JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Duran Duran drummer Roger Taylor’s 66th birthday.
Tag: music
Throwback: Happy 56th Birthday, T-Boz!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates TLC’s Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins’ 56th birthday.
New Video: Sugar World Shares Buzzy “Terra Incognita”
Los Angeles-based duo Sugar World — Ryan and Katryn Stanley — can trace its origins back to 2013: The duo started their careers in earnest a member of the Tallahassee-based bedroom pop outfit Naps. After Naps split up in 2016, Ryan and Katryn Stanley started releasing a series of singles and EP as Sugar World, which saw the pair crafting a sound that’s an idiosyncratic mix of lo-fi, twee pop and fuzzy electronica.
The duo released their Sugar World full-length debut, Lost & Found back in 2022. But since 2024, the Los Angeles-based duo have been increasingly exploring a more digital sound that draws from noise pop, hyper pop and underground internet hip-hop that features fuzzy, distorted guitar noise and blown out autotuned vocals.
Their sophomore album supercassettevision is slated for release later this year. The album, which will include the previously released “In Magazines,” will see the band further cement what they’ve dubbed a “new version of classic twee pop for the 2020s” that combines catchy melodies with harsher noisy elements.
supercassettevision’s second and latest single “Terra Incognita” derives its title from the Latin phrase “unknown land,” and sonically seems to channel a woozily lysergic synthesis of Mogwai and Evil Heat-era Primal Scream. The band explains that the song “was an experiment to see if we could bring our indie rock and jangle pop songwriting into a sonic environment inspired by electronic music and digicore. It’s fundamentally about making a bunch of money and then putting that money into car, and then driving the car off a cliff.”
Fittingly, the accompanying visual is comprised of fuzzy, VHS-style shot footage, treated in harsh color negatives. The result is a video that videos the lysergic buzz of the song.
New Video: TANGIENTS Share Dream-like “The Ether”
Los Angeles-based duo TANGIENTS — multi-instrumentalists Chelsea Ray and Be Hussey — specialize in a unique take on shoegaze that draws from 80s post-punk, 90s shoegaze and dream pop anchored around Chelsea Ray’s dream-like delivery […]
New Video: Afterlife Shares Atmospheric and Yearning “Lovers Maze”
Currently split between Paris and Copenhagen, Danish-born Olivia Danielsson is a multidisciplinary artist with a background that spans both music and fashion. Danielsson is also the creative mastermind behind the emerging indie pop solo recording project Afterlife.
With Afterlife, the Danish-born artist’s work reflects a cross-disciplinary approach in which visual and sonic elements are created in parallel. And as a result, her releases exist within a cohesive expanding universe that sees her exploring emotional and existential states unfolding through an intimate inner dialogue. Sonically, her work moves between ambient pop and experimental pop, rooted in an atmospheric, otherworldly quality.
Danielsson’s latest Afterlife single, The Bird-produced “Lovers Maze” is a hook-driven bit of electro pop featuring glistening synth arpeggios effortlessly gliding over a pulsing, Giorgio Moroder-like baseline paired with the Danish artist’s ethereal and yearning croon. The result is a song that evokes the sort of woozy, euphoric haze shared in the intimate moments between lovers with an uncanny, seemingly lived-in precision.
Shot on grainy VHS-styled analog film, the accompanying video follows the Danish artist in a long red dress wandering through a Danish forest. It’s one part music video, one-part fashion shoot.
New Video: Foo Fighters Return with Swaggering “Window”
Foo Fighters — Dave Grohl, Nate Mendel, Chris Shiftlet, Pat Smear, Rami Jaffee and Ilan Rubin — just released their Foo Fighters and Oliver Roman co-produced 12th album Your Favorite Toy today through Roswell Records/RCA Records.
The album was recorded at home and engineered by Roman and mixed by Mark “Spike” Stent and features the previously released “Asking For a Friend,” the album’s title track “Your Favorite Toy,” and the album’s latest single “Window.”
Much like “Your Favorite Toy,” “Window” manages to not just sound distinctly Foo Fighters but seems a bit like a return to form, sounding as though it could have been a part of the There Is Nothing Left to Lose sessions but with a gritty barroom band-like swagger.
