by Meredith Schneider | Oct 31, 2017 | wolf tracks
While we wait with baited breath as progressive/alt metal project Ascending Dawn – comprised of Marlain Angelides (vocals), Mark Weatherley (drums/guitar), and Owen Rees (guitar) – prepares to release their new album Coalesce on December 1st, we’re thinking it might be a good idea to watch their new lyric video for single “Cannonball”. But on repeat. And while you might not necessarily know why, we’ve got the lyric video below for you to take a gander at so you can understand how we fell in love with the intricate natural details of it all.
Set largely with a faded black and white/sepia colored filter over landscape scenery (an ant crawling across a wooden surface, waves crashing over a beach, etc.), it is around minute three that color is allowed to shine through, as the camera then passes over the same landscapes with a soft, ethereal glow over brilliantly colored flowers, trees, bees, etc. The contrast is stunning – almost harshly so – but makes you appreciate the presence of color even more. And all the while, the crashing cymbals and fierce, all-encompassing vocals lent by Angelides make you feel – in a word – like a badass.
Coalesce is out December 1st. Keep up with Ascending Dawn here.
by Meredith Schneider | Oct 30, 2017 | wolf tracks
With the release of experimental dream pop duo Haunted Summer‘s album SPIRIT GUIDES just last month comes a whole new bevy of goodies amongst the music. Recently, this also includes the new music video for husband-and-wife Bridgette Moody and John Seasons’ mid-tempo burner “Every Step”, a journey into a softly lit Los Angeles landscape.
Beginning with a cult-like visual, hooded figures enveloped in rose-colored smoke stand vigilant, just before our protagonist is seen holding a drawing of the three figures, wandering around Southern California with a quizzical look on his face. He sets his own red smoke into the air on an unassuming street as the song slows and simplifies, the vocals becoming the main, raspy, driving force in the track. It is almost as though the protagonist has found what he has been searching for, so momentum slows and the track eases into a more otherworldly, kaleidoscope soundscape. As the sun sets, the narrative comes full circle, and we’re once again focused on that rose colored smoke.
SPIRIT GUIDES is available now. Keep up with Haunted Summer here.
by Meredith Schneider | Oct 30, 2017 | wolf tracks
Seattle-based shoegaze/dream pop collective Ephrata – comprised of Skadi Von Reis Crooks (guitar, vocals), Brady Hall (guitar, vocals), Jules Jones (bass, vocals), and Ben Bromage (drums, vocals) – released their self-titled 11 track album just last month. The vocal harmonies they have been honing since their conception in 2011 are buttery smooth, with almost a kaleidoscope of personalized instrumental layers that make each song feel like an entire experience. We were big fans of the release, so we thought we’d let you in on why.
“Odds” has a very “I Melt With You” feel to its initial lines – though delivered as though it were released in the 50s – bathing its listener in light, nostalgic feels right off the bat. “Tunguska” is characterized by whirring guitars, the beat setting in after a couple of lines and really kicking the energy into high gear. But the song feels upbeat and light, while the lyrics are actually quite terrifying as they repeat “Run, run, scream and cry / Run for your life.” (Comforting, we know.) “Breakers” makes us realize that we may have embedded ourselves in a deceivingly light – but innately melancholic – work, as first line “Don’t you know that things were better when they were bad?” throws us into an almost existential mindset. And while we aren’t entirely sure what it means to “die on a sea of straight faces,” “Sea Of Straight Faces” is a slow, 50’s doo-wop sounding track that mellows you out for a bit mid-album.
Fifth track “Fiend Folio” seems to play with dissonance early on, addressing perhaps the fact that your road through life is paved with temptation and intensity (“forked tongues and fangs showed me the way”). We might be misinterpreting the lyrics, though they are – as their predecessors – seemingly bittersweet in their delivery and intention. “1000 Things” begins with a grunge/surf bass guitar, exploding into a beachy track that hits Beach Boys status pretty quickly and effectively. And while “What Is Mine” is indie rock at its core – it feels as though it could have easily been included on the Juno soundtrack – “Consequence” rolls right back into some hard beachy nostalgia for us all.
