Tag: Lightfoils

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Brazilian-Canadian Shoegazers Palm Haze Release a Gorgeously Cinematic and Feverish Visual for “Second Round”

With the release of their self-produced debut EP, 2017’s Tangy Dream, Palm Haze, comprised of Illhabela, Brazil-born, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada-based Anna Wagner (vocals, bass) and Lucas Inacio, a.k.a Fløver (guitar, production) have quickly developed a reputation for a unique sound that meshes elements of alt rock, shoegaze and trip hop. Considered the third best shoegaze album that year by DKFM‘s listener’s pool, the EP was later released on cassette tape by Young Heavy Souls and on vinyl through a successful Qrates crowdfunding campaign. 

Slated for release later this week through YHS Records, the the Illhabela-born, Vancouver-based shoegazer duo’s forthcoming effort Rêve Bleu reportedly draws from the duo’s chaotic personal lives last year. “While Tangy Dream feels very tangible and achievable, Rêve Bleu will bring up chaotic emotions and thoughts, taking you much further from reality and closer to the wonders of uncertainty. Where could you go? What could you do? It’s a fantasy you fall on accidentally, revealing risky and forbidden paths. It’s the kind of dream you’re afraid of, but also tempted towards,” the duo explain in press notes

Earlier this month, I wrote about the Lightfoils-like album single “Floating,” a track, which was centered around layers of fuzzy, pedal-effected guitars, a motorik groove, shuffling drumming and Wagner’s ethereal vocals. Interestingly, Rêve Bleu’s latest single “Second Round” is an expansive and trippy track that begins with a lengthy jazz-like and slow-burning intro featuring Wagner’s vocals floating over shimmering guitar and stuttering beats but about half way through, the song morphs into towering shoegaze reminiscent of My Blood Valentine, Ride and others, complete with fuzzy power chords and thunderous drumming. “Second Round” may arguably be the best example of their sound and approach but while managing to be ambitious yet accessible. 

Directed and edited by Matt Black and featuring camera and drone work by Alex Buksdorf, the recently released video for “Second Round” is one part brooding and noir-ish as it’s all gorgeously cinematic black and white photography and neon light — but as the song’s intensity turns up, the visuals become increasingly hallucinogenic. 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Chicago’s Lightfoils Release a Lyrical and Meditative Video for “Summer Nights”

Over the past few weeks I’ve written quite a bit about the Chicago, IL-based shoegazer act Lightfoils. And as you may recall, the band, which is comprised of Jane Zabeth Nicholson (vocals), Neil Yodname (guitar), Zeeshan Abbasi (guitar), Cory Osborne (bass) and John Rungger (drums) has developed a reputation for pushing the boundaries of shoegaze with a unique and sophisticated take on the genre, as heard of 2014’s critically applauded Hierarchy.

The band’s long-awaited, forthcoming album Chambers will be self-released by the band, both for the autonomy and the ability to be intimately involved in all aspects of the album’s production and promotion — and with the album’s first single “Summer Nights, ” the first bit of new material since the release of Hierarchy finds the Chicago-based shoegazers fully commanded the sound they’ve developed with a swaggering self-assuredness, as the band pairs layers of lushly shimmering and chiming guitars with a propulsive, hip-hop like rhythm section and soaring hooks while Zabeth Nicholson’s ethereal vocals float over the mix, expressing deep longing. And while anthemic, the gorgeous track manages to possess the wistful feel of a summer night, complete with the knowledge that a bitterly cold winter is coming.

Co-directed by the members of the band and Brian Cook, the recently released video for “Summer Nights” meant to evoke the nostalgia for summer, the longing many of us feel once it passes — and in a subtle way, the recognition that the years and the time are flying by. Featuring footage shot by each member of the band, the video is partially an exploration of Chicago and the surrounding wilderness. As the band explains in press notes, the juxtaposition between the urban and wilderness scenes are meant to capture the paradoxical nature of city life — and the desire to both embrace and escape. Jane Zabeth Nicholson’s superimposed and spectral figure gives it all a film noir-ish like vibe. 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Chicago’s Lightfoils Release a Brightly Colored and Lysergic Visual for “This Time Is Up”

Comprised of Jane Zabeth Nicholson (vocals), Neil Yodname (guitar), Zeeshan Abbasi (guitar), Cory Osborne (bass) and John Rungger (drums), the Chicago, IL-based shoegazer act Lightfoils formed back in 2010 and since their formation, the band has developed a reputation for pushing the sonic boundaries of the genre with a unique and sophisticated take as heard on 2014’s critically applauded Hierarchy.

