Category: Single Review

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Frankie and the Witch Fingers Shares Blistering “Economy”

Acclaimed Los Angeles-based psych punk outfit and JOVM mainstays Frankie and the Witch Fingers — currently founding duo Dylan Sizemore (vocals, guitar) and Josh Menashe (lead guitar, synth), along with Death Valley Girls‘ Nikki “Pickle” Smith (bass) and Mike Watt’s Nick Aguilar (drums) — have spent the past decade restlessly mutating their sound into bold, electrifying new form with every new release.

Slated for a June 6, 2025 release through Greenway Records and The Reverberation Appreciation Society, the Los Angeles-based JOVM mainstay’s eighth album, the Maryam Qudus-produced Trash Classic reportedly sees the band plunging into a sewer-slick fusion of proto punk venom, fractured New Wave and industrial grime. Sonically brimming with wiry synths, angular melodies and squirming and biting grooves, the material is delivered with a sly, playful balance between smirk and sneer. The band layers playful unease while exploring themes of escapism, decay and overindulgence.

The songs were born in the grime of Vernon, Los Angeles — a wasteland littered with gutted RVs and rusting machinery, where the air tastes like asphalt and dog food. But the alchemy happed during recording sessions at Oakland‘s Tiny Telephone Studio, where producer Maryam Qudus helped transmute the tracks into the final forms with unhinged tones, unconventional recording experiments and wild sonic detours.

Each day of the recording sessions began with cartoons blaring at full volume — a Looney Tunes ritual that turned the madness of the recording process into something childlike. Late night, sugar-fueled candy binges kept the energy spiking, pushing the sessions into a fever dream of jittery, spastic playfulness. The end result is a raw, twisted moment to rot and excess — and to toxic glamour and nihilistic salvation.

“Economy,” Trash Classic‘s first single is the first glimpse of the band’s refined sound: grimy synth pulse is placed in the front, alongside angular guitar fuzz and muscular yet mathematically precise drumming paired with punchily delivered vocals and mosh pit friendly hooks and choruses. Sonically the result is a scuzzier, grimier take on Freedom of Choice-era DEVO — with a similar, tongue-in-cheek sensibility.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Hello Cosmos Shares Furious and Urgent “Turn Off The News”

Manchester, UK area-based genre-defying, multimedia collective Hello Cosmos — Kendal Calling Festival founder Ben Robinson (vocals), Ben’s sibling Simon Robinson (drums), Placebo‘s and Lanterns on the Lake‘s Angela Chan (strings, keys) and Deathretro‘s Adrian Ingram (guitar, synths) — released their latest EP, Keep Digging earlier this year.

Written and recorded over a two-year period, the Jamie Lockheart-produced Keep Digging EP is the first of a batch of yet-to-be announced, forthcoming releases from the British outfit, which were created in Leeds-based Greenmount Studio, as well as studios in Manchester, New York, Florida, Los Angeles and Stockport, UK. The EP comes with a bold vision for the band, their Cosmic Glue imprint and their future live show.

Keep Digging EP‘s latest single “Turn Off The News” is also the first official single from the band’s forthcoming sophomore album slated for release next year. “Turn off the news,” begins with dramatic violin screeching before turning into blisteringly furious post-punk ripper anchored around alternating quiet-loud-quiet song structure that features scorching guitar riffage, thunderous drumming and a mosh pit friendly screamo-like hook paired with Ben Robinson’s incisive, politically-charged lyrics. Although rooted in UK political commentary, “Turn Off The News” captures the furious urgency of our moment here in the US with the daily normalization of fascism, lies and bullshit — with most decent people realizing they’ve been conned either by someone or the system as a whole.

The initial recording taking place the day after the UK left the European Union, the British outfit developed from a studio session that reflected the dark, uneasy, doom-laden and intense atmosphere throughout the country’s inner cities with the original working title “The Day After.” As the track progressed during sessions at Greenmount Studios during 2020, the song’s lyrics gradually developed around themes of negative news stories and who they serve, seeing the band tackling media manipulation and bullshit. And the song title’s changed to “Turn Off The News.”

“The story of this song threads through some dark times for me personally, the UK and the globe,” Hello Cosmos’ Ben Robinson explains. “I always aim to be positive with Hello Cosmos vocals, writing from a place of sadness or negativity is much easier than making a positive statement interesting. But this track was a sign of the times so I went through my darker lyric notes, a lot had been written in the harder moments of lockdown, the 5 o’clock updates from Witty and Borris [sic], the Twitter rabbit holes on info on how PPE contracts had been abused, the whole circus show of Hancock and the media shitshow surrounding UK politics. This is where the title of the track comes from, at that time the news was so unhealthy and was constant, it wasn’t helping people it was beating us down with doom and paranoia constantly, while the media was celebrating having something to run with that had the attention of the world . . .

