Tag: The Psychedelic Furs

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Brian Purington (guitar), Chris Hackstie (electric and pedal steel guitar), Earl Bowers (drums), James Alexander (viola), Kirk Latkas (keys) and Scott Telles (bass), the Austin TX-based prog rock sextet my education have four previously released albums — 5 Popes, Italian, Moody Dipper, Bad Vibrations, Sunrise, and A Drink for All My Friends with material off those albums being remixed by  members of Kinski, Pelican, Red Sparowes and Dalek — and the members of the band released a remastered editor of their full-length debut back in 2013. And adding to a growing profile, the band has played with a number of national and internationally recognized bands including A Place to Bury Strangers, Kinski, Bardo Pond, Dalek, The Black Angels, The Sea and Cake, Warpaint, Alexander Hacke and Algis Kizys, The Psychedelic Furs, The Soundtrack of Our Lives, This Will Destroy You, Sleepy Sun, White Denim, Radar Bros., Eluvium, Sian Alice Group, Don Caballero, Trans Am, Maserati and The Red Sparowes among others.

The Austin, TX-based septet’s forthcoming full-length effort Schiphol is reportedly influenced by the band’s relentless North American touring schedule, which they began back in 1999 and by a grueling tour across Europe in which they played 20 shows in 21 days. And as the band, along with producer Mike McCarthy, who’s best known for his work with Spoon, . . . And Know You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead and Patty Griffin, began working on the material that would comprisgggge Schiphol, the band began recognizing that a series of themes would seem to repeatedly come up with their latest mat rial — expressing feelings of paranoia, longing, fear, the desperate desire to escape and an overwhelming sense of statelessness, of being on the road and forgetting where you were from or what home was like. Schiphol‘s latest single “Open Marriages” is a moody and cinematic track in which shimmering guitar chords, an angular and propulsive bass and an expansive sound structure familiar to Remember Remember,  Mogwai and others.

 

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Moodily Psychedelic Visuals for Heat’s “Lush”

Comprised of Susil Sharma (vocals, guitar and synths) Matthew Fiorentino (guitar, synth), and Raphael Bussières (bass), the Montreal, QC-based indie rock/post-punk trio Heat have received praise from Brooklyn Vegan and NME for a swaggering and moody material that’s “equal parts hooks, melody and attitude.” The band’s latest single “Lush” off their new album, Overnight is moody and seductive track in which the band pairs shimmering synths, angular guitar chords played though reverb, thumping, four-on-the-floor drumming, and a sinuous bass line with a razor sharp hook to create a sound that nods heavily at The Psychedelic Furs and Echo and the Bunnymen — but with a slick, dance floor-friendly feel.
Directed by Charles Andre Coderre, the recently released video feels as though it could have been released sometime in the 80s as it employs the use of split screens — in one half, a man may be sleeping or it may turn into heavily treated footage of daily life somewhere — mainly people walking around a busy Chinatown. It’s a trippy yet fitting accompaniment to a propulsive and wistfully moody song

New Audio by William Ruben Helms

Admittedly, after the election results last night, it’s been difficult to concentrate — but as I mentioned to a Twitter follower, who felt profoundly discouraged, artists of all sorts are now desperately needed more than ever to lead the charge against an evil unlike anything anyone has seen in this country. And I hope that artists of all stripes are moved to create with a furious passion, and to create art that challenges the status quo, that inspires and emboldens people to fight — and to fight for the defenseless.

In the meantime, there’s work to do. Comprised of Susil Sharma (vocals, guitar and synths) Matthew Fiorentino (guitar, synth), and Raphael Bussières (bass), the Montreal, QC-based indie rock/post-punk trio Heat have received praise from Brooklyn Vegan and NME for a swaggering and moody song that’s “equal parts hooks, melody and attitude.” The band’s latest single “Lush” off their new album, Overnight is moody and seductive track in which the band pairs shimmering synths, angular guitar chords played though reverb, thumping, four-on-the-floor drumming, and a sinuous bass line with a razor sharp hook, in a song that sounds as though it draws from The Psychedelic Furs –but with a slick, modern, dance-floor friendly feel.

