Tag: Nashville TN

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstays Friendship Commanders Share Two More Fierce, Earnest Anthems

Nashville-based duo and JOVM mainstays Friendship Commanders — Buick Audra (vocals, guitar) and Jerry Roe (drums, bass) — will be releasing their fourth album BEAR on October 10 through their new label home Magnetic Eye Records. 

Co-produced by the duo and their longtime collaborator Kurt Ballou, who also tracked the instrumental performances and mixed the material, BEAR’s songs are unified in a theme that runs throughout in various ways: the ever-elusive idea of belonging, where it occurs and where it absolutely doesn’t. 

Written around the realization that she had essentially been kicked out of womanhood, Friendship Commanders’ Buick Audra wrote BEAR‘s material as a way to document her awarenesses while cataloging other areas of human connection: art, outsider culture, and dark rock venues — all places where empathy and creativity grow wild. She and her bandmate Jerry Roe arranged and performed the album specifically to have two sides to it musically: heavy and light. Salt and sugar. Fire and air. Lost and found. 

Last month, the JOVM mainstays excitedly shared two singles from the forthcoming album: “MELT,” a breakneck yet bold, heart-worn-on sleeve anthem that expresses the sense of betrayal, confusion and heartbreak in a sort of et tu Brute? moment. “KEEPING SCORE,” a defiant war cry of an adult, who has learned to parent and protect her childhood self — and an adult who is willing and able to defend young girls, who remind her of her younger self from the insults and ill-treatment she received when she was their age.

Building upon the momentum of the forthcoming album’s first two singles, the Nashville-based JOVM mainstays have shared two more singles: “X,” continues a remarkable run of bruising yet proudly heart worn on sleeve anthems, rooted in lived-in personal experiences. In the case of “X,” the song is built and informed by the bitter ache of unexpected and tragically unfair loss of a dear one, way too soon.

Written a few weeks after the sudden death of the band’s longtime friend and collaborator Steve Albini, Buick Audra says, ” I was grieving, but I was also watching a generation grieve in ways I’d observed my whole life—stoically, strongly, sentimentally, and somewhat individually. This song is a loving send-up to that lost generation. We wanted the track and visuals to honor some of the artists who raised us creatively, including Steve. The camera I’m holding in the second verse was his. Very moving to have and include it here. He was a young Boomer, but the absolute King of Gen X. Missed and loved.”

“MIDHEAVEN” is arguably one of the more widescreen songs of their growing catalog, a song loose enough that it lets the forceful and dexterous instrumentation and Audra’s powerhouse vocals breath while continuing to showcase the duo’s unerring knack for crafting arena rock hooks and choruses. “MIDHEAVEN goes wider; it gets into this idea of being born under a certain set of stars, and whether or not that has anything to do with who we are. As a person who feels like a lifelong misfit with a nature I can’t seem to change, I’m curious about where that starts. Is it written from the start? I’m willing to believe anything at this point. Some days, it’s tempting to blame it all on the sky.”

“I wanted the video for ‘X’ to have the vibe and look of those by our favorite bands from the Gen X/Grunge era while still being its own thing, so it’s lit, shot and performed in a way that honors that spirit without aping anything too closely (hopefully)! Everyone wanted to appear tough and cool while also not seeming to take what they were doing too seriously.” Friendship Commanders’ Jerry Roe says of the video for “X.” “There’s such a particular mood of the era that no one has captured since. It was the best time for the medium of music videos honestly, and it was a lot of fun to try and channel it. I find it moving to watch in a way that surprises me.”

“‘MIDHEAVEN’ stands out in our discography for being so instrumentally driven. The vocals and melody are just as integral a part of the song as any song in our repertoire, but large portions of this track are just the two of us ripping at each other and it’s an absolute blast to listen to and play.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Total Wife Shares Yearning “make it last”

Over the past decade, the experimental Nashville-based duo Total Wife — Luna Kupper and Ash Richter — have firmly cemented as fixtures of both the Nashville and East Coast DIY scenes. 

The duo’s fifth album, Come Back Down is slated for a September 25, 2025 release through Julia’s War Recordings. Come Back Down is the follow-up to 2023’s in/out and builds upon their varied and rich catalog, while featuring the previously released 0 EP tracks “naoisa,” and “(dead b).” 

Last month, I wrote about album single “second spring,” a woozy track that evokes both the hope of new beginnings and the unease of what those new beginnings will actually mean for you and your life. “make it last,” Come Back Down‘s latest single, the shoegazer-like “make it last” features layers of churning and wheezing guitars and thunderous drumming serving as a lush yet subtly uneasy bed for Ash Richter’s yearning delivery.

“‘make it last’ started as kind of a horny song,” Total Wife’s Ash Richter explains. “I was experimenting with lyric writing that felt a little less serious or sappy, but the more I worked through it, the more it kind of ended up as a love song to the road, or like an ode to time passing veiled by the excitement of living. When overwhelming euphoria removes you from your surroundings and sense of time.”

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstays Friendship Commanders Share Two Fierce, Earnest Anthems

Nashville-based duo and JOVM mainstays Friendship Commanders — Buick Audra (vocals, guitar) and Jerry Roe (drums, bass) — will be releasing their fourth album BEAR on October 10 through their new label home Magnetic Eye Records.

Co-produced by the band’s members and longtime collaborator Kurt Ballou, who also tracked the instrumental performances and mixed the material, BEAR’s songs are unified in a theme that runs throughout in various ways: the ever-elusive idea of belonging, where it occurs and where it absolutely doesn’t.

