Category: Video Review

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstays A Place to Bury Strangers Share Anthemic and Mosh Pit Friendly “Disgust”

New York-based JOVM mainstays A Place to Bury Strangers — currently Oliver Ackermann (vocals, guitar), John Fedowitz (bass) and Sandra Fedowitz (drums) — will be releasing their seventh album Synthesizer on October 4, 2024 through Dedstrange records.

While Synthesizer is the album’s title, it’s also a physical entity, a synthesizer specifically made for the album — and a synthesizer that you too, can own (in part), if you buy the record on vinyl. The album’s cover art doubles as a circuit board and functional synth for curious and enterprising fans. “It’s pretty messed up, chaotic. But it feels really human,” the band’s Oliver Ackermann says.

In an era of making music where so little is DIY and so much is left up to AI, never setting foot in a practice room or a home studio, making something that feels deliberately chaotic, messy, and human, is entirely the point. The album celebrates sounds that are spontaneous and natural, the kind of music that can only come from collaboration and community.

The writing sessions for Synthesizer started in the band’s Queens studio, shortly after the release of 2022’s See Through You. The new lineup which featured Ackermann and his friends John and Sandra Fedowitz was especially inspiring for Ackermann. “It felt like a fresh new thing,” he says. “I wanted to write songs everyone was excited about playing.”

The album captures the band at a place of reinvention, where they take a carefully honed sound and approach and crack it wide open to gut its then reimagine it. And of course, to ever so slightly reinvent one’s sound, one must also built a new instrument — the synthesizer at the core of the album’s overall sound.

Reportedly, Synthesizer is arguably one of the band’s most live-sounding albums to date, accurately capturing the rawness and explosiveness of the band in a live setting, which is a fitting for a band that is best in a live setting, where the material takes on a new energy in the presence of a crowd. “We’re artists,” Ackermann says, “Going to shows and bringing that imperfect and beautiful DIY ethos is important.”

Synthesizer’s first single “Disgust” is a bit of classic APTBS, an eardrum shattering aural assault, anchored around explosively wailing feedback and distortion pedaled guitar lines, and a relentless motorik groove featuring an arpeggiating bass line weaving in and out of the driving bass — but with subtle refinements, including some of the most rousingly anthemic, mosh pit friendly choruses and hooks I’ve heard from the band in some time.

“‘Disgust’ is a song I wrote that was inspired by the way I used to perform ‘Got That Feeling,’ a song by my old band Skywave,” Ackermann explains. “There was a long riding open note on the bass that enabled me to play the whole part with my fist in the air.  I wrote this song just on open strings so it could be played with just one hand: dumb and fun.” 

Directed by BODEGA’S Ben Hozie and filmed by Joe Wakeman, the accompanying video for “Disgust” features frames within frames within frames, and frames the band next to and within distorted images on TVs to “achieve a certain style of cine-cubism where the band members can be seen from multiple angles at once in the same frame,” BODEGA’s Hozie says, He adds, “This sense of dissociative texture is exactly what A Place to Bury Strangers music feels like to me,” Hozie says, “I was trying to create a visual accompaniment to the disorienting buzzy speed of the band’s grooves and bliss of their distorted overtones.”

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Two Cumbia-Inspired Bops from JOVM Mainstays Los Bitchos

Earlier this year, acclaimed London-based instrumental outfit and JOVM mainstays Los Bitchos — Australian-born, Serra Petale (guitar); Uruguayan-born Agustina Ruiz (keytar); Swedish-born, Josefine Jonsson (bass) and London-born Nic Crawshaw (drums) — announced that their highly-anticipated sophomore album, the Oli Barton-Wood-produced Talkie Talkie will be released through City Slang on August 30, 2024.

Deriving its name from a fictional club of the same name, Talkie Talkie is a late-night paradise, brimming with freedom and possibility; a place where partygoers can escape reality by getting caught in the groove and dancing it all away or daydream along to the invigorating soundscape. 

Recorded over a short but intense month-long series of sessions at London’s RAK Studios and Lightship 95, sonically, the album will transport the listener into a world where funk, disco, Latin and Turkish rhythms collide in a euphoric fusion fueled by adventurous experimentation and their endearingly puckish spirit. If 2022’s Let The Festivities Begin was the rowdy build up to the big night out with your homies, Talkie Talkie is the equivalent of rocking out to the groove on the dance floor. 

The album’s material is anchored in a vivid cinematic universe that takes inspiration from the band’s favorite aesthetic era — the ’80s. Think less self-serious men, gated reverb and more campy, hi-fi pop songwriting that glistens with moxie and verve. The quartet especially wanted to tap into the sonic innovation of the period, where analog and digital techniques collided to create polished texture and depth. 

The album will feature the previously released:

  • “La Bomba,” a hook-driven 80s Turkish psych pop-inspired bop anchored around a shuffling dance floor rhythm, a twangy and looping guitar line, a disco-influenced bass line, some video game-like beats paired with glistening synths and ecstatic shouts. 

