Category: women who kick ass

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Ride Amusement Park Rides with The Kills in Their Video for “Impossible Tracks”

Ash and Ice’s third and latest single “Impossible Tracks” consists of layers of scuzzy, bluesy guitar chords paired with stuttering drum programming and boom bap beats and an anthemic hook with Alison Mosshart’s cigarettes and whiskey soaked, come hither vocals in a swaggering, arena rock-friendly song that’s full of recrimination and accusation and urgent, plaintive desire.

The recently released video follows Mosshart and her collaborator and bandmate Jamie Hince as they ride roller coasters and other rides in an empty amusement park, perform the song in a house of mirrors and the video is completed by kaleidoscopic filters that give the video a trippy and psychedelic vibe, while emphasizing the feelings of being carried away and led by forces much larger than yourself and in a ways that you can’t quite comprehend.

New Audio by William Ruben Helms

 

Born in California, New York-based singer/songwriter and guitarist Shana Falana spent time in San Francisco‘s D.I.Y. scene and and in a Bulgarian women’s choir before relocating to New York. By 2006, Falana had been struggling through drug addiction and money woes when she lost part of her index finger in a work-related accident. And while under most normal circumstances that might be considered extremely unlucky, the settlement money the California-born, New York-based singer/songwriter received actually provided her a period of financial stability that allowed her the much needed time and space she needed to overcome her addictions and find a new focus in her life and music. Reportedly, much of the music on Falana’s much-anticipated second full-length effort Here Comes the Wave was conceptualized both during one of the most difficult periods of her life and in the subsequent years that followed, and has been continually refined — and as a result, the album manages to thematically be centered around the duality of “then and now,” while sonically covering diverse moods and possessing elements of shoegaze, gothic pop and indie rock.  Of course, thematically speaking the material focuses on change, transformation and emotional turmoil; in fact as Falana says in press notes ““Somehow, I knew those songs would serve me well later,” and at least one of Here Comes the Wave‘s songs reportedly foreshadows its creator’s eventual sobriety while other songs reportedly accept the passing of youth, the death of her father and other themes that come up as one gets older.

Interestingly, Here Comes the Wave also manages to be the second collaboration with producer D. James Goodwin, best known for his work with Bob Weir, Whitney and Kevin Morby and with her long-time partner, collaborator and drummer Mike Amari. And the album has Goodwin and Amari playing much larger roles than on Falana’s debut as the collaborative trio went for audacious sounds and heightened moments — and for being bold as possible.  The album’s first single “Lie 2 Me” has Falana and Amari pairing enormous and buzzing power chord-heavy riffs and thunderous drumming with Falana’s anguished howls before ending with an explosive blast of feedback before slowly fading out. Lyrically, the song is full of bitter recrimination, accusation, self-doubt, self-flagellation and dysfunction –and as a result, the song feels bilious and fucked up while sonically nodding at L7, PJ Harvey and others.

 

 

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Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Perhaps best known as a touring and session guitarist for the likes of renowned pop acts such as Charli XCX and BØRNS,  Los Angeles, CA-based singer/songwriter and guitarist Cecilia Della Peruti has been receiving attention across the blogosphere over  the past few months for her New Wave and post-punk leaning solo recording project, Gothic Tropic. And if you’ve been frequenting this site over those past few months, you may recall that I wrote about her Peruti’s first two singles as a solo artist, “Stronger,” a single that sounded as though it owed a debt to the Go-Gos The B52s and others, and “How Life Goes,” a lush and atmospheric song in which shimmering guitar chords played through reverb and delay pedal are paired with a propulsive and driving rhythm, gently buzzing synths and a bluesy guitar solo that made the song sound as though it drew from Phil Spector’s “Wall of Sound” production, 80s New Wave, shoegaze and power pop.

