Category: Video Review

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Marseille’s Joe La Truite Shares Bruising “Octogone 8000”

Marseille-based metal outfit Joe La Truite — currently founding members Julien Liphard (Guitars/Vocals) and Charles Roussel (Bass/Vocals), along with Martin Denquin (drums) — originally started as a bit of fun back in 2017, releasing their debut EP that year River Metal, which quickly established their sound, a mind-melting blend of punk, metal and psych rock paired with tongue-in-cheek storytelling.

The Marseille-based outfit followed up with their sophomore EP, 2019’s Just A Little Thing Smooth and Wet. Shortly after that, the band’s founding duo met their current drummer, Denquin, with whom they felt an immediate and undeniable simpatico.

As a trio, the band wrote and recorded their full-length debut 2020’s Trapped In The Cosmos, which received critical applause locally and helped the band build up a following in and around the Marseille live music scene.

Last year, the band signed to Australia’s Blue Tongue Management, who helped the band undertake an introductory campaign to international media and music industry folks, which resulted in album material picking up rotation on multiple syndicated metal programs across the globe.

Building upon a growing profile in the international metal scene, the French trio’s sophomore album Ultimate Ninja Storm 2: Full Zguen was released last Friday through Full Zguen Records. Recorded at Southern France’s dBd Studio, Ultimate Ninja Storm 2: Full Zguen is a concept album based on the characters that inhabit video games. So what’s zguen? The band refers to this at the wild energy of their live performances, which always lead to fans and audiences headbanging until their they nearly broke their necks. The band likens it to controlled chaos.

Sonically, the album sees the band continuing to effortlessly weave elements of metal, punk and psych while showcasing adept musicianship. But unlike their previously released material, there’s a bit of hip-hop thrown in, too.

“Octogone 8000,” Ultimate Ninja Storm 2: Full Zguen‘s third and latest single is a bruising mosh pit ripper that shifts between math rock, heavy metal and trash metal with bombastic aplomb and a ton of sweat-fueled mischief. The song and the accompanying video hurls listeners and viewers into a surreal kaleidoscopic, Mortal Kombat-like arena, where two outlandish characters — Little Ninja Zombie Cyborg and disco-warrior-turned-nightclub-owner Cosmozouk clash in a seemingly never-ending battle of wills.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Godkomplex Shares Bruising “Satanica”

Godkomplex — Mr. Panik and Download — was formed back in 1998 with the intention of revitalizing hard industrial music and features two accomplished stalwarts of the industrial scene:

  • Download’s career began in the mid 1980s with stings playing in a number of bands, including Servo Sector, which featured members of Kevorkian Death Cycle and Hex RX.

  • Mr. Panik is currently involved in a number of side projects, including Chaos Frequency and Skinprobe among others.

With Godkomplex, the duo combine elements of several electronic genres, including drum ‘n’ bass, power noise, techno, trance and coldwave to produce a sound that preserves the integrity of early industrial music while employing a more modern approach.

The duo released their full-length debut, 2000’s World Below through Chaos Records. The album was re-released in 2003 through ANR/Hexagon with national distribution through DSBP.

Their sophomore album, 2006’s Audial Apostasy saw the duo expanding into a quartet with the addition of Reload and The Loch Ness Monster. The duo returned with last year’s “Torture” and “Race-4-Power,” which was released last year.

Building upon the momentum of those singles, the duo recently released “Satanica,” a bruising and forceful yet club friendly bit of industrial that channels the likes of Ministry and Rammstein, while hinting at much more contemporary fare.

Fittingly, the accompanying video for “Satanica” features imagery of witchcraft, accused witches being burned at the stake, folks head banging at a festival show to hard music and more.

Both “Race-4-Power” and “Satanica” will appear on the duo’s forthcoming best of compilation, Best of Godkomplex 1999-2024, which is slated for release late this year.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstays Nation of Language Share Woozy “I’m not Ready for the Change”

Acclaimed Brooklyn-based synth pop act and JOVM mainstays Nation of Language — Ian Richard Devaney (vocals, guitar), Aidan Noell (synths) and Alex MacKay (bass) — have managed to amass a rapidly growing and devout national and international fanbase as a result of a dance floor friendly sound that draws from New Wave, post-punk and shoegaze. The JOVM mainstays three albums, 2020’s Introduction, Presence, 2021’s A Way Forward and 2023’s Strange Disciple have received coverage from Billboard, The New York Times, Document Journal, BrooklynVegan, MOJO, NME, Pitchfork, Stereogum and lengthy list of others, including this site.

