Tag: Providence RI

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Weird Nightmare Returns with Rousingly Anthemic and Earnest “Where I Belong”

Almost every band that’s worth a damn has had a member, who at some point worked in a record store. With JOVM mainstay acts METZ and Weird Nightmare, it was frontman and creative mastermind Alex Edkins. Slinging indie rock and hardcore records at his hometown record store while attending university, Edkins became an ardent student of rock ‘n’ roll from the psychedelic 1960s to the DIY 1990s and beyond. 

Hoopla, Edkins’ sophomore Weird Nightmare album, which is slated for a May 1, 2026 release through Sub Pop globally and Dine Alone Records in Canada, reportedly sees the JOVM mainstay mixing and matching these wide-ranging influences in fun, exhilarating combinations, showcasing his sophisticated musical mind, while continuing to showcase his unerring knack for ridiculously catchy and rousingly anthemic hooks and choruses.

Co-produced by Edkins and Spoon‘s Jim Eno at Providence‘s world famous Machines With Magnets, Hoopla also sees the acclaimed Canadian artist expanding upon Weird Nightmare’s musical palette with the addition of piano, bells and castanets, which give his long-held straightforward songwriting a shiny luster. 

The album will feature the previously released “Forever Elsewhere,” the Cheap Trick-like “Might See You There,” the punchy punk rock-like “Pay No Mind,” and the album’s third single “Where I Belong.” “Where I Belong” continues to showcase Edkins’ long-held penchant for rousingly anthemic hooks and choruses paired with some of the most introspective and deeply honest songwriting of the JOVM mainstay’s career. The song captures a narrator who’s recognizing that he’s getting older, that the road ain’t what it always is cracked up to be — especially since he has a family. The self-doubt and confusion at the core of the song are real and deeply lived in yet they feel universal and familiar to anyone, who’s inching into middle age.

Directed by boy wonder, the accompanying video for “Where I Belong” features Edkins in a thrift shop, playing his guitar and singing while trying on different outfits and personalties.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Weird Nightmare Shares Punchy “Pay No Mind”

Almost every band that’s worth a damn has had a member, who at some point worked in a record store. With JOVM mainstay acts METZ and Weird Nightmare, it was frontman and creative mastermind Alex Edkins. Slinging indie rock and hardcore records at his hometown record store while attending university, Edkins became an ardent student of rock ‘n’ roll from the psychedelic 1960s to the DIY 1990s and beyond. 

Hoopla, Edkins’ sophomore Weird Nightmare album, which is slated for a May 1, 2026 release through Sub Pop globally and Dine Alone Records in Canada, reportedly sees the JOVM mainstay mixing and matching these wide-ranging influences in fun, exhilarating combinations, showcasing his sophisticated musical mind, while continuing to showcase his unerring knack for ridiculously catchy and rousingly anthemic hooks and choruses.

Co-produced by Edkins and Spoon‘s Jim Eno at Providence‘s world famous Machines With Magnets, Hoopla also sees the acclaimed Canadian artist expanding upon Weird Nightmare’s musical palette with the addition of piano, bells and castanets, which give his long-held straightforward songwriting a shiny luster. 

The album will feature the previously released “Forever Elsewhere,” and the Cheap Trick-like “Might See You There.”

Hoopla‘s third and latest single “Pay No Mind” is a punchy, downright punk rock-like take on power pop, anchored around Edkins’ unerring knack for ridiculously catchy hooks and big riffs paired with what may arguably be his most socially aware, thoughtful lyrics of his growing catalog.

“We had a blast making this video with director Ryan Faist,” the Weird Nightmare creative mastermind says,. “It was a nod to the Elvis Costello and the Attractions ‘Pump it Up‘ video and some early footage of the Buzzcocks on cable access TV. 
 
“The lyric was lifted from an Atlantic City tourism t-shirt. ‘I’m so broke, I can’t even pay attention‘ struck me as a particularly accurate comment on modern life. Obviously, the shirt is meant to be funny, but it felt quite dark to me. Due to the overwhelming onslaught of information and emotional baggage that comes with it, I think there is a tendency for people’s lives to become quite myopic. As a coping mechanism, we become more and more insular, ignoring the world around us.”

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Weird Nightmare Shares Sweetly Nostalgic and Anthemic “Might See You There”

Almost every band that’s worth a damn has had a member, who at some point worked in a record store. With JOVM mainstay acts METZ and Weird Nightmare, it was frontman and creative mastermind Alex Edkins. Slinging indie rock and hardcore records at his hometown record store while attending university, Edkins became an ardent student of rock ‘n’ roll from the psychedelic 1960s to the DIY 1990s and beyond.

