Tag: Music Hall of Williamsburg

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: METZ Returns with an Urgent and Forceful Call to Stand Up for What You Believe In

Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site over the past couple of years, you’d recall that the  Toronto, ON-based JOVM mainstay act METZ exploded into the blogosphere with 2014’s self titled debut and 2015’s sophomore effort II, thanks in part to a sludgy,  face-melting, power-chord based sound reminiscent of Bleach and In Utereo-era Nirvana, A Place to Bury Strangers, Japandroids and others. The trio’s highly-anticipated third, full-length album is slated for a September 22, 2017 release through Sub Pop Records, and the the album, which the trio recorded with the legendary Steve Albini at Chicago’s Electrical Audio Studio live to tape and features home recordings and additional instrumentation added by their longtime collaborator, engineer and mixer Graham Walsh back in Toronto. 

Reportedly, the new album finds the band pushing their sound and songwriting in a new direction while retaining the furious and intense energy of their live shows — in fact, thematically, the material may arguably be the most politically-charged yet personal material written to date, presumably inspired by life in the age of Donald Trump and a sociopolitical climate in which everything seems to be spiraling out of control. “The songs on Strange Peace are about uncertainty. They’re about recognizing that we’re not always in control of our own fate, and about admitting our mistakes and fears,” the band’s Alex Eakins explained in press notes. “They’re about finding some semblance of peace within the chaos.”

“Cellophane,” Strange Peace‘s first single found the Canadian punk trio retaining the sledgehammer forcefulness, sludgy power chords and rousing hooks that first caught the attention of the blogosphere and this site, but there’s an underlying, hard-fought maturity — the sort that come as a result of living in an increasingly fearful, uncertain, fucked up world, that feels as though it’s spinning faster and faster towards disaster. And interestingly enough, “Cellophane” seems to say to the listener, “hey man we’re scared out of our fucking minds, too; but we have each other and somehow we’ve gotta stick together and figure it out.”

“Drained Lake,” Strange Peace‘s second single, was a jagged and propulsive post-post-punk track with layers of blistering and scuzzy guitars, punchily delivered lyrics and thunderous drumming with the use of a lurching synth line for what I think may be the first time in the band’s history; but while being a revealing look into a band that’s begun to restlessly experiment and expand upon their sound, it also finds the band at their most strident and searching, while being a sneering anthemic “fuck off” to those who don’t — and perhaps can never — see you for who you are. As the band’s Eadkins explained in press notes, the song reflects, “the constant struggle to know yourself and make sense of your life and surroundings. What is my purpose? Holding on to who you are while finding off pressure to bend to what other people want and expect from you.”

“Mess of Wires,” Strange Peace’s third and latest single finds the trio at their most furious  and most punishing, as the song features pummeling drums, scorching guitar lines and punchily delivered, shout worthy lyrics and hooks. And while being a face melting, mosh pit worthy track, the song is underpinned by a visceral honesty and self-examination while being an earnest, urgent and forceful shout to the listener that now is the time to stand up for the things you believe in before they’re smashed to bits — or worse, before they’re taken away from you. As the band’s Edkins explains in press notes “‘Mess of Wires’ is a reminder to myself to speak out and say what I believe. To be honest with myself. It is common to feel that your thoughts are inconsequential, a drop in the echo-chamber, but silence can be worse. Speak out about what you believe in, loud and often.” 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: JOVM Mainstays METZ Return with a Jagged and Anthemic Post-Post Punk Ode to Being Yourself at All Costs

With 2014’s self-titled debut and 2015’s sophomore effort II,  the Toronto, ON-based trio METZ received attention across their native Canada and elsewhere for a sludgy, face-melting, power-chord based sound reminiscent of Bleach and In Utereo-era Nirvana, A Place to Bury Strangers, Japandroids and others, and unsurprisingly, the Toronto-based punk trio quickly became mainstays on this site. Now, as you may know their third, full-length album Strange Peace is slated for a September 22, 2017 release through Sub Pop Records, and the album, which the trio recorded with Steve Albini at Chicago’s Electrical Audio Studio live to tape, with home recordings and instrumentation added by their longtime collaborator, engineer and mixer Graham Walsh back in Toronto. And the new album reportedly finds the band pushing their sound and songwriting into a new direction while retaining the furious and intense energy of their live shows; in fact, the material thematically speaking may be among the most political yet personal material they’ve written to date, capturing the thoughts and emotions of young people in the age of Trump. “The songs on Strange Peace are about uncertainty. They’re about recognizing that we’re not always in control of our own fate, and about admitting our mistakes and fears,” the band’s Alex Eakins explained in press notes. “They’re about finding some semblance of peace within the chaos.” 

