Tag: Swarm

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

I’ve managed to write quite a bit about the Los Angeles, CA-based singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Justin Phillips, a.k.a Crywolf over the past 12-15 months or so. When Phillips started writing and releasing his own music. he was practically homeless, living in a room roughly the size of a closet and subsiding on food stamps. Since then, Philips has developed a growing profile that has included amassing several million streams across all of the various streaming platforms, a headlining slot on the second largest stage at Electric Forest and praise across both the blogosphere and the major media outlets, including Consequence of Sound, Alternative Press, Billboard, Nylon, Complex, as well as this site.

Now, if you’ve been following this site over that same period, you might recall that Phillips sophomore album widow [OBLIVIØN Pt. 1]. Building upon the momentum of his sophomore album, Philips recently started a new series THE OBLIVION [Reimagined], which will feature reworked versions of tracks off widow [OBLIVIØN Pt. 1]. The first single in the series featured the Chicago-based producer Mielo tackling “DRIP” — with Mielo releasing an arpeggiated synth-driven, cinematic remix that recalled A-Ha’s “Take on Me” and Depeche Mode while retaining the urgency and frenetic feel of the original. Earlier this week, Seattle-based producer Levit∆te released a glitchy, murky and hyper-futuristic remix of “ULTRAVIOLENT Pt. 2” that retained Philips plaintive vocals.

widow [OBLIVIØN Pt. 1] album single “QUIXOTE [i am alone, and they are everyone] features Philips’ achingly plaintive vocals floating over a cinematic and glitchy production. Recently, SWARM, a dark, industrial metal-influenced electronic artist released his own take on the song — a take that places Philips’ plaintive vocals within a gritty and jarring, industrial production featuring thumping, industrial clang and clatter, aggressively arpeggiated synths and a soaring hook. Evoking the increasing automation and brutality of our contemporary world, the song manages to pull upon and tease out the dark, gritty psychological detail of the original, placing in a new context without stripping the emotionality or the intent of its creator.

“There is something about ‘QUIXØTE’ in particular that is deepening haunting to me,” SWARM says in press notes. “I could feel my own emotions in every aspect of it, from the cathartic atmosphere to the painfully raw lyrics. In my re-imagination, I wanted to bring the psychological grit to light in a more aggressive way by using my own background in metal and industrial music.”

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

If you’ve been frequenting this site over the past three or four years, you’d probably be familiar with  JOVM mainstay act Bambara. Comprised of twin brothers Reid and Blaze Bateh and their childhood friend, William Brookshire, the band formed back in 2008 when all three members were living in Athens, GA. After relocating to Brooklyn and recording their debut effort DREAMVIOLENCE, the trio exploded into the national scene for a punishing sound that compared favorably to the likes of A Place to Bury Strangers, Weekend, and others. Since the release of DREAMVIOLENCE the Brooklyn-based trio’s sound has increasingly incorporated elements of punk rock and thrash punk — and as a result, their sound has generally become much more abrasive and forceful as you’d hear on “All The Ugly Things,” the first single off the band’s long-awaited and recently released sophomore effort Swarm.

According to the band, the material’s — and in turn, the album’s first single — abrasive quality was largely inspired by the trio’s immediate surroundings; in fact, Reid Bateh’s lyrics describe a New York that’s stark, grimy, mercilessly bleak and full of unhinged, unstable characters desperately trying to survive with whatever dignity, decency and shred of sanity they have remaining. Interestingly though, the album’s latest single “An Ill Son” manages to possess the same bleak sound of the album’s previous single; however, the band sound as though they were drawing equally from thrash punk, surfer rock, garage rock and post-punk as angular, slashing guitar chords are played through gentle amounts of reverb and are paired with propulsive drumming and Reid Bateh’s unhinged crooning. Sonically, the song reminds me quite a bit of The Amazing Snakeheads‘ incredible Amphetamine Ballads, as “An Ill Son” focuses on the grim and seedy underworld that most people are largely ignorant about — and with a tense, bristling anxiousness.

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

If you’ve been frequenting this site over the past 3 or 4 years, you may be somewhat familiar with yet another JOVM mainstay act — Bambara. Comprised of twin brothers Reid and Blaze Bateh and their childhood friend, William Brookshire, the band formed back in 2008 when all three members were living in Athens, GA. After relocating to Brooklyn and recording their debut effort DREAMVIOLENCE, the trio exploded into the national scene for a punishing sound that compared favorably to the likes of A Place to Bury Strangers, Weekend, and others.

Since the release of DREAMVIOLENCE the band’s sound has increasingly incorporated elements of punk rock and thrash punk — and as a result, their sound has become much more abrasive, forceful and propulsive as you’ll hear on “All The Ugly Things,” the first single off the band’s long-awaited sophomore effort, Swarm. Unsurprisingly, the material’s — and in turn, the single’s — abrasive quality was inspired by the trio’s surroundings: Reid Bateh’s lyrics describe a New York that’s stark, grimy, bleak, merciless and full of unhinged, unstable characters desperately trying to survive with whatever dignity, decent and sanity they have left. And at times it sounds and feels like an urgent and desperate howl of pain into a cold, indifferent void.

The trio have a few upcoming shows — including their album release show at Palisades with The Men, Pill and Hubble. Check out the tour dates below.

Tour Dates

2/25/16 Brooklyn, NY: Palisades: Album Release Show with The Men, Pill and Hubble

3/12/16: Atlanta, GA: 529: with Guerrilla Toss and Muuy Biien

3/15/16 – 3/19/16: Austin, TX: SXSW