Tag: Single Review

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Although little is known about the Kent, WA-based trio So Pitted, the trio have started to receive attention for a sludgy and abrasive sound that some critics have compared favorably to Nirvana, Metz, Pere Ubu and others. “feed me,” the latest single off the band’s forthcoming album neo will further cement their burgeoning reputation as the band pairs sludgy and acidic guitar chords, layers upon layers of feedback, thundering and propulsive drumming, industrial clang and clatter and distorted vocals in a song that sounds as though it drew influence from Ministry.

The band will be on tour throughout January and February to build up buzz for the album. Check out the tour dates below.

Tour Dates
Jan. 09 – Boston – The Sinclair *
Jan. 11 – Washington, D.C. – Rock & Roll Hotel *
Jan. 12 – Philadelphia, PA – First Unitarian Church *
Mar. 04 – Paris, FR – Mecanique Ondulatoire
Mar. 05 – Amsterdam, NL – Butcher’s Tears
Mar. 07 – London, UK – The Shacklewell Arms
Mar. 08 – Leeds, UK – Brudenell Games Room
Mar. 10 – Lille, UK – La Peniche
Mar. 11 -Brussells, BE – Homepluged
Mar. 12 – Berlin, DE – West Germany
Mar. 15 – Austin, TX – SXSW
Mar. 16 – Austin, TX – SXSW
Mar. 17 – Austin, TX – SXSW
Mar. 18 – Austin, TX – SXSW
Mar. 19 – Austin, TX – SXSW
Mar. 20 – Austin, TX – SXSW
* w/ METZ + Bully

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

As the story goes, Flower‘s frontman and primary songwriter Jack Fowler wrote the band’s forthcoming album Waste of Life while in the middle of a holding pattern. Although he had a rather busy year as the frontman of exwhy, with the band signing to Other People Records and touring with Pujol and Knox Hamilton, Fowler desperately wanted to focus on revealing his vulnerable side; in fact, the album is inspired largely by Fowler’s own experience of being an office drone. As Fowler explains in press notes “I was working a pretty decent office job and doing absolutely nothing beyond working and getting depressed. I was just spinning my wheels and growing bored and really depressed. I was struggling with talking to people, being social at all. That’s the core of this album—anxiety and not being sure how to define yourself. ”

Waste of Life‘s latest single “Dreams” possesses a pent up frustration over ambitions, hopes and a life that seem indefinitely stalled from some larger, unmoving (and unrelenting), outside force and not having an idea as to what would be the best thing to do next; so the song’s narrator winds up sitting inert and inactive on the sidelines out of fear of fucking everything up — and yet, hating himself for his inability to do anything at all. And despite the song’s desperation and hopelessness, there’s a subtle sense of hope; that things will get better and that somehow life will push you in the direction you need to be going.

Sonically, the band pairs bitter and confused sentiment and anthemic hooks with layers of shimmering guitar and  driving rhythms in a song that sounds as though it draws influence from The Smiths and 80s post-punk. Much like the previous post, Flower’s sound is something that should sound warmly familiar to anyone who grew up in the 80s — but it manages to place that sound and feeling in high contemporary context, proving that the more things change, the more things wind up the same.

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Austin Knecht, Tamara Simons, Crystal Napoles, Kai Dodson and Joey Felkins, the up-and-coming Ventura, CA-based dream pop quintet Curtsy have started to receive attention across the blogosphere with the release of “One Less Thing,” a shimmering bit of guitar-led pop  that pairs a driving rhythm with anthemic hooks and gorgeous, ethereal harmonies that manages to sound as though it draws from classic shoegaze and 120 Minutes-era alt rock. Sure, their sound is warmly familiar to my ears, and it will be familiar to anyone who grew up in the 80s and 90s — but they manage a heart wrenching sincerity that will likely bring back memories when we are all a bit more idealistic and a lot less cynical.

 

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Born in rural Vermont and currently based in Atlanta, GA, Nick Takenobu Ogawa is a classically trained cellist and composer, who writes, records and performs under the moniker Takénobu. As the story goes, Ogawa was raised in an extremely small town with a population of about 1,000 residents — and as a result, the cellist and composer grew up playing in the woods, since he had no next-door neighbors and had no cable TV. His parents were professors at Middlebury College, and when Ogawa turned 6, they introduced him to cello, and he took private lessons and practiced religiously until he had turned 18. But after 12 years of study and orchestral playing, Ogawa began veering away from classical music and started focusing on a self-taught style of play that borrowed techniques from his guitar playing and composition based on a variety of roots and world music influences.

