Tag: Single Review

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: youbet Shares a Grunge-Inspired Ripper

Led by Nick Llobet, New York-based indie outfit youbet‘s latest album, last year’s Way To Be and its singles received coverage from Stereogum, Consequence, Paste‘s “Best New Songs” and Post Trash. Album singles landed on playlists by Ones to Watch, Pitchfork “Selects,” The Alternative, The Line of Best Fit, Dork and a list of others.

The band supported the album through tours with Mary Timony, Palehound, Ratboys, Sour Widows, Truth Club, Coco, June McDoom and others. Their latest single “Deny” was released through Hardly Art, and the track is a decided sonic and stylistic left turn with the track being grunge-inspired ripper anchored around fuzzy power chords, thunderous drumming, big mosh pit friendly hooks paired with Llobet’s dreamy falsetto. Play loud — and open up that pit!

“Normally, youbet songs start on the nylon string, but this time I was inspired to write on the electric guitar,” Nick Llobet says. “While driving around last spring we listened to a ton of Polvo, Autolux, and Boris, just to name a few. ‘Deny’ was written last April after we got home from supporting Mary Timony on tour. I was inspired to create a song that captured the energy of that time. In this way, touring is such a great learning experience. Getting in front of new audiences last year helped us develop a new sound. We fed off of the energy. I would say this song is an experiment –trying to explore some new stylistic terrain. A lot of the new songs we’re writing live in this world – ‘Deny’ is a bridge.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Finnish Duo RORO and snapir Share Cinematic Yet Intimate “Fractures”

Kauri Ruohonen is an in-demand Helsinki-based singer/songwriter, electronic music producer and founder, best known in electronic music circles as RORO. Ruohonoen is also the creative director of record label/production house Booa Music. As RORO, the Helsinki-based producer and artist has developed a sound frequently characterized by deep, moody atmospheres and sophisticated elements while working extensively with a growing list of Finnish acts including joalin, Louie Blue and jambo.

Jonathan Snapir is an in demand Helsinki-based electronic producer, best known as snapir who joined Booa Music in 2020 as a studio musician and producer, contributing to tracks alongside RORO. The following year, he dove deeper into experimental electronic music, driven by a relentless curiosity for unorthodox sounds and production techniques. snapir‘s debut EP, 2022’s LUNG showcases the Finnish producer’s ability to craft diverse yet cohesive audio landscapes that are captivating.

The pair bonded over a shared passion for experimental electronic soundscapes. Last year, they released their debut single as a collaborative duo with “Mass” which will appear on their debut effort as a duo, Colors Left, slated for a January 17, 2025 release.

The material sees the pair moving fluidly between dark electro, ambient and glitch-infused soundscapes while creating a deeply personal listening experience, informed by the duo’s shared desire to process pass emotions through innovative sound design. “Our goal was to create a soundscape that represents emotional rebirth,” they explain. “Each track is a deliberate exploration of bringing color back into a monochromatic experience.” 

Colors Left‘s latest single “Fractures” is a deliberately sculptured song that’s built around delicate yet painterly layers of skittering beats, ambient synths, whirring glitch and glistening synth arpeggios paired with a motorik pulse. Through a fearless exploration of unfamiliar sounds and unconventional production techniques, “Fractures” manages to be simultaneously intimate and introspective and yet cinematic.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Yul Shares Subtle Yet Brooding Remix of Sylvain Hellio’s “Nous étions heureux”

Sylvan Hellio is a Rennes, France-based artist, who released his debut EP, L’homme du bois through Résiste Records back in 2023. The EP featured “Nous étion heuruex,” a broodingly atmospheric trip hop-like lullaby anchored around twinkling guitar and skittering beats and Hellio’s dreamy delivery.

Yul recently remixed “Nous étions heureux,” but his remix manages to be subtle: Yul retains Hellio’s dreamy delivery and much of the original production but the brooding air is emphasized through the addition of a supple bass line, and bit of 808 kick. The result is a remix that feels a bit murkier and eerier.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: JOVM Mainstays South of France Shares Breezy and Introspective “Little Thoughts”

Led by Denver-based singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and creative mastermind Jeff Cormack, South of France is an indie pop project that sees Cormack and collaborators specializing in a groovy, beat-driven take on escapist, vacation pop. 

