Hannah Stone is a Cape May, NJ-born, Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter, who has written and recorded under a number of pseudonyms and with a number of different projects, included Painted Pale. Stone’s voice has appeared in countless TV and Netflix series that you love — or are currently watching, like Search Party, Never Have I Ever,Vanderpump Rules and Emily in Paris among a lengthy list of shows.
In May 2020, Stone stepped out from the pseudonyms and various projects and released material under her own name — her first two singles, “It’s Raining” and “Sleep Through The Summer.” The Cape May-born, Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter then followed up with her debut EP God’s Against This.
Thematically, the material on God’s Against This touches upon love, loss and the thrill of being alive and living in the present. The EP was recently re-released and will serve as Stone’s re-introduction as a solo artist, ahead of the forthcoming EP, which is currently in the works. In the meantime, God’s Against This single “It’s Raining” is a slow-burning, David Lynchian-like single centered around shimmering and reverb-drenched guitar twang, gently padded drumming, twinkling bursts of keys paired with Stone’s sultry cooing. The end result is a song that brings Mazzy Star and Amsterdam‘s Donna Blue to mind — a mist covered, lingering, half-remembered dream of a lazy, rainy day with nothing in particular to do but daydream and think.
Shot and edited by Jayden Becker with visual effects by Becker, the recently released video for “It’s Raining” fittingly employs a hazy, dream-like logic: We see a flannel wearing Stone walking near a pool, before jumping in, a brewing pot of tea, Stone eating fruit and squeezing it in between her hands and psychedelic visual effects.
Singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Matthew Doty has had a lengthy 20+ year career as a musician: He co-founded Philadelphia-based post-rock outfit Saxon Shore with Father John Misty’s Josh Tillman, and the act went out to release four full-length albums — 2002’s Be a Bright Blue, 2003’s Four Months of Darkness, 2005’s The Exquisite Death of Saxon Shore and 2009’s It Doesn’t Matter — before splitting up.
Doty went on to form the Los Angeles-based (via Grand Rapids, MI) synth-pop outfit Midnight Faces with Philip Stancil. During their run, Midnight Faces released three albums –2013’s Fornication, 2014’s The Fire Is Gone and 2016’s Heavenly Bodies — to critical acclaim from the likes of Spin Magazine, The AV Club, Consequence, Vice and a lengthy list of others.
Doty stepped out into the limelight as a solo artist with his solo recording project Deserta back in 2020. Doty’s sophomore Deserta album, Every Moment, Everything You Need is slated for a February 25, 2022 digital and CD release and a June 10, 2022 vinyl release through Felte Records. Mixed by David Fridmann and engineered by Chris Coady, Every Moment, Everything You Need features guest spots by James McAliser, who has worked with Taylor Swift, Sufjan Stevens, Bryce Dessner,The National,Big Red Machine and a list of others and vocals from Mice Parade‘s Caroline Lufkin on a track.
Every Moment, Everything You Need‘s latest single “Where Did You Go” is slow-burning and woozy bit of shoegaze with A Storm in Heaven-like textures: swirling reverb and feedback-drenched layers of guitar, glistening synths, forceful boom bap with ethereally cooed vocals buried deep into the mix, but aching to burst free from their confinement. And at its core, the song seems to evoke a yearning for someone and a moment that just can’t possibly happen again.
“‘Where Did You Go’ marks the third time Caroline [Lufkin] and I have worked together,” Deserta’s Matthew Doty says in press notes. ‘Going back to 2008, Oliver Chapoy (who, also appears on the new Deserta album) and I contributed a remix for her album, Murmurs. The following year, Caroline sang on Saxon Shore’s “This Place” (also produced/mixed by Dave Fridmann). We kept in touch over the years, always trying to connect on something new, but life happens and timing is often hard to get right. With the unpredictability of the last year, I think it was comforting to finally reconnect with some of my favorite collaborators, even from a distance.”
Rising Boise–based electronic music artist and producer Morgin Madison initially started his professional life as a lobbyist before pursuing music full-time. He released his first singles in late 2017. That first batch of original material found the Boise-based producer quickly establishing a unique approach and sound that incorporated chilled out house and vast, hard-hitting set pieces.
Since those early singles, Madison has been remarkably prolific, releasing material through electronic labels like Colorize, Songspire Records, PRGRSSN and even mau5trap. Interestingly, each successive release found the Boise-based producer’s sound moving increasing in the direction of progressive house. He says in press notes, he’s just getting started releasing music that he describes as “the most genuine, melodic dance music I can make.”