The Chicago-based shoegazers’ long-awaited,forthcoming album Chambers will be self-released by the band, both for the autonomy and the ability to be intimately involved in all aspects of the album’s production and promotion — and with the album’s first single “Summer Nights,” the first batch of new material since the release of Hierarchy found the band fully-commanding their sound, as the band self-assuredly paired layers of lushly shimmering and chiming guitars with a propulsive, hip-hop like rhythm section and a soaring hook while Zabeth Nicholson’s ethereal vocals float over the mix, expressing deep longing and aching nostalgia over something that has passed.

Chambers’ second and latest single is the frenetically breakneck “This Time Is Up,” which features rapid-fire drumming, woozy and distorted guitars and rumbling low end. Lyrically, the song outlines the end of a relationship with a dishonest partner, and as a result the song emotionally is centered around a dizzying and disorientating feelings of anger, betrayal and hurt before shifting into a slow-burning, simmering coda which suggests begrudging acceptance, of things left unsaid — perhaps with the recognition that they’re better not said, before fading out. The new single may arguably be the most forcefully direct single in their growing catalog while being a bold new sonic direction for the band.

Directed by Brian Cook, the recently released video features vivid, neon-bright colors swirling in a lysergic haze around the band as they perform the song. Interestingly, the visuals manage to evoke the song’s energy and vibe in an accurate (yet trippy) fashion. 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Comprised of Jane Zabeth Nicholson (vocals), Neil Yodname (guitar), Zeeshan Abbasi (guitar), Cory Osborne (bass) and John Rungger (drums), the Chicago, IL-based shoegazer act Lightfoils formed back in 2010 and since their formation, the band has developed a reputation for pushing the sonic boundaries of the genre with a unique and sophisticated take as heard on 2014’s critically applauded Hierarchy.

The Chicago-based shoegazers’ long-awaited,forthcoming album Chambers will be self-released by the band, both for the autonomy and the ability to be intimately involved in all aspects of the album’s production and promotion — and with the album’s first single “Summer Nights,” the first batch of new material since the release of Hierarchy found the band fully-commanding their sound, as the band self-assuredly paired layers of lushly shimmering and chiming guitars with a propulsive, hip-hop like rhythm section and a soaring hook while Zabeth Nicholson’s ethereal vocals float over the mix, expressing deep longing and aching nostalgia over something that has passed.

The album’s second and latest single is the frenetically breakneck “This Time Is Up,” which features rapid-fire drumming, woozy and distorted guitars and rumbling low end. Lyrically, the song outlines the end of a relationship with a dishonest partner, and as a result the song emotionally is centered around a dizzying and disorientating feelings of anger, betrayal and hurt before shifting into a slow-burning, simmering coda which suggests begrudging acceptance, of things left unsaid — perhaps with the recognition that they’re better not said, before fading out. The new single may arguably be the most forcefully direct single in their growing catalog while being a bold new sonic direction for the band.

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Last year, I wrote a bit about he Austin, TX-based dream pop/shoegaze quartet Blushing, and as you may recall, the act which is comprised of two married couples — Christina Carmona (vocals, bass) and Noe Carmona (guitar, keys) and Michelle Soto (guitar, vocals) and Jake Soto (drums) can trace its origins back to 2015, when Michelle Soto recruited her classically trained friend Christina Carmona to join her new project, after spending several years writing material on guitar. Soto and Carmona then recruited their spouses to complete the band’s lineup. And after about a year of writing and revising material, they went into Bad Wolf Recordings to record their debut EP Tether, an effort that at points recalled A Storm in Heaven-era The Verve and Lightfoils‘ Hierarchy.

