JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 62nd anniversary of the birth of The Smiths’ Andy Rourke.
Tag: jangle pop
New Audio: JOVM Mainstays The Harrow Tackle For Against’s “December”
Deriving their name from the harrow, the name of a device used to punish and torture prisoners in the Franz Kafka short story “In the Penal Colony,” Brooklyn-based JOVM mainstays The Harrow — currently founder Frank Deserto (bass), LeeAnn Falciani (vocals), Greg Fasolino (guitar) and John Forester (drum programming, guitar, mixing) — can trace their origins back to 2008 when its founder started the band as a solo recording project. The band became a full-fledged band in 2013 when Deserto recruited Vanessa Irena (vocals, synths, programming), Barrett Hiatt (synths, programming) and Fasolino to complete the band’s first lineup.
With their first lineup, the Brooklyn-based JOVM mainstays released the “Mouth to Mouth”/”Ringing the Changes” 7 inch and their full-length debut Silhouettes to critical applause from The Deli Magazine, The Big Takeover, Impose, AltSounds as well as this site for a sound that is deeply indebted to The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Joy Division, and others.
Following up on the November release of their latest EP, Cinderglow, the members of The Harrow have released a lovingly faithful cover of Lincoln, NE-based jangle pop/dream pop band For Against’s “December,” the title track of 1988’s December. Much like the original, The Harrow’s take on the song manages to be simultaneously wistful and brooding, and full of the recognition of life’s unending cycles, of time’s endless march forward and the compiling of regret and shame.
“For Against have always been a very special band for us here at The Harrow,” the band explains. “Their blend of jangle pop, post-punk, and dream pop set them apart from many of their American contemporaries, and their discography is in a word: perfect. We first heard the news of vocalist and bassist Jeff Runnings’ stage 4 cancer diagnosis in November, and we as a band wanted to show our deep appreciation and love for Jeff and For Against with this very special cover. Jeff has always been extremely supportive of our band and is a truly kind soul, and we are honored to call him a friend.
We will be donating all Bandcamp proceeds for this single to Jeff’s GoFundMe, which can be found here:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-jeff-runnings-battle-stage-4-cancer
The Bandcamp link for the song can be found here: https://theharrownyc.bandcamp.com/track/december
New Audio: The Blue Herons Share Gorgeous “ladybug”
Swiss-based musician Andy Jossi, a member of The Churchhill Garden and American-born singer/songwriter and musician Gretchen DeVault, a member of The Icicles, Voluptuous Panic, The Francine Odysesys, and Hero No Hero started their transatlantic collaboration The Blue Herons back in 2020. And in a short period of time, the duo began quickly crafted a sound that draws inspiration from C86 and Sarah Records heyday — think of bands like Even As We Speak and Heavenly — and contemporaries like Alvvays and Hatchie.
With an initial batch of singles that quickly garnered attention and acclaim, the duo experienced a growing profile across the international jangle pop and indie rock scenes. Building upon a growing profile, the transatlantic duo’s full-length debut, Go On, which was released to a limited run through Subjangle Records earlier this year, is a compilation of the band’s acclaimed singles over the past couple of years, remastered and remixed, along with two previously unreleased singles. Sonically, the album’s material is rooted around catchy melodies, soaring vocals and shimmering guitar riffs.
The album’s latest single “ladybug” is a nostalgia-inducing bit of jangle pop, anchored around shimmering layers of Jossi’s Johnny Marr-like guitar, a propulsive rhythmic groove and some remarkably catchy hooks paired with DeVault’s gorgeous and expressive delivery. The song’s narrator is offering warning to its subject, that if they continue being a two-timing fool that they’ll lose their chance with a truly special woman. If you’ve been in that situation, this song will hit close to home.
New Audio: The Fuzzies Share a Hook-Driven Bit of Jangle Pop
Kiwi indie trio The Fuzzies — Mary‘s Niki Maera (vocals, bass), Tabula Rasa’s Kelly Micheal (vocals, guitar) and Joed Out and Powertool Records‘ founder Andrew Maitai — derive their name their take on indie rock and jangle pop which sees them pairing fuzzy guitar tones with darker undertones.
The trio’s recently released full-length debut Cupid was recorded to analog tape by Darren McShane at Earwig Studios. The 45RPM vinyl version was one of the first pressings at New Zealand’s brand new Stebbing record press. — and was released on vinyl, CD and digitally through Maitai’s Powertool Records.