Written around the realization that she had essentially been kicked out of womanhood, Friendship Commanders’ Buick Audra wrote BEAR‘s material as a way to document her awarenesses while cataloging other areas of human connection: art, outsider culture, and dark rock venues — all places where empathy and creativity grow wild. She and her bandmate Jerry Roe arranged and performed the album specifically to have two sides to it musically: heavy and light. Salt and sugar. Fire and air. Lost and found.

The JOVM mainstays have excitedly shared two album tracks from the forthcoming album: “MELT,” is a breakneck, yet bold, heart-worn-on-sleeve anthem that showcases the duo’s unerring knack for paring arena rock-like bombast, complete with enormous riffs and thunderous drumming, with earnest, deeply lived-in lyricism and songwriting. “MELT” features what may arguably be among the most syrupy sweet melodies they’ve recorded of their growing catalog while expressing a sense of betrayal, confusion and heartache, a sort of et tu Brute? moment for the song’s narrator.

Directed by the band’s Jerry Roe with cinematography by Roe and Jarad Clement, the accompanying video for “MELT” was shot at Nashville’s DRKMTTR, where the band has built their own community and features familiar faces and friends from their music scene. It captures the sweaty joy of going to a show and bonding with both new and old friends over your love of a band; of that shared sense of a band or a musician singing songs that seem to speak about you and your life, the things you’ve felt and the things you’ve seen.

“KEEPING SCORE,” will further cement the JOVM mainstays heart-worn-on-sleeve ethos but while being a breakneck and defiant, war cry of an adult, who has learned how to parent and protect her childhood self, and is willing and able to defend young girls, who remind her of herself when she was their age from the insults and ill-treatment she received.

The accompanying video for “KEEPING SCORE” was directed and edited by the band’s Jerry Roe and features cinematography from Roe and Jarad Clement. Shot at Franklin, TN-based Westlight Studios, the video features the duo performing the song in a cinematic black and white, with stylish lighting.

“‘KEEPING SCORE’ was the first song written for BEAR. I think of it as the mother of the album,” Audra says. “When I was a kid, the mother of my best friend, a boy, singled me out as a problem for her son and all the other boys in our skateboarding crew. She was afraid I was corrupting them somehow. She called around and spread non-truths about me to the other parents, some of whom I’d never met. It was devastating, humiliating beyond words. Years later, I realized women in my own generation were doing the same thing to little girls who knew their sons. Little girls! Age seven, eight! Being called ‘hussies’ by grown women! Color me horrified. Color me involved. Now that I can speak for myself, I will also speak for girls like me. Someone should. The propulsive riff on this song is my war cry.”

“‘MELT’ is about realizing I’ve never really fit with my own kind, something I’ve only come to terms with in the last two years or so,” the Friendship Commanders frontperson continues. “I’ve spent so much time and energy trying to be a woman among women, but at the end of the day, I’m just always over here being too loud. Too much. And yet, somehow also not enough. It’s a stunning paradox. Musically, the song has a sugary quality to it, which is also referenced in the line, ‘that’s how they punch you, sugar over fists.’ This track beats me up because it’s so painfully true, but it’s also a delight to play.”

“These songs were so exciting to hear when Buick played them for me for the first time – pretty unlike anything we’d ever done up to this point in terms of energy and propulsion,” the band’s Jerry Roe adds. “Our music has tended to move either fast or slow while somehow feeling heavy at all times, and these songs lean and move forward in a way that’s much brighter and quite joyful, even through the subject matter. To play them almost feels like being flown through the air towards a gigantic bullseye made of fiery confetti! I can’t wait to play this new album live.”

You can preorder the forthcoming album here.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Total Wife Shares Woozy “second spring”

Over the past decade, the experimental Nashville-based duo Total Wife — Luna Kupper and Ash Richter — have firmly cemented as fixtures of both the Nashville and East Coast DIY scenes.

The duo’s fifth album, Come Back Down is slated for a September 25, 2025 release through Julia’s War Recordings. Come Back Down is the follow-up to 2023’s in/out and builds upon their varied and rich catalog, while featuring the previously released 0 EP tracks “naoisa,” and “(dead b).”

The album’s latest single “second spring” is a woozy track that features fuzzy and churning guitars paired with syrupy sweet, ethereal melodies. At its core, the song evokes both the hope of new beginnings and the unease and anxiousness of what those new beginnings will actually mean for you and your life.

“Ash started the lyrics for this song in early spring of 2020, and worked them out over the next few years before Luna wrote this song, which helped her finish them,” the Nashville-based duo explain. “Hard to remember, but flowers will bloom with or without you,” is from the same poem that “Reveal Sky,” was written from (total wife Self-Titled LP, “It’s easy to forget that it’s spring, staring through grey-blue drywall”).“

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Charles “Wigg” Walker Shares Optimistic, Two Step-Inducing “(Feels Like) Things Are Comin’ Our Way”

Tracing the origins of his nearly eight decade-long career back to when he began singing at an early age in church and then later in school, Nashville-born and-based soul singer/songwriter Charles “Wigg” Walker released his first single back in 1959 through Ted Jarrett‘s legendary and beloved Champion Records.

Walker relocated to New York, where he became a frontman for the J.C. Davis Band, an outfit that shared bills with James Brown, Jackie Wilson, Etta James, Otis Redding and Sam Cooke. His first group, Little Charles and the Sidewinders because a New York nightclub scene staple in the early 1960s, and would then go on to record and release material through Chess and Decca Records.

