Directed by Caleb Gutierrez, the recently released video for American Monoxide’s “Hot Lava Express” features a dream-like sequence that seems influenced by the visuals in Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer,” “Big Time” and “Digging in the Dirt” videos as the sequence employs the use of stop-action animation until the video’s protagonist wakes up and sees his friends hanging out at a barbecue in his backyard. It’s a whimsical and playful video that belies the song’s abrasive nature.
Category: synth rock
Queue, an indie rock quintet with members split between Philadelphia and Washington, DC is comprised of five college friends — Olivia Price, Tyler Ringland, Aida Mekonnen, Dan Snelling and Steve Vannelli — who were all originally in other bands, and decided that they needed to write music together. Interestingly, the decision to work together coincided with graduation and adult responsibilities, which eventually forced the members of the band to write and collaborate via the Internet. After about a year writing and recording demos, the members of the Philadelphia and Washington, DC-based quintet convinced at Degraw Sound Studios in Brooklyn to record the material that would comprise the band’s forthcoming self-titled EP, slated for a late June release.
With the release of “Falling Into Skies,” the first single off their self-titled EP, the indie rock quintet quickly received praise across the blogosphere, and as soon as you hear “More,” the second and latest single off the forthcoming EP, you’ll see why: the quintet pairs a gorgeous and melancholy melody with folky, strummed guitar chords, shimmering synths, propulsive drum programming and percussion and swirling electronics in a n ethereal yet buoyant song that effortlessly meshes electro pop with singer/songwriter folk; in fact, as the band’s Olivia Price noted to the folks at Consequence of Sound, lyrically the song captures the inner monologue of a narrator, who is in the middle of a crippling identity crisis as they desire something much better and not only has the narrator need to accept that actually getting that something better can actually require a ton of effort, they also have to accept that sometimes all of that effort can be for naught. And as a result, the song conveys a bitter and uneasy jumble of emotions.
New Video: Check Out This Live Studio Footage of John Carpenter Performing “Distant Dream”
If you’ve been frequenting JOVM over the better part of the past year, the renowned director, screenwriter, producer, editor and composter John Carpenter has quickly become a mainstay artist after last year’s critically and commercially successful album […]
Last month, I wrote about Brooklyn-based shoegaze duo The Blessed Isles. Comprised of Aaron Closson (guitar and vocals), best known as a member of The Hourly Radio and multi-instrumentalist Nolan Thies, best known as a member of N?TIONS, the duo of Closson and Thies specialize in a sound that is heavily indebted to New Wave, synth pop and shoegaze — and as you would have heard on “Caroline,” the first single off their long-awaited full-length effort Straining Hard Against the Strength of Night, and on the album’s second and latest single “Confession” their sound in particular seems to be influenced by New Order, Slowdive and Cocteau Twins as the duo pairs Closson’s plaintive vocals with shimmering delay pedal fed guitar chords, propulsive boom-bap 808s, and ambient-like synths to craft a swooning and introspective song with an urgently anthemic pulse. However, interestingly enough “Confession” strikes me as being the most New Order-influenced song down to the guitar solo the song’s swooning urgency.
