Tag: Universal Records

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Be Your Own Pet Returns from 15-Year Hiatus with a Roar

Nashville-based punk outfit Be Your Own Pet — Jemina Pearl Abegg (vocals), Jonas Stein (guitar), Nathan Vasquez (bass) and John Eatherly (drums) — originally formed back in 2004 while its original lineup — Pearl, Stein, Vasquez, Eatherly and JEFF The Brotherhood‘s Jamin Orrall — were all attending Nashville School of the Arts. The then-quintet honed a spastic-yet poppy sound playing house shows and gigs at all-ages venues like Guido’s Pizza and Bongo Java.

The Nashville-based quintet played attention-getting sets at 2004’s CMJ and 2005’s SXSW, which helped to create buzz for them Stateside. Around the same time, their first single “Damn Damn Leash,” which was released as a CD-R, caught the attention of BBC Radio One‘s Zane Lowe, whose support helped the band gain an early UK following.

Building upon a rapidly growing profile, the members of Be Your Own Pet released a string of singles and EPs release through Infinity Cat Recordings, which they supported by playing sets across the global festival circuit, including stops at Coachella, Bonnaroo, Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds — and opening slots for Arctic Monkeys, Sonic Youth, Kings of Leon and others.

Their early material received critical acclaim from Pitchfork, Rolling Stone and NME, who named the band’s Jemina Pearl in the Top 10 of their annual Cool List and NYLON, who put the band on the cover of their summer 2006 issue.

The band signed to XL Recordings in the UK and Thurston Moore’s Ecstatic Peace Universal Records imprint in North America. Both labels released the band’s first two albums, 2006’s self-titled full-length debut and 2008’s Get Awkward.

After finishing a small UK tour to support Get Awkward, the band announced their breakup — and they went off on their own separate ways creatively and professionally: Stein and Eatherly went on to play in Turbo Fruits, along with their friend Max Peebles. Vasquez went on to play in Deluxin’. Pearl has played in a number of different projects including Cheap Time and Rare Form, and has released material as a solo artist.

After 15 years apart, the band recently made a triumphant return to both the stage and airwaves: They played SXSW and opened for Jack White ahead of the release of their critically acclaimed single “Hand Grenade,” which Rolling Stone dubbed “incendiary” and The Fader dubbed “hard to ignore.”

BYOP’s long-awaited and highly-anticipated third album and first in 15 years, Mommy is slated for an August 25, 2023 release through Third Man Records. The album was written and recorded by the band’s three founding members Pearl Abegg, Stein and Vasquez along with longtime drummer Eatherly. “For better or worse, we all were slapped in the face that it wasn’t as easy on our own,” the band’s Stein says of their hiatus. “We were all moderately successful, but nobody found that Be Your Own Pet chemistry.”

The bond returned on the very first day that the band stepped back into rehearsal, which is also when they began writing the material that would comprise Mommy. In the past, Pearl had previously fitted lyrics into the others’ songs, but with the new album, she brought her own ideas into the writing room. “Mommy is the bitch in charge, the one in control,” Pearl says. “It’s a reclamation of myself.” The album also reportedly sees the band bolstering the garage punk ferocity they’ve long been known for with matured song, inspired musicianship and a fervent desire to simultaneously claim their space and define their future.

Along with the album announcement, the punk rock outfit share Mommy‘s lead single, “Worship The Whip,” an irony-drenched, BDSM leather-clad dominatrix-meets-breakneck glam punk-like take on DEVO‘s “Whip It” built around rousingly anthemic hooks, enormous power chords and Pearl’s defiant delivery. “‘Worship The Whip’ is about the right wing authoritarian personality,” explains Pearl. “Aggressive and domineering to people who don’t think like them, while at heart being a submissive to the authority figures who use and abuse them.”

