Tag: Foo Fighters

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Pleasure House is a Birmingham, UK-based indie rock quartet, that is part of a set of contemporary acts currently reinvigorating their hometown’s music scene, and with their anthemic, power chord-heavy Brit Pop meets shoegaze meets Foo Fighters arena rock single “Calm,” off the band’s forthcoming Sentient EP slated for a May 26, 2017 release, the up-and-coming band adds themselves to a growing list of bands writing and releasing furious and urgent protest songs over their current political climate — whether here in the States, in the UK or elsewhere.

As the band’s frontman and primary songwriter Alex Hefferman explains in press notes, “I’d been feeling increasingly disaffected, like many others’ guilty of scrolling through torrents of hateful rhetoric and petty politics that add to the fragile disparity within our society, creating a war amongst ourselves. I wrote Calm as a protest song against this. It’s what I feel myself screaming at my screen, constantly exposed to a carefully calculated war on peace, feeling angry and afraid and helpless all at the same time. I wanted to write a song with a message of hope. A message of positivity and resistance that would resonate with everyone who feels disaffected too, because it feels like there’s conscious change in the air, and we should never allow fear to forget who our real enemy is.” Considering how utterly confusing and frightening the 24 hour news cycle can be, the song is a powerful reminder that all of us must not be distracted from the urgent work ahead.

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Dan Matthews (vocals, guitar), Neil Hayes (guitar, vocals), Gary Moses (bass, vocals) and Cory King (drums, vocals), the Asbury Park, NJ-based indie rock quartet The Black Clouds have developed a reputation for a DIY approach to an increasingly busy touring schedule, for self-recording and self-producing their first two albums, and attention-grabbing collaborations with Jack Endino, who has produced, mixed and recorded some of Seattle‘s most beloved and renowned bands and Mudhoney‘s Mark Arm. And over the past 18 months or so, the New Jersey-based quartet have added themselves to this site’s growing list of mainstay artists — thanks to when I caught them open for Mudhoney at the Bell House some time ago and the release of “Photograph” and “Vice” the first two singles off the band’s third album, After All. 

Just in time for the album’s official release today, the members of The Black Clouds released After All‘s third and latest single “Self Control,” will further cement the band’s reputation for crating  120 Minutes-era MTV/90s-inspired indie rock, complete with enormous, arena-rock friendly hooks and a radio-friendly vibe; but thanks to an uncanny sense of melody within the song, After All‘s latest single may arguably be the most Foo Fighters-leaning song on the album.

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

If you had stumbled upon this site last week, you may have come across a post on the Asbury Park, NJ-based indie rock quartet The Black Clouds. Comprised of Dan Matthews (vocals, guitar), Neil Hayes (guitar, vocals), Gary Moses (bass, vocals) and Cory King (drums, vocals), the New Jersey-based quartet have developed a reputation for a DIY approach to recording and producing their albums, for a busy touring schedule and a  continuing collaboration with renowned producer, engineer and musician  Jack Endino, who has worked with an incredibly impressive list of artists and who has mixed and mastered The Black Clouds’ first two albums. And building upon a growing national profile, the band has not only played at everal of the country’s largest festivals including Bamboozle and SXSW, they’ve also toured with  the likes of Mudhoney among others.

The Ashbury Park, NJ-based quartet’s third full-length effort After All is slated for a January 6 release and the album, which was recorded at Studio 606 will further continue the band’s collaboration with Jack Endino, who only only recorded, mixed and mastered the album but also produced the album and contributed some guitar on aa few songs. The album’s first single “Photograph” was a  90s grunge rock, barn-burner of song with growled vocals, aggressive power chords an anthemic hook reminiscent of Foo Fighters, Nirvana and of 120 Minutes-era MTV.

Interestingly, After All‘s second and latest single “Vice” continues the band’s ongoing collaboration with Mudhoney’s imitable frontman Mark Arm while furthering the band’s burgeoning reputation for crafting 90s grunge inspired rock —  all power chords, howled vocals, enormous hooks and thundering drumming but in this case paired with Mark Arm howling lyrics about debaucherous behavior and in a similar fashion to Jim Carroll Band‘s “People Who Died,” “Vice” manages to offer a sobering warning — some of that behavior will fuck you up and then kill you.

