Tag: St. Lucia

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

With the release of their 2011 self-titled EP and their full-length debut, Richmond, VA-based indie act White Laces developed a reputation for being a noisy, indie rock band that had been banned from a number of venues for being way too loud. However, over the last couple of years the band’s material has increasingly leaned more towards electronics and samples paired with some live instrumentation — and with the addition of newest member Tori Hovater, the band’s soon-to-be released album No Floor also includes ethereal three-part harmonies.

“Cheese,” the first single off No Floor pairs ethereal and atmospheric synths, stuttering drum programming and shimmering guitar chords and plaintive vocals in a song that’s moodily cinematic while possessing a wistful and aching nostalgia while sounding as though it nods at both 80s synth pop and the contemporary synth pop of St. Lucia, Haerts and others.

The band is embarking on a short tour during October and it includes an October 10, 2016 stop at Williamsburg’s Muchmore‘s. Check out the tour dates below.

Tour dates:
10.07 @ DC9 (Washington, DC)
10.08 @ Hardywood (Richmond, VA)
10.09 @ Golden Pony (Harrisonburg, VA)
10.10 @ Muchmores (NYC)
10.12 @ Auroura (Providence, RI)
10.13 @ The Thirteenth Floor (Easthampton, MA)
10.14 @ Trixie’s Palace (Allston, MA)
10.15 @ TBA (Philadelphia, PA)

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Quinn Lewis is an Australian-born, Nashville, TN-based indie electro pop artist, who has has spit part of his childhood in both the Western US and Eastern US is a self-taught multi-instrumentalist and producer, who started his music career while in his early teens. Lewis began a fruitful collaboration with Danen Reed that caught the attention of the blogosphere; however, Lewis’ solo debut effort The Addicted EP is slated for an October 14, 2016 and from the EP’s first single “Bridges,” the Australian-born, Nashville-based multi-instrumentalist and producer reveals that he specializes in a sleek, infectious, dance-floor groove that’s reminiscent of blogosphere darlings like St. Lucia, Haerts, Nick Murphy (f.k.a Chet Faker) and others while drawing from the work of Nile Rodgers, 80s synth-based funk and R&B and house music — and its paired with Lewis’ plaintive and sultry cooing. In other words, it’s a  sexy yet plaintive, radio-friendly, club-banger that you’ll likely find yourself playing while pre-gaming your way to the bar or to the club.

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Los Angeles, CA-based quintet Hunny specialize in an infectious, hook-laden party rock/dance rock sound/pop sound that seems to channel several contemporary acts including Hands, St. Lucia, Phoenix and others — while subtly nodding at early 80s New Wave. And the act’s latest single “Vowels (and The Importance of Being Me) will further cement the act’s burgeoning reputation for hook-laden summertime anthems as the band pairs soaring synths, four-on-the floor drumming, shimmering and angular chords and an undulating bass line with deeply earnest vocals singing lyrics about ridiculously passionate, confusing and urgent, young love. Certainly, in an age of sneering cynicism and disbelief, such earnestness is a breath of fresh air; but perhaps more important, thanks to a larger-than-life anthemic hook, I can imagine a packed club full of young people singing lustily along to the song.

The band will be on a lengthy tour throughout July and August, which also will include an August 5, 2016 stop at The Knitting Factory.

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Kent, UK-based producer Draper can trace the origins of his prolific and critically acclaimed music career in a rather humble fashion — initially as his experimenting with sound recording software, largely based around pairing a densely layered production with an uncanny knack for lyricism. With the release of attention grabbing remixes of Strange Talk, Ellie Goulding and Passion Pit, and the 2010 release of his debut EP, The Introduction, the British producer saw a rapidly growing national and international profile — at one point, he captured the attention of Turn First Music Publishing where Draper would write singles for Lapsley, Rita Ora and Little Mix.

Now, you might recall that last year I wrote about “On You,” the first single off the producer’s highly-anticipated full-length album, and that single, a collaboration with his frequent collaborator Alby Hobbs was a densely layered and swooning pop song consisting of wobbling, low pitched synths, skittering percussion, swirling electronics and rubbery, high pitched synths paired with Hobbs’ meandering yet soulful falsetto to craft a song that effortlessly meshes bouncy club-friendly electro pop with sensual and soulful R&B. While we’re anxiously awaiting Draper’s full-length effort, the British producer has remained incredibly prolific, releasing a number of singles including his latest single “Break Over You,” a collaboration with Scottish synth pop trio Prides — and what makes the single interestingly is that it reveals that Draper has been experimenting and expanding upon his sound, as “Break Over You” is a euphoric pop confection with the sort of anthemic hooks reminiscent of St. Lucia, Phoenix, Passion Pit and others. It’s arguably the most rousingly crowd pleasing and radio-friendly single Draper has released to date. (Interestingly, the song lyrically seems to make a sly reference to one of my favorite Prince songs ever, “I Will Die 4 U,” which is also quite an anthemic pop song itself.)

