Tag: New Audio

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

If you’ve been frequenting JOVM over the past few months, you may recall that I’ve written about Nashville, TN-based electro pop trio BASECAMP. Comprised of Aaron Miller, Aaron C. Harmon, and Jordan Reyes, the trio have quickly developed a reputation for a sound that equally draws from electronic music and the past 10-15 years of R&B and pop music; in fact, “Watch My Back,” arguably one of the best singles I’ve heard this year, and Greater Than‘s opening track paired silky smooth vocals with skittering percussion, glitchy electronics, chilly, swirling electronics, glistening synths and a tight, memorable hook to craft a sound that is reminiscent of Timbaland’s revolutionary work with Missy Elliot and Aaliyah.

The Nashville-based trio’s latest single “In My Veins” features Del The Funky Homosapien one of the more unheralded emcees around and Billie Black on a song that sonically manages to owe debts to classic house music and contemporary R&B as the song pairs arpeggio synths, stuttering and skittering drum programming, strummed guitar, wobbling low end and swirling electronics with silky smooth vocals on a sweaty and sexy dance-floor orientated track that compares lust and love to a powerful addiction. Chemically speaking, love is awfully close to being addicted to chocolate, caffeine and several other drugs.

Billie Black contributes some sultry vocals to the song’s hook while Del The Funky Homosapien contribues about 16 bars that expands on the song’s title. and compares being in love to shooting heroin — and in turn, being incredibly difficult to stop.

What “In My Veins” does is further cement the Nashville-based trio’s for slickly produced, sensual electro pop that clearly draws from R&B and dance music — in this case, house music — while possessing an emotional directness and thoughtfulness that seems all too rare.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Karolina Komstedt and Johan Angergård, the Ahus, Sweden-based electro pop duo Club 8 have a long-held reputation for being incredibly difficult to pigeonhole since their formation in 1995. Initially, the Swedish duo began as a Bossa Nova-inspired guitar pop act with the release of their debut effort, Nouvelle.  But with the 1998 release of their sophomore effort, The Friend I Once Had, the duo went through a complete and radical change of sonic direction, as that effort had the duo writing electro dance music. The duo’s next three albums, released between 2001 and 2003 had the duo switching things up with material that leaned towards indie soul.

Up until 2010, Angergård had served as produced — until the 2013 release of Above The City; however, Angergård takes up production duties on the duo’s soon-to-be released Pleasure slated for a November 20 release through Labrador Records. And as Komstedt explains in press notes, “Pleasure is an album about love, sex and jealousy. Musically, it is possibly our most focused release to date.” Interestingly, the album’s latest single “Late Night” is a swooningly wistful and melancholic song that looks at a love affair, viewing it as immediately exciting and passionate — that is until that initial excitement wanes and the bright colors of the relationship gently turn grey. At its very core, the song’s narrator clings to seemingly old-fashioned romantic dreams and notions, and their nostalgia, all while desperately wishing that feeling would come back. It seems to subtly suggest that while love is something that we all desperately desire, relationships with other people can be confusing and hellish — and yet, we want so badly that we’ll do anything for it.

Sonically, the song pairs wistful nostalgia with layers of glistening and undulating synths reminiscent of Stevie Nicks‘ “Stand Back,” and The Human League’s “Don’t You Want Me?” and Komstedt’s hushed coos to craft a song that’s a slickly produced pop confection — but from the viewpoint of someone who’s been in a number of love relationships and has seen them repeatedly fail and yet remarkably hasn’t had their hope beaten down.

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Multi-Grammy nominated, Grammy-winning, Canadian-Jamaican DJ and reggae vocalist Shaggy is probably best known for his mega-hit singles “Boombastic,” “It Wasn’t Me,” “Hey, Sexy Lady” and “Angel.”  More than enough ink has been spilled throughout Shaggy’s career but I will say that “Boombastic” and “It Wasn’t Me” are so hugely popular that you’ll still occasionally hear both of those songs at parties, more than 15 years after their initial releases.

