Tag: 120 Minutes

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Interestingly, over the past couple of years, I’ve written about Madison, WI-based punk act The Hussy here and there, and as you may recall the band formed back in 2008 as a duo featuring by Bobby Hussy (guitar, vocals) and Heather Hussy (drums, vocals) — with both members contributing vocals. The duo quickly developed a reputation for a trashy and scuzzy take on punk and for a chaotic live show that wound up with the duo playing shows alongside a who’s who list of indie rock and punk — including Mudhoney, Ty Segall, Thee Oh Sees, Twin Peaks, Reigning Sound,Spectrum, Black Bananas, Black Lips, King Khan & BBQ, White Fence, The Faint, Tenement and countless others. All of that helped the band gain a cult-like following across the Midwestern underground scene.

Between 2009 and 2015, the band went through one of their most prolific periods of their history, in which they released material through 20 different labels and in countless different formats. During that same period, the duo also went through a relentless touring schedule across US and the European Union, including an appearance at Gonerfest after the release of their beloved sophomore album 2012’s Weed Seizure. Additionally, they also pulled double duty as the opening and backing band for NOBUNNY through tours of the US, Australia, and New Zealand.

Since touring with NOBUNNY, the band’s founding duo have split time between The Hussy and a series of other creative pursuits. Bobby Hussy has continued to tour off and on with NOBUNNY as a touring bassist. His other projects include playing in Fire Heads with Tyler Fassnacht, who recently joined The Hussy to help further flesh out their live sound — and synth wave post-punk act Cave Curse, who released a full-length in 2017. Heather Hussy is also a member of Proud Parents, an act that released their full-length debut through  Dirtnap Records last year.

At the end of last year, the members of the newly constituted trio began tracking their forthcoming full-length album Looming, the follow-up to 2015’s Galore. Galore saw the band moving into a more focused direction with their songwriting, and it included material with more complex arrangements paired with a mid-fi production. And while the album reflected an evolution in their sound and approach, they managed to retain the infectious pop-leaning hooks that won them cult-favorite status. Interestingly, the album which is slated for a September 27, 2019 release, finds the band going in a much darker thematic direction, as the material touches upon death and sudden loss, divorce, addiction and our  current horrifying, infuriating, and depressing sociopolitical moment.

Last month, I wrote about album single “Coast.” Beginning with a deceptive and upbeat intro featuring plinking and chiming guitars, the song quickly turned into a scuzzy power-chord ripper with an infectiously anthemic hook. “Sorry,” Looming‘s latest single is a decidedly 90s alt rock-inspired fuzz pop anthem featuring ironic lyrics, fluttering blasts of flute, layers of distortion pedaled guitars and thunderous drumming. Sonically speaking, “Sorry” will likely bring to mind a series of 120 Minutes-era MTV titans, like Hole, Veruca Salt, The Breeders and others with a similar gritty and bilious quality.

The members of The Hussy will be embarking on a lengthy tour during the fall. Check out the tour dates below.

 

Tour Dates
09/13 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry
09/14 – Madison, WI @ Mickey’s Tavern
09/19 – Chicago, IL @ Reed’s
09/20 – Springfield, IL @ Dumb Records
09/21 – Fayetteville, AR @ Backspace w/ The Wirms
09/22 – Dalls, TX @ Ruins in Deep Ellum
09/23 – Austin, TX @ Hotel Vegas w/ Xetas
09/24 – New Orleans, LA @ Circle Bar w/ Thelma and the Sleaze
09/25- Hattiesburg, MS @ The Looney Bin
09/26 – Memphis, TN @ Hi-Tone – Gonerfest 16!
10/11 – Madison, WI @ Crystal Corner Bar – Turkeyfest 10 w/ Vacation
10/12 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall w/ Oh Sees & Prettiest Eyes
10/13 – Detroit, MI @ Outer Limits
10/14 – Cleveland, OH @ Little Rose Tavern
10/15 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Rock Room
10/16 – Washington, D.C. @ Slash/Run w/ Natural Velvet
10/17 – Philadelphia, PA @ Century
10/18 – New York City
10/19 – Stamford, CT @ Boy’s Club w/ Jacques Le Coque
10/20 – New Haven, CT @ Three Sheets w/ Jacques Le Coque
10/21 – Boston, MA @ The Greek w/ G Gordon Gritty
10/22 – Providence, NJ @ News Cafe
10/23 – Salem, MA @ Front Street Coffee House
10/24 – Montreal, Quebec – Canada @ Quai des brumes
10/25 – Buffalo, NY
10/26 – Cincinnati, OH @ MOTR
Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Over the past couple of months, I’ve written a couple of posts on the up-and-coming Brisbane, Australia-based indie rock quartet Future Haunts, and as you may recall, with the release of their debut EP Rubicon and its follow up single “Make Time,” the Brisbane-based quartet exploded into their homeland’s national scene, landing opening  slots for Middle Kids and Horror My Friend, Hockey Dad, as well as a set at Hidden Lanes Festival.