“Cellophane,” Strange Peace’s first single found the Canadian punk trio retaining the sledgehammer forcefulness, sludgy power chords and rousing hooks that first caught the attention of the blogosphere and this site, but there’s an underlying, hard-fought maturity — the sort that come as a result of living in an increasingly fearful, uncertain, fucked up world, that feels as though it’s spinning faster and faster towards disaster. And interestingly enough, “Cellophane” seems to say to the listener, “hey man we’re scared out of our fucking minds, too; but we have each other and somehow we’ve gotta stick together and figure it out.” 

“Drained Lake,” Strange Peace’s second and latest single, is a jagged and propulsive post-post-punk track with layers of blistering and scuzzy guitars, punchily delivered lyrics and thunderous drumming with the use of a lurching synth line for what I think may be the first time in the band’s history; but while being a revealing look into a band that’s begun to restlessly experiment and expand upon their sound, it also finds the band at their most strident and searching, while being a sneering anthemic “fuck off” to those who don’t — and perhaps can never — see you for who you are. As the band’s Eadkins explained in press notes, the song reflects, “the constant struggle to know yourself and make sense of your life and surroundings. What is my purpose? Holding on to who you are while finding off pressure to bend to what other people want and expect from you,” 

The members of the Toronto-based punk rock act will be embarking on a North American tour to build up buzz and then support their new effort and it includes two NYC area dates — October 4, 2017 at Music Hall of WIlliamsburg and October 5, 2017 at the Bowery Ballroom. 

Video by William Ruben Helms

Live Footage: ATO Sessions: Nick Hakim Performs “The Want”

Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site for a while, you’d recall that earlier this year, the Washington, DC-born, Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter and guitarist Nick Hakim quietly re-emerged with the first batch of new material in some time, “Bet She Looks Like You” “Green Twins,” and “Roller Skates,” the first three singles off his recently released and highly-anticipated full-length debut Green Twins. Hakim can trace the origins of Green Twins’ material back a bit — back to when armed with the masters for his first two, critically applauded EPs, Where Will We Go Part 1 and Where Will We Go Part 2, the DC-born singer/songwriter and guitarist, relocated from Boston, where he was then based to Brooklyn. And as soon as he got himself settled, Hakim quickly went to work, spending his spare time writing and recording sketches using his phone’s voice memo app and a four-track cassette recorder and further fleshing them out whenever possible. He then took his new demo’d material to various studios in NYC, Philadelphia and London, where he built up the material with a number of engineers, including frequent collaborator Andrew Sarlo (bass, engineering and production), who were tasked with keeping the original spirit and essence of the material intact as much as humanly possible.

As Andrew Sarlo explained in press notes about the writing and recording process for Green Twins, for many artists, a demo typically serves an extremely rough sketch of what the song could eventually become and sound. However, with Hakim, things are done very differently; in fact, the demos are seen as more akin to building a comfortable, holy temple — and as a result, as a producer and engineer, Sarlo was tasked to clean, furnish where necessary and prepare those who entered for a profound, religious experience.

Thematically speaking the album’s material reportedly focuses on unique and particular aspects and events of his life with the bulk of the songs being based on specific experiences, feelings, and thoughts had at the time he was writing and composing. As a result, the album consists of a series of different self-portraits — and in a similar fashion to Vincent Van Gogh’s famed self-portraits, the album’s song captures the artist sometimes in broad strokes but frequently in subtle gradations of mood, tone and feeling. Hakim adds, “I also felt the need to push my creativity in a different way than I had on the EPs,” The record draws from influences spanning Robert Wyatt, Marvin Gaye and Shuggie Otis to My Bloody Valentine. We wanted to imagine what it would have sounded like if RZA had produced a Portishead album. We experimented with engineering techniques from Phil Spector and Al Green’s Back Up Train, drum programming from RZA and Outkast, and we were listening to a lot of The Impressions, John Lennon, Wu-Tang, Madlib and Screamin’ Jay Hawkins.”

