Providing a beacon of light amid the world’s relentless weirdness; Impose’s Week in Pop brings you some of the latest breaking media & exclusives from a handful of our favorite luminaries. With Frank Ocean-hysteria hitting an all time high this week, Kanye West discussed his upcoming 2020 presidential bid & more, also unleashed a litany of Tweeted comments on the Tidal x Apple beef, & hinted at a collaborative album with Drake; Season 4 of “The Eric ‘Andre Show” returns tonight, check out the following preview ft. Nocando, Open Mike Eagle, Danny Brown, A$AP Rocky & more; Hannibal Burress announced the absolutely massive “Hannibal Montanabal Experience”; Protomartyer dropped “Born to Be Wine”; 2 Chainz dropped the mixtape Daniel Son; Necklace Don; Britney Spears announced the new album Glory available August 26; Warpaint announced their upcoming album Heads Up available September 23 from Rough Trade & dropped “New Song”; Grimes dropped “Medieval Warfare”; French Montana dropped the “No Shopping” video ft. Drake & also dropped the track “Said N Done” ft. A$AP Rocky—both off MC4 available August 19; Rihanna dropped the “Goodnight Gotham” video; Fat Joe, Remy Ma & French Montana dropped “Cookin”; Drake & Future pop-up shops launched in NYC; The Strokes’ Nick Valensi started the offshoot CRX; Mac Miller dropped the Rex Arrow video for his Anderson .Paak collaboration “Dang!”; Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds dropped the Andrew Dominik trailer for Skeleton Tree album & One More Time With Feeling film, both available September 9; FaltyDL dropped “Drugs” ft. Rosie Lowe; Crystal Castles dropped the video for “Eth”; The Faint announced the compilation CAPSULE: 1999-2016 available September 30/October 28 through Saddle Creek & dropped “Skylab1979”; Parquet Courts announced the new album Performing Human available August 19 from Rough Trade & dropped “Performing Human (Eaters Mix)”; Conor Oberst announced the new solo album Ruminations available October 14 from Nonesuch; EL VY dropped the video for “Sleepin’ Light”; George Clark from Deafheaven & Dana Wachs dropped the 20 minute song “RVIII: Invocation”; Mercury Prize nominee buzz; Rough Trade to celebrate 40 years this fall with a wealth of performance in London; Faith Evans versus an ATL promoter; Modest Mouse’s Isaac Brock got into a crash after falling asleep at the wheel (no serious injuries reported); and finally Morrissey claimed that working with Harvest Records almost “killed” him.
Moving ahead, it is our pleasure & privilege to present the following interviews, exclusives, insights & new media from Children of Pop, Exray’s, Joshua Winstead, Blade of Grass, Helena Deland, Ian William Craig, Noname, Oddly Even, Pleather, Starchild & the New Romantic, Young Scum, featuring guest selections by JEFF the Brotherhood, and more—in no particular order.
Children of Pop
The final song from Children of Pop’s recent #veryjazzed / Chill Mega Chill / Frenchkiss Label Group album What Does 96 Mean? gets the Gabriel Brenner (oka Pastel) video treatment as we proudly present the world premiere of the powerful & heart affirming beauty of the video for “Don’t Change For Love”. Film in Los Angeles in Brenner’s home this past March 25 2016; Chase DeMaster, Gabriel Brenner, Katy Dominguez, Holly DeMaster, Mia Marquez, & Gabriel Lopez are observed pouring their hearts & all the emotions they can muster out in front of a film projected backdrop. Rom-com visuals are presented as a sequence of background images that tie together all involved romantic engagements & allusions with the iconographic visages of stars like Tom Cruise, Renée Zellweger, Hugh Grant, Julia Roberts & Richard Gere. The cinematic sensationalism is carried over through Chase & friends’ own dramatic delivery that brings the passion along with a degree of humor that retains the shining glow & individual originality of the human spirit.
Filmed in Los Angeles at Gabriel Brenner’s home back in March 25, 2016; Chase DeMaster, Gabriel B., Katy Dominguez, Holly DeMaster, Mia Marquez & Gabriel Lopez sing out the lyrics in front of a projected backdrop of film stars. Rom-com reel sequences that sees the likes of Tom Cruise, Renée Zellweger, Hugh Grant, Julia Roberts & Richard Gere playing their roles on the silver screen is met with the dramatic expressions & gesticulations from the CoP/#veryjazzed crew. The privy exchanges of light shed between two individuals sharing their biggest dreams both with & without the other is illustrated in an emotive tinged tone of absolute honesty. Beliefs in feelings & desires are depicted in real terms of affection with a word of warning & care against losing one’s self in the free-form fall of submitting fully to empathetic feelings. The collective ensemble of Chase, Gabriel B., Katy, Holly, Mia, & Gabriel L. tackles the heavy nature of the song with every expressive art they have while maintaining a level of humor that provides some levity to the heart-string pulling number. Children of Pop emphasizes the importance of respecting the identity of the individual above all, mixing solemnity with a smile & a timeless bond to rival all involved celluloid heroes. CoP’s Chase DeMaster provided us with the following introduction to the video for “Don’t Change for Love”:
The song is very earnest, and asks a lot from a listener. The video is a fun tongue in cheek bit and lightens the vibe…making the weight of the song an easier burden to carry.
