Tag: New Single

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Roland Clark is a renowned Atlanta, GA-based house music producer, songwriter and vocalist who has recorded and released material under several different aliases including Houseboy, Keita, Jesus Jackson, People, Roland Clark Presents: Digital Pimps, Dark Clark and South Street Player, as well as releasing material under his own name. Clark has also been a member of Leviticus and Urban Soul — and has collaborated with Bob Sinclair, Todd Terry, Roger Sanchez and Fatboy Slim; in fact, “Song for Shelter,” borrows a sample from DJ Le Roi’s “I Get Deep” featuring Clark.

However, at their heyday Urban Soul was not just influential, they were commercially successful — the act had hit the US Hot Dance Music/Club Play Charts seven times during the 90s. And if you were in a club in the early 90s, you’d likely know of “Alright” one of Urban Soul’s biggest song. Skittering drum programming, thick, cascading synth chords and soulful yet ethereal vocals bubbling and floating over the mix. Although the song is now 25 years old, it manages to sound as though it could have been released within the few years — as though someone like 100% Silk Records.

Electronic music producer and artist Alexander Technique is best known for his time helping pioneer both the term and idea of the “mash up” with Princess Superstar when they launched DJs Are Not Superstars Records, where they both mixed rock, techno and 90s hip-hop, as well as releasing material under several genres and subgenres of electronic music including the work of Larry Tee, Harvard Bass, Etienne De Crecy, Zoo Brazil, Sia and others. Technique is also the co-founder of Drop Ready Records. The renowned producer, remixer, electronic music artist and label head recently remixed Urban Soul’s classic “Alright.” And as Technique explains in press notes “”The remix was originally about 7 minutes long but after playing it for Todd Terry and my label partner Pedro, they both suggested that I make it longer. Todd even got in and played some keys towards the end…”

Interestingly, the Alexander Technique remix pushes the song towards the 21st century as it pairs Clark’s soulful and sensual crooning with a dense and super slick production that sounds as though it channels both a John Carpenter soundtrack, if filtered through hyper modern European house music as layers of shimmering synth, layers of buzzing synth, are paired with explosive flashes of cymbal and skittering drum programming.

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Rather unsurprisingly, over the past couple of years, Brooklyn-based soul singer, Charles Bradley has not only become a JOVM mainstay, the “Screaming Eagle of Soul” has become a national and international sensation with the release of a documentary about his life, Charles Bradley: Soul of America and the release of his critically praised and commercially successful first two albums, No Time For Dreaming and Victim of Love.  Bradley has also developed a reputation for an incredibly heartfelt and powerful live show that has lead him to playing Bonnaroo,Coachella, Glastonbury, Primavera Sound Festival, The Apollo Theater, The Beacon Theatre and countless other venues of adoring fans across the globe.

April 1 2016 will mark the release of Bradley’s third full-length album Changes named after his popular and achingly soulful cover of Black Sabbath‘s “Changes” with Daptone Records labelmates The Budos Band, which was initially released as a Record Store Day 45 a couple of years ago. And with the forthcoming release of Changes, it’ll mark the first time that Bradley’s rendition of the song will be available digitally, as it’ll also appear on the album. The album’s second single “Changes For The World” is Bradley’s desperately heartfelt and earnest plea to the listener that we need to stop hiding behind hate, divisiveness  and religion and learn how to truly love one another with open hearts, minds and arms. I suspect that most of us would feel that he’s right — and that maybe it’s time to really start changing our world for the better.

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Mike Kunka and The Melvins Team Up for Some Punishing and Kick Ass New Sounds

  Around the time that bassist/vocalist Mike Kunka’s band godheadSilo went on what eventually turned out to be a permanent hiatus back in 1998, Kunka busied himself by tagging along on a tour with The […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Currently comprised of Jon Davison (vocals), Steve Howe (guitar), Billy Sherwood (bass), Geoff Downes (keys) and Alan White (drums), the London, UK-based prog rock quintet Yes can trace their origins to when founding members Chris Squire (bass) and Jon Anderson (vocals) formed the band back in 1968. Much ink has been spilled throughout the band’s nearly 50 year run but what I will say that the legendary act has not only been pioneers of prog rock but they’ve also managed to be remarkably successful — 9 of the band’s 22 full-length albums have reached the top 10 in either the UK or US with two reaching number 1 in the UK. And the band has sold 13.5 million albums in the US alone. In the early 80s, Yes’ “Owner of a Lonely Heart” was a mega-hit song — and a song that I remember quite fondly as a child.

Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site over the past 13 months or so, you may recall that I’ve written about Berlin, Germany-based producer, electronic music artist and DJ Lennart Richter. Prolifically releasing a series of singles through renowned electronic music labels Sleazy G, East Project, G-Mafia Records, GUN PWDR, Ensis Records, Blue Dye, Mondal Recordings and others, Richter quickly developed a reputation across his native Germany and internationally for exploring the gamut of electronic music subgenres including deep house, G house, nu-disco and several others with a slick, crowd-pleasing, club-rocking production. And as a result, Richter can claim several Beatport Top 25 releases under his belt, and his last EP, Berlin Brawling landed at #10 on the Beatport Indie Dance/Nu Disco Charts.

The Berlin-based electronic music artist, producer and DJ closed out 2015 with the release of “Hold Up,” a nu-disco and house track comprised of layers of shimmering and cascading synths, propulsive drum programming led by explosive cymbal shots and a looped vocal sample that comes in and out of the haze. Sonically, the song reminded me quite a bit of Octo Octa’s “His Kiss” an “Please Don’t Leave” off his fantastic Between Two Selves — or in other words, it manages to possess both a bracing iciness and a thoughtful soulfulness. Richter builds on the success of the past year with the release of a remix of Yes’ “Owner of a Lonely Heart” that retains the vocal sample but pairs it with what sounds like ukulele, handclap-led percussion, swirling electronics and slowly cascading synths, which essentially turns the electro rock song into a slickly produced, densely layered, mid-tempo club banger — while retaining something of the song’s original feel and spirit.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Cameron Stephens (guitar, synth, bullhorn, percussion), Christopher Sprague (bass, organ, percussion), Josh Lindenfelzer (drums, percussion, synth, AM radio, saxophone, stylophone, suona), Christopher Hash (guitars), and Aurora Crispin (vocals), the Oakland, CA-based quintet Naked Lights specialize in a tense and angular post-punk sound that sounds as though it draws influence from Gang of Four and Wire but with a clean, modern sheen and a subtle seductiveness, as you’ll hear on “New Carrion,” the first single off the band’s recently released On Nature.

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Ryan McGroarty, Cheylene Murphy and Aimee Williamson, the Belfast, Ireland-based trio Beauty Sleep can trace their origins to when the members of the band bounded over spelling naughty words on a fridge magnet crossword at a local house party. Those conversations eventually lead to drunken discussions about music, which led to plans to meet — and eventually the trio started writing and recording music that draws from the likes of  M83, Washed Out, Snow Patrol, Two Door Cinema Club, General Fiasco and Pleasure Beach as you’ll hear on their breezy and anthemic new single “Dark,” which pairs shimmering guitar chords and ethereal vocals with atmospheric synths and a catchy hook.

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Al Tompkins, the creative mastermind behind goth/industrial act Dark Matter Noise (DMN) is a grizzled, Seattle music scene veteran and quietly kept mainstay. As the story goes, Tompkins went to high school with Chris Cornell and college with Matt Cameron — before Cornell and Cameron met and formed Soundgarden. Tompkins’ first band Ebb and Flow received a great deal of airplay for a goth soundtrack tune that the renowned producer and audio engineer Jack Endino recorded as part of a test to get a job at Reciprocal Recording, where Nirvana eventually recorded Bleach. Tompkins next band, Strange Bulge recorded an album which had guest appearances by Ten Minute Warning and Mother Love Bone‘s Greg Gilmore and the aforementioned Jack Endino and Matt Cameron. Tompkins fourth band Yeast recorded split singles with Nirvana, Helios Creed and Coffin Break among others and opened for the likes of Mudhoney, Soundgarden, and The Fluid. Tompkins then pursued an interest in metal with a stint with Resonator, who opened for the likes of The Gits, Napalm Death, The Pleasure Elite and others.

