Tag: Play It Again Sam

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Pain Gain Shares Atmospheric “Prizefighter”

Formed back in 2023, Pain Gain — Kilo‘s Chloe Kaul, SWIM’s Hamish Lefevre, and CRUSH3d’s Samuel Cooke — began as a deliberate left turn for its members. Shedding their established electronic identities, Kaul, Lefevre and Cooke retreated to the beachside forests of southern Australia with guitars, modular synths and a tape recorder. What they believed was a temporary and fun moment of escape, quickly evolved into something far more profound for the trio: a thorough recalibration of sound, process and purpose.

Despite each member’s distinct musical paths, Pain Gain is about a shared musical language discovered. Rooted in instinct and play, the project became an immersive, almost familial experience for its members. The result is their self-titled, full-length debut.

Slated for a July 17, 2026 release through Play It Again Sam/PIAS, the forthcoming album reportedly sees the trio trading velocity for gravity while moving fluidly between indie rock melodrama and expansive pop balladry, all while rejecting genre as a fixed idea.

Thematically, the ten-song album traces personal upheaval with unflinchingly honesty. Kaul’s sometimes excoriating lyrics are paired with tactile soundscapes shared by Lefevre and Cooke in which no single voice dominates. Working with an instinctive creative process, the trio embraced single takes, analog experimentation and the beauty of imperfection, allowing songs to emerge organically from their surroundings, Each room of their retreat became a makeshift studio; melodies frequently drifted through kitchen conversations, while lyrics were created from late-night exchanges by the fire.

“We went away together with only the intention of starting something new, we never expected that we would end up not only with an album, but one that feels as cohesive and collectively personal as this,” Pain Gain explains. “It’s a record that looks for beauty in friction, and finding a new start in the wreckage of something past”

The self-titled album’s latests single “Prizefighter,” is an atmospheric bit of synth pop paired with Kaul’s achingly tender delivery. The song which emerged from reversed and replayed tape experiments, sonically recalls ACES and others. But as the song slowly builds up to its crescendo, the song channels the growing exhaustion, frustrations and resentments of staying too long in something that won’t change.

As the trio explain, “‘Prizefighter’ is a centrepiece to the record. Conceptually it’s about being coaxed into a cycle that never breaks. It’s always the same fight.“

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Massive Attack Teams Up with Tom Waits on Hauntingly Eerie “Boots on the Ground”

Acclaimed Bristol-based trip hop pioneers Massive Attack — currently, Robert “3D” Del Naja and Grant “Daddy G” Marshall — signed to Play It Again Sam, and they celebrated the occasion in grand style: sharing a collaboration with the legendary Tom Waits, “Boots on the Ground”/”The Fly.”

“Boots on the Ground” is a hauntingly eerie track featuring sparse, twinkling piano, off-kilter and skittering percussion paired with the legendary Tom Waits’ distinctive gravelly vocal and some additional vocals from Waits’ son Casey. The song is the first bit of new material from Waits since 2011’s Bad As Me.

Sonically nodding at Johnny Cash‘s “God’s Gonna Cut You Down,” “Boots on the Ground” evokes a similar sense of Biblical apocalypse — but somehow much more venal, bloodthirsty, stupid and fucked up. It’s a song that lingers, reminding you of the horror-fueled hellscape we’re in.

“It’s a career honour to collaborate with an artist of the magnitude, originality and integrity of Tom, but this track is arriving in an atmosphere of chaos,” Massive Attack says. “Across the western hemisphere, state authoritarianism and the militarisation of police forces are fusing again with neo-fascist politics. Seen within the American emergency, at home and overseas, this track contains pulses of callous impulse & abandoned mind.”

“One day many years ago I accepted an invitation from Massive Attack to collaborate,” Waits explains. “Way back then, we sent them ‘Boots on the Ground’. Their long release delay never worried me. Today, as in all of mankind’s yesterdays, guarantees this song will never go out of style. Man’s fiasco folly is a feast for the flies. Hence, the B side of Massive Attack’s upcoming 12 inch ‘The Fly’ features my appreciation for the winged nuisance.

The new song is accompanied by a short film created by the trip hop pioneers, who collaborated with enigmatic photographer and visual artist thefinaleye. The evocative, high-intensity photo montage portrays the momentous and troubling American epoch that we currently inhabit and is yet to be named. And it comes in the aftermath of the largest public protests in American history focused on opposition to ICE/CBP raids, the militarization of domestic forces and state authoritarianism.

The short film quotes statistics and research by the following sources: American Immigration Council, American Civil Liberties Union, Inside Higher Ed, National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, US National Library of Medicine, US National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), Privacy International and FactCheck.org. Viewers seeking further information or wishing to take action are encouraged to visit aclu.org, veterans-aid.net,immigrantdefenseproject.org, and freedomforimmigrants.org.

Along with the single and video, Massive Attack have published an exclusive spoken word reflection on the themes of the work of novelist Omar El Akkad, who wrote American War, What Strange Paradise and One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This.

“Boots on the Ground”/”The Fly” is the first bit of Massive Attack material distributed under a Spotify exemption policy. More material is scheduled to be released prior and subsequent to their run of live performances, including their forthcoming European tour and summer festival headlining dates.

In keeping with their ongoing efforts to reduce carbon emissions across both the live activity and recorded output, Massive Attack have partnered with Good Neighbor to produce an ‘EcoSonic’ pressing of the single. Manufactured using 100% recycled PET (rPET) rather than traditional PVC, the record is fully recyclable and produced via an energy-efficient injection moulding process – a significant shift in record manufacturing. Packaging follows the same approach, with sleeves made from 100% recycled, FSC®-certified paper stock and outer slipcases produced from recycled polyethylene.

