Tag: El Paso TX

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Blushing Shares Playful and Anthemic “Tamagotchi”

Austin-based dream pop/shoegazer outfit and JOVM mainstays Blushing — married couples Christina Carmona (vocals, bass) and Noe Carmona (guitar, keys) and Michelle Soto (guitar, vocals) and Jacob Soto (drums) — can actually trace some of its roots to El Paso, where Jacob Soto and Noe Carrmona grew up as lifelong friends and musical partners. 

Jacob Soto and Noe Carmona relocated to Austin around 2009. The pair coincidentally met their spouses at The Side Bar and according to the band, “naturally all four of us became close friends.” As Michelle Soto was starting to learn guitar, she also began writing material, creating guitar parts and vocal melodies in her bedroom. Christina Carmona, who’s a classically-trained vocalist, was recruited by Michelle Soto to contribute vocals to her initial musical ideas; but Christina then taught herself bass and helped flesh out Michelle’s songs. Shortly after both Jacob and Noe began to notice how much potential the material had, and they joined in on a practice session to help further flesh out those initial arrangements. And from that point on, Blushing was a full-fledged band. Their natural simpatico and like-minded musical influences helped to solidify their ongoing creative process. 

The quartet spent the bulk of 2016 writing and refining the material, which eventually led to their debut EP, 2017’s Tether, an effort that received positive reviews across the blogosphere, including this site.

Building upon a growing profile in the shoegaze and dream pop scenes, the band returned to the studio to write and record their sophomore EP, 2018’s Weak, which saw them cementing a sound seemingly indebted to Lush, Cocteau Twins and The Sundays but while also being a subtle refinement. They ended that year with the Elliot Frazier-produced and mixed “The Truth”/”Sunshine” 7 inch, which featured what was arguably the most muscular and direct song of their catalog to date. They supported their recorded output with several tours that saw them sharing stages with the likes of Snail Mail, Sunflower Bean, La Luz, BRONCHO, Illuminati Hotties, JOVM mainstays Yumi Zouma and others.

2019 saw the release of their self-titled, full-length debut, which they supported with an extensive US tour with Ringo Deathstarr that included a stop at Saint Vitus Bar that November.

During the pandemic, the Austin-based JOVM mainstays signed to Kanine Records, who released their sophomore album, 2022’s Possessions.  Possessions was an album born out of incredible patience and perseverance: The earliest tracking sessions started in 2019 and continued in fits and starts through the quarantines, lockdowns and re-openings of the pandemic. There was also breaks in production: Frazier and his spouse welcomed their second child and that was followed by massive blackouts across Texas as a result of the winter storm that wrecked havoc across the region.

When the album was finally finished, the material saw the band embracing the full and complicated spectrum of life and relationships, but while recognizing the need for escape and whimsy. The album also saw the band collaborating with two legendary shoegazers — Lush and Piroshka‘s Miki Berenyi, who contributes vocals on “Blame” and RIDE‘s Mark Gardener, who mastered the album at his OX4 Sound in the UK. 

Immediately after the band wrapped the Possessions recording sessions, they began writing new material. Noe or Christina would upload a new song idea to a Google Drive almost daily, and within the hour, Michelle would have melody and lyrics fully formed. The band didn’t want to create an album, where each song was made to fit into the same aesthetic mold. Instead, they decided to run with each each, no matter which direction it went, resulting in material that feels a bit like a sampler of the quartet’s collective influences — and much like a band playfully expanding and experimenting with their sound.

While there are tracks that will be immediately recognized as being Blushing songs, the band’s third album Sugarcoat reportedly sees the band taking the opportunity to explore their love of post-punk, psych-gaze, grunge pop, indie pop, slowcore and more. Thematically and lyrically, the album asks many questions and sees its narrators reaching out to someone to provide answers or for the answers to come from within. Much of the questioning is informed by the constant uncertainty of our world and the inherent uncertainty of one’s life. Of course, one gets older. But with the accumulation of mistakes and wisdom, there are moments where you’re forced to confront yourself and question past decisions and actions. And you do so in the face of an unknowable, even more uncertain and uneasy future.

