Tag: indie rock

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstay Chopper Shares Atmospheric and Brooding “Moongirl”

JOVM mainstay outfit Chopper is the solo recording project of  Copenhagen-based singer/songwriter and musician Jonatan K. Magnussen, who is best known in Denmark for being the frontman of the goth band The Love Coffin. With Chopper, Mangussen specializes in what he has dubbed “shock pop,” a crowd-pleasing sound that draws from Eurodance, glam rock, industrial, disco and B horror films.

Pink Cotton Candy Records released the mini-album Shock Pop Vol. 1 earlier this year. Shock Pop Vol. 1 saw the Danish artist continuing to explore the inherent dualities of the human condition while touching upon love, sexuality and carefree joy. Sonically, the material was influenced by Pet Shop Boys, Skinny Puppy and Underworld — but while attempting to place those influences within a modern context. 

Shock Pop Vol. 2 is a stark contrast to the exuberant, dance-floor friendly material on its immediate predecessor with the forthcoming effort seeing the Danish artist crafting an atmospheric and cinematic sound that’s seemingly indebted to Rebel Yell-era Billy Idol, The Sisters of Mercy, Bauhaus, Scary Monsters-era Bowie and others.

“Moongirl,” Shock Pop Vol. 2‘s first single is a slow-burning and remarkably cinematic track featuring atmospheric synths, a hypnotic and propulsive bass line, thunderous boom bap-like drum machines, twinkling keys, buzzing bursts of guitar paired with Magnussen’s dramatic delivery — and his penchant for crafting enormous, rousingly anthemic hooks.

The song reveals an artist, who is able to recreate that big 80s arena rock-like ballad with an uncanny specificity paired with introspective, melancholy lyrics and a subtly modern take.

Shot by Amalie Maj and Thomas Skjølstru and edited by Magnussen, the accompanying video for “Moongirl” features some fittingly brooding footage of lightning strikes, graveyards, Magnussen looking like a young Robert Smith with a lit candle in that graveyard, childhood and family photos of a dear one, who may no longer be with us, and lastly Magnussen walking along the shore. For those of you, who like me, were alive and conscious during early 80s MTV’s heyday, this one will bring back some fond memories.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: JOVM Mainstay MAGON Shares Dreamy and Whimsical “Under The Sea”

Over the past couple of years, I’ve managed to spill quite a bit of ink on the remarkably prolific, Israeli-born, singer/songwriter, musician and JOVM mainstay MAGON.

Shortly after the release of his fifth album, A Night in Bethlehem, the Israeli-born artist, along with his partner and young daughter relocated to Costa Rica, where he continued an ongoing period of remarkable prolificacy with his sixth album, Did You Hear the Kids?

Did You Hear The Kids? featured what may arguably have been the broadest and most expansive sonic palette of any of his previously released work — and a collaboration with Paris-based indie duo SOS Citizen. 

The Israeli-born, Costa Rican-based artist recently found creative and musical simpatico with local indie rock outfit Las Robertas, which led to his seventh album Chasing Dreams, which is slated for a December 7, 2023 release.

Chasing Dreams reportedly sees the JOVM mainstay continuing a slow-burn expansion of his sound with the addition of string arrangements, which helps add a lush quality to the material. 

Last month, I wrote about the album’s first single, album title track “Chasing Dreams,” a song built around strummed acoustic guitar, shimmering pedal steel and gentle drumming paired with Magon’s dreamily laconic delivery. Continuing a run of material that seems indebted to Exile on Main Street-era Rolling Stones and Harvest-era Neil Young, “Chasing Dreams” features some subtle nods to country and folk. And much like the material on his last two albums, the single is rooted in the sort of deep, heartfelt introspection informed by living a well-lived life and getting older, with the song touching upon themes of maturation, love and enjoying cherished family bonds while you have them.  

Chasing Dreams‘ second and latest single “Under the Sea” is a child-like lullaby that sounds a bit like Yellow Submarine and “Octopus Garden”– perhaps as a result of a lush, 60s psych rock-inspired arrangement performed by the JOVM mainstay and his new collaborators Las Robertas, and an unfussy production. But at its core, the song is rooted in the pure and whimsical sense of exploration and curiosity of childhood.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Lyric Video: Deap Vally Tackles a Classic Stones Tune with Swaggering Aplomb

Acclaimed Los Angeles-based rock duo Deap Vally — Julie Edwards (drums, vocals) and Lindsey Troy (guitar, vocals) — can trace their origins to the duo’s chance meeting in a knitting class over a decade ago. The Los Angeles-based duo’s debut single, 2012’s “Gonna Make My Own Money,” was released through tiny British indie label Ark Recordings.