After spending over a decade on the road, Walker took a staff writing role with Motown in the 70s. By the start of the 80, Walker relocated to Europe. where continued to find enthusiastic audiences. But the blues, R&B and soul revival movements that started in the 90s ultimately brought Walker back to Nashville.

This Love Is Gonna Last is the first album from the Nashville-born and-based soul artist in over a decade, while also being the first album since his stint fronting The Dynamites in the early 2010s. Recorded with longtime organist and collaborator Charles Treadway, the album’s material reportedly shifts seamlessly between different and distinct ears of soul, bouncing from Philly to Motown, to Memphis and more. The album’s richly lush arrangements are owed to Walker’s chemistry with his core backing trio — Treadway, along with Chet Atkins‘s and Lyle Lovett‘s Pat Bergeson (guitar) and Average White Band‘s and Tom Jones‘ Pete Abbott (drums).

While superficially joyous, thematically, the album’s material is underpinned by the wizened and insightful recognition of our own impending and inevitable morality, of time’s inexorable march, and the lessons and losses that come with all of it.

Underneath the album’s joyful truce, there’s the wizened recognition of time’s inexorable march, of our own mortality and the lessons and losses that come with it. In fact, the album is a dedication to Walker’s late wife, who died earlier this year.

Ultimately, the album reportedly is the sort of album he’s been building towards for his entire lengthy career, and a showcase not only for his vocal, but also for the unparalleled emotional range that’s defined his work for over 50 years. Now, with his unflagging faith and dedication as the bedrock of This Love Is Gonna Last, Walker may finally be getting his due. “I feel more appreciated now than ever,” he says. “There’s something different about this album. It just feels right.”

This Love Is Gonna Last‘s first single “(Feels Like) Things Are Comin’ Our Way” is the perfect tune for your grandma and grandpa or your uncle and auntie to sweetly sway and two-step together at a Black barbecue or a Black wedding. Those of y’all, who know, know what I’m talking about and can immediate picture it in your mind’s eye. Sonically resembling a slick synthesis of Luther Vandross‘ “Never Too Much,” Keni Burke‘s “Risin’ To The Top,” The Isley Brothers‘ legendary 70s output and gospel, “(Feels Like) Things Are Comin’ Our Way” is a sweetly earnest and school declaration of the sort of love that we all long for — the love that’s there with you, through the ups, downs and everything in between.

“This song sums up this whole album for me really,” says Walker about the new single. “After all the places I’ve been and all the bands I’ve performed with and all the recordings I’ve made, it feels like things are finally starting to come my way.”

Video by William Ruben Helms

Lyric Video: JOVM Mainstays Friendship Commanders Share Urgent, Steve Albini Mix of “Outlive You”

Nashville-based duo and JOVM mainstays Friendship Commanders — Buick Audra (vocals, guitar) and Jerry Roe (drums, bass) — released their Kurt Ballou and Friendship Commanders co-produced third album MASS last year. MASS is a concept album […]

Video by William Ruben Helms

Lyric Video: Shonali Shares Brooding and Vibey “Driving Nowhere”

Shonali Bhowmik is a Nashville-born, New York-based singer/songwriter, actor, comedian, filmmaker, lawyer and writer, whose musical roots developed in Nashville, where she began making music on an 8-track recorder with her childhood best friend Michelle Dubois in Ultrababyfat, an act that opened for the likes of Pavement and PJ Harvey while she was in law school. 

She was pulled into the NYC comedy scene by her close friend David Cross after touring with him during his Let America Laugh tour. Since then, she started the groundbreaking and influential comedy collective Variety Shac alongside Chelsea Peretti, Heather Lawless and Andrea Rosen, and she was the host of The Shac’s popular Upright Citizen’s Brigade live show. Bhowmik has also worked with renowned comedians like Fred Armisen, John Early, John Roberts, Nimesh Patel, Dave Hill, Wyatt Cenac, and Amy Poehler. She currently released comedy albums by rising comedians on her own label Little Lamb Recordings. And lastly, she co-shots her own live variety show podcast series We Don’t Know, which showcases comedians, artists and musicians. 

Throughout her lengthy music career, Bhowmik has released nine albums with Ultrababyfat, including three with her current band Tigers and Monkeys and her 2011 solo debut, 100 Oaks Revival. The Nashville-born, New York-based artist steps back out into the spotlight again as a solo artist with her long-awaited sophomore album One Machine At A Time. 

Slated for a July 26, 2024 release through Little Lamb Recordings, One Machine At A Time reportedly sees Bhowmik touting her clever songcraft and evocative lyrics while culminating in genre-bending material that feels ubiquitous yet unique to her own experience as an Indian-American woman from Nashville. The album’s songs playfully explore and mesh different genres and eras but within a cohesive, carefully curated musical universe — and overall, a well-rounded album. 

The strength and bravery of Bhowmik’s artistic drive is rooted in the steadfast support of her mother and father, professors who immigrated to the States and constantly encouraged her musical and creative efforts. For her, that support is a significant influence on why her music is so unabashedly emotional and fearless. 

The forthcoming album sees Bhowmik honoring her father Dr, Dilip Kumar Bhowmik, who recently passed away after a full life of kindness, humor and academic achievement. The album’s cover art, a photo of a young Shonali, taken by her father demonstrates their love and lasting connection. That love and spark of her father’s life continues to fuel her artistic life. Now, she’s able to say “Farewell, sweet one,” while showing how, in the face of loss, how her delicate spark shines on. 

