Tag: electronic rock

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: CHALK Shares Surreal Visual for Bruising “Afraid”

Rising Belfast-based electronic outfit Chalk — Ross Cullen (vocals), Benedict Goddard (guitar, sampler) and Luke Niblock (drums) — features three award-winning musicians and filmmakers, who can trace the origins of the band to their meeting while attending film school. The trio bonded over having the same musical vision and ambitions. 

Inspired by the ferocity of Dublin‘s guitar band scene’s live shows and the sweaty hardcore dance scenes of their native Belfast, the band has developed and crafted a sound that has been dubbed by some critics as techno-infused, gothic post-punk — and as the band has dubbed Berghain-rock blended with techno punk. 

2023 saw the Northern Ireland-based post punk/electronic trio release their debut EP Conditions. But the band quickly made a name for themselves as a live unit: They exploded out of the gates with opening slots for London-based outfit PVA for their first ever shows, before selling out shows across the UK. Quickly building upon a growing profile across the region and elsewhere, the band landed sets across the European major festival circuit, closing out 2023 with a set at Rencontres Trans Musicales and a KEXP live session. 

Coming off the heels of their Northern Irish Music Prize 2023 Best Live Act win, the band has begun to make noise globally: Their Chris Ryan and Ross Cullen co-produced sophomore EP Conditions II was released last year. The EP featured singles

“The Gate” and “Claw,” which received praise from The Independent, NME, DIY, Dork, Rolling Stone UK, So Young, The New Cue, Rough Trade, Consequence and others while landing on a BBC 6 Music playlist with tracks from PJ Harvey, IDLES, Sampha, Yard Act and more. And if you were following this site last year, you might recall that I wrote about “Bliss,” a track that featured angular and reverb-drenched shoegazer-like guitar textures with relentless four-on-the-floor and bursts of glistening synth serving as a brooding yet cinematic bed for Ross Cullen’s punchy yet stoic shouts and Constance Keane, a.k.a. Fears‘ ethereal voice acting as a dreamy counterbalance. Nodding at Joy Division, New Order, Luminous and V-era The Horrors and others, the track thematically moves from longing to loss and regret.

Thematically, Conditions II continued upon the themes of its predecessor but while diving deeper into subconscious feelings and self-discovery. Sonically, the effort saw the band leaning into the industrial/techno rock sound that they established with Conditions. Aesthetically, the trio continued the monochromatic, goth-inspired goth visual landscape in an evocative and seamless manner. 

“We see Conditions II as a natural evolution from our debut EP, Conditions. These new tracks are a product of our first year as a touring band. They were tried and tested at most of our shows before being taken into the studio,” Chalk’s Ross Cullen says. “We wanted to expand upon existing themes and ideas we touched upon in our debut, but with this continuation, we could explore ourselves and the world we had created deeper, both lyrically and sonically. In this second installment, we wanted to dive further into the electronic element of our music, bringing the experience of our live shows to our recordings.”

The third and final part of the Northern Ireland-based trio’s trilogy Conditions III EP is slated for a February 21, 2025 release through Nice Swan Records. Recorded against the backdrop of bleak landscapes and Nordic vistas in remote northern Iceland, Conditions III reportedly sees the Belfast-based trio fusing elements of heavy guitar music, electronica and breakbeat into a euphoric and frightening finished project. The result tis an effort that showcases another evolution in the band’s already confrontational sound and approach. 

Late last year, I wrote about Conditions III single “Tell Me,” a goth-meets-industrial banger featuring thumping and skittering beats, oscillating synths and a relentless, motorik groove paired with Cullen’s reverb and distortion-drizzled, emotionally detached delivery. At its core, “Tell Me,” evokes unease, desperation and euphoria simultaneously. 

“‘Tell Me’ is the first release of our trilogy-ending third EP Conditions III. For this track, we conjured up a world in which the song’s protagonist is running away from a dark past into unknown territory, encountering an unsuspecting new acquaintance on their journey,” the band’s Ross Cullen says. It’s a song that dives head-first into themes of the unknown, breaking norms, and a feeling of running away and never wanting to return again. It explores the idea that life is moving rapidly around us and the lack of belonging, confusion, and disassociation one experiences on their journey, growing older in an increasingly discouraging and bleak urban landscape. These are themes of which we’ve scratched the surface with ‘Conditions’ and ‘Conditions II’; but we want to delve even deeper into their grittier sides as we continue to figure ourselves out along the way.”

