Tag: shoegaze

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstays and Shoegaze Pioneers The Veldt Return with a Lush Seductive and Moody Record Store Day 7 inch

Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site over the course of the past 12-18 months, you’ve likely come across at least one of a handful of posts featuring the pioneering, Raleigh, NC/NYC-based sheogazer rock quintet The Veldt. Currently comprised of founding members, primary songwriters and identical twin brothers Daniel Chavis (vocals, guitar) and Danny Chavis (guitar) and Martin Levi (drums), along with along with Hayato Nakao (bass) and Frank Olsen (guitar), the band can trace their origins back to the Chapel Hill, NC music scene of the late 80s and early 90s — a scene that included Superchunk, arguably the most commercially successful and best known of the acts from that region, Polvo, Dillon Fence, and others.

With the band’s initial lineup featuring the Chavis Brothers and Levi, along with Joseph “Hue” Boyle (bass) and later David Burris, the members of The Veldt managed to be a rarity as a shoegazer rock band that prominently featured black men in a place and time, in which it was considered rather unusual, if not extremely uncommon — and they hailed from the South. Interestingly enough, the band quickly attained “must-see” status and with the 1992 release of their full-length debut Marigolds, the band saw a rapidly expanding national profile as the members of the band were profiled by MTV as a buzz-worthy act. And as a result, the then-Chapel Hill-based band earned a much more lucrative recording contact with Polygram Records, who in 1994 released their highly-acclaimed Ray Shulman produced sophomore effort Aphrodisiac. Thanks in part to being on a major label and to a pioneering sound that meshed elements of old-school soul, shoegaze, Brit Pop and early 90s alt rock, the band found themselves on the verge of international and commercial success opening for the likes of The Jesus and Mary Chain, Lush, Oasis, Cocteau Twins, Pixies, Fishbone, Corrosion of Conformity and others; however, the members of the shoegazer quintet experienced embittering difficulties and infighting with both their label and their management, who repeatedly told the band that they found them “too difficult to market.” And as a result, the band was dropped from Polygram and subsequently from two other labels.

While going through a series of lineup changes, the band released two albums, Universe Boat and Love At First Hate before officially going on a lengthy hiatus in 1998. Now, here’s where things get rather interesting: Several years later, the Chavis Brothers had resurfaced in New York with a new project Apollo Heights, which began to receive attention locally for a sound that effortlessly meshed soul, trip-hop and electronica with shoegazer rock — and for their Robin Guthrie (of Cocteau Twins)-produced debut effort, White Music for Black People, which featured the band collaborating with Guthrie, Mos Def, Deee- Lite‘s Lady Kier, TV on the Radio‘s Dave Sitek, and Mike Ladd. (Around that time, I remember reading a profile about the Chavis Brothers in the long-defunct New York Press, a publication that a few years later, I wound up briefly writing for, before their demise. )

And although the members of The Veldt have toiled in varying amounts of relative obscurity over the past 20+ years, the Chavis Brothers’ and their bandmates’ work has managed to quietly reverberate, becoming much more influential than what its creators could have ever imagined as members of internationally renowned acts Bloc Party and TV on the Radio’s Dave Sitek have publicly claimed the band as influencing their own genre defying sound and aesthetic.

Last year may have been arguably one of the bigger years of the band’s history as the members of the recently reformed band released the first batch of new material in almost 20 years, The Shocking Fuzz of Your Electric Fur: The Drake Equation Mixtape, an effort, which revealed a subtle yet noticeable meshing of the early shoegazer sound of The Veldt with the trip-hop and electronic-leaning sound of Apollo Heights as you’d hear on the swooning “Sanctified” and the sultry and moody “In A Quiet Room.” Building upon the buzz of those singles and the EP, The Veldt went on several tours, opening for the likes of The Brian Jonestown Massacre and others, and much like the resurgence of Detroit-based proto-punkers Death, the Chavis Brothers and company firmly reasserted their place within Black musical history and within musical history in general, making a a vital connection between The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Cocteau Twins, The Verve, Fishbone, Marvin Gaye, Prince and TV on the Radio among others.