Adding to a rapidly rising profile, the band has performed on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Recently,  “Weak In Your Light” was featured in the series finale of the Netflix hit show You. They’ve also become a mainstay on the international festival circuit, playing sets at Austin City Limits, Desert Daze, Pitchfork Festival, Primavera Sound, Pukklepop, Corona Capital, Outside Lands, Bonnaroo, and a growing list of others globally.

Last month, the acclaimed JOVM mainstays announced they signed to Sub Pop Records, who will be releasing their new material globally in 2025 and beyond, including the band’s highly-anticipated fourth album, Dance Called Memory. Slated for a September 19, 2025 release, the 10-song album was recorded, produced and mixed by Holy Ghost‘s Nick Millhiser, who produced 2023’s Strange Disciple. “What’s so great about Nick is his ability to make us feel like we don’t need to do what might be expected of us,” says Nation of Language’s Aidan Noell. The album was mastered by Heba Kadry, who has worked on some of the most acclaimed records of the past decade or so.

Sonically, the album is imbued with a subtly shifted palette: On some tracks percussion is smashed through a synthesizer to nod at early-2000’s electronic music. Chopped-up drum break samples make appearances, too.

Ultimately, for the trio, the hope was to weave raw vulnerability and humanity into a synth-heavy album. “There is a dichotomy between the Kraftwerk school of thought and the Brian Eno school of thought, each of which I’ve been drawn to at different points. I’ve read about how Kraftwerk wanted to remove all of the humanity from their music, but Eno often spoke about wanting to make synthesized music that felt distinctly human,” Nation of Language’s Ian Richard Devaney says. “As much as Kraftwerk is a sonically foundational influence, with this record I leaned much more towards the Eno school of thought. In this era quickly being defined by the rise of AI supplanting human creators, I’m focusing more on the human condition, and I need the underlying music to support that… Instead of hopelessness, I want to leave the listener with a feeling of us really seeing one another, that our individual struggles can actually unite us in empathy.”

Dance Called Memory will feature the previously released “Inept Apollo,” which continues a run of nostalgia-inducing, 80s New Wave-inspired material, while furthering their unerring knack for crafting slickly produced dance floor numbers anchored around earnest lyricism.

“I’m Not Ready for the Change,” Dance Called Memory‘s second and latest single features chopped up drum breaks seemingly inspired by Loveless-era My Bloody Valentine, glittering arpeggiated synths paired with whirring guitars and the band’s long-held penchant for enormous hooks and lived-in lyrics.

Directed by longtime collaborator John McKay, the accompanying, stylishly shot video features the trio performing the song in a studio — and for you fellow old heads, will subtly remind you of early 1980s MTV.

Along with the single and album announcements, the JOVM mainstay will be busy throughout the summer and fall. They’re will be opening for Death Cab for Cutie on their Plans: 20th Anniversary Tour for four dates: Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena on July 31, 2025 and August 2, 2025 and for two-sold out shows in Chicago’s Chicago Theatre, August 5, 2025 and August 6, 2025. 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: LohArano Shares Forceful and Abrasive “Mpaka Taova (Organ Dealers)”

Over the past couple of years of this site’s 15 year history, I’ve managed to spill copious amounts of virtual ink covering Antananarivo, Madagascar-based JOVM mainstays LohArano. Since their formation, the Malagasy metal outfit  — Mahalia Ravoajanahary (vocals, guitar), Michael Raveloson (bass, vocals) and Natiana Randrianasoloson (drums, vocals) — have received attention both nationally and internationally for a unique, boundary pushing sound that features elements of popular and beloved Malagasy musical styles like Tsapiky  and Salegy with heavy metal. 

