Tag: Imagine Dragons

Music Festivals by William Ruben Helms

Summer Festival season is coming y’all. And naturally, that means a boatload of festival-related announcements over the next handful of months.

So let’s get to it, eh?

Founded in 1968, Festival d’été de Québec is a massive 11-day musical festival that hosts over 150 shows featuring internationally renowned and beloved headlining artists and emerging artists from all over the world in all genres playing on multiple stages in the heart of historic Québec City, Québec’s capital and one of the oldest cities in North America.

Festival d’été de Québec’s main stage is located on one of the most notable historical sites in Canada: The Plains of Abraham, where the British and French fought a decisive battle in the Seven Years’ War. The battle not only decided the fate of New France, but also led to the formation of Canada.

From what I’ve been told, FEQ is the closest North American analog to European city festivals like Wireless Festival, Primavera Sound or Roskilde. And because of its location, Québec City is arguably the closet thing to a European city within driving distance across the Northeastern US. And if you don’t feel like road tripping, you can take one of 21 direct flights to Jean Lesange/Québec City International Airport.

The 55th edition of the festival will take place from July 6, 2023 – July 16, 2023. Featuring over 200 artists, this year’s FEQ continues the festival’s long-held reputation for being a smorgasbord for any kind of music lover. Fans of stadium/arena rock can catch Foo Fighters, Green Day, Imagine Dragons, Quebecois icons Les Cowboys Fringants and Les Trois Accords. If you want something harder and more punk, you can catch Lamb of God and Bad Religion. The indie crowd could catch Lana Del Rey, The Smile, Feist, The War On Drugs, Alvvays and Saskatchewan-based singer/songwriter Andy Shauf. Hip-hop heads can catch rising stars Lil Durk and GloRilla, the legendary Cypress Hill and Canadian emcees bbno$ and Killy. Rising country artist Zach Bryan leads a group of country artists that include Megan Moroney and Québec’s Quebec Redneck Bluegrass Project. Pitbull and Illenium will provide dance floor bangers. French outfit Christine & The Queens will offer Francophone pop tunes. Additional artists on the bill include Heart’s legendary Ann Wilson, Quebec’s Robert Charlebois, Sudan Archives and Meet Me @ The Altar.

So pass for FEQ are available. The passes are fully transferrable — fans can share with friends and family if they’re unable to attend any of the 11-days. The passes start at$140 CAD (about $103 USD) or about $12.72 CAD per day (about $9.27 per day). Passes and information is available HERE.

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Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Penguin Prison Releases an Upbeat and Hopeful New Banger

Chris Glover is a New York-based multi-instrumentalist, singer/songwriter and electro pop artist best known as Penguin Prison. With Penguin Prison, Glover has a critically applauded discography that includes 2011’s self-titled debut and 2015’s Lost In New York — and a handful of viral hits including “Don’t Fuck With My Money,” “Show Me The Way” and RAC’s “Hollywood.” Additionally, Glover has released acclaimed remixes of Lana Del Rey, Ellie Goulding, and Imagine Dragons.

Glover’s latest Penguin Prison single “Better” is the first bit of new material from the acclaimed pop artist since last year’s “The Heat.” Beginning with a arpeggiated piano and soulful vocal-led intro with the quick addition of layered harmony, handclaps and shimmering synths, the track turns into a rousingly anthemic banger with the addition a sinuous bass line, Nile Rodgers-like funk guitar and an even more uptempo, two-step inducing groove. Subtly nodding at soul and gospel spirituals, the song was written with the direct intention of uplifting listeners and inspiring them to hold on to the hope of a better world — even if it’s just for the duration of a fun pop song. Honestly, considering the dire state of everything, the song offers a necessary escape, as all great pop songs inevitably do.

“This song is my response to the times we find ourselves in,” Glover explains. “The global pandemic, social injustice, climate change; it’s overwhelming. I wanted to write about rising above it all. I want the listener to feel hopeful that we can find a way to get through even if it’s just for the duration of the song.”


Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Dark and Sultry Visuals for K. Flay’s Anthemic “Blood in the Cut”

Born Kristine Meredith Flaherty, the Wilmette, IL-born, Los Angeles, CA-based singer/songwriter K. Flay emerged into the national and international scene with 2014’s Life as a Dog, an album that peaked on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart at #2 and Billboard’s Rap Albums chart at #14. She then signed with Interscope Records last year, as the first artist signed to Dan Reynolds’ Night Street Records, who released her latest effort,  the Grammy nominated album Every Where Is Some Where — receiving nods for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical with album single “Blood in the Cut” was nominated for Best Rock Song. Adding to a growing profile, Flaherty has made national televised appearances on NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers, TBS’ Conan, and has received praise from The New York Times and Pitchfork for material that features socio-political commentary and detailed lyrics, while reportedly being one of the most deliberate and dynamic effort to date, an effort that manages to capture the anxieties and uncertainties of today’s world. 

As for the Grammy nominated “Blood in the Cut,” the song has been a smash hit as it has amassed over 250,000 track equivalent units in the US according to Nielsen Music, spending more than 6 months on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart, peaking at #4, and was certified Gold in Canada, reaching #1 on the Canadian Alternative charts. And when you heard the song, you’ll see why it’s been an attention grabbing, smash hit: the incredibly self-assured song features Flaherty’s sultry cooing over a sleek production featuring bluesy guitar chords, propulsive drumming, swirling electronics and an anthemic hook reminiscent of Alanis Morrisette’s Jagged Little Pill, The Black Keys, Garbage and others, essentially balancing a careful tightrope between the blues, electronic rock and arena rock. 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of primary members, their Milwaukee, WI-born, Los Angeles, CA-based frontman and founder Austen Moret (synths and vocals),  Jace McPartland (bass) and Sab Cahrunas (drums), along with a rotating cast of guitarists including friends and long-time collaborators Anthony Francisco, Dan Beltran and Mike Aguado joining the band for live shows, the Los Angeles, CA-based indie rock act Midnight Divide has gone through several inceptions before settling on a synth-based, power chord and big drum-based sound paired with anthemic hooks inspired by TV on the Radio, Radiohead, Imagine Dragons, Vertical Horizon, Snow Patrol and others as you’ll hear on the gorgeously atmospheric, swooning and anthemic “Talking” off the band’s forthcoming sophomore EP, which features Moret’s earnest vocals throughout. At the core of the song is a plaintive plea to a lover (or friend) to work things out; that better times could be had if they can get on the same page. But just underneath the surface is an embittering realization that things may not work out as planned, that things have at time and place — and the result may be heartbreaking yet necessary.

As the band’s Moret explains press notes “‘Talking’ lived inside me for years before I could accept why it existed. But I now know that’s a good thing because it means what I wrote is truly honest. And that’s how all songs should be.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

British indie rock sensation Escapists can trace their origins to when Simon Glancy (vocals) relocated to London to concentrate on his songwriting, and as soon as he moved he asked the only musician friend he knew to help him record his musical ideas, Oil Court (guitar). Court then quickly recruited his friend, composer Max Perryment to play bass. And as the story goes, the trio spent a week of intensive songwriting sessions before deciding that they had enough musical and creative simpatico to continue collaborating together. Court’s former schoolmate Any Walsh (drums) was recruited to finalize the band’s lineup, and the newly formed quartet began writing and recording material inspired by Arcade Fire, The National and Broken Social Scene.

The quartet’s debut single received airplay from XFM‘s John Kennedy and within that year, they were touring with Imagine Dragons and played sets at Reading and Leeds Festivals. Continuing to build upon the buzz they received nationally, the quartet spent 2013 writing and recording the material that would comprise their 2014 debut, Only Bodies, which was released to critical praise from the blogosphere.

Over the past year or so, the band has reportedly gone through a change in sonic direction with their sound inching towards dance-floor-leaning post-punk. “Pyramid Scheme,” the first single off the band’s Eat You Alive possesses enormous, anthemic hooks, shimmering and angular guitar chords, thundering drumming, sinuous bass lines, and swooningly plaintive vocals. Structurally speaking there are some playful changes in tempo in a song that sounds as though its indebted to the likes of U2, Editors, The Killers, New Order and others.

Certainly, with such an enormous hooks and a dance-friendly sound, I think we’ll be hearing quite a bit from them over the next few months.

 

 

Uncategorized by William Ruben Helms

Chris Glover, is the creative mastermind and sole member of the New York-based indie dance pop sensation, Penguin Prison. Initially, Glover developed an international reputation for a series of remixes including Darren Hayes’ “Talk Talk Talk,” […]

Uncategorized by William Ruben Helms

Born and raised in Iowa, singer/songwriter Allyson Ezell had spent time zigzagging through different countries, across different cities, through a variety of jobs and love affairs, and naturally that kind of life frequently leads to […]