Chase DeMaster from Children of Pop/Very Jazzed boss shared the following insights about the carnal & existential questions that lead to the inception of What Does 69 Mean?:
To me what does 69 mean? Is what happens when people stop being polite and start getting real. Plus it’s a really fun way to express the notion of unconditional love. The selflessness that comes to commuting yourself to another person gets complicated real quick. Obviously it can manifest itself a few different mediums, you know? So yeah, I guess that is what the album is reflecting. In the end, it’s pretty exciting to put it all out there and just be vulnerable. And bringing the music into the moment of a live performance has me all jazzed up! So yeah, if the sounds and the lyrics resonates w you, please, come out to the shows and let’s talk about it.
Catch Children of Pop on the following west coast tour dates:
Children of Pop’s album What Does 96 Mean? is available now from #veryjazzed / Chill Mega Chill / Frenchkiss Label Group.
Joshua Winstead
Joshua Winstead released his debut solo album MMXX (the MM representing Malcolm X & Martin Luther King Jr. with the two X’s symbolic for life & death representations according to Winstead) earlier this summer, and today we bring you all the sunny & sentimental musings in stunning Super8 with the Raviv Ullman video for “A Poison Cup”. The Metric bassist delves into the modern pop consciousness that bridges the twentieth century song composition methods with a twenty-first century lens that leads emotion-guided music into the expanses of the current era. Winstead proves to posses a gift that hearkens to the William DeVaughn school of smooth & certain delivery where the fervent & finessed facets of the songwriting are conveyed in earnest.
The warm film textures found on “A Poison Cup” follows Joshua & spouse spending a day strolling all around NYC. From the heat & gentle beat of the sidewalks, backdrops of the busy streets, & spectacles of subway acrobatics; the two take to the day with the thrill & spirit like there is no tomorrow. Perusing through Chinatown, sharing ice cream, & lychees in the park—the Winsteads play out their own romantic epic while posing with statues, taking over a playground, celebrating their own near, dear & sincere dynamic displayed along with Joshua’s own Shakespearean love ballad / pop sonnets. “Romeo had Juliet but their love got lost, enmity in between the families just got to stop…” The Romeo & Juliet tragedy is framed like a cautionary tale while the focus is placed on the intimate abandon found between the star-crossed lovers in question as the Elizabethan play is updated with a more enlightened epilogue that errs on the side of the upbeat postword of happily ever after.
In Joshua’s own words on the single & video:
The song “A Poison Cup” was inspired by my relationship with my wife. It is rare that we find someone who can truly bring out our better side. While the song is not directly about us, her presence in my life helped me to envision how this dynamic can be a powerful influence and without it how many people’s lives spiral out of control. She is also in the video with me. The video is directed by my friend Raviv Ullman and talented young actor who is making his way into the directing world as well.
Joshua Winstead’s solo album debut MMXX is available now.
Exray’s
Regular readers/listeners & viewers have followed our coverage of Exray’s most ambitious & epic work to date—Twelve—and today we proudly present the entire complimentary video cycle of the album. 2014’s The Dome saw the casting of the dye when Jon Bernson, Michael Falsetto-Mapp, and Jason Kick began charting the journeys of what became known as Vessel XII where the ambient & electronic sonic-spheres first began to codify. The concepts that informed Twelve were rooted in the Vessel XII exploration that surveyed broadcast interruptions that occurred between 1986 and 2009 where inexplicable transmissions surprised & stunned the world. Word was sent to the inquiring press that Exray’s participated in Vessel XII research that yielded (on top of the inspired retro-futurism heard in the soundtrack) the following visuals, gathered from footage sent from the outer regions of the galaxy.
Exray’s Twelve starts off with the televised static & warped signals that indicates something (or somewhere) denser than an interstellar black hole on “Empty Space”; where the findings & readings from Vessel XII are seen in the crackling visual distortion that compliments the rocket-packed pop experienced on “The Sound of a Ship”. Sounds & images from Icarus-esque missions yield strange solar/thermal interference where collected colors make up vague visuals found from around the sun, where reignited interests & intrigues find new starts for new theorems wrapped around the odd media discoveries from the outer regions as indicated on “Begin Your Lives”. Ideas of mapped genomes & space flight intersect on the illustrious “New Genes”, where brave new worlds & surreal horizons are embarked upon in the areas outside the charted regions as witnessed on the discoveries of “Adrift”. Imagery gathered from earth-grounded telescopes & the interstellar lenses & scopes from Vessel XII are seen like captured flares that capture the high drama rises & dips heard on “The Fall”, where cloud patterns give away to strange inexplicable planetary images as perceived on the electro-brass blasted quest for “Sold Ground”. Hymns for space flight resound from the stretches of the outer limits of the time-space continuum on the daybreak rising of “The Stars Were Gone”, as our orbit concludes with the eye opening & consciousness expanding ambiance of “I Was Awake” that reverberates like the acoustics of a single note sustain from an old chapel organ.
