Category: Single Review

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Over the last two years or so,  Detroit, MI-based duo Gosh Pith have become JOVM mainstays while gaining a rapidly growing national profile for a sound that seamlessly meshes elements of hip-hop, electro pop, stoner rock, indie rock, dub, trap music, drum ‘n’ bass and other related genres. And over that period of time, the prolific duo have been experimenting and expanding upon the sound that first caught my attention and that of the rest of the blogosphere. The duo’s latest single “In My Car” pairs the tweeter and woofer rocking beats and stuttering drum programming of trap with swirling and atmospheric electronics and synths and brief bursts of guitar. Lyrically, the song is both a sultry come-on to a potential fling/lover that simultaneously possesses a sense of adventure  and restlessness about driving around with no particular purpose, except seeing wherever and however the  night goes; maybe you fuck around, get something to eat, listen to music, smoke weed, look at the stars — and maybe you hook up at the end of the night. Interestingly, the song may arguably be the most seductive and sensual song the duo have released to date.

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Featuring three high-school friends, Reddmond Perone, Joseph Gara, and Garrett Shafer, the Metuchen, NJ-based trio The Ivory Orchids formed the band with the purpose of creating unique music that touches upon the aspects of a variety of emotions. Interestingly, “It’s Alright,” the first single off the trio’s recently released EP manages to sound as though it channels The Bends-era Radiohead — in particular, “Fake Plastic Trees”  as the song possess a similar quiet introspection with a bitterly ironic sensibility just underneath the surface.

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Featuring Anthony Cozzi (vocals, guitar), Russell Calderwood (guitar), Nithin Kalvakota (drums) and Lucas Sikorski (bass), Chicago, IL-based quartet Radar Eyes initially received attention for a fuzzy, garage rock sound, and with Cozzi’s relocation to Los Angeles, the quartet’s forthcoming effort Radiant Remains was in some way meant to be a swan song for the band — while being a sonic change in direction as the band’s material took on a decidedly 80s post-punk rock sound that channeled the likes of Crocodiles, Heaven Up Here and Ocean Rain-era Echo and the Bunnymen, Starfish-era The Church and others as you’ll hear on the album’s moody and shimmering first single “Community.” And much like the material that influenced it, “Community” reveals that the band has the ability to write material that possess an incredibly anthemic and rousing hook.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Seattle Supergroup Temple Of The Dog Release Bluesy, Unreleased Demo In Advance of 25th Anniversary of Debut Effort

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the release of their full-length album and to celebrate the occasion, the album will be re-released on September 30, 2016 in a deluxe package that will feature previously unreleased demos, live material, alternate takes and concert video. And although the members of the Seattle alt rock supergroup have played a handful of legendary shows back in the early 90s and a couple of reunion appearances over the years, this year will also mark the first time that the act has gone out on a headlining tour.

“Black Cat,” was a previously unreleased demo that finally sees the light of day, and as you’ll hear it’s a propulsive and percussive, bluesy dirge that pairs Cornell’s signature wails with grimy blues power chords in a song that manages to channel Led Zeppelin and Soundgarden’s “Spoonman.”

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video/New Audio: Two Propulsive Club Bangers from British Duo Factory Floor

With the release of their self-titled debut in 2003 through renowned electronic dance music label DFA Records, somewhat mysterious British collective Factory Floor received both national and international attention for a minimalist, tweeter and woofer […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Known as a co-founder of renowned hip-hop Ultramagnetic MCs and for a lengthy and uncompromisingly weird solo career in which he has taken up a number of aliases and personas while collaborating with an incredible array of emcees and producers, Kool Keith is arguably one of hip-hop’s strangest and most unique artists as he’s continually perfected and expanded upon an inimitable flow full of surreal, fantastic tangents, grimly violent and nightmarish imagery, pop cultural references — while frequently and effortlessly switching perspective, moods and points of view within the same song. Future Magnetic, the prolific Bronx-based emcee’s forthcoming effort is slated for a September 16, 2016 release through Mello Music Group and the album features Kool Keith collaborating with Ras Kass, Atmosphere’s Slug, MF Doom and Dirt Nasty.