The Raleigh and New York-based band begin 2017 with the “Symmetry”/”Slow Grind” 7 inch vinyl single, which North Carolina-based indie retail store and label Schoolkids Records will be releasing exclusively for Record Store Day. “Symmetry” is a slow-burning Quiet Storm soul meets shimmering and moody shoegaze single in which Danny Chavis’ ethereal crooning placidly floats over a stormy mix of swirling electronics, stuttering beats, a propulsive bass line and shimmering guitar chords — and throughout the song there’s a urgent and plaintive yearning that’s forcefully visceral. The recently released video pairs stock footage from the 1920s, featuring a brooding Flapper-type looking at a mirror and lying down before jelly fish gently undulating in lava lamp-like water take over the screen. We then see two women swimming in perfect symmetry before returning to the video’s initial imagery. And as a result, the video possesses a dream-like logic and vibe.

“Slow Grind” is a swaggering yet dreamy and slow-burning bit of shoegaze featuring staccato bursts of stuttering beats, deep low end, swirling electronics, shimmering guitar chords and distorted vocals to create a sound that evokes the sensation of being submerged in a viscous substance — or being enveloped by sound. The recently released video features a young woman seductively grinding in front of superimposed images of manta rays leaping out of the water and bright, explosions of colors. Certainly with these two releases, and growing attention on the band, I’m looking forward to seeing what else the band will be releasing over the course of this year and onward.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Shane Hunter (vocals, guitar), Robin Deione (guitar), Tom Gregory (bass), Mark Rochman (drums) and Charlie Addison (keys), the Leeds, UK-based shoegazer quintet Colour of Spring quickly received praise from the likes of NME and The Line of Best Fit for a sound that has been compared favorably to Wild Nothing and Beach Fossils — although the band’s latest single, the slow-burning and moody “Echoes” off the Leeds-based quintet’s soon-to-be released,  self-titled EP nods at The Jesus and Mary Chain, Sonic Youth and others, as well as 120 Minutes-era MTV alt rock, thanks in part to its quiet, loud, quiet song structure, and swirling guitar work punctuated with an rousingly anthemic hook. But just underneath the surface is a bittersweet nostalgia that frequently comes about as you get older — and further away from your seemingly simple youth. As the band’s Tom Gregory explains in press notes, “‘Echoes’ is about losing the innocence of youth. As you enter your teenage years, you’re told to grow up and take responsibility and some of the beauty of childhood is gone. We probably spend a lot of time as adults trying to regain that side  just act we lose. ‘Echoes’ is about how deal with this in our funny way.”

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Jersey City, NJ-based shoegaze trio Overlake officially formed in 2012 and can trace its origins to when its founding duo, Thomas Bareett (vocals, guitar) and Lysa Opfer (vocals, bass) were bandmates in another, local hard rock band. Offer and Barrett began to bond over their mutual love of shoegaze and 80s-90s alt rock. After practices and rehearsals, the duo would spend time jamming together, and after about a year of jamming and songwriting, the duo recruited Nick D’Amore (drums) and recorded their 2014 full-length debut Sighs, which was praised for a sound that drew from My Bloody Valentine, Pavement and Sonic Youth among others.

Up until recently, it had been some time since I had written about the trio, but as it turns out the Jersey City-based shoegazers have been extremely busy as they’ve spent the past couple of years extensively touring across the US to support Sighs and the “Travelogue”/”Winter is Why” 7 inch and writing and recording their sophomore Fall, which is slated for a May 12, 2017 release through Bar/None Records. Reportedly, the material on the new album builds upon the massive and enveloping sound of their debut — while adding subtle yet gorgeous flourishes, including contributions from Claudia Chopek, who has worked with Norah Jones, TV on the Radio, The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger and others, contributing piano and violin on a couple of songs. From the album’s first single “Winter Is Why,” the band has managed to subtly expand upon their sound — and while retaining the dreamy, enveloping quality that first caught attention, the song possesses a rousing, arena rock friendly, anthemic hook paired with Opfer and Barrett’s harmonies and some gorgeous guitar work that reminded me of A Northern Soul and Urban Hymns-era The Verve.