After making a handful of live appearances last year, the members of Future Haunts spent the bulk of the year writing and self-recording new material at Plutonium Studios that included the anthemic 120 Minutes-like “Weather Vane.” Interestingly, “Fall In Line.” the Aussie indie rock act’s latest single continues a run of hook-driven and anthemic singles — and in this case, while the latest track sonically may remind some listeners of Arctic Monkeys and The Drums among a long list of others, the song may be the most politically charged songs the up-and-coming band has written to date, as the song is directly influenced by recent events in their homeland.

Over the past couple of years in both Sydney and Brisbane, strict lockout laws — laws that force bars, pubs, clubs and music venues to refuse new customers from entry at 1:30AM with a last call at 3:00AM were passed with an objective to reduce and curtail alcohol-fueled violence. While some of the recent data complied by officials in both of those cities have shown that alcohol-fueled violence has decreased, many people, who are involved in nightlife have raised concerns about the impact on the economy and their businesses. “‘Fall In Line’ was written around the time lockout laws were being introduced in Sydney and Brisbane,” the band’s Ben Speight explains in press notes. “The live music community in Brisbane has worked extremely hard to develop one of the best places to go and engage with artists, and there really was a lot of uncertainty what consequences this would have on live music and the broader nightlife scene.

“The song’s a bit of a nod to all those who work hard to create and nurture a positive culture and to keep pushing on no matter what. The message behind the song is still just as relevant today, in the context of other knee-jerk decisions made to placate a few very loud voices in very high places,” Speight says.

 

 

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Los Angeles’ The Paranoyds Release a Trippy B Movie-Inspired Visual for “Carnage Bargain”

Formed back in 2015, the buzz-worthy Los Angeles-based punk act The Paranoyds, derive their name as a bit of an apt summary of their general outlook on technology and modern culture — but ironically, the act can trace its origins to a friendship forged between its founding members Staz Lindes (bass, vocals) and Laila Hashemi (keys vocals) over MySpace in their early teens. Initially bonding over a shared interest in local underground music, the duo eventually became friends in real life. Eventually, the duo recruited Hashemi’s childhood friend Lexi Funston to join the band — with David Ruiz (drums) completing the band’s lineup in 2015.  

Since their formation, the band has developed a reputation as one of Los Angeles’ most exciting bands as a result of tours with the likes of DIIV, White Reaper, Albert Hammond, Jr., Sunflower Bean, Tacocat, BRONCHO and others, and for playing major festivals like Coachella. The band’s highly-anticipated (and long-awaited) full-length debut Carnage Bargain is slated for a September 13, 2019 release through Suicide Squeeze Records — and the album is reportedly a raucous blend of gritty garage rock, New Wave swagger, B movie camp and a myriad of other left-of-center influences. 

Carnage Bargain’s second and latest single, the album title track will further cement their long-held reputation for pairing ironically delivered lyrics with quirky yet infectious pop hooks, fuzzy power chords and forceful drumming. And while being the sort of mosh pit friendly track in which you can envision sweaty concertgoers bopping about and singing along at your local music venue, the track is centered around a scathing observation of our current world of instant gratification that has left us unhappier. “People want things all the time—there seems to be a constant manic need of consuming now more so than ever. ‘Carnage Bargain’ is about the people higher up wanting to get all this evil work done at a wholesale price,” the band’s Staz Lindes says in press notes. 

“It’s an extremely vulnerable time in America—things aren’t sugar coated anymore,”Lindes adds. “The dirt and grime that was swept under the rug has risen to surface. It’s impossible for us to get through a day without thinking of the thousands of migrant children in cages at the border alone, some without proper beds, soap, toothbrushes, and with lights on 24/7. We can not continue to ignore the black lives, young and old, taken by police almost every week. The plastic crisis. The mass shootings. The extreme need for prison reform. The opioid crisis. The water crisis in Flint, Michigan. The list goes on, and the hole gets deeper. Sometimes I can’t sleep and I wonder: do they sleep well in the White House? What else can I do as a privileged citizen? They want to get a Carnage Bargain. I want to pick up garbage.”