Sugarcoat‘s first single “Tamagotchi” is a decidedly playful, Blushing-like song that’s lovingly indebted to 120 Minutes-era MTV rock featuring fuzzy and crunchy guitars, Christina Carmona’s and Michelle Soto’s ethereal harmonies, thunderous drumming and an enormous chorus. The song’s narrator tells a tale of being indecisive with a matter of the heart and desiring to be playable character that has the big decisions made for you. Would you still feel heartache and regret, if someone else were pushing the buttons?

Directed by the band, the accompanying video for “Tamagotchi” follows the band as they’re about to hit the stage. In the adrenaline-fueled chaos to start the show, a tamagotchi manages to escape from its game-based confines as a result of a spilled drink on stage, and begins to interact with the outside world, at one point becoming both the band’s 2D mascot and a third guitarist. I hope Gizmo the dog isn’t too jealous! Seriously though, the video is an adorable and playful complement to the song.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstays Blushing Return with Brooding “The Fires”

Featuring two married couples — Christina Carmona (vocals, bass) and Noe Carmona (guitar, keys) and Michelle Soto (guitar, vocals) and Jacob Soto (drums), the  Austin-based dream pop/shoegazer outfit and JOVM mainstays Blushing can actually trace its roots back to El Paso, where Jacob Soto and Noe Carrmona grew up as lifelong friends and musical partners. 

Jacob Soto and Noe Carmona relocated to Austin around 2009. Coincidentally, they both met their wives at The Side Bar and according to the band, “naturally all four of us became close friends.” As Michelle Soto was learning guitar, she also began writing material, creating guitar parts and vocal melodies in her bedroom. Christina Carmona, who is a classically trained vocalist, was recruited by Michelle Soto to contribute vocals; but Christina then taught herself bass and helped flesh out Michelle’s songs. Shortly after, Jacob and Noe began to notice how much potential the material had, and they joined in on a practice session to help further flesh out their arrangements. And from that point on, Blushing was a full-fledged band. Their natural simpatico and like-minded musical influences helped to solidify their ongoing creative process. 

The members of the Austin-based shoegazer outfit spent the bulk of 2016 writing and refining material, which eventually led to their debut EP, 2017’s Tether. Tether was released to positive reviews across the blogosphere, including this site.

Building upon a growing profile in the shoegaze and dream pop scenes, the members of Blushing returned to the studio to write and record their sophomore EP, 2018’s Weak, an effort that saw them cementing a sound indebted to Lush, Cocteau Twins and The Sundays but while also being a subtle refinement. They ended that year with the Elliot Frazier-produced and mixed “The Truth”/”Sunshine” 7 inch, which featured what may arguably be the most muscular and direct song of their catalog to date. The Austin-based shoegazers supported their recorded output with several tours, sharing stages with Snail Mail, Sunflower Bean, La Luz, BRONCHO, Illuminati Hotties, JOVM mainstays Yumi Zouma and others.

2019 saw the release of their self-titled, full-length debut, which they supported with an extensive US tour with Ringo Deathstarr that included a stop at Saint Vitus Bar that November. Although touring was on an indefinite hiatus until the middle of last year, the Austin JOVM mainstays have been busy: they signed to Kanine Records, who will be releasing their highly anticipated Elliot Frazier-produced, sophomore album Possessions. 

Slated for a February 18, 2022 release, Possessions is an album born out of incredible patience and perseverance: The earliest tracking sessions started in 2019 and continued in fits and starts through the quarantines, lockdowns and re-openings of the COVID-19 pandemic. There was a break in production while Frazier welcomed his second child, and that was followed by the massive blackouts across Texas as a result of last February’s winter storm that wrecked havoc across the region.

When it was finally finished, the album revealed itself as being heavier at points and at other points much lighter. Thematically and lyrically, the album reportedly sees the band embracing the full and complicated spectrum of life and relationships but while recognizing the need for escape and whimsy. The album also sees the band collaborating with two shoegazer legends — Lush and Piroshka‘s Miki Berenyi, who contributes vocals on “Blame” and RIDE‘s Mark Gardener, who mastered the album at his OX4 Sound in the UK.