On behalf of the band, exoplanetary sonologist Dr. Jonah Samadhi had this to say about Exray’s and their relationship to the Vessel XII phenomena:
The Vessel XII controversy is of little interest to the general population, due to its fragmented source material and scattered evidence. In recent years, however, it’s begun to seep into the corners of internet culture as artists, musicians, fringe scientists and philosophers take an interest in the transmissions. In 2015 and 2016, conferences such as NewSpace and Distant Future Symposium held sponsored panel discussions and research grants have been awarded by both the Space Settlement Initiative and the Ralph C. Steckler Fund, to name a few.
‘Here in the Bay Area, we have our own contributors to this conversation, best known as Exray’s, a lo-fi electronic dance band, who have teamed up with local futurist and Vessel XII expert, Astrid Bly. Together, they have collaborated on several ongoing projects related to the broadcasts and the latest one may be the most accessible yet: a series of ten videos that have been constructed entirely from the transmissions themselves. You can watch these hypnotic broadcasts as short music video events, or as an entire 40 minute viewing experience.’
An added bonus is that you can hear Exray’s Twelve for free on YouTube, which is the only place on the web where you’ll find complete access to the album. [Note: not on Spotify, iTunes, Pandora or any of the other streaming services.] If you are an analog person at heart, and have no need for videos or research, cassette copies can be purchased through the Exray’s BandCamp page, through their label, Howells Transmitter. If you are adverse to recorded formats of every kind, Exray’s will be performing live at the Night Light on 9/9 with Glenn Jackson and Naytronix (Nate from Tune-Yards) to celebrate the launch of Easy Bay, a brand new Oakland tape label.
Exray’s Twelve is available now from Howells Transmitter.
Blade of Grass
El Sereno, California’s Blade of Grass just released their Eyes Like Diamonds EP today and we bring you an exclusive preface & stream. Specializing in what the trio refer to as “west coast electronic space rock;” Blade of Grass operate within the pop atmosphere in manners of fusion where switched-on & plugged-in nuances brings the galaxy a little close to the grains of dirt & sand found here on the surface of planet Earth.
Eyes Like Diamonds is an EP that is built around the motif of attempting to encapsulate the sparkling & twinkling aspects of light into proverbial bottle vessels of sound. “Light in My Eyes” compress the consortium of sound & vision in a restrained dub-pop anthem ready for the festival stages, as “Skydream” fires off dreams into the stratosphere where tomorrow never knows, right before laying you to bed in the rock garden pastures of sanctuary & paradise found on “Sleep With Stones”. Blade of Grass provided us with the following insightful preface to springboard you head first into their new EP:
Our new EP Eyes Like Diamonds is a reflection of the turbulent times that we live in. Since Amos Przekaza joined us on drums, our music has thumped with more urgency and his beats are the perfect foundation on which to layer surging psychedelic sounds. Josh’s simple but infectious vocal melodies are woven in and he sings about isolation, desire, and even unidentified life forms.
Living in Los Angeles, we are constantly reminded of the current political climate and how it affects so many who are experiencing social injustice. This turbulence has definitely influenced our music, which occasionally takes dark turns into chaos. It is a cathartic release for us to perform this music live.
Starchild & The New Romantic
Starchild & The New Romantic brings us the self-made visuals for Bryndon Cook’s rework of Porches’ single “Mood” available now via Ghostly. The expansive essence & nature from Aaron Maine’s original is brought out in even wilder realizations courtesy of Cook as the artist is seen here showing off his own interpretive fancy footwork to go with. Starchild is a phenomenon to keep all ears & eyes on now & in the days to follow. Cook described the video as something of a cinematic dream:
Kind of like a dream sequence in a black John Hughes film.
Noname
Noname, oka Fatimah Warner, lends the following listen to her new album Telefone available now that finds the multi-diciplined Chicago artist collaborating with vocalists like Raury, theMIND, Smino, Phoelix, Ravyn Lenae, Xavier O’mar, Eryn Allen Kane, Akenya, Cam, Joseph Chilliams; featuring production by Cam O’bi, Phoelix & Saba. The uninitiated already know Warner from her appearances on releases from local luminaries Chance The Rapper, Mick Jenkins and more; Fatimah keeps the creative audio arts soaring on the up & up as heard on all previous collaborations with the theMIND, Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment, & all the following fusions that show off the strength of proliferation of Chi-town.
From the catchy Nikko Washington cover art, and the smooth serenity sheen provided by Elton “L10MixedIt” Chueng mixing & mastering; Noname brings the new day with the rising wisdom frame of mind on “Yesterday”, watching the sunrise with the caffeinated coolness of “Sunny Duet” ft. theMIND. Never mind the negativity hype read in the daily papers, Noname keeps everything rising to new levels like the mind opening “Diddy Bob” ft. Raury * Cam O’bi, to the self-preservation assertions on the gentle pop jazz of “All I Need” ft. Xavier Omär, living in the clarity of the now as heard on “Reality Check” ft. Eryn Allen Kane & Akenya. Fatimah keeps the audio arts lively from “Freedom Interlude”, the conscious eye opener “Casket Pretty”, keeping reality constantly in mind with lyrics & arrangements that are on the up & up as heard on the inspirational “Forever” ft. Ravyn Lenae & Joseph Chilliams. New beginnings and departures are heard on the goodbyes of “Bye Bye Baby” right before you are left with closing benediction hymn of “Shadow Man” ft. Saba, Smino & Phoelix harmonizing in conjunction with Noname’s melodic rhythm & prose.
