Synthwave – Page 13 – 7th Level Music

Top 20 albums of 2022: #’s 5 – 1

Here we are at the top five albums I reviewed in 2022. It was a great year for music, and these are what stood out for me among all the good stuff out there.

#5: Jacques Greene – Fantasy

As I’ve mentioned before, 2022 was a great year for electronic music, and this EP from Jacques Greene topped my list of that kind of music. It mixes house, drum and bass, ambient, and a bit of synth wave into a luscious brew.

#4: The Staples Jr. Singers – When Do We Get Paid

This reissue of classic gospel funk tracks by The Staples Jr. Singers is stunning. The amount of groove and friskiness in these songs is almost overwhelming. The instrumentation and harmonizing are outstanding, and there’s enough soul for two churches.

#3: Yard Act – The Overload

This is the best post-punk album I heard all year. Everything on it is razor sharp: the wit, the guitar angles, the grooves, the drum sounds, and the slightly snarled tongue-in-cheek vocals.

#2: The Black Angels – Wilderness of Mirrors

The Black Angels‘ new album was a great return for them. It explores the stress of modern times through walls of distorted guitars, reverb-laden vocals, powerful drums, and mind-warping sound. The Black Angels have yet to put out a bad record, but this one somehow set the bar even higher for psych-bands to follow.

#1: A Place to Bury Strangers – See Through You

A Place to Bury Strangers came back with a new lineup and some of Oliver Ackermann‘s most revealing lyrics about the end of friendships, loneliness, grief, over-reliance on technology, and the overall anxiety everyone’s been feeling since 2019. Ackermann put it all out there and walloped us with more honesty and distortion that you can almost stand.

Let’s look forward to a great 2023!

Keep your mind open.

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Top 20 albums of 2022: #’s 10 – 6

We’ve reached the top ten albums that came my way last year. Who made the cut? Read on…

#10: The Bobby Lees – Bellevue

This album is full of raw punk vocals, squealing guitars, and enough raw power to supercharge the engine of a Trans Am. It’s a great debut from them.

#9: Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol – Doom-Wop

As soon as I heard “Shoo-In,” I knew this was going to be one of my favorite records of the year. These Austin, Texans play fuzzy garage rock that covers such subjects as drinking, sex, partying, break-ups, jerks, and weirdos. In other words, everything.

#8: King Buffalo – Regenerator

Cosmic rock keeps expanding, which is great news for people like me who love psychedelic sounds that are fit for exploring the desert or other planets. King Buffalo’s newest album fits the bill and sends you into orbit into the surprisingly warm void of space.

#7: Regressive Left – On the Wrong Side of History

This is the best dance-rock record I heard all year. It’s a groove-filled EP with scathing lyrics about politicians, consumerism, the internet, celebrity, toxic masculinity, and sex.

#6: The Chats – Get Fucked

And here’s the best punk record I heard all year. The Chats came back with a new guitarist and a renewed anger (and sense of humor) after the pandemic and gave us this wickedly sharp and funny album of barn-burners about the price of cigarettes, hot rods, and, of course, getting drunk.

Come back tomorrow for the top five!

Keep your mind open.

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Don’t be a “Stranger” to Ruth Radelet’s new single.

Today, Los Angeles-based artist Ruth Radelet announces her debut EP, The Other Side, out October 7th. Today, she presents its lead single/video, the cinematic ballad “Stranger.” Best known for fronting the influential and beloved group Chromatics, Ruth solidifies her next chapter as a solo artist with The Other Side. Written over the course of two years and recorded with friend and producer Filip Nikolic (formerly of Poolside), The Other Side showcases Radelet’s timeless voice and classic take on songwriting.

Following the single “Crimes,” “her ethereal and poignant debut” (Gorilla vs. Bear), “Stranger” is a love letter to LA. The stark black-and-white video, directed by James Manson and shot on 16mm Kodak film by Freddie Whitman, features Ruth exploring the city alone. “Stranger” is about a specific kind of loneliness that I have only felt in Los Angeles. Although the song is very much about longing, it’s more about a place than a person,” she elaborates. “The lyric ‘I could never hold you in my hands’ is about the feeling of always being on the outside looking in, of the city never fully opening its doors to me.”

Watch Ruth Radelet’s Video for “Stranger”

Exploring themes of love, death, and rebirth, “The Other Side represents a side of my personality as an artist that most people haven’t seen until now,” explains Radelet. “It also represents my coming out the other side of a traumatic experience, gathering what I could from ‘Before’ and figuring out how to exist ‘After.’ This record was forged in the fire of a transformative two-year period during which I lost almost everything, including my father who was a huge influence on me. Most of the songs were written just before I was caught up in a storm of big changes, and they were all finished just as life started to feel sweet again. It feels right to share some of the last chapter before moving into the next, and though it’s a melancholy record, for me The Other Side is a step into a bigger and brighter future.”