With South of France, Cormack has had his work featured in a number of smash-hit TV shows like Bojack Horseman and Shameless while receiving praise from American Songwriter, NPR, Rolling Stone and others. The Denver-based project has also opened for a list of acclaimed acts including Portugal. The Man, Young The Giant, Flaming Lips, Michigander and others.

Cormack’s forthcoming South of France album My Spirit Animal, My Baggage is reportedly one-part solo album and one-part collaborative effort with a series of vocalists, emcees and musicians. The album will feature two previously released singles:

  • “Universal Order,” a a heady yet accessible synthesis of psych pop, world music and hip-hop that’s crowd-pleasing and summery that also features Bilingual (Francophone/Anglophone) emcee Big Samir, who is one-half of The Reminders delivers a swaggering verse for the song’s hallucinogenic bridge and break. 

  • “Something That You Said” a lysergic, blissed out bit of Tame Impala-like pop that serves s a lush and woozy bed for  Big Samir and CRL CRRLL to trade swaggering bars and dreamily soulful falsetto vocals. 

  • “Weekend Lover” is a blissed-out lysergic tune featuring a propulsive and rubbery groove, lush and swirling shoegazer-like textures and ethereal vocals from longtime collaborator, Little Trips‘ Greg Laut that’s a warm and nostalgic blast of summer

The album’s latest single “Little Thoughts” continues a run of material sounds as though it draws from Currents-era Tame Impala, JOVM mainstays POND and GUM with the song anchored around a lush and woozy production featuring enormous 808-like thump, skittering beats, bursts of spacey sounds, strummed guitar and buzzing video game-like synths paired with dreamy falsetto vocals. And yet, “Little Thoughts” fittingly may be the most introspective song off the album to date.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Jody Vukas Teams Up With Ariana Celaenio on Lush and Plaintive “Fade”

Since the late 90s, electronic music label head and artist Jody Vukas has been a mainstay in the American electronic music scene for a sound that features elements of tribal house, progressive house, tech house and techno.

Vukas’ begins 2025 with “Fade,” a lush, pop-leaning club and lounge friendly collaboration with Ariana Celaenio that pairs her plaintive and ethereal delivery with glistening synths, a driving groove and skittering beats.

As Vukas explains, the song tells a young woman’s story of the fallout from a ad relationship — and it’s done with a verisimilitude that feels as though it comes from lived-in experience.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Jenny X Shares Anthemic “Hey Beautiful”

Over the course of a handful of singles released between 2021 and last year, Gloucester, MA-based indie rock outfit Jenny X — Jon Cahill, Perry Cook, Ken Desmarais, Dan Grant and Thomas Makowski — have developed a reputation locally and regionally for pairing engaging melodies with reflective lyrics.

The Gloucester-based outfit have plans to release six Jack Younger-produced singles throughout 2025. But in the meantime, to build up buzz for the new singles, the band shared “Hey Beautiful,” a hook-driven rocker that draws from the likes of The Replacements, The Psychedelic Furs, The Church and others. And while hitting the nostalgia button, the song is captures a sweet conversation between a father and his young daughter, capturing the essence of being young, curious and full of questions.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Janita Shares Slinky and Anthemic “Real Deal”

Janita is a Finnish-born, New York-based singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She learned to sing before she could talk, began playing piano when she was three and started writing songs when she was four, before studying classical piano and ballet. As a teenager, Janita became a fixture on radio and television, while being an instrumental figure in the country’s soul music scene — with The Daily Telegraph referring to her as “Finland’s biggest pop star.”

When she was 17, the Finnish-born artist relocated to New York. She signed a record deal with Sony, with whom she released two Top 40 Billboard hits. But Janita quickly found the cookie-cutter constraints of the major label system and its thinking uncomfortable and restricting. “They actually had me work with a ‘trainer’ whose job it was to teach me how to walk, and how to sit ‘like a lady,’” she says laughing. “I was like, look, I already know how to walk, man. I’m good.”

Janita struck out on her own, releasing a string of independent hits and records that would win her a devoted audience across the States, as well as an international one on four continents.