Since then, Edwards and Troy went on to release three albums of roaring, idiosyncratic maximalist minimalist rock — 2013’s SISTRONIX, 2016’s Nick Zinner-produced FEMEJISM and 2021’s MARRIAGE. They’ve shared stages with Blondie, Garbage, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Queens of the Stone Age and a lengthy list of renowned acts. Along with that, they participated in a series of groundbreaking collaborations with an eclectic array of artists including Peaches, KT Tunstall, Jamie Hince, Soko, and The Flaming Lips, with whom they recorded a joint album, 2020’s DEAP LIPS.

Although the band has been received critical applause and won fans across the globe, maneuvering the contemporary music industry has become increasingly difficult. And if you add the challenges of the pandemic and raising families, the duo increasingly found themselves struggling to fit into the recording, promotion and touring cycle. “That model isn’t compatible with our current lives,” Lindsey Troy says. “We found we just can’t function as a traditional band anymore,” Julie Edwards adds. “It’s time for both of us to explore motherhood and other avenues of our lives properly, rather than squeezing them into our artist’s hustle.”

“I’m so proud of all our records, and Julie and I have an uncanny creative relationship,” Troy says. “It’s hard to ever picture having that with someone else. After all that, ya never know what could happen! We need to find the balance where we can focus on the fun stuff, but have the freedom to make the music we love. We just felt it would be fitting to go out with a bang, not a whimper. I felt marking this occasion should be a cathartic process: healing deep wounds, reconnecting with old friends and collaborators – and falling in love with Deap Vally all over again.” 

So while Deap Vally is calling an end to their decade-plus long run together, they’ve decided to go out with a bang — and not with a whimper. They’re releasing a re-recorded version of their full-length debut, SISTRONIX 2.0, which is slated for a February 1, 2024 release through their own Deap Vally Records. The double LP will also include demos, previously unreleased covers, re-recordings of limited release B-sides and rarities, and much more. Pre-order vinyl, exclusive bundles and the digital LP here.  

They’ll be supporting SISTRONIX 2.0 with a final tour, which will see them celebrating SISTRONIX‘s 10th anniversary by playing SISTRONIX in its entirety. The tour begins with West Coast dates during November. And a Midwest and East Coast run in early 2024. The east coast run includes a February 17, 2024 stop at Le Poisson Rouge. 

More information on the tour can be found here. L.A. Witch, JOVM mainstays Death Valley Girls, Sloppy Jane, and Spoon Benders will be opening for the band in select markets. A handful of new tour dates have been added and from what I understand there may be more added, so be on the lookout.

Earlier this year, I wrote about album single “Baby I Call Hell (Deap Vally’s Version),” a swaggering and towering ripper built around buzzing power chords, thunderous drumming and soulful vocals that capture the quintessential Deap Vally sound and energy but with a completely different, new context: The duo is a bit older and wiser. Kids are around — and that forces you to rethink everything about your life and career. But they do so lovingly and wistfully with a sense of admiration and awe as though the pair is saying to each other: “Holy shit! We did actually did THAT!” 

“SISTRIONIX is just classic Deap Vally. It’s so pure and raw,” Troy continues. “It really encapsulates an era — an era of dank, yeasty backstage rooms across the UK, of the endorphin rush of that first wave of success, of youthful drunken, wild nights, of the worldly adventures and the newness of it all.”  

“We’re just going to go to play as many places as we can and say farewell to everyone,” Julie Edwards says. “Though the band is playing live for the last time, the door is open to us to collaborate. Now we’re all about re-establishing a workflow and connection around our friendship, after all we’ve shared together along the way.” 

“‘Baby I Call Hell’ is quintessential Deap Vally,” Lindsey Troy says. “It was the first song we ever wrote as a band, so it’s very meaningful to our story. Re-recording that song was a lot of fun, but also a lot of pressure because we wanted to make sure the recording captured the magic of the song again.” 

SISTRONIX 2.0‘s latest single is a previously unreleased swampy and sultry cover of The Rolling Stones‘ “Ventilator Blues” that captures the vibe and feel of the original while being defiantly feminist.

“Covering ‘Ventilator Blues’ was a special privilege to pay homage to one of the greatest and most seminal bands in the history of rock’n’roll,” Deap Vally’s Lindsey Troy says. “We recorded this song in 2014 and it has been in the vaults ever since, so I’m really glad it’s finally seeing the light of day!”