Directed by David Ruiz and Max Flick, the recently released video immediately brings 120 Minutes to mind as its split between placing the band in a seemingly dysfunctional and dystopian reality and their studio — while nodding at constant commercials. 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

I’ve written quite a bit about the Brooklyn-based JOVM mainstays Russian Baths over the past couple of years, and as you may recall the act — Luke Koz, Jess Ress, Evan Gill Smith and Jeff Widner — received attention both locally and elsewhere for a sound that has been described by the band and by some critics as nodding at Big Black, 70s space rock, Big Muff and British post punk. Although with the release of their debut EP Penance, an effort that featured singes like “What’s In Your Basement,” “Slenderman” and “Poolhouse,” the Brooklyn-based JOVM mainstays — to my ears, at least —  established a reputation for crafting a brooding 120 Minutes-era alt rock-like sound.

Slated for release later this year, Russian Baths’ forthcoming debut finds them pushing their sound — a sound centered around juxtapositions to its most extreme, as feedback and dissonance manage to swallow softly whispered harmonies; arpeggiated synths and booming 808s are paired with angular, shrieking guitars and propulsive drumming. Thematically the material touches upon personal regret, cultural guilt, reflections and observations on systems on the verge of collapse and a growing sense of unease and anxiety. The album’s first single “Parasite” was a decidedly muscular and grunge-like single that brought Nirvana, The Breeders and others to mind — but while evoking someone on the verge of destroying themselves.

“Tracks,” the forthcoming album’s latest single is an an aggressively abrasive song that’s one part shoegaze, one part post-punk, one part noise rock and one part grunge, as fuzzy and distorted power chords are paired with thunderous drumming and plaintive, falsetto vocals. And while being one of the most feral and mosh pit friendly songs they’ve released in their growing catalog, the song finds the band asking some important questions. “If a friend takes something very personal, very private from you, do you forgive them? If you see someone’s worst self, how do you react? Would you choose yourself to be yourself? Is self respect something you feel because you’re good or does self-respect make you good?” The band says in press notes. As a result, the song possesses the uneasy, claustrophobic air of paranoia and distrust.

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Up-and-Coming British Act Second Hand Poet Releases an Intimate and Playful Visual for “Honeycomb”

Jamie Tipson is a Surrey, UK-born singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and co-founder of Pretty Thing Records, a label and promotions company, specifically created to help other like-minded artists — and he’s also the creative mastermind behind the up-and-coming British indie rock project Second Hand Poet.

Last year, Tipson released his Second Hand Poet debut Songs for the Pyre, and he quickly followed that up with the January release of “I’ll Be Yours,” a track that received airplay from BBC Introducing, Amazing Radio and BBC 6, and was featured in the Unsigned Guides Spotlight and Richer Sounds Artist of the Month.  Building upon a growing national profile in his native UK, Tipson’s latests ingle “Honeycomb” is a hook-driven and  anthemic track that recalls 120 Minutes-era alt rock, The Silversun Pickups and others, as its centered around jangling power chords, a propulsive rhythm section and Tipson’s plaintive vocals. 

Interestingly, Tipson’s new Second Hand Poet is a decidedly upbeat track that finds him straying a bit from his self-described band of gloom folk. In fact, the track finds Tipson employing the use of a full band — and it required a much more collaborative creative process than much of his previously released work. “‘Honeycomb’ is a weird one,” Tipson explains in press notes. “It’s completely the opposite sound and style to my usual work but I just had to get it out in this way. I still play it acoustic when live but the intention was to almost sound as if I was singing over a Smashing Pumpkins’ track on the recorded version.” “The song itself is about people, about connecting material things with feelings or certain memories in time, soundtracking moments,” Tipson says of his latest single. “After all, that’s what music is isn’t it?” 

