Category: Single Review

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Elijah Ford is a California-born, Austin, TX-based singer/songwriter and guitarist, and the son of former Black Crowes‘ guitarist Marc Ford, and in fact the younger Ford toured with his father’s band Fuzz Machine when he was 17, before hooking up with Oscar and Grammy-winning artist Ryan Bingham, with whom Elijah Ford recorded and toured with for several years before going solo with the 2011 release of his full-length debut Upon Walking and its follow up, an EP Ashes in 2012.

“The Way We Were” Ford’s latest single off his forthcoming full-length As We Were slated for release on September 16, 2016 borrows heavily from bluesy and boozy old school rock — while possessing a finely crafted feel, thanks in part to a soaring and anthemic hook and a shimmying and shuffling sound reminiscent of The Black Crowes, Elvis Costello and others.

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Led by frontwoman and principle songwriter Luz Elena Mendoza, Portland, OR-based alt folk/folk rock/indie rock act Y La Bamba, the critically applauded act can trace its origins to  early 2008 when Mendoza wanted to perform under something else other than her name, and began writing and making home recordings of her songs on a one-by-one basis largely drawing from the traditional Mexican folk songs she heard as a child growing up in San Francisco and playing with her cousins in the San Joaquin Valley, the work of Loch Lomond and Devendra Banhardt and others. Around the time she had begun writing her own material, Mendoza had begun regularly hosting an open mic at a sake bar in Northeast Portland, where she met the members of the band’s original line up — Ben Meyercord, Mike Kitson (drums), Sean Flinn (guitar) and Eric Shrapel (accordion).

Over the course of the band’s three albums and several lineup changes of collaborators, friends and musicians, the band’s material has gone through a variety of changes — but it’s the the band’s forth full-length effort Ojos Del Sol that may be arguably be the most radical turn in sonic direction, while returning to familiar themes of searching and personal discovery — themes that have come up a number of times in Mendoza’s own life, whether as the daughter of Mexican immigrants connecting with her ancestry and searching for spiritual meaning that goes much further than organized religion. In fact, as Mendoza explains in press notes, the material on the album thematically is a “cerebration of family and community” — but a community of shared humanity.

Interestingly, the album’s first single “Libre” finds Mendoza and company at their most self-assured but in one of the breeziest and pop-leaning songs as they pair an infectious and anthemic hook with an arrangement that includes what sounds like xylophone, a mischievous and sinuous bass line, a steady backbeat, Mendoza’s gorgeous vocals along three part harmonies in English and Spanish, a rolling, African folk music-like guitar line in a song that evokes a sense of almost childlike wonder and joy, while making a connection both to Mendoza’s ancestral homeland and Africa in a way that subtly channels Paul Simon‘s Graceland.

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms
With the release of their first singles “Lost” and “Dreamers,” which were featured in ad campaigns for Estee Lauder, Virgin Mobile and Hollister and made an appearance in the major motion picture Bad Moms, Los Angeles-based electro pop duo Scavenger Hunt, comprised of singer/songwriter Jill Lamoureux and producer, multi-instrumentalist Dan Mufson quickly rose to national attention for a sound that’s deeply influenced by Fleetwood Mac, 80s-era Stevie Nicks, Annie Lennox, Sade, Robyn, 80s and 90s pop and R&B — while to my ears sounding much like Yaz and New Order. And adding to a growing national profile, the duo have toured with the likes of Haerts, Dragonette, Shura and Capital Cities. (In fact, I caught them open for Haerts at Brooklyn Bowl several years ago.)
“River Runs Dry,” the first single off the duo’s forthcoming EP manages to mesh 80s pop sentiment with slick and contemporary production that features propulsive drum programming, subtle use of xylophone that pop out of the ether and undulating synths paired with Lamoureaux’s sultry, pop star/pop belter vocals and an infectious and anthemic hook to craft a breezy, radio-friendly, dance-floor track that packs in quite a bit of swooning, aching emotion.

