Tag: Louisville KY

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Nashville’s Twen Releases an Anthemic New Single

Earlier this year, I wrote about the Nashville-based indie rock act Twen.  The act, which is led by founding members Jane Fitzsimmons (vocals) and Ian Jones (guitar) can trace their origins to their involvement in Boston’s DIY scene, and as you may recall, the duo since their formation have been actively been redefining what a touring band should be and should be in the streaming age. Initially releasing only a live EP recorded from the band’s live debut in a Boston basement, the band has toured non-stop, honing and perfecting a live show that’s been described by critics and fans alike as raw and mesmerizing. 

Continuing to proudly ascribe to the DIY ethos that has influenced and sustained them, Twen’s core duo have run AirBNBs while touring, played in exchange for skydiving, screen printed self-designed merch items by hand and book their own tours. The duo emerged into the national scene with the release of their attention-grabbing single “Waste,” which received praise from the likes of NPR, Stereogum, Paste Magazine, BrooklynVegan, Uproxx, Under The Radar and others. Earlier this year, the duo opened for the acclaimed Louisville-based JOVM mainstays White Reaper — and they released the slow-burning and shoegazer-like “Holy River,” a track that to my ears would likely draw comparisons to classic 4AD Records, Cocteau Twins, Slowdive, A Storm in Heaven-era The Verve and Beach House — but with a yearning, dream-like quality that gives the ethereal track a subtle bit of emotional weight.

 Building upon a growing profile, the buzz-worthy, Nashville-based duo will be releasing their full-length debut Awestruck through Frenchkiss Records on September 20, 2019. I also wrote about the album’s first official single “Baptism,” an atmospheric and shoegazer-like track centered around shimmering guitars, propulsive drumming, Jane Fitzsimmons’ enormous, room-filling vocals singing impressionistic lyrics full of a yearning desire to be born, becoming and re-born. The album’s latest single “Make Hard” is centered around jangling, reverb-soaked guitars, propulsive drumming and rousingly anthemic hook — and while bearing a bit of a resemblance to Fleetwood Mac, the song is rooted in lived-in, personal experience that gives the song an emotional weight. 

“The song was rewritten and arranged very late in the recording process,” the band explained to DIY. “Another one of our earliest tunes, the second verse was a response to the growing pains we were going through at the time, transitioning from part-time rockers to full-time road warriors. The lyrics have come to symbolize the dynamics and relationships within a band as it grows, through the transformation of defined roles and how they change over time.” 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Nashville’s Twen Releases a Shimmering and Celestial New Single

The Nashville-based indie rock act Twen, led by founding members Jane Fitzsimmons (vocals) and Ian Jones (guitar) can trace their origins to when they formed while both were involved in Boston’s DIY scene. Since their formation several years ago, the band has been busy redefining what a touring band should do — and should be in the streaming age. Initially releasing nothing more than a live EP recorded fro the band’s live debut in a Boston basement, the band has toured non-stop, honing and perfecting a live show that’s been described as raw and mesmerizing.

Continuing to proudly ascribe to the DIY ethos that influenced them, Twen’s core duo have run AirBNBs while touring, played in exchange for skydiving, screen printed self-designed merch items by hand and book their own tours. Now, as you may recall, the duo quickly emerged into the national scene with the release of attention-grabbing single “Waste,” which received praise from the likes of NPR, Stereogum, Paste Magazine, BrooklynVegan, Uproxx, Under The Radar and others. Earlier this year, the duo opened for the acclaimed Louisville-based JOVM mainstays White Reaper — and they released the slow-burning and shoegazer-like “Holy River,” a track that to my ears would likely draw comparisons to classic 4AD Records, Cocteau Twins, Slowdive, A Storm in Heaven-era The Verve and Beach House — but with a yearning, dream-like quality that gives the ethereal track a subtle bit of emotional weight.

