JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the life and music of Gary “Mani” Mounfield.
Category: Psych Rock
New Video: JOVM Mainstay MAGON Shares Dreamily Meditative “All My Days Are Hanging”
Wildly prolific, Israeli-born, Costa Rican-based singer/songwriter, musician and JOVM mainstay MAGON recently released his third album of this year and 13th — yes, y’all, 13th! — album overall Zoe Rainbow Days.
Zoe Rainbow Days’ latest single “All My Days Are Hanging” continues a run or mediative and introspective material that seemingly draws from psych folk, Sea Change-era Beck and others. And at its core, is a dreamy and lovingly detailed depiction of domesticity that feels nostalgic yet somehow punctuated with a realization of how fleeting everything is.
The accompanying video features footage from Len Lye‘s 1936 short film, The Birth of the Robot. The footage is restored and re-imaged as a visual companion to the song.
New Video: Hallucinophonics Shares Brooding and Cinematic “Haze of Time”
British indie outfit Hallucinophonics exists as the crossroads of consciousness and sound, creating immersive, psychedelic soundscapes that defy and blend the boundaries between reality and dreams. Drawing inspiration from Pink Floyd, Tame Impala and others, they attempt to create music that’s both an artistic statement and a transformative experience.
Ranging from space rock anthems to introspective, nocturnal transmissions, the British indie outfit weaves ethereal textures, progressive song structures and hypnotic rhythms while their material explores themes of evolving consciousness and existential discovery.
Their latest single “Haze of Time” may arguably be the most New Wave and goth-like tune of their growing catalog. Channeling Heaven Up Here-era Echo and The Bunnymen and The Cure, “Haze of Time” features angular, driving bass lines, jangling and swirling guitars serving as a broodingly eerie and cinematic bed for yearning, achingly plaintive vocal. The song seemingly evokes the feel and vibe of spooky season with an uncanny specificity.
The accompanying video follows a denim-clad young woman expressively dancing in a graffiti alley — but as the video progresses, it suggests that the line between sanity and insanity is very thin.
Throwback: Happy 86th Birthday, Grace Slick!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship and Starship frontperson Grace Slick’s 86th birthday.
Lyric Video: JOVM Mainstay GUM Shares Meditative “Expanding Blue”
Aussie singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jay Watson has a firmly established reputation for being both incredibly prolific and a highly-sought after collaborator:
- Watson is the creative mastermind behind the JOVM mainstay recording project GUM, with which he has written, recorded and released six albums, including 2020’s Out In The World and 2023’s Saturnia.
- Watson is also the co-founder and co-frontman of fellow JOVM mainstay act Pond, which has released 10 studio albums, including 2022’s 9 and last year’s Stung!
- Lastly, the wildly busy Aussie singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist is a touring member of acclaimed, JOVM mainstay Tame Impala‘s live, touring band.
With that massive, continually growing recorded output over the past decade-plus or so, Watson has treated listeners and fans to arguably some of the most sonically diverse and eclectic explorations of anyone in the contemporary music scene.
Watson recently signed to King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard‘s (p)doom records, who released the self-produced, standalone single “Expanding Blue,” the first bit of new material from the JOVM mainstay since Saturnia. The meditative, new single is one-part Nick Drake-inspired psych folk, one-part samba/jazz-fusion tune, anchored by a looping strummed acoustic figure and a sweetly romantic yearning — for a dear one, and for something much deeper, more spiritual.
“’Expanding Blue’ starts out as a jazz inspired meditation, and turns into something spiritual for me, like a lost gospel soul record or something,” the GUM creative mastermind says.
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard’s Ambrose Kenny-Smith adds, “Welcome back to the p(doom) fam my man Gumby! He’s done it again. Another stellar release from Freo’s finest.”
New Video: Dreamwave Shares Mosh Pit Friendly “Moon Buggy”
Bristol, UK-based rock outfit Dreamwave — Benjamin Symons (vocals, guitar, synths), Hester Battin (vocals, keys, synths), Grant Cameron Organ (bass), and Alex Andrews (drums, percussion) — have quickly established themselves as one of the most exciting, up-and-coming bands in the UK psych scene. And with a growing presence across the European Union, the British quartet seem to be gaining momentum.
Dreamwave’s third EP is slated for release through Stolen Body Records, and the announcement of the forthcoming EP coincides with the unveiling of a new physical passing, which will feature this year’s Moon Dogs EP on Side A and the soon-to-be released Drifter EP on Side B. But in the meantime, the forthcoming third EP’s first single “Moon Buggy” is a sweaty and tense mosh pit friendly ripper, anchored around punchily delivered hooks and choruses that brings OSees and JOVM mainstays Frankie and the Witch Fingers to mind.
The new single originated as an improvised jam session during their live shows, gradually evolving over the course of two years into a fully fleshed out, polished song that found its way into their sets. The EP version was recorded in three takes and accurately showcases the band’s bruising live energy.
