Tag: Philadelphia PA

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site over the past couple of years, you’d know that members of the Philadelphia, PA-based heavy psych act Ecstatic Vision, currently comprised of Doug Sabolik, Michael Field Connor, Jordan Crouse, and Kevin Nickles initially formed in 2013 to primarily play “what they wanted to hear.” And with the release of their 2015 debut effort, Sonic Praise, an effort that drew from a wild variety of influences including Krautrock, Fela Kuti, Sun Ra, Hawkwind,  Aphrodite’s Child, Olatunji, Can, and early Amon Duul ll and for primal, psychedelic and intense live sets. Adding to a growing profile, the band toured with an impressive list of internationally renowned acts including Enslaved, YOB and Uncle Acid and The Dead Beats, Earthless, Red Fang, Acid King and others, and followed that with a lengthy European tour that included dates with Bang and Pentagram, as well as a set at the Roadburn Festival.

The Philadelphia-based hard psych band’s much-anticipated, sophomore follow up,  Raw Rock Fury is slated for an April 7, 2017 release through Relapse Records and as the band explained of the album in press notes, “With Raw Rock Fury, we set up to make an album that would remind listeners  of what an unpolished, dangerous rock recording should sound like.” And the album’s first single, “You Got It (Or You Don’t),” which I wrote about last night, is as the band described it as a “searing mash-up of the driving rhythms of Sly and the Family Stone mixed with the sound of Hawkwind playing Funhouse-era Troglodyte Rock.” And in many ways, the new single revealed a wild sense of unpredictability and danger that most contemporary rock sorely lacks. The album’s latest single “The Electric Step” manages to mesh the trippy, cosmic, stoner rock vibe of their debut with a swaggering, raw, unbridled and improvised energy as the band pairs blistering guitar work with guitar chords played through layers and layers of effects pedals, a forceful, propulsive rhythm and howled vocals to create what may be the band’s most explosive, insistent and primal stomp yet.

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Initially formed in 2013 to primarily play “what they wanted to hear” the Philadelphia, PA-based heavy psych act Ecstatic Vision, currently comprised of Doug Sabolik, Michael Field Connor, Jordan Crouse, and Kevin Nickles, quickly developed both a regional and national reputation for a sound that draws from a wild variety of influences including Krautrock, Fela Kuti, Sun Ra, Hawkwind,  Aphrodite’s Child, Olatunji, Can, and early Amon Duul ll, primal, psychedelic, freak out live sets and the release of one of 2015 debut Sonic Praise, one of that year’s best rock albums — and arguably one of that year’s best albums, period. Adding to a growing profile, after the release of Sonic Praise, the band toured with an impressive array of internationally renowned acts including Enslaved, YOB and Uncle Acid and The Dead Beats, as well as shows with Earthless, Red Fang, Acid King and others. This was followed by a lengthy European tour, which included dates with Bang and Pentagram, as well as a set at the Roadburn Festival.

Now, it’s been some time since I’ve written about the Philadelphia-based hard psych band; however, the band’s much-anticipated sophomore, follow-up effort, Raw Rock Fury is lated for an April 7, 2017 release through Relapse Records and as the band explains “With Raw Rock Fury, we set up to make an album that would remind listeners  of what an unpolished, dangerous rock recording should sound like.” The album’s first single, album opening track “You Got It (Or You Don’t)” as the band describes it is a “searing mash-up of the driving rhythms of Sly and the Family Stone mixed with the sound of Hawkwind playing Funhouse-era Troglodyte Rock.” Or simply put, it’s a song that that channels The MC5, Hawkwind and The Stooges with a scorching, raw, and noisily primal, frenetic feel while evoking a much-needed sense of unpredictability and danger that most contemporary rock sorely lacks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

April 7th, 2017 will see the worldwide release of Raw Rock Fury via Relapse Records on CD/LP/Digital. Physical pre-order and bundles are available via Relapse HERE and digital downloads can be pre-ordered by Bandcamp HERE.