Pleather
Late last year we introduced you to the phenomenon of Pleather, made up of members of Claire Nelson from FF, and Andrew McKibben of M.Women, Couple Skate Records operator, who just shared their singles “Cherries” & “Love in Lust’s Cup”. The project finds the DIY pop purveyors channeling into songs that signal the signs of the times through unusual & enlightened channels of intrigue & excitement. Pleather is the fashionable formation of talents that make their own epiphanies for the nu-technocratic tomorrows and influx of external influences & interests that look to transform Seattle into their own work/live/eat/pray/love-lofts. Pleather provides new pop testimonials for all the nebulous non-local squares that arrive scratching their heads and wondering where the great grunge scene went.
“Cherries” picks extravagances that are cherry-picked out of the chaos for an addictive & electric brew of found daydreams discovered. Claire’s vocals lead us through an electronic array of intrigue & sensational essences where every beat & every bar brings a new surprise and some of the best pop music ever recorded. “Love in Lust’s Cup” mixes up the infatuation that many mistake for true love & other fool’s gold feelings that folks mistake for earnest as Claire & Andrew shatter petty delusions for a new mind, spirit & body sort of deliverance. The duo shared the following introductory insights on the new singles with the following:
Alt-pop freaks Pleather have built two new songs—“Cherries” and “Love in Lust’s Cup”—for cutting edge startups to invest in. Their music is part of a tear-down project, ripping, breaking and distorting from within yet keeping some of the walls intact for decoration. Using midi guitars, samples and loud unapologetic vocals, Pleather hopes to tap into the vivid dreams and/or nightmares of this modern musical economy.
“Love In Lust’s Cup” is a big bouncy pile of sound fx, a goofy galloping drum machine, and a commanding, sassy vocal which brags loudly about virtual realities. “Cherries” is an intense, steamy pop ballad that thumps and bumps its way into any proposed land use action sign’s heart. The two songs are part of a collection of new material, recorded and mixed by youryoungbody’s Killian Brom. Sip, enjoy and stay tuned for more!
Read last year’s big interview / premiere feature with Pleather here.
Ian William Craig
Ian William Craig presented some videos ahead of his August 5-26 UK tour supporting his remarkable new album Centres (130701 / FatCat Records) that provide insights into the making of the album cover, to a rendering for “Contain (Astoria version)” where the camera lens gets swapped for a magnifying glass that magnifies the alt-fi fuzz chamber sounds. Ian shared the following words on the new video cycles:
The drawings on the cover of Centres come from a suite made with opaque black pigments on mylar, which is a transparent material. This interplay between opaque and transparent areas allowed me to burn the image onto a plate like a photograph and then print it lithographically. These small vignettes document that process, from the development and preparation of the plate, to the printing of the lithographs, and finally to cleaning everything up. Hopefully the camera revealed a bit of the poetry I find so inspiring about printmaking.
Young Scum
Introduce yourselves if you haven’t already to Richmond, Virginia quartet Young Scum who recently released their super sunny summer pop EP Zona via Citrus City Records and shared us the following lovely listen. What began as a bedroom project of Chris Smith’s evolved to include locals Taylor Haag, Ben Medcalf & Brian Dove with a commitment to the most wistful & earnest musical graces ever committed to tape. Conversations that carry on beyond the expressions & exchanges themselves linger on “If You Say That”, with a title track that walks with one foot placed in the nostalgic past and the other stepping toward a potentially beautiful new tomorrow (with plenty of gorgeous chords that could inspire the sun to keep longer daylight hours). Notions of ages passing, coming & going are heralded “Old U”, sending out solar flares to the sun itself on the planetary pop of “Sun Drop”, reaching out beyond state-lines on the “Out Of State” closer that dabbles in a DIY sort of power pop that sends it’s sentiments and guitars into outer space.
Zona‘s (an abbreviation for Arizona iced tea) five songs are full of 20-something angst. Hating your shitty boss, missing your old friends (at least who they used to be), and hoping that eating tacos will ease the pain. The somewhat distraught lyrics are masked by the pure pop bliss that is created by shimmering guitars, bouncy basslines, and singer Smith and backing vocalist Ali Mislowsky’s honey-drenched vocals. guitar-heavy indie pop that gets loud, but not too loud, it will make you cry and dance at the same time.
Oddly Even
Last year we helped introduce the world to the Bay Area’s Oddly Even with their debut self-titled EP and today they released the follow-up with their Hills EP. The San Jose group comprised of Ashley Macachor, Calvin Sturges & Star Quach recorded their latest three song cycle at New, Improved Recording in Oakland with Ian Pellicci, where the chapters of their own self-styled cinematic folk sounds carry forward like pages in an open book that are turned by the gentle hands of a wayward Bay breeze.