“Frustrating times all bottled up, so I took every bit of my anger and went into the vocal booth for the first scream I’d done since lockdown happened, I channelled everything I could into that chorus and let it all out, what you hear is the first and only take.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Anil Shares Goth Interpretation of Emily Dickinson

Anil is an İzmir, Turkey-based singer/songwriter, producer, author and literary translator. He recently created a song around Emily Dickinson‘s “A Wounded Deer — Leaps Highest.”

The club rocking, industrial goth remix of the original mischievously reveals that Dickinson might have been a modern day goth.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: JOVM Mainstays The Lovelines Shares New Order-Inspired “Shades of Blue”

Over the past couple of years, I’ve spilled quite a bit of virtual ink on The Lovelines. The duo, which is currently split between Berlin and  Orlando, released material from their forthcoming full-length debut single-by-single.

The JOVM mainstays’ latest single “Shades of Blue” is a nostalgia-inducing and hook-driven bit of post punk, that reminds me a bit of fellow JOVM mainstays Club 8 — while clearly being indebted to early 80s New Order.

The band’s Todd Goings explains “‘Shades of Blue’ is an ode to New Wave; it was me pretending I was writing a song for New Order.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: JOVM Mainstay Naomi Shares Sultry and Introspective Bop “Petit caractére”

Montréal-based multi-disciplinary artist, singer/songwriter, pop artist and JOVM mainstay Naomi‘s sophomore album Un coin sombre pour danser was released last October through Bravo Musique. The album is an invitation to the listener to dive into the night, […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Stimulus Teams Up with Swim Good and Taylor Bense on Deep House Banger “swiTCH”

STIMULUS is a rising Brooklyn-born, Berlin-based artist, DJ and event curator. His latest single “swiTCH” is a collaboration with Malik Work, Greg Paulus, Taylor Bense and Swim Good. Anchored around a lush club friendly production featuring woozily atmospheric synths, a supple bass line, skittering beats and soulful horn stabs paired with clever bars about the weird dynamics between social media and digital life and one’s real lived-in life. Sonically speaking “swiTCH” sounds a bit like a synthesis of Stereo MCs and C+C Music Factory with Larry Levan — but with a modern, self-assured swagger.

“The song is produced by jazz musicians who regularly sat in with Malik and I’s jazz/hip hop band The Real Show,” STIMULUS explains. “They eventually became well known as dance music producers and DJs (No Regular Play) on Wolf + Lamb Records and Kitsune.

“We wanted to combine parts of Brooklyn and Berlin in a way that made sense for both cities.

The lyrics talk about the difference between real life (irl) and its digital representation on social media platforms that’s extremely influenced by algorithms. We want to remind people to trust themselves and each other more than they trust algorithms. We also want to remind people it’s ok to keep parts of your life private and/or off of digital platforms.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: ADRIANNA Shares Earthshaking Banger “Never Never Land”

ADRIANNA is a British-based electronic music producer, DJ and singer/songwriter, who is known for electrifying live performances and a dynamic and captivating production style that sees her seamlessly blending hard-hitting beats with powerhouse vocals while actively pushing sonic boundaries.

Last year’s “Wild Electric” showcased her signature style of pulsating rhythms and energetic melodies, which led to it charting on the Beatport Hype Charts, as well as widespread support from fans and DJs alike globally. Acid house pioneers 808 State remixed “Wild Electric,” along with a series of other renowned producers and acts.

Adding to a big year, ADRIANA made the rounds of the global festival and party circuit, playing headlining sets at Creamfields and Blue Marin Ibiza, as well as playing opening slots for Patrick Topping and Alan Fitzpatrick.

She also hosts a monthly, globally syndicated radio show, where she curates a mix of the latest tech house and techno tracks. Airing on the second Saturday of every month, the show offers listeners a taste of her unique sound and musical vision.

The rising British-based producer, singer/songwriter and DJ’s latest single “Never Never Land” is a club and festival banger, anchored around earth rattling 808 thump, skittering hi-hats, glistening synth arpeggios paired with her insouciant delivery. Sonically, “Never Never Land” brings to mind a synthesis of old school deep house, Marie Davidson and others with a world dominating swagger.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Forgotten Garden Shares Broodingly Atmospheric “Five Minutes”

Split between Scotland and Portugal, Forgotten Garden — Portuguese-based Inês Rebelo (vocals) and Danny Elliott (guitar, keys and production), accompanied by guests — formed back in 2019 and quickly established a brooding goth-tinged sound with elements of post-punk inspired by The Cure, Joy Division and The Doors while Rebelo cites Florence Welch, Lana Del Rey, Chelsea Wolfe, Weyes Blood, Kelsey Lu and Warpaint as influences on her vocal styling.

