Tag: indie rock

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Desure Shares Slow-Burning And Atmospheric “Draw From Memory”

Josh Desure is a rising singer/songwriter and musician, best known as Desure. His forthcoming EP Still Blue reportedly sees Desure further cementing a growing reputation for preferring the spaces between genres with the EP featuring genre-bending material that makes room for 808 drum machines, vintage synths, organic instruments and the sharply-written hooks that have long-anchored his work.

Playing an important role in Still Blue EP‘s overall sound and aesthetic is an eclectic cast of collaborators including Jonathan Tyler, Midland‘s Cameron Duddy, Nikki Lane and producer/chart-topping songwriter Joe Janiak. Desure and his collaborators spent days at studio with the goal of pairing Desure’s organic songwriting with something truly unexpected. The end result is an EP that’s autobiographical but also pairs old-school nostalgia with an emphasis on modern and adventurous arrangements.

Interestingly despite his sonic and stylistic distance from Country music, Desure’s songwriting and live performances have caught the attention of the likes of Willie Nelson, Dwight Yoakam, Midland, and Jamestown Revival, playing opening slots for each of those artists on their respective US tours. The rising singer/songwriter and musician has made the rounds of the Stateside festival circuit with stops at Ohana, Bumbershoot, Pilgrimage, and Wonderfront. And building upon a growing profile, the rising artist’s Still Blue EP is slated for a February 17, 2023 release through Range Music/Virgin Label Services.

The EP’s latest single “Draw From Memory” is a slow-burning ballad that pairs a bit of old-school country twang and atmospheric synth pop with Desure’s knack for well-placed, razor-sharp hooks. But the song is rooted in earnest lyrics inspired by lived-in experience: The song’s narrator talks of the difficulties of having a life that has him on the road, of missing his love desperately while being on the road — and of his hope that their love will endure.

“I wrote this song on tour in the U.K. in my green room before soundcheck. I remember playing it at soundcheck and my friend Mark being moved by it. He asked what song that was and I let him know I just got done writing it for my wife while I was missing her during tour,” Desure explains. “My favorite songs come to me like that. When I sit down and play a few chords and it all flows together. I also love it because it’s another song I wrote for my wife to remind us that we can endure anything together.”

Directed by Desure, the accompanying video features the rising artist, singing and dancing by himself in front of VHS fuzz and psychedelic backgrounds.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Sophie Allison’s latest Soccer Mommy album, the Daniel Lopatin (a.k.a. Oneohtrix Point Never)-produced Sometimes, Forever was released earlier this year through Loma Vista/Concord. The critically applauded album sees Allison pushing her sound in new directions — but without eschewing the unsparing lyricism and catchy melodies that have won her attention across the blogosphere and elsewhere. 

Inspired by the concept that neither sorrow nor happiness is permanent, Sometimes, Forever is a fresh peek into the mind of a bold, young artist who synthesizes everything — retro sounds, personal tumult, the disorder of modern life — into music that feels built to last for a long time. The album’s material is also partly inspired by the uncomfortable push and pull between her desire to make meaningful art, her skepticism about the mechanics of careerism, and the mundane, artless administrative chaos that comes with all of it. 

If you’ve been frequenting this site over the course of the past year, you may recall that I’ve written about the album’s woozy first single “Shotgun” an infectious banger centered around a classic grunge song structure — quiet verses, explosive choruses paired with layers of distorted guitars, Allison’s achingly plaintive vocals, an enormous hook, thunderous drumming and a throbbing groove. 

“Shotgun” manages to liken a young romance to a sort of chemical high — but without the bruising and sickening comedown, which always comes after. But throughout the song, its narrator focuses on small moments in a love affair that’s imbued with a deep, personal meaning, “‘Shotgun’ is all about the joys of losing yourself in love,” explains Allison. “I wanted it to capture the little moments in a relationship that stick with you.”

Over the summer, rising indie electro pop outfit Magdalena Bay recently remixed “Shotgun” turning the track into a futuristic, glittery, club banger featuring glistening synth arpeggios, tweeter and woofer rattling thump and wobbling low end paired with Allison’s plaintive vocals fed through gentle amounts of vocoder and other effects. While being a decidedly bold and adventurous, the Magdalena Bay remix retains the core elements of the original — Allison’s penchant for earnest, lived-in lyricism, enormous hooks and the song’s overall woozy feel. 

Last night, Allison began her fall tour to support the new album — and the tour includes a November 9, 2022 sold-out show at Webster Hall. Interestingly enough, Halloween is the acclaimed JOVM mainstay’s favorite holiday, and to celebrate both the tour and the holiday, Allison shared a previously unreleased draft version of “Darkness Forever,” one of the album’s darkest tracks.