  • “Don’t Change,” a breezy and blissful jam anchored around a languid and reverb-drenched Spanish-tinged, psych rock-inspired guitar line, stomping percussion, glistening and atmospheric synths and an arpeggiated, funky synth bass line. It’s the perfect soundtrack for frolicking at the beach, of dreaming of heading to the beach with your best pals — or for riding a ferry and dreaming that you were on a super expensive yacht drinking mimosas. 

Today, the acclaimed London-based outfit shares the dual single “Kiki, You Complete Me” and “1K!.” Both tracks see the band reveling in the shimmering guitar tones and shuffling guacharaca rhythms of cumbia — but in mischievously different directions: “Kiki, You Complete Me” has a clean, 80s studio polish-like sound and a cinematic quality that evokes the opening sequence of Nintendo video games like Castlevania, The Legend of Zelda or Blades of Steel — or of an incredibly cheesy but wildly entertaining action movie starring Carl Weathers, Bill Duke or someone like that, complete with a blazing guitar solo.

“This track feels like the opening sequence of a comic book series,” the JOVM mainstays say. “The tom sounds we went for are outrageous, like the ‘pows’ and ‘thwacks’ of a comic strip punctuating the music… think Batman meets Bitchos! Towards the end of the song we extended this chuggy, tension building section and brought out a guitar solo before ending on the comic/video game theme vibe refrain.”

Directed by Tom Brewins, the accompanying video for “Kiki, You Complete Me” follows the quartet as they go to an arcade, where they play a video game called Los BItchos Miami Drive, which features their 16 bit video game counterparts in a a car racing game that brings back memories of Pole Position.

“We’ve leaned into the 16 bit video game aesthetic for the video,” Los Bitchos explain. “Serra has always dreamed of writing music for video games.. We’ve started playing this song live at festivals this year and it’s definitely one of the songs we’re all most enjoying playing.”

“1K!’ is a shimmery, summery yet somewhat straightforward take on cumbia that evokes lazy-because-of-the-intense-heat summer afternoons and early evenings, anchored around a languid guitar line and stripped back, traditional-inspired percussion.

“This is a really shimmery, summer tune. There’s even a can of drink being opened at some point, you can feel the heat and carefree vibes,” the band says. “I imagine a gathering with friends, maybe a BBQ, some drinks, people popping by. The drums are quite stripped back for this track, more percussion led.”

Shot by Madeline Northway on grainy Super 8, the accompanying video for “1K!” captures the quartet’s endearingly puckish spirit and best gal pal vibes, as they head off to a local pool to hang out, drink a cold Coca Cola and bullshit, giggle and attempt to stay cool on a hot summer day.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Automatic Channels Lou Reed as They Cover “New Sensations”

Los Angeles-based post punk outfit Automatic — Izzy Glaudini (synths, vocals), Lola Dompé (drums, vocals) and Halle Saxon (bass, vocals) — can trace their origins to their hometown’s DIY scene: When the trio met, they each individually […]

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Miami’s CENCA Shares a Sultry and Buoyant Feminist Anthem

Initially starting her career in earnest back in 2015 under the name Cristina E, emerging Miami-based Latin music artist CENCA released her debut single “Recommitted,” before joining a local band by the name of Lovechild. After a four year stint as Lovechild’s frontperson, CENCA decided to step out into the spotlight as a solo artist.

As a solo artist, the emerging Miami-based artist found and gradually transitioned to a new sound that features elements of Reggaeton, Latin pop and Afrobeats. CENCA’s latest single “Tequila” is a buoyant, sultry and summery bop that reveals a grown and sexy, club and lounge friendly quality — but as the Miami-based artist explains, the song is anchored around a defiantly feminist anthem, featuring a message about freedom and inner strength.

“‘Tequila’ is a song that reflects the struggle to free oneself from a dead-end relationship and find the courage to go against the current.” The song encourages the listener to trust themselves, recognize that they’re enough and leave anything behind that no longer serves them. And the song also encourages the listener to have the courage and clear-headedness to see dysfunctional and repetitive cycles and to break them, in order to achieve significant change.

Directed by Andre Nagle, the accompanying video for “Tequila” sees CENCA recognizing that she’s in a dead-end, dysfunctional relationship and finding the courage to leave it for the comfort, emotional sustenance and support of her friends.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: THE THE Shares Brooding and Feverish “Linoleum Smooth To The Stockinged Foot”

Acclaimed British post-punk outfit THE THE was founded by singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Matt Johnson back in 1979 and through various iterations and configurations, Johnson and his collaborators have developed a sound and approach that seems to inhabit its own difficult to define genre: music of long shadows, high hopes, channeled anger, feverish passions and sweetly disturbing poignancy that meshes elements of pop, rock, blues, folk and soul among others while spanning alienated electronics to twisted cinematic soundtracks, guitar tumbling swing to crimson ballads, rants and prayers to diaries and hymns. 

