Week in Pop
Adam Lempel introduced the world to the new single “Psychic Posers” that pushes beyond the conventional world of posturing to representations & misrepresentations in areas of ESP. Powers that exceed beyond the bounds of comprehension present a flashy form of style & sensibility that extends into the supernatural realms of ineffable wonder.
Here’s some more info about Psychic Posers the latest single off of my upcoming album Jinx. I wrote it about being the lowest level of psychic, while living in Amsterdam and I met Lindsay Carone, the American visual artist, while she was on an artist residency there at Punt WG. We were walking around Vondelpark stoned one night and laughing about having psychic abilities, but just for the trivial. Like how autotocorrect on our phone would somehow tell us the future.
It was produced with Friso Hoekstra, a good friend of mine in Holland, and it was mixed and mastered by Wessel Oltheten who is a wizard. Lindsay also sings harmony on the recording. I made the painting for the cover.
Portland psych dreamers returned with their latest edition of Valentine’s day covers with the evocative release Crying Outside. The first cover is a take on Irma Thomas’s “Anyone Who Knows What Love Is” that drifts off on a vision ship toward a bright new tomorrow. The PNW power group then does a full redux of Moby Grape’s “I’m Not Willing” that expands the original out into the stratospheres of infinite future forms. Closing out is a take on Michaelangelo’s “I’m Crying Outside” that is a twang-jangle masterpiece that proves again that Candace can create & re-create all facets & forms of pop both modern & post-modern.
With the upcoming album Clean available March 2 via Fat Possum, Soccer Mommy’s Sophie Allison presents a listen to the title track. Introspect traces of inner-thought workings survey the past paradigms with a whole lotta heart & reflections of what could have been when & where.
Edo State, Nigeria by way of Michigan’s Obie Iyoha delivers the lyrical & rhythmic ore shine of “Karats”. Featured off the upcoming album Pink Moon, Obie previously emerged on collaborations with The Black Opera who now steps into his own with a multidisciplinary style that commands all aspects of the production & lyrical movement with a sense of enlightened inspiration.
LA’s DAMYN sends facets of their own classical training into the contemporary pop consortium with the single “Other Side of the Glass”. Musings upon moments & desires to move to the realms beyond the looking glass collect in a barrage of understated arrangements & emotive tinged vocals that carry the song forward & upward.
KITSUNÉ presents the latest from their NBA collaboration with a listen to b-ball legend Iman Shumpert with the track “Pull Up”. Iman delivers the perfect pre-game/practice track to get you warmed up for whatever game or sport you are about to get into.
Featured off of XL Middleton’s Things Are Happening album from MoFunk Records, check out the Ralph Jimenez video for “Purple Sheets” that stars Gabriela M. Bonet Carmona as a seamstress who works on the linens of the track’s namesake. The future funkster keeps the synths zapping in a sultry manner that makes the entire world feel draped in the sensual luster of regal purple.
Uranium Club sent word of the upcoming live album Live For The Very First Time (In Italy) available April 13 from Castle Face & shared a rollicking & radical listen to “The Clowns Got a Gun”. Stripped down & speedy angsty action drives the rhythm of this track that sets the dials for the center core of the sun.
GRDNS have signed to Leeds based imprint Dance to the Radio & shared the evening ballroom invitations of “Night Dance”. The luster & air of night is emulated in a track that hinges off the excitement & intrigue felt once the sun has run it’s daily course.
Those looking for some evocative electronic vibes should look & listen no further than Low Swans’ new single “Ostfront”. Jon Scarpelli with Scott Simon accentuate the sentiments of newness & discovery where every bright bar & beat brings a new chance & the hope of a new day.
Copenhagen’s MATTIS shared the passionate slice of Valentine’s pop with “The Chain”. The track rolls with fervent senses of desires that seeks a strong bond that is impervious to being broken.
Austin’s Why Bonnie released the EP In Water today via Sports Day Records to make your world a little more brighter & more beautiful. The songs speak to special places of the heart like “Made of Paper” that sings to those vulnerable sections of the spirit as “Practice” elevates the school of bedroom pop to transcendent sentimental levels.