Her forthcoming tenth album, the Blake Morgan co-produced Mad Equation is slated for a May 2025 release through ECR Music Group. The album will further cement the Finnish-born artist’s reputation for defying conventions while being commercially and critically successful — and for following her own muse wherever it takes her.

“The title Mad Equation is about trying to do the math to figure someone out. Trying to size someone up. There’s actually a mathematical formula called ‘the mad equation’ which physicists use to measure the unpredictability of something,” says Janita. “I think it’s fair to say that over the course of my career, people have been trying to figure me out too. Am I the long-haired blonde soul singer? Am I the Finnish teenage star? Am I the American alternative rock ’n’ roller? Gosh, I’m just such a problem. So, maybe I’m a mad equation for some. Well, with this new record, problem solved.”

Mad Equation‘s first single, “Real Deal” pairs a slinky, 70s AM rock-like groove with twinkling Rhodes and anthemic hooks serving as a lush bed for the Finnish-born, New York-based artist’s gorgeous delivery. Sonically bringing Denmark’s Lucky Lo and Fleetwood Mac to mind, “Real Deal,” as Janita explains was inspired by two of her favorite films, The 400 Blows and Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid.

“I identify with the rebellious nature of the characters in both those movies—living life off the grid, doing something that doesn’t make a lot of ‘traditional’ sense to most,” Janita says. “Being an artist in this world is a mad pursuit, yet it’s the work I’ve schooled myself in, and done, all my life. So I find myself living, symbolically, in a permanent shootout like Butch and Sundance and I’m alright with it. More than just ‘alright’ with it—it’s the life I’ve chosen.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: JOVM Mainstays The Harrow Tackle For Against’s “December”

Deriving their name from the harrow, the name of a device used to punish and torture prisoners in the Franz Kafka short story “In the Penal Colony,” Brooklyn-based JOVM mainstays The Harrow — currently founder Frank Deserto (bass), LeeAnn Falciani (vocals), Greg Fasolino (guitar) and John Forester (drum programming, guitar, mixing) — can trace their origins back to 2008 when its founder started the band as a solo recording project. The band became a full-fledged band in 2013 when Deserto recruited Vanessa Irena (vocals, synths, programming), Barrett Hiatt (synths, programming) and Fasolino to complete the band’s first lineup.

With their first lineup, the Brooklyn-based JOVM mainstays released the “Mouth to Mouth”/”Ringing the Changes” 7 inch and their full-length debut Silhouettes to critical applause from The Deli Magazine, The Big Takeover, Impose, AltSounds as well as this site for a sound that is deeply indebted to The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Joy Division, and others.

Following up on the November release of their latest EP, Cinderglow, the members of The Harrow have released a lovingly faithful cover of Lincoln, NE-based jangle pop/dream pop band For Against’s “December,” the title track of 1988’s December. Much like the original, The Harrow’s take on the song manages to be simultaneously wistful and brooding, and full of the recognition of life’s unending cycles, of time’s endless march forward and the compiling of regret and shame.

“For Against have always been a very special band for us here at The Harrow,” the band explains. “Their blend of jangle pop, post-punk, and dream pop set them apart from many of their American contemporaries, and their discography is in a word: perfect. We first heard the news of vocalist and bassist Jeff Runnings’ stage 4 cancer diagnosis in November, and we as a band wanted to show our deep appreciation and love for Jeff and For Against with this very special cover. Jeff has always been extremely supportive of our band and is a truly kind soul, and we are honored to call him a friend. 

We will be donating all Bandcamp proceeds for this single to Jeff’s GoFundMe, which can be found here: 

https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-jeff-runnings-battle-stage-4-cancer

The Bandcamp link for the song can be found here: https://theharrownyc.bandcamp.com/track/december

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Daniel Higley Shares Tense and Uneasy “Ultimatum”

Daniel Higley is an emerging, American-born, German-based artist. His latest single, the Brook Fraser-produced “UItimatum” Portishead-like track featuring a supple and propulsive bass line, eerie atmospheric synths that serves as a broodingly uneasy bed for British vocalist Gen’s Beth Gibbons-like delivery. The song manages to capture our exceedingly urgent and anxious zeitgeist with an uncannily lived-in precision.