Last year, mau5trap released the Boise-based producer’s full-length debut Living the Phantasm. The album’s material was written during the course of 2020, when the rising producer, much like everyone else was confined at home as a result of pandemic-related restrictions. At the time, he was creating music for a time that to him felt like a distant, impossible dream. And with the music industry and everything else seemingly on the verge of collapse, Madison began to ask himself, “If this is it, what do I want to say before I go?” That question inspired a creative streak uninhibited by a concern for the future.
The end result, included the soulful and sensual Balearic banger “Feels Like,” which I wrote about last year. Since then, Madison has been busy: He has done a handful of b2b performances with label head deadmau5. And continuing upon the momentum of last year, the Boise-based producer started off the new year with his latest single “Drifter” feat. Dominque.
“Drifter” continues a run of nostalgia-inducing, Balearic-inspired house bangers: Centered around a thumping beats, glistening synth-driven melody, the production is roomy enough for Los Angeles-born and-based pop artist Dominique to contribute her plaintive vocals to the mix, making “Drifter” arguably the most earnest yet intimate song of Madison’s growing catalog. The song features a narrator, looking back at a one-sided relationship with an aching nostalgia — partially for the relationship, and partially for a loss of innocence as a result of that relationship.
“With ‘Drifter,’ I wanted to create a song that took my sound into a very intimate direction, while still holding onto my roots in progressive dance music,” explains Morgin Madison on his new single. “Once I teamed up with Dominique on vocals, the song became a beautifully nostalgic anthem about a one-sided relationship. While a lot of my music feels more vast and ethereal, ‘Drifter’ brings you in close for a bittersweet journey.”
Jake Ignalls, a former member of The Flaming Lips founded Spaceface back in 2012. The self-professed “retro-futurist dream rock” outfit is currently split between between Memphis and Los Angeles and features a collection of current and past members of The Flaming Lips and Pierced. And since their formation a decade ago, the members of Spaceface have developed a reputation for crafting incredibly catchy songs that feature elements of dream pop, funk, rock and post-disco.
Aneomoia, Spaceface’s sophomore album is slated for a Friday release through Montreal-based label Mothland. The album is the result of several months spent back in 2019 at Blackwatch Studios, where the band spent several months working with Jarod Evans writing material inspired by funk rock and the turn of the millennium psychedelia revival. Although the material can be initially perceived as a feat of efficient and minimalistic songwriting by Ignalls and a cast of friends and collaborators, centered around slick melodies, lush arrangements and effortlessly flowing rhythmic grooves, each spin reportedly will reveal a new layer while painting a positive but somewhat critical portrayal of modern life.
In the lead-up to Anemoia‘s release, Mothland and the members of the self-professed retro-futuristic dream rock outfit have previously released an incredible five singles off the album: “Happens All The Time,” “Earth In Awe,” and “Piña Collider,” which featured samples and choir vocals from actual CERN scientists and “ were all previously released to praise across the blogopshere.
And if you’ve been frequenting over the past few months, you may recall that I’ve personally written about the album’s two most recent singles:
“Long Time:” a woozy and funky contemplation of life choices and alternate realities centered around a strutting bass line, glistening synth arpeggios and infectious hooks paired with guest vocals from Penny Pitchlynn, best known for her work with BRONCHO and LABRYS.
“Rain Passing Through:” an Oracular Spectacular era MGMT meets Nile Rodgers-like bop with guest vocals from Mikaela Davis about the fleeting moments one may have with former or future lovers in passing turbulent times, and despite knowing that it probably shouldn’t, wouldn’t or can’t happen, that it was okay to feel good and safe, even if it was for a brief, lovely moment.
Anemoia‘s sixth and final single, “Millions & Memes” is a hook-driven earworm centered around a buzzing, phaser-drenched guitar riff, funky boom bap beats that sounds — to my ears, at least — like a slick and seamless synthesis of Currents era Tame Impala, 70s glam rock and funk. Much its predecessors, “Millions & Memes” is rooted in deeply detailed psychological observation and overwhelmingly positive messaging.
“It’s about a character whois sort of at the end of their rope, not knowing what to do or where to go, but just knowing they could really make something of themselves if they could just make a decision,”Jake Ingalls explains. But the song’s chorus is a simple reminder that the world is our oyster — even if we don’t immediately see it.