“Pharaoh” is light and upbeat in delivery. In fact, deceivingly so, as they’re singing about being shot and “entombed,” though the overarching theme might just be found in the line “pot meet kettle,” something we have been examining intensely recently, especially regarding people in power. (But I digress.) “Evil Twin” is a track that really makes you think. Clearly, the person whose perspective we’re examining is in denial about a seemingly abusive relationship, as she is convinced she met her significant other’s “evil twin” because of the way he treats her. “But when he appears you’re always gone…” How sullen and beautiful, this perspective on unhealthy relationships. Ephrata ties their 11 track release together with “Sun Scenario”, keeping with the devastating, lugubrious theme by instructing “fill your head full of dread ’til you’re dead,” which – to their credit – when examined has the opposite effect. It’s as though they’re encouraging you to embark upon this dark path, hoping you might take it as a challenge and move, instead, into the light.
But however you tend to interpret the lyrics, move forward. Examine your world through the lens of Ephrata’s music and use it as a learning tool. It will come in handy.
Ephrata is available now. Keep up with the band here.
by Meredith Schneider | Oct 30, 2017 | wolf tracks
New York-based progressive/cinematic rock project Orissa – spearheaded by David Dodini, who arranged and wrote the entire album and received help on the recording from Jason Gianni (drums), Gary Pickard (flute, saxophone), and Raquy Danziger (dumbek) – recently released its single “Verse V” as one of the last pieces in the lead up to the release of debut album Resurrection, due out next month. The track – which is characterized heavily by its whirring electric guitars – is introduced slowly, each instrumental having its own sound space as we lead into the heavy bass of the track. It is within one minute of “Verse V” that a new listener realizes Orissa really is fully encapsulating that cinematic, almost rock opera feel in their work. With Dodini’s vocals comes a heavy, emotional introduction to a man who will not falter in his ideals. The guitar solo late in the game is absolutely off the charts, encouraging us to seek out Orissa live in concert to see how this immensely energetic track – that sits at just under eight minutes – is received. Because we’re enthralled.
Resurrection is out November 3rd and is available for preorder now. Orissa will celebrate their album release show on Friday, November 10th at Arlene’s Grocery. Tickets are available now.
by Meredith Schneider | Oct 30, 2017 | wolf tracks
Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jared Saltiel is spending his days laying the groundwork for his upcoming album Out Of Clay, which is set to release on February 2nd, 2018. The album will be the second chapter in a four part series he has created titled Caught Beneath the Wheel. New track “Wayward Queen” sets some of the tone of what’s to come.
Slow, light, simple. Saltiel sings with a bittersweet note to his voice, almost mourning the loss of the “green” in warmer months alongside the idea of leaving his significant other “for the sea.” It is only after we learn that he wrote the song in the Pere Lachais cemetery in Paris that we understand where the melancholic yet beautiful composition – which mirrors the cemetery itself almost directly – came from. The lyrics evoke a respect and intense desire to serve this “queen” figure, painting a picture of the man as her subservient knight. As the track builds, its tempo changes dramatically several times. Once we reach the climax of his tale, percussion takes the front seat as it builds into a rock ballad before fading out.
Out Of Clay is available February 2nd. Keep up with Jared Saltiel here.
by Meredith Schneider | Oct 27, 2017 | wolf tracks
This week indie duo Sego – Spencer Peterson and Thomas Carroll – released a music video from their latest collection of tunes they’ve been working on with Dave Newfeld (Broken Social Scene). But we’re still enthralled by their second single release this time around – a track titled “Sucker/Saint” – that was recently released. So today, we share that with you.
Laced with swirling guitars, intimidating crooning vocals, and a bit of reverberant attitude, this track provides that frenzy, buoyant sound we have come to expect from the duo. The crashing cymbals give it an almost head-banging quality that ensures us this song will be insane to mosh out to live.
Keep up with Sego here.
by Meredith Schneider | Oct 27, 2017 | wolf tracks
Perhaps one of the most charming acts we’ve ever become acquainted with, Chicago-based lo-fi indie pop duo Zigtebra – comprised of “Zebra” Emily Rose and “Tiger” Joe Zeph – has been releasing a new single every single month during the year 2017. Their latest – the video for trance-inducing single “I Can Dance” – was cut together with archival footage setting a vibrant foreground for its audio counterpart. The track feels mellow – yet danceable at the same time – and captivating for reasons still not entirely clear to us, though perhaps Emily Rose’s ethereal, calming vocals have something to do with it. Her light words almost counterbalance the harsher electronic nature of the instrumentals, creating a quirky and fun dynamic we don’t always get to see in pop music.
