Tag: folk pop

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Haylie Davis Shares Shimmering and Introspective “Country Boy”

Raised in Northern California and currently based in Los Angeles, Haylie Davis is a rising artist, who has received attention global attention for her passionate reimagining of classic Laurel Canyon folk pop, anchored by her gorgeous, remarkable vocal range and her knack for intricate storytelling.

After collaborating with a series of like-minded artists including Drugdealer, Sylvie, Alex Amen and Sam Burton, Davis steps out into her own path, meshing gorgeous melodies and strikingly original songcraft its a new band of cosmic Americana.

“Young Man” is latest single off the Los Angeles-based artist’s highly-anticipated debut album, which will feature the previously released “Country Boy” and “Golden Age,” and is slated for release later this year through Fire Records. “Young Man” is an introspective lived-in lament on the breakup of a misplaced, perhaps even unearned affection and its aftermath. And as a result, the song’s narrator expresses a mix of relief, exhaustion, despair and bit of “wait, what the fuck was that?” while nursing a bruised heart.

Fittingly, the song features some heartbreakingly gorgeous steel guitar paired with Davis’ timeless, world-weary delivery. It sounds a bit like a 70s country ballad, much like Johnny Cash‘s take on the Kris Kristofferson-penned “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down” — with a subtly modern vibe.

“‘Young Man’ was born a few years back in a Texas green room while I was out on tour with Sam Burton,” Davis explains. ““I was fresh off a breakup, emotionally raw, and the song arrived naturally in that in-between space – part exhaustion, part reflection, part release. Later, I brought it to life with Michael Harris at Valentine Recording Studio. Working with Michael was a joy; he creates an atmosphere that’s both encouraging and effortless, making the recording process feel less like work and more like discovery.”

Directed by Magnolia Ellenburg, the accompanying video for “Young Man” is a gorgeously shot fever dream of heartache, despair and pride that should feel familiar to anyone who has had to nurse their bruised heart and investigate themselves in the aftermath of a breakup. Those answers aren’t easy to come by, but you figure out a way to move on and learn from it as best as you can.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Norwegian-born, Los Angeles-Based Alma Owren Shares Cinematic “Outcast”

Alma Owren is a 19 year-old Norwegian-born, Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and actor, whose musical work is shaped by her synesthesia. Her music combines vivid soundscapes with powerful, emotion-driven storytelling rooted with vulnerable, relatable lyrics that will deeply resonate with listeners.

The Norwegian-born, Los Angeles-based artist’s debut EP Under the Surface will be released through AWAL. The EP’s first single “Outcast,” is a gorgeous folk pop tune that pairs an arrangement of strummed acoustic guitar, bursts of cinematic strings anchored by Owren’s gorgeous and emotive delivery.

The young artist explains that the song explores themes of isolation and identity through a cinematic soundscape.

Simply put, this young artist reveals a self-assuredness and emotional depth well beyond her relative young. I fully expect that she will have a big, bright future ahead of her.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Throwback: Happy 81st Birthday, Joni Mitchell!

JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Joni Mitchell’s 81st birthday.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Permanent Moves Teams Up with Jessie Shelton on Gorgeous “Don’t Forget Us”

Formed back in 2016, Brooklyn-based indie electro folk/rock outfit Permanent Moves features two highly acclaimed artists:

Julia Sirna-Frest: Fest is a Brooklyn-based musician, performer and director, who has a number of credits to her name, including [Porto] (WP Theater, The Bushwick Starr); Lunch Bunch (PlayCo, Clubbed Thumb); Seder (Hartford Stage); A Tunnel Year (The Chocolate Factory); The Offending Gesture (Mac Wellman); Comfort Dogs: Live from the Pink House (JACK). She’s a founding member of the Obie Award-winning Half Straddle Company, which has produced a handful of plays including Ghost Rings (TBA/PICA); Ancient Lives (The Kitchen); Seagull (Thinking of you) (The New Ohio, International Tour); In the Pony Palace/Football (The Bushwick Starr, International Tour); Nurses in New England (The Ohio); The Knockout Blow (The Ontological).

Frest is also a founding member and co-frontperson of Doll Parts, Brooklyn’s premiere Dolly Parton cover band and a founding member, songwriter and frontperson of Permanent Moves.

Shane Chapman: Chapman is a Brooklyn-based composer and musician. As a computer, he has written scores for film, theater and podcasts, Silent Forests, Emily Black is a Total Gift (Daaimah Mubashir, Fisher Center), Comfort Dogs (William Burke, JACK) and Cleopatra Boy (A Host of People, National Tours).

As a musician, he has performed and recorded with The Peter Ulrich Collaboration and is the music director of Doll Parts. Chapman is a member of the local rock band Anacortes, with whom he has released two albums. And he’s a co-founder and songwriter with Permanent Moves.

Frest and Chapman’s work together in Permanent Moves has seen them create a unique blend of eclectic arrangements and soaring harmonies inspired by the likes of Neko Case, Sufjan Stevens and Elbow that has seen them perform in a variety of configurations — from a 15 member band down to a duo. Lyrically, their material is often based on found texts.

The pair’s full-length debut, Don’t Forget Us: A Chekhovian Song Cycle was released last week, draws from the work of famed Russian playwright Anton Chekhov features guest spots from Hadestown‘s and 36 Question‘s Jessie Shelton, Karl Blau, Starr Busby and a list of others.

“For the past 7 years we have been working on and performing these songs in a myriad of ways from a 16 person band at Ars Nova to a duo set in a living room in Vancouver, Canada. We have both been drawn to Chekhov’s work because it speaks to the questions we often sit around talking about,” Frest and Chapman explain. “What are the lives not lived? How does one survive the monotony of everyday life? Failure, living up to one’s potential, longing for a bigger life. You know, the hits of the human condition.

