Tag: 120 Minutes

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Up-and-Coming Kiwi Band Miss June Releases Feverish Visuals for Mosh Pit Banger “Best Girl”

Miss June is an up-and-coming Auckland, New Zealand-based indie rock quartet, comprised of Annabel Liddel (vocals, guitar), Jun Park (guitar), Chris Marshall (bass) and Tom Legget (drums), and in their homeland, they’ve received attention for a jagged, feedback-driven alt rock meets New Wave and No Wave sound that’s been described as “some unholy union between Sonic Youth and Le Tigre” and for a formidable, attention-grabbing live show that has earned them opening slots for Foo Fighters, Shellac, Wolf Alice, Idles and Die! Die! Die!

The Kiwi-based band has recently signed to acclaimed New York indie label Frenchkiss Records, who will be releasing their double A-side 7 inch “Twitch”/”Best Girl” on June 10, 2019. Building upon a growing profile, the band will be playing shows in London, Los Angeles and New York; in fact, they’ll be playing three shows in town: June 17, 2019 at Elsewhere, June 18, 2019 at Berlin Under A and June 20, 2019 at Union Pool with Twen. (You can check out the tour dates below.) The double A side 7 inch’s latest single “Best Girl” immediately recalls riot grrrl-era punk and 90s alt rock, as the track is centered around Liddel’s sultry vocal delivery, fuzzy distortion pedaled power chords, thunderous drumming and and an rousing, arena rock meets mosh pit friendly hook. The song as the band says in press notes “is anthem for anyone, who has been misled from birth, into battle for a spot that doesn’t exist.” 

Directed by Chi’lita Collins and shot in the band’s hometown of Auckland, the recently released video for “Best Girl” features the band getting out of a broke down hoopty and passionately performing the song in a wind-swept  suburban backyard. But just behind them is some surrealistic, logic-defying action — a man wearing a suit and a tiger face paint pulls a passenger out of the trunk, who begins dancing on top of the car. Their drum kit is set on fire, another older, Rick Rubin lookalike tries to put it out and stands next to the man in the suit, watching dispassionately. Simply put it’s a 120 Minutes-era MTV fever dream. 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Taylor Knox is a Toronto, Ontario, Canada-based singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer, who can trace the origins of his musical career to over a decade ago, when he was recruited to play drums for The Golden Dogs, an act that was considered one of Canada’s criminally under-appreciated bands — and coincidentally, one of Knox’s favorite bands, too.

During his stint with The Golden Dogs, Knox forged friendships with several other bandmembers, who all go on to form Zeus. As a result of Zeus, Knox was a frequent presence at the band’s Toronto studio Ill Eagle, which naturally offered him the perfect environment and the opportunity to begin experimenting with his own original material. Interestingly, Knox and his then-newly formed Zeus were tapped by Jason Collett to be his regular backing band — and it brought him into contact with an even wider circle of musicians, including Luke Doucet, whom he joined on Doucet’s tour to support his acclaimed Steel City Traveler. He also joined Hayden for the Us Alone recording sessions and subsequent tour. He also played with acclaimed Halifax, Nova Scotia-born and-based singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and JOVM mainstay Rich Aucoin.

With the release of the Lines EP and his full-length debut Love, Knox stepped out into the spotlight, crafting anthemic power pop that has drawn comparisons to acclaimed and highly influential Canadian power pop act Sloan and others. Slated for a June 7, 2019 release, Knox’s sophomore album Here Tonight thematically focuses on the mystery, stillness and artistic inspiration of the night; in fact, Knox’s tendency to be a night owl was a major influence on the album. And when he started writing the material that would eventually comprise his forthcoming sophomore album, he focused on precisely what he was thinking about — and what he wanted to do and say with it. He didn’t want to waste the insight that nighttime has always given him.“I really try to make sure the songs I write come from a place of not something I want to write but something I kind of have to get out. What I’m feeling below what I’m thinking,” Knox says in press notes.

Sonically speaking, the album, which sees Knox working with Josh Korody reportedly sees Knox continuing with the power pop that has won him attention — fuzzy and /or crunchy power chords, forceful drumming and rousingly anthemic hooks; but he sought guidance and inspiration from much more contemporary artists like The Weeknd, SZA and Prince in terms of production and songwriting, as well as the legendary Joni Mitchell. In fact, Korody’s production helped to add new textures to his overall sound, thanks to the incorporation of synths and keyboards to create glistening gutter tones. Knox also worked with Rob Schnapf in Los Angeles, who helped make one song reportedly to sound like one of the best Oasis songs to never appear on an Oasis album.