Over the course of their 45 year history, Johnson and company have released only five full-length albums of original material, 1983’s Soul Mining, 1986’s Infected, 1989’s Mind Bomb, 1993’s Dusk and 2000’s NakedSelf. Having a long-held reputation for being unpredictable, the band has also tackled covers, such as 1995’s Hanky Panky; film soundtracks, including 2009’s Tony, 2010’s Moonbug, 2014’s Hyena and 2019’s Muscle; art installations, a the Radio Cinéola podcast series; 2017’s moving, 84 minute documentary/multimedia project The Inertia Variations and various book publications including 2018’s Matt Johnson biography Long Shadows, High Hopes: The Life and Times of Matt Johnson & THE THE. 

2017’s The Inertia Variations took inspiration from British poet John Tottenham’s 2005 book of the same name — particularly the idea of “brooding, abstraction and evasion” getting in the way of the creative process. The Inertia Variations eventually resulted in not just the documentary, but also the Radio Cinéola Trilogy triple album box set. 

At the end of The Inertia Variations documentary, Johnson was filmed performing a new song live in his studio, “We Can’t Stop What’s Coming,” an elegy to his older brother Andrew Johnson, an artist professionally known as Andy Dog, who died in 2016. “It was not an easy song to write,” he says. “That was the first time I’d sung in many years. I enjoyed it but found it very emotional.”

The experience prompted Johnson to revive THE THE as a live band — and it lead to the sold-out 2018 The Comeback Special world tour. The COVID-19 pandemic delayed the release of the accompanying live film and album until 2021. Unsurprisingly, the pandemic also delayed the intended start of the writing and recording of the acclaimed British outfit’s first album in almost 25 years, Ensoulment. Instead, Johnson and company continued releasing a series of 7 inch singles that began with 2017’s “We Can’t Stop What’s Coming,” and continued with 2020’s “I WANT 2 B U,” and last year’s “$1 ONE VOTE!”

Slated for a September 6, 2024 release through Cinéola/earMUSIC, the 12-song Ensoulment reportedly contains echoes of the acclaimed outfit’s multifaceted and lengthy musical past while being richly representative of the mercurial band’s here and now.

Ensoulment also continues upon Johnson’s long-held reputation for being unafraid to tackle the inherent emotional complexity of the human condition — in particular, intimacy in an age of alienation; democracy in a post-truth age; empire and vassalage; the seemingly inexorable rise of AI and more. And yet, despite all of this, the album is rooted in a deep-seated hope.

“It’s vital to be hopeful,” Johnson states. “And I hope people get out of the album what we put into it. It was created under very happy circumstances, with a great vibe amongst the band and all the people that worked on it. There was a lot of thought, a lot of work, a lot of love, a lot of laughter!”

The album’s material were further refined in rehearsals, just before a six-day recording session at Bath, UK-based Real World Studios, where Johnson was joined by long-standing band members James Ellen (bass), DC Collard (keys), Earl Harvin (drums) and Barrie Cadogan (lead guitar). The album also marks the return of co-producer and engineer Warne Livesey, who worked with the band on Infected and Mind Bomb. The album also features contributions from Gillian Glover (backing vocals), Terry Edwards (horns), Sonya Cullingford (fiddle) and Danny Cummings (percussion).

Earlier this year, I wrote about the album’s first single, the Johnson and Cadogan co-written “Cognitive Dissident,” a brooding and slinky number that’s anchored around a strutting bass line and features bursts of squiggling, reverb-soaked guitar, Johnson’s breathy speak-sing delivery, sultry cooing from Gillian Glover, atmospheric electronics and skittering percussion paired with as slinky and remarkably catchy hook. Thematically, the song captures the madly topsy-turvy Orwellian nature of modern life — and honestly our current moment — with an uncanny and unsettling attention to detail.

Ensoulment’s second and latest single “Linoleum Smooth To The Stocking Foot” is a brooding and atmospheric track anchored around a discordant interplay between screeching fiddle bursts and mournful horn blasts paired with skittering and fluttering beats, hand-claps, and ethereally cooed backing vocals. The song’s arrangement evokes a narcotic-fueled, flop sweat-induced, fever dream while Johnson’s lyrics touch upon the paranoia of the nascent bio-security state, the unending class war and the re-emergence of fascism and more. Much like its immediate predecessor, “Linoleum Smooth To The Stocking Foot” captures the absurdity, the madness, the anxiety-fueled dread, the hate and fear of our slow-burning, lockstep march to dystopian hellscape.

The song’s lyrics were written from Johnson’s hospital bed, under the influence of morphine while recovering from a life-saving operation. As fate would have it, Johnson’s weeks spent in the hospital had occurred at precisely the moment that COVID-19 had become a crisis, making for an even more surreal ordeal for him — and for everyone else. The discordant interplay between horns and fiddle is redolent of Johnson’s hallucinogenic, feverishly surreal experience, which he tried to emulate by asking the musicians to improvise over the track without hearing the other’s contributions, as he manipulated the sounds in real time.