If you want to pre-order the vinyl, you can visit the Official Massive Attack Store or go your local indie record store for the limited edition 180g ‘EcoSonic’ record, mixed at random in red, white and blue, in a full color sleeve with additional screen printing. The band will be donating all profits of the sale of the vinyl edition to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the US Immigrant Defense Project. Both are very worthy causes, so if you have a few bucks, buy some vinyl and by supporting these musicians, you’re making sure these organizations can continue to fight the good, necessary fight.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Puma Blue Shares Surrealistic, Dream-like Visual for “Croak Dream”

London-based producer, singer/songwriter and Puma Blue creative mastermind Jacob Allen will be releasing his sixth studio album, Croak Dreams through Play It Again Sam on February 6, 2026.

Recorded straight to tape at Peter Gabriel‘s Real World Studios, Croak Dream reportedly sees Allen and co-producer and mixer Sam Petts-Davies expanding the project’s sonic world, channeling the project’s sultry, emotional and conceptual complexity with an instinct-led take on experimenting with Allen’s art to find its most evocative form.

Additionally, longtime collaborator Harvey Grant contributed to the textual quality and identity of the album. “Later at Real World Studios, the band and I recorded tape loops over a small fragment of the demo, none of them heard the finished song, and when Sam and I came back to London we cut those improvisations into this Frankenstein’s monster type collage,” Allen says. “We were really leaning into a mutual love for CAN, Aphex Twin and Queens of the Stone Age.”

Croak Dream‘s latest single, album title track “Croak Dream” is a broodingly cinematic and uneasy track that features Allen’s remarkably Thom Yorke-like falsetto croon singing over a hypnotic arrangement of angular, whirring instrumentation paired with industrial-meets-dub-like beats. Seemingly drawing from Bristol-era trip hop — i.e., Portishead, Massive Attack, etc. — and dub with an alt-pop sensibility, “Croak Dream” thematically focuses on an age-old philosophical question: “If you knew how and when you were going to die, how would it change how you decided to live?”

“A Croak Dream is a prophetic dream where you see a vision of how you die. Half the songs on this record allude to how you might decide to live, act, if you somehow knew your awaiting fate. Being daring, romantic… saying what you really mean.” Allen explains. 

“‘Croak Dream’ is about someone I have dreamt of for years. Nightmares really, I just have not been able to shake them yet,” he continues. “I thought maybe what I needed was a sort of exorcism, so I wrote this song unpacking this strange bond that has haunted me, and then put it to bed, or death, at the end. It is a laying of a ghost to rest, I hope.” 

Directed and edited by Allen and featuring animation by Quill, the accompanying video for “Croak Dream” further emphasizes the song’s surrealistic, dream-like logic, featuring Allen and his live bandmates in a PlayStation-inspired video game universe, traversing their individual subconscious in eerie, dream-meets-video game-like adventures.

“I wanted the video to evoke boyhood and be in conversation with the lyrics. The basic idea was to create a PlayStation style game paying homage to RHCP’s ‘Californication’ video, but in a way that carried deep meaning for the band,” Allen says of the video. “I searched high and low for the right person who could capture the nostalgia of games like Silent Hill, Tomb Raider and Pro Skater until I found Quill (@grabmypepsi). I wrote him a script, and he animated it all from scratch. Then it got run through VHS right at the end so that it felt truly like it would if you were playing it in the late 90’s. It felt like a way to honor these friends and, in a strange way, the children we were back then.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: JOVM Mainstay Warhaus Shares Sultry “No Surprise”

Maarten Devoldere is a Belgian singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, who is known for being co-lead vocalist and one-half of the core songwriting duo behind the critically applauded Belgian indie rock outfit Balthazar. Devoldere is also known for being the creative mastermind behind the equally applauded solo recording project Warhaus. 

The Belgian singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist’s third Warhaus album 2022’s Ha Ha Heartbreak was inspired by a recently broken heart, and was written during a three-week stay in Palermo. The sorrow he felt was too difficult to handle, so he went to Sicily to escape. But as it turns out, those who try to outrun life and heartache almost always discover that they can never run from themselves.

Ha Ha Heartbreak saw Devoldere attempting to wrap his sorrow into hooks, instantly singalong choruses and irresistible melodies. Sonically, the album’s material is light yet lush, featuring strings, sensual vocals, horns and bursts of playful piano. The result is an album that’s a deep and moving emotional exploration while being musically rich.

Devoldere’s fourth Warhaus album, the Jasper Maekelberg-produced Karaoke Moon is slated for a November 22, 2024 release through Play It Again Sam. Maekelberg and Devoldere spent nine months collaborating in a Bruges-based attic studio, combing through over 50 songs the acclaimed Belgian artist had written since Ha Ha Heartbreak‘s release.

The new album thematically toys with modern views on masculinity. With a quirky sense of humor and tongue-in-cheek lyrics, Devoldere effortlessly bypasses an uncomfortable conversation, mocking himself and his kid with double-edged wit. Throughout the album, it frequently seems Devoldere is battling with his own mind, diving into the deep waters of his subconscious.

“No Surprise,” Karaoke Moon‘s second and latest single in its original demo version was a pumping disco-tinged track. But the final album version is a sultry and Sade-era Quiet Storm and Avalon-era Roxy Music-like late night shuffle of a track anchored by Devoldere’s expressive crooning, shimmering guitar and organ-driven choruses featuring Sylvie Kreusch. “No Surprise” will further cement the Belgian artist’s reputation for deliberately crafted material that’s sophisticated yet simultaneously earnest and very funny.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Jinte Deprez is an acclaimed singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, arranger, programmer and producer, best known as being one-half of the songwriting duo behind the acclaimed Belgian indie outfit Balthazar. 

Over the course of the past two decades, the members of Balthazar have played across the global festival circuit with sets at All Points East, British Summer Time, and others — while selling over 600,000 albums globally. Throughout his career, Deprez has firmly cemented a reputation for being a wildly talented generalist: Along with his songwriting partner Maarten Devoldere, Deprez has co-produced three of Balthazar’s five albums to date. 

As the creative mastermind behind the acclaimed solo recording project, J. Bernardt, Deprez wrote, recorded and produced his full-length debut, 2016’s Running Days, an album with a sound molded from electronics. That album has amassed over 40 million streams globally since its release. 

