Tag: The Wedding Present

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Deriving their name from a retired racing greyhound that’s since been renamed Jenna, Jetstream Pony is an emerging shoegazer act split between Brighton UK and Croydon UK. Featuring Trembling Blue Stars,’ The Luxembourg Signal‘s and Aberdeen’s Beth Arzy (vocals), The Wedding Present’s and The Popguns‘ Shaun Charman (guitar), Kerry Boettcher (bass) and the band’s newest addition Hannes Müller, the members of the band bonded over their mutual love of post-punk and indie pop.

The band released a few 7 inch singles through Kleine Untergrund Schallplaten, along with a their 12 inch debut EP Self-Destruct EP — both of which received a bit of attention across the shoegazer and indie pop scenes. Building upon growing momentum, the British act’s self-titled, full-length debut is slated for a May 22, 2020 release through Shelflife Records and Kleine Untergrund Schallplaten. Interestingly, the album’s second and latest single “Trapped in Amber” is a shoegazer-like bit of guitar pop that recalls 120 Minutes-era MTV college radio that features an enormous hook, shimmering and reverb-drenched guitars, four-on-the-floor drumming and Beth Arzy’s ethereal vocals, delivered with the self-assuredness of old pros.

“‘Trapped in Amber’ is a relationship song, with lyrics by Beth,” the band’s Shaun Charmn explains in an email. “She writes a mixture of prose and verse on virtual scraps of paper. When I have new music, I flick through them to see which fits best, then edit to fit. Beth’s happy for things to be changed, she then edits again for the final version. It does work really well. This song was written at the very last minute before album recording, I was still working it out in the studio as we recorded it, but it was sounding too good to leave off.”

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Over the course of this site’s seven year history, I’ve written quite a bit about Brooklyn-based shoegazers and JOVM mainstay act Dead Leaf Echo, and in that same period, the members of the band have built a growing national profile, as the’ve played at some of the country’s biggest and best known festivals, and have opened for a lengthening and impressive array of renowned 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 along with that, over the past few years, the Brooklyn-based JOVM mainstays have also developed a reputation for being rather prolific — starting with 2013’s 4AD Records-inspired full-length debut effort Thought and Language, Dead Leaf Echo promptly followed that up with 2014’s true.deep.sleeper EP, 2015’s split EP with die you die and a limited cassette run of the “Lemonheart“/”sparks.fly.from.a.kiss” 7 inch, which retained their towering, wall of sound-inspired production, while nodding at RIDE, Swervedriver, The Verve and Slowdive and The Jesus and Mary Chain among others.  Released earlier this year, the band’s Strawberry Skin EP found the band continuing their ongoing collaboration with producer Monte Vallier, who has worked with Weekend and Wax Idols, as well as contributions from singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Jorge Elbrecht, who was a founding member of Violens and is currently in  No Joy and Ariel Pink’s backing band, and Guy Fixsen, who has worked with My Bloody Valentine and Wire, among a lengthy and impressive list of artists. And while further cementing their long-held reputation for crafting shimmering and anthemic shoegaze with a swooning and plaintive urgency,  the EP’s title track found the band gently expanding upon their sound, adding an abrasive and muscular quality underneath.

Recorded at Mexican Summer’s Greenpoint, Brooklyn-based studio with Guy Fixsen and Jorge Elbrecht, Dead Leaf Echo’s long-anticipated, sophomore full-length effort, Beyond.Desire is slated for an October 13, 2017 release through PaperCup Music, finds the band continuing to refine the sound that they’ve recently dubbed “noveeau wave”, a moody and shimmering mix of shoegaze and layered guitar pop, and as you’ll hear on Beyond.Desire‘s first, official single “Temple,” the single continues in a similar vein as its predecessor, as featured layers of shimmering power chords paired with a rousingly anthemic hook. But interestingly enough, much like their previously released material, the album is a something of a concept album, as the material reportedly is based on themes of maturation and growth beyond pure, animal lust and physical need; in fact “Temple” is an urgent and swooning declaration of love and devotion.

The band will be embarking on a number of tour dates to build up buzz to support the new album, and then to support it and int includes an October 13, 2017 stop at The Knitting Factory.

Tour Dates 
9.15: New Orleans, LA @ Gasa Gasa
9.16: Hattiesburg, MI @ The Thirsty Hippo
10.7: Kingston, NY @ O Positive Festival
10.13: Brooklyn, NY @ Knitting Factory (record release party)
10.27: Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
11.2: Barnsville, OH @ Albert S George Youth Center
11.3: Chicago, IL @ Quenchers
11.4: Kalamazoo, MI @ Bell’s Brewery
11.5 Milwaukee, WI
11.7 Salt Lake City, UT @ Diabolical Records
11.8 San Fransisco, CA @ The Knockout
11.9: San Jose, CA @ TBA
11.10: San Diego, CA @ Whistle Stop
11.12: Los Angeles, CA @ Part Time Punks

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Surreal 120 Minutes-Inspired Visuals for Dead Leaf Echo’s Anthemic “Strawberry.Skin”

Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site throughout its almost seven years of existence, you’ve come across posts featuring the Brooklyn-based shoegazer rock and art collective Dead Leaf Echo. And over that same period of time, the members of the collective have seen a growing profile, as they’ve played at some of the country’s largest and best known festivals, have opened for a lengthy and impressive list of renowned, nationally touring 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.