Directed by Jake Erland and developed from an original concept by Dave Grohl, the accompanying video stars Craig Parkinson as a window cleaner scaling the glass and steel exterior of a massive, modern skyscraper. And as Parkinson’s window cleaner dutifully does his job while listening to his favorite tunes, he observes the various inhabitants of each floor during some of their most banal and intimate moments with a detached, seemingly indifferent voyeurism. That is until he connects with one inhabitant, who is rocking out to the same tunes.
New Video: Britney Freud Shares Broodingly Atmospheric “Feelings For Violence”
Dragut Lugalzagosi is a Copenhagen-based singer/songwriter, musician and creative mastermind behind the emerging solo project Britney Freud. And with Britney Freud, Lugalzagosi explores masculinity, vulnerability, love without focus on gender while advocating for men and boys to be more open about their feelings and emotions. He describes the project’s sound as “tender crooner noise, catchy limbo punk and a fresh take on indie rock.”
The Copenhagen-based artist’s Britney Freud debut single, “Feeling For Violence” is a brooding and atmospheric tune, featuring bursts of shimmering guitars, a supple and propulsive bass line, buzzing bass synths and a wobbling violin solo serving as a lush bed for Lugalzagosi’s achingly tender baritone croon singing lyrics lamenting the difficult end of an important friendship. The song’s narrator admits his complicated and conflicted feelings about the friendship and his friends with an unvarnished, unflinchingly honesty and vulnerability: The sense of hurt, betrayal and love the narrator feels is both palpable and deeply lived-in.
“An important friend relationship went to pieces and I felt lost, so I wrote this song and went to therapy. It helped. I still love him,” Lugalzagosi explains.
Directed, filmed and edited by Pelle Raft Calum, the accompanying video for “Feelings For Violence” follows a burned-out finance bro dancing and vamping on a high school track. He winds up in the woods where he explodes in violent frustration before collapsing from exhaustion. At some point, a disheveled figure, perhaps Britney Freud appears and offers the burned-out finance bro a comforting, understanding hug.
“We men dominate in several discouraging statistics and I’ve known boys and men who have committed violence, self-harm and suicide,” Lugalzagsoi says. “They’ve lacked a language for their emotions and a sense of being seen in a world of sometimes claustrophobic gender roles, norm porn and taboos. I often find it difficult myself navigating in being a man and opening up so let’s just have it: More love between men.”
Throwback: Happy 69th Birthday, David J.!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Bauhaus bassist David J’s 69th birthday.
New Video: JOVM Mainstay Genesis Owusu Shares Breakneck “LIFE KEEPS GOING”
Acclaimed multi-ARIA Award-winning Ghanian-born Canberra-based JOVM mainstay Genesis Owusu will be releasing his highly-anticipated third album REDSTAR WU & THE WORLDWIDE SCOURGE through OURNESS on May 15, 2026.
REDSTAR WU & THE WORLDWIDE SCOURGE reportedly sees one of Australia’s most celebrated and visionary contemporary artists construct an exposed state-of-the-day record that’s experimental yet cohesive, desolate yet ecstatic, unflinching yet free. Duality is at the core of an album that sees the JOVM mainstay layering musings on an unsettled world with piercing reflections of his, and our own places within the world. Rich in lyricism and earnest in its message, REDSTAR WU & THE WORLDWIDE SCOURGE is a resolute effort that confronts a divisive era in which humanity and its institutions seem to be ripping apart at the seams and heeds a desperate need for unity.
Sonically drawing from and meshing elements funk, neo-soul, Brit rock and alt pop the album’s overall sound feels both sprawling and deliberate.
“The world hasn’t ended yet,” Owusu. says. “We’re still moving, we’re still jumping, we’re still living, and so we shall continue. Through rain, shine, exploitation and warfare. We, the people, will always stubbornly persist, and hopefully persist hand in hand.”