Green Twins’ fourth and latest single “The Want” features Hakim’s tender and aching falsetto over a sparse and hauntingly eerie arrangement of shimmering and gently plucked guitar chords played through copious reverb and effect pedals, soaring organ and a gently propulsive rhythm section to evoke a plaintive, vulnerable and undeniably carnal longing for someone, when all you want in this world is the electric touch of their skin against yours, to lay around in an unkempt bed with limbs entwined all morning, kissing, touching, licking, tickling, laughing and bullshitting . . .

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Bold International Women’s Day-Themed Visuals for Sofi Tukker’s “Johnny”

As I mentioned in a previous post, with today being International Women’s Day, it’s necessary and appropriate to spend some portion of the day both here and on Twitter honoring the female artists, musicians and producers that have inhabited the JOVM universe — and of course, to continuing to cover both new and sometimes established female artists, producers and musicians throughout the day as much as humanly possible.

Now, as you may recall over the past couple of years, the New York-based, Grammy-nominated electro pop duo Sofi Tukker have become JOVM mainstay artists while simultaneously seeing both critical and astronomical, commercial success with the release of the duo’s debut EP, Soft Animals. “Johnny,” off their critically applauded and commercially successful debut features a slick and sensual production featuring a looped sample of a sinuously languid guitar line, propulsive handclaps, boom bap-like beats and Hawley-Weld singing with a languorous and sultry Spanish accent. And while further cementing the duo’s reputation for crafting world music-inspired, accessible, dance floor-friendly pop, “Johnny” manages to arguably be their most seductive and boldly self-assured song off the EP.

The accompanying video, released in time for International Women’s Day features a trio of unapologetically bold women expressing themselves and their individuality — and having a shit ton of fun for not giving a single fuck about what anyone thinks of them; but importantly, these young ladies radiate with an infectious and undeniable vivaciousness

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Over the past couple of years, the New York-based, Grammy-nomiated electro pop duo Sofi Tukker have become JOVM mainstay artists while simultaneously seeing both critical and astronomical, commercial success with the release of the duo’s debut EP, Soft Animals. After a quick break, to make what the duo hopes will be the first of many Grammy appearances, the duo is currently on the road and with two Australian shows under their belts, the duo of Sophie Hawley-Weld and Tucker Halpern; but they managed to find a bit of time to write and record what may be their most politically charged song to take — an incendiary take down of Donald Trump and his cohorts on  “Greed,” a furious stomp that suggests a punk rock sensibility meshed with club-banging house music. 

Starting next month, the duo will be embarking on a lengthy North American tour, which will include two NYC area dates — a sold out, April 1, 2017 show at Music Hall of Williamsburg, and a June, 29, 2017 set at this year’s Panorama Festival. Check out tour dates below.

 

Tour Dates*:
*More dates TBA
Mar 10 – Toronto, ON @ The Drake Hotel Underground (SOLD OUT)
Mar 11 – Toronto, ON @ The Drake Hotel Underground (SOLD OUT)
Mar 12 – Chicago, IL @ Schubas (TICKETS)
 March 14 – 17 – Austin, TX @ SXSW
Mar 18 – Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall (Upstairs) (TICKETS)
Mar 19 – New Orleans, LA @ Gasa Gasa (TICKETS)
Mar 22 – Atlanta, GA @ Aisle 5 (TICKETS)
Mar 23 – Raleigh, NC @ Kings (TICKETS)
Mar 24 – Washington, DC @ U Street Music Hall (TICKETS)
Mar 25 – Rockland, ME @ The Farnsworth Museum (TICKETS)
Mar 29 – Boston, MA @ Middle East (Upstairs) (SOLD OUT)
Mar 30 – Hamden, CT @ The Ballroom (TICKETS)
Mar 31 – Providence, RI @ Aurora (TICKETS)
Apr 1 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg (SOLD OUT)
Apr 13 – Pioneertown, CA @ Pappy & Harriet’s w/ Little Dragon (TICKETS)
Apr 16 – Indio, CA @ Coachella
Apr 23 – Indio, CA @ Coachella
Jun 15 – Dover, DE @ Firefly Festival
Jun 16 – Dufur, OR @ What The Festival
Jul 29 – New York, NY @ Panorama Festival
Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Greg and Jeremy Pearson, Thrillers is a Los Angeles, CA-based sibling duo that have received attention for a slickly produced, anthemic synth pop and dance rock-leaning sound that draws from 80s synth pop, funk and contemporary R&B and indie pop. The duo’s full-length debut Break Free is slated for an April 28, 2017 through Lights and Music Collective, the folks behind the nation-wide indie dance party, Dance Yourself Clean. The album features collaborations with renowned indie pop artist Twin Shadow and producer Back Talk — and the album’s first single “Can’t Get Enough” will further cement the Pearson Brothers’ growing reputation for crafting slickly produced, club bangers, reminiscent of JOVM mainstay Boulevards and St. Lucia, complete with anthemic hooks featuring sinuous bass lines and Nile Rodgers-like guitar, thumping beats and sultry vocals.