Deprez’s sophomore J. Bernardt album, the Tobie Speleman and Deprez co-produced Contigo is slated for a May 17, 2024 release through Play It Again Sam. Deriving its name from the Spanish phrase “with you,” the album sees Deprez crafting an old-school band-based sound featuring a collection of the Belgian artist’s super-talented friends that he guided through intense rehearsals and performances, “searching for that spark.” The string and orchestral arrangements were written by Deprez, who’s a classically trained violinist. 

Contigo sonically is reportedly a dramatic, compelling and colorful body work and brought to life by sumptuous melodies, vocals and production flourishes from an acclaimed singer/songwriter and producer. Thematically, the album explores all the phases of a break-up: shock, sadness, denial, anger and acceptance while being viciously romantic. “I know a break-up record is a cliché,” says Deprez. “But I’m growing to love cliches! I wasn’t afraid to go all the way. Forgetting about the break-up by singing about it is like self-sabotage, but I’m having fun with it too.”

So far, I’ve written about two of the album’s previously released singles:

  • “Taxi,” a taut pop gem featuring a slinky bass line-driven groove, a soulful female choir, propulsive percussion, twangy bursts of guitar and cinematic strings serving as a lush bed for Deprez’s plaintive and heartbroken delivery. The song’s narrator is in a taxi, desperately desiring an escape to contemplate a recent, very bitter breakup: throughout the ride, the narrator endlessly replays and questions everything that led up to the split. And for devastated and heartbroken narrator, he’s left without any real answers to anything, other than raw hurt, confusion and shock. He’s a man who has had the rug violently yanked out from under. 
  • “Mayday Call,” a swaggering yet woozy tune that starts off with a wailing horn but is lead by a thick and brooding orchestral section, a propulsive rhythm section serving as a lush and uneasy bed for Deprez’s squealed delivery, which describes a panic attack with an uncanny verisimilitude before ending with a wearily exhausted coda. 

Contigo‘s third and latest single “Last Waltz” is a slow-burning, lush bit of orchestral pop. Featuring an ethereal yet cinematic string arrangement, expressive bursts of guitar, a soulful backing choir and Deprez’s heartbroken baritone croon, “The Last Waltz,” is a drunken and heartbroken surrender to the new reality of post-breakup life, while choosing to fondly remembering what once was. The song’s narrator seems to say “Lord knows, we had some fun, huh? But it’s time to move forward somehow. Auf wiedersehen, sweetheart/Auf wiedersehen/Auf wiedersehen . . . as Vera Lynn once sang.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Jinte Deprez is a singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, arranger, programmer and producer, best known as being one-half of the songwriting duo behind the acclaimed Belgian indie outfit Balthazar.

Over the course of the past two decades, the members of Balthazar have played across the global festival circuit with sets at All Points East, British Summer Time, and others — while selling over 600,000 albums globally. Throughout his career, Deprez has firmly cemented a reputation for being a wildly talented generalist: Along with his songwriting partner Maarten Devoldere, Deprez has co-produced three of Balthazar’s five albums to date. 

As the creative mastermind behind the acclaimed solo recording project, J. Bernardt, Deprez wrote, recorded and produced his full-length debut, 2016’s Running Days, an album with a sound molded from electronics. That album has amassed over 40 million streams globally since its release. 

Deprez’s sophomore J. Bernardt album, the Tobie Speleman and Deprez co-produced Contigo is slated for a May 17, 2024 release through Play It Again Sam. Deriving its name from the Spanish phrase “with you,” the album sees Deprez crafting an old-school band-based sound featuring a collection of the Belgian artist’s super-talented friends that he guided through intense rehearsals and performances, “searching for that spark.” The string and orchestral arrangements were written by Deprez, who’s a classically trained violinist. 

Contigo sonically is reportedly a dramatic, compelling and colorful body work and brought to life by sumptuous melodies, vocals and production flourishes from an acclaimed singer/songwriter and producer. Thematically, the album explores all the phases of a break-up: shock, sadness, denial, anger and acceptance while being viciously romantic. “I know a break-up record is a cliché,” says Deprez. “But I’m growing to love cliches! I wasn’t afraid to go all the way. Forgetting about the break-up by singing about it is like self-sabotage, but I’m having fun with it too.”

Last month, I wrote about “Taxi,” a taut pop gem featuring a slinky bass line-driven groove, a soulful female choir, propulsive percussion, twangy bursts of guitar and cinematic strings serving as a lush bed for Deprez’s plaintive and heartbroken delivery. The song’s narrator is in a taxi, desperately desiring an escape to contemplate a recent, very bitter breakup: throughout the ride, the narrator endlessly replays and questions everything that led up to the split. And for devastated and heartbroken narrator, he’s left without any real answers to anything, other than raw hurt, confusion and shock. He’s a man who has had the rug violently yanked out from under.

Contigo‘s latest single, “Mayday Call” is a swaggering yet woozy tune that starts off with a wailing horn but is lead by a thick and brooding orchestral section, a propulsive rhythm section serving as a lush and uneasy bed for Deprez’s squealed delivery, which describes a panic attack with an uncanny verisimilitude before ending with a wearily exhausted coda.

Talking about the release, Deprez elaborates, “it’s a straightforward beautiful song lead by a thick orchestral unisono, all to back the vocals that squeal their way through a description of virtually a panic attack, calling out for help. The song was written in one breath with a suitable code of blasting chaotic horns, there’s also a touch of the original acoustic demo in the outro.”

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Warhaus Shares a Brooding and Cinematic Meditation on Heartbreak

Maarten Devoldere is a singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known for being co-lead vocalist and one-half of the core songwriting duo behind the critically applauded Belgian indie rock outfit and JOVM mainstays Balthazar. Devoldere is also the creative mastermind behind the equally applauded solo recording project Warhaus. 

With Warhaus, Devoldere further cemented a reputation for crafting urbane, literate and seemingly decadent art rock with an accessible, pop-leaning sensibility. It shouldn’t be surprising that Devoldere’s Warhaus debut, 2016’s We Fucked A Flame Into Being derived its title from a line in DH Lawrence’s seminal, erotic novel Lady Chatterley’s Lover. Thematically, We Fucked A Flame Into Being touched upon lust, desire, the inscrutability of random encounters, bittersweet and regret with the deeply confessional nature of someone baring the deepest recesses of their soul. 