“LIFE KEEPS GOING,” the album’s latest single is a gritty, club friendly tune anchored around a propulsive, drum ‘n’ bass-like production featuring rapid-fire skittering beats, thumping, organ rattling low end and atmospheric synths. The track’s production evokes seemingly unstoppable force and movement and over the breakneck instrumentation, Owusu muses on time and the motions of life, finding strength and inspiration in their relentless, disobedient nature. Birth, love, war, heartache, despair, time cycling forward and death will continue well after all of us — and in turn, all of this — will be gone.
Directed by Isaac Brown, the frenetic accompanying video for “LIFE KEEPS GOING” was shot in Accra‘s massive Black Star Square, which was built for their independence and is steeped in national unity. We see Owusu by himself dancing and rocking out in the square and in a gorgeous, dream-like sequence on the beach at sunset. And although Owusu is a larger-than-life figure, his smallness in the face of such immense settings, the sea rolling in and out, the sky above are all serve as reminders of the song’s central themes — and why we need more unity in our world.
New Video: Tricky Teams Up with Marta Złakowska on Breakneck “Out of Place”
Trip hop pioneer Tricky will be releasing his 15th studio album, Different When It’s Silent July 17, 2026 through his own label, False Idols. The new album is the first full-length effort from the legendary and influential artist and producer under his own name in six years.
Different When It’s Silent came about during a rather prolific period of activity. Since 2020’s Fall to Pieces, Tricky has released material under several different guises including, Lonely Guest‘s 2021 self-titled effort, a collaboration with Mike Theis, called Theis Thaws, which released 2024’s Fifteen Days and last year’s collaborative album with Marta Złakowska, Out The Way.
Returning to releasing an album under his own name took on a different shape. Recored between Tricky’s home in France and sessions in Bristol, the album is reportedly a direct, focused batch of material that reconnects with the distinct sonic language that has defined the legendary artist and producer’s work since 1995’s iconic Maxinquaye. And he does by drawing deeply on the musical community that has shaped him and his work. Central to the album’s sound is Bristol-based vocalist Mitch Sanders, whose soulful falsetto is featured through such of the album’s songs. Their deep connection reflects a shared musical background and an instinctive chemistry between the pair.
“In my mind it was another side project” Tricky explains. But after hearing the material, his manager Alan McGee felt the songs clearly belonged to a Tricky record.
The 14-song Different When It’s Silent sonically sees Tricky blending skeletal blues, brooding electronics, distorted guitars and stark hip-hop rhythms into a sound that’s simultaneously stripped-back and expansive. The album moves fluidly across different styles while rooted in the restless experimentation that has long defined Tricky’s work over the past three-plus decades.
“I just love making music” Tricky says. “I’m grateful I’ve had the chance to live this life and keep creating.”
Different When It’s Silent‘s first single “Out of Place” feat. Marta Złakowska features a brooding and cinematic string sample introduction before morphing to a breakneck middle section which features Tricky’s imitable gravelly vocal with a punchy, almost punk-like deliver and Złakowska’s sultry yet restrained crooning. The song closes with a boarding and cinematic string sample. The result is as song that’s simultaneously forceful, uneasy and gorgeous while evoking the sweaty, self-aware sensation of somehow being out of place in your environment through a shifting series of contrasts.
Originally written for Złakowska’s own album, Tricky ultimately reclaimed the song for the forthcoming album.
Directed and edited by Steve Gullick, the accompanying video for “Out of Place” features the collaborators shot in blurred and constant motion in the foreground. In the background we see stylishly shot footage of each artist singing their respective part — or just being in a brooding photo shoot. It further emphasizes the feeling of being out of place.
New Video: JOVM Mainstay Alewya Shares Sultry Club Banger “Saleh”
JOVM mainstay Alewya is an acclaimed London-based singer/songwriter, producer and visual artist. Born in Saudi Arabia to an Egyptian-Sudanese father and an Ethiopian mother, the acclaimed London-based artist has spent her life surrounded by diaspora immigrant communities: She grew up in West London and after a several year stint in New York, she returned to London. Upon her return home, the Saudi-British artist developed and honed her ear for music through the sounds of the Ethiopian and Arabic music of her parents and the ambient and alternative rock albums of her brother.