In the lead up to the album’s release next month, I’ve written about two of the album’s singles:

  • “Blame,” which fittingly features Miki Berenyi is a lush, densely layered song featuring glistening and reverb drenched guitars, an enormous hook and some eerily spectral harmonies and counter melodies between Christina Carmona, Michelle Soto and Berenyi. But just under the shimmering surface is a subtle sense of menace, expressed by the refrain “Stick around and find out . . . “
  • “Sour Punch,” a woozy and seamless synthesis of 90s indie pop and grunge centered around reverb-drenched guitars, crunchy power chords, propulsive drumming and hazy yet ethereal vocals. But underneath the shimmering melody and power chords, “Sour Punch” as the band explains explores inequality and striving for independence in a relationship. You can feel the song’s narrator bristling from being hemmed in while desiring some space to herself, to be herself. 

Possessions‘ third and final single “The Fires” may arguably be the darkest and most brooding track on the album. Featuring Michelle Soto’s chiming reverb-drenched guitars and a motorik groove built around Christina Carmona’s propulsive bass line and Jacob Soto’s metronomic four on the floor, “Fires” sees the JOVM mainstays pushing their sound into post-punk, goth and even coldwave territory while retaining their unerring knack for rousing hooks and ethereal harmonies.

The recently released video for “The Fires” also serves as a counterpoint to its brightly colored counterpart “Sour Punch” with the video featuring the band’s co-vocalists and the rest of the band in a brooding monochromatic color schemes.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstays Blushing Release a “120 Minutes” era MTV-like Visual for Woozy New Single “Sour Punch”

Over the past couple of years, I’ve managed to spill a copious amount of virtual ink cover the Austin-based dream pop/shoegazer outfit and JOVM mainstays Blushing. Featuring two married couples — Christina Carmona (vocals, bass) and Noe Carmona (guitar, keys) and Michelle Soto (guitar, vocals) and Jacob Soto (drums), the JOVM mainstays can trace its roots back to El Paso, where Jacob Soto and Noe Carrmona grew up as lifelong friends and musical partners. 

Jacob Soto and Noe Carmona relocated to Austin around 2009. Coincidentally, they both met their wives at The Side Bar and according to the band, “naturally all four of us became close friends.” As Michelle Soto was learning guitar, she also began writing material, creating guitar parts and vocal melodies in her bedroom. Christina Carmona, who is a classically trained vocalist, was recruited by Michelle Soto to contribute vocals; but Christina then taught herself bass and helped flesh out Michelle’s songs. Shortly after, Jacob and Noe began to notice how much potential the material had, and they joined in on a practice session to help further flesh out their arrangements. And from that point on, Blushing was a full-fledged band. Their natural simpatico and like-minded musical influences helped to solidify their ongoing creative process. 

The members of the Austin-based shoegazer outfit spent the bulk of 2016 writing and refining material, which eventually led to their debut EP, 2017’s Tether, which was released to positive reviews across the blogosphere, including this site. Building upon a growing profile in the shoegaze and dream pop scenes, Blushing returned to the studio to write and recored their sophomore EP, 2018’s Weak, an effort that saw them firmly cementing a sound indebted to Lush, Cocteau Twins and The Sundays but while also being a subtle (and gentle) refinement. They ended that year with the Elliot Frazier-produced and mixed “The Truth”/”Sunshine” 7 inch, which featured what may arguably be the most muscular and direct song of their catalog to date. They also managed to spend the year touring to support their recored output, sharing stages with Snail Mail, Sunflower Bean, La Luz, BRONCHO, Illuminati Hotties, JOVM mainstays Yumi Zouma and others.

