Tag: seattle

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

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

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

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

If you’ve been frequenting JOVM over roughly the last 15-18 months or so, you may have come across a couple of posts on Scott Reitherman, the creative mastermind behind indie electro pop sensation, Pillar Point and the former frontman of pop act, Throw Me The Statue. With Pillar Point, Reitherman has received national attention for a melancholy yet bouncy electro pop sound primarily comprised of vintage, analog synthesizers, drum kits and sleek bass lines. It’s a sound that’s been compared favorably to several blogosphere darling acts including Washed Out, LCD Soundsystem and others.

While touring to support his solo debut with of Montreal , Reitherman was planning to write and record his sophomore full-length effort, Marble Mouth in his Seattle home when Kevin Barnes unexpectedly invited him to record the album in his home studio. As soon as the tour wrapped up, Reitherman spent several months crafting demos and went to Barnes’ home to flesh out, refine and then record Marble Mouth‘s material with contributions from Washed Out’s drummer Cameron Gardener and Kishi Bashi‘s percussionist Philip Mayer. Reitherman then spent a six month sent in New Orleans writing and refining both the album’s lyrics and vocals. And as Reitherman explained in press notes, New Orleans managed to influence the album’s lyrical direction.“New Orleans was the most meditative and mysterious part of making the record,” Reitherman explained. “I wanted to sink into that city and scrutinize the romantic southern sojourn.”

Marble Mouth’s first single, album opening track “Part Time Love” paired layers of twitchy and cascading synths with propulsive, four-on-the-floor drumming and Reitherman’s ethereal cooing to craft a sound that’s reminiscent of Talking Heads, Tobacco and others, while it subtly nodded at Top 40 pop; in other words, the sound is tense, neurotic and incredibly danceable and accessible pop with infectious hooks. The album’s latests single “Dove” pairs confessional R&B/pop-leaning lyrics sung with Reitherman’s achingly plaintive and emotive vocals with house music-leaning production comprised of layers of cascading synths, skittering drum programming, a glitchy and dramatic string sample and swirling electronics in what may be arguably the most club-friendly song of the entire album.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Live Footage: Brandi Carlile’s “The Things I Regret” Live at Red Rocks Amphitheater

Ravensdale, WA-born and Seattle, WA-based singer/songwriter Brandi Carlile can trace the origins of her music career to her childhood — when she was 8 she performed Johnny Cash‘s “Tennessee Flat Top Box” with her mother […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Originally, known as the frontman of pop act Throw Me The Statue, Scott Reitherman’s solo recording project Pillar Point has received attention for a melancholy yet bouncy electro pop sound primarily comprised of vintage, analog synthesizers, drum kits and sleek bass lines. As the story goes, Reitherman was planning to write and record his sophomore full-length album in his Seattle home when he received an unexpected invitation to record the album at Kevin Barnes’ home studio, while Reitherman was opening for of Montreal during their US tour.

Once the tour wrapped up, Reitherman spent a few months crafting demos of the material that would wind up comprising Marble Mouth before spending a month at Barnes’ house refining and recording alongside of Washed Out‘s drummer, Cameron Gardener and Kishi Bashi‘s percussionist Philip Mayer.

Reithernan then spent a six period in New Orleans writing and refining both the album’s lyrics and vocals. And as Reitherman explained in press notes, “New Orleans was the most meditative and mysterious part of making the record. I wanted to sink into that city and scrutinize the romantic southern sojourn.”

Marble Mouth‘s first single, album opening track “Part Time Love” pairs layers of twitchy and cascading synths with propulsive, four-on-the-floor drumming and Reitherman’s ethereal cooing to craft a sound that’s reminiscent of The Talking Heads, Tobacco and others, while subtly nodding at Top 40 pop; in other words, the sound is tense, neurotic and incredibly danceable and accessible pop with infectious hooks.

New Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Shimmering, Dance Pop Sound of LEGS’ New Single, “Hide and Seek”

If you’ve been frequenting JOVM over the past couple of months, you’d likely have come across a couple of posts on the Brooklyn-based indie electro pop quintet LEGS. Originally formed in Seattle in 2013, the […]

singer/songwriters by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Old-School Soul-Inspired Sound of McClain Sullivan’s “Happy Anniversary”

If you’ve been frequenting JOVM over the past month or so you might remember that I’ve written about the Seattle, WA-born and  Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter McClain Sullivan. Sullivan grew up with an  unwavering passion for making music; in fact, the […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Indie All-Star, Side Project, Coromandelles’ New Single Channels a Playful Version of Phil Spector and Others

Initially begun as a sort of side project of Tijuana Panthers’ Dan Michicoff, Coromandelles, the project became a full-fledged band when Cold War Kids‘ bassist Matt Maust, Robyn Roth and Naomi Green joined. After recording […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Single: Joseph Giant’s New Single “On The Run” Channels, Classic Rock Sound of the 70s

Formed by its creative mastermind, Joe Syverson back in 2010, the Seattle, WA-based quartet Joseph Giant quickly found themselves with a growing local and national profile as they’ve toured with and opened for a list […]

Video by William Ruben Helms

Live Footage: METZ on Seattle’s KEXP

With the release of their self-titled debut effort in 2012, the Toronto-based trio Metz received both national and international attention for a sound that may remind listeners to Bleach and In Utereo-era Nirvana, A Place to Bury Strangers and Japandroids as their material is […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: The Dreamy and Summery, 80s Synth Pop of Hibou

Hibou is the musical project of the up-and-coming Seattle-based producer and electronic music artist Peter Michel, whose music career initially began while Michel was still in high school, when he was he recruited to join […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Introducing The Murky and Eerie Sounds of Seattle’s Nightspace

Nightspace is the solo recording project of its Seattle-based mastermind Bailey Skye. And as Skye explains in press notes, the project is meant to evoke that in-between time, “when the dark part of your consciousness […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: The Urgent, Garage Rock Sound of Seattle’s Pony Time

The Seattle, WA-based duo Pony Time, comprised of Luke Beetham (bass, vocals) and Stacy Peck (drums) can trace their origins to when the duo met while helping a friend move a stereo in 2009. Initially, […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: The Dreamy and Futuristic Sounds of Midday Veil’s “Babel”

Comprised of co-founders Emily Pothast and David Golightly, along with Timm Mason, Jayson Kochan, Garrett Moore and Sam Yoder, the Seattle,WA-based sextet Midday Veil have developed a reputation for crafting material that’s subtle and incredibly nuanced, […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: The Subtly Old-Timey Country of Blackheart Honeymoon’s “Mountains Speak”

Currently comprised of Ian Prebo (vocals, acoustic guitar), Wesley Amundsen (bass) Steve Andrea (guitar) Adrienne Marie Pollock (vocals, keys) Dusty Hayes (drums, vocals), the Seattle, WA-based quintet, Blackheart Honeymoon can trace their origins to when founding members […]