Shoegaze – Page 20 – 7th Level Music

Smut release “Fan Age” ahead of new EP due November 20th.

Smut announces their new EP, Power Fantasy, out November 20th on Bayonet Records, and shares an official lyric video for the explosive lead single “Fan Age.” The Chicago-based band, originally hailing from Cincinatti, is comprised of Bell Cenower, Andrew Min, Sam Ruschman, and Tay Roebuck.

Uniting crunchy guitar tones and swirling synths, Smut embraces a liminality and experimentation that pushes the boundaries of pop music. They blend melody and moodiness to yield to a droney and percussive sound, taking influence from shoegaze, 90s hip hop, and trip-hop. Smut have conquered national tours with acts like Nothing, Swirlies, and Bully. Previously working as an actor, Roebuck’s performance is uninhibited, reflective of the stage presence of Blur’s Damon Albarn. Roebuck’s caustically sung, meditations on grief, guilt, and growing into oneself hover over a wall of sound, making us nostalgic for shoegaze bands past.

On Power Fantasy we find Smut in a state of transition. “Fan Age” begins in a dreamscape of guitar chords as Roebuck sings of climbing the backs of giants. About a minute and a half in, Smut has their feet firmly planted as “Fan Age” transforms into an infectious, self-assured anthem – “I don’t feel bad, I hold no guilt.” Power Fantasy demonstrates a new direction for the indie outfit, one characterized by continued self-reflection and sonic renewal.

To celebrate the release of Power Fantasy, Smut will livestream a performance via Baby’s All Right’s BabyTV on November 20th. Tickets are available here.
Watch “Fan Age” Lyric Video

Pre-order Power Fantasy EP

Power Fantasy EP Tracklist
1. Fan Age
2. Power Fantasy
3. Perfect Dark

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[Thanks to Patrick at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Soft Kill team up with Tamaryn for “Floodgate.”

Portland post-punk five piece Soft Kill share their third single, ‘Floodgate” featuring singer-songwriter Tamaryn, taken from their forthcoming November 20th album release “Dead Kids, R.I.P. City”, the long-awaited follow up to 2018’s ‘Savior’. Says the band’s Tobias Grave, “Floodgate is about unraveling mentally and pushing away your lifelines. It’s about being trapped in solitude, suffocating in a world you created.”

The band have shared two other singles these past few weeks; “Pretty Face”, which encapsulates listeners with its steady pulse of bass and cinematic-like guitar melodies, taking a slightly left field approach to post-punk with its triumphant and upbeat energy. That followed the lead doom and gloom pop single “Roses All Around‘, which is dark yet luminous in every sense, from its driving percussive beats, harmonic grooves and melodies, while also creating an opportunity to openly discuss its sociopolitical message that is especially prominent now as Portland became the epicenter of unrest these past few months.

Soft Kill had been growing with pretty much every record – but a deep maturation, achieving a level of emotional intensity that, even for a band known for exactly that, was nothing short of awe-inspiring and inarguably a high water mark. The question then, was how do they possibly follow that up? Well, here we are, two years later with Dead Kids, R.I.P. City, and we can all set down our worry beads. Soft Kill, Tobias Grave, Conrad Vollmer, Owen Glendower, Daniel Deleon and Nicole Colbath, have in fact put any such concerns commandingly to rest.

Two years in the making, desperate, redemptive, its contrast of light and shadow favoring the latter, Dead Kids, R.I.P. City is like no other album in the genre, featuring the brave and abandoned, the tender and the afflicted, all teetering in memory on the edge of the city. For all the sadness and pain of addiction haunting it, however, the record, by its very existence, proves that hope doesn’t necessarily win but that, even if at great cost, it can. It’s what makes Dead Kids, R.I.P. City so powerful beyond just the scope of its dark luminous sound and indelible melodies, and is one of the many reasons you’ll carry it with you.

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[Thanks to Jo Murray.]

Soft Kill share new single – “Pretty Face” – from album due November 20th.

Today, the post-punk five piece, Portland’s Soft Kill share their second single “Pretty Face” from their forthcoming November 20th album release Dead Kids, R.I.P. City, their long awaited follow up to 2018’s ‘Savior’. Says the band’s Tobias Grave, “‘Pretty Face’ was written immediately after finding out about the loss of our friend Zachary Delong. It recounts some time we spent together on the edge of oblivion, late 2011 into the first weeks of 2012. Survivors guilt pouring out into song form” – ‘Relax your pretty face boy, the pain has left you.’