Devoldere’s sophomore Warhus effort, 2017’s self-titled album saw the acclaimed Belgian artist thematically moving away from decadence, lust and sin towards earnest, hard-fought and harder-won love — with much of the material being informed by his relationship with vocalist Sylvie Kreusch. The recording sessions were much more spontaneous and heavily influenced by Dr. John‘s Night Tripper period with the album’s material featuring voodoo rhythms and New Orleans jazz-styled playing, despite the fact that his backing band wasn’t known for being jazz musicians.

 The Belgian songwriter and multi-instrumentalist’s third Warhaus album, Ha Ha Heartbreak is slated for a November 11, 2022 release through Play It Again Sam. Ha Ha Heartbreak‘s material was written during a three week stay in Palermo. All Devoldere needed was the solitude of a hotel room, a guitar, a microphone and a recently broken heart. 

The sorrow was too difficult to handle, so he went to Sicily to escape. But as it always turns out, those who try to outrun life and heartache quickly run into themselves. But the album sees Devoldere wrapping his sorrow into hooks, instant singalong choruses and irresistible melodies. Sonically, the material is light yet lush featuring strings, sensual vocals, horns and even playful piano parts. The end result is an album that’s a deep and moving emotional exploration yet something musically very rich. 

So far I’ve written about two of the album’s singles:

Album opening track and first single “Open Window,” which marked the first bit of new Warhaus material in five years. Centered around Devoldere’s brooding baritone, strummed acoustic guitar, a Quiet Storm-like groove, twinkling piano and a gorgeous, cinematic string arrangement, making it the sort of song that you can gently sway along to with eyes closed while drifting off into your own nostalgia-induced dreams or delusions.

In the case of “Open Window,” the song thematically is rooted in a heartbroken delusion that should feel painfully familiar to almost all of us — the delusional hope that the breakup isn’t permanent, that your now ex has just temporarily lost their minds, and will come back to you soon. But sadly, in the end, it’s all vapor and blind, foolish, prideful denial. “’Open Window’ is about keeping reality at bay in that comfortable bubble of denial. Definitely my favourite stage of heartbreak,” Delvodere explains. 

“Desire,” Ha Ha Heartbreak‘s second single is a lush and sultry bop centered around mournful horns, soaring strings, an infectious, two-step inducing groove and twinkling keys paired with Devoldere’s breathy baritone. The song’s narrator desperately addresses just about every god he can imagine for answers, but as he says in the song, “No matter what I turn to/it’s failing me.”

Ha Ha Heartbreak’s third and latest single “Time Bomb” continues a remarkable run of slow-burning lush and sultry material, that features subtle elements of jazz, film scores, Quiet Storm soul and art pop. Much like its predecessors, “Time Bomb” sees its narrator dealing with the devastation of a breakup and its aftershock on both parties. But with the new single, its heartbroken narrator is left to wonder “but why” without any answers or closure.

“What to do if you stumble upon a time bomb? You’ll probably see 3 wires. If there are no red wires, cut the second wire,” Devoldere writes. “Otherwise, if the last wire is white, cut the last wire. Alternatively, if there is more than one blue wire, cut the last blue wire. If none of the above, cut the last wire then the first. Learn this by heart. Listening to my new song won’t save you at all. Love, Warhaus.”

Set Michiel Venmans in and around Palermo, Italy, the accompanying video for “Time Bomb” follows Devoldere through a cinematic and lonely journey of the area: We eventually see shaving and brushing his teeth, putting his laundry out to dry on a line and broodingly daydreaming on his terrace. We then see him watching TV at a cafe with an older gentlemen, who he befriends. We also see him wandering the Italian city’s streets — eventually sitting around older gentlemen. It’s a gorgeous and surreal depiction of heartbreak and loneliness.

Devoldere will be embarking on a handful of UK and European Union dates. Check them out below. 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New VIdeo: Warhaus Shares Lush and Groovy “Desire”

Maarten Devoldere is a Belgian singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known for being co-lead vocalist and one-half of the core songwriting duo behind the critically applauded Belgian indie rock outfit and JOVM mainstays Balthazar. Devoldere is also the creative mastermind behind the equally applauded solo recording project Warhaus. 

With Warhaus, Devoldere further cemented a reputation for crafting urbane, literate and decadent art rock with an accessible, pop-leaning sensibility. It shouldn’t be surprising that Devoldere’s Warhaus debut, 2016’s We Fucked A Flame Into Being derived its title from a line in DH Lawrence’s seminal, erotic novel Lady Chatterley’s Lover. Thematically, the album touched upon lust, desire, the inscrutability of random encounters, bittersweet and regret with the deeply confessional nature of someone baring the deepest recesses of their soul.

Devoldere’s sophomore Warhus album, 2017’s self-titled saw the acclaimed Belgian songwriter and artist thematically moving away from decadence, lust and sin towards earnest, hard-fought and harder-won love — with much of the material being informed by his relationship with vocalist Sylvie Kreusch. Interestingly, the recording sessions were much more spontaneous and heavily influenced by Dr. John‘s Night Tripper period: The album features heavy nods to voodoo rhythms and New Orleans jazz despite the fact that his backing band wasn’t known for being jazz musicians.

The Belgian songwriter and multi-instrumentalist’s third Warhaus album, Ha Ha Heartbreak is slated for a November 11, 2022 release through Play It Again Sam. Ha Ha Heartbreak‘s material was written during a three week stay in Palermo. All Devoldere needed was the solitude of a hotel room, a guitar, a microphone and a recently broken heart.

The sorrow was too difficult to handle, so he went to Sicily to escape. But as it always turns out, those who try to outrun life and heartache quickly run into themselves. But the album sees Devoldere wrapping his sorrow into hooks, instant singalong choruses and irresistible melodies. Sonically, the material is light yet lush featuring strings, sensual vocals, horns and even playful piano parts. The end result is an album that’s a deep and moving emotional exploration yet something musically very rich.