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Led by frontman Bradford Bucknum, Philadelphia, PA-based indie rock quartet Oldermost’s debut single “Honey With Tea” manages to sound as though it were indebted to Nick Drake, Wish You Were Here-era Pink Floyd and 70s AM radio friendly rock as layers of twangy pedal guitar, shimmering electric guitar chords, propulsive drumming, a lush and shimmering string arrangement are paired with Bucknam’s plaintive and tender crooning and up-and-coming Philadelphia-based singer/songwriter Rosali’s ethereal yet tender backing vocals in one of the prettier songs I’ve heard this year. And although “Honey With Tea” sounds quite a bit like Psychic Ills‘ equally gorgeous “Baby,” and possesses the sort of lived-in feel that can only come from actual life experiences, the Philadelphia-based quartet’s debut single manages to possess a world weariness behind its psychedelic country leanings. In some way, the song evokes life’s bitter recognitions, uneasy compromises and uncertainties — and how frequently we have to grit our teeth and accept what is and move forward.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

If you’ve been frequenting JOVM over the past two years you’d be pretty well versed on  Memphis, TN-based synth punk/thrash punk/noise punk quartet Nots. Currently comprised of atalie Hoffman (vocals, guitar) and Charlotte Watson (drums), Madison Farmer (bass) and Alexandra Eastburn (synths), the quartet quickly came to national prominence with their 2014 full-length debut, We Are Nots, an effort that was heavily indebted to 60s garage rock, punk, thrash punk, no wave and new wave. Of course, since the release of their full-length debut, the Memphis-based punk band have been pretty busy as they’ve released a handful of singles that revealed an expansion of the sound that first caught the attention of the blogosphere, while lyrically focusing on deeper, sociopolitical concerns.

September 9, 2016 will mark the release of Nots highly-anticipated sophomore effort Cosmetic through Goner Records, and the album reportedly focuses on and attacks the rough edges between desire, deceit, appearances and reality. Now a couple of months ago I wrote about Cosmetic‘s first single “Entertain Me,” an expansive 7 minute song that found the members of Nots at arguably their noisiest, most frenetic and most sprawling as the song that structurally and sonically was reminscent of The Church‘s “Chaos” and Disappears‘ “Kone”  — but angrier and much more abrasive, as though capturing the frustration, powerlessness of its narrator, a narrator who is struggling to find some footing in a perverse, fucked up world. The album’s latest single “Cold Line,” which was recently released as a 7 inch single to build up buzz for the band’s sophomore effort continues along a similar vein, as the song is as equally tense and frenetic as its predecessor — but with a subtle nod to surfer punk; however, lyrically the song’s narrator focuses on several things — how a hateful world that emphasizes superficiality can create a distorted view of yourself and your own worth, the difficulty of real connection with so many hateful, stupid, bloviating idiots

The band will be embarking on a rather lengthy late summer and fall tour, which will include an October 11 stop at Baby’s All Right. Check out tour dates below.

 

TOUR DATES:
8/12: Helter Swelter Fest – New Orleans, LA
9/17: Riot Fest – Chicago, IL
9/23: Resident DTLA – Los Angeles, CA
9/24: Stinky’s al Fresco – San Francisco, CA
9/29: Gonerfest – Memphis, TN
10/1: Project Pabst Atlanta – Atlanta, GA
10/5: JJ’s Bohemia – Chattanooga, TN
10/6: Duke Coffeehouse – Durham, NC
10/7: Comet Ping Pong – Washington, D.C.
10/11: Baby’s All Right – Brooklyn, NY
10/12: Everybody Hits – Philadelphia, PA
10/13: TBA – Boston, MA
10/14: Casa Del Popolo – Montreal, QC
10/15: Not Dead Yet Fest – Toronto, ON
10/16: Now That’s Class – Cleveland, OH
10/18: Ace of Cups – Columbus, OH
10/19: Marble Bar – Detroit, MI
10/20: Empty Bottle – Chicago, IL
10/21: Riverwest Public House – Milwaukee, WI
10/22: The Eagles 34 Club – Minneapolis, MN
10/23: The Mill – Iowa City, IA
10/24: Off Broadway – St. Louis, MO
Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Led by frontman and primary member Alexander Mann and featuring a rotating cast of collaborators, friends and studio and touring musicians, San Francisco, CA-based psych rock project Silent Pictures have started to receive both regional and national attention with the release of their latest full-length effort Let It Begin,  an effort that consists of material that on a superficial level fits under the psych rock umbrella but manages to be mischievously and effortlessly plays with its boundaries as the band reportedly channels the likes of T-Rex, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Stone Roses and 90s Brit Pop — sometimes simultaneously.

Let It Begin‘s latest single “Time Has Broken/Let It Begin” will further cement the band’s burgeoning reputation as it features layers of guitars played through reverb and effects pedals, a propulsive, motorik-like groove with thundering drumming, an anthemic hook paired with lyrics that focus on a relativistic view of time. Sonically speaking the song sounds indebted to The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Stone Roses and Hookworms — while subtly hinting at shoegaze.