For the album, the Nashville-born, New York-based artist wrote a personal statement on the album, which I’m including below:

“A year to-the-date, after losing my father in 2022, I came to the realization I had to share my music with the world again. My dad always encouraged me to take risks, to be true to myself and to ‘go for it.’ In an effort to embrace his wisdom, there was little thinking to be done; I went for it. Once I made the decision to record a new full-length release everything came together quickly. I had a stockpile of demos recorded on my GarageBand which I suddenly realized were worth sharing with the world. I left New York City to go record in Atlanta, Georgia with my OG musical family, friends with whom I formally started my musical career. In July 2023 in Peoplestown, Georgia, I sat with my insanely talented producer friend Dan Dixon, drummer Darren Dodd (along with other talented friends K. Michelle DuBois, Shannon Wright, and Jeff Holt) and recorded my album.

The result of our therapeutic time together is One Machine At A Time, out July 26, an album which combines aspects of all the music I am inspired by – indie rock, soul, psychedelic and retro sounds of the 70s, 80s, and 90s along with the folk singer-songwriter and country influences of my time growing up in Nashville, Tennessee. It takes you on a journey through many genres. 

“One of my BFF’s asked his 24-year-old nephew to listen… to which he said “this is really fucking good. It’s like a different genre every song.” Another one of my favorite quotes comes from a friend who said “there’s something retro feeling about these songs that tug on my heart strings in the best way…without feeling retro or dated, if that makes any sense.

As the daughter of Indian professors who immigrated to the United States during the Civil Rights Movement and a woman who grew up in Nashville, Tennessee, I have always been drawn to stories that amplify voices minimized by mainstream media outlets – so here I am pushing myself to be louder and prouder. I considered sharing my music under a pseudonym, but realized that this album reflects my personal journey – pondering the meaning of our lives (including past loves), the state of our world, where love of machines has taken over love for each other, and the celebration and difficulty of life. 

My name is Shonali (pronounced Show-nalley.) I am a southern girl with Indian parents, who has been recording my songs on a tape recorder since childhood. My first doll was named Johnny Cash. My goal is connection – our goal should be connection – and I continue to be unable to resist the need to share my voice.   It’s my hope that this album fills in the gaps musically, sonically and emotionally for those who feel like they are watching life from the outside in.”

Last month, I wrote about “Up All Night,” a disco pop-tinged bit of post punk anchored around squiggling guitar stabs, oscillating synths, propulsive polyrhythm and a sinuous bass line. The new single sonically channels a slick synthesis of Talking Heads“Stay Up Late,” Entertainment-era Gang of Four and Stevie Nicks‘ “Stand Back” but while evoking a mischievous coquettishness and achingly earnest yearning. The song also showcases Bhowmik’s uncanny knack for crafting ridiculously catchy hooks and larger-than-life, Karen O-like delivery. 

One Machine At A Time’s latest single “Driving Nowhere” is a brooding and vibey bit of 80s post punk and pop that seems to stylistically and thematically nod at Billy Idol‘s “Eyes Without a Face,” The Cars “Drive,” David Lynch soundtracks and JOVM mainstays Still Corners while anchored around strummed rhythm guitar, reverb-soaked twang and Bhowmik’s penchant for pairing earnest lyricism with big, catchy hooks. But at its core, the song captures a narrator hitting the road with the endless blacktop ahead of them, and their past looming just behind.

“I was fortunate to hook up with director Andrew Hooper (Jon Spencer, Marcellus Hall, The Dollyrots) who is prolific when it comes to coming up with video ideas and also has a great enthusiasm for music and understanding an artist’s vision,” Bhowmik explains. “He instantaneously understood the Lost Highway vibes of this song. Andrew was based in Thailand at the time we shot the video.  He sent me a minutely detailed treatment and our Director of Photography Justin Joseph Hall translated that outline,  I think perfectly.  And of course Dave Hill, nailed the comedic beats of our community theater production.

“We made an English lyric video along with Spanish and Hindi lyric translation videos with the hopes of including listeners across the world on this universal journey.  The song captures how our past is always with us.  Our minds wander down the directionless road of our past relationships fully aware that there is no true final destination.”

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Nashville’s Chapel of Roses Shares Slinky “Cast Out to Sea”

Nashville-based post punk outfit Chapel of Roses — Chris E. Kelley (vocal, guitar), Jim T. Graham (pedal steel), Preach Rutherford (bass), Colin Baker (drums) — can trace their origins back to the mid 1980s.

Their single “Chapel of Roses” received regular airplay on the local college radio station WRVU. And while the band’s members were just in high school, they toured for a bit including opening for Gene Loves Jezebel before breaking up. However, the members of the Nashville-based quartet continued to write and record music in a number of different projects throughout the years.

The band’s Chris Kelley spent the better part of the past two decades living overseas. But right before the pandemic, he returned to Nashville, and the the members of quartet started making music again.

The Nashville-based outfit’s latest single, “Cast Out to Sea” features backing vocals from Brittany Hadley. Anchored around a sinuous and slinky bass line, angular guitar stabs, driving four-on-the-floor and swirling reverb-soaked pedal steel serving as a brooding and sultry bed for Kelley’s yearning delivery and remarkably soulful catchy hooks with backing vocalist Brittany Hadley. And while the band cites Velvet Underground, Big Star, Ride, Joy Division, New Order as influences on their sound, “Cast Out to Sea” seems to channel Primal Scream and Britpop.

