Last week, London-based alt-pop songstress Sharky released her new single “Bold As Brass” with its accompanying psychedelic visual. Accompanying her high ranging vocals is a soulful vibe that carries the track through, as your soul melts along with the jazzy soundscape. It’s perfect for easy listening, and might just make this summer-to-fall transition a little easier for us all. Check out the video below!
Keep up with Sharky here.
Made up of Dalton Allison, Javi Reyes, Jake Hirshland, Wesley Toledo, Matt Williams, and Joe Keery, rock band Post Animal recently released their new video for their emerging song “Ralphie”. Joe Keery, both a member of Post Animal and an actor on popular television show Stranger Things was able to squeeze in the filming of “Ralphie” despite his busy schedule. This video grasps all of the concepts that the song itself proposes from an amusing thrill-seeking video, to a classic psych-rock vibe. The tempo of the song itself is very upbeat, and it makes it one of those songs that will remind you of summer days which is why the desert and beach settings are quite fitting for the video.
After watching this video multiple times, I could not think of any better way to do it. The video is amusing, captivating, and represents the song to the best of its ability, which is everything that a well thought out video should embody!
Keep up with Post Animal here.
Who is seeking a synth-fueled, smooth like silk, otherworldly new alt-pop EP to enjoy? (Raises hands way up, and jumps up and down.) We’re SO ready for it, and San Diego based singer/songwriter JARA has a brand new 6 track stunner for us to treat our ears to. We’ve got the exclusive premiere, but we’re sure this one will make its rounds to impress the masses pretty soon, especially with its sun soaked disposition. Each track is loaded with its own personality, with a similar clip to the entire album that makes it feel like a complete journey all its own. Mid-tempo “Cutting Corners” sets the pace, while “Psycho Lovers” carries it on for us, perhaps a little more debauchery-ridden than its predecessor. And while “Something Else” stands alone as the perfect summertime carefree track, “Uninvited” brings the mood down a little bit, maintaining that same mid-tempo pace we’re too keen on to let go of. The slowest we get is with last track “Go Slow With Me”, which shines as the standout funk track and gives a little love to the entire collection before rounding it out.
Give this EP some love, you know you need some new weekend jams. 😉 Check out lead single “Something Else” below, and the entire EP under that!
Keep up with JARA here.
Johnson City, Tennessee-based self-proclaimed “giggle-pop” trio Achy – comprised of Achy (Samuel B.) (songwriter, composer) and his cohorts Mahto Bowder (bass), and Sam Love (drums) – just unleashed their seven track stunner Friendly Animals unto the world. Laced with a psychedelic, garage rock feel, the trio somehow pulls off a brit-pop soundscape above it all. Each track is refreshing, and honestly something we would enjoy at an outdoor barbecue. (You know… IF the heat ever dies down anywhere close by!)
Feel free to check out Friendly Animals below, and then check out our quick interview with the trio, where we get deep into their production process and – of course – superheroes.
What was your first musical memory, or the first album or song you heard? Do you think that has any bearing on who you are as an artist now?
Samuel: My absolute first musical memory is sitting in the living room of my folks old apartment, and my dad had this little record player set up and was playing Money by Pink Floyd on it. And that memory has always stuck with me super strong. My dad and my mom showing me their music growing up definitely impacted the way I make music though.
Sam Love: My first musical memory that really really made me love music was Pink Floyd. Particularly the Syd Barrett era, which was a more spastic and creative-sounding time for Pink Floyd in my opinion. However Lonesome Crowded West by Modest Mouse was the most influential album on my drum playing.
Mahto: There was always stuff like the Grateful Dead, Augustus Pablo, Bad Brains, Neil Young playing at the house. My folks had a fairly wide taste. My first cd was Help by the Beatles. I feel like the set me up pretty well. I do remember going to see a stage production of beauty and the beast and suddenly being much more interested in the piano at the the house. All that said I’m sure it must be why I act in the way I do now.
What is this self-proclaimed “giggle-pop” genre you’ve come up with on Facebook? Where did that term come from? Don’t necessarily disagree — just SUPER curious.
Samuel: It’s to describe that lil giggle you let out when a pop hook sounds real good. And we found it just online I can’t remember where or who but some beautiful stranger described us with the perfect genre! We also crack a lot of jokes at the live gigs.
Sam Love: Our term “giggle pop” comes from how much fun we having playing and learning music together; I think Samuel and Mahto have great senses of humor and we always make each other laugh in between songs! Although we take the music we make seriously I think it’s important to also have fun with it and they are great fellas to have around for that!
Mahto: I think someone else called us that in a Facebook event. It’s pretty accurate though. We get pretty giggly pretty often.
Friendly Animals is so refreshing and upbeat. We hear it all happened in 2 days. (AMAZING!) Any fun anecdotes?