“Don’t Give Me Up,” is the third and latest single off Peruti’s forthcoming Gothic Tropic full-length debut effort, Fast or Feast, which is slated for an October 28, 2016 release, and the single continues along a similar vein of “How Life Goes” as shimmering guitar chords, atmospheric synths, a funky and sinuous bass line and Peruti’s sultry (yet ethereal) come hither vocals in what may arguably be the project’s slinkiest and sexiest song released to date while drawing from R&B and New Wave in a way that to my ears, reminds me a bit of Mligares‘ “IDYNL” and “Urban Eunuchs” off Violent Light, complete with a plaintive ache at its core.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Bonnie Whitmore (vocals, bass) is a Denton, TX-born, Austin, TX-based singer/songwriter, who can trace the origins of her musical career to when she started playing in her family’s band, Daddy and the Divas. Shortly after that, a teenaged Whitmore picked up gigs playing in several Dallas-Ft. Worth area bands; however, her first professional band The Brent Mitchell Band lead to studio work with an impressive array of artists including Susan Gibson, Shelley King, Mando Saenz, Justin Townes Earle, Hayes Carll, Colin Gilmore and Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Aaron Lee Tasjan and Sunny Sweeney. As a solo artist, Whitmore’s work is influenced by Tom Petty, Bonnie Raitt, Fleetwood Mac, Roy Orbison and The Replacements while drawing from deeply personal experiences — although her her third and latest album Fuck With Sad Girls, which features a backing band comprised of Scott Davis (guitar), who has worked with Band of Heathens and Hayes Carll; Craig Bagby (drums), who has worked with Sherman Colin Herman; and Jared Hall (keys), who has worked with Velvet Underground and Colin Gilmore, the album thematically focuses on the social and cultural stigmas placed on “imperfect” women.

 

Fuck With Sad Girls‘ latest single is “Fighter,” and the gorgeous song has Whitemore, Davis, Bagby and Hall pairing twinkling keys, accordion, lap steel guitar, gentle pads of percussion and Whitmore’s expressive and plaintive vocals in a song that manages to be psychologically revealing, vulnerable and honest as the song’s narrator admits to living a full, complicated and messy life, a life full of joy, mistakes, regrets, difficult and uneasy decisions and compromises, and throughout the song’s narrator reveals herself to be a resilient, modern woman — the sort of woman you’d likely known and encountered in your own life.

 

 

 

 

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Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Surreal, Dream-like Visuals for Sofia Härdig’s “Streets”

Interestingly, the EP’s first single “Streets” possesses an urgent and raw grittiness as slashing guitar chords, squalls of feedback, a throbbing bass line and propulsive drumming are paired with anthemic hooks and Härdig’s sultry vocals to craft a song that sounds as thought it draws from Sonic Youth and Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea-era PJ Harvey — in particular, the song reminds me of a grittier, swaggering version of “Good Fortune.”

The recently released music video for “Streets” follows Härdig as she wanders through a garden, plans a route with an old map and wanders through the streets of Swedish city; but the video manages to possess a surreal, dream-like logic, thanks to the usage of frenetic cuts and lighting.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Live Footage: The Kills Performing “Impossible Tracks” on “The Late Late Show with James Corden”

Ash and Ice, the duo’s latest full-length effort and first full-length effort in over 5 years was released earlier this year, and if you’ve been frequenting this site you might recall that I wrote about album singles “Heart Of A Dog” and “Siberian Nights,” two singles that reflected a thorough refinement of their sound as the duo paired enormous boom-bap drum programming, skittering beats, buzzing electronics, scorching guitar chords and anthemic hooks with Mossheart’s bluesy, cigarettes and whiskey soaked vocals to crate a swaggering and arena rock-friendly song that possesses a raw, insistent and urgent carnality.

Recently, the band performed a swaggering, boozy live version of album single “Impossible Tracks” on The Late Late Show with James Corden — and the live version maintains a fervent urgency of the album’s material.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Earlier this summer, I wrote about the Melbourne, Australia-based indie rock quartet Teeth and Tongue With the 2014 release of Grids, the band comprised of New Zealand-born, Melbourne, Australia-based Jess Cornelius (guitar, vocals), Marc Regueiro-McKelvie (guitar), Damian Sullivan (bass) and James Harvey (drums) received attention across Australia for an ambient-leaning sound that paired textured and layered vocals with lyrics that thematically focused on the intricacies of romantic relationships with an unvarnished honesty. And as a result of the attention they’ve received across Australia, they’ve managed to tour with internationally recognized indie rock sensation and fellow Australian Courtney Barnett, which has helped raised their profile internationally.

“Dianne,” the first single off Teeth and Tongue’s recently released album Give Up On Your Health revealed a band that has gone through a change in sonic direction and songwriting approach, with the band taking up  an angular, dance floor friendly New Wave/post-punk sound reminiscent of Blondie, Yeah Yeah Yeahs‘ It’s Blitz! and Dirty Ghosts. Give Up On Your Health’s latest single “Turn, Turn, Turn” much like its predecessor is inspired by a painful breakup — in particular, the song lyrically is full of the bitter regret,  uncertainty, self-deception and eventual acceptance that occurs in the aftermath of a breakup. Sonically speaking, the song sounds as though it draws from 80s New Wave, synth pop and DFA Records as you’ll hear undulating and propulsive synths, cowbell-led percussion, angular guitar chords in a sensual and slinky arrangement, along with an infectious, dance-floor friendly hook. Somehow, every time I’ve heard it I’m reminded of Stevie Nicks’ “Stand Back” and Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ “Heads Will Roll.”

