Category: Single Review

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Over the past five or six months, I’ve managed to spill quite a bit of virtual ink covering the rising French electronic music artist, producer and JOVM mainstay LutchamaK. Now, as you may recall, the rising French artist grew up as a voracious music listener and fan, who has had long eclectic and wide-ranging tastes that includes hip-hop, rock, techno and others. And while his work is deeply influenced from and draws from techno, it also reflects a lifelong devotion to a eclecticism: his first two EPs, which he managed to create during lunch breaks at his day job featured material that meshed elements of techno, house and EDM among others.

The French JOVM mainstay has developed a reputation for being remarkably prolific, frequently releasing new material with a number of EPs, including one of his most recent EPs Kodama. “Music Box,” Kodama EP‘s latest single is centered around tweeter and woofer rocking low end, thumping beats, explosive blast of rimshot and hi-hat, relentless synth stabs, a looped sample of a kalimba, which manages to sound much like a music box and a vocal sample that simply says “We are the weapons.” While being a mid-tempo techno track the track manages to sound as though it were inspired by Tour De France-era Kraftwerk and Boys Noize — forward-thinking yet accessible and dance floor friendly.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Camille Berthomier is a Poitiers, Vienne, France-born, London-based singer/songwriter, actress, author and musician, professionally known as Jehnny Beth — and as the frontwoman of the Mercury Prize-nominated, critically applauded act Savages. With Savages, the Poitiers-born, London-based singer/songwriter and multi-disciplinary artist has developed a reputation for a unique lyrical perspective and a powerful stage presence that has captivated audiences across the world over the past 15 years.

Now, as you may recall. Beth’s solo debut, To Love Is To Live was originally slated for release later this year through Caroline Records — but the album was recently pushed back to June 12, 2020, as a result of the Beth’s desire to support local, independent record stores by ensuring that the physical album could come out at the same time. “Record stores are where I found myself as a teenager, digging through albums that ultimately shaped who I have become,” Beth says in press notes. “To release my first ever solo album in a way that would leave them out felt wrong to me; luckily, we were able to find a date that would allow us to release the physical and digital album at the same time.”

Recorded in Los Angeles, London and Paris, To Love Is To Live finds the longtime Savages frontwoman boldly stepping into and claiming the spotlight as a solo artist, while collaborating with an eclectic array of producers and artists including Flood, Atticus Ross, longtime collaborator and Savages bandmate Johnny Hostile, Adam “Cecil” Bartlett, The xx’s Romy Madley Croft, IDLES‘ Joe Talbot and Golden Globe-winning actor Cilian Murphy. Thematically, the album sees Beth tapping into and accessing the darkest and least comfortable parts of herself to craft material that’s cathartic, abrasive, fearlessly honest and vulnerable, making the material a dark and cinematic meditation on the very strangeness of being alive.

So far I’ve written about two of the album’s singles: the brooding and atmospheric “Flower,” a track that was reportedly written about a pole dancer at Los Angeles’ Jumbo’s Clown Room and seethes with a feverish and obsessive lust  — and “Innocence,” a dark ad sultry track that evokes the uneasy feelings of isolation, loneliness while ironically living in a big city surrounded by seemingly endless people. “Heroine,” the album’s fourth and latest single is centered around a similar, slinky off-kilter motorik groove as its immediate predecessor, rapid fire four-on-the-floor shimmering synth arpeggios and an achingly vulnerable vocal performance from Beth, the track probes deeply into the dark recesses of her psyche with a fearless abandon.

“When I think of this song, I think of Romy from the xx strangling my neck with her hands in the studio,” Beth recalls in press notes. “She was trying to get me out of my shell lyrically, and there was so much resistance in me she lost her patience. The song was originally called Heroism, but I wasn’t happy because it was too generic. Flood was the first one to suggest to say Heroine instead of Heroism. Then I remember Johnny Hostile late at night in my hotel room in London saying ‘I don’t understand who you are singing about. Who is the Heroine? You ARE the Heroine’. The next morning, I arrived early in the studio and recorded my vocals adding ‘to be’ to the chorus line: ‘all I want is TO BE a heroine.’ Flood entered the studio at that moment and jumped in the air giving me the thumbs up through the window. I guess I’m telling this story because sometimes we look around for role models, and examples to follow, without realising that the answer can be hidden inside of us. I was afraid to be the Heroine of the song, but it took all the people around me to get me there.”

