Tag: 120 Minutes

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Nimal Agalwatte, Chrissy Hurn, and Brandon Munroe, Hamilton, Ontario-based indie rock trio Basement Revolver can trace its origins to when childhood friends Agwalwatte and Hurn were eight  or so — and as Hurn admitted to me via email we “even dated for a brief two months in High School.” Agalwatte and Munroe met while studying music in college, and the recently formed trio quickly started writing songs and working on a debut EP, which is currently slated for a July release. “Johnny,” the trio’s debut single is a shimmering and introspective bit of shoegaze with swirling  guitar chords and dramatic drumming that Hurn describes as ” . . my attempt to rationalize difficulties with my past partner and all the heartache and angst that comes from having a really bad time.” And as a result, the song possesses a plaintive ache and lingering ambivalence towards both the relationship and the person that should feel familiar to anyone who’s suffered through a difficult breakup.

Sonically speaking, the song is reminiscent of 120 Minutes MTV-era alternative rock — in particular, I’m reminded of The Cranberries‘ “Linger,” Mazzy Star and others as it possesses a similar wistfulness and heartache.

 

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Leslie Sisson (vocals, guitar), best known as a member of The Wooden Birds, Matt Pond PA, Western Keys, Black Lipstick, Black Forest Fire, Tanworth-in-Arden, and Aero Wave, collaborations with The American Analog Set, Windsor for the Derby, Rhythm of Black Lines, RIDE‘s Mark Gardener, Dan Mangan, John Wesley Coleman, Snowden, and Broken Social Scene, as well as a solo artist; Rozie Castoe (bass); and Karen Skloss (drums), a member of Black Forest Fire,  the Austin, TX-based dream pop trio Moving Panoramas can trace their origins to when Sisson had returned to home to Texas to be closer to the members of her previous full-time band The Wooden Birds and her family. Sisson took on a job teaching music at School of Rock where she met Castoe, who was in an ’80s show that Sisson directed. And while this was going on Sisson was subbing on bass in Black Forest Fire with Skloss, who was a longtime friend and former graduate film school student. When each individual member’s various projects broke up, the trio of Sisson, Castoe and Skloss decided to form a band together, based on their mutual love of shoegaze.

The trio has been praised by the likes of NPR, Tom Tom Magazine, Austin Chronicle and others, and as a result they’ve seen a rapidly growing local and national profile for their full-length album One, which possesses a sound that’s indebted to 4AD Records, 90s alt rock and classic shoegaze; in fact, the album’s first single and album title track “One” sounds as though it could have been recording and released in the 80s as the band pairs shimmering guitar chords, a tight groove, propulsive drumming and anthemic hooks with gorgeous harmonies with Sisson’s gorgeous crooning. To my ears the song reminds me quite a bit of The Sundays, The Go-Gos and even contemporary acts like Seapony. The album’s second single “Radar” is a shimmering and slow-burning ballad that employs the use of a gorgeous harmony, and sonically speaking the song sounds as though it draws from 120 Minutes MTV-era alt rock but with a subtly modern sheen. In some way, both songs evoke road trips — the sense of endless possibility and adventure; the regrets and mistakes you’re leaving behind; and the road and horizon rushing past your window . . .

Moving Panoramas will be on a rather extensive tour throughout the Spring which includes several SXSW sets and two NYC area dates. Check out tour dates below.

SXSW SHOWS:
March 13th @ Spider House (Main Patio Stage) – 2908 Fruth St at 9PM
March 13th @ The Volstead – 1500 E 6th St at 1AM
March 14th @ Boat Show on Lady Bird Lake – 208 Barton Springs Rd – 3:30PM
March 15th @  The Sidewinder (Inside Stage) – 715 Red River at 12AM
March 16th @ Hotel Vegas (Patio Stage) – 1500 E 6th St at 2PM
March 16th @ Scratch House (Backyard Stage) – 617 E 7th St at 11PM
March 17th @ El Sapo Cantina – 1900 Manor Rd at 3PM
March 18th @ Maggie Mae’s – 323 E 6th St at 12:45PM
March 18th @ Guacamole Showdown – COLLiDE on Rainey at 3PM
March 18th @ Hotel Vegas Annex – 1504 E 6th St at 6:30PM
March 19th @ Street Legal Guitars (Storefront Stage) – 2200 E 7th St at 3 PM
March 19th @ TOMS Austin – 1401 South Congress at 5PM

Tour Dates:

03/23 – Dallas, TX – Crown & Harp
03/24 – Tulsa, OK – The Vanguard
03/25 – Springfield, MO – Outlands
03/26 – Kansas City, MO – Replay Lounge
03/27 – Lincoln, NB – Duffy’s
03/28 – Rock Island, IL – Rozz-Tox
03/29 – Madison, WI – Mickey’s
03/30 – Chicago, IL – Tonic Room
03/31 – Milwaukee, WI – Cactus Club
04/01 – Fort Wayne, IN – The Tiger Room
04/02 – Grand Rapids, MI – Pyramid Scheme
04/04 – Toronto, ON – Silver Dollar
04/05 – Montreal, QC – L’Escogriffe
04/06 – Boston, MA – O’Brien’s Pub
04/07 – New York, NY – Pianos
04/08 – Brooklyn, NY – Union Hall
04/09 – Asbury Park, NJ – The Saint
04/10 – Richmond, VA – Strange Matter
04/11 – Asheville, NC – The Mothlight
04/13 – Athens, GA – Georgia Theatre Roof
04/14 – Atlanta, GA – 529
04/15 – Nashville, TN – TBA
04/21 – Austin, TX – The Scoot Inn – w/ Brass Bed
05/13 – Austin, TX – Barracuda
05/14 – Marfa, TX – Lost Horse
05/15 – Phoenix, AZ – Rhythm Room
05/16 – Los Angeles, CA – TBA
05/18 – San Francisco, CA – DNA Lounge
05/20 – Portland, OR – Kelly’s Olympian
05/21 – Seattle, WA – The Black Lodge
05/22 – Missoula, MO – TBA
05/24 – Denver, CO – Bluebird Theater *
05/25 – Kansas City, MO – Crossroads *
05/28 – Dallas, TX – Granada Theater *
05/29 – Houston, TX – White Oak Music Hall **

* w/ Nada Surf
** w/ Nada Surf, Flaming Lips, Roky Erickson, Lucero, Title Fight, Diiv

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The 120 Minutes Channeling Visuals for Dunes’ “Runner”

  Comprised of Stephanie Chan (vocals, guitar), a former member of Finally Punk and The Carrots; Kate Hall (drums), formerly of Mika Miko; Mark Greshowak (guitar, synths), formerly of Talbot Tagora; and Dave Reichardt (guitar, bass, synths), Los Angeles, CA-based post-punk quartet Dunes features […]

New Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: 120 Minutes Channeling Visuals and Sounds of Candace’s “New Future”

Comprised of Sarah Rose (guitar, bass and vocals), Sarah Nienaber (guitar, bass and vocals) and Mara Appel DesLauriers (drums and vocals), the Portland, OR-based indie rock/shoegaze/dream pop trio Candace can trace their origins to the […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Trippy and Psychedelic Visuals for My Cruel Goro’s “Lost E”

  Last month, I wrote about Italian-Icelandic alt rock/shoegazer trio, My Cruel Goro. Comprised of Andrea Marashi (vocals, guitar and programming), Andrea Marcellini (bass) and Tommaso Adanti (drums) the trio has received international attention for a sound that possesses […]

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The 120-Minutes Channeling Sounds and Visuals of Ulrika Spacek

  Last November, I wrote about indie rock project Ulrika Spacek. Comprised of long-time friends Rhys Edwards and Rhys Williams, the duo conceptualized the project during a single night in Berlin based around their mutual influences —Television, Pavement, Sonic […]

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: halfsour’s 120 Minutes-Channeling Visuals for “ik”

Initially, the Boston, MA-based indie rock trio halfsour began as a Guided By Voices cover band before they started writing their own original material. And as you’ll hear on “ik,” the latest single (and video) […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Austin Knecht, Tamara Simons, Crystal Napoles, Kai Dodson and Joey Felkins, the up-and-coming Ventura, CA-based dream pop quintet Curtsy have started to receive attention across the blogosphere with the release of “One Less Thing,” a shimmering bit of guitar-led pop  that pairs a driving rhythm with anthemic hooks and gorgeous, ethereal harmonies that manages to sound as though it draws from classic shoegaze and 120 Minutes-era alt rock. Sure, their sound is warmly familiar to my ears, and it will be familiar to anyone who grew up in the 80s and 90s — but they manage a heart wrenching sincerity that will likely bring back memories when we are all a bit more idealistic and a lot less cynical.

 

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Christine Spilka is a Princeton, NJ-based singer/songwriter, who has received attention both locally and nationally with her solo recording Bay Kee. “Red Rover,” the latest single off her soon-to-be released effort, Wild Wonder is a 120 Minutes-era shimmering guitar pop/alt rock song that sounds as though it draws influence from The Breeders, Veruca Salt, Liz Phair, and others, as the song possess a gorgeous, almost old-timey melody which gives the a song a wistful, end of summer/end of innocence vibe. And interestingly enough, it fits the sentiment that comes up with the passing of yet another year . . .

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Playful Yet Brooding Visuals for DOCKS’ “Where’s My Mind”

Comprised of Ranier (guitar and vocals), Joe (drums). Jamie (guitar) and Ryan (bass), the indie rock quartet DOCKS initially formed in San Jose, CA and relocated to Portland, OR. Over the past year, the quartet […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Echo Courts is a Greensboro, NC-based quartet, who specialize in a jangling guitar-based psych pop that sonically seems as though it owed a great debt to the sounds of the 60s and 80s while subtly nodding at New Wave as you’ll hear on “Fairview Place,” the anthemic hook-laden new single off the band’s forthcoming No Damage EP, which is slated for a January 18 release through Already Dead Tapes and Records. It’s a warmly familiar sound that will likely remind many of 120 Minutes-era MTV.