Edited by Alex Thomas, the recently released video for “Honeycomb” stars Tipson, his backing musicians for the song’s creation and a series of friends, loved ones and supporters from around the world. “I just wanted to create something a bit immersive, music is relatable regardless of taste and opinion and the idea of bringing people I care about in all senses of the word felt really special to me,” Tipson says of the video. “I’ve never met some of the people in the video, and some of them that are featured even helped fuel the need for me to create in the first place. ”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Up-and-Coming British Indie Rock Act Penelope Isles Release a Sludgy and Slow-Burning New Single

Throughout the course of this year, I’ve written a bit about the Brighton, UK-based indie rock quartet Penelope Isles. And as you may recall, the act, which is comprised of Devon, UK-born, Brighton-based sibling songwriting duo Jack Wolter and Lily Wolter, along with Jack Sowton and Becky Redford is centered by the bond between the Wolters, a bond that ironically was strengthened when Jack, who’s six years older moved out of the family home to study art when he was 19. “By the time I moved home, Lil was not so much of an annoying younger sister anymore and had grown up and started playing in bands and writing songs. We soon become very close. I had written some songs, so we started a band called Your Gold Teeth. We toured a bit and then Lily left for Brighton to study songwriting.”

When Lily Wolter studied in Brighton, she met Jack Sowton and Becky Redford, with whom she formed a band. And as the story goes, when Lily Wolter returned home to the Isle of Man for the holidays, the idea of forming a new band rapidly developed. Although Jack and Lily have long written separately, they chucked their disparate songs into a shared song pot, their new band was fueled by a passion for DIY alt rock/indie rock — and are influenced by the likes of Deerhunter, Pixies, Tame Impala, Radioheadand The Thrills among others.

The up-and-coming Brighton-based indie rock act’s highly-anticipated full-length debut Until the Tide Creeps In will officially drop on Friday through renowned indie label Bella Union Records, and the album thematically is informed by the Wolters’ shared experience — in particular leaving home, moving away, dealing with the various transitions in life and growing up. “We are six years apart, so we had a different experience of some of this, but we share a similar inspiration when writing writing music. Family, leaving home, disconnection and connection all ring bells!”  The Wolters explain in press notes. 

“Chlorine,” Until the Tide Creeps In’s Sleepy Sun-like album opener was centered around an arrangement that subtly bridges shimmering dream pop, shoegaze and fuzz pop — and while buoyant and seemingly ethereal, the song possessed a bracing quality, much like stepping into a cold shower. Interestingly, the song has an underlying emotional push and pull; the sort of complexity brought about by obligation and duty and the need to go out on your own. “Round,” the album’s second single found the band meshing 70s AM rock with shoegaze while evoking the ebb and flow of the complicated and ambivalent emotions of adulthood.”

Centered around a quiet-loud-quiet song structure, complete with a slow-burning and sludgy groove, shuffling drumming and an anthemic hook, the album’s fourth and latest single “Cut Your Hair” manages to subtly recall 120 Minutes-era alt rock. “One of my favourite songs to play live. The slow sludgy groove always feels like a refreshing moment in the set. I wrote it in our old garage on the Isle of Man whilst in uncertainty of whether or not to move away to pursue a career in music or not,” the band’s Jack Wolters says of the album’s latest single. “I had a small studio set up and it started with the drum groove and the rest happened really quickly. I guess it’s a fixtinal tale and concept of what could have been me if I didn’t have a go at doing ‘the band thing’. A don’t give up on your dreams kinda thing.”

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Up-and-Coming Canadian Act Mauno Releases Hilariously Surreal and Unsettling Visual for “Take Care”

Slated for an August 2, 2019 release through Tin Angel Records, Really Well, the forthcoming album by the Halifax, Nova Scotia-based indie rock band Mauno reportedly finds the band — Eliza Niemi (vocals, bass), Nick Everett (vocals, guitar), Scott Boudreau (guitar) and Adam White (drums) — exploring the creases in intimacy, authenticity and labor and their preoccupations with the nature of creative labor, relationships and the self under capitalism. And while rooted in sobering daily concerns, the band notes that their critiques are often filtered through the lens of the absurd, which gives the band — and in turn, the album’s material — a playful, ridiculous air. “There’s something about humour and laughter that is very subversive and deeper than I think a lot of people realize,” the band’s Eliza Niemi says in press notes. “With these songs, I was trying to sort of dance on the one.” Adds the band’s Nick Everett, “There’s a double meaning to everything. You have to leave space for people to think. Where is the place for the listener if they’re not going to contribute their own thoughts or their own interpretations?”