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Syd Silvair · The Moth

Syd Silvair is a New York-based tarot-reader by day and emerging singer/songwriter by night, who started her career behind the scenes as songwriter with Kobalt Music, penning songs and lending her vocals for songs for a variety of different artists and projects, including, Syn Cole‘s “Cool With That,” which landed on Spotify’s New Music Friday playlist last year.

Now, as you may recall, last year, Silvair stepped out into the spotlight as a solo artist with the release of her Dillon Pace-produced debut single “”Obsidian,” which quickly established her sound — a sound that seemed to draw from and mesh elements of Stevie Nicks‘ early 80s output with New Wave while prominently displaying Silvair’s gossamer vocals. Since the release of “Obsidian,” Silvair’s work has appeared in episodes of Grey’s Anatomy, The Fosters, Bold Type, Honest Beauty and others.

Building upon a growing profile, the New York-based singer/songwriter and tarot reader’s debut EP The Reverie is slated for release this year. “My upcoming EP follows a narrative inspired by tarot cards, each song capturing the essence of a different card,” Silvair wrote to me in an email last year.  The EP’s material explores the ways in which the divine messages of the tarot card deck manifest themselves within the physical world with each track capturing the essence of a specific card, weaving the card’s meaning into the lyrics and overall mood of the song.

“The Moth,” Reverie EP‘s latest single continues a run of hook-driven slinky pop centered around disco-inspired bass lines, atmospheric synths  propulsive drumming, reverb drenched guitars paired with Silvair’s self-assured and sultry vocal delivery. The song is deeply influenced by The Magician card of the tarot deck. Thematically, the song reminds the listener that what’s perceived as a weakness can quickly be transformed into a strength while being a boldly feminist anthem.

“The nurturing aspects of femininity are often misunderstood; the ability to nurture should be treated as a strength, not an obligation,” Silvair says in press notes. “I find that my own feminine nature tends to attract people who are looking to take advantage of it. I’ve connected deeply with The Magician tarot card in an effort to take the power back, to nurture on my own terms. I wrote ‘The Moth’ as both a warning for anyone who believes a woman exists solely to mend their pain, and more importantly as an anthem of empowerment—a reminder that for every bit of our tenderness, there is an equally potent fierceness.”

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

CHAD · Isolation

Emerging Portland, OR-based indie act CHAD  — founding members Sarah Lane and  Trevor Greely along with Zach Whiton and Alex Widner — can trace its origins to the split up of its founding members’ previous band. Now, as you may recall, the Cameron Spies-produced “I Got Time” found the band quickly establishing a signature sound with Lane’s gorgeous vocals effortlessly weaving through layers of shimmering guitars, a sinuous bass line and boom bap-like drumming. Of course, beyond that, the song was centered around a delicious and playful irony: the song’s narrator may be saying that she has time but in there’s a tacit recognition that in reality, she doesn’t; time is rushing by — and she’s sort of dithering around.

“Isolation,” the Portland-based act’s latest single is a slow-burning bit of 80s inspired,  dream pop centered around shimmering and and arpeggios synths, a sultry, Quiet-storm like bass line and Lane’s come-hither cooing. And while revealing a band that has been expanding upon their sonic palette in a way that recalls Beach House, the song as the band mentions via email is “the social distancing ballad we didn’t know we needed” — with the song evoking the unease and profound loneliness that so many of us are suffering through right now.

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: French Producer Sory Releases a Cinematic and Retro-futuristic New Single

Deriving his name from a French word for “tawny,” an orange-brown or yellowish-brown, Sory is a mysterious and emerging Parisian electronic music producer and electronic music artist, who has started to receive attention for a sound that’s heavily influenced by electro pop and electro funk. Thematically, the French producer and artist’s work draws from his lifelong obsession with robots — with the material taking the listener on an intergalactic future in which humanity is at one with machinery. 