“Within the ‘Tell Me’ video we wanted to focus on creating a pressure cooker of tension encapsulated in the confined space of a car and heightened by the physical presence of a guilty conscience,” the band’s Ben Goddard explains. “Visually, we were inspired by the dramatic lighting of 1970s Italian horror films, such as Suspiria. We wanted to add further intensity and stylisation to the video through the use of constant heavy rain and hand-built a rain machine to achieve this effect. We were able to realise this vision with our fantastic cast and crew, including Desmond Eastwood, Venetia Bowe and our director of photography, Alba Fernandez.”

Conditions III‘s latest single “Afraid” is a bruiser of a track that’s one-part Gang of Four-era post-punk and scorching industrial electronica that feels tense, uneasy yet euphoric.

“‘Afraid’ captures the raw fear and exhilaration of stepping into the unknown, a reminder that growth only happens when you leave your comfort zone. It’s a reflection on the strength it takes to move forward,” the band explains.

Co-directed by the band’s Benedict Goddard and Colin Peppard, the accompanying video stars Loughlin Gannon as prisoner presumably condemned to death; Peter Trant as the senior prison guard; Nicky J. Kearney as the junior guard; and Roy Gilmore as the priest. The prisoner is served a pimento stuffed olive as a meal. The olive causes the prisoner to choke, and as he’s gasping for breath, the junior guard and senior guard fight over what to do. This leads to a surreal and ironic array of events that are equally as frightening and unsettling.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Throwback: Happy 78th Birthday, David Bowie!

JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 78th anniversary of David Bowie’s birth.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Throwback: Happy 69th Birthday, Bernard Sumner!

JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Joy Division and New Order co-founder Bernard Sumner’s 68th birthday.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Throwback: Happy 58th Birthday, Shirley Manson!

JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Shirley Manson’s 58th birthday.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Throwback: Happy 59th Birthday, Trent Reznor!

JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Nine Inch Nails mastermind Trent Reznor’s 59th birthday.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstays The KVB Share Brooding Yet Club Friendly “Labyrinths”

Formed back in 2010, the acclaimed Manchester, UK-based JOVM mainstays The KVB initially started as the solo recording project of its founder, singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Nicholas Wood. And as a solo project, Wood released a series of limited cassette and vinyl releases. But my 2011, vocalist, keyboardist and visual artist Kat Day joined on, finalizing the project’s lineup.

Since Day joined on, the JOVM mainstays have released several critically applauded albums and EPs through a series of different labels that saw them crafting a sound simultaneously inspired by The Jesus and Mary Chain and Cabaret Voltaire that became increasingly streamlined. The duo signed to Geoff Barrow‘s Invada Records, who have released 2018’s Only Now Forever, 2019’s Submersion EP and 2021’s Unity.

The duo’s seventh album, the James Trevascus-produced Tremors is slated for an April 5, 2024 release through Invada Records. Tremors sees the band returning to the darker, coldwave sound of their earliest releases and some of their early influences, while retaining the infectious hook driven pop of 2021’s critically applauded Unity. The band have dubbed the new album’s material “dystopian pop” and specifically wrote it with the live show in mind — energetic and full of hooks and dynamic moments.

Thematically, the album’s material, as the band explains expands “on previous album themes of dystopia, apocalypse and the human condition, but with a more pessimistic outlook and deeper distrust than before. It also touches on themes of loss, and the resistance, lament and acceptance of inevitable change.”

Tremors latest single, “Labyrinths” is a shadowy and brooding yet club friendly bit of coldwave/New Wave built around skittering, tweeter and roofer rattling beats, glistening synths, scorching guitars and a motorik groove paired with Wood’s seemingly detached delivery. “Labyrinths” sonically nods at Suicide, New Order, JOVM mainstays The Vacant Lots, A Place To Bury Strangers and others — but a bit sleeker, which gives the song’s underlying menace and unease a cinematic quality.

With “Labyrinths,” the band explains that “it’s the most aggressive track on the album and a nod to some of our early releases. Lyrically, it was inspired by the collection of short stories of Jorge Luis Borges and its references to historical subjectivity, the flexibility of truth and construction of narratives.”