Hoopla, Edkins’ sophomore Weird Nightmare album, which is slated for a May 1, 2026 release through Sub Pop globally and Dine Alone Records in Canada, reportedly sees the JOVM mainstay mixing and matching these wide-ranging influences in fun, exhilarating combinations, showcasing his sophisticated musical mind, while continuing to showcase his unerring knack for ridiculously catchy and rousingly anthemic hooks and choruses.

Co-produced by Edkins and Spoon‘s Jim Eno at Providence‘s world famous Machines With Magnets, Hoopla also sees the acclaimed Canadian artist expanding upon Weird Nightmare’s musical palette with the addition piano, bells and castanets, which give his long-held straightforward songwriting a shiny luster.

The album will feature the previously released “Forever Elsewhere,” and the album’s latest single “Might See You There.” Seemingly channeling Cheap Trick and Weezer, “Might See You There” is a raise-your-beer in air and shout along with your best pals power pop anthem that continues to showcase Edkins’ remarkable craftsmanship. But the song is anchored in sweet, perhaps rose-colored glasses of nostalgia for one’s youth. In the case of “Might See You There,” the boredom, isolation and small joys of the narrator’s teenaged years, living in a small town — before the days of social media and constant screen time.

“‘Might See You There’ is about going back to visit my hometown and being flooded with teenage nostalgia,” Edkins explains. “Small-town boredom and isolation almost feel like a gift in today’s highly connected world. I feel fortunate for that time spent idly, down in the basement, learning the entire Rancid Let’s Go album on guitar with my friends. I find it easy to romanticise that time in my life, even though I was, without question, a disgruntled kid who badly wanted to escape my surroundings and see the world.
 
“I was listening to a lot of the Irish bands The Undertones and Protex while writing this one, and I think there is a fair bit of their influence,” the JOVM mainstay adds. “Just the simplicity and big bar chords mostly. Seth Manchester and I were very into the idea of adding piano and bells to the outro, akin to the Phil Spector-produced End of the Century album by The Ramones. The great Julianna Riolino sings with me on the choruses, too!”

The mind-bending, animated accompanying video was directed and edited by CC Mulligan.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Lyric Video: Eyes of Argus Share Sludgy Dirge “From The Dark”

Currently split between Providence and Salem, MA, emerging doom metal duo Eyes Of Argus — Guitar Hero and Rock Band co-creator and member of Megasus, Ryan Lesser (guitar) and Sam (vocals) — can trace their origins back to the bleakest days of the pandemic when Lesser began crafting tracks rooted in the concept of ugly/pretty: Lesser specifically plays fuzzy, down-tuned sludgy power chords while Sam contributes ethereal vocals and magical lyrics. 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Lyric Video: Eyes Of Argus Share Sludgy “Honey’d Dreams”

Currently split between Providence and Salem, MA, emerging doom metal duo Eyes Of Argus — Guitar Hero and Rock Band co-creator and member of Megasus, Ryan Lesser (guitar) and Sam (vocals) — can trace their origins back to the bleakest days of the pandemic when Lesser began crafting tracks rooted in the concept of ugly/pretty: Lesser specifically plays fuzzy, down-tuned sludgy power chords while Sam contributes ethereal vocals and magical lyrics.

The duo’s full-length debut is slated for a February 23, 2023 release, and was recorded and mixed by Lesser, after he studied the techniques of Steve Albini, who he recorded with several years earlier.

Clocking in at about 8:20, the album’s latest single, the expansive “Honey’d Dreams” begins with a brooding “Planet Caravan“-like introduction with glistening and reverb-drenched guitars and then quickly turning into a doom metal dirge featuring sludgy power chords, thunderous drumming paired with Sam’s ethereal crooning. Lyrically, the song is rooted in seemingly Norse-inspired imagery and mythology. The end result is a song that balances brooding sludge with a hazy, nostalgia-tinged dreaminess.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Creepily Cinematic Visuals for Holy Golden’s “Seven of Diamonds”

