Tag: Vampire Weekend

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Ironic Visuals for Honeymilk’s “The Nothing New”

Currently, Admund and Nyberg are working on the much-anticipated follow-up to Lean on the Sun — but in the meantime, the duo’s latest single “The Nothing New” is as the band says “could be about finding yourself in an age and situation where the demands that hunt you are increasing; the same that it takes more alcohol to get drunk, it takes great and greater everyday explosions for the static line that life has graduated turned into to be moved. It could also be a pretentious and unclear salute to both Samuel Beckett’s book Murphy or Spacemen 3. Or it could be a very good pop song that means nothing.” Sonically, the song is a breezy and jangling bit of pop that meshes elements of 60s psych pop with Brit Pop (thanks to angular guitars and undulating synths) with an infectious and anthemic hook and ironic lyrics while being both radio and arena rock-friendly.

The recently released music video features the duo of Admund and Nyberg as though they were on a cooking show — but a cooking show in which they spend a great deal of time hanging out and goofing off, before inviting a couple of studio-manufactured, casting call guests to their place. It’s an unusual take on the song but it still manages to capture the irony within the song; however, in this case, the irony seems to be that in a post-modern world everything that possesses earnestness may also be manufactured for you.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Initially comprised of founding members Marcus Admund (vocals) and Albin Wesley (bass), along with Nikki Nyberg (guitar) and Erik Fritz (drums), the Stockholm, Sweden-based quartet Honeymilk can trace their origins to the formation and eventual breakup of Urmas Planet, a band that featured several members of Honeymilk. And with the release of the Linus Larsson-produced single “It Might Be,” the band quickly received both praise across the blogosphere and radio airplay on several radio stations including Amazing Radio and Oxford College Radio. However, after “It Might Be,” the members of Honeymilk decided to go the DIY route, recording their critically applauded full-length debut effort Lean on the Sun.

Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site over the past few years, you may recall that I’ve written about the band on a couple of occasions including their Brit pop and psych rock-channeling single “A Scene in Between.” Sometime after that single and its subsequent recorded efforts, the band went through a massive lineup change in which the band went from a quartet to a duo featuring the band’s co-founder Marcus Admund (vocals) and Nikki Nyberg (guitar). And with such a massive lineup change, the band went through a radical change of sonic direction as you would hear on their breezy, Vampire Weekend-like synth-based single “Time Will Kill You,” a single that received quite a bit of buzz across the blogosphere and over 140,000 streams on Spotify.

Currently, Admund and Nyberg are working on the much-anticipated follow-up to Lean on the Sun — but in the meantime, the duo’s latest single “The Nothing New” is as the band says “could be about finding yourself in an age and situation where the demands that hunt you are increasing; the same that it takes more alcohol to get drunk, it takes great and greater everyday explosions for the static line that life has graduated turned into to be moved. It could also be a pretentious and unclear salute to both Samuel Beckett’s book Murphy or Spacemen 3. Or it could be a very good pop song that means nothing.” Sonically, the song is a breezy and jangling bit of pop that meshes elements of 60s psych pop with  Brit Pop (thanks to angular guitars and undulating synths) with an infectious and anthemic hook and ironic lyrics while being both radio and arena rock-friendly.

 

 

 

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Radiohead “Paranoid Android”-like Visuals for Coastgaard’s “A Well Adjusted Man”

“A Well Adjusted Man,” the first single off Coastgaard’s forthcoming sophomore full-length Devil on the Balcony pairs upbeat jangling guitar pop with lyrics that follow the psychological makeup and inner monologue of a decidedly average man, who frequently vacillates between brooding self-reflection and self-doubt and self-assured potency — often simultaneously, ultimately revealing that the kingdoms of heaven and hell are actually within.

The recently released, animated video follows the daily exploits of a decidedly average man, struggling to survive through the indignities of working a corporate job, stopping at a local shitty bar before presumably dying in a car accident that quickly sends him to his own hell. Visually speaking, the video reminds me quite a bit of the visuals for Radiohead’s “Paranoid Android.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Although initially comprised of founding members Marcus Admund (vocals) and Albin Wesley (bass), along with Nikki Nyberg (guitar) and Erik Fritz (drums), Stockholm, Sweden-based quartet Honeymilk formed back in 2012, the band could actually trace their origins to the formation and eventually breakup of Urmas Plant, a band which featured several of the members of Honeymilk. With the release of “It Might Be,” a single produced by Linus Larsson, best known for his work with Peter, Bjorn and John, Mercury Rev and Anna Ternheim, the band quickly received praise across the blogosphere and received radio airplay on several radio stations including Amazing Radio and Oxford College Radio. Interestingly, after the release of “It Might Be,” the band decided to go to the DIY route, recording and producing their own work, including their critically applauded, full-length debut Lean on the Sun.

