Tag: Interpol

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstays Ultrviolence Return with the Stark and Lonely Visuals for New Single “Guillotine”

Throughout their history together, the Calgary, AB-based indie rock/darkwave/New Wave/post-punk act Ultrviolence have developed a reputation for adhering to old-school DIY principles and for frequently ignoring the clichés and dictates of the music industry machine. And over the past couple of years, the band has caught the attention of the blogosphere — and in particular this site, for a sound that seemingly draws from Joy Division, Interpol, Viet Cong and others.

Since the release of last year’s Black Sea EP, the band has gone through a massive lineup change with Nate Jespersen (vocals, bass), the sole founding member, collaborating with several members of Vancouver, BC-based indie rock band ACTORS. Produced by ACTORS’ Jason Corbett, the project’s much-anticipated follow-up to Black Sea EP, Forty Knives EP finds Jespersen and the band’s new lineup building upon the moody, post-punk sound that first caught the attention of this site and the blogosphere while thematically evoking the dark and seemingly unending solitude that arises when one allows themselves to be completely isolated from the world.

“Guillotine,” Forty Knives’ first single is a hauntingly moody and atmospheric track, which finds the band pairing jangling guitar chords played through reverb and delay pedal, shimmering synth chords, a propulsive bass line and a metronomic-like drumming paired with Jespersen’s equally moody baritone vocals. Interestingly, with my 38th birthday being yesterday, this particular song evokes something profoundly familiar — the lingering and embittering ghosts and ill-feelings of a particularly dysfunctional and/or ambivalent relationship; the awareness of time passing by and of the built-in regret that you’ve squandered the most valuable and important commodity you’ll ever know — time; and that feeling of stepping away from the wreckage of a lengthy relationship and not quite knowing what to do next or how to even go about it. And as a result, the song possesses a visceral ache.

The recently released video for the song nods at Bob Dylan’s “Subterranean Homesick Blues” and INXS’ “Need You Tonight”/”Mediate” as the video features a man on the side of the road, holding cardboard signs with the song’s lyrics; however, this man is hitchhiking with a sense of desperate urgency.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Featuring core members, founder and creative mastermind Isaac Flynn (vocals), who comes from a family of musicians and whose parents own Lawrence, KS‘ well-regarded guitar store, Mass Street Music; Eric Davis (keys, synths) and Garrett Childers (guitar, vocals), the Kansas City-based indie rock act Hembree received regional and national attention with the release of “Can’t Run Forever,” a shimmering and slickly produced, dance-floor friendly track that simultaneously nods at 80s New Wave, St. Lucia, and Interpol simultaneously.

Building upon the success of “Can’t Run Forever,” a track that has seen as of this post, over 500,000 Spotify and YouTube streams, the members of the Kansas City-based band went to record new material at Los Angeles-based Sunset Sound Studios with Chris Coady, who has worked with Beach House, Future Islands and Yeah Yeah Yeahs; but when Flynn returned home to Kansas City, he decided that those sessions should be tabled, and that it was time for the band to take a much different approach. “After ‘Can’t Run Forever’ came out, I was feeling the pressure to make our second single bigger and better, and found myself putting limitations on my writing,” Flynn explained in press notes.. “After being frustrated for several months, I decided to record whatever I want; just let it all pour out.” And with that mindset, Flynn, his bandmates Davis and Childers recorded their latest single “Holy Water,” with Foreign Fields’ Eric Hillman contributing additional production and Joe Visciano, who has worked with The Kills, Jamie xx and Beck mixing the proceedings.

“Holy Water” is a decided change in sound, as the swaggering and propulsive track nods at Kasabian and Primal Scream as the band pairs an an arena rock and dance floor-friendly hook with a slick production featuring layers of undulating synths, twinkling keys, enormous, tweeter and woofer rocking beats with a “we’re ready to take over the world right this fucking moment” feel. Interestingly, part of the song’s anthemic nature stems from the song’s overwhelmingly positive message. As Flynn says of the song, “The song started with me making a conscious decision to stop letting the bad win. It was time to start embracing the obstacles and then doing my best to overcome them. I really just want to be true to myself and good to others, and I want the same for other people. Perhaps that’s the message from this song.” Certainly, considering how maddening and dire everything seems on a daily basis, any positive message seems desperately necessary.  Unsurprisingly, since the single’s release at the end of last year, the song has seen regular rotation on 10 Midwestern radio markets including Columbus, OH; St. Louis, MO; and the Kansas City area — and the track has seen over 250,000 Spotify steams as of this writing.