The current climate of ups, downs & downright uncertainty can be heard on the weary & waiting time passage portal of “These Times” that toasts the current era with all the excitement & dread Oddly Even can muster. All of these feelings carry through on “Consciousness” where the whirlwind ways found in the sands of time resonates in the contemplative & meditative spaces of the spirit & mind where reason works to rein in the anarchy of the unconscious. The closing title track “Hills” is heard like a ghostly observances that move from the San Jose municipality and to the outskirts of town where the surrounding hills and rural roads point to the great wide-open wild wilderness that surrounds & inspires all local inhabitants.
Ashley Macachor provided the following exclusive breakdown of each of the new Oddly Even songs off their brand new EP Hills:
“These Times”
“These Times” is the first song we wrote together. Can we all agree we are living in strange times? Time is moving forward. Sometimes it feels like it’s moving painfully slow and sometimes so fast you can’t even wrap your head around it. It seems more and more, the best place to be is here, now.
“Consciousness”
“Consciousness” is about a certain awareness that more and more people seem to be coming into. Looking inward, living truly and seeking to see things as they really are, beyond illusion.
“Hills”
This is one of our newest songs and the first song we wrote with our new bandmate, Star. “Hills” you could say this is about love, the inherent nature of relationships, the beauty and distortion of dreaming as the things we love come and go.
Oddly Even’s Hills EP is avaialble now.
Helena Deland
Montreal’s own Helena Deland has worked in conjunction with such groups & artists like Men I Trust, Ludovic Alarie and Cri, and recently recorded with Jesse Mac Cormack to work on a series of numbers that turned into her forthcoming Drawing Room EP. Sharing a first listen to the single “Aix”, Deland delivers awakenings that occur with the almost arbitrary ear-catching caliber of expressions that interject instantly relatable tones & lyrics that appeal to the most endearing aspects & elements of the human senses.
Taking a page from the vintage throwback methodologies of the twentieth century’s most celebrated song-builders; Helena expresses her song in ways that combines personal poetics with a rock pop prowess. The disparities observed between loverly parties are expressed through memories and the reckoning of moving forward that offer new hosts of complications. The romantic drama & triangles are illustrated in song that evolve into Tapestry level intrigue as the finale of the song turns into an instrumental event that will draw in all with ears to hear as the melodies & harmonies decay into the closing section of splendid skronk. Helena shared the following exclusive thoughts on the inspirations that guided “Aix”, along with the the inception for the Drawing Room EP:
The four songs on the EP are pretty disparate. Two were written in a state of emotional turmoil while the two others are the result of a lighter, more playful approach to songwriting: “Aix” is of the latter type.
Longtime readers/listeners/viewers already know Cascine legends Southern shores from back in the day with their EPs Atlantic from 2011 & New World from 2012, and now it is our pleasure & privilege to present their new Silicon Valley ambient-alterations experienced on the single “Palo Alto” taken from their forthcoming Loja available September 2. Washes of bay waters lap at the land with the ebb & flow reaches of the tide while Southern Shores continue to make some of the beguiling and sublime sensation-instructed circuitry of sound in all of the world. Not an event to be missed.
Cool Ghouls dropped by the observational awesome of “Spectator” that channels perspectives & plenty of Gene Clark-chiming guitar found off their forthcoming Animal Races available August 19 from Empty Cellar Records. Recorded under the inspirational auspices of Kelley Stoltz’s backyard studio featuring mixing and mastering work by the legendary Mikey Young; Cool Ghouls continue to materialize their sound of the influential ether of the past pop masters (while contributing their own cadence, tone & glow to the canon).
Hear the new single “No Hurry” that reflects on the merits of taking one’s time, from Terra Lightfoot’s new album Every Time My Mind Runs Wild available August 26 from Sonic Unyon Records. For all of those waiting patiently with minds running wild & free, “No Hurry” reminds us that everything that occurs in happenstance happens according to the schedule and sundials of time.
Hoops’ forthcoming self-titled EP will be available August 26 from Fat Possum and we have the super-chilled out zodiac spinning sounds of “Gemini” that will have you seeing double on a sunny August afternoon. The Indiana hoosiers strum the sort of sentimentality that keeps our collective world calm & sane during these incessant upheavals of instability & erratic uncertainty. “Gemini” makes the complicated world feel a little more natural, a little easier, a little sweeter, a little more beautiful & a bit more bountiful in the breadth of the scope or everything we cannot see nor understand.
Sweden’s Buster Moe brings us the frenetic & energetic single “Good Kinda Crazy” that follows up his recent number “Shoot Me” that provides some sunny breeze sounds to enjoy in the final third of the summer solstice.
NYC three piece Forma gets physical with a listen to the synth-infused rhythms of their title track taken off their forthcoming third album Physicalist available September 23 from Kranky. The drum sequences and key placements illuminate the mind like a pinball or pachinko machine that springs to light & life by coursing & bouncing silver ball bearings.
Geowulf shared the single “Saltwater” found off the just released 37 Adventures Label compilation Odd Numbers Volume 1 available today. The track brings about those sea beckoning sentiments that summons a deep thirst and desire for those mineral rich waters that lay at the feet of the sandy shores.
AM!R busted out the designer pop designations & pop patterns that praises the “Design” of an off stage lover. The production kicks with a kind of urgent immediacy that brings kinetic percussion to inspire super smooth dance moves that have yet to be named.