Tompkins latest project Dark Matter Noise (DMN) was created out of his desire to fully experiment with an electronic sound — and to change up his songwriting approach, after spending years within the indie rock scene. The project’s second and forthcoming album Blackwing is slated for a March 18 release, and the the album has Tompkins producing the album, as well as performing most of the instrumentation on the effort, except for contributions from Electric Hellfire Club‘s Eric Peterson, Vladimir Potrosky contributed songwriting on “End of Line,” and Charlie Drown contributed vocals on “Open Wide” and “Hell’s Frozen.” Sonically speaking, the album’s first single and title track “Darkwing” sounds as though it draws from Ministry, Depeche Mode and early Nine Inch Nails as layers of buzzing guitars, industrial clang and clatter, propulsive and forceful drum programming and drumming and swirling electronics are paired with guttural yet crooned vocals. And although the song and the material on the album is reportedly inspired by a number of very dark things –the dissolution of a marriage, the lost of years of recordings and demos and so on — there’s a sense of resilience just underneath the murky surface.

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

If you’ve been frequenting this site over the past few weeks, you may recall that I’ve written about the Italian-Icelandic alt rock/shoegazer trio, My Cruel Goro. Comprised of Andrea Marashi (vocals, guitar and programming), Andrea Marcellini (bass) and Tommaso Adanti (drums) the trio received international attention for a sound that possessed elements of 70s Brit rock, punk, shoegaze and 90s alt rock. “Clash,” the single (and video) I wrote about a few weeks ago consisted of anthemic and shout along worthy hooks, thunderous drumming, layers of buzzing guitars fed through distortion and effects pedals, and shouted lyrics, which gives the song a punk rock energy. It’s a familiar and radio-friendly formula but the Italian/Icelandic band do so with a clean, hyper modern sheen and an infectious energy.

“Lost E” is the latest single off the band’s sophomore EP continues on their winning formula — anthemic and shout along worthy hooks paired with thundering drumming; however, in this case, the guitar work is much more abrasive and harder hitting, which gives the song a harder, 90s alt rock feel, as though the band were drawing influence from Nirvana, My Vitriol, Foo Fighters and others.

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: The Raveonettes Moody, New Synth Pop-based Single

Since their formation in 2001, The Raveonettes — comprised of Sune Rose Wagner (guitar, vocals, production) and Sharin Foo (v0cals, bass) — have developed a reputation for going on their own path creatively and stylistically.  Interestingly […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

If you’ve been frequenting JOVM over the past couple of years, you may know that the Swedish cities of Umea, Sweden’s third (and most Northern) and Malmo, Sweden’s twelfth (and most Southern) have emerged with reputations as being Sweden and Scandinavia’s newest, most exciting creative hotbeds as an increasing number of artists and bands from both cities have started to receive international recognition — including the likes of JOVM mainstays Moonbabies, Cajsa Siik, Frida Selander and YAST and others.  I have to add to that list, Umea, Sweden-bornsinger/songwriter, producer and sound designer Catharina Jaunviksna, who splits time between her home country, Italy and Ireland and who has received attention with her solo recording project Badlands. With the release of 2012’s Battles Within EP and single “Tutu,” Jaunviksna’s Badlands project received attention from the likes of The 405 and Under the Radar for a sound that many of my colleagues have described as possessing elements of trip-hop and experimental pop.

April will mark the release of her forthcoming full-length effort Locus and album’s first single “Echo” reveals yet another change in sonic direction for Jaunviksna, as the single is a dance floor-ready song consisting of layers of staccato synth stabs and layers of cascading and twinkling synths, swirling electronics and an infectious hook paired with Jaunviksna’s ethereal coos bubbling and floating over the mix’s hazy surface, which give the song an eerie and spectral undercurrent.  Thematically and lyrically the song reportedly discusses self-censorship and the inherent dangers self-censorship can entail. As Jaunviksna explained in press notes “Even though the first intentions might be good, it always ends as a witch hunt and nobody daring to speak their mind.” But sonically speaking to my years, the song channels the likes of Depeche Mode, Still Corners and others as the song possess a captivating pull, begging the listener to come up closer.

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Reuben Keeney is a 22 year old Letterkenny, Ireland-born Donegal, Ireland producer and electronic music artist, who emerged onto the international electronic music scene with the release of  a cover/rework of “Sweet Child Of Mine,” featuring one of London‘s most sought after young vocalists, Jasmine Thompson; in fact, the single landed at number 1 on Hype Machine‘s dance charts.