“This album feels very ripe for this moment because the past few years has led many people to reassess their lives, to question whether they’ve made the right choices,” the Brooklyn based duo continue. “For us in the performing arts, the entire industry was yanked away and it feels like a chance to ponder our existence, a very Chekhovian thing to do. His work reminds us that life is lived in the in-between moments. Huge things happen in a Chekhov play, people die, love is lost, a gun might go off but the focus is watching the characters muck through it as we all must do. We’re hoping to give people a good soundtrack for their personal mucking. We can all be uplifted by a good horn section, right? As Charles McNulty put it so elegantly: ‘Chekhov’s art doesn’t seek to correct but merely to point out that as we’re dreaming of better days our real lives are quietly unfolding.'”

Don’t Forget Us: A Chekhovian Song Cycle‘s latest single, album title track “Don’t Forget Us” is a gorgeous and anthemic ballad featuring Jessie Shelton’s powerhouse delivery full of longing and ache, and anchored around a lush, folk-meets-country/country-meets-folk arrangement. The duo explain that the song is “emblematic of both the mood and lyrical themes of the album. The song is for anyone who’s ever feared that someday would arrive too soon only to find that you are the same person you’ve always been.”

Shot at Mark Fox‘s studio, the accompanying video features the duo and Shelton performing the song in the artist’s paint and picture-strewn studio.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Live Footage: Mary Middlefield Shares Roaring “Young and Dumb”

Mary Middlefield is rising, 22 year-old Lausanne, Switzerland-based classically trained violinist, folk-pop singer/songwriter and guitarist, who has received attention for crafting steam-of-consciousness songs that veer between pop-punk fueled intensity and folk-inspired softness inspired by Elliot Smith, Nick Drake, Jeff Buckley, Claud, Jockstrap and The Japanese House. Thematically, the young Swiss artist’s work sees her wielding high drama, desire and vulnerability as keys to making meaning in a complicated universe, where abuse and love coincide. 

Slated for an April 26, 2024, the young and rising Swiss artist’s forthcoming EP, Poetry (for the scorned and lonely) is reportedly her most cathartic release to date that will not only allow her to move forward with a clear mind and clean palette, but features music for listeners who are feeling stuck, scorned and lonely. Essentially, the EP’s material is an invitation for those who are suffering to scream their hearts and souls out alongside her.

The forthcoming EP will feature “Sexless,” “Heart’s Desire” and “Atlantis,” a breathtakingly gorgeous and remarkably accessible song built around a sparse arrangement of strummed acoustic guitar, ukulele, shimmering strings, atmospheric synths and a subtle yet supple bass line serving as a lush bed for Middlefield’s yearning and expressive delivery. Recorded at Lausanne-based AKA Studio with Alexis Sudan and Gwen Buord, “Atlantis” as Middlefield explains is a sadistic love ballad that explores the dilemma of being infatuated with a person who offers very little in return. 

Originally written as a stripped-down track, Middlefield and Buord rearranged the song’s second part with intricate ukulele arrangements. Then they also tweaked the track a bit more, by adding strings and synths and an underwater-like feel to make the song sound dreamier while readily embracing a folk pop sound.

“Young and Dumb,” Poetry (for the scorned and lonely)‘s latest single may arguably be the most rock-leaning song of the EP’s singles to date. Built around a grunge-like song structure that alternates between textured and fuzzy, power chord-driven choruses and dramatic and dreamy verses with cinematic strings, the breakneck “Young and Dumb” features a narrator, who excoriates someone, presumably a love interest, who made a fool of her — and flagellates herself for her own naiveté and inexperience. Although I’m now in my mid-40s, the song captures a fairly universal sentiment of anyone who’s young and attempting to make their life in their own image, but not quite getting where they think they should be.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Live Footage: Mary Middlefield Performs “Atlantis”

Mary Middlefield is rising, 22 year-old Lausanne, Switzerland-based classically trained violinist, folk singer/songwriter and guitarist, who has received attention for crafting steam-of-consciousness songs that veer between pop-punk fueled intensity and folk-inspired softness inspired by Elliot Smith, Nick Drake, Jeff Buckley, Claud, Jockstrap and The Japanese House. Thematically, the young Swiss artist’s work sees her wielding high drama, desire and vulnerability as keys to making meaning in a complicated universe, where abuse and love coincide.

The young Swiss artist’s forthcoming EP is reportedly a cathartic release, that will not only allow her to move forward with a clear mind and clean palette but is also music for listeners who are stuck, scorned and lonely. The EP is essentially an invitation for those who are suffering and yearning to scream alongside her.

The EP’s latest single “Atlantis” is a breathtakingly gorgeous and remarkably accessible song built around a sparse arrangement of strummed acoustic guitar and ukelele, shimmering strings, atmospheric synths and a subtle yet supple bass line paired with Middlefield’s yearning and expressive delivery. Recorded at Lausanne-based AKA Studio with Alexis Sudan and Gwen Buord, “Atlantis” as Middlefield explains is a sadistic love ballad that explores the dilemma of being infatuated with a person who offers very little in return.

Originally written as a stripped-down track, Middlefield and Buord rearranged the song’s second part with intricate ukulele arrangements. Then also tweaked the track a bit more, by adding strings and synths and an underwater-like feel to make the song sound dreamier while readily embracing a folk pop sound.

Uncategorized by William Ruben Helms

New Orleans, LA-based singer/songwriter Carsie Blanton’s sound can be described in some way as American pop – and that shouldn’t be very surprising since Blanton has publicly described her infatuation with the legendary Billie Holiday […]