“Darkness Forever (Sophie’s Version)” is a decidedly lo-fi and woozy take centered around bubbling synths, strummed guitar, skittering and blown out beats paired with Allison’s ethereal and plaintive cooing. While the album version manages to be spectral and brooding with a stormy guitar solo to punctuate it all, Sophie’s version is creepier and evokes an uneasy sense of dread.

“This version of ‘Darkness Forever’ is really exciting for me because it’s kind of what got me inspired to start working on the rest of the album,” Allison explains. “It felt new and fresh, and I had a lot of fun making it. When I was done with it, I felt very ready to work on more stuff for the record.”

Tour Dates

10/29/22 – Madison, WI @ Majestic Theatre *

10/30/22 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue *

11/01/22 – Chicago, IL @ Metro *

11/02/22 – Evanston, IL @ SPACE * [SOLD OUT]

11/04/22 – Buffalo, NY @ Town Ballroom *

11/05/22 – North Adams, MA @ Mass MOCA *

11/06/22 – Boston, MA @ House of Blues *

11/09/22 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall ^ [SOLD OUT]

11/10/22 – Middletown, CT @ Harbor Park [SOLD OUT]

11/11/22 – Philadelphia, PA @ Franklin Music Hall ^

11/12/22 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club ^ [SOLD OUT]

11/13/22 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club ^

11/14/22 – Saxapahaw, NC @ Haw River Ballroom ^

11/16/22 – Charlotte, NC @ Neighborhood Theatre ^

11/17/22 – Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade Heaven Stage ^

11/18/22 – Birmingham, AL @ Saturn ^

11/19/22 – Nashville, TN @ Brooklyn Bowl ^

11/30/22 – St. Louis, MO @ Pageant #

12/02/22 – Ft. Collins, CO @ Washington’s #

12/03/22 – Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre #

12/04/22 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Depot #

12/06/22 – Seattle, WA @ Moore Theatre #

12/07/22 – Vancouver, BC @ Commodore #

12/08/22 – Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom #

12/10/22 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater #

12/11/22 – Santa Ana, CA @ The Observatory #

12/13/22 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern #

12/14/22 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren #

12/15/22 – El Paso, TX @ Lowbrow Palace #

12/16/22 – Austin, TX @ Emo’s East #

12/17/22 – Dallas, TX @ House of Blues #

* with support from Lightning Bug

^ with support from Helena Deland

# with support from TOPS

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Texas-born singer/songwriter and musician Katy Rea left Texas 12 years ago for the promise and opportunity of New York. Rea auditioned for several television parts and stage plays, occasionally earning a role in someone else’s story, basking momentarily in the flickering glow of rare, unsteady and infrequent success. However, songwriting was her true love and solace, and for her, the only way she could reliably self-soothe. 

For years, she floated around the city as if in a daze and found herself drawn to those, who couldn’t love well. After closing bar shifts, she’d return home to write and strum along to the voices and sirens outside, often lulling herself to sleep. 

One day during a rehearsal, Rea’s drummer and friend Joshua Jaeger, audibly observed that she’d be happier without her habits, but warned that it would take courage to overcome them. She knew in her heart that Jaeger had been right, so two weeks before recording her full-length debut The Urge That Saves You, Rea quit drinking. 

Slated for a November 11, 2022 release, The Urge That Saves You was recorded at Figure 8 Recording entirely live, including main vocals, all in one go. It was during the album’s recording sessions that Rea realized, for the first time with complete certainty that making music was exactly what she needed — and should — be doing. 

Sonically, the album is reportedly hook-driven empath rock that splits off into cinematic, dark psychedelia in a seamless and effortless fashion. Her backing band, which features members, who have played with Angel Olsen, Fleet Foxes, Widowspeak and a lengthy list of others play with a touching restraint and makes for a collection of Rea calls “premonitions, prayer and warnings.”

The album’s songs reflect Rea’s life journey in a way that’s not exactly autobiographical and isn’t always obvious. As a songwriter, Rea prefers to use characters and metaphors in her stories. But they’re rooted in a gritty, psychological realism that feels novelistic. 

During quarantine, the Texas-born, New York-based artist took it upon herself to learn how to engineer and mix her own album after an inspiring phone call with musician and producer Sam Evian, who urged to make the work her own in every way that she could. She spent countless hours at Phil Weinrobe’s Rivington 66 overdubbing and mixing. Learning to mix wasn’t without difficulty. At times, Rea felt like she was learning a different language. Luckily, she had engineers like Spencer Murphy, Andrew Forman and others around to answer questions and help along the way. 