The Madagascar-based outfit’s sound and approach represents a bold generation of Malagasy youth that still honors, reveres and respects the traditions and practices of their culture and elders, while also being deeply inspired by contemporary, Western genres and styles. 

The JOVM mainstays newest EP YMAIMA is slated for a June 20, 2025 release. And as the band explains, the EP’s material is “a mirror. It’s a finger pointed at a truth we’d rather keep quiet. The EP takes an unvarnished and unflinchingly honest look at the brutal reality of their home land, “which bleeds between muffled cries and complicit silence,” they say.

YMAIMA‘s latest single “Mpaka Taova (Organ Dealers)” may arguably be the most abrasive, Suicidal Tendencies-meets-Body Count-like tracks that the JOVM mainstays have released to date while retaining the accessible, mosh pit friendliness that they’ve long been known for. The song as the band explains talks about organ dealers who kidnap children. Frequently, these child victims are later found mutated — or never found at all. The song serves as a forceful refusal to forget these victims and cries out for justice for them.

Fittingly, the accompanying video directed by Tsiory Andrianamanana is one of the bloodiest, goriest videos they’ve released to date, further evoking the sense of horror at the core of the song.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Kim Gordon Shares “BYE BYE 25” with Proceeds Going to NOISE FOR NOW

Last year, the legendary Kim Gordon released her critically applauded, Grammy-nominated, sophomore solo album The Collective, which featured “BYE BYE.” As a form of righteous protest agains the hateful, authoritarian Trump Administration, Gordon and her collaborator and producer Justin Raisen got back together to re-do the song.

“(Producer and collaborator) Justin Raisen had this idea to redo ‘Bye Bye’ starting at the end of the song. When I was thinking of lyric ideas, it occurred to me to use words taken from a site that had all the words that Trump has essentially banned, meaning any grant or piece of a project or proposal for research that includes any of those words would be immediately disregarded or ;cancelled.’ I guess Trump does believe in cancel culture, because he is literally trying to cancel culture.

Gordon continues, “Trump has used the term “cancel culture” not only as a political talking point but also as a dog whistle while weaponizing the term to signal support for white grievance politics, traditional gender roles, anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment and hostility toward racial justice movements – without always saying those things outright.”

Here is a short list of some of the words Gordon mentions in “BYE BYE 25” that have already begun to disappear under the Trump Administration agenda:

ADVOCATE

CLIMATE CHANGE

FEMALE

HISPANIC

IMMIGRANTS

INTERSEX

MALE-DOMINATED

MENTAL HEALTH 

NON-CONFORMING

TRAUMA

UTERUS

VICTIM

WOMEN

Among the organizations that have been targeted by the Administration’s policies include Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of Personnel Management (OPM), National Science Foundation (NSF), Department of Defense (DoD), Small Business Administration, National Cryptologic Museum and NASA.

Proceeds from “BYE BYE 25!” — both song and t-shirt will be donated to the reproductive rights nonprofit NOISE FOR NOW. If you have a few bucks, please buy the song and/or a t-shirt; it’ll go to a worthy, much-needed cause. If you’re unable to protest because of health concerns or some other very valid reason, donating to worthy causes if and when you’re able to, is a form of protest, y’all. In the event that donating is a hardship for you, don’t worry. Pass the word along to those who could. Links are here: https://kimgordon.lnk.to/byebye25

Of course if you’re curious: NOISE FOR NOW enables artists and entertainers to connect with and financially support organization that work in the field of Reproductive Health, Rights and Justice. They’re needed now, more than ever with reproductive health care services, including access to legal abortion being under attack. Learn more at https://www.noisefornow.org

The song is accompanied by a video directed by Vice Cooler and Kim Gordon.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: HighSchool Shares Breakneck and Hook-Driven “149”

Rising London-based post-punk outfit HighSchool — Melbourne-born, London-based duo Rory Trobbiani and Luke Scott, along with live backing members Lilli Trobbiani and Lucy Lamb — exploded into the scene with their debut, six-song EP, 2021’s Forever at Last, an effort that saw the band distilling circa-’86 indie lo-fi, New Wave, goth and post-punk through a new, very modern lens.