Album opening track and first single “Open Window” the first bit of new Warhaus material in five years was centered around Devoldere’s brooding baritone, strummed acoustic guitar, a Quiet Storm-like groove, twinkling piano and a gorgeous, cinematic string arrangement. It’s the sort of song that you can gently sway along to with eyes closed and drifting off into your own nostalgia-induced dreams — or delusions.

Perhaps unsurprising, the song thematically is rooted in a heartbroken delusion that should feel painfully familiar to most of us: the delusional hope against hope that the breakup isn’t permanent, that they’ve just temporarily lost their minds and will return soon. But in the end it’s all vapor and blind, foolish denial.

“Open Window is about keeping reality at bay in that comfortable bubble of denial. Definitely my favourite stage of heartbreak,” Delvodere explains. 

Ha Ha Heartbreak‘s second and latest single “Desire” is a lush and sultry bop centered around mournful horns, soaring strings, an infectious, two-step inducing groove and twinkling keys paired with Devoldere’s breathy baritone. The song’s narrator desperately addresses just about every god he can imagine, but as he says in the song, “No matter what I turn to/it’s failing me.”

“Trying to love without attachment? Trying to stop the hedonic treadmill from spinning? Trying to reincarnate as Celine Dion’s voice? Follow me on Instagram for misinformation. This song’s dedicated to all those false idols out there. Love, Warhaus,” Devoldere says of the new single.

Directed by Pieter De Cnudde features Devoldere in a musty, old apartment as a bored man, fulfilling Sisyphean-like tasks on old analog devices, including an old train monitoring system and a phone operator bank, which at one point he’s connected to by umbilical cord. The visual continues a run of brooding and surreal visuals, rooted in heartache and despair.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Live Footage: Balthazar Performs “I Want You” for HolyShit Sessions

A couple of years ago, the acclaimed Belgian indie rock act and JOVM mainstays Balthazar –songwriting duo Maarten Devoldere and Jinte Deprez, along with Simon Casier, Michiel Balcaen and Tijs Delbeke — went on a hiatus that allowed the band’s songwriting duo to pursue their own critically applauded, solo projects: Devoldere’s brooding and hyper literature Warhaus and Deprez’s old school R&B-inspired J. Bernardt. While Devoldere and Deprez found the ability to pursue their own individual whims and muses liberating, they found the time apart from each other and the band sparking an undeniable urge to work together, propelled by a greater mutual respect for each other’s individual work — and a desire for a much broader artistic vision for the band. 

When Balthazar reconvened to work on 2019’s Fever, they did so without any particular plan. But they had hoped that would improve upon their previously released work, show deeper artistic growth and further the band’s story. As they started to work, Devoldere and Deprez also mutually agreed that the album’s material should have a less serious, less melancholy tone. The end result is what may arguably be some of the loosest and most playful material of their career. 

Balthazar supported Fever with a relentless touring schedule that included a stop at Baby’s All Right. Feeling invigorated from playing Fever on tour, Devoldere and Deprez started working on new material, which eventually became their fifth and latest album, Sand. Released earlier this year, the album finds the acclaimed JOVM mainstays fully embracing a soulful alt pop and R&B leaning sound while being what they believe may be the most cohesive effort of their growing catalog to date. “There’s a theme running through these tracks, waiting, restlessness, not being able to live in the moment or putting your trust into the future,” Balthazar’s Deprez and Devoldere explain in press notes. “We’re at a point in our lives when we have to consider these aspects of life, that’s why the album is called Sand – after the sand in an hourglass.”

“The idea was always to drop another album as soon as possible after Fever. It was fun and we wanted to build on that,” Jinte Deprez says in press notes. “We did a lot of things that we haven’t done previously – we’ve never used as many drum samples or used bass synths before. So that was an exciting step for us. It was a very modern way of making an album, due to the constraints of the pandemic and we had to work remotely and converse electronically rather than in a studio.” “I can’t wait to play this album live because on the Fever tour we pushed the groove element further,” Maarten Devoldere adds.

In the lead up to the album’s release, I’ve written about four of Sand‘s singles: 

  • “Halfway,” a shimmering, blue-eyed soul-like take on the Quiet Storm sound.
  • Losers,” a slinky, disco-like song centered around Devoldere’s sultry baritone, shimmering synth arpeggios and an infectious hook. But at its core, the song captures and evokes the anxious uncertainty of our lives over the past 15-19 months or so. 
  • “You Won’t Come Around,” a slow-burning and cinematic, bit of 70s inspired R&B featuring shimmering strings, strummed acoustic guitar, skittering beats. And over that gorgeous arraignment, Devoldore expresses a confusing yet familiar series of emotions: regret and heartache that a romantic relationship has ended, relief that the relationship has ended and guilt that maybe they’ve moved on a bit too quickly; or in other words, the gnawing sense that you might be a selfish, uncaring asshole.
  • “On A Roll,” a strutting yet seamless synthesis of their pre-Fever sound with their recent R&B-influenced material centered around Deprez’s crooning falsetto. 

After pandemic-related lockdowns, the members of the JOVM mainstay act got together for the first time in close to a year for the Heleen Declerq-directed and filmed documentary and concert film Sand Castle Tapes. Co-produced with HolyShit Sessions, the film captures the band staying at a beautiful old castle near Brussels as they got together to interpret and play Sand‘s material for the first time together. Declerq manages to capture the atmosphere of the castle and the music while giving an intimate look at the band. “You get to fully understand an album when you start playing it together, the relaxed circumstances lead to a whole other way of interpreting the songs,” the band says of Sand Castle Tapes. 