The accompanying, slickly edited video features the band performing the song in front of roving spotlight.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Shonali Shares Mischievous, Dance Floor Friendly Bop “Up All Night”

Shonali Bhowmik is a Nashville-born, New York-based singer/songwriter, actor, comedian, filmmaker, lawyer and writer, whose musical roots developed in Nashville, where she began making music on an 8-track recorder with her childhood best friend Michelle Dubois in Ultrababyfat, an act that opened for the likes of Pavement and PJ Harvey while she was in law school.

She was pulled into the NYC comedy scene by her close friend David Cross after touring with him during his Let America Laugh tour. Since then, she started the groundbreaking and influential comedy collective Variety Shac alongside Chelsea Peretti, Heather Lawless and Andrea Rosen, and she was the host of The Shac’s popular Upright Citizen’s Brigade live show. Bhowmik has also worked with renowned comedians like Fred Armisen, John Early, John Roberts, Nimesh Patel, Dave Hill, Wyatt Cenac, and Amy Poehler. She currently released comedy albums by rising comedians on her own label Little Lamb Recordings. And lastly, she co-shots her own live variety show podcast series We Don’t Know, which showcases comedians, artists and musicians.

Throughout her lengthy music career, Bhowmik has released nine albums with Ultrababyfat, including three with her current band Tigers and Monkeys and her 2011 solo debut, 100 Oaks Revival. The Nashville-born, New York-based artist steps back out into the spotlight again as a solo artist with her long-awaited sophomore album One Machine At A Time.

Slated for a July 26, 2024 release through Little Lamb Recordings, One Machine At A Time reportedly sees Bhowmik touting her clever songcraft and evocative lyrics while culminating in genre-bending material that feels ubiquitous yet unique to her own experience as an Indian-American woman from Nashville. The album’s songs playfully explore and mesh different genres and eras but within a cohesive, carefully curated musical universe — and overall, a well-rounded album.

The strength and bravery of Bhowmik’s artist drive is rooted in the steadfast support of her mother and father, professors who immigrated to the States and constantly encouraged her musical and creative efforts. For her, that support is a significant influence on why her music is so unabashedly emotional and fearless.

The forthcoming album sees Bhowmik honoring her father Dr, Dilip Kumar Bhowmik, who recently passed away after a full life of kindness, humor and academic achievement. The album’s cover art, a photo of a young Shonali, taken by her father demonstrates their love and lasting connection. That love and spark of her father’s life continues to fuel her artistic life. Now, she’s able to say “Farewell, sweet one,” while showing how, in the face of loss, how her delicate spark shines on.

For the album, the Nashville-born, New York-based artist wrote a personal statement on the album, which I’m including below:

“A year to-the-date, after losing my father in 2022, I came to the realization I had to share my music with the world again. My dad always encouraged me to take risks, to be true to myself and to ‘go for it.’ In an effort to embrace his wisdom, there was little thinking to be done; I went for it. Once I made the decision to record a new full-length release everything came together quickly. I had a stockpile of demos recorded on my GarageBand which I suddenly realized were worth sharing with the world. I left New York City to go record in Atlanta, Georgia with my OG musical family, friends with whom I formally started my musical career. In July 2023 in Peoplestown, Georgia, I sat with my insanely talented producer friend Dan Dixon, drummer Darren Dodd (along with other talented friends K. Michelle DuBois, Shannon Wright, and Jeff Holt) and recorded my album.

The result of our therapeutic time together is One Machine At A Time, out July 26, an album which combines aspects of all the music I am inspired by – indie rock, soul, psychedelic and retro sounds of the 70s, 80s, and 90s along with the folk singer-songwriter and country influences of my time growing up in Nashville, Tennessee. It takes you on a journey through many genres.

“One of my BFF’s asked his 24-year-old nephew to listen… to which he said “this is really fucking good. It’s like a different genre every song.” Another one of my favorite quotes comes from a friend who said “there’s something retro feeling about these songs that tug on my heart strings in the best way…without feeling retro or dated, if that makes any sense.

As the daughter of Indian professors who immigrated to the United States during the Civil Rights Movement and a woman who grew up in Nashville, Tennessee, I have always been drawn to stories that amplify voices minimized by mainstream media outlets – so here I am pushing myself to be louder and prouder. I considered sharing my music under a pseudonym, but realized that this album reflects my personal journey – pondering the meaning of our lives (including past loves), the state of our world, where love of machines has taken over love for each other, and the celebration and difficulty of life. 

My name is Shonali (pronounced Show-nalley.) I am a southern girl with Indian parents, who has been recording my songs on a tape recorder since childhood. My first doll was named Johnny Cash. My goal is connection – our goal should be connection – and I continue to be unable to resist the need to share my voice.   It’s my hope that this album fills in the gaps musically, sonically and emotionally for those who feel like they are watching life from the outside in.”

One Machine At A Time‘s latest single “Up All Night” is a disco pop-tinged bit of post punk anchored around squiggling guitar stabs, oscillating synths, propulsive polyrhythm and a sinuous bass line. The new single sonically channels a slick synthesis of Talking Heads “Stay Up Late,” Entertainment-era Gang of Four and Stevie Nicks‘ “Stand Back” but while evoking a mischievous coquettishness and achingly earnest yearning. The song also showcases Bhowmik’s uncanny knack for crafting ridiculously catchy hooks and larger-than-life, Karen O-like delivery.

Directed by Eleanore Pienta, the accompanying video is a much-needed joy bomb that follows Bhowmik letting loose and getting down while wearing a sparkly top, blue pants and neon green shoes and singing to the song. The video captures an unabashedly goofy and fun-loving spirit — while pointing out something we all do in our own homes, even if it’s singing wildly off-key.