Building on the buzz of “Sweet Child of Mine,” Keeney’s latest single “Better Run” is an infectiously upbeat, old-school house music single that pairs layers of pitched down soulful vocals and twinkling synths, chugging bass lines and bits of glockenspiel with an anthemic hook in the sort of club-banger that you can picture your cohorts shouting along to in the club.

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of three audio engineers, Paige Coley (vocals, guitar), Ryan Snow (guitar), and Grant Freeman (drums), the Orlando, FL-based trio Kinder Than Wolves made the process of writing and recording their debut EP Mean Something an entirely DIY and collaborative effort — with the EP being produced, engineered and mixed by Coley in the band’s home studio. And Mean Something’s first single “Hazel Days” pairs shimmering guitars, a gently driving rhythm and Coley’s hazy and ethereal vocals to create a wistful and moody shoegaze song that sounds as though it could have been released in 1983 — but with a subtly modern sheen.

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Comprised of Björn Rudling (drums), Carl Vikberg (vocals, guitar), Johan Melander (guitar and keys) and Viktor Åström (bass), the Stockholm, Sweden-based indie rock quartet Chirping have quickly received international attention across the European Union; in fact, their previously released singles have received airplay on Steve Lamacq‘s BBC Radio 6 show, Tom Robinson’s Fresh On The Net, Gary Crowley‘s BBC London show and Frank Skinner’s Absolute Radio show.  Of course, with the forthcoming release of their EP Dancing With The Stars, slated for a March 4 release, the Stockholm-based quartet hope to expand their international profile. And with the release of the EP’s anthemic first single “Heist,” I suspect that the blogosphere will be hearing quite a bit about them over the next few months.

As for the single, you’ll hear Vikberg’s rich baritone, which to my ears bears an uncanny resemblance to Echo and the Bunnymen‘s young Ian McCulloch paired with a driving and propulsive rhythm section, angular guitar chords and an infectiously anthemic hook. Sonically, the song sounds as though it draws from the aforementioned Bunnymen, U2, Arctic Monkeys and others — but with a much-needed, warm, summery blast that evokes  swooning, passionate, urgent and confusing summer flings.

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Stephanie Chan (vocals, guitar), a former member of Finally Punk and The Carrots; Kate Hall (drums), formerly of Mika Miko; Mark Greshowak (guitar, synths), formerly of Talbot Tagora; and Dave Reichardt (guitar, bass, synths), Los Angeles, CA-based post-punk quartet Dunes features members of some of Southern California’s most renowned, defunct punk bands.

The Los Angeles, CA-based quartet’s forthcoming sophomore effort Bitter Charm is slated for a March 12 release and the album, which was produced by Alex DeGroot, best known for his work with Zola Jesus has the band expanding upon their sound while being deeply informed by personal experiences — including Greshowak’s near fatal bike accident, which occurred the same day that they were slated to play with No Age at the Eagle Rock Center for Performing Arts. As Greshowak explains in press notes, the album in some way represents “the process of coming to terms with all transitions in life, voluntarily or involuntarily.”

 

The album’s latest single “Runner” pairs shimmering guitars played through gentle amount of reverb, a driving and propulsive rhythm with ethereal vocals to craft a melancholy and wistful song that sounds as though it could have been released during 4AD Records heyday.

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Last summer, I wrote about the electro pop duo Hans Island, comprised of Canadian producer Mwahs and Danish-born, based vocalist and electro pop artist Marie Dahlstrom, who has received attention across both Scandinavia and the European Union for her silky smooth vocals. And with the release of “I’m Yours,” the duo of Mwahs and Dahlstrom quickly received international attention for a sound that possessed elements of contemporary R&B, pop as it paired Dahlstrom’s sultry and plaintive vocals with Mwahs’ slick production consisting of swirling electronics, skittering and stuttering drum programming and twinkling keys to evoke hopeful and swooning sensation of newfound love.

The duo’s latest single “Break Free” consists of Mwah’s ethereal, bouncy production featuring swirling electronics, shimmering and cascading synths and propulsive drum programming and an anthemic hook paired with Dahlstrom’s yearning and effortlessly soulful vocals in an upbeat song about breaking free from one’s past, and starting anew — it’s a timeless sentiment that we’ve all felt at some point, bolstered by the hope that things will get better, once we can move forward.