Higley explains that “‘Ultimatum,’ was created with the sense of anxiety that all my friends have been going through. It seemed to be a common theme going around my circle. This moment in time seems very important, and pivotal. This is a call to action for those feelings of anxiety, and worry. This is life giving you an ultimatum. It’s saying you need to be focused, and not too extreme to get through it.

“The line ‘not too far left, not too far right’ is from the feelings after the US election, and the state of politics in the USA, and the world. Being on a side doesn’t allow one to see clearly. We’ve never seen so much tension, war, and mistrust in our lifetimes. So basically, the theme is this is something you can’t avoid, and you can either let it sweep you away, or you can use all theknowledge and training you’ve had to this point to get through. Be centered. Stay in the light and be present.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Dabinski Shares Summery “Umama”

Sacha Dabinski is a Paris-based DJ and producer, best known as Dabinski. Inspired by Armand Van Helden, Roger Sanchez, Pablo Fierro, Sparrow & Barbossa and more, the Parisian DJ and producer’s work transports listeners to sun-drenched locales that feature bright, soulful vocals, rhythmic percussion and a blend of organic and electronic instruments to create a rich, immersive experience. His work is meant to evoke the sensation of being on a vacation, of experiencing a delightful respite from the mundanity of the everyday, filled with sunshine and joy. 

The Parisian DJ and producer closes out 2024 with “Umama,” a collaboration with Nadrums and Neyl continues a run of ebullient and summery, Afrobeats-inspired house music featuring glistening synth arpeggios, skittering Caribbean-like drumming, a bluesy guitar solo, and a soulful vocal paired with wildly catchy hooks. It’s a fun, summery tune that’s simultaneously club and lounge friendly.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Davidé Shares Brooding and Cinematic “Nevrotik”

Davide Orsi is an Italian-born, French-based musician and producer, whose career started in earnest with a stint in Italian psych rock outfit Rubber Eggs. Orsi relocated to Grenoble, France, where he continued his musical career, eventually joining Bleu Tonnerre in 2019. And while with Bleu Tonnerre, he played alongside a collection of French artists including Izia and AARON.

Orsi also started his solo recording project Davidé in 2019. The project, which is inspired by Thom Yorke, Tears for Fears and others sees him blending futuristic and dreamy accents while exploring science fiction themes like dystopian worlds and altered realities.

Orsi’s sophomore Davidé EP, Plasticity, Pt. 2 was released a few months ago. The EP’s latest single “Nevrotik,” is a brooding and cinematic composition featuring glistening synth arpeggios and a relentless motorik groove that sounds as though it were inspired by John Carpenter soundtracks, Magic Sword, Umberto and others.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Miami’s Sara Diana Shares Brooding and Sultry “all up in my head”

Emerging 18 year-old, Miami-based singer/songwriter Sara Diana has quickly developed a reputation for introspective and poetic storytelling lyrics and soulful vocals paired with lush, atmospheric production.

Her debut EP, the Tracksion and Camilo Velandia-co-produced Can’t Be Fazed sees the emerging Miami-based artist blending heartfelt lyrics with mesmerizing melodies while exploring themes of love, growth, survival, invincibility and self-discovery. “The whole concept of not being ‘fazed’ is feeling as though nothing can hurt you anymore,” Sara Diana explains. “I’m sure many people have experienced a time in their lives where they feel they are dealing with so much that they can’t be fazed anymore. So this project is simply that. It’s about survival.”

Can’t Be Fazed‘s latest single “all up in my head” pairs a brooding, trip-hop meets alt-pop production with the young Miami-based artist’s yearning and soulful delivery describing the wooziness of love-crazed obsession that will probably result in the narrator’s own madness.

“all up in my head” reveals a remarkably self-assured artist, beyond her relative youth, and with an uncannily innate understanding of human nature and psychology.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: STRAIGHT RAZOR Shares Dance Floor Friendly “Misery”

While he may be best known for his roles in Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof and Inglorious Basterds, Omar Doom has committed most of his creative life to music. Doom’s latest musical project STRAIGHT RAZOR sees him crafting a blend of darkwave, techno and EBM anchored around menacing beats and hypnotic, clockwork melodies. 