Directed and animated by Curtis Peel, the quirky and recently released video for “Millions & Memes” is a collage of submissions from Spaceface fans, visuals from album promo shots, thematic elements and memes in a trippy, mind-bending fashion. “I loved the duality in the spectrum, with riches, high society, and excess on one end, and humor, conversational, and shit-posting on the other,” the video’s director Curtis Peel explains. “After seeing some of the album-era artwork, I immediately saw in my mind the aesthetic of 70’s fortune and fame, and the memes were obviously a very deep well to draw from, as well.”
Rising, Los Angeles-based electronic duo Tonoso — Jacob Grabb and Paul Salerno — met in high school jazz band and started working together in earnest back in 2018. And since their formation, the duo have developed and honed a unique take on contemporary electronic music centered around a cinematic and compositional sensibility.
Interestingly, the Los Angeles-based electronic duo’s music can be heard in a number of different media, including the award-winning film Summertime and the hit video game Cyberpunk 2077. The duo hope to continue upon that momentum with the release of their full-length debut Artificial Dreams later this year.
In the meantime, the duo’s latest single, the lush “Hide” features a blend of organic instrumentation including live drumming, glistening, reverb-drenched guitar, a sinuous bass line paired with an ethereal and deliberately crafted and breezy production centered around driving, skittering beats, atmospheric synth arpeggios and chopped up vocals. The production is roomy enough for Jacob Grabb’s plaintive and yearning vocals to be interwoven within the lush mix — but while adding a brooding quality to the song.
“Our main intention was to create a driving syncopated rhythm section that beautifully contrasts with luscious textures and hypnotic melodies,” the Los Angeles duo explain. “The lyrics, while seemingly dark and mysterious, are meant to be interpreted by the listener.”
Acclaimed Los Angeles-based indie pop act the bird and the bee — singer/songwriter Inara George and eight-time Grammy Award-winning producer and multi-instrumentalist Greg Kurstin — can trace their origins back to when they met while working on George’s 2005 solo debut All Rise.
Bonding over a mutual love of 80s pop and rock, the duo decided to continue collaborating together in a jazz-influenced electro pop-leaning project. With the release of 2006’s Again and Again and Again and Again EP and 2007’s self-titled, full-length debut, George and Kurstin quickly established a reputation for crafting pop songs with a breezy elegance.
Since the debut album, the bird and the bee have released three albums, as well as two volumes in their Interpreting the Masters series, in which they re-arranged and re-imagined the music of Hall & Oates and Van Halen in their playful and breezy style.
2020’s Christmas album Put Up the Lights was written and recorded remotely as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Lifetimes,” is the first bit of new material since the release Put Up the Lights — and interestingly enough the song marks two big occasions for the the duo:
the first time they were able to work together at Kurstin’s Hollywood-based No Expectations Studio in years
and the duo celebrating the 15th anniversary of their self-titled debut, released through Blue Note Records
“It was really nice to be back in each other’s company and working on music together. No matter who you are, there’s always something unique that happens when you are able to collaborate with someone in the same space,” the bird and bee’s Inara George says in press notes. “Since the beginning of the bird and the bee, Greg and I have always had a very easy and fun time collaborating. I think it’s what keeps us playing music together. We have a kind of unspoken understanding and such a creative ease. Being back together inspired this song about our first musical collaboration.”
“Lifetimes” is centered around an expansive and elegant arrangement that starts with angular post-punk guitar that slowly builds up to include blown out beats, twinkling keys, fluttering synths, a dreamy Bossa nova and jazz-like bridge, and an anthemic coda. While telling the tale of the duo’s first collaboration together, the song is also a meditation on the passing of time, and a celebration of a deep and abiding friendship rooted in an unusual understanding of the other.
Directed by Simona Mehandzhieva and Norbert Garab, the recently released animated video for “Lifetimes” follows the song’s story as a swooning platonic love story and a sort of Vulcan mind-meld between two very different yet oddly similar people.
Founded back in 1987, the Bristol, UK-based label Sarah Records had developed a reputation for being a defiantly indie label. And during its short lifetime, the label managed to create a whole scene surrounding itself that initially featured British bands, but expanded to Arizona, California and even Sydney, Australia.
The label shut its doors in 1995 and has long eschewed re-releases and re-issues. But interestingly enough, the label’s alumni have continued to actively create gorgeous and captivating pop music: in some cases, with the original bands that recorded on the label — and in others, with new bands that featured members of the from the label’s roster.
When Amelia Fletcher and Rob Pursey founded Skep Wax Records last year, they were heavily influenced by the many amazing indie labels they’d work with in previous projects like K, Elefant, Fortuna Pop!, Wiiija, Matinée, WIAIWYA and others. But Sarah Records was the one they admired most: the label operated in an ethical fashion, was completely independent and better organized than most majors. When Fletcher and Pursey started to look around, they were surprised to discover how many of their labelmates were still actively creating interesting, beautiful music.