New Audio: The Arena Rock and Dance Floor Friendly Extended Mix of New Order’s “The Game”
Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site over its six year history, you’d know that I’m a proudly unabashed New Order fan. Music Complete, which was released last year marked two milestones for the band— as it was […]
New Video: The Surreal and Dreamy Visuals for Face + Heel’s “Pier Video”
Comprised of Luke Taylor and Sinead McMillan, Welsh duo Face + Heel have had their previously released work praised by several major media outlets and blogs including Hillydilly, Pigeons and Planes, The 405, Dummy, The Line of Best Fit, Notion and Crack Magazine […]
New Video: JOVM Mainstays La Femme Return with Psychedelic, Egypt-Inspired Visuals for “Sphynx”
Comprised of founding members Marlon Magnée (keyboards), Sacha Got (guitar), Sam Lefevre (bass), Noé Delmas (drums) and Lucas Nunez, along with a rotating cast of vocalists including current lead vocalist Clémence Quélennec, lara Luciani, Jane Peynot and Marilou […]
New Video: The Neon Bright and Surreal Visuals for Deep Sea Diver’s “See These Eyes”
Perhaps best known as an accomplished side person, who has spent several years as a touring member of The Shins, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Spoon and Beck‘s backing band, the Seattle, WA-based multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Jessica […]
Last year, the renowned director, screenwriter, producer and composer John Carpenter released his first album of non-soundtrack-based music, Lost Themes to critical praise from an impressive array of major media outlets including The Guardian, The New York Times, The Times, Uncut, The Wire, The Los Angeles Times, NPR, Pitchfork, Vanity Fair, Newsweek, Billboard, Entertainment Weekly, Artforum, The Wall Street Journal, Rolling Stone and others. And as a result, the album was one of the most commercially successful albums released in Sacred Bones Records history, as the album debuted on the Top 100 Charts in both the UK and US. Unsurprisingly, the album, which was recorded with Carpenter’s son Cody Carpenter and his godson Daniel Davies strongly confirms what cinephiles, sci-fi fans and Carpenter files have asserted for countless years — that the director’s work was not only years ahead of its time but that his work has managed to continually influence contemporary electronic music. In fact, artists like Red Traces and Umberto have released works that frequently seem indebted to Carpenter and his film scores.
Building on the buzz and success that Carpenter and Sacred Bones Records received after the release of Lost Themes, the director and the indie record label released Lost Themes Remixed, an album that featured remixes from the likes of Zola Jesus, Silent Servant, Foetus‘ JG Thirwell, Skinny Puppy‘s ohGr, PAN Records‘ Bill Kouligas, and Uniform. (In fact, if you’ve been frequenting this site over the past few months, you might recall that I wrote about Uniform’s dance-floor ready remix of Carpenter’s “Vortex” and Zola Jesus and Dean Hurley’s techno-leaning rework of “Night.” But interestingly enough, Carpenter has been incredibly prolific, as Sacred Bones and Carpenter will be releasing a sequel to Lost Themes, Lost Themes II on April 15.
The material on Lost Themes II is inspired and informed by a change in the creative process with Cody Carpenter, Daniel Davies and the acclaimed producer writing, working revising and recording in the same studio — and with all three collaborators working together, the result was a more focused effort, completed on a compressed schedule, in a similar fashion to Carpenter’s earliest films. Additionally, the material is much more nuanced and lush, as the trio of collaborators added acoustic and electric guitar to flesh out the material, as well as add texture. Last month, I wrote about Lost Themes II‘s first single, “Distant Dream” pairs John Carpenter’s unmistakable minimalist synths with live drums, bursts of angular guitar and bass chords, and swirling electronics in a moody and tense composition that sounds as though it could be part of a taut, psychological thriller set in a dystopian future. Lost Themes II‘s second and latest single “Angel’s Asylum” pairs layers of dramatic and twinkling and undulating synths and ambient electronics with buzzing power chords and four-on-the-floor drumming in a composition that has the trio quickly building upon a theme but with subtle variations until a gently strummed acoustic guitar section paired with ambient electronics and synths and a gentle layer of twinkling synths form the composition’s coda. In many ways the song goes from an extremely dark and rock-like intensity to an ethereal beauty that arches heavenward at the end.
Originally known as a member of Baltimore, MD-based act Lake Trout, Andy Shankman is a grizzled music industry vet, whose solo recording project Jumpcuts began after an intense flurry of songwriting that had Shankman along with co-arranger Gideon Briedegam initially composing material on guitar and then slowly transposed to synthesizer — and then recorded and produced by Rob Girardi, best known for his work with Beach House and Celebration’s David Bergander at Lord Baltimore Studios. And the result was Shankman’s debut effort, Electrickery, an effort that was praised for its meshing electronic production with live instrumentation including guitars, synths and classically trained-based string arrangements, which generally pushes his material towards synth rock with a pop-leaning sensibility.
“Electric Shadows” is the latest single off Shankman’s forthcoming sophomore effort Fiber Optic Bondage, slated for a March 25, 2016 release and the single has Shankman pairing propulsive tribal-like drumming with layers of churning synths, abrasive, industrial clang and clatter and Shankman’s plaintive crooning to craft a dark and uneasy song that sounds indebted to Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, Blanck Mass an others — complete with a claustrophobic sense of introspection that feels as though the listeners were diving into the deeply fractured psyche of the song’s narrator.