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Currently based in New Orleans, Kate Fagan is a ska, punk and new wave musician, who first emerged to local and regional attention as the founding member and frontwoman of Chicago-based ska act Heavy Manners, an act that once opened for the The Clash and The English Beat; but interestingly enough before that Fagan released a cult-favorited New Wave single “I Don’t Wanna Be Too Cool” through local imprint Disturbing Records that was immediately embraced by local club DJs, radio stations and taste-making record stores like Chicago’s Wax Trax, where it became the best-selling release by a local artist ever.  The B-side single “Waiting for the Crisis” also received attention for its politically charged, Reagan-era lyrics, which manage to still resonate today.

 

As the story goes, Fagan wrote the title track after moving from New York to Chicago in the late 70s. “I pretty much came to visit Chicago and fell in love with the scene and never left,” Fagan recalled in press notes. “At the time I’d been working at New York magazine and was getting dismayed watching the CBGB scene give way to the whole Studio 54/velvet rope thing. So I spontaneously moved to Chicago, which was much more inclusive and everyone wasn’t standing around peering at each other from behind their shades. But eventually I saw that same kind of divisive hipster culture start to creep in. ‘Too Cool’ was my reaction to that.” Along with “Too Cool,” Fagan wrote many of her earliest songs as a solo artist and with Heavy Manners in an intuitive fashion, recording them at Chicago’s Acme Studios, where she’d meet the fellow artists with whom she’d form Disturbing Records.

Although the “Too Cool” single was a cult favorite back in the early 80s, sadly it was thought to be long lost, as the second printing of the album was lost in a house fire that destroyed almost everything Fagan had owned at the time — that is until Manufactured Recordings stumbled upon the original single, along with two unreleased bonus tracks that Fagan recorded with members of My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult and Scarlet Architect. Interestingly, when you listen to the four tracks off the re-issued 7 inch, the songs manage to sound both of its time and incredibly contemporary — in some way you can imagine acts like Colleen Green, Courtney Barnett, Karen O. and several others citing Fagan as an influence, as Fagan’s lyrics possess a wry irony at at their core, as you’ll hear on the aforementioned “Too Cool,” a song that’s reminiscent of both The B52s and Go-Gos. “Waiting for the Crisis” sounds as though it were influenced by Sandinista! and Combat Rock-era The Clash. However, “Master of Passion” and “Come Over” are the most dance floor-friendly, New Order-like songs of the re-issue, featuring shimmering undulating synths, propulsive drum programming paired with Fagan’s sultry and coquettish delivery.

Of course, each track reveals a songwriter, who had an uncanny knack at writing an infectiously catchy hook that you could imagine kids bouncing up and down to in a sweaty club — and does so with a cool, swaggering self-assuredness.

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Last year, I wrote about Swedish-born and based, singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Sofia Härdig, who with the release of “Streets,” the first single off her two part EP The Street Light Leads to the Sea added herself to a growing list of Swedish artists that have seen international attention across Europe and North America. And as a result of a growing international profile, Härdig, who is considered Sweden’s “rocktronica queen of experimental music,” has collaborated with  Grammy Award-winning acts The Hellacopters and Bob Hund, Boredoms and Free Kitten‘s Yoshimi P-We and has opened for Lydia Lunch and Belle and Sebastian‘s Stevie Jackson.

Interestingly, The Street Light Leads to the Sea was recorded with handpicked musicians, who were known for their improvisational skills, and each musician was encouraged to improvise on the rough sketches that Härdig brought in whenever and however they felt fit. As the Swedish singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist explains in press notes “I find beauty in flaws and that which is not perfect is what excites me, I love the unusual, the unexpected, untrained and unplanned . . . ” And as you’ll hear on the EP’s latest single “Sitting Still,” the material possesses a raw and gritty urgency as slashing and angular guitar chords, wild squalls of feedback and rapid fire drumming are paired with Härdig’s punchy delivered vocals in a tense and anxious song that captures a narrator, who’s at odds with herself and her conflicting emotions, thoughts and desires — and does so in a way that feels and sounds like the interior conversations we all have at some point or another. Sonically, the single much like its predecessor still manages to sound as though it were influenced PJ Harvey but equally influenced by Nine Inch Nails and Earthling-era David Bowie, complete with a swaggering, anthemic hook.