Radelet is a singer, songwriter, and musician with diverse influences ranging from Joni Mitchell to Frank Ocean. She has been performing and releasing music for over a decade since joining Chromatics in 2006 for their acclaimed album Night Drive released the following year. Chromatics’ music and aesthetic has notably been used in numerous films, television series, and fashion shows. The band appeared on screen in multiple episodes of David Lynch’s Twin Peaks: The Return while Radelet was recently featured on a Chromatics’ 2020 remix of the Weeknd’s #1 hit single, “Blinding Lights.”

Listen to “Crimes”

The Other Side Tracklist
1. Stranger
2. Sometimes
3. Crimes
4. Be Careful
5. Youth

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[Thanks to Yuri at Pitch Perfect PR.]

October and the Eyes shares a “Tit Pic.” It’s a single! A new single! What were you thinking?

Following the release of her recent EP ‘Who Upset You?‘, New Zealand-born, London-based singer & songwriter October and the Eyes is sharing her new single “Tit Pic.“

Speaking about the track, October said “We destroy the earth because of our innate sense of self importance – that we have a god given right to rape, pillage and exploit the earth for our own consumption. We simultaneously distract ourselves from the worsening repercussions of our destructive hand via narcissistic pursuits of social media exhibitionism and sterile lit bathroom selfies. It’s a great picture though and successfully garnered 237 likes which is a huge relief.”

Listen to “Tit Pic” via Youtube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiSZVMUBR5I

Listen via other streaming services here: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/octoberandtheeyes/tit-pic

October is no new-comer to music, the New Zealand born musician has been involved in musical pursuits since she was a child. Heralding from a musical family, the prospect of pursuing music in one form or another was almost inescapable: A classical pianist mother, fanatic music fan father, and two older multi- instrumentalist brothers who were always holding their band practices in the family playroom. October’s childhood was that of a humble upbringing; having grown up in a small rural town in New Zealand’s wine country, she turned to songwriting as a means to stave the boredom away. She taught herself how to record and produce her own music aged 12, locking herself away in her bedroom for hours on end, and hasn’t looked back since. Claiming the internet raised her, it’s clear she had her sights set on broader horizons and bigger cities.

Having moved half way across the world to her new home in East London, October has remained true to her traditional isolated writing style by holing up in her East London flat for several months and writing a small collection of songs that can be described as dizzying, darkly kaleidoscopic, and dauntless above all. October describes her musical style as ‘collage-rock’ (not the be confused with college rock). Pulling musical inspiration from the likes of Bauhaus, Bowie, Siouxsie Sioux and Suicide, she then squeezes her influences through the gauze of modernity and electronics, thus creating something entirely of her own.

With nods to acid rock, psychobilly and post-punk, October and The Eyes’ music is equal parts nostalgia-drenched as it is future forward, employing layers of ambient synth drones to anchor the crunched guitars and jagged organ parts. Delivered with a twisted theatricality, her vocals pendulum between commanding chants and soothing coo’s, proving that not only is she a versatile songwriter and producer, but a versatile vocalist too.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Frankie at Stereo Sanctity.]

Auragraph takes out of the ordinary with his new single, “Escapism.”

The palette and precision of prolific synthesizer composer Hector Carlos Ramirez aka A uragraph has heightened incrementally since the project’s conception in 2018, but Reflection Plane – his 8th full-length, and first for Dais Records – finds him streamlining his sound even further, to its gleaming chrome essence.

Moody pads and sequential circuits cycle through cybernetic galleries of marble, ferns, and flickering screens, at the threshold of film score, slow techno, and hard vapor. The album’s nine tracks deploy an array of 80’s tonalities, from night drive arpeggios to Art Of Noise sample stabs to Seinfeld slap bass, but fused into a hybrid landscape of lucid dreaming and hypnotic horizon lines.

Today, Auragraph shares the first look at Reflection Plane with its sleek, glossy first single, “Escapism.”

Watch (+ share) the virtual reality video for “Escapism.”

Born in the Texas border town of Laredo, Ramirez relocated to Austin for film school, where he became fascinated by the local electronic underground scene spearheaded by S U R V I V E and the Holodeck Records network. But it was only after moving to Los Angeles to work in the music department of a film trailer house that he crossed paths with Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein of S U R V I V E, who were in need of an assistant for multiple ongoing projects. After helping out on National Geographic’s Valley Of The Boom miniseries, Ramirez officially joined the Stranger Things soundtrack team as a Score Mixing Engineer.