In the lead up to Sand Castle Tapes EP‘s release, I’ve managed to write about two of its singles:

  • A loose and jammy rendition of “Moment,” that found the band joyously expanding upon the song’s groove. Throughout the intimate and gorgeously shot footage, it’s made obvious that the band and their collaborators are just thrilled to be together and playing music together. 
  • A stripped down and intimate version of “On a Roll” centered around piano and mournful horns by Rob Banken, Peter Delannoye and Thomas Mayade. And over that slow-burning and gorgeous arrangement, Deprez takes up lead vocal duties while backed by Devoldere and some backing vocals by Judith Okon, Stefy Rika and Sarah Devos. The live rendition pulls out the confusion, heartache and longing of the original in a new direction.

The EP’s third and latest single is fairly straightforward rendition of “I Want You” with a subtle re-arranging for a live setting that replaces synths with piano while retaining the sultry, late night yearning at the core of the song. The live footage features the band playing in a gorgeous, old hotel room with a strobe light, meant to mimic a brewing storm outside.

Sand is out now. But the band will be releasing The Sand Castle Tapes EP digitally through Play It Again Sam on September 24, 2021. The EP will feature 10 songs from the Sand Castle Tapes film — 8 reworked songs off Sand and two jams. You can pre-order the EP here.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Live Footage: HolyShit Sessions: Balthazar Performs a Stripped Down Version of “On a Roll”

A couple of years ago, the acclaimed Belgian indie rock act and JOVM mainstays Balthazar –songwriting duo Maarten Devoldere and Jinte Deprez, along with Simon Casier, Michiel Balcaen and Tijs Delbeke — went on a hiatus that allowed the band’s songwriting duo to pursue their own critically applauded, solo projects: Devoldere’s brooding and hyper literature Warhaus and Deprez’s old school R&B-inspired J. Bernardt. While Devoldere and Deprez found the ability to pursue their own individual whims and muses liberating, they found the time apart from each other and the band sparking an undeniable urge to work together, propelled by a greater mutual respect for each other’s individual work — and a desire for a much broader artistic vision for the band. 

When Balthazar reconvened to work on 2019’s Fever, they did so without any particular plan. But they had hoped that would improve upon their previously released work, show deeper artistic growth and further the band’s story. As they started to work, Devoldere and Deprez also mutually agreed that the album’s material should have a less serious, less melancholy tone. The end result is what may arguably be some of the loosest and most playful material of their career.

Balthazar supported Fever with a relentless touring schedule that included a stop at Baby’s All Right. Feeling invigorated from playing Fever on tour, Devoldere and Deprez started working on new material, which eventually became their fifth and latest album, Sand. Released earlier this year, the album finds the acclaimed JOVM mainstays fully embracing a soulful alt pop and R&B leaning sound while being what they believe may be the most cohesive effort of their growing catalog to date. “There’s a theme running through these tracks, waiting, restlessness, not being able to live in the moment or putting your trust into the future,” Balthazar’s Deprez and Devoldere explain in press notes. “We’re at a point in our lives when we have to consider these aspects of life, that’s why the album is called Sand – after the sand in an hourglass.”

The idea was always to drop another album as soon as possible after Fever. It was fun and we wanted to build on that,” Jinte Deprez says in press notes. “We did a lot of things that we haven’t done previously – we’ve never used as many drum samples or used bass synths before. So that was an exciting step for us. It was a very modern way of making an album, due to the constraints of the pandemic and we had to work remotely and converse electronically rather than in a studio.” “I can’t wait to play this album live because on the Fever tour we pushed the groove element further,” Maarten Devoldere adds.

In the lead up to the album’s release, I’ve written about four of Sand’s singles:

“Halfway,” a shimmering, blue-eyed soul-like take on the Quiet Storm sound.
Losers,” a slinky, disco-like song centered around Devoldere’s sultry baritone, shimmering synth arpeggios and an infectious hook. But at its core, the song captures and evokes the anxious uncertainty of our lives over the past 15-19 months or so.
“You Won’t Come Around,” a slow-burning and cinematic, bit of 70s inspired R&B featuring shimmering strings, strummed acoustic guitar, skittering beats. And over that gorgeous arraignment, Devoldore expresses a confusing yet familiar series of emotions: regret and heartache that a romantic relationship has ended, relief that the relationship has ended and guilt that maybe they’ve moved on a bit too quickly; or in other words, the gnawing sense that you might be a selfish, uncaring asshole.
“On A Roll,” a strutting yet seamless synthesis of their pre-Fever sound with their recent R&B-influenced material centered around Deprez’s crooning falsetto. 

After pandemic-related lockdowns, the members of the JOVM mainstay act got together for the first time in close to a year for the Heleen Declerq-directed and filmed documentary and concert film Sand Castle Tapes. Co-produced with HolyShit Sessions, the film captures the band staying at a beautiful old castle near Brussels as they got together to interpret and play Sand‘s material for the first time together. Declerq manages to capture the atmosphere of the castle and the music while giving an intimate look at the band. “You get to fully understand an album when you start playing it together, the relaxed circumstances lead to a whole other way of interpreting the songs,” the band says of Sand Castle Tapes. 

Earlier this year, the Belgian JOVM mainstays released a a loose and jammy rendition of “Moment,” that found the band joyously expanding upon the song’s groove. Throughout the intimate and gorgeously shot footage, it’s made obvious that the band and their collaborators are just thrilled to be together and playing music together.

The second video from Sand Castle Tapes is a stripped down and intimate version of “On a Roll” centered around piano and mournful horns by Rob Banken, Peter Delannoye and Thomas Mayade. And over that slow-burning and gorgeous arrangement, Deprez takes up lead vocal duties while backed by Devoldere and some backing vocals by Judith Okon, Stefy Rika and Sarah Devos. The live rendition pulls out the confusion, heartache and longing of the original in a new direction.

Sand is out now. But the band will be releasing The Sand Castle Tapes EP digitally through Play It Again Sam on September 24, 2021. The EP will feature 10 songs from the Sand Castle Tapes film — 8 reworked songs off Sand and two jams. You can pre-order the EP here.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Follow Balthazar on A Stylish Trip to a “Groundhog’s Day”-like Hell

Acclaimed Belgian indie rock act and JOVM mainstays Balthazar led by songwriting partners Maarten Devoldere and Jinte Deprez went on a hiatus several years ago that allowed for the duo to pursue their own, critically applauded solo effects — Devoldere’s brooding, hyper literature Warhaus.and Deprez’s old school R&B-inspired J. Bernardt. And while Devoldere and Deprez found the ability to pursue their own individual whims and muses liberating, they also found the time apart sparking an undeniable urge to work together again, propelled a greater mutual respect for each other’s individual work and a much broader artistic vision.