Ogawa moved to Kyoto, Japan, where he spent a year experimenting and cultivating his unique playing style and sound — until he had suffered a wrist injury from intense practice. He then wound up attending Haverford College in Philadelphia where he graduated with thoughts of entering law school; however, instead of studying for the LSAT’s and preparing applications, Ogawa moved to Vancouver, BC, where he recorded his full-length debut album. He then moved to Brooklyn and won the 2006 Williamsburg Live singer/songwriter competition and with the winnings he was able to release his 2007 debut effort, Introduction. The album was released to favorable reviews but didn’t gain much exposure.

Frustrated and despondent, Ogawa was close to giving up on pursuing music. But just before his own deadline, the Vermont-born, Atlanta, GA-based cellist and composer submitted his debut effort to Pandora. And ironically enough, just as he was about to give up was the exact moment that he started to see increasing press attention and commercial success; in fact, thanks to Pandora’s recommendation algorithm, in the four year period between 2007-2011, Introduction received enough streams and sales that Ogawa was able to focus on music full-time, releasing three more full-length album. Adding to a steadily growing national profile, Ogawa’s music has received airplay on NPR‘s Morning Edition, has opened for Kishi Bashi and performed and arranged cello on Dessa‘s “It’s Only Me.”  

Reversal, Ogawa’s fifth full-length effort is slated for a February 12, 2016 release and the album’s first single “Curtain Call” pairs a gorgeous and moody cello composition with Ogawa’s achingly plaintive vocals singing about a relationship that has come to an inevitable conclusion, and both sides have recognized that they have to part — perhaps forever. Sonically speaking the song employs the use of several different layers of cello to create a lush and yet spectral arrangement that emphasizes the melancholy sense of acceptance at the core of the song.

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

More than enough ink has been spilled throughout the lengthy and influential careers of The Staple Singers and Mavis Staples, and as a result it would make it unnecessary to delve deeply into her biography — or to repeat what countless others have written and said about her. What I will add is that over the past couple of years the legendary soul vocalist has been remarkably prolific — last year saw the release of the critically acclaimed Good Fortune EP, which was produced by renowned soul artist Son Little. And perhaps much more momentous, the posthumous release of Pops Staples‘ last recorded effort Don’t Lose This, an effort that required the assistance of Wilco‘s Jeff Tweedy, who has been a frequent collaborator over the past few days, as well as a number of guest musicians to complete the album as her father intended.

February 19 marks the release of Mavis Staples’ latest album Livin’ On A High Note and the album will reportedly reference and draw from her 60+ year musical career influencing and defining soul, folk, pop, R&B, blues rock and even hip-hop. But the most interesting thing about the new album is that Mavis recruited a number of diverse and critically applauded contemporary artists to write songs on the album including Neko Case, Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon, Nick Cave, Ben Harper, tUnE yArDs, Aloe Blacc, Benjamin Booker, The Head and the Heart and M. Ward — with Ward also taking up production duties. As the legendary soul singer explained in press notes “I’ve been singing my freedom songs and I wanted to stretch out and sing some songs that were new. I told the writers I was looking for some joyful songs. I want to leave something to lift people up; I’m so busy making people cry, not from sadness, but I’m always telling a part of history that brought us down and I’m trying to bring us back up. These songwriters gave me a challenge. They gave me that feeling of, ‘Hey, I can hang! I can still do this!’ There’s a variety, and it makes me feel refreshed and brand new. Just like Benjamin Booker wrote on the opening track, ‘I got friends and I got love around me, I got people, the people who love me.’ I’m living on a high note, I’m above the clouds. I’m just so grateful. I must be the happiest old girl in the world. Yes, indeed.”

 

 

The album’s latest single  “High Note” discusses something that is easier said than done for most us — and it’s certainly the case for me: taking the higher road despite how hurt, betrayed and disgusted you might be over a particular person or a particular situation, and doing so with grace and dignity. At the same time, the song’s narrator points out that taking the higher road requires wisdom and experience — sometimes embittering and hurtful ones to know when and how to do so. Sonically, the song pairs a loose and bluesy guitar line with Mavis’ legendary vocals in a song that radiates a comforting and soulful warmth that says “hey, I’ve been there, too.”

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

 

Comprised of multi-instrumentalists Rashie Rosenfarb, Matt Francis and Dan Avant, the Virginia Beach, VA-based trio Feral Conservatives have developed a reputation for a sound that balances anthemic pop/arena rock-leaning songwriting with lush, old-time folk arrangements and instrumentation. It shouldn’t be terribly surprising that the band’s sound has been compared favorably to the likes of 90s alt rock acts like Velocity Girl, The Cranberries and Cocteau Twins. Interestingly enough, in true DIY fashion, the members of the Virginia Beach, VA-based trio released a series of self-released EPs, purchased a $15 distortion pedal and then toured the East Coast in a station wagon before they signed to Richmond, VA-based label EggHunt Records last year.

