Tag: JEFF The Brotherhood

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Be Your Own Pet Returns from 15-Year Hiatus with a Roar

Nashville-based punk outfit Be Your Own Pet — Jemina Pearl Abegg (vocals), Jonas Stein (guitar), Nathan Vasquez (bass) and John Eatherly (drums) — originally formed back in 2004 while its original lineup — Pearl, Stein, Vasquez, Eatherly and JEFF The Brotherhood‘s Jamin Orrall — were all attending Nashville School of the Arts. The then-quintet honed a spastic-yet poppy sound playing house shows and gigs at all-ages venues like Guido’s Pizza and Bongo Java.

The Nashville-based quintet played attention-getting sets at 2004’s CMJ and 2005’s SXSW, which helped to create buzz for them Stateside. Around the same time, their first single “Damn Damn Leash,” which was released as a CD-R, caught the attention of BBC Radio One‘s Zane Lowe, whose support helped the band gain an early UK following.

Building upon a rapidly growing profile, the members of Be Your Own Pet released a string of singles and EPs release through Infinity Cat Recordings, which they supported by playing sets across the global festival circuit, including stops at Coachella, Bonnaroo, Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds — and opening slots for Arctic Monkeys, Sonic Youth, Kings of Leon and others.

Their early material received critical acclaim from Pitchfork, Rolling Stone and NME, who named the band’s Jemina Pearl in the Top 10 of their annual Cool List and NYLON, who put the band on the cover of their summer 2006 issue.

The band signed to XL Recordings in the UK and Thurston Moore’s Ecstatic Peace Universal Records imprint in North America. Both labels released the band’s first two albums, 2006’s self-titled full-length debut and 2008’s Get Awkward.

After finishing a small UK tour to support Get Awkward, the band announced their breakup — and they went off on their own separate ways creatively and professionally: Stein and Eatherly went on to play in Turbo Fruits, along with their friend Max Peebles. Vasquez went on to play in Deluxin’. Pearl has played in a number of different projects including Cheap Time and Rare Form, and has released material as a solo artist.

After 15 years apart, the band recently made a triumphant return to both the stage and airwaves: They played SXSW and opened for Jack White ahead of the release of their critically acclaimed single “Hand Grenade,” which Rolling Stone dubbed “incendiary” and The Fader dubbed “hard to ignore.”

BYOP’s long-awaited and highly-anticipated third album and first in 15 years, Mommy is slated for an August 25, 2023 release through Third Man Records. The album was written and recorded by the band’s three founding members Pearl Abegg, Stein and Vasquez along with longtime drummer Eatherly. “For better or worse, we all were slapped in the face that it wasn’t as easy on our own,” the band’s Stein says of their hiatus. “We were all moderately successful, but nobody found that Be Your Own Pet chemistry.”

The bond returned on the very first day that the band stepped back into rehearsal, which is also when they began writing the material that would comprise Mommy. In the past, Pearl had previously fitted lyrics into the others’ songs, but with the new album, she brought her own ideas into the writing room. “Mommy is the bitch in charge, the one in control,” Pearl says. “It’s a reclamation of myself.” The album also reportedly sees the band bolstering the garage punk ferocity they’ve long been known for with matured song, inspired musicianship and a fervent desire to simultaneously claim their space and define their future.

Along with the album announcement, the punk rock outfit share Mommy‘s lead single, “Worship The Whip,” an irony-drenched, BDSM leather-clad dominatrix-meets-breakneck glam punk-like take on DEVO‘s “Whip It” built around rousingly anthemic hooks, enormous power chords and Pearl’s defiant delivery. “‘Worship The Whip’ is about the right wing authoritarian personality,” explains Pearl. “Aggressive and domineering to people who don’t think like them, while at heart being a submissive to the authority figures who use and abuse them.”

