Category: Single Review

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: maticulous and El Gant Share Eerie and Menacing “House of Cards”

Pittsburgh-born, Brooklyn-based producer maticulous will be teaming up with veteran New York emcee El Gant on the collaborative album, House of Cards, which is slated for a summer release. The album will include the previously released “Wordle,” which featured a guest spot from beloved indie emcee Brother Ali and the album’s title track “House of Cards.”

El Gant dexterously spits rapid fire bars over a menacing production featuring a looping woozy and twinkling key-driven sample paired with a droning bass and boom bap. Much like its immediate predecessor, “House of Cards” captures our particular moment, one in which we all find ourselves at some sort of crossroads in a crooked, fucked up world on the verge of collapse.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: LutchamaK Returns with Hypnotic “Side of Town”

French electronic music producer and JOVM mainstay LutchamaK continues to be restlessly prolific, contributing “Side of Town” to a compilation released by Mexican electronic label, Brown Traxx Recordings. Clocking in at a little over 5:30, “Side of Town” is a breakneck, no bullshit and no chaser bit of techno that’s specifically designed to get asses to the dance floor, while being anchored around a hypnotic, irresistible groove and his long-held unerring knack for meldocism.

“Side of Town” builds on constant tension but is roomy enough that its individual elements — the shimmering synth melody, the driving groove, the vocal sample and skittering beats can breathe on their own.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Lolabelle Shares Anthemic, Mosh Pit Friendly “Limb”

Buxton, ME-based indie rock band Lolabelle can trace their origins back to the summer of 2024, when three neighbors– Caroline Homer (vocals, guitar), Kurt Fedora (bass) and Gene Gill (drums) — met in their backyard and bonded over a shared love of 1990s alt rock. This meeting of the minds, bought together an unlikely pairing of musicians: Fedora has recorded with J Mascis and Dinosaur Jr., Mark Lanegan, Gooblehoof and a lengthy list of others — and is a grizzled national touring circuit veteran; Gill, is a music educator and saxophonist with a background in both classical music an jazz; and Homer, a former opera singer and late-in-life guitar player.

That casual meetup quickly became a vehicle for Homer’s songwriting and the trio would regularly sneak into the dusty, unfinished basement of their apartment building to jam. When Robert Samantha‘s and God’s Furniture‘s Stephen Bennett (lead guitar) joined the band, the quartet quickly established a sound that’s bittersweet, deeply visceral and cathartic yet fun and full of driving energy while making the rounds of the Portland, ME area live music circuit, including Blue Portland Maine, The Apohadion Theater, The Portland Club, Hey Sailor! and the Starboard Lounge, Hi-Fdelity Brewing, Fogtown Brewing Company, DIY shows and more.

The band went to the studio to record their debut EP, which is slated to drop sometime this month. The EP will be supported with a planned Northeast tour, too. In the meantime, their debut single, “Limb” is a melodic bit of indie pop that channels 90s alt-rock like Veruca Salt, Dinosaur Jr, Letters to Cleo and the like, complete with the classic, alternating quiet verses and loud hooks and fuzzy, distortion pedaled power chord-driven choruses. It’s a fun, mosh pit friendly party starter of a tune that can light up a room.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: The Afghan Whigs Return with Sultry “Jungle Roux”

JOVM mainstays The Afghan Whigs —  currently Greg Dulli (vocals, guitar), John Curley (bass), multi-instrumentalist Rick Nelson and the band’s newest member, Blind Melon’s Christopher Thorn (guitar) — will be releasing their 10th album, Soft Control on August 21, 2026 through Royal Cream/BMG.

Soft Control is reportedly a testament to the old David Bowie quote, where he describes aging as “an extraordinary process, where you become the person you always should have been.” By now, the volatile years of frontman Greg Dulli’s youth have been substituted with a wry and self-aware, Zen Buddhist-like satori. The edge and sensitive temperament remain but the unchecked conflagration of ego and rage no longer threaten personal immolation.

“I’ve worked hard on my inner peace,” Dulli explains. ““I was an angry young man, and it fueled my art, ambition and my drive. I wouldn’t change anything because I can’t.  But as I got into photography and other art forms, I realized that I’m not in competition with anyone – including myself. Now, I know what I’m doing and there’s a quiet confidence that comes with being able to back it up.” 

