If you’ve been frequenting this site over the past two years or so, you may have stumbled across a couple of posts on Minneapolis, MN-based indie rock quartet Carroll. Comprised of founding members (and college classmates) Brian Hurlow […]
Tag: indie psych rock
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 […]
Holy Monitor is an an Athens, Greece-based music collective, who over the course of two self-released digital EPs Aeolus and Golden Light have developed a reputation for blending space rock, shoegaze and ambient music with music that explores ancient Greek mythology and the macro structure of the universe. And as you’ll hear on “Bend The Trees” off Aeolus, their sound might remind some listeners of RIDE, Spaceman 3, TOY, and others — as undulating and ambient synths are paired with a tight motorik groove, rolling bass lines, buzzing guitars and cooed vocals that float over an equally trippy and ethereal mix.
Comprised of siblings Kyle Davis (drums) and Tyler Davis (guitar, vocals), who were actually share the same birthday, two years apart, along with Jota Ese (bass) and Ric Alessio (organ and vocals), Nashville, TN-based quartet Chrome Pony have developed a growing profile for a fuzzy and heavily indebted 60s psych and garage rock sound. And with the release of Illegal Smiles, You Are the Pisces, Lazy Bones and their latest effort Past Lives, the Nashville-based quartet have added themselves to a growing list of artists that includes contemporary artists like Cool Ghouls, Raccoon Fighter, The Black Angels, Elephant Stone, Sleepy Sun and others.
Past Lives’ latest single “Ragged Child” has the quartet pairing twisting and tumbling organ chords, a rolling bass line and shimmering and chiming guitar chords with propulsive drumming, a trippy guitar solo and anthemic hooks, and the result is a shuffling and shambling, seemingly jam-based song that subtly meshes elements of grunge rock with 60s psych rock.
Chrome Pony is currently on tour with Cage the Elephant across both the European Union and the UK, and when the quartet returns to the States in March, they’ll be playing a series of US dates including stops at Savannah Stopover Festival and the Sweetwater 420 Festival. Check out tour dates here: http://www.bandsintown.com/ChromePony?came_from=198&mc_cid=528c75bfcc&mc_eid=c74f701724
Currently comprised of founding members Clint Sargent (guitar, vocals) and Luke Strahota (drums), along with Colin Sheridan (bass) and Kaitlyn Ni Donovan (vocals, guitar), the Portland OR-based shoegaze quartet The High Violets can trace their origins to the breakup of The Bella Low, which featured Sargent, Strahota and another founding member Violet Bianca Grace (who left after a few early gigs). After a lineup change that resulted in their current lineup, the quartet released the their EP Dream Away, their full-length debut 44 Downin and their critically applauded third effort To Where You Are through Irish label Reverb Records. And as a result The High Violets saw a rapidly growing profile across North America as they played sets at NXNE in Toronto and SXSW in Austin, TX and then released a remix album, Satellite Remixes, which featured remixes from the renowned Ulrich Schnauss, Carmen Rizzo and others.
Although the band is currently on hiatus from touring and live shows, they have remained active in the studio. The band’s fifth full-length effort, Heroes and Halos is slated for an April 1, 2016 release through Saint Marie Records and the album’s first single “Bells” has the band pairing layers of shimmering guitars and a propulsive and steady rhythm with Ni Donovan’s gorgeously ethereal and wistful vocals in a way that nods towards The Sundays “Here’s Where The Story Ends” but with a cosmic glow that belies a subtly modern production.
Late last year, I wrote about Liverpool-based shoegaze quintet The Vryll Society. The quintet, comprised of Michael Ellis, Ryan Ellis, Lewis McGuinness, Lloyd Shearer, and Benjamin Robinson, were discovered Alan Willis, the late founder of Deltasonic Records, who noticed potential in the band and guided the quintet through their development as a band and as songwriters. Over the course of the following year, the British shoegaze quintet locked themselves away in their rehearsal space, where they jammed and began writing material that was inspired by Funkadelic, Aphrodite’s Child, krautrock and classic shoegaze.