Directed by Jordan William and shot by Ben Chappell, the accompanying video for “Worship The Whip” features the band’s Pearl in latex being both the dominatrix and the submissive.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Striking and Sensual Visuals for Eve Maret’s Ambient Composition “My Own Pace”

Eve Maret is a Nashville-based electronic music composer, producer, and multidisciplinary artist, whose work generally bridges pop and experimentalism, while exploring the possibilities of personal and communal healing through creative acts — and as a result, to Maret, the act of creating is a wholehearted, life-affirming “Yes!” 

Last year was a big year for the Nashville-based electronic music composer, producer and multidisciplinary artist: she co-founded Hyasynth House, an electronic music collective and education center for female, trans, and non-binary artists, founded to help support and empower marginalized groups through workshops, performances and community-wide conversations. Also last year, she released a limited run of her full-length debut, No More Running on cassette through Nashville-based label Banana Tapes. Maret has toured across the US alongside a diverse and wildly eclectic array of artists including Guerrilla Toss, JEFF the Brotherhood, Mary Ocher, Coupler and Precious Child among others. 

Building upon a growing profile, Maret will be releasing No More Running (Deluxe Edition), an expanded edition of last year’s debut album with three new tracks, new videos and alternate artwork that’s slated for an April 26, 2019 release. The deluxe edition’s latest single is the ambient composition “My Own Pace.”  Centered by layers of shimmering and arpeggiated synths, thumping beats and a subtle motorik-like groove, the track recalls Trans Europe Express-era Kraftwerk.

Directed by videographer Helen Gilley, the recently released video features Eve Maret dancing in front of an angelic halo of light to the propulsive composition. It’s an interesting mix of the sensual and spiritual, the organic and the robotic. 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstays Screaming Females Return with One of Their Most Anthemic Radio Friendly Singles to Date

Over the past few years, I’ve written quite a bit about the  New Brunswick, NJ-based JOVM mainstays Screaming Females. Comprised of Marissa Paternoster (guitar, vocals), King Mike (bass) and Jared Dougherty (drums), the trio cut their teeth playing their hometown’s renowned all-ages basement, punk rock scene; however, with the release of  2012’s Steve Albini-engineered Ugly, 2014’s forceful and raw live album, Live from the Hideout and 2015’s Matt Bayles-produced Rose Mountain, the Central New Jersey-based band received wider exposure from NPR, Last Call with Carson Daly and MTV.  Adding to a growing profile, the members of Screaming Females have toured with a number of internationally and nationally known acts including Garbage, Throwing Muses, Dinosaur, Jr., The Dead Weather, Arctic Monkeys, Ted Leo and The Pharmacists, JEFF the Brotherhood, Little Lungs, Cheeky, The Ergs, Shellsshag and others.

2015’s Rose Mountain was a decided change in songwriting and recording approach, with the band writing arguably some of the most concise, melodic and accessible material they’ve released, while retaining the blazing guitar work and muscular insistence of their previously recorded work. Up until last year, a couple of years had passed since they had released new material, and “Black Moon,” the first single off their recently released All At Once not only continues their ongoing collaboration with Matt Bayles, it also reveals a band that’s restlessly experimenting with their songwriting approach and song; in the case of “Black Moon,” there’s a continued attention on a forceful conciseness but a greater attention to crafting razor sharp hooks while thematically, Paternoster meshes the metaphor of a post apocalyptic earth with the universal experience of a relationship that has ended in a rather embittering, frustrating and demoralizing fashion.

Interestingly, with All At Once, the band reportedly set out set out to write an album in the spirit of a salon-style gallery show, where the larger pieces provide an eye-level focal point to a galaxy or smaller works — and as a result of a more expansive thematic reach, the members of the band openly and decidedly focused on experimentation with arrangements and song structure to evoke the energy and spontaneity of their live sets. As the band’s Mike Dougherty explains of their motivation “When you’ve been a band for 12 or 13 years, the resources can dry and you just go back to what feels comfortable. The other option is that you develop stuff that a younger band would not have been able to do.”