 “‘Ventilator Blues,’ one of our favorite Rolling Stones songs, is a song about the inevitable end we are all hurtling towards, and we felt it was a perfect way to soundtrack the final chapter of Deap Vally,” the band’s Julie Edwards adds.”To assemble this video, I sifted through archival footage from twelve years of heavy riffs, sweat, and dream-fulfillment.  This was a very cathartic exercise and I recommend it for anyone confronting the end of a project that meant everything to them.  This video would not have been possible without the tireless efforts of videographer and director Anthony Ferrara, who filmed some of our earliest shows, and has continued to bear digital witness to us up until the present day.”

Video by William Ruben Helms

Throwback: Happy 60th Birthday, Johnny Marr!

JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Johnny Marr’s 60th birthday.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Led by songwriter and producer Aaro Seppänen, emerging Helsinki-based indie outfit Favourite Colours has quickly developed a unique sound featuring reverb-drenched guitars, lush synths, catchy melodies that draws from ’80s and ’90s dream pop and shoegaze, as well as punk and hip-hop while being rooted in strong emotions, ranging from bittersweet melancholy to heavenly euphoria.

Favourite Colours’ full-length debut, Summer ’13 was released last Friday. The hazy and nostalgia-including album features three previously released singles “Better,” “Through the Night” and “Remember That Day.” The album’s fourth and latest single “Play It Loud” is a brooding yet gorgeous song built around atmospheric and twinkling synths, reverb-drenched shoegazer guitar textures, enormous and rousingly anthemic hooks paired with a plaintive and yearning vocal. Sonically, the song seems to nod at A Storm in Heaven-era Verve, Love Is Here-era Starsailor — with clear nods to Brit Pop.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Through the release of their full-length debut, 2021’s In This Town and last year’s Zoo Avenue EP, the Southeast Ohio-based indie outfit The Laughing Chimes, founded by siblings Evan and Quinn Seurkamp, firmly cemented a timeless sound that draws from American and British jangle pop from the 80s and 90s that could have easily originated in Athens, GA, Dunedin, New Zealand — or Southeastern Ohio.

The Southeastern Ohio-based band share two new, gloomy singles — just in time for the Halloween season. The A-side “A Promise To Keep” is an original that sees the band expanding upon the jangle pop sound that they’ve developed with hints of early R.E.M. and late 70s post punk, with angular yet lyrical bass lines from the band’s newest member Avery Bookman and glistening bursts of synth paired with Evan Seukamp singing lyrics describing abandoned Appalachian towns with cavernous reverb. The result is a haunting anthem of a decaying, slowly dying America that should feel familiar to those who have grown up in small, one-industry towns across the country.

The B-side is a loving and fairly straightforward cover of The Ocean Blue‘s “Ballerina Out of Control,” off 1991’s Cerulean. While retaining the essential elements of the original — in particular, the jangling guitar melody and twinkling keys — The Laughing Chimes version manages to be possess a bittersweet ache that compliments the A-side single, while evoking the chill and gloom of autumn.


 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Kilo Bravo Shares Arena Rock Friendly “Lucinda”

Long Beach, CA-based indie outfit Kilo Bravo will be releasing their sophomore album in early 2024. Their latest single “Lucinda” is an arena rock friendly ripper built around Queens of the Stone Age and Foo Fighters-like power chords and thunderous drumming paired with rousingly anthemic hooks and choruses.

“Lucinda” sees the band known for sentimental tunes exploring new sonic horizons while revealing a band that can play swaggering, fuzzy rippers with the best of them.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Philly’s Rob Rapp Shares “120 Minutes”-era MTV-like “Dysfunctional Machine”

Philadelphia-based DIY artist Rob Rapp specializes in lo-fi pop that’s steeped in the tradition of 90s indie rock. Influenced by the likes of Guided by Voices and Stephen Malkmus, Rapp looks to carry that tradition well into the modern area.

2023 has been a busy year for the Philadelphia-based lo-fi pop artist. He has released two albums this year: Wires, Liars and Cryers, which was released earlier this year, and the recently released Meanwhile in Collegeville.

Built around fuzzy power chords, big shout-along worthy hooks and choruses paired with Rapp’s ironically detached delivery, Meanwhile in Collegeville‘s latest single “Dysfunctional Machine” wouldn’t be out of place during an episode of 120 Minutes back in the day. Lyrically and thematically, “Dysfunctional Machines” captures the bitterness, malaise, unease and frustrations of modern day life, delving into the mindset and feelings of hardworking Joes and Janes busting their asses thanklessly through the bullshit and lies of everyday life — with as much of their dignity and sanity intact as possible.

