Tag: MTV

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Mikey Wax is a New York-based singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, whose profile has exploded nationally and internationally as a number of his singles and albums have achieved commercial success and placement in a number of major TV series. After “In Case I Go Again,” off his debut effort Change Again won South Florida-based WRMF 97.9 FM‘s Unsigned Artist contest, the song was featured on CBS‘s Ghost Whisperer, NBC‘s 2012 Summer Olympics coverage and ABC Family‘s Pretty Little Liars  — and the music video was featured as part of YouTube‘s Music Tuesday spotlight, which garnered over 500,000 views. Wax’s 2011 self-released sophomore effort Constant Motion landed at number 6 on the iTunes Singer/Songwriter Chart, number 47 on Billboard Heatseekers Chart, with album single “Counting On You” receiving major radio airplay on major Adult Top 40 stations across the country.

As as a result of his rapid success, Wax was selected by New Music SeminarNew  as one of their “Artists on the Verge” and was featured by iHeartRadio as an “Artist To Watch” in 2012 — and “Counting On You” was featured during the elimination montage on every episode of Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance that season. Additionally, the song was featured in the trailer for the major motion picture Playing for Keeps which lead to coverage from USA Today and Young Hollywood. “For Better Or Worse” was featured on Lifetime‘s Dance Moms while “So Crazy” appeared in a promo teaser for Brazilian TV network GNT, which led to the song charting on the Top 100 iTunes Pop Chart Brazil and a sub-publishing deal with Warner/Chappell South America.

 

The New York-based singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist’s self-titled, third full length effort was released in 2014 and featured “You Lift Me Up,” which debuted on iTunes US Top 200 Pop Charts and has since been placed on MTV‘s The Real World and The Challenge: The Battle of the Exes II, the season 10 promo for E! Entertainment‘s Keeping Up With The Kardashians and all Fox Sports NBA games throughout the second half of the 2015 season. Building on the success he’s received to date, Wax’s “Love Always Wins (#LoveWins)” was also featured on the promo for E! Entertainment’s I Am Cait and on the SoundHound app homepage.

I have to add that the New York-based singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist has toured with the likes of Parachute, Andy Grammer, Jon McLaughlin, Matt Wertz, Rachel Platten, Howie Day, Tyler Ward, Ryan Cabrera, Tyler Hilton, Tony Lucca and others.

“Bottle of Jack,” Wax’s most recent single pairs Wax’s soulful vocals with a neo-soul-like arrangement of shimmering keyboard chords, loose and funky guitar chords, propulsive drumming, soaring synths and a sinuous bass line to craft an radio-friendly pop confection that has its narrator describing the sensation of being in love to drinking a bottle of Jack Daniels. And at points, it certainly can feel that way! In any case, Achtabahn released a house music remix of “Bottle of Jack” that pairs Wax’s effortlessly soulful vocals with a warm, Random Access Memories-era Daft Punk production consisting of a sinuous bass line, warm blasts of Nile Rodgers-like guitar shimmering neo-soul like keys, handclap-led percussion, swirling electronics, bleeps and bloops and wobbling, tweeter and woofer wobbling drops that makes the song dance floor friendly while retaining the radio-friendly pop confection spirit of the original.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Trippy and Psychedelic Visuals for My Cruel Goro’s “Lost E”

  Last month, I wrote about Italian-Icelandic alt rock/shoegazer trio, My Cruel Goro. Comprised of Andrea Marashi (vocals, guitar and programming), Andrea Marcellini (bass) and Tommaso Adanti (drums) the trio has received international attention for a sound that possesses […]

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Salacious, 80s Pop and R&B-Inspired Video for WILDHART’s “Fantasy”

  With the release of “Stuck In A Second” the Gothenburg, Sweden-based indie electro pop trio WILDHART, comprised of Ylva Homdahl (vocals), Kiwi Berg (synths) and Josefin Runsteen (drums), have quickly developed a reputation in their […]