Now if you had been frequenting this site last month, you may recall that I wrote about “World Wide Lamper,” a single consisted of a menacingly sparse and hypnotic production featuring winkling synths and subtle yet propulsive drum programming paired with Kool Keith, B.A.R.S. Murre and Dirt Nasty trading braggadocio-filled bars full of insane punchlines that make references to pop culture, the profane, the grisly violent and the surreal. “Super Hero,” the album’s latest single has the renowned and prolific emcee spitting incredibly visual  bars full of his signature pop cultural and comic book references over a Madlib production consisting of wobbling and undulating synths, stuttering drum programming and looped chimes around the song’s infectious hook. Much like “World Wide Lamper,” Future Magnetic‘s latest single should serve as a reminder to the listener that Kool Keith is arguably one of the most mischievously inventive and challenging artists in hip-hop — and that sadly you won’t hear this kind of gloriously weird music on your multinational, conglomerate hip-hop radio station.

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Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Jess Labrador (guitars, lead vocals) and Shannon Madden (guitar, backing vocals), the San Francisco-based duo Chasms have developed a reputation for crafting haunting beautiful yet menacing and propulsive dirges that sound as though they were heavily indebted to 4AD Records. And as you’ll hear on “Black Ice,” the latest single off the duo’s much anticipated full-length debut, has the duo pairing Labrador’s ethereal vocals with propulsive and pummeling drum programming, shimmering guitar chords played through gentle amounts of delay and reverb pedal and brief bursts of dramatic feedback and a sinuous bass line in a chilly and hypnotic, slow-burning song that gently pushes the boundaries of what shoegaze should sound like, while nodding at doom metal and other genres.

As the band’s Jess Labrador explains in press notes “Lyrically, this song most represents the theme of the album. Love has the power to awaken you, to heal you. But it is not all you need. Humans are damaged, imperfect creatures. For as much beauty as love may birth, ugliness is unearthed. You must face yourself.” The song suggests the cliche that you can’t love someone else until you love someone else; but it also suggests that love can make one ambivalent and uncertain because heartache is generally inevitable. 

 
 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Growing up in Atlanta, Blake Fusilier didn’t quite fit in with his contemporaries — while many of his peers aspired to sign to LaFace Records and SoSoDef Records, as a teenager Fusilier picked up the violin, dreamt of being the black Itzhak Perlman and was obsessed with the work of Edgar Allen Poe. And much like odd teenagers — especially odd black teenagers —  a young Fusilier learned that sometimes when you’re extremely different, you can be hated and ridiculed, and around that time he began writing his own music. By the time, he relocated to Boston for college, Fusilier had learned to play the bass and was a member of moody rock band RIBS, which eventually rose to national prominence; in fact, they’ve opened for The Joy Formidable and Queens of the Stone Age, and have been written about across the blogosphere. 

As the story goes, as the band was achieving quite a bit of success, someone asked Fusilier about being black and gay, and the singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer began to realize that running away from those questions and the world’s perceptions of him was spiritually and emotionally exhausting. From that point forward, he wanted to make music that would not only drain those questions of their power but to make them permanently irrelevant. As Fusilier says in press notes, “I have this theory that if people knew who we really were in their minds, we probably would all have a lot more respect for one another. This applies to everyone: friends and acquaintances and bandmates. I think it’s our duty to ourselves to make sure that those around us have a chance to allow others to see our glorious, true selves. I finally feel like I’m beginning to live by those words. The songs I’m wrapping up have been floating around for years. I had been anticipating the moment when people could actually hear even 20 seconds of my potential.” 

