under the moniker of Varg, as well as his involvement in renowned experimental acts Ulwhednar and Dard A Ranj Fran Det Hebbersalska Samfudet; renowned Swedish composer Erik Enocksson, who has scored a number of independent productions including an orphaned soundtrack to Apan, which was re-mastered and re-issued by Posh Isolation Records last year; Frederikke Hoffmeir, the mastermind of highly-regarded industrial and experimental electronic act Puce Mary;Vit Fana’s Ossian Ohlsson, who has appeared on a number of Northern Electronics and Posh Isolation compilations; and Loke Rahbek, co-founder of Posh Isolation and member of Damien Dubrovnik, highly-regarded act Lust For Youth — and for recording with Croatian Armor, Body Sculptures is an All-Star side project of renowned Scandinavian experimental electronic and electro pop artists.
Last year marked the act’s live debut, a set at the Berlin Atonal Festival and the release of their debut effort together, The Base of All Beauty Is The Body. And June 3, 2016 will mark the release of the act’s highly-anticipated sophomore effort A Body Turns to Eden.The album’s first single — and album title track — “A Body Turns to Eden” will further cement the act’s reputation for crafting stark and uneasily tense music as background electronic buzzing is paired with slowly unfurling and churning synths, minimalist beats in a song that only partially unfolds and reveals itself to its listeners.
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The combinations of acoustic and electronic instrumentation, the soiled traces of genre, and the mixed modes of experimentation, are here pitched as an eternal requiem, letting the play between the project’s orthodox and unorthodox methods reflect a sharp fatalism. Each song presents familiarity and intimacy within an aura of claustrophobia. And as if out of a cruel awareness of this fact, unease blooms into a comforting form. A Body Turns To Eden is an essential piece for anyone with interest in Scandinavian electronic music today.
With the release of critically applauded singles “Women’s Business” and “Here We Go,” Melbourne, Australia-based quintet Canary have won both national and international attention as the former charted on Hype Machine and the latter received airplay through triple J — and as a result, the band has opened for the likes of Saskwatch, Ainslie Willis, Hein Cooper and LANKS.
Building upon the buzz that they’ve already received, the Australian quintet’s sophomore effort I Am Lion is slated for a July 8, 2016 release and the album’s first single “Fickle Heart” was largely inspired by frontman Matthew Kennealy’s breakup — and as a result, the song focuses on the bitterly self-righteous feelings of self-destruction and hatred in the aftermath of a relationship’s violent explosion. Sonically,the band employs sludgy power chords in a song structurally sounds as though it owes a debt to 90s alt rock — as the song alternates between anthemic hooks and quieter, more contemplative sections. And throughout the song’s narrator spends his time reflecting on the nature of a relationship that’s left him heartbroken, bitter and wishing that he never met this person in the first place. Certainly, it’s a sentiment that should feel universally familiar to anyone who’s been through a nasty breakup.
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With the release of her debut single “Wait,” the classically trained Seattle, WA-born, Los Angeles, CA-based indie electro pop artist Luem quickly received attention across the blogosphere as her sound that pairs a minimalist production consisting of ambient and swirling electronics with Leum’s lush and hauntingly plaintive vocals. The Seattle-based electro pop artist’s second and latest single continues her growing reputation as an up-and-coming pop artist, adding herself to a lengthening list of contemporary female pop artists including Phoebe Ryan, Chelsea Lankes, CAPPA and others.
Over the past decade or so, Gothenburg, Sweden’s music scene has development a reputation for a particular brand of pop that has received international attention across both Scandinavia and elsewhere — and interestingly enough, a number of the city’s up-and-coming artists have been attempting to redefine the city’s renowned sound as they’ve begun to see the Gothenburg sound as a smothering restriction. Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site over the past few years, you may be familiar with Gothenburg-based quartet School 94 — formerly known as School — has built a reputation across the blogosphere for a sound consisting of shimmering guitars, swirling synths, sinuous bass lines and propulsive drumming with ethereal vocals as you would have heard on “So Long,” a single, which I wrote about back in December 2014.
“Common Sense,” the Swedish quartet’s latest single and first single off their forthcoming EP Bound is an urgent and swooning track that has the band pairing four-on-the-floor drumming with layers of jangling guitars, shimmering and chiming synths, propulsive bass lines with frontwoman Alice Boteus’ clear and plaintive pop belter vocals. Sonically, the song sounds as though it draws from both The Smiths, New Order and Haerts simultaneously — in other words while possessing a gorgeous melody, the song manages to evoke the urgency, passion and awkwardness of young love.
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Formed by Moon Magnet Studios founder and ringleader Reed Fuchs back in 2009, Denver, CO-based collective deCollage features members of several locally and regionally known bands including Rose Quartz, Sound of Ceres, Candy Claws, Rubedo and others. Since their formation, the collective has developed a reputation for an immersive and interactive live show – and for material that sonically employs the use of synths, accordion, glockenspiel, found sounds such as typewriters, trains, crunched leaves, zippers, cirtcut bending among others and for material that lyrically focuses on metaphysics, surrealism, abstraction, wonder and navigating the fragmented post-modern world we live in.Unsurprisingly, as a result of their growing reputation in psych music circles, the members of the collective have opened for the likes of Animal Collective, of Montreal, Zammuto, Fever The Ghost and Linear Downfall among others.