Fall‘s second and latest single “Gardener’s Bell” will further cement the band’s reputation for crafting dreamy bit of shoegaze featuring Opfer and Barrett’s ethereal and swooning harmonies, paired with shimmering and swirling guitar work, propulsive drumming and a rousingly anthemic hook. And while continuing to be warmly, enveloping the song manages to be most 120 Minutes-era alt rock sounding song they’ve released in some time.

 

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Dark and Menacing Visuals for Monster Movie’s “Shouldn’t Stray from the Shadows”

Currently comprised of founding members and primary songwriters Slowdive’s Christian Savil (guitar, bass, keys, and vocals) and Sean Hewson (guitar, bass, keys, and vocals), along with Air Formation’s James Harrison (drums) and Slowdive’s Nick Chaplin (bass), shoegazer act Monster Movie can trace their origins to when Savil and Hewson played in a number of bands together, going back to the late 80s — including a band called Eternal, which released a single through Sarah Records that featured the dreamy and fuzzy guitars, and soaring pop melodies that Savil would gradually become known for; in fact, interestingly enough, Savil left Eternal to join Slowdive. About a decade later, Savil and Hewson started their side project Monster Movie with the intention of writing and recording more Krautrock-leaning material; however, their first EP wound up being much more shoegazer rock with a few seconds of something remotely Krautrock-leaning.
Now, if you had been frequenting this site over the course of this year, you may recall that I have written about Monster Movie earlier, and that between the years 2002-2010, Savil and Hewson released four, full-length albums, a mini-album and

During the period of 2002-2010, Savil and Hewson released four full-length albums, a mini album and a two EPs mostly through Graveface Records. And perhaps unsurprisingly, the band has been on an extended hiatus at Savil and Hewson have been involved with Slowdive’s reformation and subsequent touring; in fact, the duo have claimed that their involvement in Slowdive was instrumental in helping the band’s primary songwriters and founding members realize that they’ve needed to move from being a pure studio-based project to being a proper, live band.

Produced by Graveface Records’ founder and head Ryan Graveface and recorded with Martin Nichols at Weston-super-Mare, the band’s fifth album Keep The Voices Distant was released last week through Graveface Records and from the album’s first single, “Shouldn’t Stay From The Shadows,” the band further cements their long-held reputation for crafting rousingly anthemic material that walks the tightrope between fuzzy and towering shoegaze rock and power chord-heavy Brit Pop with a decidedly radio-friendly vibe. But pay close attention, as just underneath the surface, the song’s narrator describes a dysfunctional and abusive relationship — the soft of relationship in which the song’s narrator self-flaggelates himself while simultaneously abusing his partner.

Fittingly for the song’s dark overtones, the recently released video features projected imagery of someone writing the song’s lyrics while within the tub, imagery revealing the band being submerged in water.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Late last week, I wrote about New York-based dream pop duo The Dream Eaters. And as you may recall, the duo, comprised of  Boston, MA-born, New York-based composer and songwriter Jake Zavracky and Vancouver Island, BC-born, New York-based vocalist and musician Elizabeth LeBaron can trace their origins back to 2015. As the story goes, after playing and touring in obscurity in both his hometown of Boston and New York, Zavracky had decided that it was time to give up music, and for a period do time he was working in a Brooklyn dive bar, where he met LeBaron, another bartender, who at the time had recently relocated to New York. Discovering that they were both musicians, they found an instant connection and began collaborating together — although initially, Zavracky had written songs for LeBaron. However, when Zavracky and LeBaron realized that their harmonies helped to create a truly unique sound, while drawing from dream pop, shoegaze, psych pop, folk and indie rock, they recognized that the best thing would be to be write, record,  and perform together.