You might recall that All At Once’s first official single “Glass House” found the band embracing a simplicity — with Paternoster playing two relatively simple riffs in a 90s grunge rock structure paired with some incredibly melodic vocals. “A song like ‘Glass House’ is something we knew we were capable of, but it took a while to fully embrace,” Paternoster says in press notes. “It’s something very simple — just bass, drums and two simple riffs. In the past, I might have insisted on adding more. Practicing self-restraint is something I have consciously been trying to do.” The album’s second official single, “I’ll Make You Sorry” may be one of the more decidedly straightforward, arena rock friendly songs they’ve released to date, bolstered by Paternoster’s powerhouse vocals. While reminding the listener that she may be small but that she roars with a mighty, oceanic force.

Directed by Lance Bangs, the recently released video features the band performing the song in an abandoned loft space with the band’s Paternoster beginning the video laying on the floor or in rubble, before seeing the entire band shred.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstays Screaming Females Release Surreal and Artistic Visuals for Their Most Restrained Single To Date “Glass House”

Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site over the course of the past few years, you’ve likely come across a number of posts featuring New Brunswick, NJ-based JOVM mainstays Screaming Females, comprised of Marissa Paternoster (guitar, vocals), King Mike (bass) and Jared Dougherty (drums). And as you may recall, the trio cut their teeth playing their hometown’s renowned all-ages basement scene; however, with the release of  2012’s Steve Albini-engineered Ugly, 2014’s forceful live album, Live from the Hideout and 2015’s Matt Bayles-produced Rose Mountain, the Central New Jersey-based band received wider exposure from NPR, Last Call with Carson Daly and MTV.  Adding to a growing profile, the New Jersey-based punk rockers have toured with a number of internationally and nationally known acts including Garbage, Throwing Muses, Dinosaur, Jr., The Dead Weather, Arctic Monkeys, Ted Leo and The Pharmacists, JEFF the Brotherhood, Little Lungs, Cheeky, The Ergs, Shellsshag and others.

Interestingly enough, 2015’s Rose Mountain was a decided change in songwriting and recording approach, with the band writing arguably some of the most concise, melodic and accessible material they’ve released, while retaining the blazing guitar work and muscular insistence of their previously recorded work. Up until relatively recently, some time had passed since they had released new, original material, and while “Black Moon,” continues their ongoing collaboration with Matt Bayles, it also reveals a band that’s restlessly experimenting with their songwriting approach and sound. Unsurprisingly, “Black Moon” finds the band crafting material with a forceful conciseness with razor sharp hooks — but thematically, the song also reveals a band that’s simultaneously meshing larger metaphors of a post apocalyptic earth with the universal experience of a relationship that ends in an embittering and frustrating fashion.

All At Once. the band’s seventh full-length studio album is slated for a February 23, 2018 release through Don Giovanni Records and the band reportedly set out to write an album in the spirit of a salon-style gallery show, where the larger pieces provide an eye-level focal point to a galaxy or smaller works — and as a result of a more expansive thematic reach, the members of the band openly and decidedly focused on experimentation with arrangements and song structure to evoke the energy and spontaneity of their live sets. As the band’s Mike Dougherty explains of their motivation “When you’ve been a band for 12 or 13 years, the resources can dry and you just go back to what feels comfortable. The other option is that you develop stuff that a younger band would not have been able to do.”

The album’s first official single “Glass House” finds the band practicing a sense of restraint in which the band embraces simplicity as Paternoster plays two relatively simple riffs in a 90s grunge rock song structure — quiet verses, loud, rousingly anthemic hook, quiet verse. But along with that, the song features some of Paternoster’s most melodic vocals of their catalog. “A song like ‘Glass House’ is something we knew we were capable of, but it took a while to fully embrace,” Paternoster says in press notes. “It’s something very simple — just bass, drums and twos simple riffs. In the past, I might have insisted on adding more. Practicing self-restraint is something I have consciously been trying to do.”