Directed by Jordan William and shot by Ben Chappell, the accompanying video for “Worship The Whip” features the band’s Pearl in latex being both the dominatrix and the submissive.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Jujuboy Star Releases a Summery Club Banger

Osaretin Rock Akhib is a 25 year-old Nigerian singer/songwriter and producer, best known as Jujuboy Star. Hailing from the the same city in Edo State as contemporaries Rema and Santi, the Nigerian singer/songwriter and producer can trace the origins of his music career to joining the local church choir when he turned eight. As a teenager, he learned about music production from a neighbor — and by the time he was 16, he was producing his own beats at his grandmother’s house, using Fruity Loops and a USB mic.

From those rather humble beginnings, Jujuboy Star has gone to collaborate with Jidenna, Adekunle Gold, Simi, Gospelonthebeatz. Seyi Shay and a lengthy list of others. Adding to a growing profile, the Edo State, Nigeria-based artist has become the first artist to be signed to the recently formed partnership between Aristokrat Records, the Nigerian entertainment company that discovered and developed international superstar Burna Boy and Universal Records. “Juju is by far one of the most exciting artists I’ve come across over the past decade and represents the next generation of African superstars,” Aristokrat Records founder and CEO Priye Isokari says in press notes. “We are glad to finally be introducing him to the world.”

Quickly following up on “I Dey There,” the rising Nigerian artist’s latest single, the Kel-P-produced “Enjoyment” is a sexy, feel-good club anthem centered around a slick production that meshes elements of Afrobeats, R&B and reggae: the listener will hear skittering and shuffling polyrhythm, squiggling synths, warm blasts of Nile Rodgers-like funk guitar, a strutting bass line paired with Jujuboy’s self-assured yet achingly vulnerable vocals. To me, it’s the sort of song that you’d likely hear in the club while you’re trying to pick up that pretty young thing.

Directed by Earthboi, the recently released video for “Enjoyment” follows the rising Nigerian artist as he wakes up bleary-eyed and staggering from a wild house party with some of the most beautiful Black people I’ve ever set eyes on — including a gold clad woman, who plays the stunning love interest.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Lyric Video: JOVM Mainstay El Dusty Teams Up with Tiano Bless on a Sultry Club Banger

Over the past couple of years, I’ve written quite a bit about the  Corpus Christi, TX-based JOVM mainstay producer, DJ and electronic music artist, El Dusty. And as you amy recall, the Corpus Christi-born JOVM pioneer has received attention across the blogosphere as a pioneer of a sub-genre he’s dubbed “nu cumbia,” which features elements of hip-hop. drum ‘n’ bass, house music and samples of classic and beloved cumbia songs in a swaggering, genre-defying and club banging take on traditional border music. 

Not only has El Dusty received a a Latin Grammy nomination for his work, he was named on of Rolling Stone‘s 10 New Artists You Need to Know, Billboard‘s New Latin Act and to Watch and was placed on Pandora‘s Latin Artists to Watch. He’s also played at EDC Las Vegas, EDC Mexico, Ciudad Sonido Festival, Fiesta De La Flor, Universal Records‘ Latin Grammy Showcase, Brisk Bodega Tour, the Mad Decent Block Party, Austin City Limits, SXSW, and others.  And adding to a growing profile, the Corpus Christi-born and-based JOVM mainstay released his full-length debut, last year’s Cumbia City, an album that found him pushing his sound and approach in new directions, further revealing why he has quickly become a highly sought-after producer and collaborator. 

Since the release of Cumbia City, El Dusty has been busy producing original music and collaborating with a variety of artists on releases through his independent label Americano Label. His latest single “El Pescador” is a sultry, two-step inducing club banger, centered around thumping, tweeter and woofer rocking beats, a classic cumbia sample that prominently features accordion and Latin percussion and an enormous hook paired with 2012 Rototom Latin contest winner, drummer and vocalist Tiano Bless contributing hip-hop inspired rhymes to the proceedings. 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Imperial Teen Releases a Murky Yet Anthemic New Single

Over the past couple of months, I’ve written a bit about the acclaimed indie band Imperial Teen. Now, as you may recall, the act which is comprised of Roddy Bottum (guitar, vocals), a former member of Faith No More; Will Schwartz (guitar, vocals), who splits his time with hey willpower; Lynn Perko Truell, (drums, backing vocals), a former member of Sister Double Happiness, The Dicks and The Wrecks; and Jone Stebbins, a former member of The Wrecks originally formed in San Francisco in the mid 90s.