The post-production process was just as rewarding as the recording sessions because Rea succeeded in making the album sound exactly how she wanted it to, while also proving to herself that she was more than capable of taking the reins. So it’s understandable that Rea celebrates the album’s completion with a well-earned pride. She’s also inspired to continue engineering and producing future albums on her own. 

Earlier this month, I wrote about “Lord Try,” a song that evokes the seemingly inescapable and lingering ghosts of regrets, old selves, bad memories of bad people and bad places, centered around a lush and expansive arrangement and Rea’s gorgeous vocal.

“Happiness,” The Urge That Saves You”s latest single is a shimmering and seamless synthesis of elements of classic Nashville country, troubadour pop, and shoegazer textures paired with Rea’s gorgeous vocal, expressing aching yearning. The song is an urgent plea for a rare, hard-won inner peace and security; the sort that comes as a result of digging out of old habits, bad thinking, trauma and your own bullshit.

“When I was writing ‘Happiness’ I was looking for a kind home within myself. I was one of these people who gave tender guidance to friends but couldn’t follow my own advice,” Rea explains. “I had the idea that living as a songwriter was inherently chaotic, a constant battle with sadness, and mysterious rendezvous. I realized this mindset was built on fear and false heroes; you can only read so much Rimbaud before thinking maybe there’s a healthier way. I realized finding self respect had to do with taking actions that really reflected my values. I began to reroute, to organize, and finally made a plan to record. Getting the songs out of my room was the thing that saved me. Making The Urge that Saves You gave me personal agency and a peace that I had never known. It taught me that my fear of not being good enough really didn’t matter; I’d survive it through doing, through making, through collaborating and slowly the fear would quiet to almost nothing. When I listen to ‘Happiness’ I can hear her digging out of an old and cruel system of belief. ‘If you could know war may be coming from the inside, if you could know love may be hollowed out before her, before him.’ This song is about taking responsibility. And In a way it was a kind of premonition, the message came before I knew what I needed to be happy but now it is very clear.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Seattle-based indie rock trio Fluung — Donald Wymer (vocals, guitar), Joe Holcomb (bass) and Drew Davis (drums, percussion) — have developed a sound that owes a debt to 120 Minutes-era MTV alt rock paired with world-building, story-driven lyrics inspired by Neil Young and Crazy Horse, but within a modern context.

The band believes that their style of guitar rock captures the energy of modern American working life: The grim, never-ending grind to survive, working shit jobs with even shittier employers while reflecting the quiet existential and introspective moments spent in your car after clocking out or spent at home before going to sleep and repeating it all yet again.

The Seattle-based indie outfit’s newest album The Vine is slated for a Friday release through Setterwind Records, who will release the vinyl version and Den Tapes, who will release the cassette version. But in the meantime, album single “Decades,” is a bit of classic 90s grunge/alt rock with a sugary, power pop air as buzzing power chords and thunderous drumming is paired with enormous, shout-along worthy choruses and heartbroken lyrics that sound — and feel — wholly lived in.

“The riff in ‘Decades’ came so easy to us during the writing process,” Fluung recalls. The lyrics, like every song on our record The Vine, are incredibly personal. Every song seems to bleed from our lives as we’re getting older.” 

Video by William Ruben Helms

Throwback: Happy Belated 53rd Birthday, PJ Harvey!

JOVM’s William Ruben Helms belatedly celebrates PJ Harvey’s 53rd birthday.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Katy Rea Shares Cinematic and Brooding “Lord Try”

Texas-born singer/songwriter and musician Katy Rea left Texas 12 years ago for the promise and opportunity of New York. Rea auditioned for several television parts and stage plays, occasionally earning a role in someone else’s story, basking momentarily in the flickering glow of rare, unsteady and infrequent success. However, songwriting was her true love and solace, and for her, the only way she could reliably self-soothe.

For years, she floated around the city as if in a daze and found herself drawn to those, who couldn’t love well. After closing bar shifts, she’d return home to write and strum along to the voices and sirens outside, often lulling herself to sleep.

One day during a rehearsal, Rea’s drummer and friend Joshua Jaeger, audibly observed that she’d be happier without her habits, but warned that it would take courage to overcome them. She knew in her heart that Jaeger had been right, so two weeks before recording her full-length debut The Urge That Saves You, Rea quit drinking.

Slated for a November 11, 2022 release, The Urge That Saves You was recorded at Figure 8 Recording entirely live, including main vocals, all in one go. It was during the album’s recording sessions that Rea realized, for the first time with complete certainty that making music was exactly what she needed — and should — be doing.

Sonically, the album is reportedly hook-driven empath rock that splits off into cinematic, dark psychedelia in a seamless and effortless fashion. Her backing band, which features members, who have played with Angel Olsen, Fleet Foxes, Widowspeak and a lengthy list of others play with a touching restraint and makes for a collection of Rea calls “premonitions, prayer and warnings.”