Last month, Sory released his debut EP, the four song Fall ‘N’ Rise,  which featured lead single “Sitting on a cloud.” “Sitting on a cloud” gave a hint at what listeners should expect from the effort: slickly produced electro pop that nodded at funk and disco, centered around vocodored vocals. The EP’s second and latest track, the cinematic “Cyberpunk attack” is centered around shimmering synth arpeggios, thumping beats, four-on-the floor drumming and an enormous hook. Arguably, the most retro-futuristic of Fall ‘N’ Rise’s four tracks, “Cyberpunk attack” manages to bring Daft Punk, Giorgio Moroder and John Carpenter soundtracks to mind. That shouldn’t be surprising: the song imagines an attack in which humans are captured and made into cyborgs through the implantation of bio-mechanical components. In the case the song’s composer imagines a future in which a memory chip that captures the entirety of his personality, memory, talents and history was implanted in his brain. The track asks if that were to happen, how does one regain their humanity and soul? 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Los Angeles’ The Know Covers The Jesus and Mary Chain

Los Angeles-based dream pop/shoegaze duo The Know, married couple and collaborators Daniel Knowles and Jennifer Farmer, can trace their origins to late 2018, when Knowles suggested to Farmer that instead of traveling home for the holidays — the UK and Texas respectively — that they stay put in Los Angeles and try to write music together, just the two of them. And the material they would write would be their gift to themselves.

Over a couple of weeks, they isolated themselves in their home studio with no real plan but they shared a mutual love of Beach House, Julee Cruise, ye ye, The Jesus and Mary Chain, 60s girl groups, Patsy Cline and The National. Interestingly, the first batch of material they wrote together, included their debut single “143.” Inspired by Tom Waits‘ “(Looking for) The Heart of Saturday Night,” “143” found the duo meshing the autobiographical with the fantastic: focusing on the hazy half-remembered recollections of a wild night out paired with an instrumental arrangement that seemed indebted to Beach House and 60s girl groups.

Their second single “Hold Me Like You Know Me,” a personal account of the intense feelings of loneliness and isolation that the band’s Farmer felt over the past year, received favorably comparisons to David Lynch’s Twin Peaks and Phil Spector‘s Wall of Sound production.

Both of those singles will be included on the duo’s forthcoming debut EP, wearetheknow. Slated for a May 18, 2020 release, the EP finds the duo fully embracing a DIY ethos: the EP was produced, mixed and mastered by the band’s Knowles with Farmer handling the band’s visual side, including their videos and visual content. And as a result, the duo ensure that they have complete creative control over what they do. Thematically, the EP delves into the duo’s personal lives with the material touching upon their relationship and their experiences  — paired with a kaleidoscopic soundscape. 

Now, as you may recall, last month, I wrote about “Someday Maybe,” a track that continued a run of material based on their personal experiences while sonically meshing Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound with The Stone Roses and others as it featured swooning boy-girl harmonies paired with layers of swirling and buzzing guitars and pedal effects.  Interestingly, the duo’s latest single, a cover of The Jesus and Mary Chain’s “Sometimes Always” was inspired by quarantine-induced boredom — and was initially just intended for their own amusement and ears. After completing the track, the duo liked the way it came out, so they sent it to their CLUB 143 fan club an exclusive listen and feedback. The feedback was so positive that the and decided to squeeze in another single before the release of their debut EP. 

The Know’s cover of “Sometimes Always” the first song in which Knowles takes on lead vocal duties — but the cover is a deceptive, sonic detour with the duo taking one of The Jesus and Mary Chain’s more pop-leaning songs and playing it in the style of the influential act’s psychedelic leaning material.  And yet, it still manages to hew closely to the spirit and overall vibe of the original. 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Dead Pony · Everything Is Easy

In their relatively short time together, the up-and-coming Glasgow-based post-punk quartet Dead Pony — Anna Shields (vocals, guitar), Blair Crichton (guitar, backing vocals), Liam Adams (bass) and Aidan McAllister (drums) — have developed a reputation for a high-octane live set that has earned them opening slots for Courtney Barnett, Black Honey, and The Mysterines.

Centered around slashing power chords, thunderous drumming, blasts of jagged synth arpeggios and a rousingly anthemic hook, the Scottish quartet’s latest single “Everything Is Easy” is a bold and self-assured introduction to the band that manages to sound indebted to Elastica — “Connection” and “Car Song” in particular come to mind.

