Tag: New Single

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Last year, the Northern Italian psych punk act Bee Bee Sea released their sophomore full-length album Sonic Boomerang to praise from NPR, Clash Magazine and others for a high-energy, fuzzy power chord sound with elements of garage rock and psych rock that’s generally been compared to Thee Oh Sees and King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard among others, earning the band attention and praise from outside of their small, industrial hometown. And once you’ll hear the furious and frenetic album single and title track “Sonic Boomerang,” it’ll no longer be a surprise as to why they’ve so quickly gained the attention of both European and American press —  fuzzy power chords, some explosive guitar pyrotechnics,  a forceful and motorik-like groove, shouted vocals and a rousing mosh-pit friendly hook.

The Italian psych rockers are in the middle of their first North American tour to support their critically applauded sophomore album. Check out the rest of the tour dates below.

Tour Dates 

7/23 – Atlanta, GA – The EARL

7/24 – Memphis, TN – Hi Tone

7/26 – Phoenix, AZ – Crescent Ballroom

7/27 – Costa Mesa, CA – The Wayfarer

7/28 – Los Angeles, CA – Zebulon Café Concert

7/31 – San Francisco, CA – Elbo Room ( with DJ Sid Presley)

8/02 – Seattle, WA – Funhouse Seattle

8/03, 04, 05 – Happy Valley, OR – Pickathon

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms
With the release of her first two singles “Gold Angel” and “Armour,” the London-born and-based based singer/songwriter and musician Minke(pronounced as to rhyme with the word “link”) quickly became a buzz-worthy artist: “Gold Angel” received airplay on Zane Lowe’s Beats 1 Radio show, was featured on Spotify‘s New Music Fridayand Pop Rising playlists and was a Hype Machine#1  — within a two week period. The track also received praise from the The Line of Best Fit for its “elements of pop, rock, soul and R&B,” and “guitar riffs, mingled with understated vocals like curls of smoke in a darkened bar.” Building upon a growing profile, the up-and-coming London-born and-based singer/songwriter and musician released “Armour” to praise from Billboard, who said the song was “a female empowerment anthem about letting go of your defenses and learning how to be vulnerable, especially with those closest to you.”
Minke’s latest single “Maybe 25” was co-written by the up-and-coming British artist and her producer Rory Andrew and the single which pairs Minke’s tender, ethereal and yearning vocals with twinkling piano, reverb drenched guitar chords, thumping beats, brief bits of industrial clang and clatter, and a soaring hook within a song that to my ears makes sonic nods to Adele and London Grammar but with a self assured, effortless yet soulful quality. Interestingly as Minke explains in press notes, the track was written about the emptiness and frustrations of online dating, and the hold technology has over us. “As I started to write, it became less and less about that, and more a general observation on connection. We’ve never been more connected by disconnected at the same time. It’s made us more insular, less open to having a conversation with a stranger and maintaining eye contact for more than a second without looking at your phone. So it’s about longing about something more than that, whatever that is. Something real in a seemingly disposable world. Questioning if that’s still possible. Questioning if it’s got the better of you.”
The up-and-coming British artist is currently working on her debut EP, which is slated for a Fall release, and there are plans for a North American tour to support it but before that I think we’ll be hearing quite a bit more from her.
Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Diplo and Mark Ronson Team Up For Soulful and Slickly Produced House Music

Born Thomas Wesley Pentz, Diplo is a prolific and acclaimed Los Angeles-based producer, DJ and electronic music artist. As a solo artist, he’s managed to see a fair degree of commercial success with 2013’s Revolution EP, which debuted at #68 on the US Billboard 200 — and the EP’s title track was later featured in a Hyundai ad campaign and on the WWE 2K16 soundtrack. Diplo is also known as the co-founder and lead member of the electronic dancehall project Major Lazer, and one-half of electronic music production and artist duo Jack U with Skrillex. And as a producer, the Los Angeles-based producer, DJ and electronic music artist has collaborated with M.I.A., Gwen Stefani, Die Antwoord, Britney Spears, Madonna, Shakira, Beyonce, No Doubt, Justin Bieber, Usher, Snoop Dogg, Tripe Redd, Chris Brown, CL. G-Dragon and Madonna. 