Interestingly, what sets the Toronto-based singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer’s sophomore album apart from this previously released work is a free flowing spontaneity that was encouraged by Korody and Schnapf — and that left room for unrestrained creativity. Doing this, he says, “leaves a little bit of room for discovery with the collaborator and room for their influence. I’ve always tried to do that but I did it more this time because I have confidence that I’ll be able to come up with it on the spot.” Adding to that, Knox brought in a number of Toronto’s finest musicians to collaborator for the sessions including July Talks‘ Peter Dreimanis and Leah Fay and Tokyo Police Club‘s Dave Monks.

Here Tonight‘s latest single is the rousingly anthemic, Live It Up.” Centered around fuzzy power chords, forceful drumming, a big arena rock friendly hook and an ethereal falsetto, the track recalls 120 Minutes alt rock — in particular, The Posies, The Breeders, Smashing Pumpkins and even more contemporary acts like Silversun Pickups but with the free-flowing air of a bunch of guys jamming and coming up with something incredibly cool and full of furious passion.

 

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Big Eyes’ Brooding New Video for “Nearly Got Away” Follows a Serial Killer

Over the course of their decade together, the New York-based indie rock act Big Eyes, which is comprised of Kait Eldridge (vocals, guitar), Paul Ridenour (guitar, backing vocals), Jeff Ridenour (bass) and Scott McPherson (drums), have explored nearly all corners of guitar-based music, eventually landing on a sound that meshes elements of hard rock, punk and grunge paired with introspective lyrics focusing on their shifting residencies between the Pacific Northwest and New York, as well as their own interpretations of current events. 

The band’s latest effort Streets of the Lost was released earlier this year through Greenway Records, and the album’s latest single the brooding, grunge rock-like”Nearly Got Away” is centered around fuzzy and distortion pedal-fed power chords, thunderous drumming, a rousingly anthemic hook and Eldridge’s ironically delivered vocals — and while recalling 120 Minutes-era alt rock, the track is imbued with an uneasy tension. 

Directed by Kait Eldridge, the recently released video for “Nearly Got Away” stars the band’s Eldridge as a lonely woman, who becomes a serial killer, something that the band’s frontwoman has long been fascinated by and has spent a lot of time studying. 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Ellis Redon is a San Antonio, TX-based singer/songwriter and multi-instrument, who emerged into his hometown’s indie scene with the release of his debut 2013’s Into the Jungle, a synth and drum machine-based effort with limited guitar; however, his recently released album Bloody Honey is a decided change in sonic direction, as the album’s material finds the San Antonio-based singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist collaborating with a live backing band featuring Andres Nunez (bass), Por Do Sol’s Shaz Soto (drums) and Soft Mothers‘ Luis Miguel Rocha De La Fuente (lead guitar).

Redon and his backing band have spent the past two years crafting and honing their sound. “For the record we spent about two years. It was a rough two years of making the record fueled by heartbreak and substance abuse and making friends and family,” Redon says in press notes. “When we brought Shaz Soto as a drummer, we had to rework the songs and bring them into a different light.”

“Black Hole,” Bloody Honey‘s latest single is centered around jangling and distorted power chords, thunderous drumming, Redon’s snarled vocals and an anthemic hook and while bringing 120 Minutes-era MTV alt-rock/indie rock to mind, the track reveals a songwriter with an ambitious attention to craft while dexterously (and easily) writing material across disparate genres.

 

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Brisbane Australia’s Future Haunts Release a Nostalgic DIY Visual for “Weather Vane”

With the release of their debut EP Rubicon and “Make Time,” the up-and-coming Brisbane, Australia-based indie rock quartet Future Haunts quickly emerged into their homeland’s national scene, landing opening slots for Middle Kids and Horror My Friend, a well as a set at Hidden Lanes Festival. Interestingly, besides making a handful of live appearances last year, the members of the Brisbane-based act spent most of last year writing and self-recording new material — including their latest single “Weather Vane.”