After a string of standalone singles and remixes, Doom released his STRAIGHT RAZOR debut, 2021’s Vol. 1 EP. He followed up with 2022’s Vol. 2 EP. Last year, he launched his label DOOM VISION with STRAIGHT RAZOR — REMIXED EP, an effort that featured remixes by Gost, Corvad, Moris Blak, Nightcrawler, Destryur and ESA. Destryur released their latest album Dimensions through Doom’s new label. 

Doom’s highly-anticipated full-length debut, Casualty was released earlier this month. As Doom explains, creating the album has been a deeply personal journey, as the album’s material reflects and details his frequent battles with anxiety, an experience that can feel like the end of the world. “This album is my way of confronting those struggles and finding beauty in the chaos.”

Now, if you had been on this site earlier this week, you might recall that I wrote about album single “The Curse,” a brooding, club friendly banger that’s a slick mix of 80s New Wave and goth.

“Misery,” Casualty‘s latest single is a tense, dance floor friendly bop featuring glistening synths and tweeter and woofer rattling thump that reminds me a bit of ACTORS and the Artoffact Records lineup — but a bit more industrial and more goth. And its core, it evokes the creeping unease of a narrator, knowing that his anxiety will strike at the most inopportune time.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: South of France Teams Up with Little Trips’ Greg Laut on Breezy and Lysergic “Weekend Lover”

Led by Denver-based singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and creative mastermind Jeff Cormack, South of France is an indie pop project that sees Cormack and collaborators specializing in a groovy, beat-driven take on escapist, vacation pop. 

With South of France, Cormack has had his work featured in a number of smash-hit TV shows like Bojack Horseman and Shameless while receiving praise from American Songwriter, NPR, Rolling Stone and others. The Denver-based project has also opened for a list of acclaimed acts including Portugal. The Man, Young The Giant, Flaming Lips, Michigander and others.

Cormack’s forthcoming South of France album My Spirit Animal, My Baggage is reportedly one-part solo album and one-part collaborative effort with a series of vocalists, emcees and musicians. The album will feature two previously released singles:

  • “Universal Order,” a a heady yet accessible synthesis of psych pop, world music and hip-hop that’s crowd-pleasing and summery that also features Bilingual (Francophone/Anglophone) emcee Big Samir, who is one-half of The Reminders delivers a swaggering verse for the song’s hallucinogenic bridge and break.

  • “Something That You Said” a lysergic, blissed out bit of Tame Impala-like pop that serves s a lush and woozy bed for Big Samir and CRL CRRLL to trade swaggering bars and dreamily soulful falsetto vocals. 

My Spirit Animal, My Baggage‘s latest single “Weekend Lover” is a blissed-out lysergic bop featuring a propulsive, rubbery groove paired with lush, swirling textures, twinkling keys and ethereal vocals from longtime collaborator Little Trips‘ Greg Laut. While being a warm and breezy summery blast, “Weekend Lover” may arguably be the trippiest yet most hook-driven song of the forthcoming album to date.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Larmes Noires Shares Shoegazey “L’aurore”

Mathieu Schreyer is a French singer/songwriter and musician, best known for his synth wave project MPKS. His side, solo recording project Larmes Noires is a decided departure from his best known work: Larmes Noires sees Schreyer exploring darker thoughts, much more honest feelings paired with soundscapes inspired by Joy Division, My Bloody Valentine, The Cure and the like, and dreamily delivered vocals.

Since starting Larmes Noires, Schreyer has released a handful of singles, last year’s full-length debut, Les ombres dérangées and the recently released self-produced sophomore album Stigmate. Sonically blending elements of post-rock, shoegaze and darkwave to create an atmospheric and immersive soundscape, the album’s material was crafted as an intimate journey, where each track serves as a raw expression of vulnerability and resilience. And fittingly, the album’s material touches upon themes of melancholy, social isolation, inner strength and resolve — in a deeply personal fashion.

Stigmate‘s latest single “L’aurore,” is a brooding and cinematic track that pairs elements of Souvlaki and A Storm in Heaven-era shoegaze with Collapse Under the Empire-like post-rock paired with Schreyer’s plaintive and ethereal delivery and enormous hooks. At its core, there is a sense of resilience and hope.