Building upon a growing profile and the positive reception of their debut EP, the Austin-based shoegazers returned to the studio to record their sophomore EP Weak, which was released through Austin Town Hall Records earlier this year, and from EP single and title track “Weak,” the band further cemented their reputation for crafting material that sonically was indebted to the likes of Lush, Cocteau Twins and The Sundays —  and while arguably being one of the more direct and anthemic songs of their growing catalog, the song revealed a gentle refinement of the overall sound and aesthetic that first caught the attention of the blogosphere. Adding to a busy year, the band recently released the Elliot Frazier-produced and mixed “The Truth”/”Sunshine” 7 inch both digitally and on colored vinyl through The Nothing Song Records, and the 7 inch single represents a band that has yet again expanded upon their sound: “The Truth” is arguably the most muscular song they’ve released as it featured crunchy and fuzzy guitar lines, thundering drumming paired with soaring vocals. And throughout, there’s a decided focus on crafting an anthemic and rousing hook that sounds as though it inspired by 120 Minutes-era MTV before ending with a feedback-driven coda. “Sunshine,” the second track of the 7 inch is  arguably the most towering and expansive sound that the Austin-based shoegazers have released to date, as Christina Carmona’s and Michelle Soto’s vocals soar over layers of lushly shimmering and pedal effected guitars, a simple yet propulsive backbeat and a soaring hook while recalling A Storm in Heaven and Lightfoils but with a bold self-assurance. Both singles may be among the most ambitious and focused songwriting and playing the band has recorded to date, and I’m looking forward to the forthcoming full-length, slated for early next year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Jane Zabeth Nicholson (vocals), Neil Yodname (guitar), Zeeshan Abbasi (guitar), Cory Osborne (bass) and John Rungger (drums), the Chicago, IL-based shoegazer act Lightfoils formed back in 2010 and since their formation, the band has developed a reputation for pushing the sonic boundaries of the genre with a unique and sophisticated take as heard on 2014’s critically applauded Hierarchy.

The band’s long-awaited, forthcoming album Chambers will be self-released by the band, both for the autonomy and the ability to be intimately involved in all aspects of the album’s production and promotion — and with the album’s first single “Summer Nights, ” the first bit of new material since the release of Hierarchy finds the Chicago-based shoegazers fully commanded the sound they’ve developed with a swaggering self-assuredness, as the band pairs layers of lushly shimmering and chiming guitars with a propulsive, hip-hop like rhythm section and soaring hooks while Zabeth Nicholson’s ethereal vocals float over the mix, expressing deep longing. And while anthemic, the gorgeous track manages to possess the wistful feel of a summer night, complete with the knowledge that a bitterly cold winter is coming.

 

 

New Audio by William Ruben Helms

Earlier this month, I wrote about the up-and-coming  London-based, up-and-coming shoegaze quintet Cosmic Strip, and as you may recall, the band, which is fronted by  primary songwriter and creative mastermind, Camella Agabalyan, has described their work as “music to watch girls by, music to move the stars,” and with EP title track “Heavenly,” off the band’s recently released debut EP, the band seems to specialize in shimmering and soaring shoegaze that brought Wolf Alice and Lightfoils to my mind.  The EP’s latest single “Sugar Rush” is a decidedly 120 Minutes MTV-era bit of shoegaze, centered around squalling and towering feedback, shimmering guitar chords, ethereal vocals, soaring hooks and an alternating quiet, loud, quiet song structure that immediately brings Slowdive and A Storm in Heaven-era The Verve to mind, complete with a lysergic haze.

“I wanted to write a song about the feeling of addiction whether it’s sugar, love, a drug, whatever your vice is”, Camella Agbalyan says in press notes about the new single. “I personally really connect to dreamy, druggy songs like Air, My Bloody Valentine, Beach Fossils, Slowdive, The Jesus & The Mary Chain, etc., so I wanted to inspire myself from that feeling but also show the darker side of addiction that you might not always get from those types of songs”.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Fronted by primary songwriter and creative mastermind, Camella Agabalyan, the London-based, up-and-coming shoegaze quintet Cosmic Strip have described their work as “music to watch girls by, music to move the stars,” and “Heavenly,” the latest single from the band’s debut EP is a mesmerizing and anthemic track, centered by dexterous and shimmering power chords and soaring hook — and although some have compared the band and their sound to the likes of Beach House and Alvvays, to my ears, the band’s sound reminds me a bit of Wolf Alice and Lightfoils, but as the band says, the song is “. . . dedicated to the addictive feeling of your first love.”