Building upon a growing profile, the buzz-worthy, Nashville-based duo will be releasing their full-length debut Awestruck through Frenchkiss Records on September 20, 2019. “Baptism,” the album’s first official single is an atmospheric bit of shoegaze centered around shimmering guitars, propulsive drumming, Jane Fitzsimmons’ enormous, room-filling vocals singing impressionistic lyrics full of a yearning desire to be born, becoming and re-born. Interestingly, Jones’ guitar lines actually is a revisited riff that he wrote as a teenager, that he reworked with a fresh perspective — essentially giving the song a trippy and anachronistic sensibility. 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Founded in early 2015, the Austin, TX-based indie rock Dryspell, which is comprised of Hunter Thompson (vocals, guitar), a touring member of acclaimed Louisville, KY-based indie rock band White Reaper; Samuel Jacobsen (bass), a member of Austin-based act Hovvdy; Chad Doriocourt (guitar) and Hugh Vu (drums), the up-and-coming act can trace some of its origins to when each individual member was playing in different bands on the same cassette tape label. And although the members of the band have been extremely busy with their involvements in other bands, they’ve managed to found time to continue working and writing together, further refining their sound and songwriting approach; in fact, “Can’t Wait,” the latest single off the band’s forthcoming EP More finds the band pairing some classic, 70s AM radio vibes with alt-country and indie rock within a moody and somber track seemingly inspired by the musician’s life on the road (which can frequently be bittersweet and very strange, as you’re constantly leaving family and friends for the next “big” gig).

 

 

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Introducing the Hypnotic and Cinematic Sounds of Nova Flares

Jason Wagers is a Berea, KY-born, Louisville, KY-based multi-instrumentalist and producer whose solo bedroom recording project Nova Flares is influenced by shoegaze and psych rock acts including Black Market Karma, Mystic Braves, Holy Wave, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, My Bloody Valentine and others — although interestingly enough, Wagers’ current project can actually trace its origins back to when he turned 18 and the Berea, KY-born multi-instrumentalist relocated to Louisville, KY with his previous band, The Corridors. And while in Louisville, the members of the band developed a reputation for crafting eclectic rock before releasing their full-length debut. Unfortunately, after the release of their debut effort, the members of The Corridors received a cease and desist letter from a British record label claiming to represent a band with the same name. 

Perhaps as a result of the crushing legal issues he had faced paired with a desire to start a project that was in a completely different direction, Wagers started his solo project — with a specific atmosphere and sound that he’s dubbed “surfgaze.” As Wagers explains in press notes, “The songs I create through Nova Flares are supposed to be very cinematic and capture memories and feelings from situations I’d experienced in my childhood and adult life, but these songs are also meant to be left open ended so that the listener could have their own personal sensory experience as well.”

Wagers goes on to say that the project is a next step up musically, as he sees the project as a way to further develop his skills as a multi-instrumentalist, composer and songwriter. His Nova Flares debut Gut Splinter is slated for a March 9, 2018 release, and the album’s first single sonically meshes jangling, guitar rock and shimmering, hypnotic shoegaze, complete with a sweeping, cinematic quality. In fact, the recently released music video further emphasizes the song’s hypnotic vibes as it features Wagers playing several different instruments superimposed over footage of birds flying and clouds in different color negative treatments and so on.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Kick Ass with White Reaper in New Video for “Judy French”

Over the past couple of years, I’ve written quite a bit about the Louisville, KY-based JOVM mainstays White Reaper, who with the release of a blistering and urgent, self-titled EP and their critically applauded, hook-laden, breakneck full-length debut White Reaper Does It Again quickly received national attention.  After a relentless touring schedule to support their debut, the band spent the better part of the past two years or so writing and recording their sophomore effort, The World’s Best American Band, an effort that was released earlier this year. And from the album’s first single “Judy French,” the single reveals a decided change in sonic direction as the song leans heavily towards New Wave and prog rock — to my ears, the song reminds me quite a bit of The Cars “You Might Think” and Moving Pictures-era Rush while emphasizing a rousing, arena rock friendly hook but at its core, the track may be the most earnest love song they’ve released to date. 