Here’s To Almost, the band’s full-length debut is slated for a January 22 release, and the album’s second single “Wait For Me” possesses earnest and enormously anthemic, power ballad hooks that pair power chord rock with folk instrumentation that will likely further cement the band’s reputation for crafting rousing and heartfelt pop/indie rock that feels and sounds as though it could have been released in 1992. As the band’s frontwoman Rashie Rosenfarb explains “Wait For Me’ delves into growing up with this unrealistic idea of what love is suppose to look like presented by movies and TV and realizing it’s flawed — and then navigating through that.” The song manages such youthful earnest passion with the adult realization that love is confusing, complex and messy — and that it actually requires both work and acceptance of one’s positive qualities and their flaws.

The band will be on a short tour to support the new effort. Check out the tour dates below.

Tour dates:
Jan 23rd @ Velvet Lounge , D.C.
Jan 24th @ Bourbon and Branch, Philadelphia, PA
Jan 30th @ FM Restaurant, Norfolk, VA

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Comprised of Broken Social Scene‘s Lisa Lobsinger, The Beauties‘ Paul Pfisterer and Transistor Sound and Lighting Co.’s Martin Davis Kinack, the Toronto, ON-based self-described galactic dream pop trio Laser quickly won the attention of major media outlets such as Nylon, Spin and BUST Magazine with the release of “Leaving It Too Late” and “Do We All Feel It” the first two singles off the trio’s soon-to-be released debut full-length album Night Driver. Reportedly, the band’s sound — and in turn, the sound of their debut effort — takes cues from electronic and atmospheric albums and late night, country drives from Lobsinger and Pfisterer’s Toronto home to Kinack’s remote “studio in the forest.” And as a result the material on the album meshes electronic and analog elements and was written as though it were particularly designed to be the soundtrack for a introspective and meditative drive into the country.

Night Driver‘s third and latest single “Disconnect” pairs Lobsinger’s sultry yet ethereal vocals with twinkling synths, boom-bap drum programming, angular guitar played through gentle reverb, equally angular bass and a steady, motorik groove in a song that possesses brooding atmospherics while radiating both an effortless cool and a comforting warmth; after all, the song is about the disconnect (and resulting confusion) within an intimate relationship and puts in terms in a way that says “we’ve all been there at some point — and holy shit does it ever suck the life out of a relationship that may have been going well up to that point.”

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Currently comprised of Willy Vlautin (vocals, acoustic guitar and electric guitar), Dave Harding (bass, backing vocals), Sean Oldham (drums, percussion, vibes and backing vocals). Dan Eccles (guitar) and Paul Brainard (pedal steel, piano, vibes, acoustic guitar, trumpet and backing vocals), the Portland, OR-based alt country quintet Richmond Fontaine can trace its origins back to 1994 when the founding duo of Vlautin and Harding met at Portland Meadows Racetrack and pored over the racing form and talked about music. Bonding over their mutual love of Husker Du, Willie Nelson, X, The Blasters and The Replacements, the duo decided to write and play music together. After expanding to a quartet, Richmond Fontaine developed a reputation for a sound that meshed elements of rock, country, punk and folk and paired them with Vlautin’s narrative-based songwriting (which has interestingly enough have been compared favorably to the short stories of Raymond Carver and Larry Brown). And as a result, the band has been praised by a number of nationally recognized and internationally recognized outlets including Uncut, Q Magazine, Mojo, The Independent, The Sun and others.

Interestingly, over the past 8 years or so Richmond Fontaine’s Willy Vlautin has also developed a reputation as a critically acclaimed novelist. His debut novel The Motel Life won a Silver Pen Award from the state of Nevada and landed on the The Washington Post‘s Top 25 Books of 2007 — and it was later adapted into the critically acclaimed movie, The Motel Life which starred Emile Hirsch, Stephen Dorff, Dakota Fanning and Kris Kristofferson. Northline, Vlautin’s second novel was published in 2008 and was a San Francisco Chronicle Top Ten Bestseller. His third novel, Lean on Pete was published in 2010 and won the Ken Kesey Award for Fiction and was Hot Press’ book of the year. And his last novel, The Free was published two years ago. Along with nine full-length albums, an instrumental soundtrack for Northline, two live albums and an EP,  Vlautin and company have been incredibly (and exhaustingly) prolific.