Their Steve McDonald-produced debut effort, 1996’s Seasick was released to praise from Spin Magazine, who went on to list it as their fourth best album of that year and from the New York Times. Building upon a growing profile, the band’s sophomore album, 1998’s What Is Not to Love found the band ambitiously expanding upon their sound and approach with the album’s material routinely clocking over six minutes — and album single “Yoo Hoo” appeared on the Jawbreaker soundtrack. The accompanying video featured the movie’s star Rose McGowan appearing alongside the band, and it was included as as special feature on the DVD. Additionally, the song was heard in the beginning of episodes of episodes of Numb3rs and Daria.

Imperial Teen eventually left Universal Records and signed with Merge Records, who released their third album, 2002’s Steve McDonald and Anna Waronker co-produced effort, On. The album’s lead single “Ivanka” received airplay — and they spent a portion of the year touring with The Breeders. Interestingly, that tour include a stop at famed Hoboken club Maxwell’s, which was recorded and released a few months later as Live at Maxwell’s. Shortly after, the band’s Will Schwartz teamed up with Tomo Yasuda for Schwartz’s dance music side project hey willpower, which released their self-titled debut EP in 2005. And by 2007, the members of Imperial Teen returned with two shows at that year’s SXSW and their fourth album, The Hair the TV the Baby and the Band, which landed at #38 on Rolling Stone‘s Best Albums list that year.

Since the release of the band’s fifth album, 2012’s Feel the Sound, the members of the band have relocated to different parts of the country, with members in New York, Denver, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Understandably, the geographical locations and distances can make it extremely difficult to write and record music on a regular basis — but the members of the acclaimed indie rock act reconvened to write and record their forthcoming, sixth album Now We Are Timeless.

Slated for a July 12, 2019 release through their longtime label home, Merge Records, the band’s sixth album will further cement their long-held reputation for crafting deeply personal material that offered a view into the bandmember’s individual lives, complete with victories, losses, aspirations, where they were emotionally and personally — while thematically, the material touches upon time, movement, averting and succumbing to crisis, dealing with and accepting loss and pain.

The album’s first single “We Do What We Do Best” was a swaggering, arena rock friendly track centered around an enormous hook and equally enormous power chords, buzzing synths, a propulsive rhythm section, a lysergic guitar solo paired with stream-of-consciousness lyrics delivered with a mischievous and ironic aplomb. The album’s second single “Walkaway” was more like 120 Minutes alt rock-inspired dream pop, centered around a soaring hook and plaintive vocals and personal, lived-in experience — the sensation of feeling simultaneously connected and disconnected from those you love.  Interestingly, “Don’t Want to Let You Go” is a murky yet anthemic pop song featuring propulsive drum programming, shimmering and arpeggiated synths, explosive bursts of fuzzy power chords and an enormous, shout-along worthy hook– and while bearing a resemblance to early Garbage, the track is imbued with a sense of inconsolable loss — and its initial denial, then begrudging acceptance. 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Acclaimed Indie Rock Act Imperial Teen Releases a “120 Minutes” Alt Rock-Like Single

Last month, I wrote about the acclaimed indie band Imperial Teen, and as you may recall, the act which, is comprised of Roddy Bottum (guitar, vocals), a former member of Faith No More; Will Schwartz (guitar, vocals), who splits his time with hey willpower; Lynn Perko Truell, (drums, backing vocals), a former member of Sister Double Happiness, The Dicks and The Wrecks; and Jone Stebbins, a former member of The Wrecks originally formed in San Francisco in the mid 90s.

Their Steve McDonald-produced debut effort, 1996’s Seasick was released to praise from Spin Magazine, who went on to list it as their fourth best album of that year and from the New York Times. Building upon a growing profile, the band’s sophomore album, 1998’s What Is Not to Love found the band ambitiously expanding upon their sound and approach with the album’s material routinely clocking over six minutes — and album single “Yoo Hoo” appeared on the Jawbreaker soundtrack. The accompanying video featured the movie’s star Rose McGowan appearing alongside the band, and it was included as as special feature on the DVD. Additionally, the song was heard in the beginning of episodes of episodes of Numb3rs and Daria.