The band has started to receive a attention from the blogosphere and as a result of a growing profile, the members of the band have made an appearance at The Great Escape  and are in the middle of a UK tour that includes a Wildness Festival set tonight. If you’re in the UK, check out the tour dates below.

Tour Dates
03 Aug – Wilderness Festival
24 Aug – The Sunflower Lounge, Birmingham
25 Aug – Night & Day Café, Manchester
27 Aug – Belgrave Music Hall, Leeds (This Must Be The Place Festival)
31 Aug – Sebright Arms, London (EP launch party)

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Deriving their name from a skateboard trick from an 80s skateboarder film, the Los Angeles, CA-based shoegazer act Nightmare Air are comprised of a trio of grizzled vets — Dave Dupuis was once a member of Los Angeles-based act Film School; Swaan Miller developed a reputation as a singer/songwriter with the release of a stark, attention-grabbing acoustic album that was released through Important Records; and Jimmy Lucido, who was once a member of The Strays. And through their various projects, the members of Nightmare Air, at one point or another, have opened for the likes of Smashing Pumpkins and The Jesus and Mary Chain among others.

2017 was a big year for the members of Nightmare Air as they headlined clubs and played the major festival circuit, which included appearances at SXSW and Starry Night Festival — and adding to a growing profile, they shared stages with The Kills, The Dandy Warhols and Cat Power. Building upon the growing buzz surrounds them, Nightmare Air’s newest album Fade Out is slated for a March release through Nevado Records — and the album’s latest single “Who’s Your Lover” will further cement the act’s reputation for crafting rousingly anthemic tracks that effortlessly mesh angular post-punk with textured shoegaze in a way that reminds me a bit of Hierarchy-era Lightfoils and others, but with a soaring synth line, wrapped around Miller’s seductive cooing.

Nightmare Air will be opening for the legendary and amazing Gary Numan throughout the European leg of his tour to support Savage (Songs from a Broken World). Check out tour dates below.

Tour Dates

Mar 2. Stokholm. Kagelbanan

Mar 3. Malmo. Kulturbolaget

Mar 4. Olso. Parkteatret

Mar 5. Copenhagen. Pumpehuset

Mar 7. Utrecht. Tivoli

Mar 8. Antwerp. Trix

Mar 9. Luxembourg

Mar 10. Oberhausen, Germany

Mar 12. Portsmouth. Pyramids Centre

Mar 13. Warwick. Arts Centre

Mar 14. Leicester. O2 Academy

Mar 16. Edinburgh. Assembly Rooms

Mar 17. Middlesbrough. Empire

Mar 19. Preston. Guild Hall

Mar 20. Hull. City Hall

Mar 21. Sheffield. The Foundry

Mar 23. Isle Of Man. Villa Marina

Mar 24. Liverpool. O2 Academy

Mar 25. Northampton. Roadmenders

Mar 28. Belfast. The Limelight

Mar 29. Dublin. Olympia Theatres

Video by William Ruben Helms

Live Footage: Alice Phoebe Lou Performing the Oscar-Shortlisted Song “She” in Berlin

Alice Phoebe Lou is a Cape Town, South Africa-born, Berlin, Germany-based singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, who has developed a reputation for a fiercely independent, almost punk rock-like DIY approach to her ethereal indie folk music. Although her parents were documentary filmmakers, Lou took piano lessons as a child and then as a teenager, taught herself to play guitar. As the story goes, when the Cape Town-born, Berlin-based singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist was 16, she spent a summer vacation visiting her aunt in Paris. Armed with an acoustic guitar, the young singer/songwriter met a number of buskers and other street performers — some who taught her poi dancing.

Upon graduation, Lou went to Europe — first landing in Amsterdam, where she made money as a poi dancer, before relocating to Berlin, where she became a popular busker, performing interpretations of popular songs and her own original material, and eventually developing her own unique sound.  With the release of her 2014 self-released debut EP Momentum, the Cape Town-born, Berlin-based singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist began receiving international attention — and as a result, she spent the following year performing at a number of TED events in London and Berlin, as well as Exponential Medicine.