The band recorded 22 songs for the album in session s at Joshua Tree, CA‘s Fireside Sound, New Orleans‘ Marginy Studios, East Hollywood’s Gold Diggers Sound and Cincinnati’s Sycamore Studios. Several favorites were cut because they didn’t seamlessly fit into the album’s taut 37-minute run time. The album features guest spots from former drummer Patrick Keeler, vocalist and violinist Petra Haden, My Morning Jacket‘s Bo Koster and a list of others.

Soft Control reportedly captures the JOVM outfit’s long-held ability to craft material that can effortlessly bounce between and mesh arena rock anthems with brooding, cubist refractions of soul and R&B. The album has its Afghan Whig-style bangers — because Afghan Whigs after all. But there’a reconciliation of ear drum shattering volume and somber reflections, living life with joy and purpose while keeping one eye on the clock, while remaining aware of life’s absurdities.

The album’s latest single “Jungle Roux” is a sultry bit of R&B and soul-tinged rock with phased out guitar twang that sounds a bit like a synthesis of “Gimme Shelter,” Dr. John, and Motown, and evokes a woozy, sweaty and desperate craving. It’s arguably the album’s sexiest, song to date.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Two from Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio

2021’s I Told You So is the Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio‘s best-selling and performing album to date. “Chicken Leg”/”If I Could” is the trio’s latest single, and first batch of new material from the band — currently, Delvon Lamarr (organ), Parlor Greens‘ and True Loves‘ Jimmy James, and Polyrhythmics and Champagne Bubblebath‘s Grant Schroff (drums) — in over four years.

The 7-inch 45RPM single, which features tracks originally recorded during the I Told You So sessions serves as the first batch of material from a forthcoming album. “Chicken Leg,” the A-side is a strutting bit of deep fried funk that channels Booker T and the MGs while capturing the deeply held, effortless simpatico between three grizzled vets. The B-side “If I Could” is a slow-burning and heartfelt, gospel-informed soul ballad that wouldn’t be out of place on Daptone or Big Crown.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Black Ends Shares Bruising Nirvana-like “All I’m Bone”

Black Ends — currently Nicole Swims (vocals, guitar), Ben Swanson (bass), Karl Fagerström (drums) and Tom Scully (guitar) — is a Seattle-based band, who make music that sounds, well like Seattle: a heady mxi of gnarled and fuzzy guitar chords, gritty and slimy textures, bombastic, ear drum shattering volumes and Swims’ guttural croon paired with Swanson’s propulsive groove. They’ve dubbed the sound gunk pop, an evolution of grunge that’s filtered through a modern lens, and feels perfectly at home in our era of paranoia, unease and overstimulation.

2020’s Jack Endino-produced Stay Evil EP received praise from The Alternative and Post-Trash and more, and airplay from KEXP. Their full-length debut, 2024’s Psychotic Spew landed at #1 on Seattle Times‘ Best Washington Albums 2024 list. And since then, the Seattle-based band have shared bills with Bikini Kill, Otoboke Beaver, Shonen Knife, Skating Polly, Living Colour, English Teacher and Pretty Girls Make Graves.

2026 sees the band returning with a new lineup — Tom Scully (guitar) and Karl Fagerström (drums) — and a new single, “All I’m Bone, ” which marks Scully’s recorded debut with the band. “All I’m Bone” is a bruising Nevermind-meets-In Utereo-inspired ripper, featuring sludgy guitars, a churning groove, thunderous drumming and remarkably catchy, mosh pit friendly hooks and choruses paired with Swims’ guttural croon. While arguably being one of the more straightforward songs of their growing catalog, the song thematically is rooted in a deeply universal sensation — the creeping unease and dread of your impending mortality and the fear of what, if anything, is beyond the mortal coil.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Montréal’s DONALDA Shares Woozily Euphoric “C FOU”

Montréal-based electronic dance music duo DONALDA — Florence Lafontaine and Olivier Martin-Fréchette — derive their project’s name from the name given to the first women admitted to college in Québec in the late 19th century, and is a nod to the fictional character introduced in Claude-Henri Grignon’s 1933 novel Un homme et son péché, who, for several generations, embodied the consequences of patriarchy.