The new single is unique in the fact that apart from Johnson, who contributes vocals, guitar and bass, it doesn’t feature any of the core band members; however, the track features guest spots from Sonya Cullingford (fiddle), Terry Edwards (horns), Gillian Glover (backing vocals) and handclaps from Danny Cummings (percussion).

The single cover art features a previously unpublished piece of Johnson’s late brother Andrew “Andy Dog” Johnson, who was responsible for the distinctive aesthetic style of THE THE’s releases.

The recently released accompanying video or “Linoleum Smooth To The Stocking Foot” was was directed by Tim Pope with editing, VFX and projections People Like Us/Vicki Bennett and Peter Knight — all of whom are longtime collaborators with Johnson and THE THE. Fittingly, the video also evokes the sensation of a fever dream with Johnson’s face being in and out of focus and in and out of shadow throughout.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Paris’ Pythies Return with Furious “Toy”

Emerging Paris-based punk outfit Pythies — founding member Lise L. (vocals) with Thérèse La Garce (guitar) and Anna B. Void (drums) — was formed by Lise L. in late 2022 with the intent of starting an all-woman band, inspired and informed by riot grrl and grunge bands like L7, 7 Year Bitch, Babes in Toyland, Hole and her interest in witchcraft. In early 2023, Lise L. met Thérèse La Garce and Anna B. Void through social media. The trio felt a very strong simpatico, rooted in the meshing of three distinct and strong personalities, and from that point on, the band’s lineup was solidified. 

Their work frequently references Delphi oracles and resistance against the patriarchy while sonically being indebted to riot grrl grunge and punk.

Now if you were frequenting this site earlier this year, you might remember that I wrote about the French punks third single “Eclipse,” a swaggering, remarkably self-assured and polished ripper with rousingly anthemic choruses and hooks. The result sonically feels like a slick and very modern take on a familiar and beloved sound. Written around the lunar eclipse last October, “Eclipse” reveals a young band that already possesses an uncanny knack for catchy hooks.

The French trio’s fourth single “Toy” is also the first single off their forthcoming EP Disillusion, which is slated for a September release. “Toy” sees the band further cementing a sound and approach inspired and indebted to riot grrl punk and grunge, anchored around fuzzy power chords, thunderous drumming, enormous hooks and choruses placed in the classic, alternating quiet, loud, quiet grunge song structure.

Written by the band’s Lise L, “Toy” ix about a friendship that has been ruined by constant objectification and sexualization — typically by a male friend. And fittingly, the song is written from the perspective of frustration, disgust and confusion.

Written, directed and edited by Éric Parois, the accompanying video for “Toy” is a Reservoir Dogs-era Tarantino-inspired visual that sees the trio, drugging and kidnapping a man they met at a pool.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Remy Bond Shares Lush, Mesmerizing “Summer Song”

Remy Bond is a 19 year-old, New York-based singer/songwriter, who spent much of her childhood living out her own version of Just Kids: She grew up at the renowned Chelsea Hotel, surrounded by music. Her obsession with the silver screen, and the washed up beauty of places like Atlantic City and Las Vegas add a nostalgic undertone to her lyrics.

Bond’s work sees her combing modern elements with her deep rooted love of the past — specifically Golden Age Hollywood — where she often retreats to write, which creates an anachronistic nostalgia, while exploring what it’s like to be a young woman — right now.

The rising young singer/songwriter’s latest single, the Jules Apollinaire co-produced, Air co-written “Summer Song” is a lush and narcoleptic bit of nostalgia-inducing bit of dream pop anchored by Bond’s silky delivery, glistening keys, twinkling synths. Written in Paris, recorded in London and finished in Los Angeles, the song specifically evokes the long bygone era of 60s glamor — but with decidedly modern sensibility that reminds me of Pavo Pavo.

“It’s very much an American song lyrically, reminiscing on the essence of the late 60s and early 70s,” Bond explains. “I have endless love for Sharon Tate & the American sweethearts of the time, but I didn’t want it to be so super apple pie, so I reached out to AIR, which bought in rich new elements and sounds, as well as my British producers, who really brought a seasoned perspective to the project.”

Directed by 16 year-old Jagger Blue, produced by Olivia Violet, and a cast of high schoolers recruited by Bond, the video is spot-on ode to the imagery and vibe of Valley of the Dolls, The Virgin Suicides and Hairspray that opens with Bond leaving her fiancé at the altar for another man.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Laurent Squarta Shares John Carpenter Soundtrack-Like “The Dark Wave of The Blob”

Laurent Squarta is a Toulon, France-born multi-instrumentalist, producer and composer, who like countless young folks across the globe, became obsessed with music around the time he turned 13. His earliest musical loves were Depeche Mode, The Cure and New Wave.