Recorded at Plutonium Studios and mixed by Miro Mackie, the up-and-coming Aussie quartet’s latest single finds the band gently pushing the boundaries of their sound and songwriting in a new direction. Now, while the song will further cement the band’s growing reputation for crafting atmospheric 4AD Records and 120 Minutes-like jangling guitar pop, the track is centered by a rousingly anthemic hook that suggests that the relatively young band has grown more self-assured and ambitious in their songwriting and overall approach.  Lyrically, the song as the band’s Ben Speight explains in press notes, “discusses breaking through the endless amount of choices life throws your way and finding a sense of direction. It’s about learning to accept the things you can’t change, becoming comfortable with who you are and placing your energy on the things that you can.”

Shot by the members of the up-and-coming Aussie indie rock band on film and camcorder, the video follows the the band as they self-record the single at Plutonium Studios, play pool and watch Australian Rules Football at a local pub, shoot hoops, goof off and play a gig at a local club. While focusing on the immediate present, the video manages a subtly nostalgic tone — imbued with the recognition that youthful good times don’t last. 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Dublin’s Submotile Releases a Lysergic “120 Minutes”-like Visual for “Eastern Sky Sundown”

Comprised of Irish-born, Dublin-based Michael Farren (guitar) and Italian-born, Dublin-based Daniela Angione (vocals), the Dublin-based indie act Submotile initially began as an experimental, ambient project. The project’s sound evolved considerably when Angione began to add vocals to Farren’s guitar experiments, which eventually resulted in their first proper collaborative track “Signs of My Melody.”

The duo’s debut EP We’re Losing The Light was released to significant interest in shoegazer circles. Farren and Angione were encouraged to pursue their long-held dream — writing and recording a proper full-length album. Released digitally a few weeks ago, the duo’s full-length debut Ghosts Fade on Skylines finds the duo blurring the lines between shoegaze, noise rock, ambient, post-rock and pop — all while drawing from Slowdive, Warpaint, Smashing Pumpkins, Swans, Spiritualized, Nirvana and others. “We wanted an album that ebbed and flowed, with nine diverse songs that complimented each other without being too different from each other. The idea behind the music is to express the dualism of warmth over hostility, passion over frustration, all these dynamics projected onto a sense of hope and renaissance. I’m not sure if we succeeded, but hopefully it works,” Daniela Angione says in press notes.

“Having quit music in 2009 due to the frustration of never having been able to translate the sounds in my head to tape, Ghosts Fade on Skylines was recorded during a wonderful period of rebirth and rejuvenation, a period where I was discovering all the great new music that was out there, whilst simultaneously finding out just how far music production technology had evolved,” Michael Farren explains in press notes. “This evolution allowed us to come that bit closer to the sound in our heads, enabling us to labor over songs, adding hundreds of tracks and experimenting with samples, guitar pedals and tones – many a happy hour was whiled away tracking this music. If someone out there enjoys listening to it a fraction as much as we enjoyed making it, then to me it’ll be a success.”

Interestingly, the album’s latest single, the immersive and enveloping “Eastern Sky Sundown” is centered by layers upon layers of buzzing and reverb-drenched guitars, four-on-four-like drumming, a rousingly anthemic hook and Angione’s ethereal vocals floating over the lysergic and oceanic mix — and while bearing an uncanny resemblance to The Jesus and Mary Chain and Smashing Pumpkins, the track bristles with the newfound self-assured of a band that found their sound. Unsurprisingly, the recently released video for “Eastern Sky Sundown” features appropriately psychedelic imagery while recalling 120 Minutes-era MTV alt rock.

Look for a limited edition run of Ghosts Fade on Skyline through Midsummer Madness Records this summer.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Denver’s Kissing Party Focuses on Small Town Daily Life

Currently comprised of founding member Gregg Dolan (vocals, guitar), Deidre Sage (vocals), Joe Hansen (guitar), Lee Evans (bass) and Shane Reid (drums), the Denver-based indie rock act Kissing Party can trace its origins to when Dolan prematurely booked the band’s first show — without actually having a band to play it. With only thirty days to pull together the slop-pop band he had been dreaming about ever since he had turned eight and saw Purple Rain for the first time. Initially, the band wound up being comprised of a then-rag tap group of strangers that Dolan says he met “by fate:” Dolan recruited Sage to join the band on the basis that “her name sounded cool,” their first guitarist was a guy who worked at a local bank because he actually owned a guitar and Reid reluctantly joined, despite having never having heard any of Dolan’s songs.