 

 

The band will be going on a run of tour dates in the Midwest, with the first show of the tour, finding the band opening for Cold War Kids. Check out the tour dates below.

TOUR DATES
3/25 Columbus, Express Live
3/27 Omaha, Reverb
3/28 Iowa City, The Mill
3/29 Des Moines, Vaudeville Mews
3/30 St. Louis, Blueberry Hill
4/24 Omaha, Reverb
4/25 Davenport IA, Raccoon Motel
4/26 Des Moines, Vaudeville Mews
4/27 St. Louis, Blueberry Hill
4/28 Kansas City, Record Bar
4/29 Columbia MO, Rose Music Hall
Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Dave Woody (guitar, vocals), Dave Bowman (bass) and Andrew Platts (drums), Wilding is a Los Angeles, CA-based indie rock trio and although the trio cite influences including Hum, Fugazi, Mew, M83, Autolux and Interpol among others — although interestingly enough, as you’ll hear on “Hot Prowl,” the latest single off the trio’s forthcoming EP Secular Music, the band specializes in an anthemic and moody shoegaze that’s sonically reminiscent to the likes of Jersey City, NJ’s Overlake, Chicago’s Lightfoils and others, complete with some explosive guitar pyrotechnics paired with thundering and insistent drumming.

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

With the release of their first three EPs, Gold, Better Off, and Broken Machine, and their full length debut Palace of Industrial Hope, the San Francisco, CA-based indie rock quintet The New Up — comprised of ES Pitcher (vocals, guitar), Noah Reid (guitar, vocals), Hawk West (automation), Nick Massaro (bass) and Art McConnell (drums) –developed a reputation for genre defying sound that possesses elements of garage rock and electro pop paired with lyrics that focus on philosophical concerns. And while the band has drawn comparisons to Yeah Yeah Yeahs and The Kills, their sound reminds me of Dirty Ghosts.

As the story goes, when it came time to start working on the material that would comprise the San Francisco-based quintet’s forthcoming, sophomore effort Tiny Mirrors, the members of the band launched an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign to obtain the necessary funds to create and build their own recording studio, which the band felt was necessary to realize their creative vision for the album — with label or studio interference. Then they covered a secluded Mendocino County, CA barn into a state-of-the-art recording facility and enlisted Jack Frost who has worked with Antartica and BlackRock to produce the recording sessions and Sean Beresford, who has worked with Chuck Prophet, The Donnas and Vanessa Carlton to mix the album.

Now, if you had been frequenting this site towards the end of last year, you may recall that I wrote about album single “Black Swan,” a slinky and slickly produced track in which shimmering and atmospheric electronics, slashing and angular guitar chords and a sinuous bass line are paired with ES Pitcher’s sensual vocals — singing lyrics that reveal the narrator’s urgent, carnal need, the need (and desire) to lose one’s self, if even for a little bit, her increasing frustration with people and human relationships and empty, soulless hookups. But at the core of the song is the sort of loneliness and dissatisfaction that being in a large city frequently inspires within people. The album’s latest single “No Fly Zone” continues on a similar vein as its preceding single as shimmering synths and processed beats are paired with Pitcher’s cooing, shimmering guitar chords in a moody and sensual song that sonically and structurally reminds me of Antics-era Interpol.

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Comprised of Trond Fagernes (vocals, guitar), Rune Øverby (guitar), Petter Gudim Marberg (bass), Ola Jørgen Kyrkjeeide (drums) and live contributions from Kenneth Ekes (synth), Olso, Norway quartet Mayflower Madame specialize in a moody and dark post-punk/darkwave/chillwave sound that immediately brings to mind 4AD Records heyday along with several contemporary bands, including Interpol, JOVM mainstay artists The Harrow and others. And since the 2013 release of their debut EP Into the Haze, the Norwegian quartet have developed a reputation nationally for their live shows; in fact, they’ve played two of their homelands biggest festivals Norwegian Wood and Oya Festival, as well as opening for a number of renowned acts including Crystal Stilts, Night Beats, Moon Duo and JOVM mainstay acts Disappears, Crocodiles and La Femme.