Mark Ronson is a London-born and-based multi-instrumentalist, DJ, singer/songwriter and producer and although his debut effort, 2003’s Here Comes the Fuzz failed to make the charts, his sophomore effort, 2007’s Version landed at number 2 on the UK charts, thanks to the fact that the album had three Top 10 singles — and as a result, he won a Brit Award for Best British Male Solo Artist. Building upon a growing profile, 2010’s Record Collection peaked at #2 on the UK Charts.

Ronson also won Grammy Awards for Producer of the Year, Non Classical, Best Pop Album and Record of the Year for his work on Amy Winehouse’s “Rehab” and Back to Black. He also produced “Cold Shoulder,” off Adele’s critically applauded and commercially successful debut 19. Now, unless you’ve been living in a remote Tibetan monastery in the Himalayas, Ronson’s first UK and US #1 single was his collaboration with Bruno Mars “Uptown Funk,” and as a result of the single’s massive commercial success, Ronson won the Brit Award for British Single of the Year, and Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. The London-born and-based producer, DJ, multi-instrumetanlist and singer/songwriter’s fourth full-length album Uptown Special was his first #1 album in the UK and peaked at #5. 

Ronson’s and Diplo’s collaboration together Silk City can trace its origins to the duo’s long-time friendship, a friendship that dates back to the early 2000s. Their debut single “Only Can Get Better,” featuring Daniel Merriweather was released earlier this year, ahead of their Governor’s Ball set, and they’ll be making several other appearances across the international festival circuit with sets at Bestival and Treasure Island Music Festival among others.  The duo’s second single “Feel About You,” which features Mapei is a slickly produced and soulful track with arpeggiated synths that subtly nods at Robin S’s “Show Me Love” — but with a clean, hyper modern sheen. 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Currently comprised of founding members Austin Knecht (vocals, guitar) and Crysal Napoles (vocals, keys) along with Tamara Simons (guitar), Kai Dodson (bass) and Jonathan Palmquist (drums), the Los Angeles-based indie rock quintet Curtsy can trace their origins to when Knecht auditioned as a lap steel player for a country/folk band fronted by Napoles back in 2013. After bonding over a mutual love of 80s pop and 90s shoegaze, the band’s founding duo began writing songs together. Eventually, Knecht and Napoles recruited Simons, Dodson and Palmquist — and with the release of their debut single, shimmering guitar pop “One Less Thing,” the Los Angeles-based indie rock act quickly received attention from the site and across the blogosphere for a sound that to my ears drew from 120 Minutes-era alt rock; but with a heart wrenching sincerity.  Adding to a growing profile, the single was included on Spotify‘s Fresh Finds Six String and New Noise playlists, and as a result, the track has amassed nearly 50,000 streams.

Building upon that growing profile, “A Better Pet” will further cement the band’s reputation for crafting shimmering and propulsive indie rock centered around rousingly anthemic hooks — and while owing a sonic debt to 120 Minutes-era alt rock, the song thematically focuses the apprehension, uncertainty and self- doubt that frequently plagues the insecure romantic. And they manage to do so with a psychological attention to detail that feels lived-in and real.

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

With the release of their first two singles “Desensitised” and “Twenty Six,” the London-based quintet Margot, comprised of Alex Hannaway (vocals), Ben Andrewes (drums), Albi Leghorn (guitar), Rob Fenner (guitar, keys) and Michael Webb (bass) quickly received attention across their hometown for crafting shimmering dream pop centered around laments on the repetitious nature of modern-day city life, and how to navigate it — and for a steadfast DIY writing and recording process, in which the band records their material over the course of a long weekend at Ben Andrewes’ home; however, the band’s third and latest single “Tired” finds the band expanding upon their sound with the addition of synths and a gorgeous and soaring string arrangement, along with the traditional dream pop arrangement of shimmering guitar chords, sinuous bass lines and propulsive drumming — over, which Hannaway sings wistful and observational lyrics. Obviously, the band’s sound and songwriting will get compared to the likes of The Smiths  and to JOVM mainstays Husky as the song is ethereal yet moody, upbeat yet bittersweet and rooted to an everyday realism.