 

Raw Rock Fury exhibits the band locking in on primordial, troglodyte Detroit rock grooves, krautian motorik sounds that recall the obscure one-time collaboration between NEU and the MC5, grimy harmonica flourishes that evoke Beefheart at his most savage, and the Hawkwindian, primal world heavy psych their debut expertly showcased. All of this is captured on four songs and 35+ minutes of the dirtiest sounding recordings since Kick Out The Jams. Do you miss the days when rock recordings were dangerous? If so, you must crave Raw Rock Fury.

After touring extensively with the likes of YOB, Uncle Acid and the deadbeats and others, ECSTATIC VISION head out again with Creepoid. The leg includes SXSW, Chicago, Denver and more before traveling to Europe for an appearance at Desertfest.  All dates available below

 

ECSTATIC VISION Live Dates:

 

Mar 16-18: Austin, TX – SXSW

Mar 20: Oklahoma City, OK – 89th Street Collective #

Mar 21: Wichita, KS – Kirby’s Beer Store #

Mar 22: Fort Collins, CO – Surfside #

Mar 23: Denver, CO – Hi-Dive #

Mar 24: Salt Lake City, UT – Diabolical Records #

Mar 25-26: Boise, ID – Treefort Music Fest #

Mar 28: Omaha, NE – O’Leavers #

Mar 29: Chicago, IL – Subterranean #

Mar 30: Cleveland, OH – Now That’s Class #

 

# – w/ Creepoid 

 

Europe

Apr 21: Roma, IT – HPS Night

Apr 22: Parma, IT – Titty Twister

Apr 24: Trieste, IT – Tertis

Apr 25: Salzburg, AT – Rockhouse

Apr 26: Bologna, IT – Alchemica Club

Apr 27: Olten, CH – Le Coq D’Or

Apr 28: Liege, BE – Garage

Apr 29: Nijmegen, NL – Doornroosje

Apr 30: Berlin, DE – Desertfest

May 02: Koln, DE – Limes

May 03: Paris, FR – Glazart

May 04: Lille, FR – Biplan

May 05: Rennes, FR – Mondo Bizarro

May 06: Clermont Ferrand, FR – Raymond Bar

May 09: Sevilla, ES – Sala X

May 10: Louele, PT – Bafo Baraco

May 11: Cascais, PT – Stairway Club

May 12: Madrid, ES – Wulrlitzer Ballroom

May 13: San Sebastian, ES – DABADABA

May 14: Bordeaux, FR – VOID

May 16: Lucerne, CH – Treibhaus Luzern

May 17: Bolzano, IT – Sudwerk

May 18: Zagreb, HR – Vintage Bar

May 19: Ravenna,  IT – Bronson

May 20: Milano,  IT – BLOOD

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Nick Hakim Returns with His Spectral Take on Singer/Songwriter Soul

With the release of Where Will We Go Part 1 and Where Will We Go Part 2, the Washington, DC-born, Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter Nick Hakim quickly established a national and international profile for a sound that effortlessly blurs genres as it possesses elements of classic soul, the blues, the soulful troubadour tradition of Van Morrison and others with hauntingly spectral electronic production and a soul-bearing, confessional intimacy.

Now, it’s been some time since I’ve written about him; however, Hakim has been busy writing and recording the material that would eventually comprise his forthcoming full-length debut Green Twins, which is slated for a May 19, 2017 release through ATO Records. Interestingly, Hakim can trace the origins of Green Twins’ material to when armed with the masters for Where Will We Go Part 1 and Where Will We Go Part 2, the Washington, DC-born singer/songwriter relocated from Boston to where he was based at the time to Brooklyn. And as soon as he moved, he spent his time fleshing out incomplete songs, writing and recording sketches and lyrics on voice memos and a four-track cassette recorder. The Washington, DC-born, Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter then took his demo’d material to studios in NYC, Philadelphia and London and built upon them with a number of engineers, including Andrew Sarlo (bass, engineering and production), who were tasked with keeping the original spirit and essence of the songs intact. As Sarlo explained in press notes, for many artists, a demo usually serves as a rough sketch of what the song could eventually become; however, for Hakim, the feeling is that the demos are much more like creating a temple — and as a result, you simply clean, furnish and prepare entrants for a profoundly religious experience.