2019 saw the release of their self-titled, full-length debut, which they supported with an extensive US tour with Ringo Deathstarr that included a stop at Saint Vitus Bar that November. Although touring was on an indefinite hiatus until recently, the Austin JOVM mainstays have been busy: they signed to Kanine Records, who will be releasing their highly anticipated Elliot Frazier-produced, sophomore album Possessions. 

Slated for a February 18, 2022 release, Possessions is an album born out of incredible patience and perseverance: The earliest tracking sessions started in 2019 and continued in fits and starts through the quarantines, lockdowns and re-openings of the COVID-19 pandemic. There was a break in production while Frazier welcomed his second child, and that was followed by the massive blackouts across Texas resulting from the February 2021 winter storm across the region. Interestingly, when the album was finally finished, what revealed itself was an album that reportedly is at points heavier and at other points lighter. Thematically and lyrically, the album sees the band embracing the full and complicated spectrum of life and relationship but while recognizing the need for escape and whimsy. 

The album also sees the band collaborating with two shoegazer legends — Lush and Piroshka‘s Miki Berenyi, who contributes vocals on an album track and RIDE‘s Mark Gardener, who mastered the album at his OX4 Sound in the UK. Fittingly, Possessions‘ first single “Blame” featured the aforementioned Berenyi. The collaboration can trace its origins back to when Blushing covered “Out of Control” for a Lush tribute album in 2018. The cover caught the attention of Berernyi, who tweeted her appreciation — and a friendship began.

As the band continued to track material for Possessions, the JOVM mainstays approached Berenyi about the possibility of her working on a song, and they were thrilled to find that she shared their excitement about working together. The band then sent Berenyi the track and lyrics digitally with the request that she add any vocals she’d like. The end result was a lush, densely layered song featuring glistening and reverb drenched guitars, an enormous hook and some eerily spectral harmonies and counter melodies between Christina Carmona, Michelle Soto and Berenyi. But just under the shimmering surface is a subtle sense of menace, expressed by the refrain “Stick around and find out . . . “

Possessions‘ second and latest single, the woozy “Sour Punch” is a seamless synthesis of 90s indie pop and grunge centered around reverb-drenched guitars, crunchy power chords, propulsive drumming and hazy yet ethereal vocals. But underneath the shimmering melody and power chords,
“Sour Punch” as the band explains explores inequality and striving for independence in a relationship. You can feel the song’s narrator bristling from being hemmed in while desiring some space to herself, to be herself.

The recently recently DIY video sees the band paying a loving homage to the fun, strange and decidedly low-budget videos that they grew up watching during MTV‘s heyday. Within the world of the video almost anything can happen — from a neon colored, cartoon world being just outside of one of your window, to a enormous pug sitting outside another. And it includes the band performing in a mirror ball-like room. Sure, the budget may have been low but the video explodes with a playful creativity and ingenuity.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstays Blushing Team Up with Miki Berenyi on the Gorgeous and Anthemic “Blame”

Over the past couple of years of this site’s 11-plus history, I’ve managed to spill a copious amount of virtual ink cover the Austin-based dream pop/shoegazer outfit and JOVM mainstays Blushing. Featuring two married couples — Christina Carmona (vocals, bass) and Noe Carmona (guitar, keys) and Michelle Soto (guitar, vocals) and Jacob Soto (drums), the JOVM mainstays can trace its roots back to El Paso, where Jacob Soto and Noe Carrmona grew up as lifelong friends and musical partners.

Jacob Soto and Noe Carmona relocated to Austin around 2009. Coincidentally, they both met their wives at The Side Bar and according to the band, “naturally all four of us became close friends.” As Michelle Soto was learning guitar, she also began writing material, creating guitar parts and vocal melodies in her bedroom. Christina Carmona, who is a classically trained vocalist, was recruited by Michelle Soto to contribute vocals; but Christina then taught herself bass and helped flesh out Michelle’s songs. Shortly after, Jacob and Noe began to notice how much potential the material had, and they joined in on a practice session to help further flesh out their arrangements. And from that point on, Blushing was a full-fledged band. Their natural simpatico and like-minded musical influences helped to solidify their ongoing creative process.