After a three year hiatus from recording, the members of Richmond Fontaine returned to the studio with their long-time producer John Askew to write and then record their forthcoming tenth full-length effort, You Can’t Go Back If There’s Nothing To Go Back To, which is slated for a March 18 release through Fluff and Gravy Records across North America and Decor Records across Europe.  The album’s first single “Wake Up Ray,” is a jangling bit of alt country that tells a story with such exquisite narrative details that it creates a very real, lived in world in which the song’s characters wake up every day to a life and a house that they hate and yet feels largely inescapable — all while reminiscing over the time that’s passed and a love that’s long been over. And although wistful and mournful over the things that can’t be, there’s an acceptance of things being impermanent and a quiet joy in once knowing those things.

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Comprised of Matt Miller (guitar, lead vocals), Sean Glassman (guitar, vocals and keys), Brian d’Alessandro (drums, vocals and keys) and Paolo Codega (bass, vocals), the Brooklyn-based indie rock quartet Coastgaard can trace their origins to when the band’s founding members d’Alessandro and Miller first began playing together in Sons of Huns back in 2009. Sons of Huns eventually split up but d’Alessandro and Miller continued playing with other.  d’Alessandro and Miller recruited Glassman and Codega to flesh out the band’s sound.

Over the past couple of years, the Brooklyn-based quartet has seen increasing attention across the blogosphere and on this site for a jangling, guitar pop sound that draws heavily from 60s surfer rock and 90s alt rock — and in a way that’s reminiscent of Raccoon Fighter and Vampire Weekend, The Smiths and others.

“A Well Adjusted Man,” the first single off Coastgaard’s forthcoming sophomore full-length Devil on the Balcony pairs upbeat jangling guitar pop with lyrics that follow the inner monologue of a man who vacillates between brooding self-reflection and self-assured potency which gives the song a subtle noir-ish feel. Interestingly enough, the song is arguably the most cinematic song the band has released to date; in fact, I can envision the song as part of the soundtrack of an art film that focuses on alienation and the difficulty of connecting with another.

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Born in a musical household in which her mother was a successful vocalist and her father was a professional musician and businessman, Munich, Germany-based singer/songwriter, producer and DJ Sandy Dae followed her parents footsteps as a professional musician and vocalist.

Early in her career, the Munich-based vocalist, producer and DJ relentlessly experimented across a variety of genres to find her creative voice — her first release was melodic house but she followed that up with an R&B and hip-hop-based collaboration with another DJ. Dae also has had stints as a vocalist in an alternative/indie rock project and in a reggae project before eventually returning to electronic music. And when Dae returned to electronic music, she realized that she had been where she needed to be all along.

Sandy Dae’s latest single “Losing Myself” pairs the Munich-based artist’s sultry and jazz-leaning vocal stylings with a slick house music production — gorgeous keys, propulsive, tweeter and woofer rocking beats, distorted vocal samples, layers upon layers and an anthemic hook in a crowd-pleasing and club rocking song that manages to possess a naughty, come-hither quality while simultaneously being a kiss off to a potential lover, who could potentially be a time-waster and heartbreaker.

Renowned house music label Enormous Tunes will be officially releasing the single package on January 15 — and the single package will also have remixes from house duo Milk and Sugar and French, deep house producer Mark Lower.

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

 

If you’ve been frequenting JOVM over the course of 2015, you may recall that I wrote about  Berlin, Germany-based producer, electronic music artist and DJ Lennart Richter. Prolifically releasing a series of singles through renowned electronic music labels Sleazy G, East Project, G-Mafia Records, GUN PWDR, Ensis Records, Blue Dye, Mondal Recordings and others, Richter quickly developed a reputation across his native Germany and internationally for exploring the gamut of electronic music subgenres including deep house, G house, nu-disco and several others with a slick, crowd-pleasing, club-rocking production. And as a result, Richter can claim several Beatport Top 25 releases under his belt, and his last EP, Berlin Brawling landed at #10 on the Beatport Indie Dance/Nu Disco Charts.

The Berlin-based electronic music artist, producer and DJ closed out 2015 with the release of “Hold Up,” a nu-disco and house track comprised of layers of shimmering and cascading synths, propulsive drum programming led by explosive cymbal shots and a looped vocal sample that comes in and out of the haze. Sonically, the song reminds me quite a bit of Octo Octa’s “His Kiss” an “Please Don’t Leave” off his fantastic Between Two Selves — or in other words, it manages to possess both a bracing iciness and a thoughtful soulfulness.