When he turned 16, he became more rebellious and developed an interest in skateboarding and skateboarding culture, as well as harder music, like Metallica, Megadeth and Sepultura.

Hypnotized by these sounds, Squarta desperately wanted to make his own music. Earning money from small jobs, he brought a guitar and an amp — and with two friends, he started a punk rock band called ElectroGene. He also took lessons at Bordeaux’s Rock School Barbey, where he planed to play with other bands at small, local shows.

Back in 2012, following an installation in Rochefort, France, Squarta set up a music studio next to his house. He had received training in recording techniques and music production software, while becoming obsessed with the sonic possibilities offered by synthesizers. He brought new gear and found his sound inching closer to John Carpenter and the Stranger Things soundtrack.

After a few years of experimenting with his sound and approach and some rather strange personal experiences, the French artist gradually landed on Darkwave, seemingly inspired by horror and sci-fi films. Over the last handful of years, Squarta has reached out to horror movie critic YouTubers and short filmmakers to collaborator on soundtrack work.

His latest single is a song inspired by 1988’s Kurt Russell-starring The Blob. And fittingly, the eerie and brooding John Carpenter-like soundtrack-like “The Dark Wave of The Blob” features industrial clang and clatter, glistening synth oscillations, a relentless motorik groove and a blazing guitar line. The song perfectly compliments the accompanying edited film footage.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstays GIFT Shares Brooding “Later”

JOVM mainstays GIFT — TJ Freda (vocals, guitar), multi-instrumentalist Jessica Gurewitz, Kallan Campbell (bass), multi-instrumentalist Justin Hrabovsky and Gabe Camarano (drums) — formed just before the COVID-19 pandemic. And although 2020 wasn’t exactly the most ideal time to start a band, especially for a group of musicians with varying and diverse roots and professional backgrounds, Freda assembled the band by cherry-picking members of some of his favorite local bands, crossed his fingers and hoped for the best. Professionally, the members of the rising Brooklyn-based outfit are firmly enmeshed in the local scene as talent buyers, photographers, DJs, audio engineers, art directors, and in the case of Campbell, the owner of Bushwick-based DIY venue Alphaville. 

The JOVM mainstays signed to Captured Tracks, who will be releasing their highly-anticipated sophomore, 11-song album Illuminator on August 23, 2024. The album reportedly sees the quintet firmly cementing their sound with a remarkably mature, self-assuredness for a relatively young band. The continued melting pot of their combined skills and experiences helps make the album an even more cohesive listening experience. The album sees increasing contributions from the band’s members: Gurewitz, a relative newcomer to making music, contributed a host of lyrics and vocal melodies. Hrabovsky, who previously engineered at Asheville, NC-based Drop of Sun Studios and Echo Mountain Recording shared production duties with Freda. And Camarano’s drumming provided the crucial rhythmic underpinning of the album’s material. 

“We had a lot more confidence going in,” Freda says. “The main goal was to take a big swing, embrace the pop sounds we love and clear the mist and clouds surrounding the last record to make it a lot punchier.”

Illuminator will feature:

“Wish Me Away,” a track anchored around a dreamy and hook-driven shoegazer soundscape of glistening, reverb-drenched guitars, woozy synths and a motorik groove paired with propulsive rhythms serving as a lush bed for Freda’s plaintive falsetto, “Wish Me Away” is continuation of the overall aesthetic they established on Momentary Presence and a decided sonic push forward, showcasing where the band is going next. The song also sees the band exploring and expressing a complex array of emotions with a lived-in specificity. 

“‘Wish Me Away’ is about giving into the feeling of everything slipping away,” GIFT’s TJ Freda explains. “Just take it all away, put me out of my misery, wish me away. While this all seems daunting and sad, there’s a feeling of optimism in this song, holding on for dear life and refusing to give up hope.”

After nearly losing a loved one, Freda found himself grappling with the fleeting nature of life, and understandably with the inevitability of mortality. “‘Wish Me Away,’ ruminates on the fear and freedom that can come knowing it can all slip away. The line ‘wish me away’ kept coming up, as in ‘take me, not them,’” Freda adds. 

“Going In Circles,” an Evil Heat-era Primal Scream take on shoegaze, built around a motorik groove, glistening and atmospheric synths, swirling reverb-soaked guitar textures and Freda’s dreamily plaintive delivery paired with the quintet’s unerring knack for rousingly anthemic hooks and chorus. But underneath the euphoria-inducing nature of the song is a bitter lament of a relationship gone a bit awry. 

“This was the first song I wrote for Illuminator that helped me realize the direction of the album,” GIFT’s TJ Freda says. “I wrote the chorus while passively playing guitar and rushed to record the idea. At that moment, something clicked and I realized where the album was going. At our shows from the Momentary Presence tour, people would stand in the crowd wide-eyed without moving. We wanted to get people moving with the new album, so we were really inspired by bands like Primal Scream, Oasis, and Massive Attack. It’s our psych-rock tribute to U.K. rave culture in the ‘90s.