Skep Wax recently put together a compilation album titled Under The Bridge. Slated for a March 18, 2022 digital and CD release and a July 2022 vinyl release, reintroduces several of the bands — and individual band members — who released records on Sarah Records, during the label’s storied history. However, instead of being a trip down the nostalgia road, as many compilations often do, Under The Radar spotlights the new music that these bands are making right now — with much of it being exclusive to the compilation.
Every track on Under The Bridge manages to continue Sarah Records’ reputation for crated pop. Some of the tracks are punk rock, some are indie pop, others are dream pop-like. Some are gentle, some are full of rage. But all of the tracks are defiantly sensitive, thoughtful, literate and fueled by DIY spirit.
The Luxembourg Signal — currently, Beth Arzy (vocals), Betsy Moyer (vocals), Johnny Joyner (guitar), Brian Espinoza (drums), Ginny Pitchford (keys), Daniel Kumiega (bass) and Kelly Davis (guitar) — features members split in London, Los Angeles and San Diego. And with the release of 2014’s self-titled debut through Shelflife Records, the trans-national shoegaze/dream pop outfit quickly attracted a loyal following while receiving overwhelmingly breathless praise for crating material centered around ethereal vocals and lush soundscapes, paired with a pop sensibility.
I’ve written a bit about The Luxembourg Signal over the past handful of years, and as you may recall, the band released their third album, the 10-song The Long Now was released back in 2020 through Shelflife Records and Spinout Nuggets. Although a couple of have passed since I’ve last written about them, the trans-national outfit contributes the slow-burning and gorgeous, compilation opener “Travel Through Midnight.”
Centered around a lush arrangement featuring glistening and reverb-drenched guitars, a supple bass line, gently padded drumming, and shimmering synths “Travel Through Midnight” is spacious enough for Arzy’s and Moyer’s gorgeous vocals to ethereally float over the mix. The song manages to evoke a gentle yet wintry melancholy.
Los Angeles-based multi-instrumentalists, producers and siblings Ryan and Joey Selan are the creative masterminds behind the rising indie rock/indie pop outfit The Lagoons. With the release of their debut single “California,” which was written, recorded and produced out of their home studio, the duo quickly established a sound that featured their unique blend of a number of different genres and styles.
Since its release, “California” has amassed over 50 million Spotify streams, appeared in the Netflix series Easy, a BMW ad campaign with Kate Upton, a Seiko Australia ad and featured on product placement in Bose stores globally. The duo quickly followed that up with the Gems EP and Escape EP.
Building upon a growing profile, the Los Angeles-based sibling duo have completed two national headlining tours with Tim Atlas and Future Generations as openers. Interestingly, those two tours have helped the Selan Brothers become a must-see act — thanks in part to a live set that features live looping and electronic elements, a live drummer, and the duo effortlessly switching between instruments.
With the release of their critically applauded, full-length debut, 2020’s Midnight Afternoon, the duo’s growing catalog has received praise from the music cognoscenti while being added to over 100,000 Spotify playlists including New Music Friday, Ultimate Indie, Essential Indie, Hanging Out and Relaxing, Indie Rock Road Trip, The Ones That Got Away, Late Night Vibes and more. NPR has also included the duo in their heavy rotation for “10 Songs Public Radio Can’t Stop Playing,” along with their Song of the Day.
Released last week, The Lagoons’ sophomore album Daybreak is influenced by the state of our world over the couple of years. Thematically, the album touches upon love, resolution, hope and desire on a hero’s journey to look forward, rather than be stuck in the past.
Daybreak‘s latest single, the slow-burning and cinematic “Long Road To Nowhere” sees the duo pairing atmospheric synths, glistening guitars, twinkling keys and achingly plaintive song that sonically brings JOVM mainstays Washed Out, ACES and Cones to mind. And while initially being brooding and melancholic, the song slowly builds up to a positive conclusion — the hope that while things are profoundly difficult, that there’s a light at the end of the proverbial tunnel.
Split between Austin and Los Angeles, psych rock outfit Oliver Future — currently founding members Noah Lit (guitar, vocals), Josh Lit (vocals, keys), Sam Raver (guitar), Jesse Ingalls — was founded in Austin, back in 2002 featuring a lineup of Noah Lit, Josh Lit, Raver, Ingalls and Jordan Richardson (drums). While in Austin, the band wrote and recorded several albums before their management company relocated the band to Los Angeles in 2005.