Samuel: Thank you! It was the most exhausting two days I’ve ever had, we as a group literally rehearsed the songs one day before recording them and a lot of the parts were actually written as we recorded. By the end of recording I couldn’t even redo guitar takes cause my fingers hurt so bad!
Sam Love: The recording process for our EP Friendly Animals was a blast! It’s was a lot of work, but working with Henry of Taped Records in Knoxville was absolutely amazing. He has done a great job setting up an environment where work and productivity explode like a volcano, but in a way that doesn’t stifle the creative process. I feel like it was refreshing for all of us.
Mahto: It was very hot. And very hard on the hands. I thought the improv jam was the most fun though. After spending all day trying to get the songs right, after learning them the day before, it was really nice to be able to turn the brain off and slip into the rhythm off this new thing.
Do any of you have a favorite track from the album, or perhaps a song you prefer to perform live? Why? What makes it something to look forward to for you?
Samuel: Mine would have to be “Breakfast w/ You”, seeing people smile and get excited that we’re playing it just makes me so happy. That or “Telephone P’lease”!
Sam Love: My personal favorite song from Friendly Animals is “Summer Sweater” because I really like how the grooves kind of take on a funkier sound. I always look forward to playing it live!
Mahto: I rather like playing “Telephone P’lease”. It makes me feel like a rockstar.
How do you want fans to feel after listening to the album in its entirety?
Samuel: That they feel like they know us! By the end of the record I’d love it if people felt a little closer to what we’re doing and like they could come up after a show and talk like old friends.
Sam Love: Ideally, after listening to Friendly Animals for the first time, I would like the listeners to feel like they just heard something different in an interesting “fresh” way.
Mahto: I want listeners to feel like Samuel for a minute.
On a broader spectrum, what drives your passion to create music?
Samuel: The people and connections I make everyday doing it, the strongest and funnest connections you can make are when you become besties with another band or artist, that’s true love right there.
Sam Love: I always find myself in and around musical environments, and being able to play music with good friends and musicians like Samuel Bowman and Mahto Browder really helps drive my passion to create music. I also love how music can bring so many different people together, and even serve as a sort-of medicine.
Mahto: It just something I have to do. I think there is something primal that makes people want music.
If you could be any superhero – “existing” or made up – who would you be and why?
Samuel: Definitely Hellboy, coolest hero ever! Also the best graphic novel hands down.
Sam Love: If I could be any superhero, pre-existing or otherwise, I firmly believe I would be Father Captain Doctor Love. The man who, of course, had humble roots in a church eventually becoming a Priest. After seeing the ugly underbelly of religion and understanding religion’s sinister and corrupt nature in his town he quit the church to join the army. He quickly became a Captain, but after seeing the unjust conflicts and unspeakable horrors of war he left to further his academic career and reflect on his experiences. He decided to become a heart surgeon, and graduated at the top of his class successfully becoming a doctor. It was then he learned he could just also read minds and become temporarily invisible for 10-15 minute intervals on Thursdays.
Mahto: Batman. He just does what he wants. No powers or anything.
___
Keep up with Achy here.
One of the hottest LGBTQ artists from this generation has just announced that she will be dropping her next single this Wednesday for the public to hear and her fans have been going nuts ever since. Pronoun returned to the music scene recently with her last single, “Run” which was not only adored by her fans, but by internationally acclaimed magazines and other well known artists. On Wednesday, she will be releasing a single entitled, “Wrong” which addresses some of the personal struggles that she was facing after a difficult breakup. In her own words she stated,
“I wrote this song when I found out some really weird news about my ex. All of a sudden I just said out loud “I feel embarrassed again”, and I went from there. For the longest time I was so angry at her, and the news that should have been the final straw actually just made me feel really bad for her which spun me in to the weird emotion of how can you feel sorry for some one you “hate”. How is that even possible, do other people feel this way? I guess in a way it’s what I would want to say… if I wanted to talk to her…. which obviously I don’t…. so iI wrote this song instead.”
Like most of her other work, “Wrong” is the perfect mix of old and new. Along with the upbeat synth loops, there is a beautiful guitar overlay that syncs perfectly with the drumming beat. Vocally powerful, Pronoun takes each low and high in stride and blends perfectly with the lush atmosphere created by the back up vocals and lighthearted instrumental components. Although there is a slight psychedelic flare to the overall soundscape created by this band, they are nothing less than the future of the pop industry.
Keep up with pronoun here.
With members from all over and all kinds of musical backgrounds, it’s no wonder that MIEN is a veritable treasure trove of sonic fanaticism. MIEN is made up of Alex Maas (vocals, samples, loops), Tom Furse (keyboards, programming), Rishi Dhir (bass, sitar, keyboards) and John-Mark Lapham (keyboards, samples, programming). The four-piece has just dropped the video for their new song “Odyssey”, off their recently released self-titled debut album. Virtually an outlandish collage of adult magazine cut-outs, the video for “Odyssey” takes the viewer on a psychedelic journey that perfectly matches the vocals and instrumentation of the track.