Mayflower Madame’s full-length debut Observed in a Dream was released earlier this year across Europe through Night Cult Records and was released across North America through Custom Made Music earlier this month and the album’s first latest single “Weightless”  consists of a tight motorik groove paired with shimmering guitar chords and Fagernes’ brooding baritone in a song that will further cement the quartet’s growing reputation for moody 4AD Records era post-punk — but in a remarkably hazy and ethereal song.

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Dario Argento-Inspired Visuals for Preoccupations’ Latest Single “Anxiety”

Although they received a massive amount of attention across the blogosphere with the 2014 release of their self-titled full-length debut, the Calgary, Alberta-based quartet originally known as Viet Cong actually formed in 2012 and can trace their origins […]

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Eric Wareheim’s Kinky Video for Blonde Redhead’s “Dripping”

Back in 2014, Blonde Redhead quietly released their ninth full-length effort Barragan, an effort that includes the shimmering and sultry single “Dripping.” The New York-based trio promptly released a hazy and gorgeous video for the song that also doubled as an advertisement for British fashion label All Saints, which you can catch below. Interestingly, comedian, actor and musician Eric Wareheim, best known for his work in comedy duo Tim and Eric is a huge Blonde Redhead fan and he figured that he could two things — create a better video and craft a love letter to his favorite band. And much like the original video, Wareheim’s video is gorgeous, featuring worshipful imagery of beautiful women of all shapes, sizes and colors smoking, drinking whiskey or delicately pruning hedges until the camera gently pulls back and reveals some incredibly kinky activities.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Fight Club Meets Art School Visuals for Ultrviolence’s “Radiation”

Ultrviolence’s latest single “Radiation” will further cement the Canadian trio’s burgeoning reputation for crating dark and moody post-punk/New Wave/darkwave-leaning rock while gently expanding upon the sound that initially captured my attention as the band pairs Nate J’s expressive and yearning baritone with ethereal synths, shimmering guitar chords played through copious reverb, and a driving rhythm consisting of four-on-the-floor drumming and propulsive bass chords.The recently released music video for the song is an aptly noir-ish video that features the awesomely casual destruction of an old cathode ray TV, some bad ass dudes swinging sledgehammers, brandishing knives, fighting each other and posing about; in some way, the video reminds me of a fashion forward jeans ad mixed with Fight Club.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Comprised of Nate J. (vocals, bass), Ali Abbas (guitar) and Kirk Power (drums), Calgary, AB-based post-punk/darkwave/chillwave trio Ultrviolence have quickly developed a reputation for a moody, post-punk sound that’s indebted to Joy Division, New Order, Interpol, Viet Cong and others and for adhering to the sort of DIY principles that led them to ignore the clichés and dictates of the major recording industry machine. Now over the past couple of months the Canadian post-punk trio have become one of my new favorites as I’ve written about “Better Learn How to Swim,” and “Radiation,”  the first two singles off the Canadian  trio’s soon-to-be released EP Black Sea; in fact, both singles manage to remind me quite a bit of Turn On The Bright Lights-era Interpol — in particular, I think of “Untitled,” “NYC” and “Stella Was a Diver and She Was Always Down.”

Much like “Radiation,” “Untitled,” will further cement the trio’s reputation for moody and angular post-punk with anthemic hooks — but while arguably being the most propulsive and forceful songs they’ve released to date.

 

 

 

 

Earlier this month, I wrote about Calgary, AB-based indie rock/darkwave/New Wave/post-punk trio Ultrviolence. Comprised of Nate J. (vocals, bass), Ali Abbas (guitar) and Kirk Power (drums), the Canadian trio have quickly developed a reputation for a moody post-punk sound that’s reminiscent of contemporary acts like Interpol, Viet Cong and others, and for adhering to DIY principles as they’ve played in countless basements and tiny clubs across the continent, using battered instruments and battered instruments and ignoring the cliches and dictates of the recording industry machine. Now you might recall that i wrote about “Better Learn How to Swim,” a moody yet swooningly Romantic song off their forthcoming Black Sea EP that manages to be reminiscent of Turn On The Bright Lights-era Interpol — in particular, I think of “Untitled,” “NYC” and “Stella Was a Diver and She Was Always Down” — as the band pairs a sinuous bass line, angular and shimmering guitar chords and an dramatic, anthemic hook with Nate J’s aching baritone.