The management company (and their stipends) disappeared quickly, and the band was stuck in Los Angeles, too broke to get back home. Luckily, they met producer and engineer Adam Lasus, who has worked with a who’s who list of contemporary indie rock acts, including recording a hit record with Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, had just relocated to Los Angeles.
Just as the members of Oliver Future started working on Pax Futura‘s follow-up, a famous touring artist hired the band’s rhythm section. Ingalls and Richardson wound up touring the world and winning a Grammy while the remaining members of the band went on to write and record 2008’s In Event of Moon Disaster. Shortly, after In Event of Moon Disaster‘s release, the band broke up. Josh Lit, Noah Lit and Sam Raver returned to Austin.
Shortly after returning home, Noah Lit and Josh Lit became co-owners of popular East Austin craft beer and kolaches bakery, Batch Craft Beer and Kolaches. The successful brothers and business partners were still eager to create new music, and in 2019, they asked Jesse if he wanted to return to Austin to play what was intended to be a one-off, goodbye show at The Continental Club. The show was sold out, and although it was meant to close the book on the band, the fun of playing together was undeniable.
As the drudgery of lockdowns continues into last summer, Josh Lit, Noah Lit and Raver started regularly getting together to jam in their studio. The music instantly sounded like Oliver Future. They contacted Richardson, who remembered two of the songs they were working on before their initial breakup “Phases of the Moon” and “I Can’t Take It.” The rest of the material, which would eventually comprise their forthcoming album A Year at Home was written remotely between Austin and Los Angeles over the past year with the band sending tracks and ideas back and forth through text and email. Studio pro Jimmy Paxson played drums on the album.
The band describes the A Year at Home sessions as “the most effortless recordings they ever got to do.” The final touch was that the band recruited Adam Lasus to mix the record. Although the album is the first album from the psych rock outfit in over 14 years, the album’s material sees the band seemingly continuing where they left off.
“Phases of the Moon,” A Year at Home‘s first single is a slow-burning and brooding song, centered around glistening synth arpeggios, the Lits’ ethereal harmonies, shimmering guitars and a steady yet hypnotic groove. Sonically, “Phases of the Moon” will most likely draw comparisons to Dark Side of the Moon era Pink Floyd and Young Narrator in the Breakers era Pavo Pavo — it’s anachronistic take on retro futurism, which seems to reveal the rot, anxiety, and unease just underneath,
The recently released video for “Phases of the Moon” is an eerie yet gorgeous fever dream inspired by modern life in quarantine doldrums: evil phantasms are everywhere, so the video’s protagonist is left at home trying to hold on to the old normal, and to entertain herself — but she eventually she goes mad.
Founded back in 2012 by Jake Ignalls, a former member of The Flaming Lips, Spaceface is self-professed “retro-futurist dream rock” outfit split between Memphis and Los Angeles The band features current and past members of The Flaming Lips and Pierced. And since their formation, Spaceface has developed a reputation for crafting catchy songs that whirl, twirl, bend and stretch, attract and propel while sonically featuring elements of dream pop, funk, rock and post-disco.
Spaceface’s forthcoming full-length album Anemoia is slated for a January 28, 2022 release though Montreal-based label Mothland. Anemoia is the result of several months spent at Blackwatch Studios in 2019 where the band spent several months working with Jarod Evans writing material inspired by funk rock and the turn of the millennium psychedelia revival. Although the material can be initially perceived as a feat of efficient and minimalistic songwriting by Ignalls and a cast of friends and collaborators, centered around slick melodies, lush arrangements and effortlessly flowing rhythmic grooves, each spin reportedly will reveal a new layer while painting a positive but somewhat critical portrayal of modern life.
In the lead-up to the album’s release next month, Mothland and the self-professed retro-futuristic dream rock outfit have released four singles off the album: “Happens All The Time,” “Earth In Awe,” “Piña Collider,” which featured samples and choir vocals from actual CERN scientists and “Long Time.” Featuring guest vocals from Penny Pitchlynn, best known for her work with BRONCHO and LABRYS, “Long Time” is Tame Impala-like song centered around a breezy and lush arrangement consisting of glistening synth arpeggios, crunchy bass lines and thumping beats. But at its core, the song contemplates life choices and alternate realities through a series of “well, what if I did x instead of y.”
“Rain Passing Through” Anemoia‘s fifth and latest single is a glistening, Oracular Spectacular era MGMT take on disco centered around Nile Rodgers-like funk guitar, four-on-the-floor, a sinuous bass line and lush layers of space alien-like synths serving as a glistening bed for an ethereal yet sultry duet with Mikaela Davis.