Initially writing and performing as Jake and Elizabeth, the duo saw a rapidly growing profile; however, as they began to further refine their sound, they felt that it was necessary to rebrand themselves, eventually taking up the name The Dream Eaters. And as The Dream Eaters, Zavracky and LeBaron released their self-produced debut EP Five Little Pills, an effort which has proven to be the precursor of the bare-bone production and sparse yet hauntingly gorgeous sound of their soon-to be released full-length debut, We Are A Curse‘s first single “Dead On The Inside.” Sonically speaking, the duo pairs LeBaron’s lilting and effortless vocals with gently strummed folk-like guitar and chiming percussion with a soaring hook which displays the duo’s stunning harmonizing. And while bearing a resemblance to Moonbabies’ Wizards on the Beach, the song manages to sound as though it draws from Nick Drake and Crosby, Stills, and Nash-era folk. While thematically speaking, the song as the duo explained focuses on coming unmoored and getting lost, and walking around with the realization that you’re living in a murky, anxious and unforgiving dream, evoking what many of us feel living in this surreal political climate; and while being a gorgeous and understated protest song, there’s an underlying sense of resolve and determination to survive and overcome the dark days ahead.

Interestingly, “Neanderthals,” We Are A Curse‘s second and latest single wasn’t originally meant to be on the album — and according to Zavracky is a revised and altered version of a song that he had originally written towards the end of the Bush Administration. After the 2016 presidential election the song seemed sadly relevant again, and ultimately came together very quickly. And as Zavracky explains the song starts with a very pessimistic us vs. them mentality but takes on an optimistic, sort of “Don’t let the bastards grind you down” type of sentiment. “It’s mean to be more inspirational aha negative by the end,” Jake Zavracky says. Elizabeth LeBaron adds that over the past couple of months, the song has grown and developed a much deeper meaning, even after they had finished it. “When we decided to record this song, the Women’s March was breaking records all over the world and this song felt like an anthem. ‘They won’t make us crawl / They’re all neanderthals’ are words that I think will resonate with anyone who is against the “archaic” ideologies being pushed by the new administration,” LeBaron says. However, sonically speaking, the duo pairs shuffling, trip hop-inspired beats with their gorgeous harmonies, twinkling keys and a soaring, anthemic hook to craft what may be the most strident and forcefully political song they’ve released to date.

 

New Audio by William Ruben Helms

Deriving their name from a scientific theory that suggests that Earth may have had a second moon, a twin moon that was destroyed in a massive collision during the early days of our solar system, Lunar Twin, an electro pop/dream pop/shoegaze duo comprised of Bryce Boudreau (vocals) and Chris Murphy (multi-instrumentalist and producer) can trace their origins to the 2011 Denver Underground Music Festival when Boudreau joined Murphy’s goth band Nightsweats as a guest vocalist. And by 2013, the duo started collaborating together full-time.

Now, it’s been some time since the duo have released new, original material as both the Los Angeles, CA-based, Hawaii-based Boudreau and the Salt Lake City, UT-based Murphy have been involved in a variety of creative pursuits — with Murphy working in projects that have shared stages with an impressive list of renowned artists including Grimes, Bonnie Prince Billy and Peaches among others; however, the duo’s latest effort Night Tides EP was released earlier this month through Texas-based dream pop/shoegaze label Moon Sounds Records with an extremely limited run of lathe-cut vinyl through the band’s own imprint Lunar Industry Records, and a limited cassette run through their new label. Unsurprisingly because of the distance between the two collaborators, that distance plays a significant thematic role on the material of Night Tides. As Murphy mentions in press notes, ” We both live thousands of miles apart, separated by the Pacific Ocean and miles of mountains and desert. These totally different places of isolation are the nexus of our songwriting. The ocean plays a big part in this album. The ebb an flow of the die and the effect the moon has on it.”

Boudreau adds, “For this EP, we wanted to channel the spirit of the primordial world and a lost island in the equatorial night feeling. The dense warm air smelling of flowers beneath a canopy of banyan trees.”  “Waves,” the first single off Night Tides, Boudreau explains “is about drifting between two worlds — the primeval and the technological and between Earth and Water spirits.”  And while sonically speaking, the duo’s latest single will further cement their reputation for crafting moody and atmospheric pop in which they pair Boudreau’s rich Mark Lanegan-like baritone with a minimalist production featuring propulsive, tribal-like drumming, ambient synths with brief bursts of shimmering guitar and twinkling keys. It’s a hauntingly gorgeous track that manages to evoke  the sensation of awakening from a pleasant reverie and swimming within a warm and gently ebbing  body of water with the moonlight shimmering right in front of you.