Earlier this summer, I wrote about the slow-burning album single “Vampire,” a track centered around shimmering guitars, shimmering guitars, shuffling drums, plaintive vocals and a soaring hook. And while immediately recalling 120 Minutes-era like alt rock, the mischievous song focuses on the pride and utter ridiculousness of creative labor in a capitalist world that doesn’t really value it much. Interestingly, the album’s latest single “Take Care” is a decidedly different affair from it’s predecessor: centered around jangling and jagged guitars, shuffling drums and Niemi’s delicate vocals, the song finds its narrator calmly expressing ambivalence, frustration and resentment. “‘Take Care’ is a play on words — it’s about caregiving as a woman, and also about saying goodbye. It is about filling the role of taking care of someone and self-identifying through that, while simultaneously resenting the expectation of having to do so. The chorus begins hinting at waiting for a relationship to finally feel reciprocal, and ends with the reveal of me actually waiting for it to fall apart, knowing all along that it was doomed,” the band’s Eliza Niemi explains in press notes. 

Directed by Max Taeuschel, the recently released video for “Take Care” features the band’s songwriting duo of Nick Everrett and Eliza Niemi in matching royal blue jumpsuits as though they were prepping for a surgical procedure. Suddenly gloved hands come from just outside of the frame, preparing Mauno’s songwriting duo for shipping — including slapping on price tags and swaddling in bubble wrap and plastic wrap. Somehow the band’s songwriting duo manage to have dispassionate expressions on their faces, despite being treated like products, and being essentially tortured. It’s a gorgeous and surrealistic fever dream that’s both hilarious and unsetting. 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Up-and-Coming Danish Act Twin Dive Releases a Murky Lynchian Visual for “Animal”

Currently comprised of founding duo Robert Jancevich (vocals, guitar) and Ragnar “Raggi” Gudmunds (drums) and its newest member Charlotte Mortensen (bass) the up-and-coming Aarhus, Denmark-based indie rock act Twin Dive formed back in 2017 when its founding duo met and bonded over a mutual passion for all things rock ‘n’ roll.

Over the past year, the band has been in and out of the studio honing and polishing their sound and releasing material that has been compared to the likes of Foo Fighters, The Hives and others.They’ve also played a set at this year’s Spot Festival, which caught the attention of Drowned in Sound, who picked the band as one of the best acts of the festival — and they just recently finished a tour of Finland with Finnish act Ursus Factory. Building upon a growing profile, the act’s latest single “Animal” is a bluesy and sludgy power chord dirge that will immediately bring 120 Minutes-era alt rock — i.e., Alice in Chains, Stone Temple Pilots and the like — as it the song features a classic grunge rock song structure: quiet, loud, quiet. And while possessing a darkly seductive air, the song as the band notes is about knowing and taming one’s inner animal. Directed by filmmakers Mark Vesterlund and Peter Sorsensen at GoFat Productions, the recently released video is an unsettling and lysergic Lynchian nightmare — and it fits the eerie and murky air of the accompanying song. 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Imperial Teen Releases a Murky Yet Anthemic New Single

Over the past couple of months, I’ve written a bit about the acclaimed indie band Imperial Teen. Now, as you may recall, the act which is comprised of Roddy Bottum (guitar, vocals), a former member of Faith No More; Will Schwartz (guitar, vocals), who splits his time with hey willpower; Lynn Perko Truell, (drums, backing vocals), a former member of Sister Double Happiness, The Dicks and The Wrecks; and Jone Stebbins, a former member of The Wrecks originally formed in San Francisco in the mid 90s.

Their Steve McDonald-produced debut effort, 1996’s Seasick was released to praise from Spin Magazine, who went on to list it as their fourth best album of that year and from the New York Times. Building upon a growing profile, the band’s sophomore album, 1998’s What Is Not to Love found the band ambitiously expanding upon their sound and approach with the album’s material routinely clocking over six minutes — and album single “Yoo Hoo” appeared on the Jawbreaker soundtrack. The accompanying video featured the movie’s star Rose McGowan appearing alongside the band, and it was included as as special feature on the DVD. Additionally, the song was heard in the beginning of episodes of episodes of Numb3rs and Daria.

Imperial Teen eventually left Universal Records and signed with Merge Records, who released their third album, 2002’s Steve McDonald and Anna Waronker co-produced effort, On. The album’s lead single “Ivanka” received airplay — and they spent a portion of the year touring with The Breeders. Interestingly, that tour include a stop at famed Hoboken club Maxwell’s, which was recorded and released a few months later as Live at Maxwell’s. Shortly after, the band’s Will Schwartz teamed up with Tomo Yasuda for Schwartz’s dance music side project hey willpower, which released their self-titled debut EP in 2005. And by 2007, the members of Imperial Teen returned with two shows at that year’s SXSW and their fourth album, The Hair the TV the Baby and the Band, which landed at #38 on Rolling Stone‘s Best Albums list that year.