Montreal, QC-based psych rock trio Elephant Stone — comprised of Rishi Dihr (lead vocals, sitar, bass), Jean-Gabriel Lambert (drums, backing vocals), and Miles Dupire (drums, backing vocals) — have developed a national profile across their native Canada and Stateside for a vintage psych rock sound reminiscent of The Beatles, The Kinks and severals as the Canadian trio’s earliest material paired elements of Eastern instrumentation — mainly, the sitar — with Western songwriting, arrangements and instrumentation. And rather unsurprisingly, over the past few years the Montreal-based trio have also become a JOVM mainstay artist.
With the 2014 release of Elephant Stone’s third full-length effort, The Three Poisons, the Canadian trio went through a major and rather decided change of songwriting approach and sonic direction in which sitar was pushed back to the background — and when it was employed, it was seemingly used to add additional texture and color. Since then, the Canadian trio have released a batch of singles including “The Devil’s Shelter,” which was released at the end of last year. That single, which featured a guest spot from The Black Angels‘ Alex Maas was yet another example of the trio experimenting with their sound as tense, undulating synths, shimmering sitar and guitar chords and a driving motorik-like rhythm were paired with Dihr’s and Mass’ alternating vocals to create an ominous and murky sound that channeled The Black Angels “Don’t Play With Guns.”
Early last month, the trio released “Where I’m Going” a single that continued the band’s most recent sonic experimentations while suggesting that the band may have been listening to Evil Heat-era Primal Scream — in particular, I think of “Autobahn 66” and “Detroit” as Dihr’s ethereal cooing is paired with shimmering guitar chords, a tight and propulsive, motorik groove, four-on-the-floor drumming and layers of shimmering and undulating synths in what may arguably be the most dance-floor ready songs that they’ve released to date. “Andromeda,” the band’s latest single sounds like a return to the vintage psych rock sound that first caught the blogosphere’s attention as shimmering guitar chords and a propulsive and driving rhythm are paired with Dihr’s plaintive cooing about the nature of the universe; however, swirling synths and a brief burst of tribal drumming manage to reveal a band that’s relentlessly experimenting and attempting new ways to expand upon their sound while retaining familiar elements.
The band will be on tour throughout March, and it includes an NYC date. Check out the tour dates below.
ELEPHANT STONE TOUR DATES
03/10 Toronto ON – Sneaky Dee’s (Tickets)
03/11 Indianapolis IN – Joyful Noise (Tickets)
03/12 Little Rock AR – Vino’s (Tickets)
03/14 Austin TX – SXSW
03/18 Memphis TN – Hi-Tone (Tickets)
03/19 Cincinnati OH – MOTR (Info)
03/20 Brooklyn NY – Baby’s All Right (Tickets)
04/14 Montreal QC – La Sala Rossa (Tickets)
Comprised of Dan Boeckner (vocals and guitar), who’s best known for being a member of Wolf Parade, Handsome Furs; Sam Brown (drums), best known for being a member of New Bomb Turks and Divine Fits; and Devojka (analog synths), the NYC-based trio Operators formed in 2013 — and in the past three years, the band has seen a rapidly growing national profile for an 80s New Wave and analog synth pop-inspired sound. And with the release of their critically applauded EP1 the NYC-based trio found themselves opening for the likes of Future Islands, New Pornographers and many other critically applauded contemporary acts; however, with the release of “Cold Light,” the first single off Operators’ forthcoming and highly-anticipated full-length effort Blue Wave reveals a band that has since expanded their sound with the addition of angular guitar and bass chords, pushing their sound more towards the direction of Joy Division and New Order.
Interestingly, Blue Wave‘s second and latest single, album title track “Blue Wave” has the band pairs layers of synths and swirling electronics and a propulsive, motorik groove with warm blasts of horns and Boeckner’s crooning vocals in a song that sounds as though it draws from Thin White Duke and Plastic Soul-era David Bowie and 80s post-punk and New Wave — in particular, I think of Flock of Seagulls, New Order, Depeche Mode and others. Arguably, “Blue Wave” may be the funkiest and most propulsive singles they’ve released to date.