Thematically speaking, the material on the album focuses on particular aspects o this life. As Hakim mentions in press notes, a lot of the material is based on what he was thinking at that very moment, and in many ways the album consists of a series of self-portraits. “I also felt the need to push my creativity in a different way than I had on the EPs,” Hakim says in press notes. “The record draws from influences spanning Robert Wyatt, Marvin Gaye and Shuggie Otis to My Bloody Valentine. We wanted to imagine what it would have sounded like if RZA had produced a Portishead album. We experimented with engineering techniques from Phil Spector and Al Green’s Back Up Train, drum programming from RZA and Outkast, and we were listening to a lot of The Impressions, John Lennon, Wu-Tang, Madlib and Screamin’ Jay Hawkins.” And as soon as you hear the album’s first single “Bet She Looks Like You,” the confessional and intimate songwriting remains, as it’s soul-bearing to a point of being heartbreakingly visceral; but it manages to be a subtle expansion upon his sound — the song manages to remain hauntingly spectral while possessing an equally subtle, bluesy swagger.

New Audio by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Emily Robb (guitar, vocals), arguably best known for her stint in Lantern; Leslie Burnette (organ, vocals); Emily K. Eichelberger (bass, vocals); and Emily’s sister Jenna Robb (drums, vocals), the Philadelphia, PA-based quartet Louie Louie specializes in a sound that meshes 60s rock, 60s Motown-era soul, pop and R&B with post-punk — while clearly nodding at Phil Spector‘s Wall of Sound-like production. And while being a decided change in sonic departure from her work with Lantern, the project is also Emily Robb’s first in which she has full artistic and creative control.

At the end of last year, I wrote about “After Me,” a song that possessed a lovelorn vulnerability and ache while nodding heavily towards the sounds of The Ronnettes, Roy Orbison, Patsy Cline and others, complete with a swooning sincerity — but with a subtle modern touch. The Philadelphia-based quartet’s latest single “Do It (In Your Mind)” is a jangling guitar pop track that nods at surfer rock, psych rock and The B52s while possessing a subtle punk rock sensibility, thanks to punchily delivered lyrics paired with jangling guitar chords, ethereal organ chords, a propulsive backbeat and a bratty hook — and to my ears, the song reminds me a bit of Memphis‘ renowned punk act Nots but with a more playful, almost coquettish air.

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Watch Nashville Garage Punk Ron Gallo Take Over a Busy Intersection with Furious, Old-School Rock

Gallo’s forthcoming full-length effort Heavy Meta was primarily written while Gallo was in Philadelphia — and over the course of a lengthy romantic relationship with a woman, who had a number of personal and emotional troubles. When the relationship ended, Gallo relocated to Nashville to finish writing material in what may have been one of the most transformative periods of his life as he went through what he felt was a personal reawakening and musical rebirth. Interestingly, at the time Gallo wrote and then recorded songs in small batches — without the initial intention of making an album and without the support of a label. As Gallo explains “Coming out on the other side, i now look at my past as a hazy dream where I did not know myself or the world at all. I still don’t know anything, but I’m closer than before. There is so much to learn outside of your comfort zone.”

Slated for a February 3, 2017 release through New West Records, the material on Heavy Meta reportedly covers several themes including Gallo’s personal ideology on abstaining from drugs and alcohol, self-empowerment, domestication, dead love, not knowing yourself, mental illness and more while expressing an overall frustration with the human race and civilization, while balanced with an underlying hopefulness of an idealistic realist. As Gallo explains “this record comes from my frustration with humanity and myself, and from my wanting to shake us all. At my core, I’m compassionate for humanity and the sickness that we all live with, and from that comes something more constructive.” He ends by saying “Party is over — this is the beginning of true personal responsibility for ourselves and our world and so we must LIVE truth, be freaks, be fearless, be light, love and be our best selves.”

The album’s latest single “Please Yourself” is a fuzzy and aggressive garage rock song full of power chords, a propulsive back beat paired with Gallo’s howled vocals — and throughout the length of the song there’s a wild urgency and frustration within. As a result, the song feels as though the narrator is trying to violent shake everyone around him awake, while screaming “Pay attention, you goddamn idiots! Stop fucking around and do something to make it right!”