Comprised of Leslie Schott and Andrew Valenti, the acclaimed indie duo Holy Golden can trace their origins to a serendipitous meeting on Martha’s Vineyard — during a lunar eclipse. As the story goes, Schott decided to take a ferry to the island and happened upon the record store where Valenti was working at the time. After chatting a bit, Valenti wrote down his band’s email address on a business card, gave it to Schott, suggesting that she should come to a show that night. Schott purchased a few CDs and left, assuming that she’d probably never see Valenti again, but as the ferry back to the mainland was about to depart, she ran off the boat and found the show. Since then, Schott and Valenti have traveled back and forth between Martha’s Vineyard and Los Angeles, where they’re currently based, creating mythological, multi-media based mini-worlds through music, music videos, short films and photography. Sonically speaking, the duo have developed a reputation for a sound that blends dream pop and 90s alt rock — while being inspired by their deepest sorrows and brightest fantasies, Maya Deren, David Lynch, Edward Gorey, and the lonely terrain of gilded Americana.

Wallflower Records’ founder Corey Savage signed the duo after catching them play in Houston during their first tour, and the label released their critically applauded full-length debut Wax Castle, an album that was written and recorded in various locations across the country. Building upon a growing profile, The Licking River EP was recorded, produced and mixed at Providence, RI-based Machines With Magnets Studio, and the EP was named by a number of blogs across the blogosphere as one of the top indie EPs of 2017. The duo’s sophomore album, the Steve Rizzo-produced Otherworld was a concept album inspired by a recurring childhood daydream of Schott’s — and it was recorded in a historic ballroom in Newport, RI. Interestingly, the duo frequently record while traveling and as a result, their work is affected by the rapidly changing landscapes, as well as the changing external and internal environment; in fact, they’ve had stints in Los Angeles, Detroit, Rhode Island and Cape Cod. 

Released earlier this year, the duo’s Sleepwalkers in the Milky Way EP will further cement their growing reputation for crafting atmospheric and cinematic dream pop — and while the band’s sound has been described as if Dolly Parton were backed by The xx, their latest single “Seven of Diamonds” to my ears, sounds as though it were influenced by the now-defunct Denver-based act Ending People and the classic 4AD Records heyday roster. In other words you’ll hear an arrangement of shimmering and angular guitar chords, dramatic drumming, a sinuous bass line and a soaring hook paired with Schott’s ethereal and plaintive vocals. 

Directed by Beatrice Pegard, the recently released video for “Seven of Diamonds” is a fever dream that seems influenced by Roger Corman’s Edgar Allen Poe films and the work Dario Argento among others — and as result, it has a palpably tense and uneasy creepiness. 

women who kick ass by William Ruben Helms

Live Concert Photography: The Goodnight Darlings with herMajesty at Mercury Lounge 2/28/18

Featuring core members Kat Auster (vocals); Wilson (guitar), who has had lengthy stints touring with in the backing bands of The Fugees and Wyclef Jean; and Jaramillo (drums), the New York-based indie act The Goodnight Darlings have received both local and national attention for a sultry, dance floor friendly sound that draws from 80s pop, hip-hop, Combat Rock-era The Clash, New Wave, post-punk and shoegaze. The local indie rock stalwarts headlined an early show at Mercury Lounge that featured JOVM mainstays herMajesty as the night’s opener. Check out photos from the show below.

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Over the years, I’ve written quite a bit about the New York-based art rock/glam rock/indie rock act and JOVM herMajesty. And although the band has gone through a number of lineup changes, the band which is currently comprised of founding member and primary songwriter  JP (vocals, samples, guitar), David (bass, lead guitar), Joan (bass) and Konrad (drums) has maintained a reputation for crafting lush, moody and contemplative material that’s heavily indebted to Roxy Music, David Bowie, U2 and others. Since the release of the My Body Your Mind EP and a series of standalone singles, which included gorgeous cover of Patti Smith’s “Dancing Barefoot,” “One by One” and others, the band has developed a regional profile with the New York-based rock act opening for the likes of  The B52s, Tom Tom Club, Say Hi to Your Mom and The Boxer Rebellion — and have made frequent tour stops in Rochester, Providence, Philadelphia and Boston, as well as regular shows at Rockwood Music Hall and The Bowery Electric in the Lower East Side. Of course, their set included those singles and their latest single, the shimmering and disco-tinged “Weightless,” which you can check out below.

 
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For these photos and more, check out the Flickr set here: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmgRTPnz

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Joey La Neve DeFrancesco, Norlan Olivo, Mary Regalado and Victoria Ruiz, the Providence, RI-based punk rock quartet Downtown Boys have developed a growing national reputation for writing protest music centering on their own experiences as young, queer, Chicana and Latino artists, musicians and people within an extremely whitewashed, cis-male, heterosexual world — especially within rock; in fact, throughout the course of the band’s first two albums, they’ve called on their fans whether newfound or diehard to join the struggle to smash racism, homophobia, queerphobia, exploitative capitalism, fascism, ignorance and boredom and more that have closed people’s minds, hearts and souls off to themselves and others.