Bhowmik writes on the video:

“At this point, I’m on a mission to continue to make every aspect of sharing this album a celebratory occasion. So asking Eleanore Pienta who directed the video for ‘Up All Night’ was a no brainer. She is the definition of celebration! She’s an actor, director, comedian, dancer, performance artist – yeah – we are all multi-hyphenates. She and I are long time friends who initially met through the comedy world. She’s a member of the incredible dance group Cocoon Central Dance Team (along with Sunita Mani and Tallie Medel.) I was especially blown away by watching one of her one-woman shows at Under St. Marks years ago – in which she’d shared some of her brilliantly kooky films. Our heads came together simultaneously regarding me just letting GOOOOO for this video! We are soul sisters when it comes to silly dancing. So we spent an afternoon at Wyckoff Windows Studios in Brooklyn with the goal of having a blast and our mission was accomplished. You can’t help but feel the joy of Shonali and Eleanore in this new video. Honestly, if you don’t – what’s going on with you? Ha!”

Video by William Ruben Helms

Lyric Video: Mama Zu (Those Darlins’ Jessi Zazu and Linwood Regensburg) Share Anthemic and Sarcastic Kiss-Off

Nashville music scene darlings Those Darlings — Jessi Zazu, Nikki Kvarnes and Kelley Anderson — could trace their origins back to 2006, when they all met at the Southern Girls Rock & Roll Camp. The trio quickly gained an underground following for a raucous take on alt-country that was equally indebted to the likes of The Carter Family as it was the Ramones.

2009’s self-titled debut was released to critical praise from the likes of AllMusic, Consequence and a list of others. Their longtime drummer Linwood Regensburg, who has contributed to Low Cut Connie’s Art Dealers and Tristen’s Sneaker Waves joined the band as a full-time member for the writing and recording of their sophomore album 2011’s critically applauded Screws Get Loose.

The Nashville-based outfit’s third album 2013’s Blur the Line continued a run of critically applauded material with eh album receiving praise from Rolling Stone, Paste and others.

By 2016, the band spent a decade touring and recording together, and each of its members felt it was time for something new. During the middle of New York’s biggest blizzards con record, Those Darlins found themselves stranded in Brooklyn, trying in vain to finish their farewell tour.

Back in 2016, in the middle of New York’s biggest blizzards on record, the members of Those Darlings found themselves stranded in Brooklyn, trying in vain to finish their farewell tour. As the snow blanketed New York and the rest of the East Coast, Zazu and Regensburg thought about their own blank slate ahead of them. They devised a plan: Take a month off. Get some much-needed rest after a grueling run of gigs. Then they would get back to work on a new album.

With Zazu, the blank page never stayed blank for very long; she was always relentlessly doing, bursting with ideas, whether she was painting or writing, mentoring young musicians in her community or leading grassroots activism initiatives. For Zazu, there were always more songs to be writing and sung, more notes to be played, more issues to shine a light on and advocate for. Sadly, just as Zazu and Regensburg were set to begin working on their next project together, Zazu was diagnosed with cervical cancer, and things understandably were put on hold.

Work on their album started in early 2017 and was done in fits and spurts. “I don’t know if she felt the same way or not,” Regensburg says, “but watching this situation play out in my head, it was like I was equating it to some kind of hero journey. This person, who I believe to be invincible, overcomes a dire circumstance and the writing and recording of the music is all just part of the legendary comeback story. But that’s not what ended up happening, unfortunately.” Tragically, though, they weren’t able to finish the album: Zazu died at the all too young age of 28.

Understandably, the unfinished album was put on the shelf. . “After she died, I didn’t want to touch it,” Regensburg says. “I didn’t want to play the songs or listen to the songs, let alone finish them. It just seemed like such a daunting task with a lot of layers—there was a lot of work left to do, but then there was also this exhausting underlying emotional component that pops in and hangs around the moment I’d open a session.”

Years passed and distance grew. By 2020, Regensburg felt ready to finish what they had started, he says “both for her sake, and for my own sanity level. I was the only person left with this project. Working on those songs again was therapeutic, even if doing so brought on a new set of challenges as he polished nearly-finished tracks and rebuilt songs out of disparate parts, from the drum track on an older, alternate recording to a simple phone demo. “It was a way of spending time with her, and kind of the only capacity in which I could,” he said. “But then, I was also left with a lot of creative choices without her. Even though I had played most of the instruments, it had still been a totally collaborative thing; if there was a part I played that she didn’t like, she was clear about that. If someone’s gone, you can still talk to them, but you can only assume what their feedback might be. So I was stuck with a lot of musical choices that I’d be working under the context of, I hope you like what I did here.” 

But on February 23, 2024, the world will hear the duo’s last project together Mama Zu — and what they had been working on with the 11-song Quilt Floor. The album sees the duo stitching a sonic tapestry of punchy songs that defiantly resist categorizing or pigeonholing in any specific genre. The material deftly flits from shimmering shoegaze to hooky power pop, riot grrl-tinged punk to 60s psych rock. Working without parakeets and without outside expectations led the duo to create an album that lives up to its mixtape moniker: 11 distinct tracks that are their own entire, separate universes while never feeling disjointed. The songs seamlessly form a robust whole, a representation of someone, who has a wildly eclectic, seemingly limitless record collection.

Ultimately, Mama Zu is simultaneously a continuation of the groundwork that Zazu and Regensburg laid with Those Darlings — and sadly, a final chapter. Importantly, it’s a snapshot of an artist in her prime, who was taken too soon, but while being stubbornly upbeat, defiant and fearless.