The duo’s debut EP, the four-song Broken Pieces thematically focused on a the breakdown of a relationship and received praise from Angry Baby back in 2021. Last year’s sophomore EP In Memoriam thematically touched on death, loss and grief and received praise from The Indie Grid, who called the EP “a thing of fragile and transient beauty.”

The Portuguese-Scottish duo’s latest single is the slow-burning torch song “Five Minutes.” Anchored around a broodingly atmospheric arrangement of ethereal synths paired with a sinuous bass line, jazz-like drum patterns, “Five Minutes” perfectly showcases Rebelo’s gorgeous delivery which expresses longing and heartache within the turn of a phrase.

The duo explains that “Five Minutes” is a sad and poignant song that tells the story of a couple who immediately fall for each other and mistakenly believe that their connection will last forever. “However, slowly and almost imperceptibly over time they drift apart as their love wanes. This leads the main character in the song to wonder how they drifted apart as she wistfully looks back on their life together,” the duo explain.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Ecca Vandal Shares Bruising Ripper “Cruising to Self Soothe”

South African-born, Melbourne-based Tamil multidisciplinary artist Ecca Vandal strutted her way into the music scene back in 2016 in traditional punk style with an edgy disposition and something to say. Her musical work is fearlessly genre-bending and frequently sees her weaving together punk, hip-hop, jazz, trip-hop and electronic influences, informed in part by her formative years as a jazz musician and her passion for improvisation. which lead her to fall in love with the DIY punk world. Her work is anchored around a boldly rebellious, tenaciously politically-charged voice that demands to be heard.

Her unrelenting stage energy has brought her a history of touring alongside globally renowned acts like Queens of the Stone Age, Incubus, IDLES and The Prodigy. Adding to a growing international profile, she has made the rounds of the global festival circuit, playing sets at Download, Reading and Leeds Festivals in the UK, Afropunk Paris, as well as, Splendour in the Grass, Falls and Laneway Festivals in Australia.

Fresh off a recent tour supporting IDLES, Ecca Vandal shares her latest single, “Cruising to Self Soothe,” a bruising and grungy punk ripper that subtly nods to Nirvana, Bikini Kill and 80s New Wave while displaying the South African-born artist’s knack for razor sharp hooks and shout along worthy choruses.
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“‘Cruising to Self Soothe’ is about cultivating your inner strength when navigating life on your own, even when it feels a bit isolating,” Ecca Vandal says. “It’s about that pivotal moment when you recognize that you’re stronger without the people who were weighing you down, and there’s a real sense of empowerment in that for me. It captures the feeling of breaking free and moving forward, no matter the challenges that come. Even when others are waiting for you to fall, you’re still rising — stronger than ever.”

Video by William Ruben Helms

Lyric Video: Bambara Shares Atmospheric and Brooding “Face of Love”

JOVM mainstays Bambara — twin brothers Reid Bateh (lead vocals, guitar) and Blaze Bateh (drums), and William Brookshire (bass) — will be releasing their highly-anticipated Graham Sutton-produced fourth album, Birthmarks through Wharf Cat Records on March 14, 2025. 

Birthmarks is reportedly a wild, musically adventurous collection of songs that follows a host of lost characters caught in a cycle of love, violence and rebirth. The result is material that may arguably be their most apocalyptic and poignant. 

Earlier this month, I wrote about “Letters from Sing Sing,” a story and forceful rager, anchored around swirling shoegazer-like textures, Blaze Bateh’s thunderous, mathematically precise rhythmic patterns, Brookshire’s angular post-punk bass grooves serving as a lush yet tense and uneasy bed for Reid Bateh’s sonorous baritone. 

The album’s final pre-release single “Face of Love” is a decided change in sonic direction for the trio: The brooding and atmospheric twilight-like track seems inspired by Cocteau Twins , Massive Attack, Portishead and the like featuring boom-bap beats, twinkly harp from LEYA’s Marilu Donovan, guest vocals from Madeline Johnston (Midwife) paired with Reid Bateh’s sing-speaking delivery detailing a story about a man at a diner, who encounters a server that reminds him of someone from his past.