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Dan Matthews (vocals, guitar), Neil Hayes (guitar, vocals), Gary Moses (bass, vocals) and Cory King (drums, vocals), the Asbury Park, NJ-based indie rock quartet The Black Clouds have developed a reputation for a DIY approach to recording and producing their material and for touring — and for a continuing collaboration with the legendary Jack Endino, who has mixed and mastered each of the band’s first two albums. Building on a growing national profile, the band has played at several of the country’s largest festivals including Bamboozle and SXSW, and have opened for the likes of the legendary Mudhoney; in fact, I caught the New Jersey-based band open for Mudhoney when the legendary grunge rock forefathers stopped at The Bell House last year.

The members of the New Jersey-based quartet will be releasing their third full-length effort After All on January 6 and the album, which was recorded at Studio 606 will further continue the band’s collaboration with Jack Endino, who only only recorded, mixed and mastered the album but also produced the album and contributed some guitar on aa few songs. Additionally, Mudhoney’s Mark Arm contributes his imitable vocals to a couple of songs, furthering yet another collaboration with a Seattle grunge rock legend. After All‘s first single “Photograph” is a 1990s-inspired, explosive barn-burner of a song, complete with aggressive power chords, growled vocals and an anthemic hook reminiscent of Foo Fighters, Nirvana and others — all while being rather radio-friendly.

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms
Comprised of high school friends Dylan White, Joseph Bland, Erik Gonzalez and Chris Topah, who bounded over a mutual interest in updating the emo sound of the early aughts without the “stuff that didn’t age well,” the New Jersey-based indie rock quartet MELT went into the studio earlier this year to self-record their full-length debut Riffer, which is reportedly comprised of anthemic guitar rock based around envy, desire and loss as you’ll hear on the album’s first single “Out of Line,” a single that coincidentally manages to channel late 90s alt rock — in particular Foo Fighters and several other contemporary bands such as Dead Stars and others.
Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Avers Returns with an Anthemic, Garage Rock New Single Paired with Mischievous Yet Ironic Visuals

Omega/Whatever’s latest single “Vampire” much like the album’s previous single is deeply indebted to 90s alt rock –in particular, I’m reminded of Vs. and Vitalogy-era Pearl Jam but with a wry sense of humor, as the song’s narrator is desperately pleaded for an easy-going, less stressful life to a propulsive, anthemic hook that pairs ethereal synths with twangy and crunchy guitars fed through effects pedals.

The recently released video follows the adventures of a motorcycle helmet wearing, jorts wearing protagonist, who brings a goofy amount of joy to all that crosses his path; but the video manages to evoke a bitter irony at its core — the sort of easy-going life the narrator is pleading for may not be possible; and in fact, the joy that the protagonist brings to everyone, has him passing out exhausted and alone.

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 […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

If you’ve been frequenting this site over the past few weeks, you may recall that I’ve written about the 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 received international attention for a sound that possessed elements of 70s Brit rock, punk, shoegaze and 90s alt rock. “Clash,” the single (and video) I wrote about a few weeks ago consisted of anthemic and shout along worthy hooks, thunderous drumming, layers of buzzing guitars fed through distortion and effects pedals, and shouted lyrics, which gives the song a punk rock energy. It’s a familiar and radio-friendly formula but the Italian/Icelandic band do so with a clean, hyper modern sheen and an infectious energy.

“Lost E” is the latest single off the band’s sophomore EP continues on their winning formula — anthemic and shout along worthy hooks paired with thundering drumming; however, in this case, the guitar work is much more abrasive and harder hitting, which gives the song a harder, 90s alt rock feel, as though the band were drawing influence from Nirvana, My Vitriol, Foo Fighters and others.