The accompanying video is a highly digitalized realm of screens within screens with computerized effects in the background, with the duo signing and playing the song with layers of analog glitch. The duo describe the video as “a visceral assault of digitalised nature, CRT screens and analogue glitch textures. We wanted the first video single to reflect the album artwork and the energy of the edit to mirror the aggression of the song.”

Video by William Ruben Helms

Lyric Video: New York’s Rebel Kicks Share Anthemic “Electrophoria”

New York-based indie electro pop outfit Rebel Kicks — sibling duo Anthony and Steven Babino — grew up in a musical home: their father was a professional jazz musician, and the siblings, who were also lifelong musicians, had played and sang with their father. It took the Babino Brothers some time to find their own music and voice: For a while Anthony had a weekly residency performing mostly covers while Steven hadn’t even figured out which instrument best suited him. But they often played weddings, corporate and private events, Eventually, the Babino Brothers began performing and recording together as sidemen, working on original music together. While working as hired guns in St. Petersburg, FL, the duo had an epiphany about the sort of music they wanted to make, and it opened to the door to Rebel Kicks.

Rebel Kicks formed in 2018 and can trace their origins to when Anthony Babino walked into his younger brother’s room and said “Here is a bass and here is a setlist. We have a gig Friday.” Since then, the duo have released their full-length debut, 2020’s A Portrait of a Man, Part 1, a handful of EPs, including Whiskey and Sinatra, a live EP and a string of singles, which have been featured on shows aired on MTV and Showtime.

“We grew up listening to so many genres—jazz, classic rock, Motown, R&B—and with Rebel Kicks we have finally found a project where we can explore our full range,” Rebel Kicks’ Anthony Babino says. “It may sound cliché to say this, but life is a journey, and we finally hit upon a sound that reflects our journey,” the band’s Steven Babino adds. Sonically, the duo specialize in anthemic alt pop/indie electro rock built around bold electronic soundscapes, melodic bass lines, arena rock friendly riffs, big hooks, the siblings uncanny harmonies and emotive lead vocals singing lyrics that are full of social commentary and introspective, deeply personal revelation.

With both Anthony and Steven Babino being multi-instrumentalists, the pair employ a DIY ethos to their work — with the duo writing, recording, producing and playing each instrumental part of their material. But they do welcome collaboration and have worked with a number of producers and songwriters including Abe Dertner, Jeff Blue, Jason Pennock, Russ DeSalvo, Jimmy Greco, Jackson Hoffman and Ryder Stuart among others. For the New York-based sibling duo, Rebel Kicks represents an opportunity for them to do what they love together. “We are a very close family, and it’s been amazing for us to share in making the music that has always lived in us,” Anthony Babino says. Steven Babino adds: “We are best friends, and it’s not lost on me how lucky we are to make a living writing and performing together.”

Live the band expands into a quartet with longtime touring bandmates Daniel Bradley (drums) and Dorian Lake (keys, vocals). And building upon a rapidly growing national profile, the New York-based outfit has shared bills with acts like Foo Fighters, Blink-182, Mac Miller, Iggy Azalea, Incubus and a lengthy list of others.

This year will see the duo releasing a batch of singles, including their latest single “Electrophoria.” Built around glistening synths, tweeter and woofer rattling beats, a relentless motorik-like groove, slashing power chord-driven riffs paired with their penchant for enormous hooks and arena rock bombast, “Electrophoria” manages to sound as though it were a slick and darkly seductive synthesis of Muse and Echoes-era The Rapture.

“Electrophoria,” was originally commissioned for an independent film that never came to fruition. But as the duo explain the song is an examination of the relationship between humanity and artificial intelligence. “It’s a song about the decision to accept or deny the inevitable, feeling like you’re trapped in a situation that you can’t get out of, while slowing realizing that you may never want to actually leave,” the duo explain.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Throwback: Happy 58th Birthday, Trent Reznor!

JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Trent Reznor’s 58th birthday.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Darren Jackson, is a Bison, SD-born, Minneapolis, MN-based singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, whose solo recording project Kid Dakota partially derives its name as a loving homage to Jackson’s home state and a play on Kid Rock. In 1999, Jackson along with long-time friend and producer Alex Oana, wrote and recorded the five songs that would eventually comprise his 2000 self-released EP So Pretty before permanently relocating to Minneapolis.