When the members of Balthazar reconvened to work on 2019’s Fever, they did so without any particular plan. Their hope was to improve upon their previously released work, show deeper artistic growth, and to further the band’s story. Interestingly, when the band’s primary writing team began to write Fever’s material, they mutually agreed that the album would have a less serious, less melancholy tone. And as a result, the album’s material may arguably be among the loosest and most playful of their careers while maintaining the deliberate craftsmanship and razor sharp hooks that have won them national and international attention.

Balthazar supported Fever with a relentless touring schedule that included a stop at Baby’s All Right. Feeling invigorated from playing Fever on tour, Devoldere and Deprez started working on a new batch material that included the sultry, Quiet Storm-like “Halfway,” a track that found the band continuing where their last album left off — but while pushing the overall sound and aesthetic in an even more accessible, pop-leaning direction.

Interestingly, the JOVM mainstays’ fifth album Sand reportedly finds the band fully embracing the soulful alt pop/R&B sound of “Halfway” while crafting what the band believes is the most cohesive album of their careers to date. “There’s a theme running through these tracks, waiting, restlessness, not being able to live in the moment or putting your trust into the future,” Balthazar’s Deprez and Devoldere explain in press notes. “We’re at a point in our lives when we have to consider these aspects of life, that’s why the album is called Sand – after the sand in an hourglass.”

“The idea was always to drop another album as soon as possible after Fever. It was fun and we wanted to build on that,” Jinte Deprez says in press notes. “We did a lot of things that we haven’t done previously – we’ve never used as many drum samples or used bass synths before. So that was an exciting step for us. It was a very modern way of making an album, due to the constraints of the pandemic and we had to work remotely and converse electronically rather than in a studio.” “I can’t wait to play this album live because on the Fever tour we pushed the groove element further,” Maarten Devoldere adds.

So far I’ve written about two of Sand’s official singles:

“Losers,” a slinky, disco-tinged yet sophisticated track centered around Devoldere’s sultry baritone, shimmering synth arpeggios and an infectious hook, but at its core, the song captures the anxious uncertainty of our moment, a moment in which most of us feel as though our personal and professional lives have been in an indefinite stasis.
“You Won’t Come Around,” a slow-burning and cinematic, R&B-inspired track featuring shimmering strings, strummed acoustic guitar, skittering beats and Devoldore expressing a confusing yet familiar series of emotions: regret and heartache that a romantic relationship has ended, relief that the relationship has ended and guilt that maybe they’ve moved on a bit too quickly; or in other words, the gnawing sense that you might be a selfish, uncaring asshole.

Clocking in at a little under four minutes, “On A Roll,” Sand’s latest single finds the JOVM mainstays crafting a strutting and seamless synthesis of their pre-Fever sound with their recent R&B-influenced leanings with the track featuring buzzing bass synths, slinky guitar lines, glistening synth arpeggios, a sinuous bass line, a mournful horn arrangement and skittering beats, Deprez’s soulful crooning and falsetto.

Directed by Pieter De Cnudde, the recently released and incredibly cinematic video for “On A Roll” was shot at the NH Hotel in Bruges, Belgium, and follows Balthazar’s songwriting duo in a Groundhog’s Day-like hell.”The song and video is about the repetitive lack of control you have on situations, your life, your own ways,” Deprez explains in press notes. “Even for a moment when you think you can escape your own loop, you find yourself right back at the start again, finding out the changes didn’t change the outcome, or you.”

Sand is slated for a February 26, 2020 release though Play It Again Sam.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstays Balthazar Go on a “French Connection” Styled Adventure

Throughout the last couple of years, I’ve managed to spill quite a bit of virtual ink covering Belgian-born and-based singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Maarten Devoldere, Delvodere is best known for being the frontman of two internationally recognized, critically applauded, JOVM mainstay acts Balthazar and Warhaus.

While Devoldere was busy with Warhaus, at one point writing much of the project’s sophomore album in a remote retreat in Kyrgyzstan, his longtime friend, songwriting partner and Balthazar bandmate Jinte Deprez remained in Ghent, focusing on his old school R&B inspired solo project J. Bernardt. During Balthazar’s hiatus, the band’s songwriting duo enjoyed the ability to indulge their individual whims and creative muses, crafting commercially successful and critically applauded work — and Deprez and Devoldere found it liberating. The duo found that the time apart with their own creative endeavors created an undeniable urge to work together again, propelled by a much broader artistic horizon and an even greater mutual respect for each other’s individual work.

When the members of Balthazar reconvened to work on last year’s Fever, they did so without any particular plan beyond just desiring to improve upon their previously released work and to further the band’s story. Interestingly, as Deprez and Devoldere started to write Fever’s material, they mutually agreed that the album would have a less serious, less melancholy — and while arguably finding the band at their loosest and most playful, the album retained the deliberate craftsmanship and razor sharp hooks that have won them national and international attention.

Last year also saw the band on a relentless touring schedule to support Fever that included a stop at Baby’s All Right in May. Feeling invigorated from the material and touring, the act wrote a batch of new material that began with the sultry-old school R&B-like “Halfway,” which found the band continuing the sound and aesthetic of Fever but while pushing it in an accessible, pop-leaning direction.

Interestingly, Sand, the JOVM mainstays’ forthcoming album reportedly finds the band fully embracing soulful alt pop — and crafting what may arguably be their most cohesive album of the careers. “There’s a theme running through these tracks, waiting, restlessness, not being able to live in the moment or putting your trust into the future,” Deprez and Devoldere explain. “We’re at a point in our lives when we have to consider these aspects of life, that’s why the album is called Sand – after the sand in an hourglass.”