Falcon Jane provided a privy view for the Sara May & Dominique van Olm visual for “Go With The Flow” featured off the forthcoming album Feelin’ Freaky that follows that artist from tennis courts, poolside hang-outs to kicking it at the car wash. Jane shares thought streamed frequencies of introspection about being too far into another & the apprehension & fears that arise when falling head over heels for another. In Falcon Jane’s own words:
“Go With The Flow” is the ultimate chill out song for freaky, anxious, over-thinkers like me. This is my fave Falcon Jane song right now, so I wanted the video to feel very personal to me. I directed, produced and edited the video—got my BFF Deviio to shoot it—and it’s basically about me chillin’ in my small town doing things that relax me and make me feel cool.
London’s own Imperial Leisure shared their super sassy new single “Creeper” courtesy of Indiesonics/Warnesr/Altska. Expounding their ska steez toward erratic & spastic levels that keeps the entire event entertaining.
Danielle Duval presents a look at the b/w video for the radical rocker “Whenever You Want It” courtesy of Cry Baby INK – A Mishka Entertainment Production. The lead single from Duval’s second album Lose It, Danielle’s style of electric-heartland pop is combined with art house visual accompaniment that shines with the spark of the personal & purposeful.
Dublin’s Fontaines D.C. unveiled the action-packed analog visuals from Conor Dockery & Grayce Leonard for the single “Chequeless Reckless”. The chorus reiterations of what’s really going on are met with appropriately jagged footage from the performance variety to striking poses anywhere & everywhere.
Prra unveiled the Gaultier Durhin & Jean-Thomas Miquelot video for “Do It All Again” courtesy of Elephant & Castle that is seen like a set of evocative evening sequences that are set straight for the dawning of a new chance. Like an artsy car centered slice of cinema, Praa preaches the joys of desired repetitions & recurrences as effects of lights & smoke are centered around the vehicle motif.
Los Angeles artist Hark Madley shared the evocative electronic beauty of the single “Friendship 7” found off the forthcoming EP1 release. Restrained measures of rhythms & ambient synths symbolize the generous nature of what a true bond means between two people in ways that breaks into the ineffable ether of the sublime.
Ruler delivered the visual for the new single “Not Your Friend” that features a profile view of the artist lamenting the complicated attachments that questions the nature of friendship & more. The solo handle of Matt Batey (of Rocky Votolato, Cataldo, etc), who has alluded to an upcoming album available soon from Barsuk Records, presents a non-album single that sorts out the details of all the intricate connections & conflicts that forever stop short of the tenets of genuine friendship.
Mauve delivered the new ultra-bright pop of “The Sound” that bursts with neon FM pop frequencies. A track that runs wild with the wind, Mauve utilizes electronically imbued arrangements to create a sound of autonomous freedom to take their sound anywhere in the world that it chooses to fly.
With news of SXSW dates, Ari Roar brought the world the calming single “Calm Down” from the debut album of the same name available May 25 via Bella Union. The sentimental style takes you back to the places of solace & sanctuary that we all retreat to in spirit when the world becomes way too overwhelming.
No Kind of Rider delivered the posh Leah R. Brown visuals for the new single “Distinct”. Featured off their upcoming album Savage Coast, NKOR guide you through a museum exhibition hall of wonders that creates cause for an instant dance party.
Two Feet brought a view & listen with the Absofacto visuals for “I Feel Like I’m Drowning” that is created with a classic synchronized swimming look set in an alternate dimension. The feeling of gasping for air & life is expressed through Two Feet’s restrained & earnest delivery amid motions of carefully choreographed designs that allude to states & senses of amour found & lost.
Minutes Unlimited Project dropped the super viscous new single “Don’t Fake The Funk” from the upcoming Making Contact EP available March 30 from Young Heavy Souls. Deep & dark ambiance is heard with rhythms that morph into shapes & evocative resonances that materialize right before your very senses.