“The song is about the endless cycle of a relationship,” Freda adds, “the back and forth in both euphoria and doubt. The chorus ‘I never told you why’ is about never being able to say how you really feel, not having closure and the cycle continuing.” 

Illuminator’s third and latest single is the Jessica Gurewitz and TJ Freda co-written “Later.” Arguably one of the more brooding and uneasy songs of the JOVM mainstays’ growing catalog, “Later” is anchored around a swaggering motorik groove, glistening and reverb drenched guitars paired with Freda’s plaintive falsetto and the band’s unerring knack for rousingly anthemic hooks and choruses. But interestingly enough, the new single may also be the more straightforward shoegazer track of the album, as well.

“While writing Illuminator I found myself clinging to intense emotions, reluctant to release them. ‘Later’ stands out as one of the darkest songs I’ve made,” Freda explains. “Making it was cathartic, diving into darker themes. The song explores surrendering to the overwhelming sensation of life slipping away before my eyes.” 

Co-directed by Sophia Feuer and the band’s Jessica Gurewitz, “the accompanying video for “Later” continues a remarkable run of cinematic and surreal visuals. We follow the band’s Gurewitz as she embarks on a lengthy journey by foot through the woods, a struggling and run down city — and in some way through time, thanks to the use of some flashbacks with stock footage, old photos and more.

“I wanted to explore the internal confusion that comes with the passage of time. I was reading a lot of horror stories while we shot this and I wanted to bring those to the screen by exploring unknown places and questioning timelines,” Gurewitz says. “Working with Sophia Feuer (Director, DP, Editor) was amazing and she made it possible to bring this vision to life.“

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Premier Métro Shares Sultry and Club Banging “Mascara”

Paris-based synth pop outfit Premier Métro — Dimitri, Sébastien, Alexandre and Enzo — initially specialized in a nostalgia-inducing synth driven sound that seeming drew from 80s pop, Flavien Berger, The Weeknd, and others. 

With just a handful of singles under their collective belt, the French quartet landed a slot We Love Green and an appearance on Culturebox. Since then they’ve released a handful of singles, including “Pour Quelques Secondes” and their recently released debut EP, Les autres sont touś partis.

Les autres sont touś partis was inspired and written during a nocturnal, excessive year. “In the dark, everything is experienced with greater intensity,” the French quartet explain. The EP’s latest single “Mascara” is club banger featuring tweeter and woofer rattling thump, glistening and cascading synth arpeggios paired with remarkably catchy hooks and a sultry, longing vocal. It’s the sort of song perfect for dancing and sweating your worries and concerns away for a few minutes.

Directed by Lou Dunoyer, Marion Gourvest and Mathilde Beltran, the accompanying video for “Mascara” follows drag king Power Beau Tom in the one of the most vulnerable and intimate moments of our lives — primarily at home and in front of your mirror. Then we’re at the club, watching Power Beau Tom dance with an eclectic array of humans at a night club.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Los Angeles’ King Pari Shares Slinky and Funky “Better The Devil”

Rising Los Angeles-based funk duo King Pari can trace its origins back to a happy accident: Joe Paris Christensen and Cameron Kinghorn had been playing the same Minneapolis area scenes for years, but when Christensen sent Kinghorn a new tune he had created on a tape machine, something clicked. “This sounds how my brain feels,” Kinghorn said. That session became the first King Pari song.

The duo’s Minneapolis funk pedigree anchors their work: Both Christensen and Kinghorn played alongside some of Prince‘s closest associates — and Christensen’s previous band was among the last that Prince personally invited to play at Paisley Park. Additionally, they’ve also been tapped into the national funk and jazz scenes from the beginning: Their first gig together was opening for Kamasi Washington, before they landed on a name.

Having relocated to Los Angeles and signing with Stones Throw, the duo is starting a new chapter. Their latest single “Better The Devil” is the second single from their highly anticipated full-length debut. Anchored around an 80s synth funk-like production and arrangement featuring skittering, gated reverb soaked boom bap, tape saturated synths and squiggling funk guitar serving as a lush and silky bed for achingly tender falsetto vocals and a scorching guitar solo. While sonically nodding at The Whispers, The Gap Band and 80s Chaka Khan, the song reveals an outfit that can effortlessly craft a catchy hook.

Directed and edited by Zach Sulak, the accompanying video for “Better the Devil” featuring the Los Angeles-based duo running late for an audition with — well, the devil. Hell could use some funky tunes, huh?