Interestingly, Jackson’s debut EP caught the attention of Low‘s Alan Sparhawk, who offered to release the EP on his label Chairkickers’ Union under the condition that Jackson expand it to a full-length album — with the full-length version of So Pretty being released in 2002. Sparhawk’s label released Jackson’s sophomore effort, 2004’s The West is the Future, which continued the Bison, SD-born, Minneapolis, MN-based singer/songwriter and multi-instrumetanlist’s collaboration with Oana while featuring Low’s Zak Sally. However, his last two albums — 2008’s A Winner’s Shadow and 2011’s Listen to the Crows as They Take Flight was released by Graveface Records.

Jackson’s fifth, full-length album Denervation can trace its origins to a brief summer vacation at his parents’ house in the Black Hills in 2014 that turned into an extended nine-month stay convalescing in a hospital bed, after fracturing his pelvis in a horrific bicycle accident. The blunt force trauma from the accident also caused severe nerve damage, which made it extremely questionable whether or not Jackson would ever be able to walk again without a brace. And naturally, he found himself in a rather dark place. To cope with crippling depression, Jackson began writing the material that would eventually comprise Denervation, which will be released by Graveface Records on February 9, 2018.

After making some rough demos, Jackson sent them to his longtime friend and producer John Kuker, with whom he has collaborated with on several Kid Dakota recordings. And as the story goes, Kuker recognized the material’s raw potential and suggested that the Bison, SD-born, Minneapolis-based artist record the album at famed Cannon Falls, MN-based studio Pachyderm, which Kuker had recently purchased and renovated. Along with that Kuker suggested that Jackson enlist Birthday Suits‘ Matthew Kazama to play drums on the album. Jackson agreed and flew out to Minneapolis in late 2014 to meet with Kazama — and the duo spent several weeks woodshedding the material before heading to the studio in early 2015. After three days of tracking, the duo planned to record the album at Kuker’s studio that spring. Tragically, however, Kuker died from a heart attack in early February 2015, and the album’s came to a standstill. And understandably the album’s material was linked both with Jackson attempting to come to terms with the trauma and aftermath of his bicycle accident and the death of one of his dear friends.

Interestingly, it was only after Jackson got married and returned to Minneapolis from a stint teaching music in rural South Dakota and his Ph.D. studies in philosophy and film at Virginia Tech that he began to find the fortitude to finally finish the album he had started with his dear friend two years prior. And when he went to the studio, he enlisted the help of an All-Star cast of friends and collaborators for the Denervation sessions including Martin Dosh, Andrew Broder, Alan Spearhawk, Johnny and Molly Solomon, Jeremy Ylvisaker, Jeremy Messersmith, Todd Trainer and Dave Simonett. And as you’ll hear on the album’s first single “The Convalescent” the material possesses a feeling of loss, as the material focuses on loss from similar although different perspectives. Whereas some of the album’s songs focus on the potential loss of the use of a limb and its subsequent sense of helplessness, this particular song focuses on the loss of someone close — and as a result, their lingering and inescapable presence. Sonically speaking, the song pairs precise, math rock-like, angular guitar chords and drumming with arpeggiated synths, and arena rock-like hooks, evoking an uneasy, tense vibe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Mark Ryan, a member of bands like The Marked Men, High Tension Wires and Radioactivity, along with Baptist Generals‘ Peter Salisbury (synths) and The Marked Men’s Mike Throneberry (drums), the Fort Worth, TX-based synth punk act Mind Spiders is a decided sonic left turn from each of the individual members’ various projects  — with their forthcoming album Furies, reportedly being the project’s most electronic leaning album to date. And as you’ll hear from the album’s first single, album title track “Furies” is an urgent, post apocalyptic industrial rock track, complete with layers of buzzing synths, propulsive drum programming, howled vocals and a mosh pit worthy hook reminiscent of Ministry and Nine Inch Nails; but underneath the urgency of the song is a healthy sense of panic and dread — the sort of panic and dread of our impending doom, as a cabal of dangerous and greedy idiots fuck up everything we’ve ever loved or valued.

Look for the album on January 26, 2018 through Dirtnap Records.