With self-directed, deeply arresting videos for each of the EP’s six tracks and multiple vinyl runs selling out, the band began to receive attention globally. Beginning with a stint residing London, the duo and their live band played shows across the UK, European Union, North America, Japan and back in Australia, making a run of the international festival circuit, while sharing stages with CHVRCHES, Sam Fender, NewDad and Wet Leg among others.

The rising post punk outfit followed up with 2022’s Only a Dream, which was recorded with Dan Carey and released through his Speedy Wunderground and 2023’s “Colt.” The duo signed to [PIAS], who released their sophomore EP, last year’s Accelerator. Accelerator saw the duo taking their sound to a much darker, reflective place while being an effort that revealed new layers and added depth with each listen. The band went on to support the EP with a successful UK tour with Wunderhouse.

Building upon a growing profile, the band has received praise from NME, The Fader, Clash, DIY, Dork Magazine, The Line of Best Fit, Paper Magazine, Rolling Stone ANZ, So Young and airplay from triple j, BBC 6 Music, BBC Radio 1, KEXP and several others across the globe.

The band’s highly-anticipated full-length debut is forthcoming, and the album’s first single, the Ben Hillier and Finn Billingham-produced “149” is a breakneck, mind-melting mix of shoeagze, New Wave and jangle pop and Brit pop that reveals a band with an unerring knack for catchy hooks. And at its core, the song captures languorous, boring and seemingly carefree summers in your teens and early 20s.

“‘149’ is about slow, teenage suburban summers – long, dry days, sprinklers on cracked lawns, the smell of cut grass and cheap beer, halogen-lit tennis courts and supermarket car parks. Nothing to do but kick rocks, ride your bike, hang at the skatepark or by the pool. 

You end up at a shit house party you weren’t invited to, with the girl you’ve had a crush on all year – the one you thought never noticed you. Someone’s playing Benny Benassi on a light-up Bluetooth speaker. People spill onto the porch, your breath tastes like warm wine from a sack. Maybe you hold hands or she kisses you. ‘149’ is a brief moment in the noise, knowing it won’t last. And that’s the point”. 

The accompanying, self-directed video finds the band and friends commandeering a London double-decker bus and driving around London. The band plays an impromptu set onboard. But the video has some impromptu origins: The band borrowed the bus from Nev, who lives next door to the band’s studio. Nev runs a dub radio broadcast out of his kitchen; but he happened to own a party bus. It’s the sort of surreal set up that can only occur late at a night in a big city, with indelible characters.

“The video captures the feeling we wanted for ‘149’ — the dizzying elation of a rambunctious night out, full of promise and unpredictability. It’s about the seemingly endless possibilities a party can bring, and that fleeting feeling of being pulled out of your head and into the present, knowing it can only last until the night ends.”

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JayWood Shares Swaggering, Genre-Defying “ASSUMPTIONS”

Jeremy Haywood-Smith is a Winnipeg-born, Montréal-based, singer/songwriter, musician and creative mastermind behind the acclaimed, boundary pushing project JayWood. Though he was nominated for a Polaris Music Prize, the Canadian artist currently has a day job as a postal worker, which is arguably the least interesting thing about him.

Haywood-Smith’s third JayWood album Leo Negro is slated for a September 5, 2025 release through Captured Tracks. Much like previously released tracks “UNTITLED (Swirl)” and his collaboration with Tune-Yards, “BIG TINGS,” Leo Negro will further cement his reputation for refusing to be easily pigeonholed.

The Canadian artist explains that the album’s title ” . . .came from the main concept of the album which is identity. I asked myself the question of ‘What are some things that make me who I am, no matter what changes occur in life?’ and funnily enough, I was getting really into astrology at the time due to fact that 70% of my friends are queer femmes. I was trying to understand what it means to be a Leo. On the other hand, I’m moving through life as a black man in spaces that don’t always understand me or will try to categorize me.”