Miami, FL-based pop artist Brika has been something of a mainstay on JOVM as I’ve written about her a number of times over the past year or so. And in that time, Brika received attention across the blogosphere for an electro pop sound that at times seemed to owe a debt to trip-hop and jazz. Interestingly, Brika recently covered Shaggy’s mega-hit “It Wasn’t Me,” turning the uptempo reggae song into a slow-burning, sensual neo-soul-leaning reggae reworking that completely changes the song’s melody while employing the use of strummed guitar, organ, skittering percussion, double bass and Brika’s breathy coos. Certainly, by having a woman sing the song’s lyrics, it creates a completely different interpretation of the song while retaining the original’s spirit.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Karen O. (vocals), Nick Zimmer (guitar) and Brian Chase (drums), the New York-based trio Yeah Yeah Yeahs have been a critically and commercially successful act with the release of their four full-length efforts, Fever to Tell (2003), Show Your Bones (2006), It’s Blitz! (2009), and Mosquito (2014). Interestingly, out of all of their efforts, it’s the trio’s third full-length effort, It’s Blitz! that manages to be a major change in sonic direction for the band as the material primarily employs atmospheric electronics, layers of buzzing and undulating synths. And although the album’s first three or four songs are arguably the most dance-floor ready the trio have ever released, the album’s remaining songs manage to be moodily atmospheric. Interestingly, the entire album is an exercise in restraint as Zimmer’s guitar playing and Karen O’s vocals are carefully reined in.

Album single “Skeletons” is a spectral and atmospheric song that pairs gently undulating synths, gentle yet dramatic drumming and Karen O’s ethereal vocals in a song that gently builds up tension until the song’s quiet conclusion. The song evokes wisps of smoke curling upward and dissipating into the ether . . .

Comprised of three long-time friends, Liz Drummond, Hannah Field, and Annie Hamilton, the Australian-based trio Little May have quickly become one of their homeland’s most buzzed about bands with the release of their debut effort For The Company, which was released last month to critical praise from the likes of WNYC, Stereogum, Noisey, Billboard and others. And over the past month or so, the Australian trio had been on a lengthy North American tour, which ended last night; but before their tour ended, the Drummond, Field and Hamilton released a cover of Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ “Skeletons” that features a gorgeous three part harmonies paired with guitar chords played through reverb, atmospheric electronics and military-styled drumming, which naturally changes the song’s arrangement. It’s a fairly straightforward cover — but it manages to be equally spectral and gorgeous cover nonetheless.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Rhythm Scholar’s 70s Jazz and Funk Reworking of Audio Two’s Classic “Top Billin'”

Although “Top Billin’” relegated Brooklyn-based duo Audio Two to one-hit wonder status, the song has managed to be one of hip-hop’s most beloved. most important, most sampled songs as a number of artists across both […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Over the course of this site’s five year history, I’ve written quite a bit about New York-based singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Rene Lopez, who is among a group of incredibly talented and shamefully under-appreciated artists I’ve covered and have gotten to know in some fashion. And throughout those five years, Lopez has uncompromisingly refused to be pigeonholed into one particular genre. E.L.S. (short for Electric Latin Soul), Lopez’s 2011 release, saw the New York-based artist meshing salsa, boogaloo, old school hip-hop, merengue and electronica to create a sound that was a loving homage to Latino New York and to old school New York I grew up in, but with an inventive, modern re-interpretation. It’s an amiably swaggering, upbeat party album with sounds that grab you by the hand and pulls you towards the dance floor.

Paint the Moon Gold, his last and most recent full-length released in 2014 was comprised of stripped down compositions consisting of live instrumentation only — vocals, guitar, bass, percussion, horns, flute, etc. — while drawing deeply from salsa, and 70s Brazilian music. In some way, that material brought Lopez back to the music that his father played as a member of Tipica 73 — and is just as danceable; but importantly, the material on that album seemed to come from a deeply personal place, as lyrically and thematically,  the material expresses the thoughts, sentiments, regrets, compromises and desires of a worldly, experienced man, who has looked back at his life with a sense of amazement and disbelief and the recognition life is at times remarkably painful, remarkably strange and incredibly, profoundly wonderful — sometimes simultaneously.

Lopez’s most recent recorded effort, Love Has No Mercy was released at the end of last year, and from his previous efforts it would seem to be the most dramatic change of sonic direction in his career as the material is comprised of slinkily seductive synth-based R&B and funk, inspired by Prince, The Gap Band, Rick James, Chic and others. However, as Lopez had told me in an interview, he grew up in a household where salsa and merengue and disco were routinely played, and his first band The Authority was deeply influenced by his love of the aforementioned Prince. So in some way, Lopez has come back full circle.

Now, if you’ve been frequenting JOVM over the past couple of months, you may recall that I wrote about Lopez’s then-recently released single “Heavy, Baby Heavy,” a single that not only continues Lopez’s long-held fascination and love of all things funk, but was also the first released single in his Jam of the Month series. (Presumably, the Single of the Month series is meant to build up buzz for a new recorded effort, which he and his backing band have been working on for quite some time.) The third single of the Single of the Month series, “Trouble Lovin’ Lady” consists of squiggling and trembling synths, a brass section that punctuates the song’s chorus, a sinuous and funky bass line, propulsive drums in a song that channels Rick James’  “Ghetto Life,” “Give It To Me,” and “Superfreak,” The Gap Band’s “You Dropped A Bomb On Me” and others — but with a sexy horn solo at the song’s bridge; in fact, the song sounds as though it could have easily been released in 1982. Simply put it’s a funky, party-friendly song that drive you to the dance floor — right now.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Tale Of Us is a Berlin-based production and electronic music artist duo comprised of Carmine Conte and Matteo Milleri. And over the course of the past five years, the duo of Conte and Milleri have developed an internationally recognized reputation for material that possesses an exacting precision (they’ve been known to discard hundreds of tracks in their search for the perfect beat, the perfect sound) and for techno that’s deeply emotive.