The members of the Austin-based shoegazer outfit spent the bulk of 2016 writing and refining material, which eventually led to their debut EP, 2017’s Tether, which was released to positive reviews across the blogosphere, including this site. Building upon a growing profile in the shoegaze and dream pop scenes, Blushing returned to the studio to write and recored their sophomore EP, 2018’s Weak, an effort that saw them firmly cementing a sound seemingly indebted to Lush, Cocteau Twins and The Sundays but while being a subtle (and gentle) refinement. They needed that year with the Elliot Frazier-produced and mixed “The Truth”/”Sunshine” 7 inch, which featured what may arguably be the most muscular and direct song of their catalog to date. They also managed to spend the year touring to support their recored output, sharing stages with Snail Mail, Sunflower Bean, La Luz, BRONCHO, Illuminati Hotties, JOVM mainstays Yumi Zouma and others.

2019 saw the release of their self-titled, full-length debut, which they supported with an extensive US tour with Ringo Deathstarr that included a stop at Saint Vitus Bar that November. Although touring was on an indefinite hiatus until recently, the Austin JOVM mainstays have been busy: they signed to Kanine Records, who will be releasing their highly anticipated Elliot Frazier-produced, sophomore album Possessions.

Slated for a February 18, 2022 release, Possessions is an album born out of incredible patience and perseverance: The earliest tracking sessions started in 2019 and continued in fits and starts through the quarantines, lockdowns and re-openings of the COVID-19 pandemic. There was a break in production while Frazier welcomed his second child, and that was followed by the massive blackouts across Texas resulting from the February 2021 winter storm across the region. Interestingly, when the album was finally finished, what revealed itself was an album that reportedly is at points heavier and at other points lighter. Thematically and lyrically, the album sees the band embracing the full and complicated spectrum of life and relationship but while recognizing the need for escape and whimsy.

The album also sees the band collaborating with two shoegazer legends — Lush and Piroshka‘s Miki Berenyi, who contributes vocals on an album track and RIDE‘s Mark Gardener, who mastered the album at his OX4 Sound in the UK. Fittingly, Possessions‘ first single “Blame” features the aforementioned Berenyi. The collaboration can trace its origins back to when Blushing covered “Out of Control” for a Lush tribute album in 2018. The cover caught the attention of Berernyi, who tweeted her appreciation — and a friendship began.

As the band continued to track material for Possessions, the JOVM mainstays approached Berenyi about the possibility of her working on a song, and they were thrilled to find that she shared their excitement about working together. The band then sent Berenyi the track and lyrics digitally with the request that she add any vocals she’d like. The end result is a lush, densely layerred song featuring glistening and reverb drenched guitars, an enormous hook and some eerily spectral harmonies and counter melodies between Christina Carmona, Michelle Soto and Berenyi. But just under the shimmering surface is a subtle sense of menace, expressed by the refrain “Stick around and find out . . . “

The recently released video for “Blame” is a trippy and whimsical mind-fuck of a visual that follows a couple experiencing three completely different sets of reality simultaneously. We start off with a couple having a quiet and boring night at home: glasses of wine, dinner and Netflix before bed. They may care about each other, but they’re also hopelessly bored and hemmed in by their lives. We also see the couple, presumably single or having an open relationship at a rave. The woman smokes and flirts shamelessly with a fantasy man, from a romance novel. The man loses himself in music. What’s real? That’s up to you. Maybe both are. But at its core the video points out that relationships can be hard, amazing and dull simultaneously.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

El Paso, TX-based shoegazers EEP  — Rosie Varela (guitar, synth, bass), Brainville Studios‘ owner Ross Ingram (guitar, production), Sebastian Estrada (bass, synth), Serge Carrasco (guitar), and Lawrence Brown III (drums and percussion) — can trace their origins back to 2019 when founding member Rosie Varela approached Ross Ingram for his help to record a song she had just written at the time, titled “Hogar.” Varela then invited a collection of local music scene friends to help flesh out the song. What initially started out as a one-off song, quickly morphed into EEP, and their full-length debut, Death of a Very Good Machine.

