Tag: Julia Holter

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Angry Blackmen Share Woozy “Sabotage”

Chicago-based hip-hop duo Angry Blackmen — Quentin Branch and Brian Warren — features members, who individually spent their time stretching their creative arms and tapping into different sounds for a couple of years, before Warren suggested that they collaborate together as a duo towards the end of 2016. 

Branch and Warren exploded into the underground and experimental hip-hop scenes with their debut single “OK!,” a track that showcased the pair’s adept ability to spit bars. Their second single “Riot!” was a near-complete shift in sound that remained tethered to the sonic foundation that they’d first built.

Their debut EP, 2019’s Talkshit! was released to attention and acclaim, before eventually catching the attention of Philadelphia-based progressive label Deathbomb Arc, known for its avant and eclectic roster featuring releases from Death Grips, JPEGMAFIA, JOVM mainstays clipping., Julia Holter, U.S. Girls and others. 

Deathbomb Arc went on to release the duo’s full-length debut, 2020’s HEADSHOTS! and its follow-up EP, 2021’S REALITY!, both of which saw the duo expanding their range sonically while further honing their craft. 

The Chicago-based duo’s highly-anticipated 11-song, Formants-produced sophomore album The Legend of ABM is slated for a January 26, 2024 release through Deathbomb Arc. The album reportedly sees Branch and Warren spinning tales of depression, existentialism, self-reflection, tragedy and survival that are unvarnished, lived-in and downright ugly paired with soundscapes that seem to come from a dystopian, apocalyptic future, informed by our hellish present. The result: Two talented emcees providing a passionate yet introspective look at the world at large, with their raw, pathos-infused lyrics educating the listener of our increasingly dystopian, fucked up, apocalyptic world — from the eyes, hearts and perspective of young Black men.

Clocking in at about 30-minutes, the album thematically is a coming of age narrative centered around Black men navigating America, inspired by Richard Matheson’s 1954 post-apocalyptic horror novel I Am Legend. “For us, this album is kinda like our villain origin story, a bedtime story and introduction to those who have and haven’t heard of us yet. Black men have historically been the boogie men of America, so I think it’s fitting that we tell our own legend.”

Last month, I wrote about “Stanley Kubrick,” a song that featured Branch’s and Warren’s dizzyingly rapid fire, dexterous, braggadocio-filled bars and verses over a minimalist, industrial-like production that paired skittering trap beats with stormy and uneasy bursts of feedback and distortion. Sonically, “Stanley Kubrick” seamlessly meshed trap with the slow-burning and creeping dread of There Existed an Addiction to Blood-era clipping.

The Legend of ABM‘s second and latest single “Sabotage” features Branch and Warren trading rapid fire, dexterous, densely worded yet introspective and deeply personal bars and verses describing their love/hate relationship with modern, American capitalism and their struggles with mental health — which of course, is often largely informed by one’s own struggle to survive. And as a result, the song sees its two emcees vacillating between righteous outrage and completely despair over a glitchy and woozy production featuring tweeter and woofer rattling 808, skittering beats and noisy arpeggiated synth glitch.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Up-and-Coming London-based duo Charlotte Spiral Releases a Surreal and Cinematic Visual for Atmospheric “Wide Eyed”

Up-and-coming, London-based indie pop duo Charlotte Spiral, which is comprised of Amy Spencer and Avi Barath can trace their origins to when they met at Goldsmith College and bonded over their mutual love of Rufus Wainright, Julia Holter, Moses Sumney, Patrick Watson, Susanne Sondfør and Beach House among others, all of which have influenced the duo’s work and overall sound. The duo’s debut EP Ideal Life is slated for a February 7, 2020 release through Chapped Lips Records.

Reportedly, the emerging British pop duo’s debut effort thematically explores selfhood, self-doubt and self-belief through an examination of rejection and defeat. The EP’s latest single, the Dan Carey and Charlotte Spiral co-produced “Wide Eyed” is an atmospheric and sparsely arranged song centered around Spencer’s achingly tender vocals, twinkling and ethereal piano, gently padded drumming and a soaring hook paired with a polished production, which may remind some listeners of Tales of Us-era Goldfrapp. 

“‘Wide Eyed’ is about wishing it was easy to enjoy the simple things in life, instead of comparing yourself to the people around you. It’s about wanting to be able to achieve something easily, but being frustrated by the difficulties you face to get to it,” the duo explain in press notes. “Dan’s method of working is based on making quick decisions and committing to them, which resulted in a sound that feels very instinctive and strong in its identity.” 

Directed by Morgan Sinclar, the accompanying video was shot wholly on analog film, giving the lush and dream-like visuals a cinematic and textured feel while representing the struggle to avoid distractions and find joy in simplicity. Beginning with the painting of a chair, the video follows its protagonist on a surreal journey, which manages to play on the idea that achieving something seemingly so simple can often seem like a dream.