Tag: Jeff Buckley

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Sensual Visuals for Bryde’s “Desire”

With the release of “Help Yourself” and several other singles the Welsh-born, London-based singer/songwriter and guitarist Sarah Howells, best known as Bryde quickly exploded into both the British and international scene as she received praise from Nylon, The Line of Best Fit and Earmilk and airplay from BBC Radio 6, BBC Radio Wales, Radio X and Huw Stephens’ BBC Radio 1 show for a sound that’s been compared to the likes of Jeff Buckley, Sharon Van Etten, Ben Howard and London Grammar while thematically focusing on complex, ambivalent, and hopelessly entangled relationships.

Now, as you may recall Howell’s “Wouldn’t That Make You Feel Good” was a boozy and woozy dirge in which the Welsh-born, London-based singer/songwriter and guitarist’s aching vocals are paired with bluesy yet shoegazer-leaning power chords reminiscent of  PJ Harvey. Howell promptly followed that up with “Less,” a single that not only continued her ongoing collaboration with singer/songwriter and producer Bill Ryder-Jones but was rooted around a forceful 90s alt rock-leaning song structure, while further cementing her growing reputation for writing unflinchingly honest and vulnerable lyrics.

Howell’s latest single “Desire” was produced by Chris Sorem and mixed by CJ Marks, both of whom have worked with Wolf Alice, PJ Harvey and St. Vincent — and while continuing along a similar vein sonically, as it nods at the blues and 90s alt rock, complete with an anthemic hook, the song manages to possess an urgent yearning, punctuated with the use of a baritone electric guitar.  As Howell explains in press notes, “‘Desire’ is about lust, our need for instant gratification, about desire’s addictive qualities and how they can make us behave.  I was inspired both by the way people have treated me and how I’ve treated others and how I’ve become unrecognisable to myself in the past just to appeal to this side of someone else’s personality.”

Directed by Furball Films’ Rhys Davies and starring Jade Perraton and Kyle Telford, the video features its two actors covered in syrup in a slow dance that vacillates between lustful desire and physical need — but while having a weird push and pull between regret and uncertainty. As the Howell explains in press notes, the video’s concept was inspired “by the symbolism of certain scenes in the movie Under the Skin, where the alien’s victims walk of their own free will into a thick, dark oil and to their demise. When writing the line ‘smother everything,’ I was actually imagining these temptations as a kind of veil that can leave us blind to what’s right and stuck in a cycle,” the Welsh-born, London-based singer/songwriter and guitarist continues. “We’re drawn to sugar coated things that are underneath bad for us. It’s about desires as things or people we want and can’t often resist, despite knowing that they will bring us nothing but regret.” 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

With the release of his debut single “Last Words,” the London-born and-based, 23 year-old, singer/songwriter Issac Gracie quickly established himself as one of Britain’s best, up-and-coming artists. And interestingly enough, his most recently released EP revealed a young artist and young man, who reportedly was in flux — and much like most 20 somethings, was in the midst of working out who exactly he is, what he wanted and what exactly he was doing. But with “Terrified,” the EP’s follow-up single, Gracie builds upon a growing profile with a self-assured yet deeply personal song that finds the up-and-coming singer/songwriter expanding upon the sound that first caught attention — in this case with lush backing instrumentation and the sort of soaring and anthemic hooks reminiscent of Snow Patrol and Jeff Buckley.

Gracie is currently putting the finishing touches on his full-length debut, which is slated for a Spring 2018 release through Virgin EMI Records, and you should expect a bevy of live dates to support the album soon.

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

With the release of “Help Yourself” and several other singles the Welsh-born, London-based singer/songwriter and guitarist Sarah Howells, best known as Bryde quickly exploded into both the British and international scene as she received praise from Nylon, The Line of Best Fit and Earmilk and airplay from BBC Radio 6, BBC Radio Wales, Radio X and Huw Stephens’ BBC Radio 1 show for a sound that’s been compared to the likes of Jeff Buckley, Sharon Van Etten, Ben Howard and London Grammar while thematically focusing on complex, ambivalent and hopelessly entangled relationships.

Now, as you may recall Howell’s “Wouldn’t That Make You Feel Good” was a boozy and woozy dirge in which the Welsh-born, London-based singer/songwriter and guitarist’s aching vocals are paired with bluesy yet shoegazer-leaning power chords reminiscent of  PJ Harvey. Howell promptly followed that up with “Less,” a single that not only continued her ongoing collaboration with singer/songwriter and producer Bill Ryder-Jones but was rooted around a forceful 90s alt rock-leaning song structure, while further cementing her growing reputation for writing unflinchingly honest and vulnerable lyrics.