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Atlanta’s Lesibu Grand Shares Anthemic and Incisive “Anarchy”

In their three year history, Atlanta-based outfit Lesibu Grand (pronounced Le-SEE-Boo) — Tyler-Simone Molton (vocals), John Renaud (bass), Brian Turner (guitar), Lee Wiggins (drums) and Warren Ullom (keys) — have quickly made waves nationally with a lush and intoxicating sound paired with a revolutionary message: They’ve released material that’s been praised by BrooklynVegan, Alternative Press and Under The Radar, and they’ve received airplay from KEXP, WEQX and more. The Atlanta-based outfit has also made the rounds of the national festival circuit with sets at Afropunk Festival, SXSW, Punk Black Fest and Hulaween.

Building upon a rapidly growing profile, Lesibu Grand’s highly-anticipated full-length debut, Triggered is slated for an August 16, 2024 release through Kill Rock Stars. Drawing from modern sounds like celestial pop, punk and surf rock, the album’s material reportedly sees the band weaving together threats of personal introspection and social commentary, delving into the raw emotions and visceral emotions that define the human experience, encapsulating the essence of our tumultuous society, while offering a melodic remedy for the soul.

Triggered‘s lead single “Anarchy” is a hook-driven, post-punk tune featuring angular guitar stabs, a propulsive drum pattern, a chugging motorik-like groove and atmospheric synths serving as a lush bed for Molton’s punchily defiant vocal. While bringing some fondly nostalgic memories of 80s post punk — think Billy Idol and Cyndi Lauper‘s “She Bop” — the song is anchored around some incisive sociopolitical commentary, specifically on workers rights and workers rights rebellions. Simply put, workers of the world, let’s unite and snatch back what the monied class have stolen!

Directed by Nathan DuCongé, the accompanying video is a vibrant mix of animation and live action set in the world of The Jetsons — but in this world, a fed up and overworked Rosie revolts against her cruel and lazy human owner.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: ORB Shares Trippy Motorik Groove-Driven “You Do”

The members of Geelong, Australia-based outfit ORB — Zak Olsen (vocals, guitar, bass), David Gravolin (guitar, bass) and Jamie Harner (drums) — have had a lengthy career, starting in earnest with a lengthy stint in their first band as teenagers, The Frowning Clouds. Since starting ORB, the Aussie trio have released two albums, 2017’s Neutrality and 2018’s The Space Between, which they supported with a European and North American tour opening for King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard back in 2019. 

The band’s long-awaited and highly-anticipated album, the Tim Dunn-produced Tailem Bend is slated for a July 12, 2024 release through Fuzz Club globally and through Flightless Records in Australia. The band didn’t intend for six years to pass without an album, but there’s little in life that happens as expected — or as desired. Much like all of us, the COVID-19 pandemic threw a monkey wrench into their plans. And then add side pursuits and the other vagaries of daily life that we all know too well. 

Tailem Bend derives its name from a quiet South Australian town, whose name caught the band’s collective eye while on tour. For the band, the name conjured images of some long lost prog rock act; however, the town’s name reportedly is derived from the Ngarrindjeri word “thelim,” referring to a sharp bend in the nearby Murray River. Written over the course of 2021 and 2022 and finished in the studio early last year, Tailem Bend‘s material is saturated in vintage warmth and depth while showcasing a bold leap forward in their sound and approach that’s not a complete departure: Continuing to be anchored around their unerring knack for being tunefully hypnotic, the album’s material sees the trio infusing heavy doom-leaning jams with a lighter psych pop sensibility and funky rhythmic grooves. There still fuzzy power chord-driven riffs, but the material also features some mellower passages and a renewed focus on rhythm and space. 

A deep sense of shared history also informs the album’s material. The Aussie trio reunite with Tim Dunn, who produced several Frowning Cloud albums. The album also features guest spots from former Frowning Cloud bandmate and current frontman of Banana Gun, Nick van Bankel (conga); The Murlocs‘ Callum Shortal, who often plays live shows with ORB (guitar); Leah Senior’s Girlatones‘ and Baby Blue’s Jesse Williams (piano) and Emma Bailey (backing vocals) and Ashely Goodall (backing vocals). 

Last month, the Aussie outfit shared two singles from the album “Can’t Do That”/”Morph.”

The A-side “Can’t Do That” is an expansive jam anchored around fuzzy blues-tinged power chords, a funky and mind-bending, motorik-like groove paired punchy hook that channels a synthesis of Thin Lizzy, Ram Jam‘s “Black Betty,” Black Sabbath and jazz fusion. “‘Can’t Do That’ started out from a demo of mine,” the band’s David Gravolin says. “Tried to sound like W.I.T.C.H., ended up sounding like Thin Lizzy.” The band’s Zak Olsen adds that “Lyrically it’s about having self-respect in low times.”

The B-side “Morph” features some heavy yet melodic, Black Sabbath-like riffage paired with Olsen’s reverb-soaked Ozzy Osbourne-inspired delivery singing some trippy lyrics. Play loud, smoke some ganja and then vibe out!