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: halfsour’s 120 Minutes-Channeling Visuals for “ik”

Initially, the Boston, MA-based indie rock trio halfsour began as a Guided By Voices cover band before they started writing their own original material. And as you’ll hear on “ik,” the latest single (and video) […]

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Introducing the 80s-Influenced Sound of Atlanta’s The Head

Comprised of Jacob Morrell (guitarist), Mike Shaw (vocals and bass) and Mike’s brother Jack (drums), the Atlanta-based indie rock trio The Head can trace their origins to when the members of the band were in […]

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The 90s-Inspired Video for My Cruel Goro’s “Clash”

Comprised of Andrea Marashi (vocals, guitar and programming), Andrea Marcellini (bass) and Tommaso Adanti (drums), My Cruel Goro are an alt rock band that splits time between their native Italy and Reykjavik, Iceland, and with […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Forming back in 2003, Stockholm, Sweden-based electro pop act Baron Bane have developed an international for a sound that explores the contrasts between cold and warmth; digital and analog; acoustic sounds and electronic sounds; and for a live show that employs the use of visual displays based around their sound. The Swedish act’s sophomore effort LPTO was released to critical praise from several major media outlets, including Uncut Magazine, who had compared the act to ABBA and Morrissey and adding to a growing international profile, LPTO album singles “Orchids,” and “Love.Cure.All” received airplay  on British radio and interestingly enough, “Love.Cure.All” was also named as a Single of the Week iTunes Japan. Additionally, “My Show World” appeared on an episode of MTV’s Awkward.

The Swedish electro pop’s act’s forthcoming third album III is slated for release in early 2016, and the album’s first two singles “By The Waves” and “Fire Play” have received international attention — “By The Waves” was praised by the Berlin, Germany-based Scandinavian music blog, Nordic by Nature, PopMatters and A Heart Is A Spade. And if you’ve been frequenting this site over the past year, I wrote about “Fire Play,” a chilly and tense song comprised of layers of cascading synths and propulsive, forceful beat paired with a gorgeous pop-orientated melody that belies the dark, subtly seductive nature of the song.

III’s latest single “Hail To The Night” is a slow-burning single comprised of atmospheric synths and precise metronomic drum programming paired with Ida Long’s dreamy, unhurried vocals that evokes a chilly winter breeze blowing on your face and snow falling into your hair. And interestingly enough, the song manages to celebrate the winter solstice — the longest night of the year while cementing their reputation for crafting chilly electro pop that manages to be both brooding and yet ethereal.

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Echo Courts is a Greensboro, NC-based quartet, who specialize in a jangling guitar-based psych pop that sonically seems as though it owed a great debt to the sounds of the 60s and 80s while subtly nodding at New Wave as you’ll hear on “Fairview Place,” the anthemic hook-laden new single off the band’s forthcoming No Damage EP, which is slated for a January 18 release through Already Dead Tapes and Records. It’s a warmly familiar sound that will likely remind many of 120 Minutes-era MTV.

You can catch the North Carolina-based quartet on tour throughout the Southeast to start 2016. Check out tour dates below.

Tour Dates

 

1/2/2016 – Charlotte, NC – Snug Harbor
1/3/2016 – Atlanta, GA – Mammal Gallery
1/4/2016 – Birmingham, AL – Trim Tab Brewery
1/5/2016 – Jackson, MS – Big Sleepy’s
1/62016 – New Orleans, LA – Gasa Gasa
1/7/2016 – Tallahassee, FL – Midtown Speakeasy
1/8/2016 – Savannah, GA – The Sentient Bean
1/9/2016 – Charleston, SC – The Royal American

New Audio by William Ruben Helms

 

 

The up-and-coming Winnipeg, MB-based quartet Living Hour can trace their origins to basement jam sessions, writing dreamy songs inspired by the cinematic sky of their hometown. And as a result their sound, which possesses elements of shimmering guitar pop, swirling synths and ethereal vocals draws equally from classic shoegaze, dream pop and chillwave is both stunningly gorgeous and dramatic, as you’ll hear on their  latest single “Seagull,” a single that sounds as though it could have been released during 120 Minutes-era MTV — in particular think of Mazzy Star‘s “Fade Into You” and you’ll see exactly what I’m getting at.  (In other words, it’s the sort of song that would have been the soundtrack of an intense and fervent make out session — or would have been the soundtrack of a teenaged breakup.)