She’s part of a generation of artists actively redefining global music, a generation that’s generally rooted in heritage, yet unbound by it. Describing herself as a painter, who makes music, Alewya approaches sound as texture and feeling, guided more by intuition than structure. Her sound and story help to widen the Black British frame, bringing the often under heard North and East African perspective into a much-needed focus.
Back in 2020, the JOVM mainstay burst into the scene with an attention grabbing feature on Little Simz‘s “where’s my lighter,” which caught the attention of Because Records, who signed the rising artist and released her critically applauded debut, 2021’s Panther In Mode EP.
Alewya’s highly-anticipated full-length debut, ZERO is slated for a June 26, 2026 release through Because London Records. The album reportedly embodies years of artistic growth into an effort that’s both deeply personal and sonically expansive. But the album also marks a significant milestone, as it sees her boldly stepping into a new creative era, defined by fearless experimentation and cultural fluidity.
ZERO will include the previously released “Night Drive,” feat. Dagmawit Ameha and “City of Symbols,” “Eshi,” and the album’s latest single “Selah.” Produced by longtime collaborator Busy Twist, “Selah” is a sultry, club banger anchored around pulsing Afrobeats-like instrumentation and production paired with a propulsive, infectious bass line and the JOVM mainstay’s effortless, hypnotic delivery. “Selah came from playful instinct,” Alewya says.
Directed by Iggy London with creative direction by Lee Trigg and movement direction by Kitz Katila, the accompanying video for “Selah” captures the cathartic release of joy, sweat through color and dance at a Black London party. This kinetically shot video should remind you that there’s true freedom and unity on a strobe-lit dance floor — and that Black folk are fucking beautiful.
New Video: Die Spitz Shares Seething “American Porn”
Rising Austin-based outfit Die Spitz — Ava Schrobilgen, Chloe De St. Aubin, Ellie Livingston and Kate Halter — can trace some of their origins back to when Schrobilgen and Livingston met in preschool. They befriended Halter in middle school. And they brought De St. Aubin into their friend group when they started the band back in 2022.
Initially, the quartet was looking to find reasons to hang out more often, and decided they should start a band after a late-night viewing of the Mötley Crüe biopic The Dirt. They settled on the name Die Spitz over a “brown bag of Fireball,” opting for the feminine German definite article in place of the English. “It reminds me of the Grim Reaper spitting,” Livingstone jokes.
Their first live shows saw them pairing originals with covers from some of their early inspirations including Black Sabbath, Pixies, Mudhoney, PJ Harvey and Nirvana. Unsurprisingly, they express their ideas and themselves through a mischievously shameless blend of classic punk, hardcore metal, alt rock and more. They’ve also become known for riotous live show, where dueling cartwheels, members climbing rafters and solos while crowdsurfing could happen at just about any moment.
The Texan quartet’s highly-anticipated full-length debut, the Will Yip–produced Something to Consume was released last September through Third Man Records. The album sees the band combining their passion, friendship, identity and artistry to fight against the inescapable decay and chaos that surrounds modern life, “There’s a political side to it, but addiction and love can also be all-consuming,” the band’s Ellie Livingston says.
Something to Consume‘s 11 tracks contains multitudes and yet feels singular. It’s an expansive and expressive collection of songs, unified in its sense of deeply held camaraderie and freedom. “We depend on our freedom — freedom to do what we want, present the ideas we want, make the music we want,” Livingston says. “Whether it’s based in metal or something soft, no matter which of us wrote the song, we all contribute and work together. As a person, I don’t have a strong ego or voice, but within this band each one of us is capable of so much more.”
“Something to Consume is an album experience for everyone. Whether you’re craving a smack of lively metal or a melancholy wave of grungey violin, there’s a piece of all of us injected. Something to Consume is a call to the multitudes of ways we as humans allow consumption to enrapture our culture as well as ourselves.”