Now if you had been frequenting JOVM around then, you’d recall that I wrote about “Coshh,” the second single off the band’s debut EP Pangea. That particular single had the quintet pairing a tight, motorik groove consisting of wobbling bass lines and propulsive four-on-the-floor-like drumming, shimmering guitar chords played through layers of reverb and delay effect pedals, atmospheric electronics and anthemic hooks with ethereal, falsetto vocals to craft a song that possessed a mesmerizing cosmic sheen.
Sonically, the Liverpool-based quintet’s latest single “Self-Realization” will further cement their reputation for shimmering and anthemic shoegaze as the band pairs the prerequisite shimmering guitar chords, a driving motorik groove, wobbling and undulating electronics, twinkling keys and anthemic hooks with ethereal vocals to craft a sprawling song that structurally twists, bends and turns — while sounding as though it subtly nods at The Verve; in fact, the guitar work bears an uncanny resemblance to Nick McCabe’s expansive and expressive sound, all while bearing the cosmic glow that initially caught my attention.
Currently comprised of Laena Geronimo, Shannon Lay, Michael Rudes, and Amy Allen, the Los Angeles, CA-based psych rock/punk rock/post-rock quartet FEELS have developed a reputation locally for an intense live show — and with the release of the frenetic and sprawling “Tell Me,” the first single off the band’s forthcoming self-titled debut effort, produced by the renowned Ty Segall, has the band seeing a rapidly growing national profile, as The Fader and a few other websites across the blogosphere. Sonically, the band pairs layers of jangling and buzzing guitars, a propulsive rhythm section, laconic yet sultry vocals in a song that rapidly twists, turns and shifts tempo that nods at prog rock, as much as it sounds inspired by psych rock. Interestingly enough, the song reminds me quite a bit of The Mallard‘s equally frenetic, sprawling yet bristling Finding Meaning In Deference.
Comprised of Rishi Dihr (lead vocals, sitar, bass), Jean-Gabriel Lambert (drums, backing vocals), and Miles Dupire (drums, backing vocals), Montreal, QC-based psych rock trio Elephant Stone have developed a national profile across their native Canada, as well as a profile Stateside for a vintage psych rock sound reminiscent of The Beatles, The Kinks and others, as it the Canadian trio’s material employed elements of traditional Eastern instrumentation — i.e., the sitar — with Western songwriting. And as a result, over the past few years, Elephant Stone has become a JOVM mainstay artist.
The 2014 release of the Canadian trio’s third full-length effort, The Three Poisons, revealed a band that was in the process of a major change in sonic direction. Unlike the band’s first two albums, the material on Three Poisons pushed sitar to the background — and when it was employed, it was mainly to add texture and color. Now, if you were frequenting this site towards the end of last year, you may recall that I wrote about “The Devil’s Shelter,” a song that featured a guest spot from The Black Angels‘ Alex Maas. The members of Elephant Stone pair tense, undulating synths, shimmering sitar and guitar chords, and propulsive rhythm with Dihr’s vocals for the song’s verses and Maas’ vocals to craft a song that feels (and sounds) ominous and murky, while channelling The Black Angels “Don’t Play With Guns.”
The Montreal-based trio’s latest single “Where I’m Going” continues where the trio’s experimentation left off — while suggesting that the band’s newest sonic direction has been inspired by the likes of Primal Scream (in particular, I think of “Autobahn 66” and
“Detroit” as Dihr’s ethereal cooing with shimmering guitar chords, a tight and propulsive, motorik groove, four-on-the-floor drumming and layers of shimmering and undulating synths in what may arguably be the most dance-floor ready songs that they’ve released to date — all while remaining as psychedelic as ever. Interestingly, the band have been working on their fourth full-length effort, and if the last two singles they’ve released are indicative of its sound, the members of Elephant Stone are set to push their sound — and in turn, psych rock — in new directions.