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Certainly, if you’ve been frequenting this site throughout its six-year history and especially over the past couple of months, you’ve come across posts featuring the Brooklyn-based shoegazer rock and art collective Dead Leaf Echo. And over that period of time the members of the collective have seen a growing national and international profile as they’ve played sets at several of the country’s largest and best known festivals, have opened for a list of renowned and well-regarded bands including The Wedding Present, A Place to Bury Strangers, . . . And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, The Psychedelic Furs, Chapterhouse, Ulrich Schnauss, Weekend, Lorelei, The Ocean Blue, The Warlocks, Beach Fossils, and The Telescopes and have made appearances on KEXP‘s John in the Morning and on Nic Harcourt’s KCSN show.

Since the 2013 release of the band’s 4AD Records-inspired full-length debut effort Thought and Language and its follow up true.deep.sleeper EP, the members of the band have been working on their much-anticipated sophomore, full-length effort but in the meantime, they’re releasing a cassette tape edition of the “Lemonheart” 7 inch through Wiener Records on November 4, 2016, as the two original vinyl pressings are completely sold out. Now, you may recall that as I wrote about “Lemonheart,” the single would further cement their reputation for crafting lush, shimmering shoegaze and dream pop in the vein of RIDE, Swervedriver and Slowdive. The 7 inch’s B-side “sparks.fly.from.a.kiss” reveals a thorough change in direction as layers of swirling and buzzing guitar chords and skittering, four-on-the-floor-like drum programming and boom bap beats to create a swaggering and strutting song that sounds indebted to Primal Scream, The Jesus and Mary Chain and others, as it may arguably be the most abrasive and scorching song they’ve released to date. But just underneath the abrasiveness is a swooning and passionate declaration of love.

Dead Leaf Echo have embarked on a Fall/Winter tour to support the release of the “Lemonhead” 7 inch cassette tape edition and it includes a two Brooklyn dates. Check out the tour dates below.

Fall/Winter 2016 Dates:
11.06 – New York, NY @ Berlin (Release Party w/ Midnight Hollow, Big Band)
11.09 – Ft Wayne, IN @ The Brass Rail (w/ March On, Comrade)
11.10 – Chicago, IL @ The Empty Bottle (w/ Lightfoils, Ganser)
11.11 – Detroit, MI @ Echo Fest
11.12 – Kalamazoo, MI @ Louis Trophy Room (Kalamashoegazer Festival)
11.19 – Brooklyn, NY @ Pete’s Candy Store (w/ Solilians, Landing)
11.25 – Nashville. TN @ TBD
12.03 – Philadelphia, PA @ Ortleib’s

 

 

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Now, as I’ve mentioned last month, if you’ve been frequenting this site at any point throughout its six year history, you’ve likely come across a handful of posts about Brooklyn-based music and art collective Dead Leaf Echo. And over that period of time, the members of the collective have seen a growing national and international profile as they’ve played some of the country’s largest festivals, have opened for the likes of  The Wedding Present, A Place to Bury Strangers, . . . And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, The Psychedelic Furs, Chapterhouse, Ulrich Schnauss, Weekend, Lorelei, The Ocean Blue, The Warlocks, Beach Fossils, and The Telescopes, as well as made appears on KEXP‘s John in the Morning and on Nic Harcourt’s KCSN show.

Since the 2013 release of the band’s 4AD Records-inspired full-length debut effort Thought and Language and its follow up true.deep.sleeper EP, the members of the band have been working on their much-anticipated sophomore, full-length effort but in the meantime, they’re releasing a cassette tape edition of the “Lemonheart” 7 inch through Wiener Records on November 4, 2016, as the two original vinyl pressings are completely sold out. And as I mentioned about that single, it will further cement the band’s reputation for crafting lush, shimmering shoegaze/dream pop in the vein of RIDE, Swervedriver and Slowdive.