“The idea was always to drop another album as soon as possible after Fever. It was fun and we wanted to build on that,” Jinte Deprez says in press notes. “We did a lot of things that we haven’t done previously – we’ve never used as many drum samples or used bass synths before. So that was an exciting step for us. It was a very modern way of making an album, due to the constraints of the pandemic and we had to work remotely and converse electronically rather than in a studio.” “I can’t wait to play this album live because on the Fever tour we pushed the groove element further,” Maarten Devoldere adds.

Sand’s latest single is the slinky, late night jam “Losers.” Centered around Devoldere’s sultry baritone, falsetto backing vocals, funk polyrhythm, shimmering synth arpeggios and an infectious hook, “Losers” may arguably be the slinkiest and most disco-influenced songs of their growing catalog, but while retaining a cool, seemingly European sophistication. But at its core the song captures the anxious uncertain of this particular moment: most of us feel like our professional and personal lives are in indefinite stasis without any idea of what’s next — hell, if there’s anything beyond this.

Directed by Pieter De Cnudde, the recently released video for “Losers” was filmed in the band’s native Belgium and follows the band in various guises on a French Connection-like crime story that depicts most of the song’s narrative in a literal fashion.

Sand is slated for a January 29, 2021 release through Play It Again Sam.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Westerman’s Atmospheric Meditation on Moral Relativism

With the release of his critically acclaimed Bullion-produced debut EP, Ark, the London-based singer/songwriter and guitarist Will Westerman, best known as Westerman, received national and international attention for writing material that thematically grapes with societal confines and other issues over a shapeshifting electronic backdrops. Building upon a growing profile, Westerman’s highly-anticipated full-length debut Your Hero Is Not Dead is slated for a June 5, 2020 release through Play It Again Sam and Partisan Records, across North America.

Continuing his ongoing collaboration with Bullion (a.k.a. Nathan Jenkins), Your Hero Is Not Dead was recorded in Southern Portugal and finished in London. Thematically, the album is about empathy and compassion, struggle and release, and all the ways we contradict and battle within ourselves on a daily basis — and as a result, the material is centered around moral, political and ethical gray areas with narrators, who attempt to resolve larger external issues by looking inward. Your Hero Is Not Dead’s fifth and latest single, “The Line” is brooding and atmospheric track featuring gentle layers of shimmering synth arpeggios, strummed guitar, the rising London-based artist’s expressive falsetto and a soaring hook. And while bearing a subtle resemblance to Peter Gabriel’s Security and Peter Gabriel 3, the song as Westerman explains was inspired by this thoughts on moral relativism.

“I was thinking about moral relativism when I wrote this,” Westerman says in press notes. “The ever-shifting parameters of what is and isn’t acceptable. This applies to many things – gender, human rights, parenting, politics. I don’t believe that this means there’s no right and wrong, but normative values are constantly in flux – hopefully as we continue to be more compassionate.” 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Acclaimed Belgian Act Balthazar Releases Cinematic Visuals for Their Breeziest and Most Accessible Single to Date

Over the past couple of years, I’ve written a bit about Maarten Devoldere, a Belgian singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known for being the frontman of the internationally acclaimed acts Balthazar and JOVM mainstays Warhaus. And as you may recall, Warhaus isa bit of a sonic departure from Devoldere’s work with Balthazar, as it was atmospheric jazz-leaning art rock that managed to recall  The Church, Sting’s The Dream of the Blue Turtles and Nothing Like the Sun, Edith Piaf, Leonard Cohen and the poetry of William Blake — all while paired with Devoldere’s urbane, decadent, novelistic lyrics.

Unsurprisingly, Warhaus’ debut We Fucked a Flame Into Being derived its title from a line in DH Lawerence’s seminal, erotic novel Lady Chatterley’s Lover — and the album’s material thematically focused on lust, desire and the inscrutably of random encounters with a deeply personal almost confessional nature. Warhaus’ self-titled, sophomore album found the material moving away from sin, lust an decadence and towards sincere, honest, hard-fought and harder-won love, as much of the material was inspired by Devoldere’s romantic relationship with backing vocalist Sylvie Kreusch. Reportedly, the recording sessions for the self-titled album was a much more spontaneous affair, heavily influenced by  Dr. John‘s The Night Tripper period — with the material leaning even more towards jazz while hinting at voodoo rhythms. 

While Devoldere was busy with Warhaus, at one point writing much of the project’s sophomore album in a retreat in  Kyrgyzstan his Balthazar songwriting partner, co-frontman and longtime friend Jinte Deprez remained in Ghent, holing himself in the studio, where he indulged his love of old-school R&B, eventually releasing a solo album as J. Bernardt. During their primary project’s hiatus, Devoldere and Deprez found the ability to indulge their whims and follow their creative muses while receiving commercial and critical success to be liberating; but it also led to the urge for the duo to write together again, propelled by a broader artistic horizon and their mutual respect for each other’s work.

Interestingly, when the members of the band reconvened, they had no particular plans, just a desire to better their previously released material and further the band’s story. As the band’s primary songwriters Both Devoldere and Deprez agreed on an overall less serious, less melancholy feel, leaning towards a looser, refreshed sound — while retaining their ability to sharp hook. The end result is Balthazar’s forthcoming album Fever, which is slated for a January 25, 2019 release through Play It Again Sam Records.  Album title track “Fever” is a slinky and sultry sunset jam, centered around a strutting bass riff, stomping percussion, a swooping string motif, a sinuous hook, a bridge featuring twinkling keys and Devoldere’s plaintive baritone. The new single finds the band crafting swaggering and infectious pop that’s accessible, carefree, and flirty while being smart and unlike anything else written or recorded by a contemporary artist. 

Directed by Athos Burez, the recently released and incredibly cinematic video stars the songwriting duo of Devoldere and Deprez driving around and goofing off in a decidedly foreign and mountainous land. Shot between declining sunset and nighttime, the video is a woozy and feverish dream — the sort that as a photographer, makes me feel envy — centered around two old pals, and their easygoing chemistry.