“North Star,” the the first single off their double A side “North Star”/”Silent Space” consists of layers of shimmering and undulating synths, tweeter and woofer rocking low end, skittering percussion to craft a song that’s reminiscent of both Snap!‘s “Rhythm Is A Dancer” and Octo Octa‘s “Please Don’t Leave” in the sense that all three songs are atmospheric yet carefully composed club bangers in which, notes are never wasted.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Innocent? is a New York-based emcee, who first received attention across the blogosphere with the release of the Love It or Hate It double album. The New York-based emcee teamed up with Brooklyn-based Stan Da Man on Love It’s follow-up, Whip Appeal, which T.H.E.M. Recordings released last month.

The EP’s latest single “Old Souls” is a bonus track off Love It and it features Innocent? and the legendary Sadat X rhyming about how things were done back in the day and how today, it’s a much more phony, superficial and distrustful hip-hop industry and scene for artists — and even fans. And they manage to do so over a sample consisting of boom-bap beats and a looped, bluesy guitar that gives the song an old school, stomping, shuffling swagger. It’s yet another example of real hip-hop — of talented emcees spitting fire over dope beats.

New Audio by William Ruben Helms

If you’ve been frequenting JOVM over the past two months or so, you’d know that I’ve been experimenting with a monthly Spotify playlist, which features the songs I’ve reviewed throughout the past month, as well as the songs I’ve mentioned as references or influences. It should create an extremely eclectic and extensive playlist, and can sever as a way for you to catch up on the past month. In fact, this month we start off with the legendary Lee “Scratch” Perry, cover punk rock, indie rock, indie electro pop and more, before we end with the Danish indie electro pop duo, Reptile Youth.

Of course, there are a few occasions where some songs aren’t available as of the time of posting — and there’s a chance you might see them later on in the process. But in the meantime, check it out; it’s the perfect way to catch up with the goings on over the month.

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

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Bobby Moynahan (vocals), Esli Sugich (bass), and Scott Eton (keyboards and guitar), the trio of Ballerina Black, have received praise across the blogosphere for a sound that my colleagues have described as “a collage of mope rock and grave wave;” in fact, their sound on their earliest releases reminded me quite a bit of Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails and 4AD  Records as it struck me as being a slickly produced, anxious goth-based electro rock.

Adding to a growing national profile, the band has opened for the likes of Interpol and Silversun Pickups, have seen some of their singles receive airplay on radio stations across the globe and have played a number of sold out shows in their hometown of Los Angeles. And to continue the growing buzz around the band, they’re planning to embark on a tour to close out 2015; however, in the meantime, the band has released their latest single “Chiffon,” which is a decided change in sonic direction as it’s arguably one of the sunniest and breeziest songs they’ve released to date. Not only is the song much more upbeat with much of the gloom and doom being lifted from the proceedings, the song sounds as though it subtly leans towards shoegaze as the song consists of lush, shimmering guitar chords, propulsive drumming and Moynahan’s plaintive and ethereal vocals. And although swooning and seemingly channelling 120 Minutes-era alternative rock, there’s something under the surface that’s tense and menacing.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Kishi Bashi’s Swooning and Romantic Cover of The Talking Heads “This Must Be The Place”

As a child, I was a huge fan of Talking Heads. I’ve probably seen and heard Stop Making Sense more times than about 80% of the population before I turned 15 and several of their albums — […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Rishi Dihr (lead vocals, sitar, bass), Jean-Gabriel Lambert (drums, backing vocals), and Miles Dupire (drums, backing vocals), the Montreal, QC-based trio Elephant Stone have become something of a mainstay on JOVM, as I’ve written about them quite a bit over the past couple of years.

Now, for those of you who are unfamiliar with the site or with the band, some back story is necessary: the band led by Dihr, a renowned sitar player, who’s formerly a member of The High Dials and has collaborated with members of the renowned, Austin, TX-based psych rock band The Black Angels, has developed a reputation for a psych rock sound that frequently employs elements of traditional Eastern instrumentation with Western songwriting in a way that’s reminiscent of the 60s psychedelic sound pioneered by The Beatles, The Kinks and others. With the release of Canadian trio’s third full-length effort, The Three Poisons last year, the band’s sound went through a major change in sonic direction in which the sitar wasn’t as much of a primary focus; in fact, sitar was retained here and there to add sonic coloring — and to retain the overall psychedelic feel.