Imperial Teen eventually left Universal Records and signed with Merge Records, who released their third album, 2002’s Steve McDonald and Anna Waronker co-produced effort, On. The album’s lead single “Ivanka” received airplay — and they spent a portion of the year touring with The Breeders. Interestingly, that tour include a stop at famed Hoboken club Maxwell’s, which was recorded and released a few months later as Live at Maxwell’s. Shortly after, the band’s Will Schwartz teamed up with Tomo Yasuda for Schwartz’s dance music side project hey willpower, which released their self-titled debut EP in 2005. And by 2007, the members of Imperial Teen returned with two shows at that year’s SXSW and their fourth album, The Hair the TV the Baby and the Band, which landed at #38 on Rolling Stone‘s Best Albums list that year.

Since the release of the band’s fifth album, 2012’s Feel the Sound, the members of the band have relocated to different parts of the country, with members in New York, Denver, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Understandably, the geographical locations and distances can make it extremely difficult to write and record music on a regular basis — but the members of the acclaimed indie rock act reconvened to write and record their forthcoming, sixth album Now We Are Timeless.

Slated for a July 12, 2019 release through their longtime label home, Merge Records, the band’s sixth album will further cement their long-held reputation for crafting deeply personal material that offered a view into the bandmember’s individual lives, complete with victories, losses, aspirations, where they were emotionally and personally — while thematically, the material touches upon time, movement, averting and succumbing to crisis, dealing with and accepting loss and pain. The album’s first single “We Do What We Do Best” was a swaggering, arena rock friendly track centered around an enormous hook and equally enormous power chords, buzzing synths, a propulsive rhythm section, a lysergic guitar solo paired with stream-of-consciousness lyrics delivered with a mischievous and ironic aplomb. 

The album’s latest single “Walkaway” finds the band crafting jangling and propulsive dream pop centered around a soaring hook and plaintive vocals. And although the song manages to bring back memories of 120 Minutes alt rock the song is rooted in the band’s personal, lived-in experience. “We are a band that are together and not. Our collective history is our bond,” the members of the band explain in press notes. “Physically though, we live in different cities, lead different lives. ‘Walkaway’ is a song about a feeling we’ve all known. Watching others, near and far and feeling distance and separation from what they’re experiencing. Feeling connected and independent at the same time. Closing the gap of physical distance and making our lives a more connected place.” 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Acclaimed Indie Act Imperial Teen Releases a Rousingly Anthemic New Single

Comprised of Roddy Bottum (guitar, vocals), a former member of Faith No More; Will Schwartz (guitar, vocals), who splits his time with hey willpower; Lynn Perko Truell, (drums, backing vocals), a former member of Sister Double Happiness, The Dicks and The Wrecks; and Jone Stebbins, a former member of the Wrecks, the acclaimed indie act Imperial Teen originally formed in San Francisco in the mid 90s.

Their 1996 Steve McDonald-produced debut Seasick was released to praise from Spin Magazine, who went on to list it as their fourth best album of that year and from the New York Times.  Their sophomore album, 1998’s What Is Not to Love found the band ambitiously expanding upon their sound and approach with material routinely clocking over six minutes. Interestingly, album single “Yoo Hoo” appeared on the Jawbreaker soundtrack.  The accompanying video featured the movie’s star, Rose McGowan appearing alongside the band — and it was included as a special feature on the DVD. Also “Yoo Hoo” was heard in the beginning of episodes of Numb3rs and Daria.

The band left Universal Records and signed with Merge Records, who released their third album, 2002’s Steve McDonald and Anna Waronker co-produced effort, On. The album’s lead single “Ivanka” received airplay — and they spent a portion of the year touring with The Breeders. Interestingly, that tour include a stop at famed Hoboken club Maxwell’s, which was recorded and released a few months later as Live at Maxwell’s. 