It’s been a busy year or so for the Canadian quartet. They contributed two songs to Family Portrait II, a vinyl compilation released by the London/Bristol-based label Art is Hard Records back in April and released a limited run cassette tape of their self titled debut effort through Bloomington, IN-based Tree Machine Records. But 2016 looks to be a breakout year for the band as they signed with Lefse Records, and will be releasing their full-length debut on February 19, 2016, which will be followed by a tour to support the effort. Check out some of the early tour dates below.

 

TOUR DATES:


March 3    Winnipeg, MB    The Good Will Social Club
March 4    Fargo, ND    The Aquarium
March 6    Des Moines, IA    Des Moines Social Club
March 7    Rock Island, IL    Rozz Tox
March 9    St Louis, MO    Foam
March 11    Denver, CO    Lion’s Lair
March 13    Phoenix, AZ     Trunk Space
March 18    Santa Barbara    CA    FUNZONE
March 19    Fresno    CA    Peeves Pub
March 22    Santa Cruz    CA    Bocci’s Cellar
March 25    Davis    CA    Third Art Space Collective
March 29    Portland    OR    The Analog Cafe
March 31    Bellingham    WA    Loudhouse
April 2    Rossland    BC    The Flying Steamshovel
April 3    Kamloops    BC    Zacks Coffee
Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Hauntingly Gorgeous and Nostalgic Video for Line and Circle’s “Like A Statue”

If you’ve been frequenting JOVM over the past three or four months you may recall that I’ve written about the Los Angeles-based quintet Line and Circle. Comprised of Brian J. Cohen (vocals, rhythm guitar), Eric Neujahr (guitar), Jon Engelhard (bass […]

Video by William Ruben Helms

Video Review: The Surreal Video for Space’s “Strange World”

Currently comprised of  founding members Tommy Scott (vocals, guitar), Franny Griffiths (keys), along with Phil Hartley (double bass, bass) and Allan Jones (drums), the Liverpool-based quartet Space can trace their origins back to 1993 when […]

New Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Introducing the Spectral, 80s Leaning Synth Pop Sound of Brooklyn’s ACES

Comprised of Russ Flynn and Alexandra Stewart, the Brooklyn-based duo ACES craft a painstakingly meticulous sound that pairs Flynn’s sparse, shimmering and atmospheric production with Stewart’s tender and breathy vocals and soaring, anthemic hooks. As you’ll hear […]

New Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Introducing Australian Indie Rock Trio, Postblue and Their, New 120 Minutes-Era Sound

Postblue is a Melbourne, Australia-based indie rock trio that formed in Byron Bay, Australia back in 2012. And with the release of their debut EP, Lap Year, the band received national attention as they played at […]

New Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Strange Wilds “Pronoia” Channels Early Nirvana and 90s Grunge

Comprised of Steven (guitar and vocals), Allen (drums) and Sean (bass), the Pacific Northwestern trio Strange Wilds can trace their origins to 2012, when Steven and Sean first met. At the time, Sean was in […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Los Angeles Duo, The Bulls’ Latest Single, “Rumors” Channels 120 Minutes-era Alternative Rock

Comprised of Anna Bulbrook, a multi-instrumentalist, best known as a member of The Airborne Toxic Event, and guitarist, Marc Sallis, best known as a member of The Duke Spirit, the Los Angeles-based duo The Bulls can trace […]