Interestingly, as the band’s Hannaway says, the song was inspired by a late night commute on the tube. “I was being nosy, prying on a conversation between two men. One was expressing how difficult it was becoming with his teenage daughter, how hard it was to get any kind of conversation, how they used to be so close. He was struggling to come to terms with change.”

 

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

 

Comprised of Kristian Dunn (double-neck bass/guitar) and Tim Fogarty (drums), the Southern California-based post rock duo El Ten Eleven have developed a reputation for using a dizzying array of effect pedals and looping pedals to create a dense, complex, enormous and incredibly cinematic sound.  And if you’ve been frequenting this site for some time, you’d know that since their formation back in 2002, the band has maintained a steadfast DIY approach throughout their career; however, with their forthcoming, seventh full-length album, and first for Topshelf Records, Banker’s Hill, the duo enlisted Sonny Dipierri, who has worked with Animal Collective and Dirty Projectors to produce the album, marking the first time that they’ve ever worked with an outside producer.

Slated for an August 10, 2018 release, the album reportedly finds the duo thematically exploring a number of contradictory yet important things — the paradoxical beauty in anxiety, the importance of family and familial bonds, especially in a world that’s gone absolutely mad, as well as the fleeting sensation of satisfaction. Earlier this summer, I wrote about Banker’s Hill first single “Phenomenal Problems,” a single that found the duo deliberately walking a tightrope between meditative introspection and a widescreen, cinematic quality with the composition being centered around  propulsive boom bap-like beats and drumming, enormous, arena rock friendly power chord-based hooks within an expansive song structure.

“We Don’t Have A Sail But We Have A Rudder,” is Banker’s Hill’s latest and last official single and the composition is centered around shimmering and expressive guitar lines, a propulsive bass line and four-on-the-floor drumming — and while retaining the meditative and cinematic quality that has won them attention, the track may arguably be their most straightforward, prog rock-leaning song off the album.

Throughout the fall, you can catch El Ten Eleven on tour. Sadly there aren’t any East Coast dates yet, but if you’re in the Midwest or the West Coast, you should check them out. In the meantime, check out tour dates below.

Tour Dates:
9/05 – Morro Bay, CA @ The Siren
9/06 – Santa Cruz, CA @ Catalyst Atrium
9/07 – San Francisco, CA @ August Hall
9/08 – Reno, NV @ Saint Bar
9/09 – Sacramento, CA @ Harlow’s
9/12 – Bend, OR @ Volcanic Theatre
9/13 – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir
9/14 – Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile
9/15 – Spokane, WA @ The Bartlett
9/18 – Boise, ID @ Neurolux
9/19 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge
9/20 – Ft. Collins, CO @ Washington’s
9/21 – Denver, CO @ Summit Music Hall
9/22 – Santa Fe, NM @ Meow Wolf
11/06 – St. Louis, MO @ The Old Rock House
11/07 – Indianapolis, IN @ HiFi
11/08 – Ann Arbor, MI @ Blind Pig
11/09 – Grand Rapids, MI @ Pyramid Scheme
11/10 – Chicago, IL @ ChopShop
11/13 – Madison, WI @ High Noon Saloon
11/14 – Milwaukee, WI @ Shank Hall
11/15 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry
11/16 – Omaha, NE @ Slowdown
11/17 – Kansas City, MO @ Record Bar
11/29 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom
11/30 – San Diego, CA @ Casbah
12/01 – San Diego, CA @ Casbah

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Born Sophie Stern, Sophie Bom is a Los Angeles, CA-born and-based singer/songwriter and producer, who originally started her music career as a songwriter for mega-hit producer Dr. Luke writing songs for a number of pop stars, including Britney Spears, Kesha and Conor Maynard among others — and after spending a few years behind the scenes, the Los Angeles-born and-based singer/songwriter and producer, decided that she needed to go out on her own as a solo artist. Now, as you may recall, Bom’s solo career began with writing and recording with the Grammy Award-winning producer David Elevator, who’s best known for his work on Beck‘s Morning Phase and Dan Dare, who’s best known for his work with Marina and the Diamonds, Charlie XCX and M.I.A. for her attention grabbing recording project Sophie and the Bom Boms, which released the Shmixtape EP and the Going For the Heart EP before going on a hiatus.