Though they’ve only been playing together for a few years, the album shows a maturity and technical prowess wielded and wed to the service of their deep and abiding friendship — and a hope to inspire change. “Some people aren’t interested in being political activists via music, but it weighs on me heavily and I feel misaligned with my calling if I don’t,” Chloe De St. Aubin says. “The four of us are free spirits with multiple interests, and there’s no limit or power dynamic that can derail us.”
The album features the previously released “Throw Yourself to the Sword,” a bruising mosh pit friendly synthesis of thrash metal, stoner rock and punk featuring some of the hardest and grimiest guitar riffs I’ve heard in some time. The album’s latest single “American Porn” comes as the quartet announces a lengthy list of summer and fall tour dates. The tour includes three New York City dates: November 13, 2026 and November 14, 2026 at Warsaw. Both of those shows are sold out. But don’t worry, they’ve got a February 19, 2027 stop at Brooklyn Steel. As always, all tour dates are below.
“American Porn” sees the rising Texans channeling a seething synthesis of grunge and riot grrl punk that calls out sexist record industry insiders and perverted older dudes, who come to their shows to leer and objectify them. “It’s a very angry song,” says the band’s Eleanor Livingston.” “And I want the people that come to our shows just because we’re pretty women or they want to sexualize or objectify us to listen to that song and tell us if they’re still a fan.”
Continuing an ongoing collaboration with director Emily Sanchez, the accompanying video for “American Porn” is a surreal fever dream of a visual that wouldn’t be out of place on 120 Minutes. The video calls out gender-roles, stereotypes and beauty standards with seething anger and a sense of mischief.
Throwback: Happy 90th Birthday, Glen Campbell!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 90th anniversary of the birth of Glen Campbell.
Throwback: Happy 67th Birthday, Robert Smith!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates The Cure frontman Robert Smith’s 67th birthday.
New Video: Bummer Camp Shares “120 Minutes” MTV-Like “One Bullet”
Originally formed as a solo loop-based recording project by its founder and frontman, Teenage Halloween‘s Eli Frank, Queens-based grungegaze outfit Bummer Camp evolved into a full fledged band after the project’s earliest releases, 2017’s Winnebago Vacation EP, 2019’s Camp Somewhere, 2023’s Big Deal EP and last year’s full-length debut, Stuck In A Dream.
The band’s sophomore album, Fake My Death is slated for a May 8, 2026 release through Trash Casual. Recorded at a New Jersey-based The Animal, Farm, the album features Brett Bivona (lead guitar) and Jon “Steel Wolf” Markson playing bass, recording, production and mixing. Compared to the previously released home-recorded work, the Fake My Death sessions brought about a much tighter timeline and a more intentional approach, while still leaving room for extra texture and character.
“When I record at home I can take as long as I want goofing around and playing with different instruments,” Bummer Camp’s frontman Eli Frank explains. ““In the studio, time is literally money… a lot of money. So you gotta be focused and use your time wisely. We did end up getting the main bits done early so we could play around with percussion and other random stuff, I think it’s important to leave time for things like that because A) it’s fun and B) it adds character to the album.”
With Fake My Death, the Queens-based grungegaze outfit aims for a much, bigger, more focused album that thematically tackles anxieties that surface and fade, and the push and pull of wanting to disappear and wanting to continue onward. Rather than featuring songwriting at a distance, the album’s material frames those thoughts and feelings plainly and turns them into direct, melodic songs specifically meant to be lived with.
“‘Wanna fake my death cause I can’t stomach anything’ is a line from the song ‘Perfect Storm,'” Eli Frank says, talking about the inspiration behind the album and its title. “The desire to tune everything out to such a point that you just want to actually disappear forever is not going to help anything, especially yourself. You gotta take the good, the bad, the beautiful, the ugly, and roll with it. In my opinion, whether you’re being punched or hugged, feeling something is better than not feeling anything at all.”
Fake My Death‘s first single, “One Bullet” is a melodic and hook-driven anthem that channels 120 Minutes-era MTV-era grunge featuring bruising, crunchy power chord-driven riffs while describing acute anxiety, depression and dissociation with an almost lived-in precision.
The single is accompanied by an trippy and mind-bending music video directed by longtime collaborator and multimedia artist Preston Spurlock.