Inspired by dream pop, shoegaze, the blues, jazz, classic rock and 60s psychedelia, the El Paso-based shoegazer outfit have managed to do things in a proudly DIY fashion: Death of a Very Good Machine was produced, engineered and mixed by the band’s Ingram with assistance from Estrada and Varela. Adding to the we’re-all-in-it-together ethos, each of the band’s five members contributed both backing and lead vocals to the album’s material.

The members of EEP managed to maintain the momentum of last year’s debut — despite the chaos and uncertainty of the pandemic. Written during pandemic-related lockdowns and quarantines, the El Paso-based quintet’s forthcoming sophomore effort Winter Skin reportedly finds the band expanding upon and deepening their exploratory take on shoegaze and dream pop.

A key component of the band’s evolution is the fact that there are no set roles within the band. While each of the individual members may have their main instrument, they’re all open to swapping out a guitar for a synth or helping with lyrics as needed. “None of the roles are rigid,” EEP’s Ingram says. “Which is part of what makes it exciting and fun, and part of why ended up with a record that’s got a lot of depth and variety to it, while still having a coherent sound.”

Winter Skin‘s first single “A Message to You” sees the band creating a song that sonically — to my ears, at least — is a synthesis of RIDE, Slowdive, and My Bloody Valentine-like shoegaze textures and early 90s grunge centered around the band’s unerring knack for crafting enormous, power chord-driven, arena rock friendly hooks paired with call and response-like vocals. Underneath the towering power chords, thunderous power chords and thunderous drumming is an earnest and empathetic plea to the heartbroken that simply says “I get it and I get you. It’s okay to be not okay.”

Winter Skin is slated for a November 5, 2021 release.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Lyric Video: El Paso’s EEP Releases a Defiant and Brash Take on Shoegaze

EEP is an emerging El Paso, TX-based, multi-generational shoegazer act featuring 52 year-old Rosie Varela (guitar, synth, bass), 38 year-old Brainville Studios’ owner Ross Ingram (guitar, production), 30 year-old Sebastian Estrada (bass, synth), 27 year-old Serge Carrasco (guitar) and 28 year-old Lawrence Brown III (drums and percussion). The act, which formed last year can trace its origins to when Varela approached Ingram and asked him if he would help her record a song she had written “Hogar.” Eventually, Varela invited some other local musician friends to join in and what initially started out as a one-off song morphed into EEP’s full-length debut Death of a Very Good Machine slated for a July 24, 2020 release. 

Inspired by dream pop, shoegaze, the blues, jazz, classic rock and 60s psychedelia, the El Paso-based quintet have ascribed to doing things in a decided DIY fashion: their debut effort was produced, engineered and mixed by the band’s Ingram with assistance from Estrada and Varela. Adding to the we’re-all-in-it-together vibes, each of the band’s five members contribute vocals. 

Death of a Very Good Machine’s latest single “Outlast You” continues a run of attention grabbing singles that recall 120 Minutes era MTV shoegaze — i.e., Slowdive, RIDE, Lush, and Swervedriver, as well as contemporaries like JOVM mainstays Blushing and others. And while centered around a wall of sound-like production featuring layers upon layers of shimmering, pedal effected guitars, thunderous drumming and a soaring hook, the song possesses the self-assured and defiant air of someone, who’s been told no and will continue onward anyway. Interestingly, “Outlast You,” as the band explains in an email was inspired by a conversation in which Rosie Varela was told that maybe at 52, she was too old to start a rock band. “Outlast You” was her response to that conversation. 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Estereomance Releases a Lush and Contemplative Visual for “Crimson Queen”

Formed last year, the El Paso, TX/Ciudad Juarez, Mexico borderplex trio Estereomance, featuring Adria, Paulina and Manu can trace their origins to several years earlier — to mutual friendships and a serendipitous meeting. In 2017 Adria had a family member, who at the time was battling cancer. Adria and her family hosted a benefit event for that family member — and as it turns out, Manu also attended that same benefit.