“It’s about fleeting moments you have between former or future lovers in passing turbulent times, knowing that you probably shouldn’t take shelter within each other, but knowing that it’s okay to feel good and safe together even if it’s as ephemeral as the rain passing through on a stormy night,” Jake Ingalls explains.
The recently released video is a collaboration between Spaceface’s Ignalls, Erika Mugglin and Mac Hanson and it a trippy but tender look at a teenaged love triangle featuring a mixture of stock footage, material from Hanson’s personal archives and of the video’s three love-crossed protagonists.
Formed back in 2016, JOVM mainstays No Swoon — Tasha Abbott (vocals, guitar) and Zack Nestel-Patt (synths) — have received attention across the blogosphere for a sound and approach that meshes elements of dream pop, shoegaze, post-punk and ethereal wave.
2018’s EP 1 was written in Los Angeles during a self-imposed exile from the East Coast. For Abbott, a native of Ontario, CA, the idea was to get back to her geographic and musical roots: she spent a great deal of time driving around the suburbs listening to the goth and New Wave that her mom played in the car when Abbott was a little girl (Bauhaus, Love and Rockets,New Order) and the indie rock and punk rock of her teenage years (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The White Stripes).
2019’s Jorge Elbrecht-produced, self-titled full-length debut saw the band firmly establishing their sound in an urgent and ambitious fashion. Drawing from the divisiveness of the 2016 election and its aftermath, the self-titled album featured incisive political commentary — often criticizing capitalism, unchecked power and greed, while touching upon the confusion, frustration and and uncertainty that so many of us have felt, and continue to feel.
Much like countless others across the world, the COVID-19 pandemic, the members of the JOVM mainstay act found their lives and plans thrown into disarray: their planned tour to support their full-length debut last year was indefinitely scrapped. And after spending the past five years in Brooklyn, the duo relocated to Los Angeles. Understandably, the past year spent in isolation has forced the duo to take a step back and think about their lives in new ways, as well as examine the intricacies of going through life. (This has been a period of profound reflection and reinvention — for all of us.)
The duo’s latest single “Again” marks a period of massive transitions for the band: the aforementioned move back West — and the band reworking their sound as a result. The slow-burning “Again” sees the JOVM mainstays pairing Abbott’s ethereal and plaintive vocals with a stormy backdrop of forceful and buzzing power chords, thunderous drumming by frequent collaborator Jon Smith, swirling bursts of twinkling keys and a enormous hook. Sonically, the song manages to evoke the seemingly unending doldrums of the earliest part of the pandemic, while being a sort of mix of Siamese Dream era Smashing Pumpkins and Slowdive.
“This song is about when days begin and end with no real definition. About being stuck in the loop of our life and we can’t get out. It may come to no surprise that this song was written early on in the Pandemic. Before everything shut down, I (Tasha) was constantly moving: work, music, sleep, etc., and being at stand-still all of a sudden was definitely strange (on top of the already terror and stress of the pandemic).”
Directed, shot and edited by the members of No Swoon, the recently released video for “Again” features the band’s Tasha Abbott by herself at night, shot in a series of super tight close-ups meant to evoke the claustrophobic feeling of being trapped by yourself with your own thoughts.
Initially known as Johnny Utah, the rising Bay Area-born, Los Angeles-based self-taught bedroom pop producer, singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist JAWNY has begun to win over the blogosphere through restless reinvention: Since the release of “Honeypie,” JAWNY has released material, in which at one moment, he might be playing a funky pop banger and in another, a distortion-fueled ripper born of an instinct-driven creative process he describes as “very scatterbrained and manic and all-over-the-place,” that’s equally inspired by Luther Vandross and STRFKR.
Vevo, one of the world’s biggest music video networks recently released their complete list for their DSCVR Artists to Watch 2022 campaign: Vevo received over 500 submissions from a variety of acts across the globe — and Vevo selected 21 of them, who the video network believes will break through into the mainstream. Those 21 acts will film two performances in visually unique settings. Appearing on the Artists to Watch list help the artists and bands on it receive critical exposure and promotion that help propel their careers to the next step: All 21 ATW artists and bands will be marketed and featured on Vevo’s expertly curated music video programming — through playlists and editorial features across Vevo’s network. including YouTube and connected TV platforms like Pluto TV, Samsung TV Plus, and Apple TV. Rapidly rising Isle of Man-based duo Wet Leg was one of those 21 acts selected for Vevo’s DSCVR Artists to Watch 2022 campaign.
