A feeling of nostalgia almost bleeds from Gabriella Rose‘s vocals as she croons over the easygoing instrumentals in latest track “Welcome To The Dollhouse”. A song that specifically addresses Rose’s own mental health struggles, it is both vulnerable and inspiring in its simple existence, led entirely by those angelic vocals. And when you stop to think that this songstress is still sitting at the tender age of 16, you realize the number of doors that are about to open before her. So, while we are reminiscing on some less-than-happy topic matters, we’re also simultaneously getting excited for Gabriella Rose’s future, which seems to be the cherry on top of it all.
Be sure to check Gabriella Rose out on February 8th in Spokane, WA at The Bartlett for her EP Release Show.
A common theme here is that a lot of the music that influences and inspires us is pretty weird and catchy. This taught us that its okay to do whatever we want and write however we feel. We’re lucky that it happens to be catchy enough to remember!
Play on shuffle or in order. This is just a quick handful of songs that were thrown together so we can hang out. Enjoy!
Stone Temple Pilots – Meatplow
This song has a certain grime and groove with such “sing-along-ability” that just hits the spot every time.
Musically wacky, yet unmistakably STP. Just one of those songs that says its okay to be weird.
Bush – Swallowed
Just a great song off of a great album. Steve Albini sort of took his “In Utero” Nirvana sounds and plugged Bush into them.
Say what you will about people stealing people’s sounds, but the fact is that this shit moved us as impressionable babies and just made us want to play harder and louder to get our lil’ feelings out.
Pearl Jam – Brain of J
We’re all pretty big Pearl Jam fans. I only chose this song because it was right in front of me and its not a go-to PJ song.
I could go on all day about what Ten and VS did to us when they came out, or how I sat about a foot away from the tv during that ridiculous MTV Unplugged performance…
Soundgarden – Burden In My Hand
Try not to sing along. They beat the system. They wrote some of the weirdest stuff, while being SO fun and easy to listen to.
We all really love this band and this is a good safe song choice everyone can dig. Miss you, Chris!
Meat Puppets – Backwater
This is such a Jeff song. I think we covered it once. If you’ve heard a handful of Sunshine Riot songs, It ain’t hard to hear
how we were influenced by these dudes.
Eels – Novocaine For The Soul
Just another weird 90’s jam that makes you go “Oh yeah! I remember this!” Our Jonny has a whispery voice like this sometimes, so I guess that’s a thing.
Aerosmith – Jaded
Hometown heroes I guess. Nobody in the band is a huge Aerosmith fan, but JESUS FUCK this might be the
catchiest song ever written and its always cool to stop and think about how they were once just some pals in a basement trying their best.
Nirvana – Serve The Servants
I don’t even know how to fully express how much this band and album means to us. This is that Albini sound I was
referring to earlier. Its just so damn important and I’m so glad we all love it so much. Thanks for everything, Nirvana.
Foo Fighters – Floaty
This is a very pretty one off of that first album that was actually only Dave Grohl. Another one that made me want to play
hard and with all the feeling. A lot of the stuff on this album is actually kind of a nightmare to play on any instrument, but it sounds so simple and catchy! Super inspirational.
The Replacements – Bastards Of Young
Metal dudes say Lemmy is God. Other, less tuff dudes say Paul Westerberg is God.
Another big influence on us. Replacements mastered that raw, borderline bad sound that just makes you feel.
Now that you have a bit of an explanation of us, go check out our new tunes off our upcoming record ‘Lonely Hotel’ and then go ahead and dig into that back catalogue to really get to know us! See you soon, dweebs.
If you’re searching for a little spark of badass in your soundscape today, indie musician Ishani‘s new track “Dark Angel”. Her vocals range on the higher side, with beautiful instrumentation to match and bring a little more edge to the track. But what is important to note – aside from the alluring sound to the track – is the important subject matter it addresses.
“I have lost close friends to suicide,” Ishani says of the song’s subject, “and recent events have forced me to revisit this song, – we are living through a time of increased awareness of mental health, but we still see so many people ending their lives.”
“Dark Angel” is multifaceted, but at its peak is a song of hope. Check it out below!
Seattle-based shoegaze/post-punk/dream rock collective Nostalgist – comprised of Asa Eisenhardt and his cohorts in music – has been dazzling crowds since 2012 and, with the release of new music and their journey only gets brighter from here. March’s Disaffection gave us even more reason to keep our eyes peeled for live performances, its raw sound and instrumentals often giving us chills.
Check out the new album in its entirety below, as well as a quick interview with frontman Asa Eisenhardt about it all.
While writing music, has there ever been a time where you have experienced a severe case of writer’s block? How did you resolve it?
Yeah, constantly. If I have enough time I’ll just try to play through it as best I can– let my mind wander and hope for the best. I might also try working from a basic theory concept as well, like chord inversions, where relevant. In the bigger picture, as with most songwriters, I just make sure to write down and/or record whatever idea I’m working on as it might click into place at a later point. This question has reminded me to consult Eno’s Oblique Strategies cards more often.