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: M83’s Anthemic, Arena Rock-Friendly, New Single

With the release of Platinium selling single “Midnight City” and the Grammy-nominated album Hurry Up We’re Dreaming, indie synth pop/dream pop multi-instrumentalist, producer and artist Anthony Gonzalez, the creative mastermind behind M83 not only achieved the […]

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Fittingly 80s Inspired Visuals for Photoreal’s “That Life”

Comprised of songwriters, multi-instrumentalists and producers Dan Halperin and Diwas Gurung, the Brooklyn-based electro pop duo Photoreal have developed a reputation for a sound that draws from 80s synth pop and 80s synth rock among […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Over the past couple of years, Los Angeles-based, indie electro pop duo Pr0files have not only become JOVM mainstay artists, they’ve also developed a growing national profile for a sound that possesses elements of R&B, pop and electronic dance music — especially with the release of Call Yourself A Lover,”  and “Luxury.”

February 23 marks the release of the duo’s long-awaited and highly-anticipated full-length debut Jurassic Technologie and from the release of the album’s first three singles “I Know You Still Care,” Empty Hands” and “Like A Knife,” the duo’s material has revealed an urgent, insistent sensuality reminiscent of Giorgio Moroder‘s legendary work in the 1970s while at other times being incredibly anthemic in a way that owes a debt to 80s synth pop and more contemporary fare, such as Haerts and St. Lucia. Jurassic Technologie‘s fourth and latest single “Abuse U (Feel It)” pairs Sternbaum’s gauzy Quiet Storm meets 21st century production consisting of skittering drum programming, swirling electronics and layers of shimmering and cascading synths with Pardini’s sultry come hither vocals and brief bursts of guitar.  Sonically and lyrically the song sounds as though it draws from Prince‘s incredible 80s work — think of “I Will Die 4 U,” “When Doves Cry,” “Raspberry Beret,” and “Little Red Corvette” in particular, as the song may arguably be the most sensual and outright sexual song that the duo has released to date.

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

With the release of their 2014 debut EP, Magic, the New York-bsased dream pop/electro pop duo Paperwhite, comprised of sibling duo Katie and Ben Marshall exploded into the blogosphere; in fact, they earned the title of “Most Blogged About Artist” twice — and that shouldn’t be surprising as their (highly contemporary) sound pairs lush melodies and anthemic hooks. Building on the buzz that they’ve received a few years ago, the New York-based duo’s forthcoming EP Escape is slated for release this spring. And the EP’s first single “Unstoppable” will further cement the duo’s reputation for pairing lush melodies and anthemic hooks with Katie Marshall’s ethereal in a way that’s contemporary  as it’s reminiscent of St. Lucia and yet is also reminiscent of radio friendly 80s synth pop.

Interestingly, the single as the duo notes is a “reminder to find strength in the chaos and beauty in the unknown.” Certainly, considering life and its brutality and wonder, it’s something that we all need to remind ourselves at some point — while dancing with a bunch of sweaty kids in a club, right?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The 70s Glam-Inspired Video for Starlight Girls’ “Fancy”

Over the past couple of years, the Brooklyn-based indie rock sextet Starlight Girls have developed a reputation for a unique brand of “noir-ish indie pop” while becoming JOVM mainstays. With the release of well-received, self-produced EP, the […]

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Introducing, the Soaringly Anthemic Sound of Kobe, Japan’s The Fin

Comprised of Yuto Uchino (vocals and synths), Ryosuke Odagaki (guitar), Takayasu Taguchi (bass) and Kaoru Nakazawa (drums), the Kobe, Japan-based quartet The fin have won attention across their native Japan for pairing lyrics written and […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

If you’ve been frequenting this site over the past couple of months, you may recall that I’ve written about Brothertiger, the solo recording project of Brooklyn-based electronic musician and producer John Jagos. The project can trace its origins to when Jagos was a sophomore at Ohio State University. His debut EP, Vision Tunnels was released to critical praise from No Fear of Pop and Pitchfork. Building upon the early buzz he received, Jagos wrote and recorded his debut full-length Golden Years, which was released through Mush Records in 2012.

Future Splendors, the follow-up effort to Golden Years was a change in sonic direction as the material was reportedly his darkest and moodiest effort to date — and it was his first effort that he supported with a tour. Lagos’ forthcoming third, full-length effort Out of Touch is slated for a December 4 release and with the release of the album’s first single, album title track “Out of Touch” and its latest single “Beyond The Infinite,” Jagos is set to firmly put himself on the national map for an 80s synth-pop based sound that channels the likes of Tears for Fears as well as, contemporary artists such as St. Lucia and Washed Out.

In particular, “Beyond The Infinite” consists of layers of propulsive and cascading synths paired with four-on-the-floor drumming and rousingly anthemic hooks with soulful vocals in a song that’s plaintive yet remarkably cinematic. Much like the album’s previous single “Out of Touch,” the album’s latest single is informed by the Jagos’ desire to create an auditory journey through a metaphorical jungle of emotional states — tribulation, despair, fatigue, serenity, joy, tranquility, etc. In this case, the song focuses on the sensation of making a connection with someone and discovering that person has been deceitful and has betrayed you. And as a result, at the core of such a breezy, pop confection is the sort of heartache that should feel profoundly familiar.