Directed by Brandon Dermer and starring Alexandra Daddario, the recently released video for “Judy French” employs a relatively simple concept but with forceful effect, as the video quickly cuts back and forth between the members of White Reaper performing the song with Daddario presumably playing the role of the song’s Judy French, as we see her rocking out as hard as the boys in the band are; and of course, along with that are some subtly patriotic-leaning imagery to boot. 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Mischievous Schoolhouse Rock-Influenced Animation and Live Action Visuals for White Reaper’s “The World’s Best American Band”

Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site for a while, you might recall that with the release of their self-titled EP and their critically applauded full-length debut White Reaper Does It Again, the Louisville, KY-based quartet White Reaper quickly became JOVM mainstays and received attention nationally and elsewhere. And after a busy touring schedule to support their full-length debut, the acclaimed band retreated and spent the past year writing and recording the material that would comprise their sophomore full-length effort The World’s Best American Band, which Polyvinyl Records released last month.

And from The World’s Best American Band’s first single, “Judy French,” which reminded me quite a bit of The Cars “You Might Think” and Moving Pictures-era Rush, the band has made decided change in sonic direction — and while retaining the power chords and sneering punk attitude, the material possesses a clean, studio sheen and anthemic hooks; in fact, the album’s second single, album title track “The World’s Best American Band” continues on the leaner, cleaner, meaner vein of its predecessor, nodding at Cheap Trick, revealing some ambitious yet incredibly accessible songwriting.
The recently released music video for “The World’s Best American Band” features a mischievous mix of Schoolhouse Rock-era animation and live action. Beginning with the typical pre-show/pre-set hijinks as the fans are waiting for their favorite band to get on the stage, we’re introduced to the animated dopplegangers of the band’s members — with lead singer Ryan picking up his bandmates and friends as they finish up some surreal situations, including a paying chess against an anthropomorphic hot dog. There’s also a dude who eats a psychedelic colored hot dog that makes him hallucinate that he’s turned into a different, anthropomorphic hot dog. And if there’s one thing to be certain of it’s this — don’t eat those concert hall hot dogs, man. They’ll fuck your shit up.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Live Footage: JOVM Mainstays White Reaper Performing New Album Single “Little Silver Cross”

Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site for the past couple of years, you may recall that with the release of both their self-titled EP and their critically applauded full-length debut White Reaper Does It Again, the Louisville, KY-based quartet White Reaper received national attention and toured with acts like Deerhoof, Young Widows, Priests and others while quickly becoming JOVM mainstays. And after touring to support their full-length debut, the members of the Louisville-based band retreated to write and record the material that would comprise their long-awaited sophomore effort, The World’s Best American Band, which Polyvinyl Records officially released today.

Over the past couple of months, I’ve written about The World’s Best American Band’s first two singles “Judy French,” which revealed that the band had gone through a decided change in sonic direction — going from scuzzy, power chord-based garage barn burners towards a sound that clearly draws from 80s New Wave, power pop and prog rock with a studio sheen that reminded me quite a bit of The Cars “You Might Think” and Moving Pictures-era Rush. The album’s second single, album title track “The World’s Best American Band” continued on a similar clean, lean vein, while being reminiscent of the anthemic power pop of Cheap Trick. And from the release of their sophomore album’s first two singles, several websites have begun to tab the album as one to be on the look out for, if not arguably one of the better releases of the year. Building on the growing buzz that The World’s Best American Band has received, the members of White Reaper recently released live footage of the album’s third and latest single “Little Silver Cross,” and like its preceding singles, it possesses incredibly self-assured and ambitious songwriting and an undeniable studio polish — while retaining a vibrant, forceful, punk rock and garage rock urgency, the band reveals an ability to craft arena rock worthy hooks paired with a propulsive rhythm section and some inspired, blistering guitar work.