Tune into WILLS’ minimalist James W. Mataitis Bailey & Alexandre Themistocleous video for “Woes vs. Whoas” taken from debut EP available September 9 from IAMSOUND. The celebration of all things surprising in senses of dread & exciting-exhilaration are portrayed in inspired dance moves that further spell out rhythm embroidered lyrical delivery.
Mild High Club gave us some mellow mood visuals of beach-side meditations & city scenes set to the lovely single “Skiptracing” taken from the album of the same name Stones Throw Records. The leisurely feels of a thousand summers lingers somewhere in the lackadaisical vocals and the way the chords resonate like electric strings echoing off the natural acoustics of the infinite atmosphere.
Behold the sacred chambers & cadences that await in Adam Weinberg’s video for the Psychic Twin single “Lose Myself ” found off the upcoming album Strange Diary available September 9 from Polyvinyl. The Weinberg visuals find our heroine Erin Fein getting lost in a plethora of threads that become all tangled up while the electro single signals the freeing feeling of complete abandon.
LA’s own Karman’s presents the Soraya Jansen video for “No Us” from the forthcoming Heaven Complex EP available September 1. The producer’s sublime beats and arrangements are given a romantic narrative as we observe the antics of star crossed lovers embracing & sharing in one another’s pain & bliss as Karman’s sound steadily guides the moods that surround our wild at heart pair.
For those that missed it the first time around, peep the video from Volar main man Craig Oliver created for Beaters’ 7″ (that launched Volar Records we might add) “Fishage” that features The Sess’s Jeremy Rojas and Drew Montoya that takes you on a safari trip to the other side.
Speaking of Jeremy Rojas & Drew Montoya, hear their new band Teach Me featuring guitar work from Mrs. Magician & Low Lands’ Tommy Garcia who are readying their new Volar 7″ for October 7 on hot red vinyl. Recorded by the legendary Ben Moore, the group breaks on through to the other scuzz sides where the sun don’t shine and the amplitude of sound reaches altitudes unknown.
Playing Gonerfest along with a handful of east coast dates; introduce yourself to Ireland’s Oh Boland and their Spilt Milk album available October 7 from Volar. On their featured album lead off track “Jane Russell”, the group combines the punkier side of the power pop equation for something that will keep your head nodding gleefully from side to side.
In case you missed it, tune into Flat Worms’ wild Red Hot Sand debut 7″ that brings three songs guaranteed to bring the party to your ear buds. A super garage group made up from members of Thee Oh Sees, Ty Segall, Kevin Morby, the Babies, & Dream Boys; Flat Worms are here to save your underground burrowing souls with the pure power of dissonant rock & roll.
And in case you’re late to the Susan party, there is no better time than now to discover one of the best pop group open secrets around with the following infectious listen to their much-lauded Never Enough album. Read our interview with Susan here.
Watch Ancient Cities’ Justin Reid Tvedt video for “Marmalade” found off their recent Supermoon Blackout that illustrates what happens when music becomes the ultimate contraband while the band works in full singalong mode.
Ripped from their Double Vanity album, peep the Jarod Evans video for BRONCHO’s “Speed Demon”, a scuzz-rider to the lesser known parts of hell. Behold images of BRONCHO in performance, running amok, and more; all bathed in video static and distorted effects everywhere.
Gothic Tropic’s Cecilia Della Peruti penned an all apologies single that sheds insights & light into the functions of reality with the illustrious “How Life Works”. From the upcoming album Fast or Feast available October 28 from Old Flame Records. The “sorry” reiterations cast lights to the shared interior emotions from both parties as the Goth Trop sound delves into it’s deepest dimensions to date.
Goblin Cock brought us the new single “Island, Island” from the forthcoming album Necronomidonkeykongimicon available September 2 on Joyful Noise that casts away the main land for some distant isle out in the great beyond of international waters.
Catching up with the beautiful pop sounds of France’s own Beko Disques, we give you the lovely beko_summer 2016 compilation to calm what ails you. Featuring the sea-breeze beauty of Fragrance, the C86 shine of The Wendy Darlings, the veneer of Valdorea, to the DIY anarchic fun of Suss Cunts and their recent single “Anemic Boyfriend”, & still so much more to indulge your every fancy.
Also check out Suss Cunts’ big self-titled EP also available from Beko featuring the aforementioned single and other punchy numbers like the sacrificial vitriol of “Julianne”, the thrasher “Get Laid”, the fashionable “I made you coffee, why don’t you love me” rhetorical of “Sweather Vest”, right before issuing the hate-note ode to all the busters out in there in the world with “Shit Friend”. The lo-fi punk & bluntly honest humor from the Melbourne group of Tahlia Cordeux, Helena Holmes & Nina Renee makes this trio a group to look & listen out for.
E-40 moves the conversation forward ahead from the trivial pursuits alongside Oakland’s own Kamaiyah on the J Hawk produced track “Petty” from the forthcoming The D-Boy Diary: Book 1 & 2 available in November. The great Earl Stevens keeps on the push for Bay Area solidarity, “When I work with talent from my community, it feels organic,” 40 described, “Kamaiyah is a talented artist and she’s bubbling right now in the streets.” Keep an ear out for more bars & verses from K & E soon to follow.