Directed by Joshua Shoemaker, the recently released video begins with Gallo delivering a fiery soliloquy on the hollowness, pretension of our digital world. It’s quickly followed by a lengthy one-take shot in which Gallo walking through downtown Nashville stops at intersection to wait for his band featuring Joe Bisirri (bass) and Dylan Sevey (drums) to drive up in a Ford F-150 truck loaded with a PA system and a makeshift stage — and then they promptly take over the streets with furious rock ‘n’ roll before quickly disappearing into the night.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Emily Robb (guitar, vocals), Leslie Burnette (organ, vocals), Emily K. Eichelberger (bass, vocals) and Jenna Robb (drums, vocals), the Philadelphia, PA-based quartet Louie Louie specializes in a sound that meshes 60s rock, 60s Motown-era soul, pop and R&B with post-punk — while clearly nodding at Phil Spector‘s Wall of Sound-like production. And much like the material and period that influences their sound, Louie Louie’s material possesses a lovelorn vulnerability and ache while revealing a maturity and self-assuredness beyond their years, as you’ll hear on their latest single “After Me” — but just under the surface is a swooning sincerity that sets the Philadelphia-based quartet apart from many of their contemporaries.

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

With the release of lead single “Atlantis,” off her forthcoming and highly-anticipated EP Nemesis, Los Angeles, CA-based singer/songwriter and actress Bridgit Mendler first caught the attention of the blogosphere for a sound that possesses elements of hip hop, glitchy and contemporary electro pop, R&B and dancehall — and as a result, the track hit #2 on Spotify‘s Viral Chart, #1 on Hype Machine , garnered over 3 million streams across all digital streaming services and received praise from the likes of MTV, Nylon, Stereogum and Pigeons and Planes. And when you hear the song you’ll see why it burned up the internet charts as the slow-burning song pairs Mendler’s breathy coos with a slick, hyper modern production featuring stuttering drum programming, vocoder fed vocals, glitchy electronics, various bleeps, bloops and blips and twinkling synths and a flirtatious verse from Kaiydo. Sonically, the song is reminiscent of Abby Diamond‘s “Love to Watch You Leave” while nodding at Timbaland‘s revolutionary production — in other words, stuttering and bizarre angles while being airy and coquettish but underneath there’s an aching vulnerability.

Recently, young and renowned, Philadelphia, PA-based producer Tunji Ige remixed Mendler’s blogosphere burning single, pairing Mendler’s breathy coos with swaggering, tweeter and woofer rattling beats, glitchy electronics turning the song into a stomping, trap music-leaning club banger while retaining the original’s vulnerability. Check out how it differs from the original below.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Over the past couple of months, Philadelphia, PA-based indie rock quartet Oldermost, led by its frontman Bradford Bucknam have received attention across the blogosphere and this site in particular for a sound that draws from  Nick Drake, Wish You Were Here-era Pink Floyd and 70s AM radio rock as yo would have heard on the band’s first two singles “Honey With Tea” and “Finally Unsure.”

The band’s third and latest single is a cover of Graham Nash’s “I Used To Be A King.” And as Bucknum explains in press notes “Songs for Beginners is not necessarily a unique find in a record store bin, but the record still feels like a special discovery when you first set on eyes on the simple and somewhat lusterless album cover. ‘I Used To Be A King’ starts with a tempo just slow enough to hold the listener in a state of suspension. You think: there is a release on the horizon. And then Nash sings ‘It’s alright …’ and the song picks up, but only to build more tension and then there is the most rewarding part of the song at the tail end of the chorus—’No one is going to break my heart again’—where the listener experiences that sweet release. This track also seemed like a great opportunity to highlight the string arrangements that have helped make our musical output stand apart. There’s also a sweetness and a melancholy to the song and it takes a healthy dose of both to mix up an Oldermost song.” While being a fairly straightforward cover, it’s a shimmering, gorgeous cover that emphasizes the bittersweet nature of the original.