The album’s songs reflect Rea’s life journey in a way that’s not exactly autobiographical and isn’t always obvious. As a songwriter, Rea prefers to use characters and metaphors in her stories. But they’re rooted in a gritty, psychological realism that feels novelistic.

During quarantine, the Texas-born, New York-based artist took it upon herself to learn how to engineer and mix her own album after an inspiring phone call with musician and producer Sam Evian, who urged to make the work her own in every way that she could. She spent countless hours at Phil Weinrobe’s Rivington 66 overdubbing and mixing. Learning to mix wasn’t without difficulty. At times, Rea felt like she was learning a different language. Luckily, she had engineers like Spencer Murphy, Andrew Forman and others around to answer questions and help along the way.

The post-production process was just as rewarding as the recording sessions because Rea succeeded in making the album sound exactly how she wanted it to, while also proving to herself that she was more than capable of taking the reins. So it’s understandable that Rea celebrates the album’s completion with a well-earned pride. She’s also inspired to continue engineering and producing future albums on her own.

The Urge That Saves You‘s latest single, the “Lord Try” is centered around a lush and expansive arrangement consisting of alternating sparse, brooding passages with lightly strummed guitar, supple and propulsive bass lines and gently padded drumming and stormier passages with swirling, reverb-drenched guitar and bursts of mournful trumpet from Lessie Vonner. The song’s two distinct sections are held together by Rea’s achingly yearning delivery. The entire song evokes the seemingly inescapable and lingering ghosts of regrets, old selves, bad memories of bad people and bad places.

Directed by Kaitlin Scott and shot by Rachael Batashvili on 16mm film, the gorgeously cinematic accompanying video for “Lord Try” was filmed at the site of an abandoned Upstate New York summer camp.

“Kaitlin and I were aiming to capture subtle moments of temptation that often creep up in the still, quiet moments of life,” Katy Rea explains. “Growing up I spent a lot of time alone, daydreaming, fantasizing the mundane away. And as a girl who grew up in the church everything became sweet or evil, right or wrong. Natural desires felt like something bad within me, but eventually I started to become friendly with close calls and cheap thrills. I put myself in dangerous places and learned my strength through escaping them. Eating a flower with thorns, swimming in murky waters, wearing little clothing knowing maybe the neighbor would see, was just the start of some of this flirtation with ‘darkness’ I knew as a girl. The grassy landscape reminded me of Texas, the church down the road, and the neighbors shaking their heads through their windows.”

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Babehoven Shares a Gorgeous and Heartbreaking Meditation on Loss

Hudson, NY-based indie duo Babehoven — Maya Bon and Ryan Albert — have built a solid partnership over the past handful of years, with the duo releasing several EPs since 2018. Through those EPs, the duo’s work displays Bon’s emotionally incisive approach to songwriting that draws as much power from abstract poetry that asks the big questions, as specific, personal vignettes.

The duo’s highly-anticipated full-length debut, Light Moving Time is slated for an October 28, 2022 release through Double Double Whammy. Interestingly, much like their previously released work, Light Moving Time is centered around lyrics that zoom in and out, inviting listeners to bring their own experiences to the album’s songs when Bon’s writing is decidedly cryptic — and to stew in the moments when she presents her entire heart on a platter.

Sonically, the album reportedly continues the duo’s reputation for material with a wide range of dynamics with the band pushing those sounds even further. The album features songs that seem to draw from country and 80s power ballads, indie folk and even shoegaze. But the album sees the Hudson-based duo utilizing Bon’s voice with a greater emotional impact.

Light Moving Time‘s latest single, album closer “Often” is a slow-burning, spectral track built around strummed guitar, gently accented percussion, twinkling keys and atmospheric synths paired with Bon’s vocal, which expresses heartache, grief, loss and resiliency within a turn of a phrase. While sonically bearing a resemblance to Mazzy Star, and rooted in a deeply personal experience of loss, the song is universal, as it focuses on something we’ve all experienced — and will experience many times over.

“‘Often’ is a song about grief, about holding love for a person I’ve lost, about trying to let go and find new paths for myself,” Babehoven’s Maya Bon. “This song changed my life when I wrote it and has provided clarity for me in times of chaos. I hope that, through sharing it, others will find in it comfort and clarity, too.”

Directed and shot by Kevin Prince, the accompanying video for “Often” is comprise of footage that Prince shot around the Hudson Valley and from footage shot on road trips that he has taken. The video loosely follows two characters — a man and a woman — through various moments in time, and with a hazy, heartbreaking nostalgia, full of the understanding that nothing lasts forever.