“Crystal Choir,” the latest single off the collective’s soon-to-be released, new effort Magnetize is a hazy and swaggering bit of psych pop that possesses elements of contemporary electro pop and R&B as enormous boom-bap drums are paired with layers of shimmering synths, and layers of harmonized vocals in song that reminds me of In Ghost Colours-era Cut Copy — but with a mischievous and playful sense of hope.
Perhaps best known as the frontman of renowned indie act Black Moth Super Rainbow, Tobaccco has developed a reputation as an electronic music artist and producer, who has an uncanny ability for crafting an abrasive yet anthemic sound — as a fellow critic at Stereogum described Tobacco’s sound as wanting to “channel Daft Punk and The Black Keys at the same time.”
Sweatbox Dynasty, the long-awaited follow-up to Ultima II Massage is slated for release this summer, and the album’s first single “Gods In Heat” will further cement Tobacco’s reputation for crafting scuzzy and anthemic electronic music as his production pairs layers of buzzing and abrasive synths, industrial clang and clatter, skittering drum programming, surface-level analog tape hiss and sizzle, a chanted mantra and an infectious hook — but if you’re familiar with the Pennsylvania-based producer’s work, the new single possesses a subtle elements of psych rock that lighten the murkiness ever so slightly.
Currently comprised of founding members Dean Povinsky (lead vocals, guitar) and Dwayne Christie (drums), along with newer members Derek Bosonworth (bass) and Nick Greaves (guitar), Chris Dawe (keys), the Toronto, ON-based indie rock quintet Wildlife can trace their origins to when Povinsky along with guitarist Darryl Smith relocated to Glasgow, Scotland to form a band. Along with Scottish drummer Peter Kelly and fellow Canadian Billy Homes, the band spent time traveling, writing and recording songs and playing small venues around Glasgow; however that project split up with the Canadian members left Glasgow to return to Canada. Povinksy moved to Toronto with the intention of continuing Wildlife with childhood friend Plant, Christie and Julia Mensink (synths), along with Bosonworth to flesh out the band’s initial lineup.
Their full-length debut, Strike Hard, Young Diamond was released to critical praise from the likes of Exclaim!. Chart and others. After a series of lengthy tours across North America, which led to their first Top 10 hit single, the members of the band were also working on their first full-length album since 2013. “Dead Century” is the first single off that album, slated for release at the end of the year, and as the band explained to me in an email the song is about “moving forward through lost time; what it feels like to have one foot in an age that no longer exists, and coming to terms with having the other in a world you may never understand.” And as a result, the shimmering, moody and anthemic single produced by Tawgs Salter possesses a bittersweet sense of loss and confusion over what to do next, but underneath all of that a sense of time rushing past. Sonically, the song is incredibly contemporary and radio friendly indie rock as shimmering guitar chords, soaring synth chords, an anthemic hook you can hear kids shouting along and dramatic, propulsive drumming paired with plaintive and yearning vocals — and although aching, the song manages to have a sense of hope at its core.
With the release of a couple of EPs and a reputation for a being one of the best up-and-coming live sets in the UK scene, Bristol, UK-based post-punk band The Jacques have built up quite a buzz around themselves; in fact, this summer, the band will be touring the European Union and UK major festival circuit with opening sets for Noel Gallagher, Rudimental and The Charlatans at Kendal Calling’s main stage and for Primal Scream at Down To The Woods.
“Eleanor Ring Me,” the band’s latest single sounds as though it draws influence from 90s alt rock and grunge rock as the band pairs sludgy power chords, distorted vocals, snarling vocals and an anthemic hook in a song that the band says is “a kick at the people and things that we are distancing ourselves from now. “ And as a result, the song possesses a “Fuck off — or we’ll kick the shit out of you” air.
Check out the band’s EU and UK tour dates below.
Tour Dates
Fri 13th May – l’Alimentation Generale, Paris France
Sat 14th May – Les Nuit Botanique, Brussels Belgium
Fri 27th May – Dot to Dot Festival, Manchester UK
Sat 28th May – Dot to Dot Festival, Bristol UK
Sun 29th May – Dot to Dot Festival, Nottingham UK
Fri 29th July – Kendal Calling Festival, UK
Sun 31st July- Damaris Festival, Amsterdam Holland
Sat 13th Aug – Down to The Woods Festival, Durham UK
Comprised of Danielle Souza (vocals) and Kyle Foster (guitar), Los Angeles, CA-based indie rock duo Dead Posey can trace their origins to when the duo met at an album release party at Serenity West Recording in Hollywood back in 2013. Foster caught Souza’s eye when he was lighting a candle inside a little glass cottage and it led to the duo striking up a joking conversation about setting Tinkerbell’s house on fire. After discovering that they had mutual musical influences, the duo started a band together, which eventually lead to their current project Dead Posey.
Their debut single as Dead Posey “Holy Grail” is a stomping and swaggering bit of anthemic, power chord-based rock that sonically owes a debt to The Black Keys, Dirty Ghosts and the glam rock sounds of T. Rex and others as the song finds the duo pairing Souza’s soulful and gritty vocals with stomping and propulsive drumming and scuzzy yet towering power chords. And although it is a rather familiar yet winning formula, the duo manage to do so with a cool self-assuredness and a sultry sensuality.
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