The recently released music video was filmed at an early 19th century Rosicrucian Temple and with shaky cameras, rapid fire cuts and cult symbolism, the video evokes a paranoid, trippy and frenetic world of conspiracies run by secret societies — while bearing an uncanny resemblance to 120 Minutes-era MTV.

 

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

 

Initially comprised of founding duo Jennifer Grady, a classical music teacher and Justin Hosford, a film and tv music composer, the Joshua Tree, CA-based duo Chelan (pronounced sh-lan) can trace their origins back to 2007. And since their formation, the duo released three full-length albums that the band’s founding members have described in press notes as a “mostly electronic, subdued, indie aesthetic;” however, last year, the duo recruited Chad Austinson (drums) to further flesh out their sound and as the newly formed trio began writing, performing, revision and recording the material that would wind up comprising their soon-to-released, fourth full-length album Vultures, the band’s sound went through a change of sonic direction as the trio’s sound began to employ the use of analog synths, guitar, drums, cello and piano to create a lush, wall of sound-like sound as you’ll hear on the album’s latest single “Beams.”

In the case of “Beams,” the trio layers of pairs jagged synth stabs, propulsive, motorik-like groove, Grady’s ethereal vocals, which bear a bit of a resemblance to Kate Bush, and shimmering guitar chords in a cinematic, lush and urgently swooning song that lyrically focuses on both the desire to connect with someone and the difficulties to connection once you consider the weight of one’s past and how it impacts their present.

 

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Hard rocking Denton, TX/Austin, TX-based trio Bad Sports first caught the attention of the blogosphere upon their formation back in 2007; however, it’s been some time since they’ve released any new material as each of their members have been busy with other successful projects — Orville Neely III (guitar and vocals) is also known as the frontman of renowned rock act OBN IIIs, an act that’s been pretty busy over the past two years, as they’ve released two albums over the past two years, while the rhythm section comprised of aniel Fried (drums) and Gregory Rutherford (bass) have been members of Video, an act that has not only recently received attention across the blogosphere, they signed with Jack White‘s Third Man Records, who released Video’s debut effort. Additionally, the duo of Fried and Rutherford are also half of Radioactivity, an act that released Silent Kill through Dirtnap Records last year.

The trio of Neely, Fried and Rutherford had recently reconvened to record a quick series of three songs; however, after the band had written and recorded 7 songs, the folks at Dirtnap Records and the members of the band realized that the songs fit so well together, that they should be released together — but on a 12 inch EP that the band titled Living With Secrets. Interestingly, the material on the Living With Secrets EP  finds the band at yet another change of sonic direction; whereas 2011’s Kings Of The Weekend consisted of punk and power pop-leaning material and and 2014’s Bras consisted of grimy punk, the material on on Living With Secrets will reportedly take on a much darker, bleaker and desperate tone and yet some of their catchiest material they’ve recorded yet.

Living With Secrets‘ first single “Done to Death” still manages to be full of the power chords and propulsive rhythm section that has won each member of Bad Sports attention both within Bad Sports and their individual projects; however, the song manages to have one of most infectious and anthemic hooks they’ve written and recorded while sonically the material sounds as though it owes a debt to the Ramones and to Cheap Trick but focusing on the absolutely hopeless and bleakest shit possible with a subtly weary air. And yet, it’s still a song you can listen to with your friends, raise a beer up to the sky un-ironically and rock the fuck out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

With the release of “River of Nile” and “Low Pressure,” Wild and Free, the electronic music production and artist duo comprised of Drew Kramer and George Cochrane have received praised from a number of major media outlets including XLR8R, Spin Magazine and Indie Shuffle for a sound that pairs tribal-leaning percussion, shimmering synths and ethereal vocals — all while effortlessly meshing disco, house and electro pop as you’ll hear on their latest single “Life On Jupiter.” And although the single will further cement their reputation for their club-friendly and expansive sound, it also will further cement the duo’s reputation for a slick production technique that subtly channels the motorik groove of Kraftwerk and the propulsive grooves of Daft Punk and Giorgio Moroder but with a sweaty and mischievous air.