This intuitive expertise for audio design infuses Auragraph with a unique sense of fluidity and finesse, able to shift gears and integrate contrasts: sleek yet strange, icy but emotive, minimal though rich. Shades of classic EBM, 90’s electronica, and Dreamcast-era video game music glimmer here and there on certain tracks, but the cumulative effect of Reflection Plane is of entering a place outside of time and space, post- human and pristine. These are songs of parallel realities and second lives, freed from friction and gravity, playing on loop in a skybox sculpture garden at the ends of the earth.

Reflection Plane is available on digital formats now from Dais Records. Order here.

Auragraph, live:

August 14 – Medium Studio – Salt Lake City, UT

August 17 – Pop’s Blue Moon – St Louis, MO

August 18 – Cole’s Bar – Chicago, IL

August 27 – Al’s – Lexington, KY

August 28 – Pandora’s Box – Nashville, TN

August 29 – Rubber Gloves Studios – Dallas, TX

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Stephanie at Indie Publicity.]

Ultraflex invite us to party on “Rhodos.”

Ultraflex is an interdisciplinary collaboration between Farao (NO) and Special-K (IS) and today they are sharing their new single & video “Rhodos“, which showcases another glimpse of their playful disco-pop.

“Rhodos” is an ode to Northern European tourists partying in the South of Europe (Mallorca, Ibiza, Rhodes etc.) It honours pink beer bellies, Smirnoff Ice and the smell of aftersun and is inspired by Ultraflex’s own experience of getting liquor poured straight into their mouths by flexing bartenders at a time in their lives when belly rings and miss sixty jeans were of the utmost importance.

The track is accompanied by a jeggings and jewels filled music video filmed in Greece, directed by Sigurlaug Gisladottir. In the words of the band, “‘Rhodos’ was written in deep pandemic, when we were desperately craving to party. Longing after people yelling in our ears, everyone bumping into each other, stepping on our toes and the sensation of cold beer flowing down our backs. Writing Rhodos immediately transported us to a hot and sticky beach, a place we loved and loathed equally.”

Listen to & watch “Rhodos” here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hPlYDuiRt4

Ultraflex released their saucy debut album Visions of Ultraflex was released in 2020 to critical and popular acclaim, winning The Icelandic Music Awards 2021 for ‘Best Electronic Album’ and Kraumur Award for ‘Best Album’, besides collecting additional international nominations. Ultraflex places equal value on sounds, lyrics and visual representation – music videos or experimental films are made to every single song.

Ultraflex’s sound is inspired by the disco, italo and funk of the 80’s, blending it with new-age sensibilities, unexpected jazz chords and melodic twists. The result is a catchy, contemporary whirlwind of dance floor weirdness, nodding to their ancestors in the historical lineage of spectacular electronic music. The duo’s material is simultaneously kitsch and conceptual, filtered through contemporary pop culture. Ultraflex creates their own brand new lotion carefully tailored to your needs.

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[Thanks to Frankie at Stereo Sanctity.]

Review: Blanck Mass – Ted K (original film score)

The irony that Blanck Mass has created the film score for Ted K, a film about Ted “The Unabomber” Kaczynski – the man responsible for multiple bombings done as a form of protest against modern technology – isn’t lost on Benjamin John Power (AKA Blanck Mass) or the film’s director, Tony Stone. Blanck Mass is known for creating bold, wild electro soundscapes that mix industrial sounds with ambient noise (or is it industrial noise with ambient sounds?) and being able to play an entire set with a laptop, a sequencer, a DAW, and a couple thumb drives. There are no wood winds on this score. There are no natural strings, drums made of scrap metal, or acoustic guitars. It’s all electronic.

It’s also all good. The main theme (“Montana”) is menacing. “Noise Destroys Something Wonderful” is surprisingly soft, while “Pesticides” creeps around you like a deadly fog. The first half of “ComTech” sounds like a kaiju approaching an oil refinery on the west coast of Japan, and the second sounds like the rolling smoke seen in its aftermath. “Greyhound” has a fuzzy edge to it that unnerves you just a bit. “Tell Me Your Heart” is a slow-dance song for tired robots.

“Dark Materials” is the soundtrack to a robot cat’s dream. “Becky’s Theme” is a song for a Montana woman who worked at a general store near the remote area where Kacyznski lived and befriended him somewhat. “Manifesto” starts out like an old single-propeller plane warming up and then becomes the sound of rising tension and smoldering rage. “Ranger Gary” is peaceful enough to enjoy while meditating next to a mountain stream, while and “At Peace / Freedom Club” starts that way but drifts into dread. By the time we get to “Skidders,” we’re into full-blown madness.

It’s another fine piece of work from Blanck Mass. I need to check out this film, which has garnered many good reviews – as should its score.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Patrick at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Review: P.E. – The Leather Lemon

Combining the talents of members of Pill and Eaters, NYC’s P.E. easily weave in and out of psychedelia, post-punk, no wave, bedroom rock, and dream pop on their second album, The Leather Lemon.