Lafontaine and Martin-Fréchette both have an academic background in digital, contemporary mixed-media and instrumental composition, as well as in jazz interpretation. Inspired by UK garage, dubstep, left field bass and other British electronic music sub-genres as well as the queer nightlife scene, the duo take a pedagogical approach to music in order to deconstruct the boundaries of musical genres. While getting people onto the dance floor is their ultimate goal, they also seek to spark musical curiosity among their audience, something that is at the core of their inclusive, unifying philosophy.

Through composition, sound design and creative coding, the Montréal-based duo tap into their wide-ranging experiences to bring every stage of DONALDA’s creative process to life. And fittingly, their versatility imbued their sound with a coherent and deeply personal artistic identity rooted in a celebration of diversity and inclusion, freedom and the French language.

The duo recently signed to Bonsound, who released their debut single “C FOU.” Meshing elements of dubstep, drum ‘n’ bass, alternative R&B and Larry Levan-era house, “C FOU” sees the duo pairing glitchy beats, broodingly atmospheric synths, soulful harmonies, catchy danceable choruses and hooks, The result is a woozy, drunken euphoric feel of freedom — but with a bit of grit, sweat and grime.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: JOVM Mainstay Alewya Returns with Defiant, Dancehall-Inspired “Maktoub”

JOVM mainstay Alewya is an acclaimed London-based singer/songwriter, producer and visual artist. Her highly-anticipated full-length debut, ZERO is slated for a June 26, 2026 release through Because London Records. The album reportedly embodies years of artistic growth into an effort that’s both deeply personal and sonically expansive. But the album also marks a significant milestone, as it sees her boldly stepping into a new creative era, defined by fearless experimentation and cultural fluidity. 

ZERO will include the previously released “Night Drive,” feat. Dagmawit Ameha and “City of Symbols,” “Eshi,” the Busy Twist-produced “Selah” and its fifth and latest single “Maktoub.” Anchored around dancehall reggae riddims, skittering industrial trap triplets, “Maktoub” continues a remarkable run of genre-defying and sweaty global club music that’s expansive yet urgent, accessible yet forward-thinking and remarkably catchy. Over the song’s dancehall riddims, the JOVM mainstay’s reggae-influenced vocal sings lyrics that touch upon themes of resistance, destiny and self-determination that are fiercely feminist and defiantly pro-Black and pan-African.

“Sometimes songs take time to reveal themselves but ‘Maktoub’ felt immediate and effortless from day one,” notes Alewya. 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: CASTLEBEAT Shares Shimmering, Hook-Driven “Stay With Me”

Growing up biracial in Southern California — his father Korean, his mother Spanish — CASTLEBEAT creative mastermind and Spirit Goth Records founder Josh Hwang absorbed a wide range of musical traditions early on, filtered through the quintessentially Californian experience of listening to the radio on long drives. Drawing comparisons to Craft Spells, Beach Fossils and Day Wave, Hwang’s CASTLEBEAT sound can be described as jangly guitar-driven dream pop with melancholic overtones and sharp pop hooks, anchored around a sense of melody and motion.

Hwang’s newest CASTLEBEAT effort, CASTLEBEAT II is slated for a June 26, 2026 release through Spirit Goth Records, the label he runs with his wife Sonia. Much like his previously released work, Hwang wrote, recorded and produced everything himself, continuing the lo-fi DIY ethos that’s been at the core of the project. The album is conceived as a ten year anniversary reflection on Hwang’s 2016 self-titled debut. And he approached the album as both a time capsule and a creative reset, deliberately returning to the sounds, instincts and unfinished ideas of his early CASTLEBEAT era — but with a decade worth of refined craftsmanship.

“This album is a 10-year anniversary ode to my 2016 debut,” Hwang explains. “Some of the songs started as ideas from that era that I never finished at the time. Other songs were written more recently, but I intentionally limited myself to the kinds of sounds and choices I would’ve made back then — just with a more dialed-in approach I’ve developed over the years.” Adding to the homage paying vibes, CASTLEBEAT II‘s artwork and song sequencing deliberately echoes Hwang’s 2016 CASTLEBEAT debut, down to the original font on the artwork. “This record is about taking a moment to recount a chapter before moving forward,” says Hwang.