Cupid displays their songwriting chops while being a loving tribute to their friend Hamish Kilgour. Kilgour spent the first COVID lockdown with the members of The Fuzzies at their venue/headquarters UFO in the West Auckland suburb of New Lynn. Every day, Kilgour would create a new display somewhere in the building, which the band’s Maera would photograph. They used a photograph of one of Kilgour’s displays as their album cover — to pay tribute to their late friend.
Cupid‘s first single “Koo Koo” is a breezy bit of jangle pop built around big, catchy hooks and earnest songwriting that sounds as though it could have been released on Flying Nun Records back in the 80s — but with just enough fuzziness to set it apart.
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.
Throwback: R.I.P. Andy Rourke
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the life and music of The Smiths’ Andy Rourke.
Back in 1990, the mysterious San Diego-based act The Cry quietly released Beautiful Reasons. Several songs off Beautiful Reasons were included in the H-Street Skateboards’ video Hokus Pokus, which was also released that year. The band started to increasingly attention and were being courted by a major label — and then they did something completely unexpected: they disappeared without much of a trace.
Although at the time, Beautiful Reasons only had a limited cassette release, the album has grown in stature among their original fans while attracting new fans. Centered around heartfelt vocals, jangling and shimmying guitars, upbeat drumming and propulsive bass lines, the album has become a cult favorite among jangle pop and indie rock circles. Interestingly, over the years Hokus Pokus has become regarded as arguably one of the most iconic skateboard videos ever made — with its soundtrack highly praised.
Beautiful Reasons was recently uploaded onto the digital streaming platforms — and naturally that has brought increased attention back to the album and to the band. Encouraged and empowered by their fans and supporters, the members of The Cry quietly reunited in 2017. And since their reunion, the band has released a string of new material that has cemented their-long held reputation for crafting upbeat, earnest, hook-driven material — but with a heightened self-assuredness and confidence. 30 years after the release of their seminal album, the band will be releasing a string of singles and are currently working on a full-length album that’s tentatively slated for release later this year.
In the meantime, the San Diego-based act’s latest single “This Hazy Morning” is a anthemic hook-driven bit of jangle pop centered around shimmering and reverb-drenched guitars, mellifluous, earnestly yearning vocals and a propulsive rhythm section, the song manages to bring Crocodiles and Heaven Up Here-era Echo and the Bunnymen — and with a similar, swaggering self-assuredness.
Loudmammoth is a Newcastle-upon-Tyne-based shoegaze act — currently comprised of Sophie, Will, Liam and Declan — that can trace its origins back to August 2018, when its founding members bonded over a mutual appreciation of shoegaze, DIY recording and Ian Curtis. With the release of their self-produced debut single “Enough,” the Northeastern English band caught the attention of Scottish indie label Last Night From Glasgow, who signed the act seven weeks later.
Building upon a growing profile, the members of Loudmammoth released their second single “Let Go” last summer, which they followed up with a sold out hometown show at Newcastle’s The Cumberland Arms with labelmates L-Space and Stephen Solo. The single helped the band land praise from The Crack Magazine, who described the band as “purveyors of the very finest jangle,” while receiving airplay on BBC 6 Music‘s The Tom Robinson Show and a feature on the BBC Introducing Mixtape.
Since the release of “Let Go,” the band has been rather busy: they’ve spent the past few months in intensive writing sessions — and in that same period of time, they’ve gone through a slight lineup change. Interestingly enough, those past few months of intense writing have helped to produce the rising British act’s latest single, the shimmering one part jangle pop, one part shoegaze, one part dream pop number “In Blue.” Centered around shimmering and jangling guitars, Sophie’s ethereal vocals and a soaring hook, the track — to my ears, at least — brings The Sundays and Slowdive to mind, complete with an unfussy yet clean production and a yearning ache at its core.
New Audio: The Dreamy, 60s-Inspired Sound of Totally Mild’s “When I’m Tired”
Originally started as a solo recording project of its founding member and frontwoman Elizabeth Mitchell, the Melbourne, Australia-based band Totally Mild expanded to a quartet when Mitchell recruited Zachary Schneider, who was a member of Full […]
Although based in Los Angeles, the quintet of Line and Circle can trace their origins to when founding members Brian J. Cohen (vocals and guitar) and Brian Egan (keyboards) met in the Midwest and bounded […]
The Brooklyn-based indie rock quartet, Coastgaard can trace their origin to when its founding members, rian Dalessandro (drums and vocals) and Matt Miller (lead vocals and guitars) first began playing together in Sons of Sons in 2009. Sons of […]
Axxa/Abraxas is the music and art project of 23 year-old Atlanta, GA-based Ben Ashbury, who derived the project’s name from two principles that he associated together – one that’s deeply personal, the other spiritually dichotomous. […]