“Broke,” Bom’s latest single, and first official single as completely solo artist finds the Los Angeles-born and-based singer/songwriter her roots — sitting at the piano and writing songs. Additionally, the single finds her producing herself for the first time, and the single features a fairly stripped down production in which Stern’s vocals float over a metronomic beat, warm and expressively blasts of electric guitar, but the spacious and unfussy production has one true star to it — Stern, who’s at her most honest and vulnerable. As the Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter and producer says of the song, “This song was written stream of consciousness, I hit record and sat at [the] piano and tried to sort out my life. Like, ‘Hello, my name is Sophie, and I’m a broken ass person trying to make a relationship work with another broken ass person. Relationships are funny. Love can be 2 faced. When you’re in a relationship, it can be make you feel so connected and understood by no just the other person, but to everything and everyone, everywhere .  . . and then on the flip side, it touches on the most painful parts of life and yourself and humans, and you feel cheated by the whole fucking world. This song is about about the broken side. Like maybe there’s a wall that you’ll never grow tall enough to climb over. 2 broken people not knowing how to fix something. Like, ‘I love you, but I’m tired . . . and paranoid . . . are you even there? Are we going to fix this? Kiki? Do you love me? Are you riding?”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms
James Clifford is a Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer, and creative mastermind of the recording project Primaveras, which was once known as Modern Howls. As the story goes, Clifford grew up in a rather musical family; in fact, Clifford began playing guitar in his early teens and throughout his high school years, he played in a number of garage bands. Foregoing a formal musical education, the Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist is largely self-taught with his passion for playing and writing stemming from a lifelong passion for everything music, as he’s been known to scour music stores for vintage guitars and synths or to stay up into the wee hours listening to records. Unsurprisingly, Clifford has cited the likes of David Bowie, Prince, The Clash, Funkadelic, Chic, Todd Rundgren, Roxy Music, Steely Dan, and The Beach Boys as some of his greatest music inspirations.  Thematically, Clifford and Primaveras draws influence from the stretch of the famed Pacific Coast Highway from Malibu to Santa Monica — warm breezes through cracked car windows, the soft sound of waves crashing and receding into the Pacific, and the silhouette of the Los Angeles skyline. For many it’s timeless and almost dreamlike; but those who haven’t stuck around long enough fail to notice the effects of salt air on the surroundings — in the form of rust and erosion. In some way, it evokes faded dreams and hopes of a paradise that never really was there in the first place, and in another sense, the faded surroundings evoke a lonely introspection. Clifford’s Primaveras debut Echoes in the Well of Being was written in a way to embody that dualism — with the album’s material generally being sunny psych pop yet possess an underlying longing and introspection.
Interestingly with Clifford’s previously released material and Echoes in the Well of Being‘s latest single, the shimmering and strutting “Better Off,” his sound has been compared favorably to the likes of Tame Impala and Phoenix — and while that is definitely fair, I also hear a subtle nod at Avalon-era Roxy Music as the song evokes bright neon lights, evening faces, Jack and Cokes, the buzz of a coke high and a desperate escape from one’s loneliness and regret. But interestingly enough, Clifford pays loving  homage to The Isley Brothers’ “Footsteps in the Dark, Parts 1 and 2” with the song’s intro drum break, which not only ties the song to classic R&B, but gives it a subtle sensuality.
As Clifford says of the song, “While most people will immediately interpret as a breakup song, I see the core sentiment as trying to grow up and move on from any sort of worn-out relationship.”
 
Single Review by William Ruben Helms

With the release of “Superego,” which received nearly 3 million streams on Spotify, the Vienna, Austria-based indie electro pop duo Leyya, quickly emerged into both the national and international scenes. Adding to a growing profile, the duo comprised of Sophie Lindinger and Marco Kleebauer played sets across the European Union’s festival circuit. including The Great Escape, Liverpool Sound City, Tallinn Music Week, Primavera Sound, Reeperbahn Festival, Iceland Airwaves and a headlining set at Popfest. Along with that the duo have received airplay on Huw Stephens‘ and Phil Taggart‘s BBC Radio 1 shows and Lauren Laverne‘s BBC Radio 6 show, been playlisted on Germany’s Radio 1, as well as praise from Pigeons and Planes, Wonderland Magazine, Clash Magazine, Konbini, The 405 and Consequence of Sound among others.

Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site over the past year or so, you’d know that the duo’s sophomore effort Sauna was released earlier this year, and from album single “Drumsolo,” the duo further cemented a growing reputation for crafting ambient and moody electro pop while expanding upon their sound with elements of hip-hop, R&B and jazz in a way that reminded me of Flourish//Perish-era BRAIDS and Clearing-era Softspot but with a coquettish and swaggering self-assuredness. Interestingly, “Wannabe,” is a standalone single, released as a follow up to their critically applauded sophomore effort and the track is a breezy and summery track that finds the duo’s sound nodding at JOVM mainstays Sylvan Esso, as Lindinger’s coquettish and ethereal vocals float over a slick production consisting of layers of stuttering and staccato beats, bubbling synths, gently swirling electronics and an anthemic hook. Lyrically, the song manages to walk a tightrope between spirited animation and deep introspection, which gives the danceable song a palpable yet subtle emotional heft.

As the duo says of the single, “After releasing our second album Sauna we tried to avoid the post-release-down with being creative and writing new music straight away. The song is circling around a problem almost everyone can relate to: Wanting to be like somebody else. Ironically – we find – its often also the other way around.“

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Patrick Phillips is a Portland, OR-born, Los Angeles, CA-based singer/songwriter, DJ and multi-instrumentalist, and creative mastermind behind the dream pop/indie pop/psych pop recording project Water Slice. And in some way, the project can trace its origins back to when Philips realized that his life in Portland was beginning to closely resemble an unending Portlandia sketch — he worked at a hip gastropub, played packed local gigs and DJ’ed obscure African music. When he realized what his life had become, Phillips decided that it was time for a change, and he eventually related to Los Angeles. In 2014, he moved into an idyllic artist house located in the hills of the Echo Park section — and as the story goes, Phillips would spend a great deal of time on the house’s rooftop, overlooking the city’s landscape in the shade of a  giant rubber tree, contemplating life and writing songs, partially influenced by his surroundings.

During his first month in town, Phillips met James Supercave‘s Joaquin Pastor and spent the next 2 years as that band’s bassist. After leaving James Supercave, the Portland-born, Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist had time to process his past life in Portland and to dive back into his record collection of power-pop, post-punk and world psychedelia — and this period was for him, the definitive spark that led him to write his own material under the moniker Water Slice. Of course, the material he had begun to write drew deeply from his own personal experience — particularly, a lengthy romantic relationship that dissolved and friendships that fell by the wayside (as many do), and the lingering ache and confusion of a past that’s continually just out of reach and the acceptance of a present that barely makes sense.

Now, as you may call, Philips’ Water Slice self-titled, debut EP is slated for an August 10, 2018 release and with the release of “This Way,” the first single off the effort quickly received attention for a sound that pairs buoyant and breezy grooves with dark lyrical content. As Philips told Ones to Watch, “Many of my favorite tunes, whether post-punk, power-pop, or reggae, are stories of suffering, while staying undeniably groovy. I love this contrast of heavy lyrics with otherwise sunny music, and I kept this tradition in mind when writing ‘This Way.’ At the time I was stuck deep in a rut, ‘This Way’ is about accepting my flaws and pushing into the future with the people I love.” The EP’s Gus Seyffert-produced second single “Please Remember” managed to further cement Philips’ growing reputation for crafting breezy and buoyant pop with a wistful and nostalgic air; but underneath that an acceptance and celebration of how life seems to constantly shift around you, forcing you to shift lanes, change direction  or stop whatever it was you were doing In the first place. After all, no one really has an answer to anything and nothing really works the way it’s supposed to — and yet, we usually find a way.

The EP’s latest single “Write Back” is a decidedly 60s psych pop stomper, centered around shimmering and swirling guitars, a propulsive rhythm section and an incredibly infectious hook — and while breezy and wistful, the track reveals a songwriter and artist with a careful attention to craft. As Philips explains in press notes, “The song’s about facing the fact that you’re not always where you thought you would be in life.” He adds, “But instead of freaking out about it, it’s important to remember what and who grounds you, to keep moving forward or dig deep and turn everything around.” Certainly, when things aren’t right (and that seems more often the case than not), having someone say this so clearly is not just affirming but absolutely necessary.