He adds, “I know the main identifier for Leos is that they’re super confident and massive social magnets and leaders, but in recent years, I’ve had a harder time leaning into that specific energy, so I started to just dismantle the idea of confidence and leadership by doing somewhat of the opposite. I started to get more vulnerable and share more things about myself: insecurities, fears, anxieties, my scarier truths and my experiences as a black person. Through that, I weirdly started to feel a little more confident. Which brings me to my last point about the title. I now live in Montreal and one thing I realized while trying to learn the language is that the descriptions of things are at the end. For example ‘black cat’ would be ‘chat noir,’ and if I look at my album title, it kinda translates to ‘black confidence’ in my mind.”

Leo Negro‘s latest single “ASSUMPTIONS” is a mind-melting, defiantly genre-agnostic track that sees the Montréal-based artist meshing a swaggering and braggadocio-fueled hip-hop production and neo-soul while subtly hinting at Pharrell‘s “Happy.” While seemingly recalling Tyler, the Creator, Stereolab and Men I Trust among others, “ASSUMPTIONS” showcases a mischievously forward-thinking producer and songwriter, who can pair social commentary and deep introspection within a catchy, deceptively fun bop.

“‘ASSUMPTIONS’ feels like it’s giving myself permission to step into some new sonic territory,” Haywood-Smith explains. “It’s fun and playful while still being pretty focused and lyrically consistent, which is new for me. It’s also one of the funniest songs I’ve ever written. It’s literally about my crippling imposter syndrome but at the same time, I’m staking my claim as a solid artist and a producer.”

Directed by Trent Wayne, the accompanying video is a playful, unpredictable mix of cartoons and live action footage at an equally cartoon colored party, in which he plays his new song. Much like the accompanying song, the video touches on feelings of imposter syndrome, feeling under appreciated yet knowing deep down that you’re fucking dope.

The video’s director, Trent Wayne, while speaking on the production said “JayWood set the tone for us—playful, unpredictable, and musically rich— making a great foundation for the video. Inspired by the song’s genre-blending, we built a narrative to match: starting in a comically chaotic party scene, drifting into a Yo Gabba Gabba!-inspired graveyard, and featuring a cartoon version of Jay performing created by Pete Though, which was sent through a VCR for added analog grit. Our production designer, Sophia Kotowski, built a functional CD-player gravestone that became a psychedelic centerpiece. Collaborating with Captured Tracks to spotlight innovative artists like JayWood is a real privilege for our team.”

singer/songwriters by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Franck Harois Shares Breezy “Au Rhythme Du Vent”

Franck Harois is French singer/songwriter and producer, who over the course of his 30+ year career has created music with a fiercely DIY ethos. Understandably, that has allowed, the French artist the ability to create freely and without compromise.

Harois’ latest single “Au Rhythme du Vent,” is a breezy bit of electro pop anchored around twinkling melodic synths, arpeggiated bass synths, bursts of squiggling of guitar and a remarkably catchy hook serving as a lush bed for the French artist’s dreamily plaintive delivery. The song sees Harois walking a tightrope between danceable Depeche Mode-like New Wave/goth and radio friendly pop.

Directed by Harois, the accompanying video for “Au Rhythme du Vent” was shot on the sun-dappled shores and forests of Biscarrosse, Bordeaux, France. The video emphasizes the escapist nature of the song.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Big Wild Teams Up With iDA HAWK ON Expansive and Cinematic “Universe”

Jackson Stell is a rising producer and artist, who initially started his career in his native Massachusetts as hip-hop producer, known as J Beatz. Following a life-altering trip to Big Sur, Stell switched creative lanes, adopting influences from the area’s natural beauty and open spaces. As Big Wild, the Massachusetts-based artist refines alt/indie electronic music by blending organic elements, lush soundscapes with genre-defying creativity and panache.

Stell’s breakthrough was back in 2015 when he toured with acclaimed electronic outfit Odesza and remixed “Say My Name.” That year also saw the release of “Aftergold,” feat. Tove Stryke, which stopped the Spotify Global Viral charts.

Building upon a rapidly growing profile, Stell followed up with 2017’s Invincible EP and his full-length debut, 2019’s Superdream, which saw the Massachusetts-born artist taking on the roles of singer/songwriter for the first time, while blending indie, electronic and disco influences. Stell supported Superdream with extensive touring across the US, European Union and UK while helping to establish his reputation as an innovative and boundary-pushing artist.