So far the response from the blogosphere and music critics has been wildly positive with one critic in particular describing Fusilier’s sound as being a synthesis of James Brown and Nine Inch Nails — although as soon as I heard his latest single “Make You,” I immediately heard Prince, Jef Barbara, Boulevards, Gordon Voidwell and quite a bit of contemporary electro pop as the former RIBS bassist’s sultry and sensual cooing is paired with a slick, hyper modern production consisting of a sinuous bass line, propulsive drum programming led by finger snaps, layers of buzzing synths and electronics, and an incredibly infectious hook in a club banging song that possess an unresolved sexual tension and a sly and ironic commentary on racial and sexual identity. And it all should be a reminder that you can pair some deeply personal and political messages in dance music — and the most important that music can be one of the most powerful weapons imaginable.  

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Last year, I wrote about Swedish-born and based, singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Sofia Härdig, who with the release of “Streets,” the first single off her two part EP The Street Light Leads to the Sea added herself to a growing list of Swedish artists that have seen international attention across Europe and North America. And as a result of a growing international profile, Härdig, who is considered Sweden’s “rocktronica queen of experimental music,” has collaborated with  Grammy Award-winning acts The Hellacopters and Bob Hund, Boredoms and Free Kitten‘s Yoshimi P-We and has opened for Lydia Lunch and Belle and Sebastian‘s Stevie Jackson.

Interestingly, The Street Light Leads to the Sea was recorded with handpicked musicians, who were known for their improvisational skills, and each musician was encouraged to improvise on the rough sketches that Härdig brought in whenever and however they felt fit. As the Swedish singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist explains in press notes “I find beauty in flaws and that which is not perfect is what excites me, I love the unusual, the unexpected, untrained and unplanned . . . ” And as you’ll hear on the EP’s latest single “Sitting Still,” the material possesses a raw and gritty urgency as slashing and angular guitar chords, wild squalls of feedback and rapid fire drumming are paired with Härdig’s punchy delivered vocals in a tense and anxious song that captures a narrator, who’s at odds with herself and her conflicting emotions, thoughts and desires — and does so in a way that feels and sounds like the interior conversations we all have at some point or another. Sonically, the single much like its predecessor still manages to sound as though it were influenced PJ Harvey but equally influenced by Nine Inch Nails and Earthling-era David Bowie, complete with a swaggering, anthemic hook.

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Dario Torre (vocals and guitar), Giacomo Salzano (bass), Raffaele Bocchetti (guitar), and Davide Fusco (drums), Italian psych rock quartet Stella Diana have gradually developed a national and international reputation for a sound that draws from Catherine Wheel, RIDE, Joy Division, Psychedelic Furs, The Chameleons, Pale Saints, Lush, The Stone Roses, Talk Talk and others; in other words, it’s a sound that possesses familiar elements of shoegaze, post-punk, dream pop and new wave — with lyrics sung primarily in their native Italian. And as a result, the quartet have been considered the forefront of a purely Italian version of shoegaze which the Italian press have considered an unprecedented achievement.

Adding to a growing international profile, their single “41 61 93” was not only released to critical acclaim, it was included on the Revolution — The Shoegaze Revival compilation, a compilation that was touted by Creation Records‘ Joe Foster as an unprecedented collection of the best contemporary crop of shoegazers across the world. They were also commissioned by Brazil’s TBTCI Records to cover RIDE’s “Leave Them All Behind” for a RIDE tribute album and recorded a track for Seashell Records‘ Slowdive tribute album Souvlaki Reheated.

Now if you’ve been frequenting this site for some time, you’d know that last year I wrote about “Shohet,” the densely layered, lush, shimmering and anthemic RIDE and  My Vitriol channeling first single off their 2015 Alhena EP, which was released through Vipchoyo Sound Factory Records. The band released their latest effort Nitrocris earlier this year and the album’s latest single “Sulphur” reveals a band that’s gone through a change in sonic direction and approach as the quartet employs the use of swirling and shimmering guitar chords paired with a gentle yet propulsive rhythm section and ethereal vocals gently floating over the mix to create a hauntingly dreamy song that possess a bracing chill just underneath its surface while remaining (subtly) anthemic.