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Ryan McGroarty, Cheylene Murphy and Aimee Williamson, the Belfast, Northern Ireland-based synth pop/dream pop trio Beauty Sleep have quickly received attention from The Irish Times, The Sun, several blogs and airplay from BBC Radio 1 for a sound that’s been compared to Washed Out, Teen Daze and Summer Heart. And as you’ll hear on the trio’s latest single “Living Right,” you’ll see why as the trio pairs gorgeous and ethereal melodies with shimmering synths, reverb-filled guitars, a propulsive rhythm section and an upbeat, anthemic hook in a carefully crafted song that’s summery and extremely radio-friendly — but with a subtle and underlying wistfulness at its core.

 

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Over the past few weeks, I’ve written quite a bit about Nashville, TN-based sibling duo JEFF The Brotherhood, as they’ve released two singles “Punishment,” and “Idiot” off their forthcoming full-length Zone, an experimental rock album that is the third and final part of a spiritual trilogy of albums that includes 2009’s Heavy Days and 2011’s critically applauded We Are The Champions.  The forthcoming album’s third and latest single “Roachin,” features Bully‘s Alicia Bognano on vocals in a scorching, power-chord heavy dirge that sounds deeply indebted to 90s alt rock — in particular, the Melvins —  as the song structurally consists of alternating quiet and loud sections, and an anthemic hook that you can picture kids moshing out to in a sweaty club. And much like “Punishment” and “Idiot,” the album’s latest single will cement the sibling duo’s reputation for crafting trippy, weed and beer inspired anthems full of enormous power chords, infectious and anthemic hooks.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Initially beginning his recording career as a member of Regina Spektor‘s and Sondre Lerche‘s backing bands, as well as a co-producer and full-time member of critically acclaimed indie act of Montreal, violinist, vocalist, composer, and producer K. Ishibashi through the release of critically applauded two full-length efforts — 151a and Lighght — with his solo recording project Kishi Bashi has developed a reputation for decidedly crafted and swooning orchestral pop with a subtly modern take, as K. Ishibashi would frequently use looping machines and samplers for a lush, layered sound.

Produced by Grizzly Bear‘s Chris Taylor and engineered by Pat Dillet, who has worked with Angelique Kidjo and David Byrne, and drummer Matt Chamberlain, who has been a member of Morrissey‘s and Fiona Apple‘s backing band, as well as being a member of Montreal, Ishibashi’s third full-lenght effort Sonderlust reportedly finds the renowned composer and vocalist expanding upon the sound that first captured the attention of the blogosphere. Interestingly, Ishibashi has publicly mentioned that Sonderlust‘s material didn’t come immediately or through his usual creative process. “As I sat down to write songs last summer, I went to all my usual conduits of creation: violin loops, guitar, piano and I came up with the musical equivalent of fumes,” Ishibashi explains. “I tried to create orchestral pop recordings that I assume were my forte, and in turn, I found myself standing in front of a creative wall of frightening heights.” This period of creative uncertainly, along with significant changes in his personal life, led the composer, violinist, vocalist and producer to experiment with a new musical direction. “I questioned everything about what it means to love and desire…the difference between loving someone and being in love,” Ishibashi explained.

The album’s first single “Say Yeah” has Ishibashi pairing twinkling and shimmering synths, lush string and wind arrangements, propulsive drum programming, an incredibly infectious hook and the renowned violinist, vocalist and producer’s tender and aching falsetto in a swooning yet dance-floor friendly song that interestingly enough sounds as though it were indebted to disco and both 80s and contemporary electro pop — all while still possessing a swooning Romanticism. Lyrically, the song is a plaintive and urgent plea to a lover to stay and try to make it work because the narrator can’t just bear to be without his love.

You can catch Kish Bashi on a lengthy North American tour this fall, and it includes an October 2, 2016 stop at Webster Hall. Check out tour dates and ticket information below.

Tour Dates:
9/27: Athens, GA @ Georgia Theatre (tickets)
9/28: Charlotte, NC @ Visulite (tickets)
9/30: Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle (tickets)
10/1: Silver Spring, MD @ The Fillmore – Silver Spring (tickets)
10/2: New York, NY @ Webster Hall (tickets)
10/3: Boston, MA @ Royale (tickets)
10/4: Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer (tickets)
10/6: Toronto, ON @ MOD Club (tickets)
10/8: Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom & Tavern (tickets)
10/9: Pontiac, MI @ Crofoot Ballroom (tickets)
10/10: Chicago, IL @ Vic Theatre (tickets)
10/11: St. Louis, MO @ Delmar Hall (tickets)
10/12: Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue Mainroom (tickets)
10/14: Omaha, NE @ Slowdown (tickets)
10/15: Englewood, CO @ Gothic Theatre (tickets)
10/16: Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge (tickets)
10/18: Seattle, WA @ The Showbox (tickets)
10/19: Vancouver, BC @ The Fox Cabaret (tickets)
10/20: Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom (tickets)
10/21: San Francisco, CA @ The Masonic (tickets)
10/22: Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst Atrium (tickets)
10/23: San Diego, CA @ Irenic (tickets)
10/24: Los Angeles, CA @ The Belasco Theater (tickets)
10/26: Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress (tickets)
10/28: San Antonio, TX @ Paper Tiger (tickets)
10/29: Austin, TX @ Mohawk (tickets)
10/30: Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall (tickets)
11/1: New Orleans, LA @ One Eyed Jacks (tickets)
11/2: Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse (tickets)