His sophomore Big Wild album, 2022’s The Efferusphere saw Stell continuing to explore and push the boundaries of genre and emotion.

The past few months have been busy for Stell: Earlier this year, he released -the first bit of new material since The Efferusphere — “Love Any Longer” and “You Belong Here.” Stell’s third single of this year, “The Universe” feat. iDA HAWK is a sprawling dance music track that mischievously nods at James Bond-thriller-like soundtracks, cinematic psych soul and British Big Beat with an infectious optimism. The song continues Stell’s exploration of themes around connections and belonging at the center of his most recent work, the new single — and arguably, all of his latest material — sees the rising artist actively seeking to shed much of the accumulated seriousness of his career while embarking on a mission to reclaim his artistic wonder.

“The release of ‘Universe’ synchronistically aligns with 10 years of collaboration and friendship with Jackson— and I think the depth of our shared creative expression shines on this song,” iDA HAWK says. “During the writing process, it was meaningful to explore universal themes, including the idea that we are all interconnected: when you find your own soul, you find us all.“

The accompanying video is a mix of animation and live-action that sees the duo of Stell and Hawk facing off against a collection of animated baddies in a colorful cartoon universe.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Cyprus’ A!MS and Antaeus Team Up With Julian Marley and Hypertone on a Swaggering and Uplifting Dancehall Anthem

Currently based in Ayia Napa, Cyprus, A!MS is an emerging and rising artist, who has developed a sound and approach that he has dubbed “Global Street,” which is informed by his multicultural background and blends hip-hop’s spirit, street culture, global sounds and digital-era creativity. The Cyprus-based artist sees this new, hybrid sub-genre as a home for artists beyond traditional scenes, that will unite voices from overlooked corners of the globe with a “as street, as it is worldwide” ethos.

The Aiya Napa-based artist’s latest single, the Antaeus-produced “Light & Love,” features Julian Marley and Hypertone, on a swaggering dancehall/reggae anthem that includes subtle and brief nods to Anatolian music and house music, anchored around club rocking tweeter and woofer rattling beats, twinkling and arpeggiated keys, a sultry dance floor friendly groove and a remarkably catchy hook and chorus. While being a fun, summery bop, each vocalist delivers a desperately-needed message of love, unity, uplift, and cultural exchange and understanding through music — in a fraught, uneasy time.

“Light & Love” is the lead single to the Cypriot-based artist’s forthcoming album, slated for release next month, which will reportedly see him firmly cementing the Global Street sound.

The accompanying video captures the swaggering, attention grabbing energy of the song while being remarkably stylish.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Hand Habits Shares Optimistic “Wheel of Change”

Meg Duffy is a Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, who over the past decade has spent the bulk of the past decade on the road with acclaimed artist Perfume Genius and as a solo artist, […]

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Rising London Outfit World News Shares Jangling and Anthemic “Don’t Want To Know”

Rising London-based post punk outfit World News — brothers Alex Evans (vocals, guitar) and Rory Evans (bass), along with Malte Henning (drums) and Jack Tolman (rhythm guitar) — can trace their origins back to 2018. The Evans Brothers, performing under the name Tinman cut their teeth in Brighton’s grassroots scene, relentlessly chasing opening slots in that city’s busy music scene.

Following a case of badly mistaken identity in which concert-goers arrived expecting an Austrian DJ of the same name — and a chance meeting with Malte Henning at a local Pizza Express, the band, rebranded as the extremely difficult to Google, World News.

The band, now known as World News were quickly gaining momentum, having sold out their first London area headlining show at The Shacklewell Arms when the COVID-19 pandemic brought everything to a halt. The band quickly established a sound inspired by 70s and 80s post-punk, indie rock and shoegaze, blending atmospheric guitar riffs with seductive melodies and a penchant for rousingly anthemic hooks and choruses, drawing comparisons to The Smiths, The Clash and Dire Straits among others.

Their debut, 2020’s Job and Money EP was released at their lowest point — COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns and was deeply informed by personal experiences: heartbreak, night shifts, desperately hustling to survive and the claustrophobia of living in a windowless London room.