Howell’s latest single “Desire” was produced by Chris Sorem and mixed by CJ Marks, both of whom have worked with Wolf Alice, PJ Harvey and St. Vincent — and while continuing along a similar vein sonically, as it nods at the blues and 90s alt rock, complete with an anthemic hook, the song manages to possess an urgent yearning, punctuated with the use of a baritone electric guitar.  As Howell explains in press notes, “‘Desire’ is about lust, our need for instant gratification, about desire’s addictive qualities and how they can make us behave.  I was inspired both by the way people have treated me and how I’ve treated others and how I’ve become unrecognisable to myself in the past just to appeal to this side of someone else’s personality.”

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

With the release of her first two singles “Sleep,” which was released last year and “Strangers,” which was released earlier this year, the Gothenburg, Sweden-based singer/songwriter Sarah Klang quickly received praise from critics across the blogosphere for achingly melancholy material, reminiscent of Roy Orbison and Jeff Buckley, and others — and interestingly, the Gothenburg-based singer/songwriter is influenced Barbra Streisand and ambient electronica while visually, she’s frequently pictured in old bridal dresses with cheap plastic flowers, creating the appearance that she’s been left at the altar, and doesn’t quite know how to handle the growing sense of embarrassment, shame, humiliation and hurt that have just overcome her.

“Left Me On Fire,” Klang’s latest single continues a long-time collaboration with writer/producer Kevin Anderson and was mixed by Thom Monahan, who was worked with Pernice Brothers, Devandra Banhart, Vetiver, Beachwood Sparks and others, and much like the preceding singles is an achingly soulful yet delicate ballad based around Klang’s bluesy crooning singing a song that was written and inspired by the “. . . vacuum you feel after a break-up,” Klang explains in press notes. “You continue your life but you are burned. For me the song is about moving forward with your life, while still in love with the person who broke your heart, and nothing will ever be the same from that moment on.”  Klang’s latest single will further her growing reputation as “the saddest girl in Sweden,” in part for crafting spectral and aching ballads, coming from the bitter, uneasiness and messiness of lived-in experience.

 

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Now if you had been frequenting this site over the last few months of 2016, you’d recall that with the release of “Help Yourself” and several other singles the Welsh-born, London-based singer/songwriter and guitarist Sarah Howells, best known as Bryde quickly exploded into both the British and international scene as she received praise from Nylon, The Line of Best Fit and Earmilk and airplay from BBC Radio 6, BBC Radio Wales, Radio X and Huw Stephens’ BBC Radio 1 show for a sound that’s been compared to the likes of Jeff Buckley, Sharon Van Etten, Ben Howard and London Grammar while thematically focusing on complex, ambivalent and hopelessly entangled relationships.

Howells’ previous single and her JOVM debut,  “Wouldn’t That Make You Feel Good” was a boozy and woozy dirge in which the Welsh-born, London-based singer/songwriter and guitarist’s aching vocals are paired with bluesy yet shoegazer-leaning power chords reminiscent of  PJ Harvey, in a song that built up into a cathartic and explosive bridge before gently fading out.  Howells’ latest single “Less” continues her successful collaboration with producer Bill Ryder-Jones and it’s a viscerally forceful 90s alt rock-leaning track featuring an alternating quiet, loud, quiet song structure with an anthemic and cathartic hook. And while still channeling PJ Harvey, the song also manages to nod at Liz Phair, Hole and others, complete with an unflinching honesty and vulnerability.

 

New Audio by William Ruben Helms

 

With the release “Help Yourself” and several other singles, Western Wales-born, London-based singer/songwriter and guitarist Sarah Howells’ solo recording project Bryde has received praise from Nylon, The Line of Best Fit and Earmilk and airplay from BBC Radio 6, BBC Radio Wales, Radio X and Huw Stephens’ BBC Radio 1 show for a sound that’s been compared to the likes of Jeff Buckley, Sharon Van Etten, Ben Howard and London Grammar, as her early work so far has thematically focused on complex and ambivalent relationships that can simultaneously entangle. Her latest single “Wouldn’t That Make You Feel Good” is a boozy and woozy dirge in which Howells’ aching vocals are paired with bluesy yet shoegazer rock-like guitar chords in a song that builds up to a cathartic and explosive bridge before gently fading out. Interestingly, Howells’ latest single sounds to me as though it could be indebted to the likes of PJ Harvey as it possesses a similar earnest yet stormy and dramatic quality.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Israeli Superstar Ninet Tayeb is Set to Take Over the World with Ass-Kicking Visuals for “Superstar”