Interestingly, the live footage will serve as a bit of a taste of what the band’s live set and sound is like, as they’re about to embark on a lengthy national tour to support their sophomore effort that includes a May 30, 2017 stop at Baby’s All Right.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: JOVM Mainstays White Reaper Return with an Arena Rock-Friendly Power Pop Anthem

With the release of their self-titled EP, their critically applauded full-length debut White Reaper Does It Again and a series of tours with nationally renowned acts like Deerhoof, Young Widows, Priests and others, the Louisville, KY-based quartet White Reaper quickly became JOVM mainstays and received attention nationally and elsewhere. After touring to support their White Reaper Does It Again, the band retreated to write and record the material that would comprise their long-awaited sophomore effort The World’s Best American Band, which is slated for an April 7, 2017 release through Polyvinyl Records.

Last month, I wrote about The World’s Best American Band’s first single “Judy French,” a single, which revealed that the band had gone through a decided change in sonic direction from scuzzy, power chord-based garage towards New Wave and prog rock and a bit of a studio sheen that reminded me a bit of The Cars “You Might Think” and Moving Pictures-era Rush while retaining a sneering punk attitude and rousingly anthemic hooks. Interestingly, the album’s second and latest single, album title track “The World’s Best American Band” continues on a somewhat similar cleaner, leaner vein as its preceding single while seemingly drawing to the anthemic power pop of Cheap Trick and others; and in fact, the single finds the band with the same sort of enormous sound you’d expect from the sorts of bands that have played arenas and stadiums.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Lyric Video: JOVM Mainstay White Reaper Returns with a New Wave-Leaning Anthemic Single

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cloP2ZIkxuo%5D

With the release of their blistering and urgent, self-titled EP, the Louisville, KY-based quartet White Reaper quickly received national attention — and after a number of tours with nationally renowned acts like Deerhoof, Young Widows, Priests and others, the quartet built upon the early buzz they received by recording and releasing their hook-laden, breakneck, full-length effort White Reaper Does It Again, which Polyvinyl Records released to critical praise two years ago. After touring to support their critically praised full-length debut, the band seemed disappeared for a bit; however as it turns out, the band had gone into the studio to write and record the material that would comprise their highly-anticipated, forthcoming sophomore effort The World’s Best American Band, which Polyvinyl Records on April 7, 2017. And from the album’s first single “Judy French,” the single reveals a decided change in sonic direction as the song leans heavily towards New Wave and prog rock — to my ears, the song reminds me quite a bit of The Cars “You Might Think” and Moving Pictures-era Rush; but with a garage punk sneer. Interestingly, the band has retained their ability to craft tight and anthemic hooks paired with earnest, swooning sentiment.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Initially started as a one-off vehicle to release a record for a friend, Portland, OR-based indie label Fluff and Gravy Records has established themselves as arguably one of the most unique and difficult to pigeonhole labels in the country as they’ve released  albums that have run the gamut from Americana, indie folk, punk rock, indie rock, garage punk, alt country and even British folk from a diverse and eclectic set of artists including JOVM mainstay Drunken Prayer, Hillstomp, Jeffrey Martin, Fernando Viciconte, The Evangenitals, Anna Tivel and several others. To celebrate their fifth anniversary, the Portland-based label is releasing the Five Years of Gravy compilation — and according to the folks at the label, the compilation isn’t a mere retrospective; in fact, it’s a compilation of new and unreleased tracks from 17 of the label’s artists that they feel offers a glimpse of where the label and its artists have been and where they all are going. But the label and its artists also see the compilation as a way of giving back as the proceeds from sales of the album will benefit The Jeremy Wilson Foundation, a musicians’ nonprofit health and services organization that assists individual musicians and their families throughout the Pacific Northwest during medical emergencies — and is supported by fans, musicians and friends. Certainly, the work of charitable organizations such as The Jeremy Wilson Foundation will see even greater importance in light of President-elect Donald Trump’s threatened plans to cut Obamacare and with most musicians being independent contractors, access to affordable healthcare for musicians and their families will be critical.