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

With the release of “Step Into The Mood,”Los Angeles-based electro pop trio Iconique quickly exploded across the blogosphere and elsewhere as the single was praised by  Gawker and Surviving the Golden Age, was featured on Hype Machine and received radio airplay on KUCI and KCHUNG, thanks to a sound that’s been described by some of my colleagues as a “synthesis of influences like Prince, David Bowie and Chic.” Interestingly, their last single “Sitting Pretty” sonically seemed to draw equally from Roxy Music, The Human League, Howard Jones and others as Leo Paparella’s speak-song and crooning are paired with a sinuous bass line, shimmering synths and propulsive drumming to craft a song that sounded as though it could have easily been released sometime between 1981 and 1983.

Interestingly, as Paparella explained in press notes, “‘Sitting Pretty’ is both a celebration and critique of vanity. There’s very much an innate cruelty to glamor. It operates out of exclusivity, which keeps its scope woefully narrow and out of touch. And I bet that’s why people want it so badly.” And as a result, the song possess a subtle yet palpable sense of menace and anxiousness under the clean, hyper-modern and danceable sheen. Recently Mitch Murder released an elegantly  shimmering, preening and moodier remix that Leo Paparaella describes as a “fantastically power bitch. It makes me want to watch Dynasty, wear Escada, and douse myself in Giorgio Beverly Hills. He captured the tongue-in-cheek haughtiness of the original. Sonically, he moved the song from 1981 to 1987, so she’s older, colder and wiser now. She traded her silicone for saline.”

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Featuring Peter Bartsocas (vocals, guitar), Drew Demaio (guitar, vocals), David Diem (bass, vocals) and Jeff Gensterblum (drums, percussion), New York-based indie rock quartet Robes is comprised of a group of grizzled professional musicians, whose careers can be traced back to several different projects in the 90s. Demaio helped put Gainesville, FL on to the post hardcore map with stints in bands such as Gus, Strikeforce Diablo, Argentina, Asshole Parade and Floor — all before he decided to relocate to New York. Diem, was also a member of Gainesville, FL-based band Twelve Hour Turn. And after the band dissolved, Diem decided to pursue a career as a teacher before he also relocated to New York, where they caught up and began writing and sharing musical ideas through email. Gensterbaum was originally based in Michigan, where he was a member of Small Brown Fox, Able Baker Fox, Unwed, States and Kingdoms and Your Skull My Closet. As it turns out Gensterbaum was labelmates at No Idea Records with Diem and Demaio, with whom he had toured with quite a bit over the years. And when he relocated to New York, Gensterbaum called his old labelmates. Adding to the six degrees of musical separation at the heart of the band, Bartsocas also hailed from Florida and was a member of Pagan Girls, As Friends Rust and Bird of Ill Omen and — and as the story goes, Bartsocas and Demaio were good friends, who had talked about collaborating together before Bartsocas relocated to New York to finalize the new band’s lineup.

The band’s latest single “Unholy Moon” owes a major sonic debt to 90s alt rock — in particular Superunknown-era Soundgarden, Alice in Chains and Pearl Jam — as the band pairs layers of enormous power chords, thundering drumming, extremely downtuned and rumbling bass chords with an anthemic hook, an alternating quiet, loud, quiet structure and Bartsocas’ baritone crooning. And as a result, the quartet reveals that they can craft a moshpit and beer-raising worthy hook.

The band is opening for acclaimed synth rock/prog rock at Milemarker at Shea Stadium next Wednesday.

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Comprised of Brooklyn-born and based co-founding members Joe Salgo and Ross Procaccio and John Santiago, the Brooklyn-based indie rock/prog rock trio Of Clocks and Clouds have developed a reputation for standing far apart from most of their contemporaries as their sound is equally influenced by the likes of The Black Keys, Pink Floyd, Beck, Queens of the Stone Age, Rush and TV on the Radio — or in other words they adeptly mesh classic rock, prog rock and contemporary rock in a way that sounds both familiar and yet very different. Now, the band released their self-produced and self-released full-length effort Better Off earlier this year; however, the trio recently released a deceptively straightforward cover of TV on the Radio’s “Young Liars” that actually adds an incredibly subtle breeziness and a proggy psych rock feel to a gorgeous, slow-burning and brooding song.