Fueled by restlessness, disillusionment, impatience and yearning for more, the London-based quartet have been busy the last few years, releasing over a dozen singles and three EPs while remaining committed to a firmly held DIY ethos. That busy period included last year, which saw them releasing two EP’s Escape and Mindsnap, along with the addition of Jack Tollman (rhythm guitar). Escape EP saw the band expanding on their now, signature jangling sound. Mindsnap dove into darker, much more gothic territory and marked the first bit of material cowritten by The Evans Brothers.

The rising London-based outfit closed out last year receiving coverage from Stereogum, SPIN, The Fader and KEXP, as well as sold-out shows at London’s The Lexington and Piano’s. Building upon a growing national and international profile, the members of World News are looking forward to releasing their highly-anticipated full-length debut.

Recorded at London-based RAK Studios, the rising quartet’s latest single “Don’t Want To Know” sees the band firmly cementing a sound that immediately recalls Boy, October and The Unforgettable Fire-era U2: jangling, reverb-soaked guitars, driving rhythms, rousingly anthemic hooks and choruses paired with earnest, yearning vocals.

Directed by Teddy Hansen, the accompanying video for “Don’t Want To Know” focuses on the band’s Alex Evans as he rapidly goes through a series of costume changes that shows the band’s frontman going through different scenarios — some worse than others.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstays Activity Share Eerily Atmospheric “Heavy Breathing”

Acclaimed Brooklyn-based post punk outfit Activity — currently, Grooms‘ Travis Johnson (vocals, guitar), Bri DiGiola (bass), Russian Baths‘ Jess Rees and their newest member The Pains of Being Pure at Heart‘s and Peel Dream Magazine‘s Brian Alvarez — will be releasing their third album, the Jeff Berner-produced A Thousand Years In Another Way on Friday through Western Vinyl. 

The ten-song album sees the Brooklyn-based outfit crafting a blend of experimental rock, electronics and found sounds with a sense of paranoia, desperate flickers of hope and a warped reality. Continuing their ongoing collaboration with Berner, the band manipulated sounds and played with room acoustics to create a feeling that’s disorientating and uneasy — like the air is thick and the walls are listening. 

Coming out of a period of increased uncertainty, the Brooklyn-based quartet — then Johnson, Rees DiGiola and former drummer Steven Levine — pieced the album together from various fragments, including clipped samples, looping guitar lines and spectral melodies. Johnson, Rees and DiGioia share vocal and writing duties, shaping material that feels both deeply personal and strangely alien. Throughout the album, there’s a sense that things could shift or fall apart at any second — nothing says one thing for long. 

In the lead up to the album’s release later this week, I wrote about two of the album’s previously released singles:

  • Album opening track “In Another Way” is a brooding and uneasy track that captures the captures an alienated and painfully lonely narrator’s desperate desire to connect with someone while struggling with the chaos and uncertainty within and without. According to the band’s Johnson, the album’s first single is “a way of letting off a bunch of aggression, rage and resentment at things not being the way they hold be, both personal and global (wishing things were ‘another way’), and feeling completely important about it, except when playing the song.” 

  • “Scissors,” the album’s second and latest single is a trance-inducing and decidedly trip-hop inspired song featuring swirling, atmospheric synths, bursts of feedback-driven shoegazer guitars and skittering, reverb-soaked beats serving as a brooding and menacing bed for Jess Rees’ dreamy delivery. “The song is about being intentionally reckless and breaking things apart, knowing you’re doing it. About not being precious, and digging into that pile of parts inside and finding a better way with what you already have,” the band’s Rees says, while adding, “I was listening to Beak> a lot at the time.”

A Thousand Years In Another Way‘s third and final pre-release single “Heavy Breathing” is a brooding and uneasy tune that recalls Depeche Mode‘s “Never Let Me Down Again,” anchored around a glistening and looping guitar line, glitchy and skittering beats and eerily atmospheric synths serving as lush bed for Johnson’s achingly plaintive delivery.