“I Will Do (anything)” the band’s latest single consists of ethereal boy and girl harmonizing, their trademark lush and gorgeously shimmering guitar work, propulsive four-on-the-floor-based drumming, a sinuous bass line and a rousing hook to craft a song that’s a swooning declaration of devotion that sounds as though it could have been released during 4AD Records heyday as much as it could easily be released today.

Dead Leaf Echo have embarked on a Fall/Winter tour to support the release of the “Lemonhead” 7 inch cassette tape edition and it includes a two Brooklyn dates. Check out the tour dates below.

Tour Dates 

10.15 – Austin, TX @ Cheer Up Charlie’s (Luscious Heaven: A Night of Shoegaze and Dream Pop)
10.29 – Brooklyn, NY @ ARKHAM: Brooklyn Gothic Party
11.06 – New York, NY @ Berlin (Release Party w/ Midnight Hollow, Big Band)
11.09 – Ft Wayne, IN @ The Brass Rail (w/ March On, Comrade)
11.10 – Chicago, IL @ The Empty Bottle (w/ Lightfoils, Ganser)
11.11 – Detroit, MI @ Echo Fest
11.12 – Kalamazoo, MI @ Louis Trophy Room (Kalamashoegazer Festival)
11.19 – Brooklyn, NY @ Pete’s Candy Store (w/ Solilians, Landing)
11.25 – Nashville. TN @ TBD
12.03 – Philadelphia, PA @ Ortleib’s

 

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Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Darkly Surreal Visuals and Shimmering Shoegazer Rock of Dead Leaf Echo’s “Lemonheart”

“Lemonheart,” will further cement their burgeoning reputation for crafting lush and shimmering shoegazer-like dream pop in the vein of RIDE, Swervedriver and Slowdive — or in other words, layers upon layers of shimmering guitar chords played through gentle amounts of reverb, a propulsive motorik-like groove paired with ethereal and wistful vocals.

The recently released video for “Lemonheart” employs a surreal and nightmarish logic as it features a beautiful young woman selling lemonade at a child’s lemonade stand, cutting lemons for lemonade, and occasionally sucking on a lemon when she encounters a man dressed as a lemon mascot, who’s devastated upon seeing the carnage inflicted on his fellow lemons. Running away, he encounters a female lemon who captures his attention and they return to get revenge on our lemonade stand girl.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Brisbane, Australia-born and Houston, TX-based Andrew Bower (vocals, guitar), Bower’s Brisbane, Australia-born and based brother Sean Bower (bass), along with Dan McNaulty (drums), The Valery Trails are a Trans-Pacific trio that over the past couple of years have received national attention for a sound that owes a major debt to early 90s/120 Minutes-era MTV rock, as previously released singles have managed to channel the likes of R.E.M., The Church, The Psychedelic Furs and others.

Now, it’s been a couple of years since I’ve actually written about them; however, the Trans-Pacific trio’s forthcoming album Chameleon Bones is slated for an August 5, 2016 release and the new album was recorded in a similar fashion to their two previous releases — with Andrew Bower recording demos in his home studio in Houston, then sending along his demos to bandmates Sean Bower and Dan McNaulty, who would then track bass and drums before returning the files to Andrew, who would then record guitars and vocals in a local commercial studio. As you can imagine, each song went back and forth to Brisbane for final overdubs, which created a variety of issues in the recording process. And as Andrew Bower explains in press notes, “The major obstacle, or more of a disadvantage, really, is that we don’t get the benefit of everyone being in the room together to agree on decisions that come up during recording.” Sean, Dan and the recording engineer had to commit to bass and drums sounds and arrangements without Andrew being able to weigh in — and without having a budget to re-record if he didn’t like it either. However, interestingly enough, this process also helps a band avoid the temptation of overanalyzing and obsessing to death over a minor issue at the expense of the overall freshness of the songs.