 

New Audio by William Ruben Helms

Last night, I learned that JOVM has had readers and viewers from over 117 countries across the world — this year. 117! I’m honored, flattered and  incredibly humbled that my childhood obsession with music and my labor of love have become a part of so many people’s lives. With 2015 coming to a close, I want to thank you, dear friends for letting me come into your screen and hopefully bring a little bit of joy, wonder and meaning into your lives. And if I’ve done that, I’ve been wildly successful in ways that I never would have dreamt.

This month’s playlist comes a couple of days early, but don’t let that faze you much. In typical JOVM fashion, the December playlist is wildly eclectic — and touches upon several decades of artists and songs both known and obscure. You’ll come across Eric B. and Rakim, R.E.M., Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, The Posies, Foo Fighters, The Smiths, JOVM mainstays The Black Angels, Johnny Cash, June Carter Cash, Patsy Cline, Nancy Sinatra, The Fixx, Pearl Jam, INXS, The Verve, New Order, Big Daddy Kane, Pink Floyd, Peter Gabriel, Michael Jackson, Los Angeles‘ Line & Circle, shoegaze pioneers RIDE,  the club-rocking sounds of Neon Indian, Cameo, Twin Limb, the fantastic Charles Bradley, Black Sabbath, and a tribute to Motorhead‘s Lemmy Kilmister. And that’s just off the top of my head. Enjoy!

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Frequently compared to RIDE, Smashing Pumpkins, Dinosaur, Jr. and Deerhunter, the critically praised Chicago, IL-based quartet Pink Frost originally formed under the name Apteka — and as Apteka, the quartet recorded their debut effort Gargoyle Days on analog tape before releasing the album back in 2011 to critical praise; the album landed on Time Out Chicago‘s Best of 2011 List, as well as several others. After changing their name to Pink Frost, the quartet’s 2014 sophomore effort, Sundowning was released to critical praise from nationally renowned media outlets including Pitchfork, SPIN Magazine, Noisey, Magnet Magazine, and Chicago Reader. And adding to a growing national profile, material from Sundowning appeared in The Lookalike and TV series such as The Vampire Diaries and CSI: Miami, among others.

The Chicago-based quartet will be releasing a painstakingly remixed and remastered update of the original analog masters, which reportedly will not only pack much more punch, but will also be representative of the band’s live sound. Of course, with new artwork reflecting the band’s change of name, the band intends for the re-release of their debut to be a metaphorical and literal rebirth. (Interestingly, the members of Pink Frost have been incredibly busy of late as they’ve also been busily recording the follow-up to Sundowning and Traitors EP with Gregoire Yeche at Steve Albini’s Electrical Audio Studios.)

The re-released album’s second and latest single “Where Days Go” is an power-chord based song with enormous, anthemic hooks that sounds as though it were inspired by 90s alt rock and shoegaze. I’m reminded quite a bit of The Posies‘ “Ontario,” Foo Fighters “This Is A Call” and The Black Angels‘ “Telephone” as “Where Days Go” possesses a similar forcefulness and mosh-pit ready feel while being incredibly radio friendly.

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: The Bluesy, Power Chord-Based Shuffle of The Hunted Crows’ New Single “Get Out”

Comprised of Luy Amiel (backing vocals, guitar) and Jacob Linnet (lead vocals, drums), the  Melbourne, Australia-based duo The Hunted Crows have quickly developed a reputation for an enormous, swaggering arena-rocking sound of power chord-heavy guitar lines, tweeter and woofer […]

Uncategorized by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of sibling Jake Scarpino (guitar and vocals) and Sam Scarpino (drums and vocals), the Boston, MA-based duo The Winter Brave have been writing, recording and playing together since 2007; however, they quickly received both […]

Uncategorized by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Adam Schlett (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Bobby Weir (lead guitar, vocals), Tommy Scerbo (bass guitar, vocals), Jack “Shirtless Savage” Biamonte (drums), the Glen Rock, NJ-based quartet Deaf Rhino formed in 2011 and originally went […]

Uncategorized by William Ruben Helms

Last year, Yukon Blonde’s frontman Jeffrey Innes had excess time off while on the road and a burst of creativity that prompted him to start a solo side project, High Ends, which was a bit […]