“‘Everything is Easy’ is a take on how simple childhood experiences can be soured as you grow older,” the band’s Anna Shields explains in press notes. “Lyrically, we tried to capture that feeling of betrayal you feel as a young, naïve child when you find out Santa isn’t real or that your conception wasn’t via your Dad finding a snotter on the wall and raising it to become you. We came up with this idea after having discussed how ridiculous the things were we believed as children.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Snowapple is an Amsterdam-based, multi-national, multi-ethnic and multidisciplinary ensemble that specializes in a unique sound that frequently combines diverse and eclectic musical influences, including pop, folk, opera and experimental cumbia among others. Visually, the ensemble uses theatrical elements, extravagant costumes paired with provocative thematic concerns to create epic live sets and videos.

The members of the Dutch ensemble have brought their unique and epic live show to the international festival circuit with sets at Eurosonic Nooderlsag, Cervantino, Ollin Kan, Oerol and Larmer Tree — and they’ve made appearances on a number of TV stations around the world, including Canal11, TV Azteca, and Canal22. Adding to a growing international profile, the act has also received airplay on BBC Radio multiple times.

Snowapple is currently working on their new festival set 4 Lunes, the follow-up to the act’s 2019 theater shows Mr. Moon and Project Lucy and to their political program La Llorona — Ser Mujer (The Weeping One — Being a Woman), which raises awareness of femicides in Mexico. But in the meantime, the act’s latest single, the David Ott-produced “Simple Things” is an adaptation of Armando Tejada Gomez‘s and Cesar Isella’s “Las Simples Coasas,” which has been performed by Chavela Vargas, Mercedes Sosa and countless others. Centered around a cinematic, genre-mashing arrangement that’s one part tango, one part chanson and one part Tropicalia, the Dutch act’s rendition evokes smoky cafes, narrow and foggy European streets and the work of David Lynch but imbued with an aching nostalgia. And as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the song takes on a heightened and deeper meaning: there’s a longing for the things, places and experiences we may never get back — with the acknowledgment that there are things we often say goodbye to way too quickly, not noticing how much they meant to us until they’re gone.

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Kidsmoke · The Bluest You (Radio Edit)

Rapidly rising, Wrexham, Wales, UK-based indie act Kidsmoke — Lance Williams (vocals, guitar), James Stickels (bass, vocals), Sophie Ballamy (guitar, vocals) and Ash Turner (drums) — had a massive year last year that included playing at SXSW, among a series of other highlights. Continuing on the momentum of last year, the band recently signed to Libertino Records, who released the band’s latest single “The Bluest You.”

Centered around swirling layers of shimmering guitars, a propulsive rhythm section, a rousingly arena friendly hook and Williams’ plaintive falsetto, “The Bluest You” finds the band bridging elements of dream pop, shoegaze and Brit pop with ambitious songwriting and a self-assured delivery. But just under the gorgeously shimmering surface, the song is a somber meditation on how mental health issues can affect loved ones rooted in empathetic and novelistic observations. Originally inspired by Low and Heroes-era David Bowie, the track was intended to be an instrumental but after intense rehearsals and the addition of some Matt Berninger-influenced lyrics, the song eventually morphed into its current shape.

“This song is a live favourite of ours. It is a fly on the wall look into a household where one person’s depression is affecting everyone else who lives there,” the members of the Welsh band explain. “The song doesn’t address the feelings of the person suffering with depression, it is a sort of commentary from the viewpoint of the rest of the family.”

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

felte · Houses of Heaven – Dissolve The Floor

With the release of their debut EP Remnant, the Oakland-based electronic act, Houses of Heaven — Kevin Tecon, Adam Beck and Nick Ott — quickly established their sound: centered around layers of synths, guitar, electronic percussion and drums, the act meshes early industrial and techno rhythms with shoegaze melodicism and dub-influenced effects.

Building upon a growing profile, the Bay Area-based trio’s highly-anticipated full-length debut, the Matia Simovich-produced Silent Places is slated for a digital release through Felte Records on Friday and a vinyl release on May 22, 2020. The album’s material was written against the backdrop of the Northern California wildfires, expanding tent cities, the rampant greed and gentrification in San Francisco that has resulted in empty, luxury high-rises — and thematically, the album explores the intimate experiences that transpire within the chaotic and uncertain confines of everyday modern life.

“Dissolve The Floor,”Silent Places first single is the arguably the album’s most dance floor friendly song. Centered around a pulsing synth arpeggios, industrial clang and clatter, muscular techno beats, woozy tape delay, an enormous hook and  emotionally detached vocals, “Dissolve The Floor” recalls early Depeche Mode, Factory Floor and others — but with an underlying  and shadowy sense of menace and unease.