With the release of 2013’s 4AD Records-inspired full-length debut effort Thought and Language and 2014’s true.deep.sleeper EP, the band quickly established themselves as one of the preeminent, contemporary shoegazer rock acts while being quite busy — last year, they quietly released a split EP with die you die, as well as a limited cassette run of the “Lemonheart”/”sparks.fly.from.a.kiss” 7 inch, which interestingly retained the well-known and beloved wall of sound and swooning urgency along the lines of RIDE, Swervedriver, The Verve and Slowdive while nodding at Primal Scream, The Jesus and Mary Chain and others.

Interestingly, the band’s latest effort Strawberry Skin was released last week through PaperCup Music and the EP found the band working with frequent collaborator and producer Monte Vallier, who has also worked with Weekend and Wax Idols — and along with Vallier, the album features contributions from Jorge Elbreht, who was a founding member of Violens and is currently working with No Joy and Ariel Pink’s backing band and Guy Fixsen, who has worked with My Bloody Valentine and Wire, among a lengthy and impressive list of artists. The EP’s latest single, EP title track “Strawberry Skin” will further cement the band’s reputation for crating shimmering and anthemic shoegaze with a swooning urgency; however, the song possesses a abrasive and muscular quality just underneath the surface — and it reveals a band subtly experimenting with their sound.

Directed by Emmanuella Zachariou, the recently released music video possesses a dream-like logic reminiscent of 120 Minutes-era MTV, complete with action going forward and in slow-motion as though the viewer is in a fever dream. The band is playing two shows to support the EP, so check out live dates below — and be on the lookout for the band’s long-anticipated sophomore effort, slated for release later this year.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Gorgeously Eerie Visuals for The History of Colour TV’s “Wreck”

Led by its founding member, British artist Jaike Stambach, and currently featuring bandmembers Markus Mocydlarz and Janek Sprachta, the Berlin, Germany-based indie rock trio The History of Colour TV was initially conceived as a solo, experimental multimedia project. With the release of two full-length albums and several EPs released through Bruit Blanc Records and renowned shoegazer label Saint Marie Records, the members of the Berlin-based have developed a reputation for restless expansion and experimentation with their sound as their recorded output has consisted of noise rock, sound collages, shimmering deram pop and recently more straightforward rock — and for extensive touring and live shows across both Berlin and Continental Europe.

As the story goes, earlier this year the trio of Stambach, Mocydlarz and Sprachta set off to Black Box Recording Studio to write and record the material which would eventually comprise their third, full-length effort Something Like Eternity with Peter Deimel, who’s best known for this work with The Wedding Present, Shellac and The Ex. And as you’ll hear on the album’s latest single “Wreck,” the band wanted to focus on a raw, live-like sound; in fact, the band recorded the song with minimal overdubs and as a result, it feels like an accurate representation of their live sound while evoking 90s alt rock — in particular, the song reminds me of Pablo Honey and The Bends-era Radiohead as the band pairs a shimmering yet slightly ragged arpeggio guitar chord-led melody, propulsive and stormy drumming and Stambach’s plaintive vocals signing lyrics recounting the story of a group friendship/group dynamic tarnished by disaffection and apathy.

As the band explained in press notes as a member of the group, the narrator describes feelings of confusion, helplessness and hurt over the members of the group’s inability to figure out a way to positively change the situation. At one point, the song’s narrator implies that the friends wind up in a car crash — leaving the narrator to contemplate both the randomness and the aftermath of an event that nullified any possibility of reconciliation. And as a result, the song possesses a bitter and unresolved sense of confusion, ache and resignation.

The recently released music video while shot in a gorgeous and cinematic black and white begins to slowly reveal a car that’s been totaled in an accident, complete with the effects of several people haphazardly left behind, which gives the video a spectral and eerie vibe.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Led by its founding member, British artist Jaike Stambach, and currently featuring bandmembers Markus Mocydlarz and Janek Sprachta, the Berlin, Germany-based indie rock trio The History of Colour TV was initially conceived as a solo, experimental multimedia project. With the release of two full-length albums and several EPs released through Bruit Blanc Records and renowned shoegazer label Saint Marie Records, the members of the Berlin-based have developed a reputation for restless expansion and experimentation with their sound as their recorded output has consisted of noise rock, sound collages, shimmering deram pop and recently more straightforward rock — and for extensive touring and live shows across both Berlin and Continental Europe.

As the story goes, earlier this year the trio of Stambach, Mocydlarz and Sprachta set off to Black Box Recording Studio to write and record the material which would eventually comprise their forthcoming third, full-length effort Something Like Eternity with Peter Deimel, who’s best known for this work with The Wedding Present, Shellac and The Ex. And as you’ll hear on the album’s latest single “Wreck,” the members of the Berlin, German-based trio wanted to focus on a raw, live-like sound; in fact, the band recorded the song with minimal overdubs and as a result, it feels like an accurate representation of their live sound while evoking 90s alt rock — in particular, the song reminds me of Pablo Honey and The Bends-era Radiohead as the band pairs shimmering yet slightly ragged arpeggio guitar chord-led melody, propulsive and stormy drumming, Stambach’s plaintive vocals signing lyrics that recount the story of a group friendship/group dynamic tarnished by disaffection and apathy.

As the members of the band explain press notes as a member of the group, the narrator describes feelings of confusion, helplessness and hurt over the members of the group’s inability to figure out a way to positively change the situation. After a series of surreal descriptions, the song implies that the friends wind up in a car crash — with the narrator left to contemplate both the aftermath and randomness of an event that nullified any possibility of reconciliation. And as a result the song possesses a bitter and unresolved sense of confusion, ache and resignation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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.