 

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Boston, MA-born, New York-based composer and songwriter Jake Zavracky and Vancouver Island, BC-born, New York-based Elizabeth LeBaron, the New York-based dream pop duo The Dream Eaters can trace their origins back to 2015. After playing and touring in obscurity in several bands both in his hometown of Boston and New York, Jake Zavracky decided to give up the musician’s life, and for a period of time he was working in a Brooklyn dive bar, when he met Elizabeth LeBaron, another bartender, who had recently relocated to New York. Discovering that they were both musicians, they found an instant connection and began collaborating together — although initially, Zavracky had written songs for LeBaron to sing. However, upon the realization that their harmonies helped to create a wholly unique sound, that draws from dream pop, shoegaze, psych pop, folk and rock, they recognized that they needed to write and perform as a unit.

Initially writing and performing as Jake And Elizabeth, Zavracky and LeBaron saw a rapidly growing profile; however, as they began to further refine their sound, they felt that they needed to rebrand themselves, eventually performing as The Dream Eaters. And in fact, 2016 saw the release of their self-produced, debut EP as The Dream Eaters, Five Little Pills — and interestingly enough, the EP proved to be precursor of the bare-bone production and sparse yet hauntingly gorgeous sound of “Dead On The Inside,” the first single off the duo’s soon-to-be released full-length debut, We Are A Curse. Thematically speaking, the duo notes that the song focuses on coming unmoored and getting lost, and walking around with the realization that you’re living in a murky, anxious and unforgiving dream, evoking what many of us feel living in this surreal political climate; and while being a gorgeous and understated protest song, there’s an underlying sense of resolve and determination to survive and overcome the dark days ahead.

As far as the single, sonically speaking, the duo pairs LeBaron’s lilting and effortless vocals with gently strummed folk-like guitar and chiming percussion with a soaring hook which displays the duo’s stunning harmonizing. And while bearing a resemblance to Moonbabies’ Wizards on the Beach, the song manages to sound as though it draws from Nick Drake and Crosby, Stills, and Nash-era folk.

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Introducing the Trippy Visuals and The Jesus and Mary Chain-Inspired Sounds of Aarhus, Denmark’s Love Talk

Currently comprised of Casper Iskov (vocals), Mathias Risager (drums), Jens Hyldahl (bassist) and Andreas Frandsen (guitar), the Aarhus, Denmark-based  indie rock quartet Love Talk can trace their origins to when its co-founders Casper Iskov and […]

Video by William Ruben Helms

Live Footage: Winnipeg-based Indie Rock Act Living Hour Performs Gorgeous New Single Live

Living Hour is a Winnipeg, MB-based indie rock quartet that can trace their origins to when they formed during basement jam sessions in which they would write dreamy and cinematic songs inspired by the enormous prairie skies that surround their hometown. And unsurprisingly, the sound that the Canadian quartet developed manages to draw from shoegazer rock, dream pop and chillwave among other genres. Now, if you had been frequenting this site back in 2015, you may recall that I wrote about “Seagull,” a single that reminded me quite a bit of Mazzy Star‘s “Fade Into You.”

The Canadian quartet is currently in the middle of a Stateside tour, including a lengthy stop in Austin for SXSW — in fact, I think at this moment they’re playing at the Force Field PR Showcase; and interestingly enough, just before the band embarked on their tour, they recorded a live version of an ethereal and gorgeous new single “Inside.” And much like “Seagull,” the new will further cement the quartet’s reputation for a sound that draws from shoegaze and dream pop paired with ethereal and haunting vocals, that possesses a cinematic quality; but unlike its predecessor, the band pairs a gorgeous and mournful horn arrangement at the song’s cathartic coda.