Regensburg shares Quilt Floor‘s first single “Lip.” Built around fuzzy guitars, a relentless and propulsive backbeat paired with Zaza’s sneering delivery, “Lip” is a kiss-off with a sarcastic smirk. The song’s subject is one that should be pitied — and perhaps laughed at — than scored. “The beauty of a ‘fuck you’ song (of which there might happen to be several on this album) is that you could simultaneously find yourself singing along while also being the oblivious target,” Linwood says. “Granted I never asked Jessi what this song was actually about and it’s also quite possible I might be an unreliable narrator here. Nevertheless, in the meantime, whether you’re in the mood to raise a middle finger or perhaps deserved of one, this song’s for you.”

A portion of the proceeds will benefit Jessi Zazu, Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to continuing Jessi’s work in the arts & humanities, social justice, and women’s health.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstay Robert Finley Shares Anthemic and Bluesy Stomp “Waste of Time”

69 year-old Winnsboro, LA-born, Bernice, LA-based singer/songwriter and JOVM mainstay Robert Finley‘s highly-anticipated fourth album, Black Bayou was released last Friday through his longtime label home Easy Eye Sound.

The album sees the JOVM mainstay continuing his wildly successful collaboration with Easy Eye Sound founder and The Black Keys frontman Dan Auerbach. Much like its immediate predecessor, the new album’s material is a deeply personal portrait — but this time of Finley’s Louisiana, from an insider, who has lived there all of his life. Sonically, the material coalesces all of the vibrant sounds of the bayou, including gospel, blues, rock and more. 

The result is a vivid collection of songs that depicts life in North Louisiana — with Finley playing the role of charismatic and knowledgeable tour guide. “I think that’s one of the biggest things about the album is it tells the truth and the truth will set you free,” Finley told American Songwriter.

“It’s amazing to realize how much of an impact Louisiana has had on the world’s music,” Dan Auerbach says in press notes, “and Robert embodies all of that. He can play a blues song. He can play early rock and roll. He can play gospel. He can do anything, and a lot of that has to do with where he’s from.”

Recorded at Auerbach’s Nashville-based Easy Eye Sound Studio, Black Bayou saw the pair adopting a much different creative process. Rather than write songs beforehand, as they did on 2017’s Goin’ Platinum and 2021’s Sharecropper’s Son, they devised everything in the studio, with Auerbach leading a backing band of some of the world’s best players, including: Auerbach’s Black Keys bandmate Patrick Carney (drums), G. Love & Special Sauce‘s Jeffrey Clemens (drums), Eric Deaton (bass), legendary Hill Country blues guitarist Kenny Brown and vocalists Christy Johnson and LaQuindrelyn McMahon, Finley’s daughter and granddaughter.

They worked quickly, devising their parts spontaneously and usually getting everything in one take. “I started singing, and they started playing,” Finley explains. “That’s how we made the album. It wasn’t written out. Nobody used a pencil and paper. We just sang and played together in the studio.”  The album and its material reveals Finley as a truly original Louisiana storyteller, who evokes the place and its unique — and deeply influential culture — for the rest of the world. 

In the lead up to the album’s release, I’ve managed to write about three of the album’s singles: 

“What Goes Around (Comes Around),” a swampy, blues rocker that subtly recalls Creedence Clearwater Revival‘s “Green River” built around an irresistibly funky and shuffling 12 bar blues-driven groove paired around the collaborators’ unerring knack for anthemic hooks and choruses. The song serves as the perfect vehicle for his whiskey soaked gospel-like croons and shouts warning the listener about the weighty impact of karma.

“You gotta reap what you sow… do to another what you would have done to you. Be real, tell the truth. For all those out there hurting, you just have to keep the faith,” the JOVM mainstay says of the song. “I’ve seen it over the years, especially with my career – you got to put joy out into the world and it will come back. It’s never been anything short of the truth for me.” 

“Sneakin’ Around” is a classic blues and soul tale of deception, deceit and a bit of deserved comeuppance, featuring Finley’s heartbroken yet defiantly proud narrator describing how he found out his lover was repeatedly cheating on him. This is paired with a swampy and gritty, Motown-meets-Muscle Shoals-like groove complete with a big horn line, and a scorching guitar solo. 

“Whatever is in the dark is gonna come to the light, so don’t play around,” Finley says. 

“Nobody Wants To Be Lonely,” an old school, fried slice of deep southern soul with cornbread and collard greens built around R&B/soul guitar licks, a laid back funky groove and a steady drum pattern paired with Finley’s achingly tender vocal. The song offers a message of understanding, resilience and hope in the face of isolation, aging — and our inevitable mortality. Although rooted in some of Finley’s experiences and those of folks he knows, the song speaks of a universal, deeply embittering experience. “This song is about the many people who have been forgotten,” Finley explains. “Their kids drop them off and go with their lives. I go down occasionally and perform at the old folks home in Bernice. Just take my guitar and play for thirty minutes or so, try to get them to dance, try to bring some joy to them.”
 

Black Bayou‘s fourth and latest single “Waste of Time” is a gritty and bluesy stomp that sounds like it would have easily fit in the legendary catalogs of Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters and the like, built around twinkling keys, fuzzy power chords and Finley’s whiskey soaked wail, describing struggling to survive in the big city with your dignity intact. The song is rooted in the sort of lived-in, desperate and hungry specificity that should feel familiar to anyone, who has made the big risk of having big dreams and picking up their lives to accomplish them.

