Tag: New Audio

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Comprised of Morgan Fox, Andrew Garcia and Kenneth Draper, the Sacramento, CA-based noise rock trio So Stressed initially began as a largely improvisational noise project. And although it took two-and-a-half years to write and record, the trio’s 2015 full-length debut The Unlawful Trade of Greco-Roman Art had material which took on a harsh, cold and digital-based sound, as the band’s Morgan Fox explained in press notes. The band’s highly-anticipated sophomore effort Please Let Me Know will come on the heels of a recently released 7 inch though Ghost Ramp Records, and unlike their debut, the material on their sophomore effort was written in less than a year, and was quickly recorded, mixes and mastered by their friend Pat Hillis at Earth Tone Studio.

As Morgan Fox goes on to explain in press notes “As far as making the record, we were definitely less focused on a specific sound when we were writing this . . . This one pretty harsh too, but we also allowed ourselves to kind of do whatever we wanted as long as all three of us liked it and it was fun to play. Ugly noise is cool, but so is melody.” Interestingly, Please Let Me Know‘s first single “The King’s Wig” is a blistering and furious barnburner, complete with rapid-fire tempo changes, howled and shouted vocals — and sonically the songs is reminiscent of Cinemechanica‘s equally blistering self-titled album while possessing a bit of ache at its core.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Sofia Kourtesis is a Berlin, Germany-based DJ, producer and activist, who as a producer and DJ has developed a reputation for a sound that possesses elements of tech house, dream-pop, new wave and others while frequently using anything at her fingertips to create something unique — and interestingly enough has been described by some as falling somewhere between the minimalism of Aphex Twin and the ambiance of Jai Paul.

Over the holidays, Kourtesis released a sensual and atmospheric remix of Me Succeeds‘ “Cool Kids” in which she uses a chopped and reversed sample of her uncle’s voice, skittering drum programming and layers of shimmering and  gently undulating synths which gives the original a mischievous yet hopeful air — and a result, a completely different air from the slow-burning and industrial-leaning original.

As Kourtesis explains of her remix “The Cool Kids remix is really energetic and playful, I thought about our new generation, these people who are young and cool on their own special unique form. Kids wanna change things and maybe save the world someday.”

 

 

New Audio by William Ruben Helms

With the 2015 release of their excellent, sophomore effort Manual, the Brazilian psych rock quartet Boogarins received attention internationally and the band quickly became a JOVM mainstay artist for a decidedly Brazilian take on psych rock as their work has drawn from their country’s incredibly rich and diverse musical and cultural history — with lyrics completely written and sung in Brazilian Portuguese, making them among the forefront of an burgeoning Brazilian rock renaissance.

During a busy run of international touring, the Latin Grammy-nominated act holed up in house near Austin, TX‘s SPACE Studios for most of the summer, and they spent their time writing and recording new material in between a several weeks- long Austin club residency, which included the recently released  “Elogio a Instituição do Cinismo,” a single that’s a decided sonic departure as the band incorporated thumping beats and backbeats, swirling electronics and abrasive and buzzing guitars to create a malevolently brewing storm of sound that evoked both a fucked up hallucination and a rowdy, dance-floor friendly stomp.

The band’s latest single was quietly released the hallucinatory, Beatles “Revolution # 9” meets Middle Eastern and classical Indian music-like single “Olhos” as a special Christmas gift to their friends and fans, adding to a big Christmas Day 2016 bounty that included Run The Jewels‘ third album, Run The Jewels 3.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of the internationally renowned founding and primary members, the Washington, DC-based DJ and production duo Rob Garza and Eric Hilton, Thievery Corporation have developed a reputation for a sound that meshes elements of electronic music, dub, bossa nova, acid jazz, reggae, Indian classical musical, hip-hop and Middle Eastern music, as well as for collaborating with an diverse array of artists including Rob Myers, Loulou Ghelichkhani, Natalia Clavier, Frank ‘Booty Lock’ Mitchell, Mr. Lif, Jeff Franca, Ashish Vyas and others, who have contributed lyrics in English, Spanish, French, Italian, Persian, Portuguese, Romanian and Hindi.

The duo’s forthcoming full-length effort, The Temple of I & I is slated for a February 10, 2017 release through the duo’s ESL Music and the album is deeply influenced by the sounds and riddims of Jamaica, making it arguably their most dub and reggae-influenced effort to date. And the album’s latest single “Let the Chalice Blaze” is a breezy and atmospheric bit of dub that subtly owes a debt to drum ‘n’ bass, smooth jazz and minimalist electronic — and they do so in a trippy yet funky fashion.

 

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site over the course of this past year, you’d be familiar with the  London-based indie pop duo and recent JOVM mainstays Ten Fe. Comprised of Comprised of Ben Moorhouse and Leo Duncan, the duo initially won the attention of the blogosphere with the release of anthemic singles  “Make Me Better,” and “In The Air,” which they’ve followed up with release of “Turn” and “Overflow” off the duo’s much-anticipated full-length debut effort Hit The Light, which is slated for a February 3, 2017 release through Some Kind of Love Records/[PIAS] Recordings.