The live footage of the song was shot by Jelly Fish Jam during a recent performance at the West End Cultural Center in Winnipeg Manitoba, and as you can see, the band expands to a septet to evoke an even larger, more lush and enveloping sound.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of its founding duo Thomas Barrett (vocals, guitar) and Lysa Opfer (vocals bass) along with Nick D’Amore (drums), who joined the band in 2015,  the Jersey City, NJ-based shoegazer trio Overlake officially formed in 2012 and can trace its origins to when its founding duo were bandmates in a local hard rock band.  Opfer and Barrett began to bond over their mutual love of shoegaze and 80s and 90s alt rock and after practices and rehearsals, the duo would spend time jamming together — and after about a year of jamming and songwriting, the duo recorded their 2014 full-length debut Sighs, which was praised for a sound that drew from My Bloody Valentine, Pavement and Sonic Youth among others.

Now, in terms of the JOVM universe, it’s been some time since I’ve written about the trio but as it turns out the New Jersey-based shoegazers have been pretty busy as they’ve spent the past couple of years extensively touring the US in support of Sighs and the “Travelogue”/”Winter is Why” 7 inch and writing and recording their sophomore Fall, which is slated for a May 12, 2017 release through Bar/None Records. Reportedly, the new album will build upon the massive and enveloping sound of their debut while adding some subtle flourishes as Claudia Chopek, who has worked with Norah Jones, TV on the Radio, The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger and others, contributes piano and violin on a couple of songs. And from the album’s first single “Winter Is Why”  the band has continued to subtly expand upon their sound — while retaining a dreamy and enveloping quality to the moody proceedings, the song posses a m  a rousing, arena rock-friendly, anthemic hook and Opfer and Barrett harmonized choruses paired with some gorgeous guitar work that conveys a muscular and forceful insistence that reminds me a bit of A Northern Soul and Urban Hymns-era The Verve.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of two husband and wife couples, Christina Carmona (vocals, bass) and Noe Carmona (guitar, keys)  and Michelle Soto (guitar, vocals) and Jake Soto (drums), the Austin, TX-based dream pop/shoegaze quartet Blushing can trace its origins to the summer of 2015 when its founding member Michelle Soto recruited her classically trained friend Christina Carmona to join her new project, after several years of writing material on guitar.  Soto and Carmona then recruited their spouses to complete the band’s lineup and after about a year of writing and revising their material, the newly formed quartet went into Bad Wolf Recordings to record their debut EP Tether, which was mixed and mastered by Philip Odom and released earlier this year.

“Tether,” the EP’s title track  and immersive first single finds the band pairing Carmona and Soto’s ethereal harmonizing with shimmering guitar chords, a propulsive rhythm section, a soaring hook and some guitar pyrotechnics during an immense solo in a way that brings to mind Cocteau Twins, The Sundays, Belly, Beach House, Real Estate and A Storm in Heaven-era The Verve and Lightfoils, complete with a subtly cosmic glow.

 

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Now if you had been frequenting this site over the last few months of 2016, you’d recall that with the release of “Help Yourself” and several other singles the Welsh-born, London-based singer/songwriter and guitarist Sarah Howells, best known as Bryde quickly exploded into both the British and international scene as she received praise from Nylon, The Line of Best Fit and Earmilk and airplay from BBC Radio 6, BBC Radio Wales, Radio X and Huw Stephens’ BBC Radio 1 show for a sound that’s been compared to the likes of Jeff Buckley, Sharon Van Etten, Ben Howard and London Grammar while thematically focusing on complex, ambivalent and hopelessly entangled relationships.

Howells’ previous single and her JOVM debut,  “Wouldn’t That Make You Feel Good” was a boozy and woozy dirge in which the Welsh-born, London-based singer/songwriter and guitarist’s aching vocals are paired with bluesy yet shoegazer-leaning power chords reminiscent of  PJ Harvey, in a song that built up into a cathartic and explosive bridge before gently fading out.  Howells’ latest single “Less” continues her successful collaboration with producer Bill Ryder-Jones and it’s a viscerally forceful 90s alt rock-leaning track featuring an alternating quiet, loud, quiet song structure with an anthemic and cathartic hook. And while still channeling PJ Harvey, the song also manages to nod at Liz Phair, Hole and others, complete with an unflinching honesty and vulnerability.