The band’s Will Schwartz teamed up with Tomo Yasuda for Schwartz’s dance music side project hey willpower, which released their self-titled debut EP in 2005. And by 2007, the members of Imperial Teen returned with two shows at that year’s SXSW and their fourth album, The Hair the TV the Baby and the Band, which landed at #38 on Rolling Stone’s Best Albums list that year. 

The band’s fifth album was 2012’s Feel the Sound and since the release of that effort, the members of the band have relocated to different parts of the country — with members in New York, Denver, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Understandably, the geographical locations and distances can make it extremely difficult to write and record music on a regular basis — but the members of the acclaimed indie rock act reconvened to write and record their forthcoming, sixth album Now We Are Timeless. 

Slated for a July 12, 2019 release through their longtime label home, Merge Records, the band’s sixth album will further cement their long-held reputation for crafting deeply personal material that offered a view into the bandmember’s individual lives, complete with victories, losses, aspirations, where they were emotionally and personally — while thematically, the material touches upon time, movement, averting and succumbing to crisis, dealing with and accepting loss and pain.

“We Do What We Do Best,” Now We Are Timeless’s latest single is a swaggering, arena rock friendly track centered around power chords, an enormous hook, buzzing synths, a propulsive rhythm section, a trippy guitar solo and stream-of-consciousness-like lyrics delivered with a mischievously ironic aplomb; but at its core is the free-flowing spontaneity and joy of a bunch of old friends jamming and coming up with something that kicks ass. 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstay El Dusty Returns with a Swaggering, Genre Mashing, Club Banger

Born Horacio Olivera, El Dusty is a  Corpus Christi, TX-based JOVM mainstay producer, DJ and electronic music artist, who has seen attention across the blogosphere as a pioneer of a sub-genre he’s dubbed “nu-cumbia,” which features elements of hip-hop, drum ‘n’ bass and house music and samples of classic and beloved cumbia songs — with the end result being a swaggering, club-banging take on Latin music that as you may recall resulted in a Latin Grammy nomination. Adding to a growing profile, the Corpus Christi, TX-based producer, DJ and electronic music artist has bee named one of Rolling Stone’s 10 New Artists You Need to Know, Billboard’s New Latin Act and to Watch and was placed on Pandora’s Latin Artists to Watch. He’s also played at EDC Las Vegas, EDC Mexico, Ciudad Sonido Festival, Fiesta De La Flor, Universal Records’ Latin Grammy Showcase, Brisk Bodega Tour, the Mad Decent Block Party, Austin City Limits, SXSW, and others.

Olivera’s highly-anticipated full-length debut Cumbia City is slated for a May 11, 2018 release through AfterCluv Records, and while the album will further his reputation as one of electronic Latin music’s highly-sought after producers and collaborators, the album also finds Olivera pushing his signature sound in new directions as the album’s material crosses genres, trends and cultures while redefining what both Latin music and electronic music should and could sound like. “This album is cool as hell and funky!” Olivera says in press notes. “This takes the old with the new and it becomes a new style, a new song, a new genre – it is more than Cumbia, it’s electronic styles with live drums and modern beats.” El Dusty adds “I approach the whole album with live recordings in mind. Every sample was re-recorded live to create a mashed up turntable-like production meets a song-like format.” Unsurprisingly, El Dusty’s full-length debut, is deeply influenced by his musical upbringing which included Tejano anthems, Chicano soul music, classic rock, boom bap hip hop, house music, drum ‘n’ bass, turntablism, but mashed up and re-imagined for a new generation of bass-heavy and soundsystem music.

Album title track “Cumbia City” is a swaggering track around tweeter and woofer rocking boom bap beats, trap snares, an iconic sample from San Jacinto,  Colombia-born cumbia star Andres Landero and Boogat spitting fire in Spanish — and while mischievously bending and playing with genre boundaries, it’s an anthemic and crowd pleasing banger.

Set on the streets of Corpus Christi, the brightly colored video for “La Cumbia” is a cinematically shot video that features dancers of all ages and from a variety of the city’s cultural traditions — from the ancient and contemporary — to the song’s thumping beats.