JOVM’s William Ruben Helms belatedly celebrates the 57th anniversary of Scott Weiland’s birth.
Tag: grunge
Throwback: Happy 57th Birthday, Layne Staley!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 57th anniversary of Alice in Chains frontman Layne Staley’s birth.
Throwback: Happy Belated 59th Birthday, Stone Gossard!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms belatedly celebrates Pearl Jam’s Stone Gossard’s 59th birthday.
Throwback: Happy Belated 60th Birthday, Chris Cornell!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms belatedly celebrates Chris Cornell’s 60th birthday.
New Audio: Weep Wave Share a Mosh Pit Friendly Ripper
Released earlier this year through Corporat Records, Seattle-based post-punk outfit Weep Wave‘s Dylan Wall-produced sophomore album Speck sees the band — Dylan Fuentes (vocals, guitar), Mike Hubbard (drums, synth) and Mitch Midkiff (bass) — embarking on a kaleidoscopic sonic odyssey through the diverse array of genres they proudly call home. Thematically Fuentes’ lyrics oscillate between two contrasting realms: outward to explore the effects of the perils of capitalism and climate change — and inward, to scrutinize the self, in particular dissecting the ego and self-identity.
In the lead-up the album’s release, I wrote about two previously released singles:
- The Low Praise-meets-grunge-like “Rebirth Mantra,” a song built around a pummeling, most pit friendly riff, thunderous drumming and a supple yet propulsive bass line within a classic, alternating loud-quiet-loud song structure. The song captures Fuentes at his most introspective and neurotic, with the song’s narrator expressing his fears of falling into the same unhelpful — and perhaps just destructive — patterns that seemingly always leads to repeated failure and frustration. The song’s narrator envisions a transformed, evolved version of himself, a much more caring, courageous and empathetic self. Of course, are we able and willing to change and evolve? Or are we too stubborn, too blind to do what’s necessary to better ourselves?
- “Phasing” a decidedly grunge-like ripper built around the sort of feedback fueled, power chord-driven riffs reminiscent of 90s alt rock greats like Nirvana, Mudhoney, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden, complete with enormous, arena rock-meets-mosh pit-like hooks and choruses.
- “Conscious Dust,” a Jack Endino-like grunge take on post-punk that begins with a intricate punk-meets-cheek-in-tongue Motown-like drumbeat and a fuzzy bass line. Fuentes enters the fray with a punchy chant-like delivery before the song explodes into a hypnotic and noisy mosh pit friendly ripper. As a single, “Conscious Dust” sets up the album’s overall aesthetic and thematic concerns as a sort of bold, flag-planting moment for the band and the listener. For me, the song kind of reminds me of Pearl Jam’s “Do The Evolution,” as a sort of tongue-in-cheek takedown of humanity and human consciousness.
In the past few months, the Seattle-based trio have released a single a month off the album, including its seventh and latest single, “Credits to My Life.” The new single may arguably be the most straightforward mosh pit friendly, grunge-inspired track off the album — with the song bringing Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Mudhoney and the like to mind, thanks to big power chords and even bigger, rousingly anthemic hooks paired with thunderous drumming.
New Video: Hello Mary Shares Furious Ripper “0%”
With the release of last year’s sophomore, self-titled album, New York-based indie rock trio Hello Mary — Helena Straight, Stella Wave and Mikaela Oppenheimer — received praise nationally from the likes of Rolling Stone, who wrote that the album was “one of 2023’s sharpest, nosiest debuts.” Building upon a rapidly rising profile, trio will have an incredibly busy summer: Already developing a reputation for a killer live show, the New York-based trio are currently opening for Silversun Pickups on their Stateside tour, a tour that includes a June 27, 2024 stop at Brooklyn Steel. They’ll play a handful of their own headlining Stateside dates and play a set at Denver‘s Underground Music Showcase, before heading to the UK for a London headlining show, followed by an opening slot for American Football during their UK tour. The band has also confirmed a slot at this year’s Best Friends Forever Fest in Las Vegas this October. (As always, tour dates are below.)
“0%” is the first bit of new material from the rising New York-based trio since the release of last year’s self-titled album. “0%” sees the band pushing their 90s alt rock-inspired sound into a much heavier and distorted direction with the song being featuring thunderously percussive, down-tuned bass, distortion pedaled guitar fuzz, forceful drumming and Stella Wave’s throaty, feral screams — within a classic grunge song structure, alternating impossibly loud choruses, quieter verses and a mischievously dreamy break down with vibraphone and triangle.