Check out Death Valley Girls’ video for “Disco” directed by Kansas Bowling (who just directed the Troma flick BC Butcher) featuring none other than the Sunset Strip king himself Rodney Bingenheimer where things become horror camp on the dance floor arranged accordingly to the band’s super-glam era sound. Catch this and more on DVG’s new album Glow In The Dark available now from Burger Records.
Get lost in the LL (Laura-Louise) video for Amberay’s higher than high-heights experienced on the drum & bass dream pop single “I Say Stop” that puts a cork in the nonsense & makes a kinetic statement of free will by assertive use of confident force.
LA’s Bei Ru dropped the track “Tigers on Tujunga” ripped from album L.A. ZOOO available October 7 from Musa Ler Music / Fat Beats where here we witness a jumble of vintage and contemporary beats that tumble & rumble over eastern leaning samples of sinewy strings.
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God Damn dropped the single “Sing This” that gives you a scuzzy little something-something to sing along to off the upcoming album Everything Ever available September 23 from One Little Indian Records. The pain of being alive is expressed in the catharsis of clamoring chords that will keep your head ringing & fist pumping proudly in the air.
Jay Pray delivered all the beautiful pop feels of “I’d Go Anywhere” heard off the the forthcoming self-titled available October 21 from Think Thought Records. The sensations of wanderlust are displayed with the most exquisite array of synths & arrangements that keep the mind wondering while wandering through the lengths & depths of the unknown.
Watch Ralph Cola’s Art Not Art video for “Must Be Tiring” that captures the various creative modes of RC in a variety of settings. From parks to roofs, Ralph concentrates on his canvases while indulging in his warm lounge-jazz sound that will have you hoping for a Ralph Cola / Chris Cohen co-headlining world tour.
Larry Heard just released on !K7 his remix of DâM-FunK’s “Believer” alongside a re-imagining of DâM’s Nite Jewel collaboration as Nite-Funk with the expanded synth-essence experienced on “Can U Read Me?”. The “Fingers Deep Funk Remix” of “Believer” finds Larry “Mr. Fingers” Heard flipping the switches to discover alternate keyboard created corridors and rooms right before reading & invoking sentimental synths that rise from the original tracking tapes from FunK & Jewel’s collabo.
Zoolay just delivered the Brian Lynch vido for “Break Bread” that congregates under Dibia$e groove that coasts with a congressional coolness taken off the upcoming Undeniable available August 26. With an upcoming album said to feature appearances from Blu, LMNO, Trek Life, Roc C, Blame One & more; Zoolay reminds us all to not only get ours by continue to socialize with the good folks that matter and make the game of life worth playing.
Adult Karate’s (oka KC Maloney, of the duo Radar Cult) debut LXII will be available August 19 from Plug Research, and we present an early glean & glimmer with the single. Electronic adventurism takes over as AK takes the high road like a refugee without a home or destination on the run & constantly on the go.
We caught up with Savoy Motel a while back when they first burst onto the national scenes & markets and now we bring you their Dylan Carver video for “Souvenir Shop Rock” that finds the band in their vintage-futurism mode just in time for their U.S. tour with The Dandy Warhols. With word that Savoy Motel’s debut self-titled album will be available October 21 from What’s Your Rupture?; catch up the band’s entertaining neo-throwback aesthetic that spins the retro-rock canon on it’s head.
Soft Lions brought us a tune to dream on with “Run In Dreams” featured off their John Vanderslice produced EP XOXO available October 28 from Velvet Blue Music. Like a marathon ran while fast asleep, Soft Lions bring about a raw & real sound where the inspired events from visions transcends into the awakened world.
Bounce along with Kishi Bashi’s bright shining new single “Hey Big Star” from the forthcoming Sonderlust available September 16 from Joyful Noise that casts boisterous beams of light out to the largest galactic pop illuminations.
Supergroup Dumb Numbers dig up old wounds on the doom-treading track “Unbury The Hatchet” where the sound of a disturbed crypt can be heard like the awakened slumber of the sleeping dead. Find this and more on the upcoming Dumb Numbers II available soon from Joyful Noise Recordings.
Fresh from his recent collaboration with Anderson .Paak on the single “No Slaves”; Knox Brown proudly presented us with the title track featured off his upcoming debut Searching EP available August 5 via Virgin EMI. Knox exhibits the quest of “Searching” for better that gives thanks and praise by counting blessings, holding family tight, and bringing some brass-inflected rhythm & blues to make the the weary world feel a little more alright.
Check out the IMAGIST video for “Plastic Armor” directed by LIL INTERNET that features YouTube star Bea Go along with the posse of Kat Imperial, Ashley Sabol, Alula Sumendap, & Sable that are presented dolling themselves up to the “turning into someone else at night” lyrics that surface from the electronic evening beats.
From Welsh DJ three-piece Trutopia; bust a move on the dance floor to the Basement Dub Remix of the cut “Say You’ll Stay” that seeks a certain degree of comfort and permanent even if the hedonistic feels of night are somehow forever fleeting.