Benjamin Jaffe‘s opening saxophone on “Blue Nude (Reclined)” automatically takes you into a cool headspace while Veronica Torres sings sexy lyrics. “Contradiction of Wants” is a perfect song for 2022. It’s about not knowing what you want, even though you already have everything you need. The bass line on it is wicked. I can’t tell you who plays it, because all the band members (Jonny Campolo, Jaffe, Bob Jones, Jonathan Schenke, Torres) are multi-instrumentalists and often switch axes from track to track. “Lying with the Wolf” goes into low rock and mixes it with synthwave and old school techno beats.

The title track is a short, proto-industrial puzzler. “Tears in the Rain” does invoke some Blade Runner imagery and has guest vocals from Parquet Courts‘ Adam Savage as he teams with Torres to give us a song of romantic hope in times that can be gray and bleak. “The Reason for My Love” is a hot dance track with yet another great bass line (The album is full of them.).

“Magic Hands” has plucked string instruments dancing around slightly loopy synths and drunken android vocals. The darkwave sound of “New Kind of Zen” is powerful and haunting. You’re never sure where the track is going to lead, especially when it floats into spoken word psychedelia. The instrumental “86ed” drifts into “Majesty,” which returns some of the musical themes from other tracks as Torres sings, “I don’t want that life. I don’t want that majesty.” and her bandmates reply, “I want everything.” It’s a neat loop to be in for a couple minutes.

The whole album is worth a visit. It sizzles, saunters, and seduces.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Tom at Hive Mind PR.]

Anika releases Psychic TV cover and North American tour dates.

Anika shares new music for the first time since the release of her new album, Change (out now on Sacred Bones), ahead of her North American headline tour next month with live musicians Sally Wanda Whitton (bass, vox), Eilis Kiera Frawley (drums), and Zooey Rosa Agro (keys, vox). Tickets are on sale now here. The cover of Psychic TV’s “Godstar” appears on Sacred Bones’ Todo Muere SBXVcompilation out May 27th, and was recorded in tribute to the late Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, one of Anika’s biggest inspirations.

“Psychic TV, specifically the album Orchids, has been a huge influence on my music and human psyche over this musical life,” says Anika. “[Genesis] is a big inspiration, the humor and investigation element in their work. I remember going to a talk in NYC where G recommended that no-one finish art school. I like this concept. Perhaps it leaves things unfinished and room for the individual to grow shoots, continue on their own journey. Perhaps this is like music school or any creative school. I think G specifically thought the place was bull and that they could do it better on their own terms, which turned out great. They also told a story about an art school work, which involved a used tampon in the shell of a clock. It was called Period Piece. I like the humor in this piece and the deconstruction of social boundaries. They are for sure an inspiration, in how to do things your own way, carve out your own path and don’t worry too much about what other people are doing.”
Listen to Anika’s “Godstar” (Psychic TV Cover)

Anika Tour Dates
Sat. May 14 – Austin, TX @ Oblivion Access Festival
Sun. May 15 – San Diego, CA @ Casbah
Mon. May 16 – Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room
Tue. May 17 – San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop
Wed. May 19 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
Thu. May 20 – Seattle, WA @ Vera Project
Fri. May 21 – Vancouver, BC @ The Fox Cabaret
Mon. Mon. May 23 – Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle
Wed. May 25 – Toronto, ON @ The Garrison
Thu. May 26 – Montreal, QC @ Fairmount Theatre
Sat. May 28 – New York, NY @ Knockdown Center
Sun. May 29 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s
Mon. May 30 – Washington, DC @ Union Stage
Tue. May 31 – Knoxville, TN @ Pilot Light
Wed. June 1 – Nashville, TN @ Third Man Records
Thu. June 2 – Memphis, TN @ Crosstown Arts
Fri. June 3 – Dallas, TX @ Cheap Steaks

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[Thanks to Jaycee and Patrick at Pitch Perfect PR.]

October and the Eyes returns with “Spiral.”

Following the release of her debut EP Dogs and Gods in 2020, New Zealand-born, London-based singer & songwriter October and the Eyes is back with a new single “Spiral“, which is out now via KRO Records.

Speaking about the new single, October said “‘Spiral’ is about a problematic friendship where you never quite know where you stand at any given time – a constant pendulum between being pulled in and then spat out again, going round and round in circles until you’re left dizzied and jaded by the whole thing. The song is pretty scathing and somewhat of a waving fist.

I wanted the song to sound in constant flux, with reverberating percussion and vocals that feel like they could spiral out of control at any moment.”

Listen to “Spiral” here on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/octoberandtheeyes-music/spiral

Listen via other streaming services here:https://orcd.co/octoberspiral

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[Thanks to Frankie at Stereo Sanctity.]