Tag: The Joy of Violent Movement

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Rather unsurprisingly, over the past couple of years, Brooklyn-based soul singer, Charles Bradley has not only become a JOVM mainstay, the “Screaming Eagle of Soul” has become a national and international sensation with the release of a documentary about his life, Charles Bradley: Soul of America and the release of his critically praised and commercially successful first two albums, No Time For Dreaming and Victim of Love.  Bradley has also developed a reputation for an incredibly heartfelt and powerful live show that has lead him to playing Bonnaroo,Coachella, Glastonbury, Primavera Sound Festival, The Apollo Theater, The Beacon Theatre and countless other venues of adoring fans across the globe.

April 1 2016 will mark the release of Bradley’s third full-length album Changes named after his popular and achingly soulful cover of Black Sabbath‘s “Changes” with Daptone Records labelmates The Budos Band, which was initially released as a Record Store Day 45 a couple of years ago. And with the forthcoming release of Changes, it’ll mark the first time that Bradley’s rendition of the song will be available digitally, as it’ll also appear on the album. The album’s second single “Changes For The World” is Bradley’s desperately heartfelt and earnest plea to the listener that we need to stop hiding behind hate, divisiveness  and religion and learn how to truly love one another with open hearts, minds and arms. I suspect that most of us would feel that he’s right — and that maybe it’s time to really start changing our world for the better.

 

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Check out the Love Triangle at the Center of the Video for Gosh Pith’s “K9”

So if you had been frequenting this site over the course of 2015, Detroit, MI-based duo Gosh Pith have become JOVM mainstays while gaining a rapidly growing national profile for a sound and songwriting approach that generally focused on capturing […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: The Raveonettes Moody, New Synth Pop-based Single

Since their formation in 2001, The Raveonettes — comprised of Sune Rose Wagner (guitar, vocals, production) and Sharin Foo (v0cals, bass) — have developed a reputation for going on their own path creatively and stylistically.  Interestingly […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

If you’ve been frequenting JOVM over the past couple of years, you may know that the Swedish cities of Umea, Sweden’s third (and most Northern) and Malmo, Sweden’s twelfth (and most Southern) have emerged with reputations as being Sweden and Scandinavia’s newest, most exciting creative hotbeds as an increasing number of artists and bands from both cities have started to receive international recognition — including the likes of JOVM mainstays Moonbabies, Cajsa Siik, Frida Selander and YAST and others.  I have to add to that list, Umea, Sweden-bornsinger/songwriter, producer and sound designer Catharina Jaunviksna, who splits time between her home country, Italy and Ireland and who has received attention with her solo recording project Badlands. With the release of 2012’s Battles Within EP and single “Tutu,” Jaunviksna’s Badlands project received attention from the likes of The 405 and Under the Radar for a sound that many of my colleagues have described as possessing elements of trip-hop and experimental pop.

April will mark the release of her forthcoming full-length effort Locus and album’s first single “Echo” reveals yet another change in sonic direction for Jaunviksna, as the single is a dance floor-ready song consisting of layers of staccato synth stabs and layers of cascading and twinkling synths, swirling electronics and an infectious hook paired with Jaunviksna’s ethereal coos bubbling and floating over the mix’s hazy surface, which give the song an eerie and spectral undercurrent.  Thematically and lyrically the song reportedly discusses self-censorship and the inherent dangers self-censorship can entail. As Jaunviksna explained in press notes “Even though the first intentions might be good, it always ends as a witch hunt and nobody daring to speak their mind.” But sonically speaking to my years, the song channels the likes of Depeche Mode, Still Corners and others as the song possess a captivating pull, begging the listener to come up closer.

 

 

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Psychedelic Visuals for Betty Black’s Siouxsie and the Banshees Channelling New Single

Throughout the course of this site’s history, there have been a number of insanely talented artists, who have released work that I’ve become obsessed with — and have spilled copious amounts of (virtual) ink. Now, […]

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Boogarins and O Terno Team Up for a Trippy Cover of Classic Brazilian Psych Rock

Towards the second half of 2015, the Brazilian indie psych rock quartet Boogarins quickly became a JOVM mainstay, and if you had been frequenting this site over that period dog time, I had written about a couple […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Over the almost 6 year history of this site, Dam-Funk has not only seen his profile grow both nationally and internationally for a sound that channels Parliament Funkadelic, 80s synth-based funk and R&B, Parliament Funkadelic-inspired G Funk and for collaborations with Slave’s Steve Arrington and Snoop Dogg in their funk project 7 Days of Funk, but he’s also become a JOVM mainstay artist, who I’ve written about on a number of occasions.