The debut EP from Omaha by NYC group Navy Gangs will be available September 14 via Super Fan 99 and we have your forthcoming listen to the scuzzy pop & power of “Special Glands”. The crew of Matthew Tillwick, Noah Kohll & Gavin Cordaro recorded their EP at Noah’s grandma’s house courtesy of Joey Kimono, and mastered by Delicate Steve (Steve Marion) where their symphonies of skronk find a proper home on glorious two inch tape.
Behold the Kasbo remix of Mutemath’s “Monument” that collects slowly like watching a collective array of audio particles gathering to create the culmilation of a memory made like a sculpture or installation piece.
Red Pill’s Instinctive Drowning will be available August 26 from Mello Music and we present you with a few new Ill Poetic produced tracks from the Michigan mic handler. RP takes it to the savage heart of the matter on the cut “Fuck Your Ambition” ft. P.O.S. before pouring out a little bit in memory of maternal & matriarchal figures who passed away before their time on the moving “Gin & Tonic”.
Check out Demrick’s day-in-the-life video that features the emcee rolling & strolling about Inglewood in the directed by Jesse Ray Diamond & Ace Branding video for “Collect Call Trilogy” ft. Casey Veggies for Different Day. Dem & Casey twist up a few to help toast the remaining days of summer that soak in the “same day, same shit” sorts of familiarity.
Valley Queen dropped the rustic & rural wandering number “In My Place” available August 12 along with the single “High Expectations” through Canvasclub. Like a spectre wandering west, the feelings trace toward the mountains & forests & shores of the California coast where new beginnings stir feelings of freedom.
Counterfeit Jeans just signed to Broken Circles, and we give you a boisterous listen to the beautifully blistering self-titled from the Edmonton, Alberta band.
Absolute Fantasy’s forthcoming Well Come Home EP will be available September 5 from Memory No. 36 and you are invited to get psychoanalytical with the electro-bedroom-pulsing pop of “20th Century Analysis”. A song for all in a certain sort of isolation where cycles & cyclones of pensive thoughts fill the atmosphere of a humble chamber space.
Venice Beach’s Allie McDonald & Mike Derenzo are EXES who dropped their new single “Like You” that illustrates empathetic audio patterns that reach with open hands & arms stretched out toward that special someone.
We bring you the Laura-Lynn Petrick video for STACEY’s “Build Me Up (Buttercup)” filmed at Toronto’s Darling Mansion that provides a boudoir view & perspective on the 60s classic. The poppy quality of the original is conveyed through more introspective & personal paths in ways that STACEY refers to as “sad but sensual.”
Skux is Ayisha Jaffer & The Death Set’s Dan Walker who just released the The Two Sides of She with the up & at ’em volition of “On Her Way” & scuzz splintering “More Than 10 Things” that lists grievances like an aggro alter-punch to the flipside.
Space Mountain took us on the incredible sentimental pop ride “Never Lonely” found off Cole Kinsler’s upcoming Big Sky available August 26 via cassette from the prestigious people at Super Fan 99 & Dust Etc. “Never Lonely” is the song for all lonely hearts out there who are in need of a loving friend to reach out & make it all feel okay (even when situations are a fry cry from the idyllic portrait of perfection).
JEFF The Brotherhood readies to take the world into the Zone, their upcoming August 12 album for Dine Alone Music and we bring you their righteous rocking & rolling single “Idiot”. The Nashville, TN legends of Jake & Jamin Orrall continue to prove why they are the legends to every DIY denizen in both the south & the entire world at large. Stay tuned for a JEFF the Brotherhood Week in Pop takeover with the following exclusive guest selections (after the jump).
JEFF the Brotherhood’s Week in Pop
JEFF the Brotherhood’s Jamin & Jake Orrall backstage at Lincoln Hall; photographed by Sarah Hess.
As JEFF The Brotherhood prepares to drop Zone August 12 via Dine Alone Music; we are proud to present their following exclusive Week in Pop:
Jake Orrall’s Pop Music Weekend Wrap Up
Eiichi Ohtaki, “Velvet Motel”
JEFF the Brotherhood’s Jake Orrall at Lincoln Hall; photographed by Sarah Hess.
Akiko Yano, “Tong poo”
JEFF the Brotherhood’s Jamin Orrall at Lincoln Hall; photographed by Sarah Hess.
Yukihiro Takahashi 高橋幸宏, “Flashback”
JEFF the Brotherhood’s Jake Orrall rocking out at Lincoln Hall; photographed by Sarah Hess.
Yukihiro Takahashi 高橋 幸宏, “It’s Gonna Work Out”
JEFF the Brotherhood’s Jamin Orrall busting out the beat at Lincoln Hall; photographed by Sarah Hess.
Akiko Yano (Harusaki small red) 矢野顕子 「春咲小紅」, 1981 with Takahashi, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Yukihiro Kenji Omura 坂本龍一 高橋ユキヒロ 大村憲司
JEFF the Brotherhood’s Jake Orrall wailing away at Lincoln Hall; photographed by Sarah Hess.
Kubota Saki 久保田早紀, “The Stranger” 異邦人
JEFF the Brotherhood’s Jamin & Jake Orrall being legendary at Lincoln Hall; photographed by Sarah Hess.
CM イメージソング ベスト 20, ｢テレビCM 30年史(’88)｣
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