It’s time to get inspired to dance with “I Can Dance”.
Zigtebra’s favorite recordings will be compiled into a full-length release next year. Keep up with the band here.
by Meredith Schneider | Oct 27, 2017 | wolf tracks
On October 23rd, Greek electric artist May Roosevelt released an 8-track enchanter of an album titled Junea via Inner Ear Records. The album is named after a fictional character in Junea’s world who acts as a “heroine of the modern digital world, where reality meets fiction through bridges made of electronic sounds and pixels.” Junea seems to be an extension of May Roosevelt herself – an alter ego almost – but either way, she has been unleashed and is receiving an immense amount of attention. We can see why, as we’re thrown into another world within each individual track.
Beginning with the light – almost watery sounds – the track “Air” evokes a feeling of being alone right off the bat, witnessing the track build slowly around a lonely echo. The pace picks up and you are thrown into a largely instrumental dance track, exposed to the mellow yet upbeat sound space that will captivate you throughout the majority of the album. “Pa” provides more quirky instrumentals, while “Flowers” has an elegance about it that its predecessors don’t, though the larger instrumental theme holds them all together like a thread. The percussion in “Flowers” is standout, as the lyrics layer ethereally over each other and provide an earthy and tranquil sound. And while “Be” has a lightness that innately encourages you to be present in the moment, “Let’s” begins with a similar sound but travels into a darker sound space than the album has quite allowed yet.
“In Your Eyes” opens with an otherworldly – almost alien – feel to it, enticing its listeners into a hip swaying, belly dancing type of mood. It’s sultry, mirroring its title in a way that makes it entrancing. “Ta” disrupts with a more immediate electronic, computer-like feel to it, sending us back into that tranquil mindset as it explodes into a cacophony of glittery sound before slowing down and resting briefly to prepare us for the last track. “Tides” comes in slowly, somehow more delicate than she has yet introduced a song. It’s as though her whispers have become whispers of whispers, drawing you into her abundance of mellow and beautiful energy. It’s the most interesting way to bring you out of your Junea-induced trance, as it picks up immensely and you have to almost fight yourself not to dance.
Overall, we’re pleased with the way May has made her mark on the electronic sound space. Junea seems effortlessly – yet flawlessly – produced, an album that should be celebrated widely across the festival circuit next summer, if given the proper chance. With it, we have seen another facet of her work and are equally inspired and motivated from it as we are with her previous releases.
Tracklist:
01. Air
02. Pa
03. Flowers
04. Be
05. Let’s
06. In Your Eyes
07. Ta
08. Tides
Junea is available now. Keep up with May Roosevelt here.
by Meredith Schneider | Oct 26, 2017 | wolf tracks
Last week, Milwaukee-based electro-dream pop collective GGOOLLDD – comprised of Margaret Butler, Nick Ziemann, Mark Stewart, and Nick Schubert – released their latest, an upbeat track titled “The Way That I Feel”. Found on their upcoming EP TEETH (out December 1st), this track is a definite party go-to. Beginning with Margaret’s infectious laughter, the drums set a catchy, dance beat to the single while the vocals sound like they’re being delivered through a megaphone. In a way, with lines like “I don’t care”, this song feels like the perfect personal anthem to lead you into the winter season.
Tour Dates
11/08/17 – Santa Ana, CA – Observatory OC – w/ The Sounds
11/09/17 – San Francisco, CA – Regency Ballroom – w/ The Sounds
11/10/17 – San Louis Obispo, CA – Fremont Theater – w/ The Sounds
11/12/17 – Los Angeles, CA – Fonda Theater – w/ The Sounds
11/13/17 – Los Angeles, CA – Fonda Theater – w/ The Sounds
11/14/17 – San Diego, CA – Observatory – w/ The Sounds
11/16/17 – Pomona, CA – Glass House – w/ The Sounds
11/17/17 – Pioneertown, CA – Pappy and Harriet’s – w/ The Sounds
12/08/17 – Eau Claire, WI – University Cabin
12/09/17 – Minneapolis, MN – The 7th Street Entry
12/16/17 – Chicago – Empty Bottle
12/31/17 – Milwaukee – NYE at Turner Hall
01/26/18 – Sheboygan, WI – Stephanie H Weill Center for the Performing Arts
TEETH is out December 1st. Keep up with GGOOLLDD here.