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms


Certainly, if you’ve been frequenting this site for some time, you may be familiar with Memphis, TN-based punk band Ex-Cult, a band that emerged into the national scene with the 2014 release of their sophomore effort Midnight Passenger and its follow-up, 2015’s Cigarette Machine EP — and simultaneously, the band became a JOVM mainstay for a raw, angry, bruising sound and live show. Interestingly, 2016 may arguably be one of the biggest years to date in the band’s history as Famous Class Records will be releasing the “Summer of Fear”/”1906” 7 inch on August 12, 2016 and September 23, 2016 will mark the highly-anticipated release of the Memphis, TN-based punk band’s third, full-length album Negative Growth through In The Red Records.

As the band’s frontman Chris Shaw explains in press notes,  “In the year of the snitch, there are forces beyond your control that keep you up at night. Ghost notions that swirl around your room while you sleep. Your own pillow laughing right in your face while you fight for an hour of rest. There are voices that whisper from the corner, telling you everything you never wanted to hear. Negative Growth, our third album , is dedicated to fear and deception.

“This collection of songs were conceived in Memphis and finalized in Los Angeles with the help of our family doctor, Ty Segall. It was created in February 2016, when we traded Memphis misery for a week of California sunshine. Negative Growth is a nine-track nightmare, a death trip in the crystal ship.” And as a result, the album’s first single “Attention Ritual” is a tense, bilious, caustic and paranoid song that evokes the narrator’s desperate, fucked up, self-doubting and self-flagellating inner voices that keeps him up at night, fraught with worry and hatred — and the tense, nightmarish times we live currently live in, in which everything seems  to have gone absolutely mad.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

If you’ve been frequenting this site for the better part of the past 18 months or so, you’ve come across several posts about San Francisco-based psych rock/indie rock quartet Cool Ghouls — and with the release of last year’s A Swirling Fire Burning Through the Rye, the indie rock quartet quickly received attention across the blogosphere for a sound that’s heavily indebted to The Byrds, Crosby, Stills, and Nash, Neil Young, Creedence Clearwater Revival and classic psych rock as their material is generally comprised of jangling guitar chords, simple yet propulsive percussion and layered, multi-part harmonies. “Spectator,” the latest single off the band’s soon-to-be released third full-length effort Animal Races will, much like the album’s previous singles, further cement the band’s burgeoning reputation for jangling guitar pop that sounds as though it were were released sometime in 1966.

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

With the 2014 release of Midnight Passenger and its follow-up Cigarette Machine EP, Memphis, TN-based punk band Ex-Cult emerged into the national scene while becoming a JOVM mainstay artist for a raw, angry, bruising sound. And although a little bit of time has passed since we’ve heard from them, August 12, 2016 will mark the release of the “Summer of Fear”/”1906” 7 inch through Famous Class Records.

A couple of months ago, I wrote about “1906, ” a tense and furious cover of The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band’s “1906”and as the band’s frontman Chris Shaw explained to the folks at Stereogum: “The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band have an amazing catalog of California psych/folk rock, but’1906′ has this downer, post-apocalyptic vibe that none of other songs come close to duplicating. The lyrics match some of the negative vibes we channel and the guitar stabs on ‘1906’ are a lot like some of the riffs we crank out on our own. It seemed like a natural fit.”

Famous Class Records along with the band have released the A side single “Summer of Fear,” is a anxious and tense song consisting of abrasive and angular guitar stabs, off-kilter syncopation and Chris Shaw’s punchy shouts in a song that much like “1906,” will further cement the Memphis-based punk act’s growing reputation for angrily caustic, bilious punk rock that’s raw, primal and bruising while evoking the tense, fucked up times we live in.

 

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