Since the release of the band’s fifth album, 2012’s Feel the Sound, the members of the band have relocated to different parts of the country, with members in New York, Denver, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Understandably, the geographical locations and distances can make it extremely difficult to write and record music on a regular basis — but the members of the acclaimed indie rock act reconvened to write and record their forthcoming, sixth album Now We Are Timeless.

Slated for a July 12, 2019 release through their longtime label home, Merge Records, the band’s sixth album will further cement their long-held reputation for crafting deeply personal material that offered a view into the bandmember’s individual lives, complete with victories, losses, aspirations, where they were emotionally and personally — while thematically, the material touches upon time, movement, averting and succumbing to crisis, dealing with and accepting loss and pain.

The album’s first single “We Do What We Do Best” was a swaggering, arena rock friendly track centered around an enormous hook and equally enormous power chords, buzzing synths, a propulsive rhythm section, a lysergic guitar solo paired with stream-of-consciousness lyrics delivered with a mischievous and ironic aplomb. The album’s second single “Walkaway” was more like 120 Minutes alt rock-inspired dream pop, centered around a soaring hook and plaintive vocals and personal, lived-in experience — the sensation of feeling simultaneously connected and disconnected from those you love.  Interestingly, “Don’t Want to Let You Go” is a murky yet anthemic pop song featuring propulsive drum programming, shimmering and arpeggiated synths, explosive bursts of fuzzy power chords and an enormous, shout-along worthy hook– and while bearing a resemblance to early Garbage, the track is imbued with a sense of inconsolable loss — and its initial denial, then begrudging acceptance. 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Summer Cannibals Release an Anthemic 120 Minutes-era Alt Rock-Like New Single

The Portland, OR-based indie rock act Summer Cannibals — Jessica Boudreaux (vocals, guitar), Cassi Blum (guitar), Ethan Butman (bassist) and Devon Shirley (drums) — formed in 2012 and since their formation they’ve released three critically applauded albums – 2013’s No Makeup, 2015’s Larry Crane-produced Show Us Your Mind and 2016’s Chris Woodhouse-engineered Full Of It. 

After escaping a manipulative personal and creative relationship, the band’s Jessica Boudreaux scrapped an entire album’s worth of material and started from scratch. The acclaimed Portland-based indie rock act’s highly-anticipated fourth album Can’t Tell Me No may arguably be the most defiant of their growing catalog as the album’s material is the result of taking back power. The album finds the band standing up — not to just a personal relationship or to the music industry but to the people and social constructs that have silenced women and held them down. Fueled by inspiration and adrenaline, the recording sessions for the new album found the band working together in a new, re-invigorated fashion with Boudreaux writing, recording and mixing much of the album with her bandmates during breakneck, 14-hour days. And while centered around an understandable anger, the album also offers listeners the hope that those who may feel powerless and voiceless can create change through strength, resolve and community. 

Interestingly, the album’s latest single “Behave,” is an anthemic, power chord-driven track that immediately recalls 120 Minutes-era alt rock — in particular, Pablo Honey-era Radiohead, Veruca Salt, The Breeders and the like; but the song is actually a deceptive mosh pit anthem, featuring bitterly incisive lyrics focusing on a dysfunctional and abusive relationship that the song’s narrator is about to escape from — with her soul and dignity more or less intact. 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Steep Leans Release a Trippy Visual for Jangling Anthemic Single

Gray Somers is a Boston-based singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and creative mastermind behind up-and-coming indie rock project, Steep Leans. Somers’ Step Leans debut, 2015’s Grips on Heat sonically was centered around a hypnotic soundscape, which delivered the material’s underlying weary melodies. The Boston-based singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist’s long-awaited sophomore Steep Leans effort Naukeag is slated for a June 28, 2019 release through Ghost Ramp Records and the album reportedly finds Somers stripping away some of the haze and reverb of his previously released work for a  decidedly angular and lyrically focused sound, centered around a cleaner production.

Thematically, Naukeag focuses on reckoning with where you’ve ended up, accepting the things you’ve done for better or worse, sifting through any wrecked you may have created and peacefully leaving it in the past. It’s a sort of redemption — but it’s rooted in facing reality. 