Hansen replaced the band’s first guitarist, and Evans joined the band to complete the band’s lineup. Within their first year of being a band within Denver’s DIY scene, the band quickly became a local staple as a result of their described “slop pop” sound; in fact, their full-length debut Rediscover Lovers landed at #3 on The Denver Post‘s Best Albums of 2007. Building upon a growing profile, their sophomore album, The Hate Album received attention from Three Imaginary Girls, Filter Magazine, Skope Magazine and a number of other national outlets. The Denver-based quintet signed to local label Hot Congress, who released their third full-length album Wasters Wall, Looking Back it was Romantic, which also received a limited cassette tape release from Austin, TX-based Fleeting Youth Records.

Hot Congress also released their Christmas album, 2017’s Winter in the Pub and their most recent effort, a split EP with labelmates Bleak Plaza. The band’s fourth album Mom & Dad, which is slated for a May 17, 2019 release will be the inaugural release from the band’s own label BBYV, a Kickstarter effort that pooled over $5,000 from some of their most dedicated and devoted fans. And interestingly, the album as the band’s Dolan says in press notes isa 31 minute opus, featuring “everything [he’s] wanted to say in a record.” Thematically, the material reportedly portrays moments of small town life — the attempt to find yourself and your place, the attempt to find like-minded souls and desperately trying to make it through yet another dull, repetitive day, as well as debt, regret and heartbreak.

Mom & Dad‘s latest single, the 120 Minutes–like “A Little Star” is centered around jangling and distorted guitars, a soaring hook featuring boy-girl harmonies and while the song is generally hopeful, there’s a subtly bittersweet air to the proceedings. And while generally capturing the at times ambivalent and vacillating feelings of young lover — hell, of most love, really — the band does so with a much-needed earnestness.

The recently released video follows a young couple killing time and goofing off at a small town hotel complex — and while initially wholesome and sweet, the video takes a dark turn with the couple attempting to rob their local pizza guy. Much like the song, the video captures the day-to-day life of being young and in a small town without much to do.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Portland, ME-born and-based singer/songwriter and guitarist Alejandra O’Leary was born to a Colombian mother and Irish father. Growing up with a different sounding name, and being a person of color in place where they weren’t many people of color both challenged and shaped her, as she grew up listening to old Beatles records; growing up in Portland instilled feelings of simultaneously being a native and an outsider. “I’ve always been at home with messiness, big emotions and uncertainty,” O’Leary reflects in press notes. “I guess that’s why I like rock n roll.”

After moving to Santiago Chile when she was 17 O’Leary became infatuated with the idea of idea of creating music and followed her muse across the world for over a decade, writing, recording and releasing four albums with lyrics in both Spanish and English, which featured an expansive mix of anthemic Top 40 pop melodies, retro soul flourishes and power chord rock that received praise from the likes of No Depression, PopMatters and Magnet. Adding to a growing profile, O’Leary has opened for the likes of Guster and Asobi Seksu.

In 2016, O’Leary returned to Portland with her newborn baby and the intention of recording a new album. Never one to follow formulas, the Portland, ME-born and-based singer/songwriter and guitarist rounded up a group of hand-picked local musicians and sent them the demos of the material that would eventually comprise her forthcoming album Everest. No other instructions were given, and when they were all arrived in the studio to record the album, it was made clear that they were going to improvise the final arrangement. “This improvisatory spirit keeps things fresh and thrilling. I find it to be the most enchanting way to create music,” O’Leary asserts in press notes.

Seemingly indebted to Liz Phair and 120 Minutes-era alt rock, Everest‘s woozy and anthemic latest single, “Wires” is centered around feedback-fueled power chords, a rousing and enormous hook and sultry, come hither vibes within an easy-going, free-flowing arrangement.

Look for O’Leary’s newest effort to drop on June 7, 2019.