The accompanying video features drone-based footage of an abandoned factory site, followed by stock footage of workers making a variety of things in the factory.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Andrew Bishop is a grizzled Vancouver music scene vet, who over the past decade has contributed his talents as a guitarist and/or singer/songwriter to a number of local outfits including Alex Little & The Suspicious Minds, Twin River and his own country-infused solo project White Ash Falls.

The Vancouver-based artist’s latest project WAASH sees him merging his prolific songwriting skills with a passion for expansive shoegaze soundscapes, marking both a culmination of his musical career and a fresh start. Initially started as a solo recording project, WAASH has gradually evolved into a full-fledged live band. 

WAASH’s self-titled debut Colin Stewart co-produced EP is slated for a November 20, 2023 release. The EP’s five meticulously crafted tracks showcase Bishop’s departure from his long-held, conventional songwriting process: Instead of relying on guitar, he explored beats and baselines as starting points. For him, this approach allowed him to delve into minute details, crafting lyric and melodies that intricately fit each song. The EP was recorded with Bishop’s Alex Little & The Suspicious Minds bandmates at Afterlife Studios and further refined at The Hive with Colin Stewart. Over in East Vancouver, Bishop added ethereal keyboards, harmonies from Louise Burns and perfected the EP’s reverb-soaked aesthetic. 

Earlier this month, I wore about “There’s Never Enough Voices,” a song built around glistening, reverb-soaked guitars, and a tight motorik groove paired with Bishop’s plaintive delivery and carefully crafted, anthemic hooks and choruses. But brooding despair, confusion, regret and unease swirl just underneath the sleek, arena rock friendly surface. As Bishop explains the song is about trying to come to an understanding about the intentions within your actions and the realization of your past mistakes.

The self-titled EP’s second and latest single, the upbeat and anthemic “It Goes On” is built around reverb-soaked, swirling shoegazer-like guitar textures and Bishop’s laconic and plaintive delivery paired with his penchant for rousing and infectious hooks and choruses. Seemingly indebted to 120 Minutes-era MTV alt rock with a slick modern touch, “It Goes On,” as the Canadian indie outfit explains “is about moving on, learning to let go and not really listening to what others have to say. Sometimes relationships get to a point when both people don’t really care anymore. The writing’s on the wall, and everyone around you knows this is coming. You just have to take a moment, reflect and allow yourself time to breathe.”

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Lucius Arthur Shares Swooning, Heartbroken “Scarlet Tears”

Lucius Arthur is a mysterious, emerging singer/songwriter and musician. His latest single “Scarlet Tears” is a slow-burning, lo-fi inspired, guitar pop ballad built around strummed acoustic guitar, skittering, blown-out boom bap-like beats paired with Arthur’s achingly tender delivery. While sonically drawing from Radiohead, “Scarlet Tears” is “a personal song about a recent break up,” as Arthur explains.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Eleanor Kelly Shares Sleek and Anthemic “Sentiments”

Eleanor Kelly is a New York-based singer/songwriter and musician, who has spent stints in Belgium and Israel. “Fueled by coffee, cat cuddles, 80s synth and metal,” Kelly has been writing and performing songs from a young age. Those songs have frequently featured lyrics inspired and informed by her personal life and her immediate environment — especially in a politically-charged environment like Israel.

When Kelly turned 13, she submitted a song to Eurovision Song Content. That song received positive feedback but was eventually declined because it was deemed “too political.”

After playing a variety of roles in a number of different music projects throughout her life, Kelly stepped out into the spotlight as a solo artist with the release of her debut single “Daisy Chain” earlier this year, which showcased an artist influenced by Nine Inch Nails, Depeche Mode, Garbage, Deftones with subtle nods to European and Middle Eastern music.

Kelly is currently working on her debut EP, which is slated for release next year. She’s also preparing for a series of live shows around the New York Metropolitan area. But in the meantime, her latest single “Sentiments” is a sleek and slinky number built around a sinuous bass line, swirling shoegazer-like guitar tones and glistening synth oscillations paired with Kelly’s sultry delivery and an enormous, remarkably catchy hook. Sonically, “Sentiments” channels a synthesis of It’s Blitz-era Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Garbage and Dum Dum Girls among others, while displaying a seemingly effortless craftsmanship.

Created using AI, the accompanying video uses 90s Anime and follows a female protagonist desperately trying to survive through a series of evil and bad scenarios and cartoon baddies.