While the previous singles were Black Sabbath-inspired riff-driven rippers, Tailem Bend‘s third and latest single, the Can-like “You Do” features a 70s prog rock-meets-psych rock, wah-wah pedaled motorik groove, syncopated percussion, bursts of fluttering flute and shimmering Rhodes paired with cooed vocals. At its core, “You Do” continues a run of expansive and vibey material that’s perfect to blast in your car while on a lengthy drive — or to play while getting high.

“Just like the Murray River of Tailem Bend, a small rural town with a name that made us think of some lost prog act when we passed it on tour, ‘You Do’ is one of the many sharp turns on the new record. It features our old Frowning Clouds bandmate Nick vanBakel (now of Bananagun) on congas and Ashley Goodall on backing vocals.”

The animated video by Luke Player fittingly features 70s-styled animation that brings Schoolhouse Rock to mind, that also riffs off on fairy tales and fables: We see Humpy Dumpty sitting on a wall, knights encountering a dragon, the band playing in a lysergic headspace and more.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Hello Mary Shares Furious Ripper “0%”

With the release of last year’s sophomore, self-titled album, New York-based indie rock trio Hello Mary — Helena Straight, Stella Wave and Mikaela Oppenheimer — received praise nationally from the likes of Rolling Stone, who wrote that the album was “one of 2023’s sharpest, nosiest debuts.” Building upon a rapidly rising profile, trio will have an incredibly busy summer: Already developing a reputation for a killer live show, the New York-based trio are currently opening for Silversun Pickups on their Stateside tour, a tour that includes a June 27, 2024 stop at Brooklyn Steel. They’ll play a handful of their own headlining Stateside dates and play a set at Denver‘s Underground Music Showcase, before heading to the UK for a London headlining show, followed by an opening slot for American Football during their UK tour. The band has also confirmed a slot at this year’s Best Friends Forever Fest in Las Vegas this October. (As always, tour dates are below.)

“0%” is the first bit of new material from the rising New York-based trio since the release of last year’s self-titled album. “0%” sees the band pushing their 90s alt rock-inspired sound into a much heavier and distorted direction with the song being featuring thunderously percussive, down-tuned bass, distortion pedaled guitar fuzz, forceful drumming and Stella Wave’s throaty, feral screams — within a classic grunge song structure, alternating impossibly loud choruses, quieter verses and a mischievously dreamy break down with vibraphone and triangle.

Fittingly, the song captures a young woman boldly and defiantly expression an existential frustration — and getting a bit of joy out of the fact that she doesn’t know much of much.

The new single emerged as the trio were jamming in their practice space. After quickly become a crowd favorite live, the song really came to life in the studio, becoming the first time that the band’s Stella Wave had ever screamed on a recording. But when she hopped into the recording booth, she felt emboldened to draw out the vocal shouts the band originally planned, turning them into much longer screams. “0% is one of our favorites to play live,” Hello Mary says. “Our inspirations in the last year have broadened, and we feel like this song reflects that.”

The accompanying video edited by Caroline Knight is from footage the band has had taken over the last couple of tours, and captures the energy and passion of their live show.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: London’s Remember Summer Share Dream Pop-like Cover of “Wrecking Ball”

Remember Summer — Northern Irish-born, London-based Paddy Conn, a member of Swimming Tapes and English-born vocalist Angelina Dove — can trace their origins back to 2016 when the duo worked at a Forest Gate, London-based cafe. The duo started making up songs to pass the days toiling in a hot kitchen. “Summer of ‘16 became the year of collaboration for Paddy and I. We started swapping ideas at work,” Dove recalls. “It all started as a bit of fun really, sort of a distraction to stem boredom but when the cafe went bust the following year and we both got fired we realised that we’d started something we missed more than frying eggs. Since we live 5 minutes away from each other we’ve kept it up.”

Bonding over a mutual indulgence for worlds gone by, the London-based duo pair dusty synths and wistful poetry to create nostalgia-drenched take on dream pop.

The London-based duo’s latest single sees them tackling Miley Cyrus‘ 2013 hit “Wrecking Ball.” Dove and Conn pairing the original’s cathartic and rousingly anthemic hooks and choruses with a brooding and dusty soundscape of strummed, reverb-soaked guitar, glistening and atmospheric synths serving as lush bed for Dove’s pop star wailing (whci is also doused in a bit of reverb). The end result is a Still Corners-meets-Stevie Nicks-like take on a familiar song, creating a vintage hue to a modern pop anthem.

“Metaphorically spot on; I think I’m an ‘exploding doormat’ personality type. A really long fuse, but once it’s lit…Wrecking Ball resonated with me, I feel like I’ve been there,” Remember Summer’s Angelina Dove says of the cover. “The explosions, the disappointment, indifference even.”

Edited by Baby Dove, the accompanying video for Remember Summer’s “Wrecking Ball” features clips from 1967’s Bonnie & Clyde superimposed over some gorgeously shot footage of Dove in a gorgeous white dress in the desert.