The recently released video for the song may be among the most surreal and artfully done videos they’ve released to date, as it cuts between the members of the band brooding and pensively sitting in a rather sparse room, Paternoster singing the song in dramatic lighting and a butler, who arranges vases — before smashing them over each band member’s head. 

New Audio by William Ruben Helms

Over the past couple of years, I’ve written quite a bit about the New Brunswick, NJ-based JOVM mainstays Screaming Females. Comprised of Marissa Paternoster (guitar, vocals), King Mike (bass) and Jared Dougherty (drums), the trio can trace their origins to a band that Paternoster and King Mike formed while in high school — and after a series of lineup changes that band had finally settled to their current lineup, before changing their name to Screaming Females. Now, as you may recall the trio got their start in their hometown’s all-ages basement scene; but with the release of 2012’s Steve Albini-engineered Ugly, 2014’s forceful live album, and 2015’s Matt Bayles-produced Rose Mountain, the Central New Jersey-based band received wider exposure from NPR, Last Call with Carson Daly and MTV, and adding to a growing profile, the members of the band have toured with internationally and nationally known acts like Garbage, Throwing Muses, Dinosaur, Jr., The Dead Weather, Arctic Monkeys, Ted Leo and The Pharmacists, JEFF the Brotherhood, Little Lungs, Cheeky, The Ergs, Shellsshag and others.

2015’s Rose Mountain was a decided change in songwriting and recording approach, with the band writing arugably some of the most concise, melodic and accessible material they’ve released, while retaining the blazing guitar work and muscular insistence of their previously recorded work; however, it’s been some time since there’s been new, original material from the New Jersey-based punk rockers — that is until now. “Black Moon,” the band’s latest single continues in a similar vein as the material on Rose Mountain with band focusing on crafting tight, yet rousingly anthemic hooks. And while adding to a growing collection of radio friendly material, the band manages to remind the listener that Paternoster is one of the baddest guitar players in the world.

Lyrically speaking the song meshes a larger metaphor on earth abandoning humanity but fed through the fairly universal experience of a relationship ending in a rather bitter and frustrating fashion, which gives an underlying sneering forcefulness.

Uncategorized by William Ruben Helms

Featuring members of JEFF The Brotherhood and  Diarrhea Planet, Breast Massage is a Nashville, TN-based All-Star side project that specializes in a bruising, sludgy, power chord-based rock that has had the act headlining Third Man Records‘ Devil’s Night and playing with the likes of A Place to Bury Strangers, Colleen Green and others. “Bathing The Dog,” the first single off their soon-to-be released Cruisin’ For Filth, part of Infinity Cat Records‘ limited release cassette series, is a slow-burning, dirge-like power chord heavy song with thundering, heavy metal-liked drumming that sounds indebted to the Melvins and 90s alt rock.

 

 

 
Video by William Ruben Helms

Live Footage: JEFF The Brotherhood Performing “Roachin”

Over the summer, I had written quite a bit about Nashville, TN-based sibling duo JEFF The Brotherhood and the first three singles off their latest effort, Zone, an experimental rock album that is the third and final part of a spiritual trilogy of albums that includes 2009’s Heavy Days and 2011’s critically applauded We Are The Champions. The most recent single I wrote about “Roachin” featured Bully‘s Alicia Bognano on vocals in a scorching, power-chord heavy dirge that sounds deeply indebted to 90s alt rock — in particular, the Melvins — as the song structurally consists of alternating quiet and loud sections, and an anthemic hook that you can picture kids moshing out to in a sweaty club. And much like “Punishment” and “Idiot” the single will cement the sibling duo’s reputation for crafting trippy, weed and beer inspired anthems full of enormous power chords and rousing anthemic hooks.
Just as the Nashville, TN-based sibling duo are about to embark on an East Coast tour, which will include a September 27 stop at the Market Hotel, they released live footage of themselves performing “Roachin” — without Bognano — and it should give everyone a sense of their incredible live show.