Fittingly, the song captures a young woman boldly and defiantly expression an existential frustration — and getting a bit of joy out of the fact that she doesn’t know much of much.
The new single emerged as the trio were jamming in their practice space. After quickly become a crowd favorite live, the song really came to life in the studio, becoming the first time that the band’s Stella Wave had ever screamed on a recording. But when she hopped into the recording booth, she felt emboldened to draw out the vocal shouts the band originally planned, turning them into much longer screams. “0% is one of our favorites to play live,” Hello Mary says. “Our inspirations in the last year have broadened, and we feel like this song reflects that.”
The accompanying video edited by Caroline Knight is from footage the band has had taken over the last couple of tours, and captures the energy and passion of their live show.
Throwback: Happy 59th Birthday, Krist Novoselic!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Nirvana’s Krist Novoselic’s 59th birthday.
Deriving their name from their favorite PJ Harvey song “Meet Ze Monsta,” Dutch indie trio Black Monsoon — Jacky (guitar, vocals), Marjolin (drums, vocals) and Teun (guitar, vocals) — have received attention across the Netherlands and the European Union for a sound that the cognoscenti have favorably described to early Nirvana, The Stooges and Sonic Youth.
2018’s Joes Brands-recorded, self-titled debut EP saw the band quickly establishing their sound, rooted in unusual guitar tunings and drill machine-like solos earned the band opening sets for Sonic Youth‘s Steve Shelley, L.A. Witch and Belgian JOVM mainstays Whispering Sons. They also earned sets at Popronde Festival, the touring festival for emerging and up-and-coming Dutch bands.
2019’s “Jabberwocky,” “Losing” and “Pantomime” were released to critical praise. Building upon a growing profile across The Netherlands, the trio released their Jan Schenk-recorded full-length debut, Pantomime in 2020.
The band adheres to defiantly DIY ethos and in the winter of 2020-2021, the band attracted attention through a unique album release tour: The band organized a video release tour, featuring live footage of the band playing the album’s material at unique locations for each song, including an art gallery and a skate park, to present the song within the most appropriate atmosphere.
Since then, the duo signed to London-based label Civil War, and have toured across Germany and the UK, while recording new material that reportedly sees the band pushing their sound in new directions. “Broken,” the first single from that batch of new material is a grungy, power chord-driven, mosh pit friendly ripper that will bring back memories of Bleach and Incesticide-Nirvana, Veruca Salt and others on your beaten up Walkman.
Throwback: Happy 57th Birthday, Liz Phair!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Liz Phair’s 57th birthday.
Austin-based trio Boss Battle specialize in a sludgy and dirty alt rock/grunge-meets pop sound anchored around precise beats, stomach-dropping synth bass lines, walls of analog synth, scorching guitar and dual male/female vocals. While being heavy enough to thrash along with, the Austin-based outfit’s work has always been catchy and melodic enough to sing along to — presumably with a beer raised in the air.
So far, through the release of a handful of singles and EPs, Boss Battle has been compared to The Jesus Lizard, Pixies, The Dead Weather, Deftones and Failure among a list of others. Building upon a growing profile locally and elsewhere, the band will be releasing a handful of singles over the course of the next year.
The band’s latest single “Burned Alive” is a sludgy and soulful dirge, anchored around scorching riffs, whirring electronics, thunderous drumming and enormous, sing-along worthy hook and choruses within an expansive yet grunge-inspired song structure. The song’s arrangement serves as lush yet anthemic bed for remarkably melodic, powerhouse vocals.
“‘Burned Alive’ might be the simplest yet most melodic song we’ve written,” the band’s Chico Jones says. “All the parts landed quickly. The arrangement was straight forward. I remember Ben suggesting that we kill any intro and start cold with the lyrics and music. Bang! you’re in the middle of it! I also remember recording the vocal lines into my phone almost immediately after we wrote the guitar and drums. I am proud of the melodies. Definite singalong feels.”
“The lyrics took a while though—and several rewrites as well,” Jones continues. “But I like where we landed with the words … The vibe is sort of this Flowers for Algernon perspective but only the worst parts. Abandon all hope… And Erin really nails that emotion at the end— so good. I also can tell that the band geek in me is giving a shoutout to influences that use a lot of space in their riffs . It’s as if the beginning is just an excuse for that drop at the end— but in reality you have to hammer everyone for a bit before you take them for a slow ride.Oh yeah I’m also not really playing chords — why are there so many strings on this thing?”