The band will be on tour throughout March, and it includes an NYC date. Check out the tour dates below.
ELEPHANT STONE TOUR DATES
03/10 Toronto ON – Sneaky Dee’s (Tickets)
03/11 Indianapolis IN – Joyful Noise (Tickets)
03/12 Little Rock AR – Vino’s (Tickets)
03/14 Austin TX – SXSW
03/18 Memphis TN – Hi-Tone (Tickets)
03/19 Cincinnati OH – MOTR (Info)
03/20 Brooklyn NY – Baby’s All Right (Tickets)
04/14 Montreal QC – La Sala Rossa (Tickets)
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.
Comprised of Evan Blum, Jacob Weaver and Rob Monsma, the Louisville, KY-based trio Murals was formed over 10 years ago while its members were high schoolers. As the story goes, the trio of Blum, Weaver and Monsma experienced several dips and turns with the members of the band eventually returning to their hometown to write and record music in an abandoned childcare center, located on a hill in a shady part of town — the sort of place the band notes, where acid trips and all-day jam sessions would go hand-in-hand.
With the release of “Violet City Lantern,” the album title track and first single off Violet City Lantern, and a subsequent stop at this past fall’s CMJ Festival, the Louisville-based trio quickly received national attention. “Long Bridge,” Violet City Lantern‘s latest single is a slow-burning and moody bit of psychedelia that sounds as though it draws from The Moody Blues’ “Nights in White Satin,” The Beatles, The Beach Boys and 70s AM radio rock as shimmering guitar chords played with gentle amounts of reverb and wah wah pedal are paired with swirling and ethereal keyboards, gentle yet propulsive drumming and a weary baritone. The gorgeous track slowly unfolds towards the listener in a way that evokes waking from an intensely vivid dream.
New Video: The Creepily Seductive New Video for Psychic Love’s “Nancy”
Psychic Love is the (mostly) solo recording project of Los Angeles-based Laura Peters, who occasionally collaborates with Erick Jordan. Reportedly inspired by the true crime series that constantly air on Investigation Discovery and other […]
New Audio: Introducing the 60s Channeling Psych Rock Sound of Heron Oblivion
Comprised of Meg Baird (drums and vocals), Noel V. Harmonson (guitar), Charlie Saufley (guitar) and Ethan Miller (bass), the San Francisco-based psych rock quartet Heron Oblivion can trace their origins to several different musical projects and […]
Much ink has been spilled on the London-based quartet The Psychedelic Furs of the course of their almost 40 year recording career. And if you were a child of the 80s as I was, the band will likely hold a dear place in your heard — especially if you loved Pretty in Pink. “Love My Way” is one my favorite Psychedelic Furs songs — and interestingly, Grace Vonderkuhn, a Wilmington, DE-based singer/songwriter and guitarist, developing a reputation for a sound that meshes psych rock, garage rock and pop recently covered “Love My Way.”
Vonderkuhn’s cover retains the song’s familiar melody and anthemic hooks but slows the song’s tempo down to a slow-burning, trippy shuffle consisting of layers of feedback, blistering guitar work and thundering drum, turning the song into a broodingly bluesy wail.
Comprised of Kyle Miller (vocals and lead guitar), Jake Supple (vocals, bass and drums), and Ty Baron (guitar and keys) Denver, CODenver, CO-based psych rock trio Plum have specialized in the beloved psych rock sound of the late 1960s and early 1970s –in other words power chord heavy songs with blistering, mind-melting solos, thundering drumming and soulful vocals and harmonies. But interestingly enough, it’s a sound that also nods towards the grunge rock sounds of Pearl Jam (think of “Evenflow“), Soundgarden and others without being being carbon copy mimicry; in fact, the members of Plum push a familiar sound to a subtly modern context without scrubbing away what listeners love about the sound — power chords and anthemic hooks as you’ll hear on their latest single “Light Years, Dark Years.”
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.