The band’s Travis Johnson says, “The song started off as this very quiet somber lullaby type thing until a friend suggested we ‘go Duran Duran’ with it. Not sure we pulled that off whatsoever but what it turned into felt right. I don’t really want to get into what the song is actually about so I’ll just say it’s to do with wishing things had been better for someone than they were.”

The accompanying video was directed by Yasmeen Night, who says “‘Heavy Breathing’ was a song that really spoke to me. There was a theme of constant movement that I felt in the music that had to make it into the visual. I was so happy when I found out the band was on board to do some stop-motion animation for the video. I expected them to run after explaining how many hours and frames of photos were involved, but they were just as excited as I was. Between the time-lapse shots and the stop motion, I think we took roughly 10,000 individual frames that were then edited into the video. There’s also this concept of playing with time – slowing down seconds and speeding up hours – combined with a metaphor for running away from or conceding to what you fear.”

Video by William Ruben Helms

Throwback: Happy Belated 70th Birthday, Topper Headon!

JOVM’s William Ruben Helms belatedly celebrates Topper Headon’s 70th birthday.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: 802 Shares Glittering and Rousingly Anthemic “H.I.T.S.”

At one point, Andreas “Slowoff” Asingh was considered one of the most critically acclaimed electronic artists in Denmark, working with internationally renowned artists like Raekwon while touring the world.

Eventually, life’s twist and turns took Asingh back to his roots, the Danish countryside of Mols Bjerge. Back in 2022, Asingh met Emil Sørensen and Kristian Holbæk, two young dudes making names for themselves in the country’s underground metal scene. When the trio started 802, they weren’t an obvious musical match; but they bonded over their desire to create a unique sound that meshes elements of classic heavy metal, hazy shoegazer texture and ghostly synth pop with unashamedly catchy melodies. According to the band, the 802 world is ruled by musical anarchy and is a place for headbangers and pop lovers to unite. 

The trio’s first ever live show was at 2023’s New Colossus Festival New Colossus Festival, which I actually managed to catch. And since then the Danish outfit has released a small handful of singles that have received attention across Denmark and globally: Their first two, “My Girl” and “22 (Velvet Vampire)” were featured in award-winning horror shorts.

Their third single, last year’s “1986,” saw the Danish trio firmly cementing their sound: Dense layers of crunchy metal riffage and thunderous drumming that brings Kill ‘Em All, Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets-era Metallica to mind paired with twinkling and atmospheric synths that may remind shoegazers of Chicago‘s Lightfoils, BLACKSTONE RNGRS, Hong Kong‘s Lucid Express and Montréal‘s Bodywash and some rousingly anthemic, shout-along worthy hooks and choruses.

The trio then took their hook-driven synthesis of metal, shoegaze and pop to some of Scandinavia’s biggest festivals, including Copenhell and Roskilde. Adding to a big year, the trio received New Artist of the Year and New Live Artist of the Year nominations at the Den Hårde Tone, Denmark’s metal awards, winning a New Artist of the Year award.

Building upon the growing buzz surrounding the Danish metal outfit, they closed out 2024 with “Princess,” which saw the band pairing Metallica-like chug with glittering synth arpeggios and rousingly anthemic hooks and choruses in what may arguably be their most dance floor friendly song to date.

“H.I.T.S.,” the Danish trio’s fifth single sees the band pairing Metallica and Def Leppard-like power chord bombast with woozily futuristic synths, their uncannily unerring knack for rousingly anthemic hooks and choruses and dreamily yearning melodies. While furthering the sound that has garnered international attention, the Danish trio have managed to consistently craft material that hits hard and is remarkably accessible.

“Even though the world is fucked, you can still believe in the good. Believe that there is a hole in the sky somewhere, where light and good karma are just waiting to pour out and defeat the evil,” 802’s Andreas Asingh says. “802 is a mixture of the dark and the light – the outsider who wants to be part of the community. It’s a constant dynamic that we celebrate in ‘H.I.T.S.'”

Directed by Casper Balslev, the accompanying video for “H.I.T.S.” cements the song’s overarching theme, with a visual battle of good versus evil centered around a kidnapper and torturer and an abused victim, a car and rope. In the end, karma wins out.