Building upon a rapidly growing profile, Lou released her critically applauded, 2016 full-length debut Orbit, which saw her garner a nomination for Best Female Artist at that year’s German Critics’ Choice Awards, as well as a set at the 27th Annual Conference for the Professional Business Women of California, which featured keynote speakers Venus Williams, Judy Smith, and Memory Banda. Additionally, Lou spent much of 2016 on the road, touring to support her debut effort, sharing bills with Sixto Rodriguez, Boy & Bear, Allen Stone and Crystal Fighters. During the course of that year, she played three multimedia sold out events at the Berlin Planetarium — and by demand, she added two additional planetarium shows to her 2017 tour itinerary.

Along with the Berlin Planetarium shows, Lou saw a live version of “She” with the live performance video, shot during two different Berlin area shows going viral — and as of this post, the video has received over 2.5 million YouTube streams. Interestingly, the song is also featured in the major motion picture Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story , with the song recently being shortlisted for an Oscar for Best Original Song. Adding to an incredible run of critical success, Lou released her latest EP, Sola at the end of last year.

As for “She,” the song will further cement the Cape Town-born, Berlin-based artist’s reputation for her ethereal and tender soprano — but in this case, paired around what may be the most shoegazer rock-like arrangement, she’s ever produced as the song features looping and shimmering guitar chords, thundering and tribal-like drumming,  gently swirling electronics and an anthemic hook. And while at points the song is reminiscent of the likes of Wolf Alice, Lightfoils and others, it possesses a restless longing at its core.

A studio version of “She” is slated for a February 23, 2018 release, and after the single’s release, Lou will embark on a international tour that will include a Stateside run. And a new album is currently in the works, too.

 
 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Over the past couple of months, I’ve written a handful of posts on the mysterious indie rock act Essx Station, and as you may recall the duo’s debut single “Can’t Go Back,” revealed a self-assured, hook-driven song that reminded me quite a a bit of Snow Patrol. Winter and Blunda, the duo behind Essx Station followed “Can’t Go Back” with the swooning and atmospheric “Awake or Dreaming,” a swooning and sincere track that still managed to sound as though it drew from Snow Patrol but with enormous, arena rock-like hooks. But underneath the slick production and big hooks of their two earliest singles, the duo reveals an uncanny ability to craft sincere, pop-leaning, radio friendly indie rock.

“Submarine,” the up-and-coming duo’s latest single, much like its immediately predecessors will appear on their soon-to-be released debut EP will further cement their reputation for sincere and enormous, hook-driven indie rock. But interestingly, it may be one of the more muscular and shoegazer-like songs they’ve released as shimmering yet angular guitar chords are paired with downtuned, rumbling bass chords, boom-bap like drumming, hand clap-led percussion, alternating boy-girl vocals and dual harmonies; in fact, the song strikes me as being a fair meshing of Snow Patrol, Pixies and Lightfoils with an overwhelmingly positive message. As the duo explained to me via email “like all the songs of the EP, this was written and produced by us and is about choosing to follow your own path and be who you are without listening to what others have to say. You disappear for a while into your own world, to figure out what you want and need. As the song says:


“We can be anything 
No one can see us dream
Float in a submarine 
Going underground”
Certainly for anyone who has been desperately trying to figure out what their place is in this world or who has at one point been desperate to figure out their place or face extraordinarily pressure to do something, to be a responsible, practical adult, this song will feel familiar — and it kindly suggests that sometimes the best thing is to go and follow your dreams and your own path to them.
Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Brooding 70s-Inspired Visuals for Wilding’s “Hot Prowl”

Wilding is a Los Angeles, CA-based indie rock trio, comprised of Dave Woody (guitar, vocals), Dave Bowman (bass) and Andrew Platts (drums) that has publicly cited Hum, Fugazi, Mew, M83, Autolux and Interpol as influences, although with “Hot Prowl,” off their Secular Music EP, which was released earlier this year, the band manages to specialize in the sort of anthemic and moody shoegaze that reminds me quite a bit of Jersey City, NJ’s Overlake, Chicago’s Lightfoils and others, complete with some explosive guitar pyrotechnics paired with thundering and insistent drumming.

The recently released video for “Hot Prowl” is comprised of footage from an extremely obscure 70s film featuring some bored and brooding kids who goof off and get high — and it’s obvious that not only do they not have answers for anything, the footage has a hit of old PSAs about drugs and alcohol.