Last year was a rather prolific year for one of Stones Throw Records better known artists as Dam-Funk released a 4 song instrumental EP STFU that he wrote and recorded while on tour opening for Todd Rundgren. His long-awaited solo effort, Invite the Light was one of my favorite albums last year — and I’m looking forward to the sophomore 7 Days of Funk album. But in the meantime, In the meantime, Stones Throw Records and Dam-Funk released album single “O.B.E.” on vinyl with the B side single “Special Friends,” a track that pairs shimmering layers of cascading synth stabs, squiggly and funky bass with handclap led percussion. Sonically, the song will further cement Dam-Funk’s reputation for crafting silky smooth and danceable funk that channels the synth funk that I remember listening to when I was a child.

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

If you’ve been frequenting JOVM for a while, you may remember that I’ve written about Norwegian electro pop duo, BLØSH. With the release of their breezy and infectious debut single “Can’t Afford to Lose You,” the duo comprised of of Madrid-born, Oslo, Norway-based cellist and vocalist Teresa Bernabé and guitarist Jørgen Berg Svela, an Oslo native, quickly found themselves with an expanding international profile as the duo saw praise and attention from JaJaJa Music, Indie Shuffle and airplay on Amazing Radio.

“Give It Away,” which I wrote about last November further cemented the duo’s burgeoning reputation for crafting infectious pop as the song paired an upbeat melody, punchy bass lines, a looping guitar line and a soaring, anthemic hook with with Bernabé’s breezy vocals  while sonically drawing from African music and African-inspired pop  — in particular Paul Simon‘s Graceland, the legendary Ali Farka Touré and Afrobeat. Now the Oslo, Norway-based duo is continuing to build on the buzz of “Can’t Afford to Lose You,” and “Give It Away” with the release of their latest single “When Love Is Alive.” Beginning with a steady bass line, the song pairs reverb-y guitars, propulsive drumming and Bernabé’s ethereal vocals in a slow-burning song that expresses an aching longing and yearning for giving and receiving the love that the narrator desperately wants and deserves — but with the sad realization that love is often short-lived. And as a result, the song possesses the same breeziness as their previous singles but with a subtle sense of mourning.

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

The last few days have been insanely busy in the JOVM world — and as a result I haven’t been able to post as much as I would have liked; however, it’s been a fun weekend of a lot of live music from all over the world and time spent with some very dear friends. Naturally, there are a lot of photos and stuff but expect a ton of stuff over the next couple of weeks . . .

In any case, as you all know, I receive quite a bit of emails from an incredibly diverse array of artists, labels, publicity firms, band managers and other folks from all over the world. I recently received an email from London-based quintet Blank Bibles. The British quintet’s latest single “Abigail West” sounds as though it draws heavily from The Smiths as shimmering guitar chords, propulsive drumming, soaring strings and anthemic hooks are paired with plaintive and lovelorn vocals. Unsurprisingly, the Abigail West at the heart of the song seems to be one of the loveliest women in the entire world — the sort of woman that you’d happily sing and dance in the street without a care in the world.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Shabaam Shadeeq’s “Grown Man Rap” is Here To Save You From Too Many Rappers and Not Enough Emcees

Over the nearly six year history of this site, Brooklyn-based emcee Shabaam Sahdeeq has become a JOVM mainstay artist, who I’ve written about on a number of occasions. Last year marked Sahdeeq’s 20th year as a recording […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Ursa Major is a 19 year-old Toronto, ON-based singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer, who describes his work and sound as Psychedelic R&B as he claims that his sound manages to fit in a comfortable middle ground between the sounds of the past and the contemporary electronic production — although to my ears, the Canadian producer’s debut single “Dusk” bears an uncanny resemblance to JOVM mainstay act, Gosh Pith as the song pairs rumbling and wobbling low end, skittering drum programming and soulful vocals in a song that focuses on lust, loneliness and desperate longing. That shouldn’t be surprising as the young and super talented Canadian artist has noted that his early work focuses on past loves, a fear and inability to move forward, and the complicated and heartbreaking process of falling in and out of love repeatedly. And if you remember anything about being 19 it seems that love was a fickle and ridiculous thing.

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Over the course of 2015, Detroit, MI-based duo Gosh Pith have become JOVM mainstays while gaining a rapidly growing national profile for a sound and songwriting approach that generally focused on capturing a specific feeling or sensation, rather than capturing a concrete narrative. Interestingly over that same period, the duo has been experimenting with their sound and songwriting approach with their sound gradually becoming warmer and R&B-leaning with guitar becoming much more prominent on later releases.

Now you may recall that the duo closed out what turned out to be a huge 2015 with the release of “Gold Chain,” the first single and title track off the duo’s forthcoming EP, Gold Chain, which is slated for a February 25 release through B3SCI Records and with a set opening up for Girlyboi at Rough Trade. The EP’s second and latest single “K9” continues where the first single left off as skittering drum programming, wobbling bass, guitar chords fed through reverb and delay pedals and sultry hip-hop and R&B inspired vocals in a way that subtly hints at Timbaland — but much more atmospheric. And much like the preceding single, the song is a a “ratchet” love song, in which the narrator and the object of his affections being in love and doing sleazy things together because they enjoy them.

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 […]