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

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

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

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

 

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

New Video: Death Valley Girls Go-Go Inspired Take on Troma Films

“Disco,” the latest single off Glow In The Dark is a jangling and propulsive bit of psych rock, complete with droning organs that sounds as though it were indebted to The Jesus and Mary Chain but with a sneering, punk rock air — and a badass, in your face, self assuredness. Interestingly, the recently released music video was directed by Kansas Bowling, who recently directed BC Butcher, the latest release from proprietors of all things low budget gore and horror, Troma Films. As a result, the video is a proper send off to all things go-go but with a Satanic murderess, who kills people with records.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

If you’ve been frequenting this site over the past few months, you might recall coming across “Stronger,” the first single from  Los Angeles, CA-based guitarist and vocalist Cecilia Della Peruti’s solo project, Gothic Tropic. And although she’s perhaps best known as a touring and session guitarist for the likes of renowned pop acts such as Charli XCX and BØRNS, Peruti’s last project possesses a New Wave-leaning sound. While “Stronger” sounded as though it owed a debt to the Go-Gos The B52s and others, her latest single “How Life Goes” is an atmospheric, song in which lush and plaintive harmonies are paired with shimmering guitar chords played through reverb and delay pedal, a propulsive and driving rhythm section, gently buzzing synths and a bluesy guitar solo in a song that sounds and feels as though it simultaneously drew from Phil Spector’s famed “Wall of Sound,” 80s New Wave, shoegaze and power pop – thanks to an anthemic hook. Much like the sources which inspired it, the song focuses on heartbreak — in this particular instance, the song’s narrator is begging for forgiveness and understanding while simultaneously, telling her significant other that  she’s getting a bit of a bad rap in this relationship. And in many ways, it captures the ambivalence that romantic relationships can inspire, especially if they went bad quickly.

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Girl Power Visuals for Gothic Tropic’s “Stronger”

Perhaps best known as a touring and session guitarist for Charli XCX and BØRNS, Los Angeles, CA-based guitarist and vocalist Cecilia Della Peruti is also the creative mastermind behind up-and-coming act Gothic Tropic, a band whose New Wave-leaning sound is indebted to the likes of the Go-Gos The B52s and others as angular and punchy guitar chords are paired with a propulsive rhythm section, Peruti’s sultry vocals and an infectious hook as you’ll hear on their latest single “Stronger.”

Interestingly, the recently released music video cuts between footage of Peruti and her backing band performing the song in a studio and splices it with footage of a series of badass, confident women doing their thing, which naturally will instill the fact that the song is a modern feminist anthem about inner strength and resolve, determination and empowerment. You go, girl, indeed.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Surreal and Ironic Visuals for Courtney Barnett’s Equally Ironic “Elevator Operator”

With the release of her first two critically applauded EPs I’ve Got a Friend Called Emily Farris and How to Carve a Carrot Into a Rose, Melbourne, Australia-based singer/songwriter and guitarist Courtney Barnett quickly received attention from the North American, British […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

With the release of two EPs and their full-length debut Consent released last year, the Vancouver, BC-baesd post-punk trio Lié, comprised of Brittany West, Ashlee Luk and Kati J, have developed reputation for a sound that draws from both early post-punk and noise bands, their hometown as well as each individual member’s own creative side efforts — West’s darkwave project Koban, Kati J’s trash punk band SBDC and Luk’s electronic project Minimal Violence; but perhaps much more important, they also developed a reputation for politically charged material — last year’s Consent was a barbed commentary on rape culture. However, the Canadian trio’s follow-up Truth or Consequences reportedly turns inward to the deeply personal, focusing on the dichotomy between the destructive and fragile elements of the ego. And as a result, the album’s first single “Failed Visions” is a tense, maniacally anxious song that evokes the fucked up inner dialogue we maintain within our heads — the sort in which you may vacillate from cocksure confidence to self loathing. Sonically and structurally, the band pairs slashing, angular guitar chords, a propulsive rhythm section and rapid fire tempo changes and in some way it makes the song sound as though it draws from L7 and Bikini Kill — or in other words it’s abrasive and furiously cathartic.