Unlike his previously released work, there is one major departure: Hwang recruited Brian Fisher to handle mixing and mastering. According to the Southern Californian-born artist, it was a decision that took some letting go of. “The hardest part was trusting that handoff and not endlessly tweaking. But once I let that happen it actually made the album stronger,” he admits.

CASTLEBEAT II‘s third and latest single “Stay With Me” features jangling guitar lines and a slacker rock-meets-New Order-like groove paired with Hwang’s achingly wistful vocal and a remarkably catchy hook. “Stay With Me” sees Hwang walking a tightrope between being defiant upbeat and heartbreaking melancholy, evoking a familiar sensation to anyone who’s been in a relationship on the verge of a breakup: the desire to hold on, but the sense of that person slipping away before your eyes.

As Hwang says: “‘Stay With Me’ is an upbeat, home-recorded dream-pop single built around jangly Stratocaster lines and a laid-back slacker-rock feel. Lyrically it’s about wanting someone to stick around when you can feel things starting to slip. Bright guitars, relaxed groove, and a hook that lands quickly.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Shaina Haynes Shares Shimmering “Timid”

Shaina Hayes is a Montréal-based singer/songwriter, whose work effortlessly blends folk pop clarity with alt-country warm and a deep attention to emotional detail paired with graceful vocals, thoughtful lyricism. Her debut, 2022’s to coax a waltz and 2024’s sophomore album Kindergarten Heart helped the Montréal-based singer/songwriter firmly cement her intimate songwriting.

Alongside her musical career, Hayes continues to operate a vegetable farm in the tiny, rural Quebecois hometown, where she grew up. Fittingly, the land remains a grounding force in her life, shaping her sense of rhythm, patience and presence. Her dual existence as a touring musician and a hands-on farmer, informs the clarity and steadiness that runs through her work.

Kindergarten Heart received coverage from Consequence, KCRW, The Line of Best Fit, Under the Radar, Far Our Magazine, Uncut, BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 6. The album landed on the year-end lists of Le Devoir, Radio Canada, CISM, DOMINIONATED, Le Canal Auditif and a lengthy list of others. Both albums were supported with tours opening for the likes of The War on Drugs, The Barr Brothers and JOVM mainstay Elisapie.

Earlier this year, she released “Flourish” which received praise from Clash, Wonderland and RTÉ. Hayes’ latest single “Timid” comes on the heels of a short European tour opening for The Barr Brothers. “Timid” is a breezy and shimmering indie pop take on her long-held folk sound, while arguably being one of the more hooky songs she’s released to date.

Recorded in Montreal with a backing band featuring Francis Ledoux (drums), Étienne Dupré (bass), David Marchand (electric guitar), and Lysandre Ménard (upright piano) “Timid” sees Haynes and her collaborators balancing on a tightrope between jam-like looseness and taut, almost mathematical precision, rooted in the warmth and earthiness she’s long been known for. Sonically resembling Julia Jacklin, the new single is an ode to introverts and quiet thinkers; a song that celebrates the richness of the inner while gently encoring vulnerability and self-expression.

“‘Timid’ was a track that came about during a period when I was listening to a lot of Julia Jacklin and Billie Marten. Lyrically, I wanted to explore the idea that even at our most articulate, the way we express ourselves is just a tiny glimpse into what’s actually going on inside us – that we contain whole, unseen universes,” Haynes explains. Ultimately, ‘Timid’ is a song about everything we feel but rarely manage to express.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: ELEVIN Shares a Sleek, Melodic House Banger

ELEVIN is a mysterious, emerging electronic music producer, who specializes in creating musical experiences designed to make audiences feel — while reflecting “the geometry of existence.” 

His latest single “Edge of Sight” continues a remarkable run of slickly produced club and festival friendly, melodic house bangers anchored around dense layers of glistening of relentless motorik pulse, skittering thump and a cinematic heft, But at it’s core is a song specifically created to get people to head to the dance floor.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Christian Sean Shares Woozy “Saint Loreto”

Montréal-based pop artist Christian Sean is a firm believer in the transformative power of pop music. As a kid, he was drawn to indie rock and left-field electroinca, part of a local scene that disavowed commerciality in favor of innovation and creativity. But as he got older, he surrounded to his true calling — making what he believes is the best music of his life, anchored around a unique blend of melodic sensibility and avant-garde experimentation.