 

Chameleon Bones‘ first single “OK” is comprised of an anthemic hook paired with a jangling alt country/alt rock sound — in other words, slightly fuzzy guitars fed through subtle effects pedals, thunderous and propulsive drumming along with a throbbing bass line in a song that sounds as though it was channeling Big Star, The Smithereens, Murmur-era R.E.M., Dinosaur, Jr., The Church and others, complete with a radio-friendly, arena rock friendly air. But what distinguishes The Valery Trails from those familiar sources is that this particular single also manages to channel shoegazer rock and 90s Brit Pop in a way that puts a subtle new twist on a beloved sound.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Much ink has been spilled on the London-based quartet The Psychedelic Furs of the course of their almost 40 year recording career. And if you were a child of the 80s as I was, the band will likely hold a dear place in your heard — especially if you loved Pretty in Pink. “Love My Way” is one my favorite Psychedelic Furs songs — and interestingly, Grace Vonderkuhn, a Wilmington, DE-based singer/songwriter and guitarist, developing a reputation for a sound that meshes psych rock, garage rock and pop recently covered “Love My Way.”

Vonderkuhn’s cover retains the song’s familiar melody and anthemic hooks but slows the song’s tempo down to a slow-burning, trippy shuffle consisting of layers of feedback, blistering guitar work and thundering drum, turning the song into a broodingly bluesy wail.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

If you’ve been frequenting JOVM over the past couple of years, you will likely be pretty familiar with the Brooklyn-based music and art collective Dead Leaf Echo. The band has a growing national and international profile as they’ve made appearances at SXSW, CMJ, NXNE, Northside Festival and the Beautiful Noise Festival, toured with and/or played one off shows with The Wedding Present, A Place to Bury Strangers, . . . And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, The Psychedelic Furs, Chapterhouse, Ulrich Schnauss, Weekend, Lorelei, The Ocean Blue, The Warlocks, Beach Fossils, and The Telescopes. They’ve had a number of singles top CMJ’s Top 20 Indie charts and have appeared on renowned indie station KEXP‘s John in the Morning twice, and on Nic Harcourt’s KCSN show. 

Their 4AD Records-inspired full-length debut Thought and Language, a concept album that followed a child from his conception, through birth until he grasps thought and language was released to critical praise across the blogosphere. The follow-up to their debut full-length, true.deep.sleeper was produced by Monte Vallier, who’s best known for his work with Weekend and Wax Idols was released last year.

Currently, the members of Dead Leaf Echo are in the studio working on their sophomore full-length effort, with Vallier taking up production duties. But in the meantime, the band released a 7 inch single last month and made an appearance at the Desert Stars Festival on a bill that included Swervedriver and The Lemonheads. “Lemonheart” is the first single from the 7 inch and the song reveals a subtle change in their songwriting arppaoch as the gorgeously shimmering guitar chords jangle so subtly and are paired with forceful percussion and ethereal vocals floating just above the mix, while still remaining faithful to the shoegaze sound that has captured the attention of the blogosphere.

Uncategorized by William Ruben Helms

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Interview: A Q&A with Ward White

If you’ve been recently been frequenting JOVM, you’ve most likely come across a couple of posts on the Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter Ward White. White is probably best known for his work as one of half of […]

Uncategorized by William Ruben Helms

Ward White is probably best known as one half of the chamber pop duo, McGinty and White, which features former Psychedelic Furs keyboardist and founder of The Loser’s Lounge tribute series, Joe McGinty. Their debut […]

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The Brooklyn-based quintet of Tyburn Saints have a sound that owes quite a debt to atmospheric 80s synth pop and 80s synth rock with earnestly sung lyrics – when you hear “With the Night In […]