During your time as an artist, have you been able to accomplish your goals or are you still working towards them?
Ideally, in my mind, it’s both: taking stock of and expressing gratitude for one’s opportunities and accomplishments while also keeping steady sights on the proverbial road and goals ahead.
When you are touring and performing on different stages, how do you pass the time?
We’ve only done one tour, which was down the West Coast about 3 years ago. In transit, time was passed with pretty standard stuff like conversation and listening to music. During venue downtime, I’m usually doing vocal warmups and/or trying to get in a good headspace.
Apart from music, what would you say your true passion is?
I have a number of other interests, but music is absolutely my true passion.
What can your current and future fans expect from you before the end of the year? Is there any exciting news that you can share with us?
I’m slowly figuring out a remix release. One of them is finished, a few others are in a nebulous state and some are still yet to be determined. These will be complete reinventions using the componentry of a certain track on our new MLP. I’ve also acquired multitrack audio from our record show for a possible live album of some manner, but haven’t listened back in a proper studio environment yet.
Performance-wise, we’re playing two local shows this summer — a serious goth banger on July 5th with Nox Novacula (Seattle goth ‘n’ roll that’s taken the city by force in just a handful of months) and Twin Tribes (synthy jams, on tour from New Jersey). The other one is August 2nd and we’ll be revealing more about that one as the date approaches.
Is there one thing that inspires your music, or is there a wide variety of things that help you come up with the lyrics and accompanying music?
I’ve taken to the phrase “love and lack thereof” as being the central inspiration/subject matter. Film always plays a role as well, usually in how I mentally envision the imagery I’m trying to capture with words or atmosphere. In the first few years, that always meant classic noir, but I’ve branched out a bit. Really, it’s anything I can aesthetically repurpose. For instance, the cover still of our new record comes from L’Avventura. I stumbled across it on the internet and the vibe I got from it, along with the water imagery capturing an identical and ubiquitous lyrical element I often refer to, was so immediately perfect for these songs. While I enjoyed the film, I found it to be a bit different than what I was expecting. Presented alone, however I still love what the image does.
Additionally, I do have clinical depression, and while I am almost always a happy, goofy individual, things can sometimes be difficult. Once I bounce back from these periods and have time to reflect, I can often lyrically channel those feelings in a healthy way. I’m definitely drawing on my own experiences and filtering them through the aesthetics and influences I hold near and dear, but I also try to keep things just vague enough so other people can relate or maybe project them onto the song to their own cathartic end.
Has there been anyone in particular that has helped get you to where you are today?
Broadly speaking, I’d say a large number of people have, including past and present bandmates, my encouraging parents, and so forth. But to be more specific, in terms of magnitude, Evan Foster’s mentorship from both a musical and production standpoint has been unquantifiably beneficial– without him, this band would be nothing. Similarly, all four members of Agalloch were supportive from the getgo, not least of which Aesop. His guest drumming on the new record put some serious fire underneath the songs, and set a standard for the future.
Though we didn’t think much about it during the announcement of the Bonnaroo 2018 lineup, Day 2 of the festival brought us our biggest surprise of the weekend. Our excitement to photograph T-Pain made it so we ran past Adam Devine and Chance The Rapper to get a good spot in the front.
IAKO is excited to release his debut EP Queen of Balance. Raised in Venice, IAKO (also known as Jacopo Rosetto) draws inspiration for his music through memories of canals, poetry, and relaxing soundscapes. His EP consists of six tracks in total which include his single “Paint” and “Queen of Balance.” “Paint” is a soulful track with powerful lyrics. “My heart is yours/You can paint it as you want,” sings IAKO. A love song of hopeless infatuation, the track is almost, in a sense, sad. “You can play with it as you want,” IAKO says of his heart. Combining the sounds of IAKO’s beautiful voice, piano, and lyrical thoughtfulness, “Paint” will take your heart home.
Title track “Queen of Balance,” remains a little more fast paced but keeps a somber mood. “I’m no king, and you’re the queen of balance,” proclaims IAKO. Also realizing sadness, IAKO asks “Why would you crush the fortress we built?” A plead to his queen, IAKO sings of the king he will never be. My favorite line is “You bring me down, so down,” because while hurt remains, how can you not see the person you love a royalty regardless of actions? My favorite song on this EP is “Vanishing Point.” Unlike most of the tracks, “Vanishing Point” starts off with a jazzy upbeat feel. It remains hopeful and references art in a fascinating way. “We’re just two parallel lines, so close but so far from the vanishing point, from the vanishing point.” “Take my silence, and decorate your walls,” the song pleads.
Queen of Balance is an emotive display of indie-folk with lyrical creativity that really makes you want to listen.
Queen of Balance is out now. Keep up with IAKO here.