 

 

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Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

With the release of their debut EP Rubicon and “Make Time,” the up-and-coming Brisbane, Australia-based indie rock quartet Future Haunts quickly emerged into their homeland’s national scene, landing opening slots for Middle Kids and Horror My Friend, a well as a set at Hidden Lanes Festival. Interestingly, besides making a handful of live appearances last year, the members of the Brisbane-based act spent most of last year writing and self-recording new material — including their latest single “Weather Vane.”

Recorded at Plutonium Studios and mixed by Miro Mackie, the up-and-coming Aussie quartet’s latest single finds the band gently pushing the boundaries of their sound and songwriting in a new direction. Now, while the song will further cement the band’s growing reputation for crafting atmospheric 4AD Records and 120 Minutes-like jangling guitar pop, the track is centered by a rousingly anthemic hook that suggests that the relatively young band has grown more self-assured and ambitious in their songwriting and overall approach.  Lyrically, the song as the band’s Ben Speight explains in press notes, “discusses breaking through the endless amount of choices life throws your way and finding a sense of direction. It’s about learning to accept the things you can’t change, becoming comfortable with who you are and placing your energy on the things that you can.”

 

 

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: No Vacation Teams Up with Acclaimed Direction Duo Boredom on Stylish Visuals for “Yam Yam”

Currently comprised of founding members Sabrina Mal (vocals, guitar) and Marisa Saunders (bass) along with Nat Lee (synth), Harrison Spencer (guitar) and James Shi, the Brooklyn-based indie rock act No Vacation can trace their origins to when they initially bean as a San Francisco-based dorm room-based duo featuring its founding members. Eventually expanding into a fully-fledged band, the members of No Vacation quickly earned a local profile with the release of the the Amo XO and Summer Break Mixtapes, both of which helped to establish their reputation for crafting 120 Minutes-era guitar pop. After the release of the Summer Break Mixtape, No Vacation went on an indefinite hiatus with the members of the band splitting between San Francisco and New York. 

After a series of shows under different names and a number of lineup changes, the act recruited drummer James Shi before writing and recorded their third and critically applauded EP, Intermission, an effort that was ironically enough conceived when the band wasn’t actually an active band. Unsurprisingly, the EP’s material touched upon themes of belonging, regret and resilience — all while drawing from personal experience. Now as you may recall, “Yam Yam,” Intermission’s second single continues on the wistful and nostalgic tone of its predecessor, “Mind Fields,” as the song is centered around shimmering and jangling guitar chords, a propulsive rhythm section, a soaring hook and Mal’s plaintive and ethereal crooning. And while further cementing their long-held reputation for crafting 120 Minutes inspired indie rock, the song focuses on the reeling heartache and bitter confusion of a breakup, capturing the feelings from an real, lived-in and deeply uneasy personal place. 

Directed and conceived by the San Francisco-based director and filmmaker duo BOREDOM, comprised of filmmakers Luke Lasley and Patrick Sean Gibson, the video is a mixed media visual experience comprised of UHD Digital, Super 8 Film and over 1,000 frames of hand painted watercolor animation that features a minimal yet very vivid color palette — bright reds, yellows, midnight blues that further emphasizes the uneasiness at the core of the song. Interestingly, the release of the video comes on the heels of the band announcing that they’ll be releasing a new EP this summer, which they’ll support with lengthy tours of the US, UK and European Union. The tour includes a May 26, 2019 stop at the Bowery Ballroom.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

With the release of 2014’s full-length debut, Dogging, the Sydney-based punk act Low Life featuring core trio Mitch Tolman, Cristian O’Sullivan and Greg Alfaro quickly received national and international attention.

Recorded over a two year period, the acclaimed Aussie punk band’s sophomore effort Downer Edn (read as Downer Edition) finds the band expanding from a trio to a quintet with the addition of Oily Boys and Orion’s Dizzy Daldal (guitar) and Yuta Matsumura (guitar) — with Matsumura rejoining the band to allow Tolman to be a full-time vocalist. And with the addition of Daldal and Matsumura, the band has gone through a decided change in sonic direction; in fact, as you may recall, the album’s first single, the icy Joy Division-like “Lust Forevermore” featured a lush, post-punk/New Wave inspired sound, complete with an anxious and urgency tension. Interestingly, the album’s second single “The Pitts” is a seamless synthesis of grimy, feedback-filled punk and lush post-punk, as the track is centered by a mosh pit friendly hook, shouted and howled lyrics — and while bearing an uncanny resemblance to 120 Minutes-era alt rock, the song possesses a post-modern anxiousness.