“The story begins when a server at a diner reminds a man of a woman from his past,” Bambara’s Reid Bateh says. “Inspiration for the music came from listening to Cocteau Twins songs reversed and slowed down. It features guest lead vocals from Madeline Johnston (Midwife), backing vocals by Jen Monroe and harp played by Marilu Donovan (LEYA).”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Choses Sauvages Shares Groovy “Cours toujours”

With the release of their Emmanuel Ethier-produced 2018 self-titled, full-length debut, Montréal-based dance punks Choses Sauvages — Totalement Sublime‘s Marc-Antoine Barbier (guitar), Theirry Malépart (keys), Tony Bélisle (keys), Philippe Gauthier-Boudreau (drums) and La Sécurité‘s Félix Bélisle (vocals) with Foreign Diplomats‘ and Frais Dispo‘s Charles Primeau (bass) as a touring member — exploded into the local and provincial scenes. The album was a critical and commercial success with the album topping Independent Radio Charts across Québec while receiving widespread critical applause. In 2019, the Montréal-based outfit landed Association Québécoise de l’industrie du disque, du spectacle et de la video (ADISQ) Félix Award nominations for Alternative Album of the Year and Indie Rock Album of the year, with a Félix Award win for Indie Rock Album of the Year. 

Throughout 2019, the French Canadian outfit supported their full-length debut with a relentless touring schedule across the province. During that tour, the band quickly developed a reputation for a must-see live show that they brought across the global festival circuit, including stops at Reeperbahn, MaMA, FIMPRO, SXSW, Le Printemps de Bourges and Wide Days. 

2021’s Choses Sauvages II found the Montréal-based outfit pushing their sound more towards electronic dance music and nu-disco influences like L’Imperatrice and Lindstrøm while still drawing from their love of funk, Bowie and Bee Gees. The album also sees them furthering their approach which pairs rigorous and meticulous songwriting with a rebellious spirit. 

Choses Sauvages’ highly-anticipated third album, Choses Sauvages III is slated for a March 28, 2025 release through Audiogram. In the lead-up to the album’s release, I wrote about two of the album’s singles late last year:

  • “Incendie au paradis,” a decidedly New Wave/post-punk song that seemingly drew from Heroes and Low-era Bowie and Pleasure Principle-era Gary Numan that depicts artificial intelligence as angels that can transform and improve our daily lives. But while addressing the technological advance’s promises and benefits, it raises serious and sobering concerns on its impact on all of us. “I wanted to highlight the need to think about the ethical and moral implications and the still unknown limits of these new technologies, and the influence they have on our lives,” Choses Sauvages’ Félix Bélisle explains. 

  • “En joue,” which saw the band seemingly drawing from Freedom of Choice-era DEVO, Pleasure Principle-era Gary Numan, Entertainment-era Gang of Four and even La Femme to create a song that was simultaneously tense yet danceable. The song as the band’s Bélisle explains “refers to the helplessness in the face of extremely violent international news of recent years. It also deals with the fear of the other, the dehumanization of certain populations taken hostage in armed conflicts.”

Choses Sauvages III’s third and final pre-release single “Cours toujours” is anchored around a dreamily narcotized yet driving groove, twinkling keys and slashing, post punk-like guitars, which serve as a lush bed for Félix Bèlisle’s ethereal cooing. Bélisle explains that “Cours toojours is a song that discusses the impossibility of escaping oneself, of the need to face the anxieties that inhabit us. The song is “a New Wave-flavored piece about personal questioning. As if we identified a problem at the centre of our being without being able to explain it,” he says.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Population II Shares Krautrock-like “Mariano (Jamais je ne t’oublierai)”

Acclaimed Montréal-based psych rock outfit and JOVM mainstays Population II — Pierre-Luc Gratton (vocals, drums), Tristan Lacombe (guitar, keys) and Sébastien Provençal (bass) — can trace their origin back a long way and are inextricably linked to their teenage memories. After years of jamming to the point of developing a unique sense of telepathy, the trio began recording independently releasing material that caught the attention of Castle Face Records head and The Oh Sees‘ frontman John Dwyer, who signed the band and released their full-length debut, 2020’s À la Ô Terre, an album that saw the band displaying their mastery of improvised and sophisticated composition. 

The Montréal-based psych outfit then spent the better part of the next two years touring to support their full-length debut, which included stops at SXSW, Pop Montréal, Toronto, NYC, and Québec City. 