Sean’s debut, last year’s Hallelujah Showers was the culmination of years toiling on the local scene as a producer and multi-instrumentalist and was released to praise internationally from the likes of Ones To Watch, The FADER, Earmilk, and others. He capped off a busy 2025 by opening for French alt pop artist Zaho de Sagazan on their Canadian tour and making a run of the Québecois festival circuit with sets at POP Montréal and Santa Teresa Festival.

Building upon a growing profile, the rising Montréal-based pop latest single “Saint Loreto” is a slickly produced, hook-driven bop featuring lived-in songwriter Sean’s achingly tender falsetto and a glitchy, forward-thinking production that’s both club and radio friendly. But under the slickly produced surface is a song anchored around a familiar, woozy internal battle between self-doubt, indecision and longing.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Super Plage Teams Up with Virginie B on Summery “POOL PARTY”

Jules Henry is a Montréal-based singer/songwriter, electronic music producer and creative mastermind behind the acclaimed, JOVM mainstay recording project and Super Plage. Founded back in 2019, Super Plage sees Henry crafting slickly produced, dance floor friendly electro pop that draws from house and nu-disco. He frequently collaborates with local French Canadian artists to create a playful, fun-loving and escapist universe, where it feels good to party.

Since 2019, Henry has released four albums, including 2023’s Magie á minuit, which received an ADISQ Félix Award-nomination for Electronic Album of the Year. Building upon a growing profile, Henry has made a run of both the provincial and international festival circuits, playing sets at Francos de Montréal, FME and Festival d’été de Québec, SXSW, Wide Days and others. He has opened for Miel de Montagne, Juilen Granel, Bon Entendeur, MYD and more.

Last year’s GROOSE MAISON featured a sleek and daring blend of house, disco and French touch anchored around catchy, downright funky grooves, much like on album single “Tip Top.”

The French Canadian JOVM mainstay’s latest single “POOL PARTY” continues his longtime collaboration with Virginie B. Sonically drawing from classic house music, “POOL PARTY” is a breezy and summery, dance floor friendly bop that showcases Henry’s unerring knack for sleek production and razor sharp, catchy hooks paired with a sultry, pop starlet performance from Virginie B. It’s a much-needed, early blast of summer.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: James Tonic Shares Cinematic and Yearning “At The Time In New York”

James Tonic is a Montréal-born, New York-based dream pop artist, who over the course of seven albums firmly established a sound built on analog synths, live drums and unflinching lyrics. 2024’s Stuck in LA, an […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: C.M. Samuels Shares an Industrial Techno-Inspired Banger

Best known for handling synths, samples and drum machines as a member of Western post-punk outfit Ritual Howls and for being a member of ambient post-industrial project Mission to the Sun, C.M. Samuels stepped out into the spotlight as a solo artist with the release of his solo debut EP After Selection, which was released earlier this month.

Samuels has long been deeply rooted in Detroit — its environments and ever-evolving music scene that has shaped the core of his sound. He cut his teeth decades ago in industrial projects and now, he channels that foundation while crafting electronics for Ritual Howls and exploring much more experimental directions with Mission to the Sun. Fittingly, the EP which was released earlier this month through Detroit Industrial, the five-song After Selection draws from Samuels’ long-time love of classic EBM, early Wax Trax! Records, Skinny Puppy, and others.

His five-song debut EP is an instrumental EP firmly entrenched in EBM and industrial techno. Anchored around driving rhythms, pulsing synth lines and a sharp sense of momentum, Samuels’ debut effort is specifically designed to energize the dance floor and keep bodies moving.

The EP’s latest single, EP opener “Body Interface” is a club banger anchored around punchy industrial thump and a buoyant bass line that lock into a relentless and forceful motorik-like groove. Sonically, the track seemingly channels early Nine Inch Nails and 90s industrial techno while possessing a remarkably modern sensibility.