Now, earlier this year you may recall that I had written about the Argentina-born, Portland, OR-based singer/songwriter Fernando Viciconte, who performs under the mononym Fernando. Viciconte first came to attention as the frontman oft he Los Angeles-based rock band Monkey Paw, and when the band broke up, Viciconte relocated to Portland where he began to focus on a solo career that began in earnest with the 2006 release full-length debut Enter to Exit, an effort which was critically praised by a number of major media outlets including Billboard, Magnet (which named Fernando, one of the best, new artists of 2006), Paste, The Oregonian, No Depression and MSNBC.com, among a lengthy list of others. Just as Viciconte’s profile and career were  set to explode into the national scene, the Argentina-born, Portland-based singer/songwriter suffered through several major health issues, which nearly resulted in the permanent loss of his voce — and as you can imagine, his health issues prevented him from touring. Fortunately for Viciconte and for us, after going through a number of doctors, it was revealed that his illness was misdiagnosed and the root cause of his issues, a hiatal hernia that caused heartburn and acid reflux, which bathed his vocal vocal chords in his stomach acid, was fixed surgically.

Viciconte’s eighth full-length effort Leave the Radio On was released last year through Fluff and Gravy Records and although the album took three years to complete, the album has the Portland-based singer/songwriter backed by an all-star cast featuring R.E.M.’s Peter Buck, who has been an early champion of Viciconte’s work; Scott McCaughey as well as members of M.Ward and Elliott Smith‘s backing bands, Richmond Fontaine and The Delines. Of course, if you had been frequenting this site, you may recall act I wrote about Leave the Radio On‘s first single “Save Me,” a bitter and aching lament of a song that evoked the lingering ghosts of one’s life — the failed relationships, the misguided decisions and poor judgements and the crushing doubts that seem inescapable and yet, finding a way to move forward with your dignity, sanity and sense of self intact. His contribution to the compilation “No Regrets” continues in a similar vein to “Save Me” as it’s a mournful lament from a narrator, who looks back on his life with an uncommon clarity and honesty, with the song’s narrator sadly admitting that he may be at fault for the mistakes and poor decisions of his life. Sonically, Viciconte’s aching vocals are accompanied with a country-leaning arrangement of steel pedal guitar, acoustic guitar, gently padded drums and twinkling keyboards — and in some way pairing the song’s sentiment with its arrangement makes the song sound as though it could be the soundtrack of lonely men lost in thought and drinking their sorrows away. And much like “Save Me,” “No Regrets” evokes life’s lingering ghosts — but in this case with a weary sense of acceptance.

 

Of course, if you’ve been frequenting this site, you’re probably well acquainted with Drunken Prayer, the recording project of Morgan Christopher Geer, who currently splits time between Portland, OR, Asheville, NC and Louisville, KY — and is a touring member of renowned act Freakwater.  Into the Missionfield, Geer’s Drunken Prayer debut was released in 2012 to critical praise both locally and nationally — Portland’s Willamette Week describing Geer as a “barking ringleader with chops between Tom Waits and The Butthole Surfers‘ Gibby Haynes” and the Portland Mercury describing Geer as “Warren Zevon’s medium, showing him the world from the great beyond.” Since then Geer has been rather prolific realizing several lyrically and sonically ambitious albums that have been praised for his signature sound — a sound that meshes elements of the blues, country, folk music, 60s psych and soul music and New Orleans-styled funeral dirges paired with lyrics that explore our existence through the prism of the tragicomic. In fact, Geer’s material suggests something that most of us loathe to admit — that life is often bitterly cruel and ironic. And in those moments, the only option you have is to do as the old song says “Laugh and never let the world know that deep down, you’re crying.”

 

2016 has been a very busy year as Geer released The Devil and the Blues. Featuring Lance Willie (drums) and David Wayne Gay (bass), his former bandmates in The Unholy Trio and former members of The Reigning Sound, as well as guest spots from The Sadies‘ Dallas Good (guitar), Aaron Price (organ, piano and engineering), Anna Trivel (fiddle) and a small horn and section, Geer’s latest effort was Geer’s “party album” — and by party, the material thematically covers and explores sadness, rebellion and redemption in Geer’s signature rowdy, riotous, loutish, proud and somewhat ridiculous fashion. His contribution to the compilation “I Feel Into The Sun,” is an atypical Geer song, as it’s a swooning and infectiously sweet love song with a wicked sense of humor. Yes, underneath all that loutishness and joke cracking is a sweet, aching heart desiring love and its redemption.