Population II signed with Bonsound‘s label, booking and publishing arms. The Montréal-based label released the trio’s Emmanuel Éthier-produced sophomore album, 2023’s Èlectrons libres du québec. Their sophomore album is much more straightforward while showcasing their remarkably adept musicianship and furthers their take on heavy psych rock, which feverish punk rhythms, early punk energy bursts, hints of jazz philosophy and a love of minor scales informed by heavy metal’s early roots.  

The album received praise from both press outlets on both sides of the Atlantic, including Rock & Folk, Exclaim!, La Presse, Le Devoir and long list of others. Adding to a breakthrough year, the Montréal-based outfit won a Breakthrough of the Year Award at 2023’s GAMIQ Award ceremonies. 

Last year was a very busy year for the Montréal-based JOVM mainstays: They released the Serpent Échelle EP. Released on a limited-edition cassette tape and on all digital platforms, Serpent Échelle saw the band crafting material that boldly stands out from their previously released work: Shifting between orchestrated passages and lysergic-tinged riffage, the EP’s material is wilder, much more adventurous and heavier. And while rooted in their remarkable compositional skills, the material displays a newfound commitment to songwriting. Thematically, the EP’s material touched upon the desperate urgency of life in an age of global doom while still enjoying life’s small pleasures — love, friendship, wine, good tunes and good times.

They closed out a very busy 2024 with Mulchulation II, a split EP with Canadian punks Mulch. Continuing upon a prolific period, the Montréal-based JOVM mainstays laid the groundwork for their third album, the Dominic Vanchesteing-produced Maintenant Jamais. Slated for a March 28, 2025 release through Bonsound, the 14-song album reportedly sees the band drawing from their formative influence with a deep, sense of sophistication.

Maintenant Jamais‘ second and latest single “Mariano (Jamais je ne t’oublierai)” is a krautrock/prog rock-like take on psych rock featuring pulsating drum patterns paired with glistening synths and fuzzy power chords serving as a lush and languorous bed for Gratton’s dreamy cooing. Arguably one of the most krauty songs of their growing catalog, “Mariano (Jamais je ne t’oublierai)” sees the band subtly — and perhaps playfully — expanding upon their sound while reminding listeners of their adroit musicianship and songwriting.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Dream Bodies Shares Shimmering and Brooding “Dream Hangover”

Steven Fleet is a Los Angeles-based multi-instrumentalist, poet, writer and artist, who has been in several music projects that have allowed him to play shows across the US, the UK, Germany and the Czech Republic. Fleet is also the creative mastermind behind the solo recording project Dream Bodies. With Dream Bodies, Fleet crafts “witchy, dreamy, gothy, post punk, dream pop, cold wave with poetic, philosophical lyrics.”

“Dream Hangover,” Fleet’s Dream Bodies debut single is centered around a Joy Division-meets-Heaven Up Here-era Echo and the Bunnymen-like soundscape feature swirling, reverb-drenched guitars, angular bass lines and mathematically precise drum patterns paired with Fleet’s young Ian McCulloch-like vocal and rousingly anthemic hooks and choruses.

“‘Dream Hangover,’ is about losing your identity in a toxic relationship, but then finding yourself and your inner strength again in its aftermath,” Fleet explains.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Janzen Shares a Lush, Club Friendly Banger

Janzen is an electronic producer and artist, who has developed a reputation for crafting an upbeat and vibrant fusion of techno and electronic dance music paired with catchy lyrics that’s inspired from both underground rhythms and mainstream trends.

The rising electronic music producer and artist’s latest single “Just a Kiss” is a slickly produced and lush Ibiza-meets-French touch banger, inspired by Martin Garrix and Armin van Buuren, featuring glistening synth oscillations, tweeter and woofer rattling thump paired with a sultry and longing vocal, describing a life-changing kiss with a lover — or love interest — that they’ve been desiring.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Mexico CIty’s Granito Shares a Hypnotic, Trance-Inducing Banger

Granito is a 33 year-old, Mexico City-based electronic music producer, who specializes in a minimalist, trance-inducing take on dark, underground house music. His minimalist production approach is groove/dance first, melody last, as he explains that he feels as though he’s defending minimalist electronic music in a culture where vocal-led music controls the mainstream.

The Mexican producer is currently putting the finishing touches on the material which will comprise his 16-track full-length debut slated for release later this year. In the meantime, Granito’s latest single “Pluto” is a hypnotic banger that sounds a bit like a synthesis of Kraftwerk, A Nation of Millions Can’t Hold Us Back and Apocalypse 91: The Enemy Strikes Black-era Public Enemy and industrial techno as bursts of glistening and arpeggiated synth stabs cut through wailing, ambient drone and skittering beats.