The self-directed and accompanying video for “Moon Buggy” was filmed at Mendips Raceway, a dirt-track in southwest UK. The chaotic and downright fun imagery of battered cars colliding in clouds of dust just feels perfect.
New Audio: Jenny James Shares Dreamy “Abandoning Alice”
Jenny James is an Oxnard, CA-based singer/songwriter, musician painter and college professor at Oxnard College. As a singer/songwriter, James has penned songs that have been recorded by Tanya Tucker, Carlene Carter, The Judds and KT […]
New Video: King Black Acid and Birdie Swann Sisters Team Up on Darkly Seductive “Rats In The City”
Daniel Riddle is Portland, OR-based is a singer/songwriter and musician, who has written and recorded music under the moniker King Black Acid since the late 1980s, while spending time as a member of industrial outfit Hitting Birth. Since the early 90s, Riddle has led a number of different collectives and projects that have toured and shared stages with Elliott Smith, Nirvana, Low, Moby, Sonic Youth, The Dandy Warhols, Faith No More, Dead Moon, Menomena, The Fugees, Arctic Monkeys, Spacemen 3, Danzig, Nine Inch Nails and more.
Throughout his career, Riddle’s music has been featured on CSI: Miami, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, The Mothman Prophecies, Witchblade, Dream With Fishes, Do Me a Favor and CNN Sports, as well as ad campaigns for Nike, Reebok, Tiger Woods Golf, CNN, Coca-Cola, Abercrombie and Fitch, Gap and The Olympics.
Birdie Swann Sisters is a collaborative project featuring:
- Birdie Moon, a French producer, engineer and musician, who has played with M83, AIR, Beck, The Knife and a lengthy list of others.
- Daisy Rae Swann, an Icelandic producer and singer/songwriter, who has written and recorded material with acts like Coldplay, Florence and the Machine, Gorillaz and countless others.
The Birdie Swann Sisters met King Black Acid’s Daniel Riddle while working on film soundtracks for television/streaming services. Working remotely and trading sound files, the trio bonded over their mutual love of vintage analog instruments, lo-fi guitars and an emphasis on rare synthesizers and drum machines.
Their initial film and TV score collaborations lead to Dream School Dropout, the trio’s 10-song collaborative album. Sonically, the album sees the trio mixing elements of cinematic 80s dream pop, 70s soul and R&B, yacht rock and psych rock into a lush, dreamy tapestry.
Dream School Dropout‘s latest single “Rats In The City” is a slickly produced, hook-driven, club friendly bop featuring glistening and oscillating synths and skittering boom bap that brings Evil Heat-era Primal Scream, Tame Impala, POND and even Midnight Juggernauts to mind paired with darkly seductive, somewhat menacing lyrics.
The accompanying video is a slickly edited mashup of B movie footage, stock footage and psychedelic imagery pulsing and undulating to the song’s propulsive beat.
Throwback: Happy 77th Birthday, Robert Plant!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Robert Plant’s 77th birthday.
Throwback: Happy 86th Birthday, Ginger Baker!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 86th anniversary of the birth of Ginger Baker.
New Audio: Swedish Instrumental Outfit Automatism Shares Languorous Cover of Kraftwerk’s “Neon Lights”
Swedish instrumental psych rock outfit Automatism — Hans Hjelm (guitar), Gustav Nygren (guitar), Mikael Tuominen (bass) and Jonas Yrlid (drums) — will be releasing their long-awaited fourth album Sörmland Friday through German-based label Tonzonen Records.
Five years have passed since the release of 2020’s Immersion. The hiatus wasn’t completely voluntary, so when the band reconvened in September 2023 to begin the creative process for their fourth album, it felt like a special occasion for the band — much like a family reunion. Recorded in a former chapel in the Swedish rural county of Sörmland, the building’s high ceilings and open atmosphere helped set the overall tone of the soon-to-be-released album. As they were recording, they could see the verdant landscape from the building’s tall windows, which inspired them to name the album after the province.
Sörmland‘s latest single “Neon Lights” is an instrumental take on Kraftwerk‘s “Neon Lights.” Clocking in a roughly the same time as the original, which appeared on 1978’s The Man-Machine, the Automatism rendition slows both the tempo and melody down, giving the song a languorous and dreamy, psilocybin-fueled buzz.
“Another one of those occasions when the best stuff comes out when you stop trying,” the band’s Mikael Tuominen says. “We had been working on a version of ‘Neon Lights’ for a while, even played it live, that was much closer to the original in feel and tempo. We did a couple of recordings of that version and they were okay. Then, without deciding anything, we just fell into playing the theme really slowly and softly, and again, luckily enough I hit the red button. First it was almost as if we didn’t take it seriously, but soon we entered the zone, and listening to the versions back to back there was no question of which one to choose.”
News/Announcements: FME Announces 2025 Venue Showcase Lineups
FME announces the venue showcase lineups for the 2025 edition.
Throwback: R.I.P. Brian Wilson
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the life and music of the legendary Brian Wilson.