“‘Sentiments’ was written as a song of empowerment. I originally wrote these lyrics as an outlet for my frustration with the current state of the world, which also has a major impact on my personal life as a young woman on this planet (as well as that of many others),” Eleanor Kelly explains. “The lyrics deal with a faltering reality, where it seems hard to find the positive things to hold on to, and to find the ability to make a change. When it came to the instrumentation, the writing started out with a funky bassline and was built from there. I wanted the listener to feel more energized and empowered as the song went on. To do so I chose to use various synths, fuzzy guitars, a deep bass, and loud drums, building up to the last chorus, which is layered to produce the most energizing moment in the composition. While all my previous songs have been produced solely by me, I worked with co-producer, Harper James, on the final stages of this song. Harper also mixed and mastered the track.

“When thinking about the music video, I wanted to emphasize the message that ‘Sentiments’ presents,” Kelly adds. “Using AI, which is currently a controversial topic in most creative fields, I decided to present the lyrics in the form of a 90’s vintage Anime – an ode to my childhood, which felt like a simpler and more innocent time. The story follows a lead female character, haunted by various bad scenarios in her existence on Earth, which are represented by the shifting characters that chase her through space and time. Fed up with this reality, she decides to fight back, eventually destroying the bad with her own inner power. The ability to do so through animation, which unfortunately, I do not have the power to do in real life, complemented the empowering aspect of the song.”

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: SPELLES Shares Brooding and Uneasy “Night Terrors”

SPELLES is a mysterious Los Angeles-based band that has released two EPs, 2015’s self-titled EP and 2021’s Machete, as well as a standalone single, 2017’s “Dead in the Water.” Their material has amassed over 5 million streams across DSPs while being praised by the likes of Consequence, CLASH, BBC, NME, NPR and others. And adding to a growing profile, they’ve had songs appear on shows like Good Girls, Pretty Little Liars and several others.

Their full-length debut, Diving Into the Arms of the Divine is slated for a November 15, 2023 release. The Los Angeles-based outfit’s latest single, the anthemic and brooding “Night Terrors” sees the bad pairing powerhouse soulful vocals with a bluesy bass synth riff and propulsive, pulsating drums. The song’s choruses feature glistening organ textures and eerie string, which emphasize a creeping and uneasy sense of dread throughout. Sonically, the song sounds like a trippy synthesis of The White Stripes, The Black Angels, Amy Winehouse and Suicide while rooted in seemingly lived-in lyricism.

As the band explains, the song touches upon a familiar dichotomy: “the feelings of hope and hopeless that one inevitably experiences when chasing an elusive dream.”

Fittingly, the accompanying video features occult and creepy imagery, stock imagery of eclipses, the band’s lead vocalist being chased by an unseen and elusive attacker and more.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstay MAGON Shares Intimate and Introspective “Chasing Dreams”

Over the past couple of years, I’ve managed to spill quite a bit of ink on the remarkably prolific, Israeli-born, singer/songwriter, musician and JOVM mainstay MAGON. Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site during that period, you might recall that shortly after the release of his fifth album A Night in Bethlehem, the Israeli-born JOVM mainstay, along with his partner and young daughter relocated to Costa Rica, where he continued upon his long-held reputation of being prolific, and released his sixth album Did You Hear the Kids?

Did You Hear The Kids? featured what may arguably have been the broadest and most expansive sonic palette of any of his previously released work — and a collaboration with Paris-based indie duo SOS Citizen.

The Israeli-born, Costa Rican-based artist recently found creative and musical simpatico with local indie rock outfit Las Robertas, which led to his latest single, “Chasing Dreams,” the album title track of his forthcoming seventh album, Chasing Dreams.

Chasing Dreams reportedly sees the JOVM mainstay continuing a slow-burn expansion of his sound with the addition of string arrangements, which helps add a lush quality to the material.

Built around strummed acoustic guitar, shimmering pedal steel, gentle drumming paired with Magon’s dreamily laconic delivery, the JOVM mainstay’s latest single continues a run of material that sonically sounds a bit indebted to Exile on Main Street-era Rolling Stones and Harvest-era Neil Young with the song featuring nods to country, folk and psych rock. Much like the material on his latest two albums, “Chasing Dreams” is rooted in the deep, heartfelt introspection informed by getting older and living a life well-lived with the song touching upon themes of maturation, love and cherished family bonds.

The accompanying video for “Chasing Dreams” features tender and lovingly shot family footage filmed in Sinai, Egypt. The video offers an intimate look into the artist’s life and his personal journey.

Chasing Dreams is slated for a December 1, 2023 release.