The latest artist on that list is the aforementioned Bay Area-born, Los Angeles-based multi-hyphenate artist. And for his live session, JAWNY performs the Local H-like “Take It Back.” Centered around a classic grunge rock song structure — quiet-ish verses, rousingly anthemic, power chord-driven choruses, thunderous drumming, “Take It Back” is a mosh pit friendly ripper, featuring a fed-up, lovelorn narrator tired of being played around. We’ve all been there and the song’s universality will likely lead to countless kids shouting along to the chorus in sweaty mosh pits around the country.
“Since taking the internet by storm with ‘Honeypie,’ JAWNY has held our attention by propelling himself into project after project where in one instance, he may be grooving through a funky pop banger and in another he’s shredding on a distortion-heavy, lovelorn track,” James Mecker, Vevo’s Manger/Music Programming, shares. “It’s hard not to be reminded of Beck’s constant reinventions, this time through the voice of a 25-year-old who has experienced global events and personal heartbreak in the span of two tumultuous years. With his first tour since the pandemic currently underway, we’re excited to watch the next chapter of the artist formerly known as Johnny Utah get written in front of our very own eyes.”
tiger lily is a rising Seattle-born, Los Angeles-based Asian-American singer/songwriter and pop artist. But she can actually trace the origins of her career to fronting a Seattle-based all-female grunge band, which built up a regional profile: That band received praise from The Seattle Times and was once named “Seattle’s Best Underage Band” by Seattle Weekly. Adding to that growing profile, the band also received airplay from KEXP.
Stepping out into the spotlight as a solo artist, the Seattle-born, Los Angeles-based pop artist has opened for Grammy-nominated duo Social House — and she has amassed over 70,000 followers across Tik Tok and Instagram. But more important, tiger lily is a vocal advocate for greater representation of Asian Americans and other POC artists in the music industry — with interviews appearing in Audiofemme, Spin Magazine and others.
Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site over the course of this year. you might recall that I wrote about the rising Asian American artist’s collaboration with Seattle-born and-based electronic music producer Fluencie, a collaboration that the duo can trace back to when they met as students at Ingraham High School. “juneau, alaska” was a slickly produced, radio friendly, Top 40-like confection that began with an acoustic guitar pop introduction before quickly morphing into a Taylor Swift/Phoebe Ryan-like banger centered around shimmering and wobbling synth arpeggios, tweeter and woofer rocking beats and an enormous hook. But underneath the song’s crowd pleasing surface, the song is rooted in an aching nostalgia for a period of time that seemed simpler and can’t be had again.
tiger lily’s latest single finds her collaborating with rising Toronto-based electronic music producer and artist MKSTN. During the course of the past year, both artists have released tracks to praise from Spin Magazine, Stereofox and Earmilk and landed on Spotify playlists like Fresh Finds, Indie pop and Make Out. MKSTN also had his music played in sets by artists like Martin Garrix and JOVM mainstay Washed Out. tiger lily on the other hand, also played benefit shows, which raised money for charities that supported POC and LGBTQ+ lives.
Although the duo met virtually, their collaboration together “like we’re an indie movie” is a achingly nostalgic bop centered around a dusty lo-fi-like production featuring twinkling synth arpeggios, shimmering hi-hat bursts, a strummed electronic guitar figure, skittering beats serving as a silky bed for tiger lily’s breathily sultry cooing. Sonically, the track — to my ears, at least — reminds me a bit of Washed Out’s earlier work.
As the artists put it, “We connected over the internet. We thought it’d be cool to capture Tumblr and internet culture into our take on a modern indie movie soundtrack. The song was inspired by Spotify playlist names and distant memories of spontaneous trips to chase a summer love. As the hook, sung over Paris field recordings and lofi riffs goes, ‘kiss me in the rain like you’ll only ever love me / like we’re in an indie movie.’”
Founded back in 2012 by Jake Ignalls, a former member of The Flaming Lips, Spaceface is self-professed “retro-futurist dream rock” outfit is split between Memphis and Los Angeles — and features current and past members of The Flaming Lips and Pierced. Since their formation, Spaceface has developed a reputation for crafting catchy songs that whirl, twirl, bend and stretch, attract and propel while sonically featuring elements of dream pop, funk, rock and post-disco.