The Pearson Brothers will be touring with Dance Yourself Clean’s North American tour  for 14 dates, including a March 31, 2017 stop at Music Hall of Williamsburg. Check out tour dates below.

Tour Dates
Feb 17 – Boston, MA – Middle East
Feb 18 — Austin, TX — Empire
Feb 24 — San Diego, CA — Music Box
Feb 25 — Phoenix, AZ — Crescent Ballroom
Mar 03 — San Francisco, CA — Mezzanine
Mar 04 — Vancouver, BC — Biltmore Cabaret
Mar 10 — Dallas, TX — Trees
Mar 11 — Chicago, IL — Double Door
Mar 17 — Washington, D.C. — Black Cat
Mar 23 — London, ON — London Taphouse
Mar 24 — Toronto, ON — Lee’s Palace
Mar 25 — Denver, CO — Larimer Lounge
Mar 31 — Brooklyn, NY — Music Hall of Williamsburg 
Apr 01 — Philadelphia, PA — Underground Arts

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Sam Shepherd is a London-based composer/producer, whose solo recording project Floating Points will be releasing his debut effort, Elaenia through Luaka Bop Records in the States and Pluto Records in the UK on November 6. And the album’s first single “Silhouettes I,II, III” pairs a jazz fusion-inspired arrangement consisting of keyboards and drums paired with layers of glitchy and undulating, ambient electronics in a way that’s reminiscent of Bonobo‘s The North Borders and Return to Forever‘s Romantic Warrior, as the composition is slow-burning and gorgeous while being simultaneously cinematic and intimate.

Shepherd is embarking on a tour to support the soon-to-be released effort and it’ll including a set during the Brooklyn Electronic Music Festival at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. And from what I understand, Shepherd will be performing material of Elaenia with an 11 piece orchestra. So that should be something else, if I must say so, myself.

Check out tour dates below.

Floating Points Live Tour Dates

Oct 30 – Utrecht, NL – Catch Festival
Oct 31 Leuven, BE – Het Depot
Nov 2 – Paris, FR – New Morning
Nov 5 – Turin, IT – Club to Club
Nov 7 – Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg. Ticket info HERE.
Nov 17 London, UK – Islington Assembly Hall

Uncategorized by William Ruben Helms

Live Footage: RIDE on KCRW’s Morning Becomes Electric

Comprised of Andy Bell, Mark Gardener, Laurence “Loz” Colbert and Steve Queralt, the Oxford, UK-based quartet RIDE are considered by critics and fans to be among the originators of the shoegaze sound – despite the fact […]

Uncategorized by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Tony Esposito (vocals, guitar), Ryan Hater (keyboards), Sam Wilkerson (bass) and Nick Wilkerson (drums), the Louisville, KY-based quartet White Reaper first caught the attention of the blogosphere with the release of a blistering […]

Uncategorized by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of 19 year French-Cuban twin sisters, Lisa-Kainde and Naomi Diaz, the duo of Ibeyi (pronounced ee-bey-ee) take their name from the Yoruba word for twins – ibeji. The Diaz sisters are the daughters of the […]