Bambara delivered the clamoring rhythm bouquet of “José Tries To Leave” featured off the upcoming album Shadow On Everything available April 6 via Wharf Cat. The NYC by way of Georgia group summons a storm where the skies bow to the trio’s every utterance.
California by New York artist ROOS has signed to Twosyllable Records with the news of the upcoming release titled Standards Vol. 1 available March 2 that is full of lush contemporary pop for the sophisticated chambers & environments of our modern world. Evocative & subtle instrumentation underscores the feelings that permeate throughout the recordings, as felt on the opener “I Fall” ft. The Occidental Community Choir to the uplifting ode to indolence on “In Praise of Idleness” that features contributions from Kelli Scarr & will inspire you to take the rest of the day/year off.
Shadowlark delivered the perception pop with the single “See Each Other Right” that seeks to gain a better view of one another amid exchanges of glances & discourse. Lead by Ellen Smith, the quest to better understand one another is exhibited through electronically accelerated tones & a delivery that spills forth from the heart.
Courtesy of Jansen Records, Band of Golds got the party started with “Well Who Am I” that is the track key for the elusive after-party session. From hedonistic rhythms to endlessly echoing vocals & guitars; prepare thyself to potentially fall into a new hyper-real universe created by Band of Gold’s devising.
Someday River blew our minds this week when they released the sneaker track “That Thing” that abides by it’s own measures of guitar-based gravity. Featured off the Florida group’s upcoming debut album, Someday River rides these winter wave verse arrangements that arrive into some super trippy chorus sections that turned the brass blazed portions further into a time warp where memories emerge from old AM radio frequencies.
Brooklyn’s Hotline are following up their debut 7″ with an upcoming EP available March 23 from Bushwick tape imprint GP Stripes, sharing a listen to the wondrous effervescence of “Soda Lime”. The moment of pause spent enjoying your favorite carbonated beverage is conveyed through chords & dreamy vocals that are delivered like a bounty of bubbly sentiments that makes spring feel as if it arrived early.
Planet Asia presented the slick & sophisticated Robert Castorina & Travis Plante video for “You Are King” featured off the new album The Golden Buddha available now from Brick Records. The west coast emcee continues to kick it classy with an old school flair & regal charm that invites you to a privy suit & tie soirée.
Bishat shared the Valentine’s note of electro lover’s rock pop with the rocky & real “Unholy Romance”. Created in collaboration with XOV (oka Damien Ardestani), the twisted nature of affection, expectations & uneven/unrequited romance & it’s conflicts are expressed in understated percolating rhythms & subtle electronic-affected vocals.
Goldmund delivered the piano ambient piano number “Circle” from the new album Occasus available April 13 from Western Vinyl. Keith Kenniff makes music to soundtrack tomorrow’s awakenings where every note is given ample room to breathe & resonate in ways that illuminate the mind & soul in the most sublime senses that defy simple definitions.
Halo Maud announced the debut album Je Suis Une île available May 25 from Heavenly Recordings/Michel Records deliver a listen to “Tu Sais Comme Je Suis”. Facets of Franco pop past & future floats with the delivery that is further elevated by an electrified arrangement of sophisticated & evocative instrumentation.
Supporting Kelela’s UK tour with a February 22 appearance at London’s Roundhouse with forthcoming headline shows in London March 28 at Borderline & The Garage May 25; Rina Sawayama dropped the track “Valentine (What’s It Gonna Be)” via 88rising that shares some amorous electro pop sentiments. Keeping the holiday that we all loathe & love rolling into the weekend, Rina creates a sound to match the brightest botanical array of floral lusters imaginable.
NYC’s own Tiger Darrow delivered the expressive & emotive new single “Hands” that illustrates introspective streams of thought with an understated electric baroque aesthetic. The inner & personal process of reckoning with life & the most cherished bonds are meditated upon in manners that turns intimate instances into an all-out anthem.
Celebrating the Valentine’s Day holidays, Kristian North presented the Georgia Graham lyric video for the single “Wordplay”. North lets the audience share a view to a mellow dramatic bathtub wine sipping session where the artist embraces their lounge glam bravado with some romantic water-closet pop to make your solitary Valentine’s dreams come true.