Knowing that Adria was going through a difficult time, Manu invited her to hike through the Franklin Mountains during New Year’s 2017/2018. During that hiking trip, the pair got to know each other a bit better. After the Franklin Mountains hiking trip, Manu invited Adria into the studio to record a cover of Cultura Profectica‘s “De Antes” that would be dedicated to her family member. Sadly, that family member succumbed to the disease; but the pair began a musical collaboration that eventually lead to them falling in love. Coincidentally, Estereomance’s Paulina is a mutual friend of both Manu and Adria: Paulina and Adria have been friends for the better part of the past decade, while Manu and Paulina have collaborated on a number of projects, including acts that have been nominated for Latin Grammys  — and they’ve also been longtime friends.

Interestingly, when the trio got together to write material, they discovered that they ere all in a similar creative transitional phase, and that they had an immediate chemistry. Since then the band has developed a creative process that has been successful for them: Manu frequently composes beats while having coffee. Paulina then creates improvised ideas to compliment the beats and then Adria comes up with lyrics. Their creative process has largely been created by the bandmembers’ individual experiences and their desire to have their work centered around openness, fearlessness and following what they believe. (Adria is a classically trained violinist and actor, who has performed in orchestras and on stage in plays; Paulina is a vocalist who has performed with a number of different musical projects; and Manu is a bassist, sound engineer and producer, who has worked with an eclectic array of artists at Sonic Ranch Studios.

The trio’s latest single is the lush and slow-burning “Crimson Queen.” Featuring shimmering synth arpeggios, Adria’s achingly plaintive vocals, a two-step inducing rhythm and an enormous hook, “Crimson Queen” is late70s/early 80s inspired synth pop confection that sounds as though it could easily be part of the Stranger Things soundtrack while centered around an unfulfilled yearning.  “Through time, women’s worth has long been measured by physical beauty and more recently with rise of social media, quantified by the number of likes i response to it,” the band says in press notes. And as a result the song touches upon the increasing social pressure placed on both men and women to fit into a standardized concept of beauty and attractiveness, as well as vanity, obsession and insecurity.

Directed by Luisa Gonzalez, the recently released video for “Crimson Queen” is a lush, nouvelle vague and 70s inspired fever dream that emphasis the vanity, obsession and insecurity at the heart of the song by following three pageant contestants, whose every quality and imperfection are judged and critiqued. 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Although officially formed last year, the El Paso, TX/Ciudad Juarez, Mexico borderplex trio Estereomance, featuring Adria, Paulina and Manu can trace their origins to several years earlier — and to mutual friendships and a serendipitous meeting: Back in 2017, Adria had  family member, who at the time was battling cancer. Adria and her family hosted a benefit event for that family member — and as it turns out, Manu also attended the benefit. Knowing that Adria was going through a difficult time, Manu invited her to hike through the Franklin Mountains during New Year’s 2017/2018. During that hiking trip, the pair got to know each other a bit better.

After the Franklin Mountains hiking trip, Manu invited Adria into the studio to record a cover of Cultura Profectica‘s “De Antes” that would be dedicated to her family member. Sadly, that family member succumbed to the disease; but the pair began a musical collaboration that eventually lead to them falling in love. Coincidentally. Estereomance’s Paulina is a mutual friend of both Manu and Adria: Paulina and Adria have been friends for the better part of the past decade. Manu and Paulina have collaborated on a number of projects, including acts that have been nominated for Latin Grammys  — and they’ve also been longtime friends.

When the trio got together, they were all in a similar, creative transitional phase, and they noticed an immediate chemistry. Interestingly, the band has developed a creative process that has been successful for them so far: Manu frequently composes beats while having coffee. Paulina then creates improvised ideas to compliment the beats and then Adria comes up with lyrics. This has been largely been created by the bandmembers’ individual experiences and their desire to have their work centered around openness, fearlessness and following what they believe: Adria is a classically trained violinist and actor, who has played in orchestras and plays; Paulina is a vocalist, who has performed with a number of musical projects; and Manu is a bassist, sound engineer and producer, who has worked with an eclectic array of artists at Sonic Ranch Studios.