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Born Leslie Pridgen, the Philadelphia, PA-based emcee Freeway is arguably best known for his stint as a Roc-A-Fella Records artist, his affiliation with Jay Z and Beanie Siegel and as a member of State Property, as well as his commercially and critically successful 2003 debut effort Philadelphia Freeway, an effort that was certified gold after selling 500,000 units — thanks in part to his gruff and raspy vocal delivery, rhyming about his days hustling to survive in North Philadelphia with a world-weariness that frequently suggests a desire to be more, do more and see more than the block. And as a result, much like Freddie Gibbs and a few others, it grounds Freeway’s material in a profound and gritty realism that’s much needed — and in the case of Freeway comes from hard-fought person experience.

Although he’s experienced label issue that begun with the dissolution of Roc-A-Fella Records, State Property going on a hiatus as Beanie Siegel was convicted of federal weapons charges, Freeway has been busy as he’s released a couple of albums including 2007’s Free At Last, 2008’s White Van Music which had the North Philadelphia-based emcee collaborating with Jake One and Brother Ali and was released through renowned indie label Rhymesayers.  2010’s The Stimulus Package represented a major turning point in Freeway’s recording career as it was a return to the basics — one producer collaborating with one emcee on a project specifically meant to be cohesive collaborative vision, and it features guest spots from Beanie Siegel, Raekwon, Young Chris, Birdman, Bun-B, Latoiya Williams, Omilio Sparks and Mr. Porter.

 

Personally, it’s been some time since I’ve heard from Freeway — granted, as a blogger covering music from a variety of angles from all over the world, some things naturally will fall through the cracks; however, his latest single “Primates” is a collaboration with Dutch producer Big Ape and it’s a swaggering headbanger of a track that features the Philadelphia-based emcee spitting pure fire over a looped and stuttering horn and string sample and tweeter and woofer rocking boom-bap beats and actual scratching from Sweden’s DJ Devastate. Remember actual scratching on tracks?  Whatever happened to that?

Of course the track is full of Freeway telling off wack emcees — reminding them that only is he dope, but that he’s probably their favorite rapper’s rapper as he uses a variety of cadences, flows throughout and a creative sense of inner and outer wordplay throughout, while reminding listeners that not only is he still here and fiery as ever, but that real hip-hop ain’t dead either.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

If you’ve been frequenting JOVM over the past couple of months you may be familiar with Pacific Northwest-based multi-instrumentalist, electronic music artist and producer Grant Eadie and his solo recording project Manatee Commune; in fact, you may even recall that Eadie has received both regional and national attention for a carefully and organically molded sound in which he pairs natural overtones extracted from various field recordings and other sources, live instrumentation and arrangements and slick, incredibly nuanced, contemporary production. Eadie’s latest EP Thistle was recorded earlier this year and from the EP’s first two singles “Clay,” and “What We’ve Got,” the EP will further cement Eadie’s reputation for an infectious yet breezy production style. “Clay” paired twinkling and chiming percussion, a looped flute sample, layers of shimmering synths and swirling electronics with Marina Price’s flirtatious and sultry vocals in a bouncy and coquettish song that reminded me of a slightly more dance floor friendly version of Sylvan Esso. “What We’ve Got” had Eadie pairing a distorted vocal sample with choppy cascades of synths, twinkling and fluttering electronics, handclaps, enormous tweeter and woofer rocking beats and an infectiously upbeat swagger.

Thistle‘s latest single “The Garden Song” may arguably be the EP’s most lush song as twinkling and chiming percussion are paired with stuttering beats, handclaps, stuttering synth stabs with Moorea Massa’s sultry R&B vocal stylings in a swooning song that evokes the ebullient joy, awkwardness and pangs of love — and that initial moment when you realize that you’re hopelessly and madly in love and you’re both elated and frightened over what it really means for you. Interestingly, I think this particular single is the most radio-friendly song as it leans heavily towards contemporary pop, complete with a breezy and infectious hook.

 

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