With a relocation to Los Angeles and the forthcoming Stateside release of her fifth full-length release this fall, Tayeb hopes to become an international superstar — and with the aptly titled first single “Superstar” Tayeb may well be the next big thing. Although some have said that the Israeli-born singer/songwriter and actress seems to take cues from Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Karen O., The Kills’ Allison Mossheart, sonically her sound reminds me quite a bit of Garbage — namely the self-titled debut and Version 2.0 — as the song is comprised of buzzing power chords, propulsive and thundering drumming, rousingly anthemic hooks and a towering self-assuredness that simply says “I’m here and I ain’t fucking around.”

The recently released music video directed by Yoni Ronn features Tayeb in action movie-like music video that features the singer/songwriter as a vengeance-seeking assassin, following her enemy through the streets of New York.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Peter White, Brayden Leske, Sam Baird, Tom Baird and Matt Crago, Adelaide, Australia-based indie rock quintet Lost Woods have quickly developed a growing national reputation for a 90s alt rock/indie rock inspired sound that has been compared to Jeff Buckley, Holy Holy and Soundgarden among others. The Australian quintet’s debut single “Overflow” reached the top ten of Triple J Unearthed charts and was on received airplay across several Australian radio stations including Radio Adelaide, Three D Radio, 4ZZZ and Syn FM. And as a result the band has opened for the likes of Harts, Holy Holy, Andy Bull, Jesse Davidson, SKIES, Bad Pony, Citizen Kay, Horror My Friend, The Vanns and others. With the release of their second single “Ancient Psychic Tandem War Elephant” Lost Woods went on Peter White told me  their first national tour last year, a tour that managed to be extremely successful as the band continued to see support from local radio stations across Australia, which has lead to growing buzz around the band.

As the band’s Peter White explained to me via email, Lost Woods’ latest single “Vodka Ocean” is inspired by a tragicomic personal experience that happened to him while he was attending Australia’s Splendour in the Grass festival. White was looking forward to catching Frank Ocean perform at the festival and when it was announced that Ocean had to cancel, White wound up drinking way too much vodka “in a fit of melancholic sadness.” Eventually White wound up at the medical tent. “My girlfriend dragged me back to our tent, where I proceeded to throw up all over her rucksack and clothes, leaving the rest of the tent unscathed. Naturally, a song was born.” Sonically speaking, the Australian quintet pairs propulsive drumming, jangling guitar chords, an anthemic hook and a throbbing bass line with White’s soaring falsetto to craft a song that sounds as though it drew from The Bends-era Radiohead and The Smiths; in fact, much like The Smiths, this particular single pairs upbeat music with bitterly ironic lyrics.

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Lights That Change’s Spectral, Synth-based Cover of Tim Buckley’s “Songs To The Siren”

Although he never found commercial success within his tragically short life, singer/songwriter Tim Buckley has managed to become admired and deeply influential in the 40 years since his death for his innovative sound which possessed […]

Uncategorized by William Ruben Helms

If you’ve been following JOVM since the very beginning, you may be familiar with the New York-based indie dance pop sensation AVAN LAVA. Initially formed by producers and multi-instrumentalists Le Chev and Ian Pai, the […]

Uncategorized by William Ruben Helms

if you’ve been frequenting JOVM for the past few years, you may be familiar with indie dance music sensations AVAN LAVA. Initially formed by producers and multi-instrumentalists Le Chev and Ian Pai, the creative masterminds behind […]

Uncategorized by William Ruben Helms

A graduate of the Liverpool Institute of the Performing Arts, Natalie McCool is a singer/songwriter who has quickly developed a reputation for a sound that draws from a diverse array of influences including Jeff Buckley, The […]

Uncategorized by William Ruben Helms

Initially formed by producers and multi-instrumentalists Le Chev and Ian Pai, the creative masterminds behind dance pop trio AVAN LAVA can trace their origins to a conversation the duo had about their mutual adulation of Prince, Daft Punk, R&B, […]

Uncategorized by William Ruben Helms

With the Joy of Violent Movement, I’ve experimented with things here and there. I recently started an audio-based interview segment, which started with an interview with the Austin, TX-based anarchy-electro punk trio BLXPLTN, right before […]