You can catch the North Carolina-based quartet on tour throughout the Southeast to start 2016. Check out tour dates below.

Tour Dates

 

1/2/2016 – Charlotte, NC – Snug Harbor
1/3/2016 – Atlanta, GA – Mammal Gallery
1/4/2016 – Birmingham, AL – Trim Tab Brewery
1/5/2016 – Jackson, MS – Big Sleepy’s
1/62016 – New Orleans, LA – Gasa Gasa
1/7/2016 – Tallahassee, FL – Midtown Speakeasy
1/8/2016 – Savannah, GA – The Sentient Bean
1/9/2016 – Charleston, SC – The Royal American

New Audio by William Ruben Helms

 

 

The up-and-coming Winnipeg, MB-based quartet Living Hour can trace their origins to basement jam sessions, writing dreamy songs inspired by the cinematic sky of their hometown. And as a result their sound, which possesses elements of shimmering guitar pop, swirling synths and ethereal vocals draws equally from classic shoegaze, dream pop and chillwave is both stunningly gorgeous and dramatic, as you’ll hear on their  latest single “Seagull,” a single that sounds as though it could have been released during 120 Minutes-era MTV — in particular think of Mazzy Star‘s “Fade Into You” and you’ll see exactly what I’m getting at.  (In other words, it’s the sort of song that would have been the soundtrack of an intense and fervent make out session — or would have been the soundtrack of a teenaged breakup.)

It’s been a busy year or so for the Canadian quartet. They contributed two songs to Family Portrait II, a vinyl compilation released by the London/Bristol-based label Art is Hard Records back in April and released a limited run cassette tape of their self titled debut effort through Bloomington, IN-based Tree Machine Records. But 2016 looks to be a breakout year for the band as they signed with Lefse Records, and will be releasing their full-length debut on February 19, 2016, which will be followed by a tour to support the effort. Check out some of the early tour dates below.

 

TOUR DATES:


March 3    Winnipeg, MB    The Good Will Social Club
March 4    Fargo, ND    The Aquarium
March 6    Des Moines, IA    Des Moines Social Club
March 7    Rock Island, IL    Rozz Tox
March 9    St Louis, MO    Foam
March 11    Denver, CO    Lion’s Lair
March 13    Phoenix, AZ     Trunk Space
March 18    Santa Barbara    CA    FUNZONE
March 19    Fresno    CA    Peeves Pub
March 22    Santa Cruz    CA    Bocci’s Cellar
March 25    Davis    CA    Third Art Space Collective
March 29    Portland    OR    The Analog Cafe
March 31    Bellingham    WA    Loudhouse
April 2    Rossland    BC    The Flying Steamshovel
April 3    Kamloops    BC    Zacks Coffee
Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Hauntingly Gorgeous and Nostalgic Video for Line and Circle’s “Like A Statue”

If you’ve been frequenting JOVM over the past three or four months you may recall that I’ve written about the Los Angeles-based quintet Line and Circle. Comprised of Brian J. Cohen (vocals, rhythm guitar), Eric Neujahr (guitar), Jon Engelhard (bass […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Michael Lemmo (guitar and vocals), Benjamin Borland (bass) and Kenny Cash (drums), the Los Angeles, CA-based alternative rock/indie rock trio LEMMO specialize in radio-friendly and anthemic power chord rock as you’ll hear on their latests single “Alright,” which interestingly enough bears an uncanny resemblance to Lifehouse‘s “Hanging By A Moment” — but with a shimmering bridge that sounds indebted to The Smiths, giving the song enough of an indie rock edge to have been played on 120 Minutes.

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Comprised of a group of high school classmates and friends, the Hershey, PA-based quartet The Ocean Blue quickly rose to national prominence with the critically applauded release of their debut effort through Sire Records back in 1989 — and of course, that also meant major radio and MTV airplay. The quartet went on to release two more well-received records through Sire, Cerulean and Beneath the Rhythm and Sound and a fourth album See the Ocean Blue through Mercury/PolyGram before leaving the major label game in the late 90s, which arguably made them one of the earliest and better known acts to do so.

In the 2000s (and that phrase just looks and sounds utterly doesn’t strange doesn’t it?), the band released several independent releases including Davy Jones Locker and Waterworks before going on a lengthy hiatus, which ended with the 2013 release of Ultramarine through Korda Records, a Minneapolis-based (where the band  cooperative label that the band helped launch.

Recently, the band re-issued their first three Sire Records releases on vinyl — for the first time in over 20 years — and to celebrate the occasion the band played a small handful of special shows playing material from those albums live, to celebrate the occasion.  And from what I hear, the band is working on a full-length of new material, slated for release sometime next year.

But in the meantime, the band shared a lost and previously unreleased single from the Sire Records days, “City Traffic” which consists of shimmering guitar chords played through gentle layers of reverb, soaring organ chords, propulsive drumming and plaintive vocals in a song that sounds as though it possesses elements of The Smiths and 120 Minutes-era alternative rock thanks to its anthemic hooks.