Throwback: Happy 57th Birthday, Kurt Cobain!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 57th anniversary of Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain’s birth.
Seattle-based grunge legends Pearl Jam — Eddie Vedder (vocals), Jeff Ament (bass), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), Mike McCready (lead guitar) and Matt Cameron drums) — will be releasing their twelfth studio album, the Andrew Watt-produced Dark Matter through Monkeywrench Records/Republic Records on April 19, 2024. Dark Matter is the band’s first batch of material since 2020’s critically acclaimed Gigaton.
Last year, the grunge legends retreated to Malibu‘s Shangri-La Studios, where they simply plugged their instruments in and played with producer Andrew Watt at the helm. Writing and recording in a frenzied and passionate burst of inspiration, with the musicians facing one another in the same space, communicating sonically and musically at the highest level, with the album being completed in three weeks.
The album channels the shared spirit of a group of lifelong collaborators and creative brothers in one room, playing as if their lives depended on it. For the band, all of the blood, sweet, tears and energy of a storied and legendary career felt renewed and poured into the album’s material.
“I’m getting chills, because I have good memories. We’re still looking for ways to communicate,” Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder says. “We’re at this time in our lives when you could do it or you could not do it, but we still care about putting something out there that is meaningful and we hopefully think is our best work. No hyperbole, I think this is our best work.”
“What Ed said about getting us in a room at this point, we felt like we were about to make a really important record. A lot of that had to do with the atmosphere Andrew set up,” the band’s Jeff Ament says. “He has encyclopedic knowledge of our history, not only as a band and how we wrote songs, but as players. He could pinpoint things we did on old songs to the point where I was like, ‘What the fuck is he talking about?’ His excitement was contagious. He’s a force. I just want to say thanks for keeping us on track. I couldn’t be prouder of us as a band. I feel so grateful for the fans, but mostly for my brothers and these people I’ve made music with.”
Dark Matter‘s first single, the swaggering album title track “Dark Matter” is built around a bombastic and forceful power chord riff, thunderous boom bap-inspired drumming, enormous arena rock friendly hooks and choruses paired with Vedder’s imitable, impassioned delivery. “Dark Matter” seems to pay tribute to the band’s legacy with the song at points bringing back memories of their legendary first three albums — 1991’s Ten, 1993’s Vs. and 1994’s Vitalogy — but with a modern take that reveals a band constantly and willing to push their sound in bold new directions while continuing to be impassioned and unflaggingly earnest in everything they do. Simply put, they may be older — hell all of us are getting older — but this song rips as much as their beloved, classic period.
Dark Matter features cover art by light painting artist Alexandr Gnezdilov. Light painting is an artistic form of photography, where images are created by adjusting a camera’s exposure for an extended period and using a light source, such as a flashlight to “paint” in the dark. The album cover art was crafted using a large, self-made kaleidoscope. Each letter visible on the cover was individually captured and handwritten midair with a specially designed flashlight to create the pearlescent effect.
The band will celebrate indie record stores with the release of a special edition of Dark Matter on Record Store Day, April 20, 2024. You can find that special edition only at participating stores. To get more information and find participating store, check out Record Store Day’s website: https://www.recordstoreday.com.
Last but definitely not least, Pearl Jam will be supporting Dark Matter with an extensive world tour — the first time, the band has announced a new album and tour, with full tour dates simultaneously.
The world tour will see the band playing 25 cities in nine countries and will see them playing much of North America, including a two night run at Madison Square Garden, September 3, 2024 and September 4, 2024, as well as stops at Wrigley Field, Fenway Park and their first hometown shows in six years at Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena. The North American tour will feature support from Deep Sea Diver (leg 1) and Glen Hansard (leg 2).
The UK and European run includes their first show at London‘s brand new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. For that run of the tour, The Murder Capital will be support for much of the UK and EU dates; however, the great Richard Ashcroft will be support for Dublin and London.
The tour also sees the band’s first New Zealand and Australian dates in over a decade. Pixies will serve as support for those dates.
Tickets will be available two ways:
1. A Ten Club members-only presale will be held through Ticketmaster Request for eligible members. Only paid Ten Club members active as of Monday, February 12 are eligible to participate in this presale. More info at pearljam.com
2. Fans can register for a chance to participate in the Dark Matter World Tour 2024 registration sale at shops.ticketmasterpartners.com/pearl-jam by Sunday, February 18 at 11:59 PM local time for Europe, UK, Australia and New Zealand shows and by Sunday, February 18 at 11:59 pm PT for North America shows. This will be the only way for fans to participate in the onsale. Registration does not guarantee access to the sale.