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

With the release of their self-titled full-length debut, the Welsh quintet Chain of Flowers have quickly established a growing national and international reputation for a dense, noisy and punishing shoegazer-like sound that’s been compared favorably to The Smiths, Joy Division, Eagulls, Iceage, Ceremony and The Cure — and as a result, the band has received extensive airplay on BBC Radio 6 and KEXP and have toured across the UK with The Fall, The Chameleons, Ceremony,  JOVM mainstays A Place to Bury Strangers, Nothing, Eagulls and others. Building upon 2016’s massive buzz, the members of the band will be releasing a 7″ through Blackest Ever Black Records sometime this month and next month, will be in Austin, TX playing a number of SXSW showcases celebrating and promoting both British and Welsh artists. In the meantime, “Crisis,” off their self-titled debut is a murky and pummeling shoegazer track in which thunderous and propulsive drumming is paired with towering layers of shimmering and swirling guitars fed through delay and reverb pedal and submerged, distorted vocals. Indeed, much like The Jesus and Mary Chain, the aforementioned A Place to Bury Strangers, Slowdive and even Grave Babies, the Welsh band’s sound is muscular yet enveloping, murky yet stunningly beautiful — and evokes a contemporary anxiousness and powerlessness.

 

 

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Gorgeous and Brooding Visuals for BETS Shoegazer Rework of The Violent Femmes’ “Blister in the Sun”

If you’ve been frequenting this site over the last two months or so, you’d recall that the Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter BETS came to attention last year with the release of her critical applauded debut, Days Hours Night. Building upon the buzz of her debut, the Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter and her producer were set to write and record new, original material when the duo discovered that they shared a mutual love of Violent Femmes 1983 self-titled breakout debut effort. Reportedly, within a few minutes, BETS and her producer decided to put the sophomore effort of original material on hold to work on a Violent Femmes cover album in which she reimagines the familiar and beloved material.

In fact, as you’ll hear on BETS’ slow-burning, shoegazer rework of “Blister in the Sun” guitars are fed through layers of distortion, fuzz and feedback paired with gentle drumming and BETS’ dreamily distracted vocals, while pulling apart the song’s melody and chorus to the point of it being dimly recognizable and giving her version an ethereal moodiness.

Directed by Valerie Sute, the recently released video for BETS’ gauzy and dreamy rendition of “Blister in the Sun” begins with some glorious footage of New York City before following a young woman wandering through the desert brush — both by car and by foot with a brooding moodiness.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Currently comprised of founding members and primary songwriters Slowdive‘s Christian Savil  (guitar, bass, keys, and vocals), Sean Hewson (guitar, bass, keys, and vocals), along with Air Formation’s James Harrison (drums) and Slowdive’s Nick Chaplin (bass),  shoegazer act Monster Movie can trace their origins to Savil and Hewson playing in number of bands together going back to the late 80s — including a band called Eternal, which released the “Breathe” single on Sarah Records that featured dreamy, fuzzy guitars and soaring pop melodies that Savil gradually began to become known for. Shortly after the release of “Breathe,”Savil left Eternal to join renowned and influential shoegazer act Slowdive. About a decade later, Savil and Hewson started Monster Movie initially as an attempt to write and record something more Krautrock-leaning; however, their first EP only managed to possessed a few seconds of Krautrock while being primarily shoegazer rock.

During the period of 2002-2010, Savil and Hewson released four full-length albums, a mini album and a few EPs mostly through Graveface Records. Unsurprisingly,  the band had been on a bit of a hiatus as Savil and Hewson had been involved with Slowdive’s highly-anticipated reunion and subsequent touring; however Savil and Hewson’s involvement in Slowdive was instrumental in helping the band’s primary songwriters and founding members realize that they needed to move from being a purely studio project, to become a proper band.

Produced by Graveface Records’ founder and head Ryan Graveface and recorded with Martin Nichols at Weston-super-Mare, the band’s fifth album Keep The Voices Distant is slated for a March 31, 2017 release through Graveface Records — and while marking the first release in over 5 years; however, as you’ll hear on Keep The Voices Distant‘s first single “Shouldn’t Stay From The Shadows,” the single will further cement the band’s reputation for crafting material with soaring and anthemic hooks paired with fuzzy shoegazer and Brit Pop power chords, thundering drumming and a subtly pop power leaning sensibility.