Naukeag’s second and latest single is thee jangling, 120 Minutes-like “Traphouse.” Centered around a strummed acoustic guitar, jangling and fuzzy electric guitars, a propulsive rhythm section and a Psychedelic Furs meets Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band-like saxophone solo, a classic alt rock quiet-loud-quiet song structure, the song’s anthemic nature belies it’s introspective lyrics. 

The recently released highly saturated and lysergic visual for “Traphouse” was created by TRLLM and follows Somers through a day-in-the-life video that follows him through a trip through Quincy, MA. 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Watch Up-and-Coming Canadian Act Mauno Go Through a Bizarre Endurance Test in Visuals for “Vampire”

The Halifax, Nova Scotia-based band Mauno’s forthcoming album Really Well is slated for an August 2, 2019 release through Tin Angel Records, and the album, which was recorded at Chad VanGaalen’s Calgary, Alberta9-based studio reportedly finds the band — Eliza Niemi (vocals, bass), Nick Everett (vocals, guitar), Scott Boudreau (guitar) and Adam White (drums) — exploring the creases in intimacy, authenticity and labor and their preoccupations with the nature of creative labor, relationships and the self under capitalism. But while rooted in serious, daily concerns, the band notes that their critiques are filtered through a lens of the absurd, which gives them a playful, ridiculous air. “There’s something about humour and laughter that is very subversive and deeper than I think a lot of people realize,” the band’s Eliza Niemi says in press notes. “With these songs, I was trying to sort of dance on the one.” Adds the band’s Nick Everett, “There’s a double meaning to everything. You have to leave space for people to think. Where is the place for the listener if they’re not going to contribute their own thoughts or their own interpretations?” 

Really Well’s latest single “Vampire” is a slow-burning track centered around shimmering guitars, shuffling drums, plaintive vocals and a soaring hook that recalls 120 Minutes-era like alt rock while being a playful and uplifting song that focuses on the pride and utter ridiculousness of being in creative labor in a capitalist world. 

Directed by Max Taeuschel, the recently released video stars the band’s songwriting duo Eliza Niemi and Nick Everett in a bizarre endurance test, in which they’re challenged to continue performing the song while exhausting themselves on stationary bikes. Shooting the duo over an uninterrupted hour or so in an empty gym, the video’s surreal and absurd quality is a bit of an unsettling contrasts the song’s uplifting tone, Interestingly, the video also serves a deeper metaphor for being a musician and promoting your creative work — in other words, you work hard and never seem to feel as though you’re going anywhere. 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Acclaimed Indie Rock Act Imperial Teen Releases a “120 Minutes” Alt Rock-Like Single

Last month, I wrote about the acclaimed indie band Imperial Teen, and as you may recall, the act which, is comprised of Roddy Bottum (guitar, vocals), a former member of Faith No More; Will Schwartz (guitar, vocals), who splits his time with hey willpower; Lynn Perko Truell, (drums, backing vocals), a former member of Sister Double Happiness, The Dicks and The Wrecks; and Jone Stebbins, a former member of The Wrecks originally formed in San Francisco in the mid 90s.

Their Steve McDonald-produced debut effort, 1996’s Seasick was released to praise from Spin Magazine, who went on to list it as their fourth best album of that year and from the New York Times. Building upon a growing profile, the band’s sophomore album, 1998’s What Is Not to Love found the band ambitiously expanding upon their sound and approach with the album’s material routinely clocking over six minutes — and album single “Yoo Hoo” appeared on the Jawbreaker soundtrack. The accompanying video featured the movie’s star Rose McGowan appearing alongside the band, and it was included as as special feature on the DVD. Additionally, the song was heard in the beginning of episodes of episodes of Numb3rs and Daria.

Imperial Teen eventually left Universal Records and signed with Merge Records, who released their third album, 2002’s Steve McDonald and Anna Waronker co-produced effort, On. The album’s lead single “Ivanka” received airplay — and they spent a portion of the year touring with The Breeders. Interestingly, that tour include a stop at famed Hoboken club Maxwell’s, which was recorded and released a few months later as Live at Maxwell’s. Shortly after, the band’s Will Schwartz teamed up with Tomo Yasuda for Schwartz’s dance music side project hey willpower, which released their self-titled debut EP in 2005. And by 2007, the members of Imperial Teen returned with two shows at that year’s SXSW and their fourth album, The Hair the TV the Baby and the Band, which landed at #38 on Rolling Stone‘s Best Albums list that year.