The tour will use all-in pricing across all North America, Europe and UK shows to ensure the ticket price listed is the full out-of-pocket price inclusive of fees.
For fans in North America who can’t use their tickets, Pearl Jam and Ticketmaster will offer a Fan-to-Fan Face Value Ticket Exchange beginning at a later date to give fans the best chance to buy tickets at face value. To help protect the Exchange, Pearl Jam has also chosen to make tickets for this tour mobile only and restricted from transfer. This applies to all shows except those in Illinois and New York where non-transferability is prohibited by law. You must have a valid bank account or debit card within the country of the event(s) in order to sell through the Fan-to-Fan Face Value Ticket Exchange.
All tour dates are below.
Dark Matter World Tour Dates:
Date City Venue
May 04 Vancouver, BC Rogers Arena
May 06 Vancouver, BC Rogers Arena
May 10 Portland, OR Moda Center
May 13 Sacramento, CA Golden 1 Center
May 16 Las Vegas, NV MGM Grand Garden Arena
May 18 Las Vegas, NV MGM Grand Garden Arena
May 21 Los Angeles, CA Kia Forum
May 22 Los Angeles, CA Kia Forum
May 25** Napa Valley, CA BottleRock Festival
May 28 Seattle, WA Climate Pledge Arena
May 30 Seattle, WA Climate Pledge Arena
Jun 22 Dublin, IE Marlay Park
Jun 25 Manchester, UK Manchester Co-Op Live
Jun 29 London, UK Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Jul 02 Berlin, DE Waldbühne
Jul 03 Berlin, DE Waldbühne
Jul 06 Barcelona, ES Palau Sant Jordi
Jul 08 Barcelona, ES Palau Sant Jordi
Jul 11** Madrid, SE Mad Cool Festival
Jul 13** Lisbon, PT NOS Alive Festival
Aug 22 Missoula, MT Washington-Grizzly Stadium
Aug 26* Indianapolis, IN Ruoff Music Center
Aug 29 Chicago, IL Wrigley Field
Aug 31 Chicago, IL Wrigley Field
Sep 03 New York, NY Madison Square Garden
Sep 04 New York, NY Madison Square Garden
Sep 07 Philadelphia, PA Wells Fargo Center
Sep 09 Philadelphia, PA Wells Fargo Center
Sep 12 Baltimore, MD CFG Bank Arena
Sep 15 Boston, MA Fenway Park
Sep 17 Boston, MA Fenway Park
Nov 08 Auckland, NZ Go Media Stadium Mt Smart
Nov 13 Gold Coast, AU Heritage Bank Stadium
Nov 16 Melbourne, AU Marvel Stadium
Nov 21 Sydney, AU Giants Stadium
* Rescheduled date from 2022
** Festival dates are already on sale
New Video: Ginger AF Share Furious Protest Anthem “Femininity”
Formed back in 2018, Florida-based duo Ginger AF — multi-instrumentalist Kristen Cannell and Jerry Black — specialize in guitar-driven indie rock paired with an undercurrent of dystopian and existential themes, seemingly inspired by the dystopian hellscape we’re currently living in.
Their latest single “Femininity” is a hook-driven, mosh pit friendly ripper that sonically — to my ears, at least — seems to be indebted to 90s grunge and the Riot Grrl movement and rooted in righteous, feminist protest against a shitty and exploitive system and society. With “Femininity,” Cannell and Black have written a protest anthem against the growing way of draconian reproductive bills and laws across the country that make it impossible for medical providers to provide the healthcare that woman need — and endanger women in critical need.
Across significant portions of the country, there have been at least 64,000 rape-related pregnancies with no legal access to healthcare. That number is outrageous and absurd. And as result, the Florida duo’s single has a palpable and forceful urgency. It’s also a reminder that as voters, we must not lose sight of the fact that the world is complicated, and we’re going to have to make difficult and unsettling compromises for our loved ones’ well-being and safety.
The accompanying video begins with a newspaper featuring a headlines that read “Roe v. Wade Is Overturned,” “Overturning Roe Is An Insult to Women” and “Abortion Bans Will Result in More Women Dying” with the duo performing where the photos would normally be. The newspapers fade to the background — but important headlines pop up right behind the duo as they perform the song in a varying settings.
Throwback: Happy 55th Birthday, Dave Grohl!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Dave Grohl’s 55th birthday.
Throwback: Happy 59th Birthday, Eddie Vedder!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder’s 59th birthday.