Black Sea‘s latest and single ” Radiation” will further cement the Canadian trio’s burgeoning reputation for crating dark and moody post-punk/New Wave/darkwave-leaning rock while gently expanding upon the sound that initially captured my attention — the band pairs Nate J’s expressive and yearning baritone with ethereal synths, shimmering guitar chords played through copious reverb, and a driving rhythm consisting of four-on-the-floor drumming and propulsive bass chords. Sonically, the new single manages to clearly draw influence from the likes of the aforementioned Turn On The Bright Lights-era Interpol, Joy Division and New Order — but with as subtle twist on a familiar sound.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Earlier this month, I wrote about Calgary, AB-based indie rock/darkwave/New Wave/post-punk trio Ultrviolence. Comprised of Nate J. (vocals, bass), Ali Abbas (guitar) and Kirk Power (drums), the Canadian trio have quickly developed a reputation for a moody post-punk sound that’s reminiscent of contemporary acts like Interpol, Viet Cong and others, and for adhering to DIY principles as they’ve played in countless basements and tiny clubs across the continent, using battered instruments and battered instruments and ignoring the cliches and dictates of the recording industry machine. Now you might recall that i wrote about “Better Learn How to Swim,” a moody yet swooningly Romantic song off their forthcoming Black Sea EP that manages to be reminiscent of Turn On The Bright Lights-era Interpol — in particular, I think of “Untitled,” “NYC” and “Stella Was a Diver and She Was Always Down” — as the band pairs a sinuous bass line, angular and shimmering guitar chords and an dramatic, anthemic hook with Nate J’s aching baritone.

Black Sea‘s latest and single ” Radiation” will further cement the Canadian trio’s burgeoning reputation for crating dark and moody post-punk/New Wave/darkwave-leaning rock while gently expanding upon the sound that initially captured my attention — the band pairs Nate J’s expressive and yearning baritone with ethereal synths, shimmering guitar chords played through copious reverb, and a driving rhythm consisting of four-on-the-floor drumming and propulsive bass chords. Sonically, the new single manages to clearly draw influence from the likes of the aforementioned Turn On The Bright Lights-era Interpol, Joy Division and New Order — but with as subtle twist on a familiar sound.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Liverpool-based, indie rock quintet ETCHES have started to receive attention across the UK for a batch of singles that reportedly (and subtly) draws from a variety of influences including Tears For Fears, Interpol, electronica, post-punk and psych rock and others; however to my ears, the Liverpool-based quintet’s latest single “Love Is” sounds to my ears as though it were channeling Milagres‘ Violent Light — in particular, I think of “Column of Streetlight” and “Urban Eunuchs” — as the sleek, moody and sultry song possesses elements of R&B, soul, indie rock and pop while thematically touching upon the conflicting (and inherent) push and pull in romantic relationships.

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Nate J. (vocals, bass), Ali Abbas (guitar) and Kirk Power (drums), Calgary, AB-based trio Ultrviolence have developed a reputation for a moody post-punk sound reminiscent of Interpol, Viet Cong and others, and for adhering to DIY principles — they’ve played in countless basements and small clubs across the continent, using battered instruments and blinking electronics while writing and recording their material, following wherever their muses take them. Recently, the Canadian post-punk trio have started to receive both radio airplay and attention for their live show and building upon the growing buzz they’ve received, they released “Better Learn How to Swim,” a moody yet swooningly Romantic song off their forthcoming EP Black Sea that’s reminiscent of Turn On The Bright Lights-era Interpol — in particular, I think of “Untitled,” “NYC” and “Stella Was a Diver and She Was Always Down” — as the band pairs a sinuous bass line, angular and shimmering guitar chords and an dramatic, anthemic hook with Nate J’s aching baritone.

 

 

New Audio by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Belgian Producer Henri PFR’s House Music Remix of Editors’ “Ocean of Night”

Currently comprised of Tom Smith (vocals, guitar and piano), Russell Leech (bass, synths and backing vocals), Ed Lay (drums, percussion and backing vocals). Justin Lockey (lead guitar) and Elliott Williams (keys, synths, guitars and backing […]