Now, if you’ve been frequenting over the past couple of years, you may recall that I wrote about Honeymilk and their single “A Scene in Between,” a single that sonically sounded as though it were indebted to Brit pop and British psych rock – in particular, The Stone Roses, The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Verve, and Oasis. Over that time, the renowned Swedish act has gone through yet another lineup change with the band turning into a duo featuring the band’s co-founding member Edmund, along with Nyberg — and understandably with such a massive lineup change, the band has gone through a major change of sonic direction as you’ll hear on their latest single “Time Will Kill You.” With the latest single, the duo sounds as though they were subtly channeling Vampire Weekend and others as ambient synths are paired with a loose, looping guitar line played through reverb and delay pedal, a slinky bass line, an ethereal yet catchy melody and harmony and Admund’s plaintive vocals. And while being incredibly breezy, the song thematically speaking focuses on a profound metaphysical truth that we’re all aware — that time will relentlessly continue onward with or without us.

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Comprised of Matt Miller (guitar, lead vocals), Sean Glassman (guitar, vocals and keys), Brian d’Alessandro (drums, vocals and keys) and Paolo Codega (bass, vocals), the Brooklyn-based indie rock quartet Coastgaard can trace their origins to when the band’s founding members d’Alessandro and Miller first began playing together in Sons of Huns back in 2009. Sons of Huns eventually split up but d’Alessandro and Miller continued playing with other.  d’Alessandro and Miller recruited Glassman and Codega to flesh out the band’s sound.

Over the past couple of years, the Brooklyn-based quartet has seen increasing attention across the blogosphere and on this site for a jangling, guitar pop sound that draws heavily from 60s surfer rock and 90s alt rock — and in a way that’s reminiscent of Raccoon Fighter and Vampire Weekend, The Smiths and others.

“A Well Adjusted Man,” the first single off Coastgaard’s forthcoming sophomore full-length Devil on the Balcony pairs upbeat jangling guitar pop with lyrics that follow the inner monologue of a man who vacillates between brooding self-reflection and self-assured potency which gives the song a subtle noir-ish feel. Interestingly enough, the song is arguably the most cinematic song the band has released to date; in fact, I can envision the song as part of the soundtrack of an art film that focuses on alienation and the difficulty of connecting with another.

 

 

 

Uncategorized by William Ruben Helms

The Brooklyn-based indie rock quartet, Coastgaard can trace their origin to when its founding members, rian Dalessandro (drums and vocals) and Matt Miller (lead vocals and guitars) first began playing together in Sons of Sons in 2009. Sons of […]

Uncategorized by William Ruben Helms

Chappo’s  forthcoming sophomore effort, Future Former Self will see a May release and although the effort is the follow up to the band’s 2012 debut, Moonwater, which included the iPod commercial-featured single “Come Home,” the sophomore album is a sonic and […]

Uncategorized by William Ruben Helms

Summerstage Preview Showcase at the Highline Ballroom 1/9/14 featuring Rebel Tumbao, Hurray for the Riff Raff, and Yuna

In 1986 the City Parks Foundation created Summerstage in the spirt of Central Park’s original purpose — to serve as a free, public resource to help culturally enrich the lives of New Yorkers. That first season of the program had […]

Uncategorized by William Ruben Helms

March 4th will mark the release of Chappo’s sophomore effort, Future Former Self. Although the effort will be the follow up to the band’s 2012 debut, Moonwater, which included the iPodcommercial-featured single “Come Home,” the sophomore album is a bit […]

Uncategorized by William Ruben Helms

Back in 1986 the City Parks Foundation created Summerstage in the spirt of Central Park’s original purpose — to serve as a free, public resource to help culturally enrich the lives of New Yorkers. The first season of the program […]

Uncategorized by William Ruben Helms

March 4th will mark the release of Chappo’s sophomore effort, Future Former Self. Although the effort will be the follow up to the band’s 2012 debut, Moonwater, which included the iPod commercial-featured single “Come Home,” the sophomore album […]

Uncategorized by William Ruben Helms

The founding members of the Brooklyn-based blogosphere sensation Coastgaard, Brian Dalessandro (drums and vocals) and Matt Miller (lead vocals and guitars) first began playing together in Sons of Sons back in 2009. Once Sons of […]

Uncategorized by William Ruben Helms

StaG was founded by the duo of Matt McGwire and Will Walden back in the summer of 2008. The pair relocated from their home in Los Angeles, CA to Boulder, CO for college. While in […]

Uncategorized by William Ruben Helms

Portland, OR-based act Radiation City just released their sophomore effort, Animals in the Median and sonically the material on the album employs the use of 60s soul, Northern soul and swirling electronics to create a sound that […]

Uncategorized by William Ruben Helms

Back in 2006, Montag Mania released their debut effort, Piraya through their own Love Bomb Music Records to favorable reviews in their native Sweden. And as a result of the buzz from that album, they opened for Daniel Lanois in Stockholm, among […]