Produced by Fugazi‘s Guy Picciotto, the band’s forthcoming third, full-length effort Cost of Living, which is slated for an August 11, 2017 through Sub Pop Records will further cement their reputation for crafting serious, incendiary and cathartic yet fun music in which their youthful, urgent and passionate energy is paired with their sociopolitical ideals.   Lyrically inspired by Assata Shakur’s poem “i believe in living,” Cost of Living‘s opening track and first single “The Wall,” finds the band sonically drawing from The Clash, Wire and others while the chorus and hook is repeated mantra-like “A wall is just a wall/A wall is just a wall . . .” boldly calling out Donald Trump’s “Great Wall,” and his supporters for its blatant stupidity; but it also serves as a righteous and powerful reminder that though the wall is symbolically meant to crush the humanity, dreams and desires of an entire groups of people, that as long as people are people, brick and barb wire can never crush their humanity.

As much as we all may want and need to have mindless fun, the members of Downtown Boys are actively creating some of the most forceful and necessary material of the resistance.

The band will be on tour throughout the entire summer and fall and it includes two NYC are stops — June 9, 2017 at the Pitchfork Northside Festival Showcase at Saint Vitus and July 12, 2017 at House of Vans. Check out the rest of the tour dates below.
Tour Dates
6/9: Brooklyn, NY @ Pitchfork Northside Fest Showcase @ St. Vitus
6/16: Ashfield, MA @ The Ashfield Lake House
6/17: Providence, RI @ Aurora
7/12: Brooklyn, NY @ House of Vans
8/19: Omaha, NE @ Maha Festival
9/2 – 9/3: Philadelphia, PA @ Made In America Festival
9/15 – 9/17: Chicago, IL @ Riot Fest
9/23: Los Angeles, CA @ Summer Happenings at The Broad
10/9: Leffinge, Belgium @ Cafe De Zwerver
10/10: Paris, France @ Le Point Ephemere
10/11: Brighton, UK @ The Haunt
10/12: Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club
10/13: Edinburgh, UK @ Sneaky Pete’s
10/14: Glasgow, UK @ Stereo
10/16: Dublin, Ireland @ The Workman’s Club
10/17: Liverpool, UK @ The Shipping Forecast
10/18: London, UK @ Dome Tufnell Park
10/19: Sheffield, UK @ Picture House Social Club
10/20: Manchester, UK @ Deaf Institute
10/21: Bristol, UK @ Simple Things Festival
10/22: Birmingham, UK @ All Years Leaving Festival
10/24: Munster, Germany @ Gleis 22
10/25: Berlin, Germany @ Urban Spree
10/26: Hamburg, Germany @ Hafenklang

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Dougie Poole is a Providence, RI-born, New York-based singer/songwriter, who began his musical career writing loud, heavy and dissonant music before eventually turning his focus on country music. And with his forthcoming full-length effort Wideass Highway, the Providence-based, New York-based singer/songwriter writes about his own, real-life experiences — heartbreak and loss and how we deal with it in the digital age, skittish use of psychedelics, his relationships with people and computers, and life in and in-between cities while expanding upon familiar country sounds and structures, essentially exploring country as an experimental and forward-thinking genre.  And as you’ll hear on his latest single “Less Young but as Dumb” Poole pairs the aching and wistful sentiment of country — in this case,  the song’s narrator speaks of his regret over a relationship that’s ended and his difficulties moving on — with a shimmering, cosmic Wall of Sound-like sound familiar to shoegazers, all while nodding at the lonely heartache of Roy Orbison.

 

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Slick and Decadent Visuals for Sofi Tukker’s “Awoo”

Soft Animals’ second single “Awoo” is a mischievous song that features guest vocals from Betta Lemme and the single pairs a tribal house/classic house music-inspired production in which tribal drum programming and stuttering samba-like keys are paired with Lemme’s and Hawley-Weld’s alternating sultry vocals and child-like shouting in what may arguably be the duo’s most buoyant, dance floor friendly and mischievous song they’ve released to date.

The recently released video for the song is a slick and vividly colored bit of decadence and ostentatious wealth that seems to draw from Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette, Cruel Intentions and Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous with Robin Leech.