Spaceface’s forthcoming full-length album Anemoia is slated for a January 28, 2022 release though Montreal-based label Mothland. Anemoia is the result of several months spent at Blackwatch Studios in 2019 where the band spent several months working with Jarod Evans writing material inspired by funk rock and the turn of the millennium psychedelia revival. Although the material can be initially perceived as a feat of efficient and minimalistic songwriting by Ignalls and a cast of friends and collaborators, as the result of slick melodies, lush arrangements and effortlessly flowing rhythmic grooves, each spin reveals a new layer, painting a positive but somewhat critical portrayal of modern life.
In the lead up to the album’s early 2022 release, Mothland and the self-professed retro-futurist dream rock have released three singles off the album to date: “Happens All The Time,” “Earth In Awe,” and “Piña Collider,” which featured samples and choir vocals from actual CERN scientists. Anemmoia‘s fourth and latest single “Long Time (feat. LABRYS),” which features Penny Pitchlynn, best known for her work with BRONCHO and LABRYS taking on vocal duties. Centered around a breezy and lush arrangement featuring glistening synth arpeggios, crunchy bass lines and thumping beats that recalls Tame Impala, “Long Time” contemplates life choices and alternate realities through a series of “well, what if I did x instead of y.”
“It’s about that dreamlike state of wondering where you could be in your own life if you had just taken that left down the other road instead of taking a right,” Spaceface’s Jake Ignalls explains in press notes. “It’s this inescapable feeling that sometimes you’ve slipped into an alternate reality without realizing and you think, ‘My god, is this my life? There’s another one for me out there.’”
Directed by Marina Aguerre, the recently released video for “Long Time” was shot on grainy VHS tape and follows three people — two women and a presumably Spaceface himself — getting ready for a small gathering, where the trio eventually dances the night away through trippy effects.
The Roskilde-born, London-based JOVM mainstay first gained attention as a solo artist in her native Denmark, quickly becoming a three-time Scandinavian Soul Award winner. Since relocating to London, the Danish-born JOVM mainstay has become an international sensation, crafting a warm and ethereal sound with elements of jazz, classic soul and contemporary R&B.
While the COVID-19 pandemic had put an indefinite pause on live shows and touring until relatively recently across much of the world, Dahlstrom managed to be one of the busiest and hardest working contemporary artists out thee: After successful collaborations with Tom Misch and Alfa Mist, the Roskilde-born, London-based JOVM mainstay released her highly-anticipated, critically applauded full-length debut Like Sand last year. Recorded in Los Angeles, Copenhagen, and London, the album features collaborations with James Vickery,Jeremy Passion, Elijah Fox,Beau Diako and a list of others. Dahlstrom also continued her ongoing work with the multi-national, all-female artist collective Her Songs — with the act releasing the Toronto Vol. 1 EP.
She also teamed up with London-based producer Dan Diggas and Canadian emcee Aligo on a collaborative EP together 4inaRow. The EP’ was conceived around a central idea — of the trio writing and recording a four-track EP in just four nights with the material being an experimental writing, recording and producing purely on impulse and instinct. Each of the EP’s four songs was recorded between 8:00pm and midnight during four nights — and each individual song has its own story to tell. Generally speaking the process was centered around Diggas providing beats and production while the Dahlstrom and Algo shared vocal duties. “Marie and I lived in the JFH flat for a little over a year and after a few months we figured out a way for us to really tap in and make music together.” Aligo says about the creative process behind the EP. “We told ourselves every night for 4 straight days we are going to tackle a pack of beats that Dan made while he was on tour with Mahalia. Theme-wise there wasn’t a plan at first but we knew we wanted to explore different emotions and feelings with each night that passed. By the end we noticed the songs came together in a cohesive way that demonstrated a four stage cycle of love/relationships.”
The Danish-born, British-based singer/songwriter and producer continues a remarkably prolific period with the Friday release of her latest EP Safe Place through JFH Records. “I wrote this EP during lock down. This was a special time in my life, where everything shifted in a way” Dahlstrom says of the soon-to-be released EP. “I was moving out of my apartment in London, the only place I’d ever lived since I moved. There were no gigs or concerts, society was (and still is) in a strange place, and then there was coronavirus and my pregnancy. It gave me a lot of time to reflect about what really matters and just how lucky we are to be living and experiencing this life.”
The EP’s latest single, EP title track “Safe Place” manages to continue a run of sweet and intimate material, informed by and influenced by personal experience. Featuring a What’s the 411? era Mary J. Blige-inspired production featuring delicately twinkling keys, boom bap beats and atmospheric electronics serving as a silky bed for Dahlstorm’s soulful and earnest delivery, the song reminds listeners to appreciate the people they love the most; that those you love are the ones who are your safe place when the everything else is mad.