Featuring footage shoot by Andy M. Hawke and edited by Tim Hardiman, the accompanying video for “Waste of Time” was filmed at Easy Eye Studios and intimately captures the album’s creation — set to the anthemic album single. The video also features appearances from The Black Keys’ Patrick Carney and Dan Auerbach, along with the rest of the album’s collaborators.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstay Robert Finley Shares Slow-Burning Ballad “Nobody Wants To Be Lonely”

69 year-old Winnsboro, LA-born, Bernice, LA-based singer/songwriter and JOVM mainstay Robert Finley‘s highly-anticipated fourth album, Black Bayou is slated for an October 27, 2023 release through Easy Eye Sound. Black Bayou sees the JOVM mainstay continuing his wildly successful collaboration with Dan Auerbach. Much like its immediate predecessor, the new album’s material is a deeply personal portrait — but this time of Finley’s Louisiana, from an insider, who has lived there all of his life. Sonically, the material coalesces all of the vibrant sounds of the bayou, including gospel, blues, rock and more. 

The result is a vivid collection of songs that depicts life in North Louisiana — with Finley playing the role of charismatic and knowledgeable tour guide. “I think that’s one of the biggest things about the album is it tells the truth and the truth will set you free,” Finley told American Songwriter.

“It’s amazing to realize how much of an impact Louisiana has had on the world’s music,” Dan Auerbach says in press notes, “and Robert embodies all of that. He can play a blues song. He can play early rock and roll. He can play gospel. He can do anything, and a lot of that has to do with where he’s from.”

Recorded at Auerbach’s Nashville-based Easy Eye Sound Studio, Black Bayou saw the pair adopting a much different creative process. Rather than write songs beforehand, as they did on 2017’s Goin’ Platinum and 2021’s Sharecropper’s Son, they devised everything in the studio, with Auerbach leading a backing band of some of the world’s best players, including: Auerbach’s Black Keys bandmate Patrick Carney (drums), G. Love & Special Sauce‘s Jeffrey Clemens (drums), Eric Deaton (bass), legendary Hill Country blues guitarist Kenny Brown and vocalists Christy Johnson and LaQuindrelyn McMahon, Finley’s daughter and granddaughter.

They worked quickly, devising their parts spontaneously and usually getting everything in one take. “I started singing, and they started playing,” Finley explains. “That’s how we made the album. It wasn’t written out. Nobody used a pencil and paper. We just sang and played together in the studio.”  The album and its material reveals Finley as a truly original Louisiana storyteller, who evokes the place and its unique — and deeply influential culture — for the rest of the world. 

In the lead up to the album’s release, I’ve managed to write about two of the album’s singles:

“What Goes Around (Comes Around),” a swampy, blues rocker that subtly recalls Creedence Clearwater Revival‘s “Green River” built around an irresistibly funky and shuffling 12 bar blues-driven groove paired around the collaborators’ unerring knack for anthemic hooks and choruses. The song serves as the perfect vehicle for his whiskey soaked gospel-like croons and shouts warning the listener about the weighty impact of karma.

“You gotta reap what you sow… do to another what you would have done to you. Be real, tell the truth. For all those out there hurting, you just have to keep the faith,” the JOVM mainstay says of the song. “I’ve seen it over the years, especially with my career – you got to put joy out into the world and it will come back. It’s never been anything short of the truth for me.” 

“Sneakin’ Around” is a classic blues and soul tale of deception, deceit and a bit of deserved comeuppance, featuring Finley’s heartbroken yet defiantly proud narrator describing how he found out his lover was repeatedly cheating on him. This is paired with a swampy and gritty, Motown-meets-Muscle Shoals-like groove complete with a big horn line, and a scorching guitar solo. 

“Whatever is in the dark is gonna come to the light, so don’t play around,” Finley says. 

Black Bayou’s third and latest single “Nobody Wants To Be Lonely” is an old school, fried slice of deep southern soul built around R&B/soul guitar licks, a laid back funky groove and a steady drum pattern paired with Finley’s achingly tender vocal. The song offers a message of understanding, resilience and hope in the face of isolation, aging — and our inevitable mortality. Although rooted in some of Finley’s experiences and those of folks he knows, the song speaks of a universal, deeply embittering experience.

“This song is about the many people who have been forgotten,” Finley explains. “Their kids drop them off and go with their lives. I go down occasionally and perform at the old folks home in Bernice. Just take my guitar and play for thirty minutes or so, try to get them to dance, try to bring some joy to them.”
 

Continuing his ongoing collaboration with director Tim Hardiman, the accompanying video begins with Finley waking to a Dear John letter from his lover. But all is not lost. Throughout there’s a sense of hope: We see Finley reunite with a bunch of old pals to play the song. Sunlight streams through the dark halls that Finley walks down, as well.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Abby Carroll Shares Gorgeous and Heartbreaking “Lovers to Strangers”

Abby Carroll is a Greenville, SC-born singer/songwriter, who’s currently a songwriting and music business major at Nashville‘s Belmont University. Carroll has been releasing self-produced music influenced by Aimee Mann since she was 15.

The Greenville-born, Nashville-based artist’s latest single “Lovers to Strangers” is the first of three new releases that she has worked on with a local producer. Built around strummed guitar, an enormous sing-along worthy hook and chorus, Carroll’s yearning delivery, “Lovers to Strangers” brings Soccer Mommy and Julia Jacklin to mind.

In “Lovers to Strangers,” Carroll chronicles the life of the relationship — from swooning beginnings to heartbreaking, bittersweet end with a lived-in specificity that feels personal yet deeply universal.