Recently the British duo recorded a cover of Underworld‘s 1996 thunderous, club banger “Born Slippy” as Christmas gift for their fans and the blogosphere at large in which the duo created a moody, New Order-inspired take that manages to further cement the duo’s reputation for anthemic hooks paired shimmering guitars  and atmospheric synths, along with four-on-the-floor drumming.

 

 

 

 

 

New Audio by William Ruben Helms

Perhaps best known as the guitarist in Mikal Cronin‘s backing band and the bassist in Fuzz, Chad Ubovich is part of the larger Bay Area/Ty Segall/Thee Oh Sees universe — and over the past couple of years Ubovich has been receiving attention leading his own band Meatbodies, which features Ubovich along with collaborators Patrick Nolan and Kevin Boog, a band which specializes in equally weird, scuzzy, fo-fi rock. Interestingly enough, the trio’s forthcoming sophomore effort ALICE will reportedly be a “heavy-pop” concept album primarily focusing on war, sex, politics and religion and has the trio expanding on their sound a bit, as you’ll hear on the shuffling, Bowie and Bolan meets psych rock new single “Creature Feature.”

 

 

 

 

 



Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Quickly establishing herself as a go-to cellist, who has worked with Peter Gabriel, Sting, Ane Brun and Maia Hirasawa, Linnea Olsson is Swedish singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, who has begun to see international praise from the likes of The New York Times and The 405 for her self-proclaimed cello-driven fantasy pop. Olsson’s  latest single “The Weekend” is a simply put a stunningly gorgeous and swooning track that sonically speaking reminds me of quite a bit of the work of K. Ishibashi and his solo recording project Kishi Bashi as a classical-leaning string arrangement is paired with extremely modern and somewhat ironic lyrics in which the song’s narrator talks about drinking enough to forget everything that’s happened in the past week or so and treating the weekend as a much needed escape — from everything; however, the narrator’s escapist fantasies involve getting revenge on those who wronged her by becoming the biggest, most fantastic star on the face of the earth.

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Dum Dum Girls’ Kristin Welchez’s Synth Pop-Based Solo Project Releases a Slickly-Produced, Primal Scream-Inspired B Side

Although initially started as a solo recording project, the renowned indie rock at Dum Dum Girls had been led for the better part of a decade and through a critically applauded EP and three full-length albums by its creative mastermind, primary songwriter and frontperson Kristin Welchez, best known by her stage name Dee Dee. Welchez’s latest solo recording project Kristin Kontrol not only finds Welchez shedding her previous persona and performing and writing under her real name; the project also is a decided change of sonic direction from Dum Dum Girls, as she ditches the guitars and moody post-punk with a slickly produced New Wave and contemporary electro pop sound of her latest effort, X-Communicate which was released to great fanfare earlier this year.

Interestingly, her latest single “Baby Are You In?” was initially recorded during the X-Communicate sessions and was left off the album. As Welchez explains “I really regret not including it on the album. It was super fun to make — Kurt Feldman and I left loose on the production, trying to pin down that nebulous aggression from Evil Heat-era Primal Scream but it let it cork off the party at the end. ” And although it was previously unreleased until recently, the single has become a staple of Welchez’s live sets. After listening to it a few times before writing this, I can see why — Welchez’s gossamer yet sultry vocals are paired with a slick production featuring layers of undulating synths, ominously swirling electronics and industrial clang and clatter with an enormous, dance floor-friendly hook. And while danceable, the song does retain Welchez’s introspective and deeply personal lyrics.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Initially begun as the solo recording project of Salt Lake City, UT-based founding member and frontman Jordon Strang and now currently a quartet, No Sun has quietly developed a regional reputation for a harder, more modern take on shoegaze that draws from past masters of the genre such as Swervedriver, RIDE and Failure and contemporaries including Pity Sex, Silversun Pickups and others as you’ll hear on the anthemic and forceful “It’s Happening Again,” off the Salt Lake City-based band’s soon-to-be released debut effort It’s Only, slated for release next month through The Native Sound Records.

While reportedly having a title that draws from a famous scene from Twin Peaks, No Sun’s latest single as Strang explained to the folks at CLRVYNT the song is “about coping. It’s about delving within yourself during times of inner turmoil, and being further isolated by doing so. To me, depression is like an ebb and flow that is constantly coming and going, taking me away from my peers or loved ones and drawing my attention inward. This song focuses on how — despite how collected people can seem on the surface — they may be fighting their own inner battle.” Interestingly, the song possesses and evokes a similar tension in which uncertainty and turmoil gently bubble up from a seemingly tranquil surface.

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Zealand Editors are a mysterious New Zealand-based electronic music production and artist act that specializes in a collage-like production style that borrows liberally from tons of samples — and in the case of their latest single “But It’s Too Late,” the production team used “a few bakers’ dozens worth of sources” to create a sound that’s reminiscent of JOVM mainstay Rhythm Scholar, Sneaker Pimps, Portishead and others  — but with a hazy, kaleidoscopic feel.