 

 

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

Live Footage: Twin Limb’s Gorgeous Cover of Mazzy Star’s “Fade Into You” with My Morning Jacket’s Jim James and Bo Koster

Currently, the Louisville-based trio are touring with My Morning Jacket’s Jim James, as he supports his recently released solo effort Eternally Even as both James’ opener and as his backing band. And while on tour with James, at Louisville’s Iroquois Amphitheater, the members of Twin Limb, along with James and James’ My Morning Jacket’s Bo Koster performed a gorgeous cover of Mazzy Star’s beloved and haunting “Fade Into You” that varies slightly from the original as Twin Limb’s Lacey Guthrie is backed by Jim James vocals during the first verse or two and the first chorus, before switching to James leading and Guthrie backing. The live footage was shot by Dave Boone and Chad Heavenly and later edited by Boone.

As Twin Limb’s Maryliz Bender says in press notes on the cover and on the video, “I’ll never forget the first time I saw Mazzy Star’s ‘Fade Into You’ music video. I was 10 years old, sneaking peeks of MTV at my grandparent’s house. It was the first song that hit me right in the heart. I don’t know if its a nostalgia thing, or some other kind of magic, but it is the song that will always melt my heart on command. I had to hold back those emotions while playing it with Jim and Bo on the Louisville Iroquois Amphitheater stage. What a beautiful moment.”

Video by William Ruben Helms

Live Footage: Twin Limb’s Ethereal and Sensual, Shoegazer Cover of Can’s “Yoo Doo Right”

Interestingly, to celebrate the release of their full-length effort, the trio of Bender, Ratterman and Guthrie released a swaggering, moody, sensual and shoegazer rock-leaning cover of the legendary German experimental rock/prog rock cover of Can’s “You Doo Right” that the Louisville, KY-based trio recorded live in their studio — and as you can hear, their cover possesses a towering yet cool, self-assuredness.

As the band’s Kevin Ratterman explained to the folks at CLRVYNT: “When I was building my recording studio, La La Land, Can was one of the constant soundtracks blazing through the speakers day in and out. The meditative, flowing, ever-changing rhythms and melodies were a perfect backdrop for [not only] the monotony of construction, but the excitement of building something where so much creativity was about to be captured. When Twin Limb was a duo before I joined the band, they came in to La La Land to record an album not long after construction was finished. Through working on their record, I most excitedly joined the band and I immediately heard similarities between Maryliz [Bender]’s tribal drum style and the song ‘Yoo Doo Right’ once we started working on their album. I had a fantasy of us doing a cover of that song, and was so excited to hear both their voices together singing it; Michael Karoli’s guitar playing has always been an influence on me, and [I] was so excited to play those anthemic guitar hooks. It’s scary to cover a song by a band that carries so much integrity among some of the most influential experimental musicians of our time, but the first time we played that song, it was so apparent it was going to be so free and fun to play live, especially in a small room packed to the gills of sweaty human creature people.”

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Mind-Bending, Psychedelic Visuals and Sounds of Twin Limb’s “The Weather”

“The Weather” is the latest single off the Louisville, KY’s soon-to-be-released effort Haplo and much like the other material I’ve written about over the years, it possess a gauzy, dreamy quality — as though the song’s narrator has just been awakened from a pleasant reverie; however, where the previous singles were towering, “The Weather” is much more understated as undulating and droning keys are paired with shimmering guitar chords played through gentle amounts and reverb and sultry pop belter-like vocals in a song that focuses on a growing sense of anticipation and aching longing.

The recently released music video employs the use of kaleidoscopic filters and effects to create a trippy and mind-bending psychedelia that further evokes the song’s gauzy feel.