 

New Audio by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Belgian Producer Henri PFR’s House Music Remix of Editors’ “Ocean of Night”

Currently comprised of Tom Smith (vocals, guitar and piano), Russell Leech (bass, synths and backing vocals), Ed Lay (drums, percussion and backing vocals). Justin Lockey (lead guitar) and Elliott Williams (keys, synths, guitars and backing […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

If you’ve been following this site at any point during its almost 6 year existence, you would know that I champion an incredibly diverse array of independent artists and labels from all over the world. And as a blogger and music critic, the ease that independent artists and labels can distribute and promote their music has been both wonderful and terrifying. It’s wonderful because independent labels often are at the forefront of reintroducing sadly forgotten yet influential artists or sadly forgotten artists, who were ignored because they were decades ahead of their time — and there are a bevy of artists, who are creating some incredible music that mainstream radio and media outlets just wouldn’t pay much attention to. Shame on them for not providing listeners and fans with the diversity and meaning that they so desperately seek. Let me make it clear, I have nothing wrong with the mainstream or mainstream artists. Jay Z is one of the greatest living emcees in hip-hop and no one can deny that. Beyonce has an incredible voice — and is one of the world’s most beautiful and desirable women. Adele has an incredible voice and I would pay to hear her sing the White Pages. Kanye West is one of the most influential artists and producers of contemporary music, not just hip-hop — and in my mind he’s a lock to the Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Fame. But let’s be honest here: those artists receive enough press for their music and exploits and my attention to them doesn’t really matter much.

Personally, I feel a responsibility to shed light on those artists that I think you as a reader would love and would have heard about if mainstream outlets and other sources were much more diverse. Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site over some time, you may recall that I’ve written about hip-hop act Atmosphere. Initially formed as as trio featuring Slug, Spawn D and Ant, the trio had been a part of the Headshots crew, a collective that also featured acts like The Abstract Pack, Phull Surkle, Black Hohl, Beyond. Back in the mid 90s, the collective’s profile was growing around hip-hop circles and building on the buzz that the Headshots crew was receiving, a much-anticipated compilation featuring tracks by each artist of the crew was slated for release.  Sadly, the compilation was never released and an opportunity for many of these artists to receive greater attention was squandered; however, to be fair, Atmosphere, in particular are beloved in indie hip-hop circles and they’re still quite prolific.

Atmosphere’s latest single “My Better Half” was written as a tribute to Slug’s wife, who he says he actually met at a German bar on a Wednesday. And as much as its about stumbling upon someone who perfectly complements you and understands you — to the point that you have your own language and rhythms; the song is also uses the same metaphor for how it feels to stumble upon something that’s your life’s calling. And much like Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth‘s “They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.),” the song possesses a deeply introspective feel — subtly thrown in is the sweet sense of amazement, wonder and gratitude that some larger force bestowed luck on you, as well as an acknowledgement that finding real and meaningful love is lucky and rare.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Just in time to close out the year, the members of Radiohead announced that last year, they were approached to write a theme song for the latest James Bond film, Spectre. Knowing that the studio and the film’s director went with Sam Smith‘s “Writing On The Wall,” it’s pretty obvious that someone decided that Radiohead’s “Spectre” just wasn’t going to work out — although to be honest, “Spectre” is a gorgeous,moody and dramatic jazz-inspired composition that sounds as though it could have been on Amnesiac or King of Limbs. To my ears, what makes the song so strange is that Radiohead’s theme song as though it could have been part of an art-house film about consumerism, greed, alienation and regret, while capturing the tone and feel of a Bond film.

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

The Insurrectionists is the solo recording project of  young, up-and-coming 20-something, New York-based singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Casey K, who began playing the guitar when he had turned 10. Using songwriting as an outlet for his frustrations and pain of growing up in a broken home, The Insurrectionists actually began as a full-fledged band featuring Casey K., his brother and a friend in 2005 before eventually morphing into its current solo format. But whether as a trio or as a solo act, the project has been largely influenced by a diverse array of acts and genres including Nirvana and Brand New while incorporating elements of piano ballads and piano rock, as well as synths and electronic music.

With the 2013 release of his debut EP, SquarePeg/RoundHole and several other singles, Casey K. has received praise for anthemic alt rock/indie rock with driving rhythms and lyrics that explore and discuss the modern condition — including the hellish company of people, messy lust and desire and more. “Diet Coke,” the first single off The Insurrectionists’ soon-to-be released album, I Gave You The Moon But You Wanted The Stars will likely cement Casey K.’s burgeoning reputation for writing a song with an anthemic and infectious hook, earnest vocals and driving rhythms — but it also sounds as though it draws from New Radicals “You Get What You Give” but with a harder, grittier edge, while possessing a dreamy feel. The song suggests that the young singer/songwriter and multi-instruemtalist has an innate ability to craft an infectious radio-friendly hook that also manages to be subversive.

 

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