The trio’s latest single is the lush and slow-burning “Crimson Queen.” Centered around shimmering synth arpeggios, Adria’s achingly plaintive vocals, a two-step inducing rhythm and an enormous hook, “Crimson Queen” is late70s/early 80s inspired synth pop confection that sounds as though it could easily be part of the Stranger Things soundtrack while rooted around an unfulfilled yearning.  “Through time, women’s worth has long been measured by physical beauty and more recently with rise of social media, quantified by the number of likes i response to it,” the band says in press notes. And as a result the song touches upon the increasing social pressure placed on both men and women to fit into a standardized concept of beauty and attractiveness, as well as vanity, obsession and insecurity.

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Acclaimed Dream Pop Act Cigarettes After Sex Release a Hauntingly Spectral Single

Currently comprised of founding member and primary songwriter Greg Gonzalez (vocals, guitar) with Jacob Tomsky (drums) and Randy Miller (bass), the acclaimed Brooklyn-based dream pop act Cigarettes After Sex can trace their origins back to when Gonzalez formed the band in El Paso. TX back in 2008. Their debut EP, 2012’s I received some attention when “Nothing’s Gonna Hurt You Baby” became a sleeper hit of sorts, after it was licensed for use in commercials.

With the release of 2017’s self-titled debut, Cigarettes After Sex quickly became international sensations. Since its release the album as sold over 550,000 records to date, amassed over 360 million Spotify streams, 2.2 million monthly listeners and 350 million YouTube streams. They’ve been featured in a number of major media outlets including Vice Noisey, V Magazine, Interview, NPR’s Tiny Desk — and their music has appeared in The Handmaid’s Tale, Killing Eve and in a Ralph Lauren ad campaign. Additionally, Taylor Swift, Kylie Jenner, Lana Del Rey, Françoise Hardy, Lily Allen, Busy Phillips and a long list of others have claimed to be fans of the band’s work. 

During the week of their full-length debut’s release, the members of the Cigarettes After Sex traveled to Mallorca, Spain. And naturally, each of the band’s individual members consciously let the striking location guide what was to become the initial sessions for their forthcoming sophomore album Cry. “The sound of this record is completely tied to the location for me,” Greg Gonzalez explains in press notes. “Ultimately, I view this record as a film. It was shot in this stunning, exotic location, and it stitches all these different characters and scenes together, but in the end is really about romance, beauty and sexuality. It’s a very personal telling of what those things mean to me.” 

While the instrumentation came about quickly — often improvised on the spot — it would be another two years before Gonzalez would attempt to complete the material’s accompanying lyrics. Slated for an October 25, 2019 release through Partisan Records, Cigarettes After Sex’s highly-anticipated sophomore album is influenced by a new, burgeoning romantic relationship, the films of Eric Rohmer and the work of Selena and Shania Twain. Thematically, the material is a cinematic and brooding meditation on the many complex facets of love — meeting, wanting, needing and losing .  . . sometimes simultaneously. But interestingly enough, Cry will find the band blending the carnal subtly of its predecessor with a warmer sonic palette. 

Cry’s first single is the spectral yet lush “Heavenly.” Centered around Gonzalez’s achingly tender and vulnerable falsetto, hushed and shuffling drumming, shimmering guitar, a sinuous bass line and a soaring hook, the song sonically reminds me a bit of Mazzy Star’s smash hit “Fade Into You.” And much like  “Fade Into You,” “Heavenly” is a feverish, narcoleptic dream that expresses a wild, desperate, swooning longing — the sort that mixes devotion, obsession, love and lust into a confusing and wonderful blur.  Of course, the song finds the band managing to craft material that’s as intimate as whispered, sweet  nothings to a lover while possessing a cinematic (and larger than life) quality.  As the band’s Greg Gonzalez explains, the song was “inspired by the overwhelming beauty I felt watching an endless sunset on a secluded beach in Latvia one summer night…”