Since the release of the band’s fifth album, 2012’s Feel the Sound, the members of the band have relocated to different parts of the country, with members in New York, Denver, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Understandably, the geographical locations and distances can make it extremely difficult to write and record music on a regular basis — but the members of the acclaimed indie rock act reconvened to write and record their forthcoming, sixth album Now We Are Timeless.

Slated for a July 12, 2019 release through their longtime label home, Merge Records, the band’s sixth album will further cement their long-held reputation for crafting deeply personal material that offered a view into the bandmember’s individual lives, complete with victories, losses, aspirations, where they were emotionally and personally — while thematically, the material touches upon time, movement, averting and succumbing to crisis, dealing with and accepting loss and pain. The album’s first single “We Do What We Do Best” was a swaggering, arena rock friendly track centered around an enormous hook and equally enormous power chords, buzzing synths, a propulsive rhythm section, a lysergic guitar solo paired with stream-of-consciousness lyrics delivered with a mischievous and ironic aplomb. 

The album’s latest single “Walkaway” finds the band crafting jangling and propulsive dream pop centered around a soaring hook and plaintive vocals. And although the song manages to bring back memories of 120 Minutes alt rock the song is rooted in the band’s personal, lived-in experience. “We are a band that are together and not. Our collective history is our bond,” the members of the band explain in press notes. “Physically though, we live in different cities, lead different lives. ‘Walkaway’ is a song about a feeling we’ve all known. Watching others, near and far and feeling distance and separation from what they’re experiencing. Feeling connected and independent at the same time. Closing the gap of physical distance and making our lives a more connected place.” 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstays Russian Baths Return with a Disturbing Visual for “Parasite”

Over the past 18 months or so, I’ve written quite a bit about the the Brooklyn-based JOVM mainstays, Russian Baths. And as you may recall, with the release of their debut single “Ambulance,” the act comprised of Luke Koz, Jess Ress, Evan Gill Smith and Jeff Widner quickly received attention locally and elsewhere for a sound that the band has described by some as nodding at Big Black, 70s space rock, Big Muff and British post punk among others. The Brooklyn-based JOVM mainstays released their debut EP Penance last year through Good Eye Records and from EP singles “What’s In Your Basement,” “Slenderman” and “Poolhouse,” the band established a sound that recalled brooding, 120 Minutes-era alt rock. 

Russian Baths’ full-length debut is slated for release later this year, and the album’s first, official single”Parasite” may arguably be the one of the most muscular and grunge-like songs of the band’s growing catalog, as the song is centered around distortion pedal-drenched power chords, thundering drumming, a mosh pit friendly hook and male-female harmonizing within a tried-and-true, alt rock, alternating quiet, loud, quiet song structure. And while bringing Nirvana, The Breeders and others mind, the song has a deeply unsettling and violent air, capturing someone on the verge of destroying themselves.

Interestingly, the recently released video for “Parasite” follows an incredibly dysfunctional and parasitical relationship between two women, one who has just left a hospital for some unknown treatment or procedure.  Throughout their day together, the healthier woman takes her friend’s medication, frequently teasing and mocking her friend, who by the end of the video collapses. “Have you ever had an insect burrow into your brain and force you to drown yourself? Cured a headache with a hand grenade?” Koz says in press notes about the single and the accompanying video. “This song is about these legitimate questions.”

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Florence Italy-based Shoegazers We Melt Chocolate Release a Lysergic “120 Minutes”-like Visual for “everyjoy”

Formed back in 2014, the Florence, Italy-based shoegazer outfit We Melt Chocolate consists of a group of friends, w ho have been active in their hometown’s music scene for some time, as the band features members of Interzone, Evanicetrip, Scum, Smell of trees, Shades of blue and others. And with a self-released demo and EP under their belts, the Florence-based act have developed a reputation for crafting lilting and noisy shoegaze that owes a debt to My Bloody Valentine, Lush and The Sugarcubes among others. 

We Melt Chocolate’s self-titled, full-length debut is slated for a June 28, 2019 release through Annibale Records and the album’s latest single “everyjoy,” is a perfect example of classic shoegaze as the song is centered around distortion and pedal effected guitars, four-on-the-floor-like drumming, a propulsive bass line, ethereal and plaintive vocals and a soaring hook, all of which emphasizes the song’s dreamy and lysergic vibes. Centered around the band performing the song in an empty studio with superimposed special effects and trippy light effects, the video brings memories of 120 Minutes-era MTV  to mind.