Operators will be on tour to support the album and it’ll include a NYC area date at Baby’s All Right. Check out tour dates below.
Tour Dates
3/28 – CHICAGO, IL – SCHUBAS
3/29 – MINNEAPOLIS, MN – 7TH ST. ENTRY
3/30 – OMAHA, NE – REVERB LOUNGE
4/01 – DENVER,CO – LOST LAKE LOUNGE
4/03 – SPOKANE, WA – THE BARTLETT
4/04 – SEATTLE, WA – SUNSET TAVERN
4/05 – VANCOUVER, BC – FORTUNE SOUND CLUB
4/06 – PORTLAND, OR – DOUG FIR LOUNGE
4/08 – SAN FRANCISCO, CA – SOCIAL HALL SF
4/09 – LOS ANGELES, CA – BOOTLEG THEATRE
4/10 – SAN DIEGO, CA – SODA BAR
4/11 – PHOENIX, AZ – VALLEY BAR
4/13 – AUSTIN, TX – THE SIDEWINDER
4/14 – DALLAS, TX – THREE LINKS
4/15 – HOUSTON, TX – THE RAVEN TOWER
4/16 – NEW ORLEANS, LA – GASA GASA
4/17 – ATLANTA, GA – THE EARL
4/19 – WASHINGTON, DC – DC9
4/21 – BROOKLYN, NY – BABY’S ALL RIGHT
4/22 – PHILADELPHIA, PA – BOOT & SADDLE
4/23 – CAMBRIDGE, MA – MIDDLE EAST UPSTAIRS
4/29 – HAVANA, CUBA – Fábrica de Arte Cubano (F.A.C.)
4/30 – HAVANA, CUBA – Fábrica de Arte Cubano (F.A.C.)
Initially comprised of Preston Maddox (bass, vocals, keyboards, samples and programming) Jake McCown (drums, noise, programming) — with recent recruits Jack O’Hara Harris (guitar), Richard Napierkowski (synth) and Martin McCreadie (synth) to flesh out the band’s live set, Austin, TX-based shoegaze act Bloody Knives have developed a reputation locally and regionally for a sound that meshes elements of punk, industrial electronica and ambient electronica with 8 bit glitches, bloops and bleeps; sonically speaking their sound is reminiscent of My Bloody Valentine, A Place to Bury Strangers, The Jesus and Mary Chain and others as their sound manages moments of punishing noisy bleakness with moments of sublime and dreamy beauty.
The Austin shoegazer band’s forthcoming, new album I Will Cut Your Heart Out For This is slated for an April 15, 2016 release through Saint Marie Records and the album is reportedly inspired by the “forgotten places, the dark corners of empty cities, decaying buildings filled with vacant people” — the world of the lost and broken.” The album’s first single “Poison Halo” will further cement the band’s reputation for crafting a gritty, punishing and yet dreamy sound as shimmering synths and guitar chords are paired with towering layers of feedback, a propulsive motorik-like groove and Maddox’s ethereal and plaintive vocals floating over an ominous and punishing wall of sound that gently yet insistently pushes the boundaries of what shoegaze should sound like.
The band will be embarking on the road throughout April. Check out tour dates below.
TOUR DATES
Fri April 1st-El Paso @ Boomtown
Sat April 2nd-Flagstaff AZ @ Mias Lounge
Monday April 4th-LA @ Viper Room w/Luna 13
Thur April 7th- Fresno @ TBA w/Sleepover Disaster
Fri April 8th-Portland @ High Water Mark w/Peridot, Airplane
Saturday April 9th Seattle @Highline w/Vibragun
Sunday April 10th Olympia WA @ Westside Lanes
Tue April 12th-Minneapolis @Hexagon with TRITA
Wed April 13th-Chicago @ Empty Bottle w New Canyons
Thur April 14th-Milwaukee @ Quarters
Friday April 15th Champaign IL @ Mike and Molly’s w/TBA
Sat April 16th St. Louis TBA
Friday April 22nd @Norman Music Fest w/Power Trip