John-Mark Lapham says of the song:
Odyssey started out as an instrumental by Tom. I had heard a song [“Tchi Tchi Vox”] by an 80s band called Vox Populi and I tried sampling the chorus, which is in Dutch. It didn’t work, but Vox Populi ended up re-recording the vocals for us. The tchi-tchi boy can be whatever you wanted it to be, especially since it is in another language. It is like a musical Rorschach test. Could be she-she boy, chi-chi boy…
Since her debut EP Necessary in 2017, up and coming Australian artist San Mei has been working on releasing more of her more refined sounds. After waiting quite some time, fans from around the globe are welcoming in her newest single, “Wonder” which is a beautifully composed precursor to the rest of her EP which has been scheduled to drop later this year. From the time Mei began on this journey in the world of music, she has gained experience on stages throughout her native country and hope to push that boundary even further in the near future. Along with all of this recent success on stage, this budding dream pop musician has clearly spent countless hours evaluating and perfecting her unique sound that her fans have come to love and expect.
“Wonder” is a well written and composed single full of beautifully lush and complex soundscapes that have a distinct psych-tinged feel that San Mei wields with power and authority. While discussing her latest release, she said, “It’s about that classic butterfly moment you get when someone unknown to you captures your attention, and you’re not sure why. It’s that person becoming a daydream to you, wondering who they are, what they’re about, and not necessarily wanting them to become anything more than some intoxicating illusion.” What is not an illusion, however, is the sheer amount of talent and promise that is displayed in the revolutionary use of synth melodies that captivate and move listeners. With this new single out and even more that has been promised in the coming months, San Mei is one to watch.
Check out “Wonder” here.
Coming off of one of their most successful tracks to date with their latest LP, Parallel Person is Chicago based, garage-pop band, Varsity. Not only is this group composed of some of the most complex, yet beautiful soundscapes in the industry today, but fans are picking up on their unique talents and can’t seem to get enough of their psychedelic rhythms and beats. Before the release of Parallel Person, their last single, “So Sad, So Sad,” racked up a killer 14 million views and is continuing to grow in popularity as word of them spreads throughout the country at a rapid pace. However, more than just garage-pop fans are catching on to their success. Their past work has also awarded them praise from acclaimed critics and was named one of the, “Best Songs of 2016” by TIME. Looking forward to the release of Parallel Person, there are high expectations, but this rising band is sure to deliver.
Along with the bubbly, jangly feel of their music, Varsity brings a lighthearted feel into each of the tracks on their newest LP. Lately, it has been difficult to find a collection of songs that brings such an overall feeling of carefree release that is as infectious and catchy as Varsity’s latest release. One of the aspects of this release that really makes all the difference is the stellar twangy guitar skills that are overlaid with dreamy vocals. As listeners take in the meaning of each song, they will be transported back to the days of the easy 80’s and be enveloped in the artistic anthems that Varsity has put together. No doubt, fans and critics a like will soon be raving over this next release with great enthusiasm.
Keep up with Varsity here.
Los Angeles’ the black watch has just released, “Oh You Little Witch!”, the second single off their upcoming EP The Paper Boats. The prolific four-piece is made of vocalist/guitarist John Andrew Fredrick, Rick Woodard on drums, Chris Rackard on bass; and lead guitarist Tyson Cornell. They’ve put out over 17 CDs over the past quarter of a century, and have clearly honed their sound while maintaining flexibility. “Oh You Little Witch!” displays the black watch’s ability to put out an authentic track that also moves into a new sound. This new track continues in The Black Watch’s fantastic psychedelic pop tradition.
John Andrew Fredrick says of the track:
“This song’s all in good fun. No harm, no foul. I’m convinced that one of the overarching themes of my life has to do with Jean Renoir’s epigraph for what I consider to be one of the greatest films of all time – ‘The Rules of the Game.’ Renoir says: ‘The tragic thing about life is everyone has their reasons.’ I often metaphorically enter into other people’s consciousnesses, trying to imagine what it’s like to be them. But at some point one stops doing that when a former lover, say, becomes a ghost of sorts. Then, as the song declares, ‘I never wonder what it’s like to be you.’ There’s no specific ghost, mind you. But they’re everywhere, aren’t they? You look at someone and go ‘Someone somewhere used to be so interested in that person – and now they never hardly ever pay them any never mind!'”
“Oh You Little Witch!” is just what you need to hear today, so check it out!
Watch for The Paper Boats, set for release on April 27. Stay connected with the band:
Facebook | Bandcamp