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Over the past 15-16 months or so, I’ve written about the Brooklyn-based JOVM mainstays, Russian Baths. And 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 as nodding at Big Black, 70s space rock, Big Muff and British post punk among others. The band released their debut EP Penance last year through Good Eye Records and from EP singles “What’s In Your Basement,” “Slenderman” and “Poolhouse,” the Brooklyn-based JOVM mainstays established themselves for brooding 90s alt rock 120 Minutes-era MTV-like sound.

Building upon a growing profile, the band will be releasing their full-length debut 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 their 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 and others to mind, the song has a deeply unsettling and violent air, capturing someone on the verge of destroying themselves.

“Have you ever had an insect burrow into your brain and force you to drown yourself? Cured a headache with a hand grenade?” queries Koz, aptly reconstructing the same violent energy converted to guitar-driven noise rock on the single. “This song is about these legitimate questions.”

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Russian Baths Release a Trippy and Unsettling Video for Brooding “Slenderman”

Last year, I wrote a bit about the Brooklyn-based indie rock quartet 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 as nodding at Big Black, 70s space rock, Big Muff and British post punk among others. 

The band released their debut EP Penance last year through Good Eye Records, and the EP’s first single “Slenderman” is a brooding track that strikes me as owing a sonic debt to 90s alt rock/120 Minutes-era MTV and classic shoegaze, thanks in part to an alternating quiet, loud, quiet song structure featuring layers of shimmering guitars, a throbbing bass line and propulsive, tribal-like drumming with a rousingly anthemic hook. 

Based on concept by Sarah Ver Hoeve and featuring her animation, the recently released video comes in advance of the band’s upcoming New Colossus Festival and SXSW showcases in March. And while being visually being reminiscent of Dire Straits’ “Money for Nothing,” the new video features humanoid figures floating about in space along with enormous spiders. Interestingly, at point the video feels like being caught in the middle of a terrible and nightmarish trip without anyone to help you come down. 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Last month, I wrote about the Norwegian guitar pop act I Was A King. Led by Frode Strømstad (vocals, guitar) and Anne Lise Frøkedal (vocals, guitar) and featuring bandmates Ole Reidar Gudmestad and Arne K Mathisen, the band formed in Egersund, a picturesque town located on the country’s windswept, Southwestern coast. The band’s Norman Blake-produced album Slow Century is slated for a March 8, 2018 release through Coastal Town Recordings, and the album, which was written, recorded and pressed to vinyl in their hometown thematically illustrates the tension between the lust for new adventures and the comfort of everyday, mundane, small-town life.

Now, as you may recall, Slow Century‘s first single, the easy-going, 70s AM rock meets 90s alt rock-like “Bubble,” a track centered around Strømstad’s and Frøkedal’s gorgeous and effortless harmonizing, jangling guitar chords and a soaring hook. “Hatchet,” Slow Century‘s high-energy, second and latest single was one of the first songs written for the album, and the track which is centered around layers of jangling and distortion pedal-fed guitars, an anthemic hook and the effortlessly intertwined harmonizing between Strømstad and Frøkedal, along with a buoyant guitar solo contributed by Half Japanese‘s  Jad Fair played on his rubber band guitar. While sounding as though it were indebted to classic 120 Minutes-era alt rock, the track feels like its a perfect addition to a road trip playlist.

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Last year was a breakthrough year for the rather mysterious, up-and-coming Montreal, Quebec, Canada-based psych rock act Venus Furs as they opened for JOVM mainstays The Horrors, The Twilight Sad and Michael Rault. Building upon a rapidly growing profile, the Canadian psych rock act plan to tour during the spring, which they’ll follow up with a full-length album slated for release sometime during the later half of this year; but before all of that, the band released the second single from their forthcoming album, the jangling, and anthemic “Chaos and Confusion.” And while the band says its inspired by Cat Power, The Brian Jonestown Massacre and TV on the Radio, the song to my ears sounds much older, as though it were simultaneously influenced by jangling 120 Minutes New Zealand art rock,  guitar pop, 80s post punk 60s psychedelia, complete with a rousingly anthemic hook, layers of lush guitars and a propulsive rhythm section — with the end result being a brooding and wistful air.