 

 

 

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Check out Freeway and Dutch Producer Big Ape Hanging out and Performing in Amsterdam in the “Primates” Video

The Philadelphia-based emcee’s latest single “Primates” is a collaboration with renowned Dutch producer Big Ape and it’s a swaggering headbanger of a track that has Freeway spitting fire over a looped and stuttering horn and string sample and tweeter and woofer rocking boom-bap beats and actual scratching from Sweden’s DJ Devastate. Of course the track is full of Freeway telling off wack emcees — reminding them that only is he dope, but that he’s probably their favorite rapper’s rapper as he uses a variety of cadences and flows and a creative sense of inner and outer wordplay throughout, while reminding listeners that not only is he still here and fiery as ever, but that real hip-hop ain’t dead either.

Directed by Ed Jansen, the recently released music video for “Primates” was shot in Amsterdam and features the emcee and his crew stomping around The Netherlands’ largest city, some live footage of Freeway performing in front of an incredibly enthusiastic crowd, and hanging in the studio with Big Ape.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Born Leslie Pridgen, the Philadelphia, PA-based emcee Freeway is arguably best known for his stint as a Roc-A-Fella Records artist, his affiliation with Jay Z and Beanie Siegel and as a member of State Property, as well as his commercially and critically successful 2003 debut effort Philadelphia Freeway, an effort that was certified gold after selling 500,000 units — thanks in part to his gruff and raspy vocal delivery, rhyming about his days hustling to survive in North Philadelphia with a world-weariness that frequently suggests a desire to be more, do more and see more than the block. And as a result, much like Freddie Gibbs and a few others, it grounds Freeway’s material in a profound and gritty realism that’s much needed — and in the case of Freeway comes from hard-fought person experience.

Although he’s experienced label issue that begun with the dissolution of Roc-A-Fella Records, State Property going on a hiatus as Beanie Siegel was convicted of federal weapons charges, Freeway has been busy as he’s released a couple of albums including 2007’s Free At Last, 2008’s White Van Music which had the North Philadelphia-based emcee collaborating with Jake One and Brother Ali and was released through renowned indie label Rhymesayers.  2010’s The Stimulus Package represented a major turning point in Freeway’s recording career as it was a return to the basics — one producer collaborating with one emcee on a project specifically meant to be cohesive collaborative vision, and it features guest spots from Beanie Siegel, Raekwon, Young Chris, Birdman, Bun-B, Latoiya Williams, Omilio Sparks and Mr. Porter.

 

Personally, it’s been some time since I’ve heard from Freeway — granted, as a blogger covering music from a variety of angles from all over the world, some things naturally will fall through the cracks; however, his latest single “Primates” is a collaboration with Dutch producer Big Ape and it’s a swaggering headbanger of a track that features the Philadelphia-based emcee spitting pure fire over a looped and stuttering horn and string sample and tweeter and woofer rocking boom-bap beats and actual scratching from Sweden’s DJ Devastate. Remember actual scratching on tracks?  Whatever happened to that?

Of course the track is full of Freeway telling off wack emcees — reminding them that only is he dope, but that he’s probably their favorite rapper’s rapper as he uses a variety of cadences, flows throughout and a creative sense of inner and outer wordplay throughout, while reminding listeners that not only is he still here and fiery as ever, but that real hip-hop ain’t dead either.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Led by frontman Bradford Bucknum, Philadelphia, PA-based indie rock quartet Oldermost’s debut single “Honey With Tea” manages to sound as though it were indebted to Nick Drake, Wish You Were Here-era Pink Floyd and 70s AM radio friendly rock as layers of twangy pedal guitar, shimmering electric guitar chords, propulsive drumming, a lush and shimmering string arrangement are paired with Bucknam’s plaintive and tender crooning and up-and-coming Philadelphia-based singer/songwriter Rosali’s ethereal yet tender backing vocals in one of the prettier songs I’ve heard this year. And although “Honey With Tea” sounds quite a bit like Psychic Ills‘ equally gorgeous “Baby,” and possesses the sort of lived-in feel that can only come from actual life experiences, the Philadelphia-based quartet’s debut single manages to possess a world weariness behind its psychedelic country leanings. In some way, the song evokes life’s bitter recognitions, uneasy compromises and uncertainties — and how frequently we have to grit our teeth and accept what is and move forward.