In homage to producer Chylow “Chyskillz” Parker, Onyx dropped “O.D.” ft. R.A. The Rugged Man as they pay respect to the mastermind behind the Bacdafucup album. From the upcoming album Black Rock available February 23, Onyx & R.A. go hard in an overwhelming litany of intoxicants & more in a tribute to all the beloved & departed fallen stars.
From the forthcoming Rituals EP, Roxiny delivered the behemoth new single “Goliath”. A track that could conquer the most mighty of giants, Roxiny takes on the tallest quixotic characters in a synth odyssey of elevated states of enchanted wizardry.
Space Diaries presented the Merlin Camozzi video for “Liberation” featured off the debut EP. Formerly under the moniker Sunset, Eddie Olguin brings tales of absolute bedlam involving psych ward inmates making a go for it amid performance footage set alongside organized anarchy. LA’s Olguin & the band bring the excitement & buzz to everyone in the 51-50 holds so those that have been committed can have a ball of their own.
Gold Casio announce the Sinners EP available April 20 & dropped the synth-studded track “Love Vs Logic”. Matters of the heart & head are heard at odds (as it normally happens) where the senses & sensibility are pitted up against the thrust & rush that sentimentality brings.
Reality Something announced the upcoming album Life Noise available soon from Infinity Cat Recordings & shared the first single “Hate Yourself” that is a self-styled anti-Valentine’s Day anthem for the disaffected & the dumped. Nashville based artist Elena Franklin & the band bring about a perfected form of the quiet & loud recipe that rocks every construct to it’s foundational core that breaks apart the tenets of self-hatred with a deconstructed & uncompromising view.
Champaign’s Nectar dropped the ultra-catchy track “Blinds” from the upcoming Infinity Cat album Knocking At The Door available April 20. The feeling of being couped up at home along with the joy & madness of the solitairy life is examined up close with an unflinching kind of honesty & beautifully blistering pop.
Wellington, New Zealand’s HEX embraces the witch rock aesthetic in full form with a listen to their pagan musings on the song cycle full-length titled The Hill Temple. From the opening “Sight Beyond the Line” to the closing title track; the trio brings mantras to help illuminate our days & nights with melodic & harmonic chants of pure illumination. An experience not to be missed for anyone that was searching for something or someone in the perilous & perpetual deluge of night.
Australian duo Lyon Apprentice (featuring members from FAIRCHILD) delivered the sky twinkling pop of “Starlight” that provides evening wishes to dream upon. With an array of electronic ambiance & emotive arrangements; Lyon Apprentice send out an anthem to be received by the welcoming embrace of the stars that dwell deep in the celestial skies above us.
Pure Colors those looking for something to nurture your post-Valentine’s hangover need listen no further than the deep vibes of the single “A Deeper Love”. The sound of electro-funk’s past & future can be heard here colliding together in one brilliant mash-up of mystery & sensationalism that will leave you yearning for a connection that matches the depth expressed on Pure Colors’ new track.
From the upcoming EP Changeling available April 6, Brooklyn’s own Juliet Quick presented a listen to “Changeling Part I” that mixes classic baroque elements with an urgent contemporary lens. From trad instrumentation, expressive strings & echoing vocals; Juliet combines the classical reflections with the musings of the modern consciousness that will send you to new places in both heart & thought.
Following up their debut EP Shiver and Crawl, Swimming with Bears present their new single “French Girls”. Parisian obsessions sail forward with the kind of fancy fare inspired by long walks along Boulevard Saint-Germaine to candid café moments enjoyed with a sweet & special somebody on the cobblestone sidewalks of the Latin Quarter.
Behold the Katia Ganfield & Daniel Brohawn visual for “Scarecrow” delivered from the one & only Wilma Archer, fka Slime, courtesy of Weird World Records. Modern jazz fusions make for moods that will turn your days into nights & late evenings transformed into leisurely afternoons with keys, strings & brass that will resonate deep into your spirit & consciousness.