The band’s latest single “The Devil’s Shelter” is a collaboration that features The Black Angels’ frontman Alex Maas. And as Dihr explained in press notes, “I knew all along that the dark mood of this song needed something even darker. Lo and behold, a Black Angel came to my rescue. Alex Maas and I have been friends for well over 10 years and I try to collaborate with him as much as possible.  I sent him a bunch of my demos for our new album to get his feedback. Of all the songs, I felt this one was missing something. He offered to re-sing this whole song and I could do with it what I wanted. On the first playback of his vocals, I knew the song had what it needed. His voice can summon Tibetan monks, Nico and the devil all at once. He definitely brought the darkness to my light.”

Interestingly, the latest Elephant Stone single is a marked change in sonic direction as it begins with a tense, undulating synths, shimmering sitar chords, propulsive drumming paired with Dihr’s vocals on the song’s verses and Maas’ vocals on the chorus and hook to create a song that feels and sounds ominous and murky — and as though it channels The Black Angels “Don’t Play With Guns.”

The band will be embarking on a West Coast tour throughout November. Check out the tour dates and info below.

ELEPHANT STONE WEST COAST TOUR
11/06 – Montréal QC – Turbo Haüs (Info)
11/12 – San Diego CA – Whistle Stop (Info)
11/13 – Los Angeles CA – Hotel Cafe (Info)
11/14 – Santa Ana CA – Constellation Room (Info)
11/18 – Seattle WA – LoFi (Info)
11/19 – Vancouver BC – The Cobalt (Info)
11/20 – Portland OR – Bunk Bar (Info)
11/21 – Oakland CA – The New Parish for Echo Fest (Info)
Single Review by William Ruben Helms

If you’ve been frequenting JOVM over the past couple of years, you may be familiar with the Jersey City, NJ-based trio Overlake. Comprised of founding members Tom Barrett (vocals, guitar) and Lysa Opfer (vocals, bass) and Nick D’Amore (drums), the trio can trace their origins to when Overlake’s founding duo Barrett and Opfer were in a previous band, and the duo began bonding over a mutual love of shoegaze and 80s and 90s alt rock.  As Opfer recalled in press notes, her and Barrett would often stay late after practices  normally with Opfer on a Rhodes piano and Barrett on drums, jamming and creating songs that were largely influenced by My Bloody Valentine, Pavement and Sonic Youth. And about a year after those jam sessions, the band started working on the material that would become their debut full-length, Sighs which Killing Horse Records released last year.

Initially, the band started as a duo but they recently recruited local drummer, Nick D’Amore to help flesh out the band’s sound.  Since the release of their debut effort Sighs, the newly constituted trio have worked on a 7 inch, “Travelogue”/”Winter Is Why,” which officially drops today.

The 7 inch’s A side single “Travelogue” is a breezy refinement of the sound that first captured my attention as its comprised of shimmering reverb-y guitar chords, propulsive drumming, ethereal boy-girl harmonies and an anthemic hook that makes the song sound as though it draws influence from the pioneers of shoegaze, RIDE. The trio will be embarking on a tour through November and more extensively through 2016, as they put the finishing touches for their much-anticipated sophomore effort slated for a release late in 2016. Check out tour dates below.

FALL TOUR DATES

11/1 – Brooklyn NY – The Grand Victory w/ Sink Tapes, Superpony
11/2 – Bethlehem PA – The Funhouse
11/3 – Raleigh NC – Slim’s w/ Make Light, Michael Venutolo-Mantovani
11/4 – Athens GA – Flicker Theatre & Bar w/ Sound of Ceres, Spaceflyte
11/5 – Nashville TN – Springwater Supper Club w/ Nightblonde
11/6 – Memphis TN – Murphy’s w/ Jack Alberson, Matthew Trisler
11/7 – Kansas City MO – Record Bar w/ Birth Defects, Wet Ones
11/8 – Lincoln NE – Duffy’s  w/ Powers, Gordon
11/9 – Des Moines IA – Lefty’s w/ Men in Lead Masks & Special Guest
11/11 – Columbus OH – Broken Records & Beehives In-Store
11/11 – Columbus OH – King Avenue 5  w/ Tethers
11/12 – Philadelphia PA – The Fire w/ Teeel
11/13 – Asbury Park NJ – Asbury Park Yacht Club w/ Dead Stars, Seaside Caves