“We shot this to be a lyric video but we worked in some scenes, starting in Washington and traveling into the far north section of Portland, stopping by the abandoned dog track at Portland Meadows and ending at the motel made famous by Drugstore Cowboy. The imagery will resonate with some, I’m sure. The song is one we’ve played live for two years and it’s got a big cult following without ever having a studio version circulating.”

“Pretty Face” encapsulates listeners with its steady pulse of bass and cinematic-like guitar melodies, taking a slightly left field approach to post-punk with its triumphant and upbeat energy while still channeling the doom/gloom sound Portland’s Soft Kill has built their identity around. The song reflects the darker side of what the band has experienced the past few years. The single follows Soft Kill’s return last month when they dropped the lead doom pop single “Roses All Around.” It’s dark yet luminous in every sense, from its driving percussive beats, harmonic grooves and melodies, while also creating an opportunity to openly discuss its sociopolitical message that is especially prominent now as Portland has become the epicenter of unrest these past few months.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Jo Murray.]

October and the Eyes profess “All My Love” on first single from upcoming EP.

New Zealand-born, London-based singer, songwriter and producer October and the Eyes announces her debut EP, Dogs and Gods, out November 20th on KRO Records. October recently signed to the label following an introduction by fellow musician and friend Yves Tumor. Today, she shares the lead single and video “All My Love,” a track that lures you into a warm embrace of October’s coy and breathy sweet-nothings.

“’All My Love’ is unfortunately a love song – something I told myself I would never write, yet here I am,” says October. “But it’s not all sweet. In fact, I would call it more of a lust song. It’s about being in love but lusting for something more. It’s about desire, greed, and infatuation with a stranger. The song became strangely prophetic in recent months as I watched the one I once loved self destruct from afar ‘in tin cans and other crumbs of temporary self satisfaction’ – a line I wrote before I could even comprehend that it would become remotely true. Because of this, the song is now tainted with a strange sadness that I’ll carry with me every time I perform it.”

Watch “All My Love” Video

October is no newcomer to music – despite only being 23, 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. Having grown up in a small rural town in New Zealand’s wine country, she turned to songwriting as a means to stave off boredom, teaching herself how to record and produce her own music.

After moving to East London, October wrote and produced the Dogs and Gods EP, a dizzying, darkly kaleidoscopic, and dauntless collection of music. Thematically, the EP explores the complex dynamics of love, lust and infidelity in the 21st century.

Self-describing her music as “collage-rock,” October pulls musical inspiration from the likes of Bauhaus, Bowie, Siouxsie Sioux and Suicide, then squeezing her influences through the gauze of modernity and electronics. 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, crunched guitar, jagged organ parts, and October’s theatrical voice, creating something entirely her own.

Watch “All My Love” Video:
https://orcd.co/octoberallmylove

Pre-order/pre-save Dogs and Gods:
https://orcd.co/octoberandtheeyes

Dogs and Godstracklist:
1. Playing God
2. All My Love
3. Wander Girl
4. You Deserve It
5. The Unraveling
6. Dark Dog

Keep your mind open.

[Thanks to Patrick at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Review: Holy Motors – Horse

At first blush, you’d never guess that Holy Motors is from Estonia. Their music sounds like shoegaze made by a band that grew up in the American southwest and spent their teen years making out with their respective lovers atop red rock mesas during sunsets and then spent the night drinking spiked yerba mate and counting stars.

Yet, they are from another continent. Their love of Americana and psychedelia is evident from the first track of their new album, Horse. On “Country Church,” lead singer Eliann Tulve tells a tale of a cowboy facing a moral crisis and looking for guidance, but the “country church is only open on Sundays, but the night comes down on me every day.” The guitars shimmer but have a dusty edge to their riffs throughout the track.

“Endless Night” would fit right into a David Lynch film with Tulve’s reverbed vocals, the hazy guitar chords, and the distant drum beats in the tale of lust and theft in a seedy roadside motel. The sad country blues guitar of “Midnight Cowboy” adds a classic touch to Tulve’s tale of unrequited love (“You’re the stream I never swam in…”). “Road Stars” has two tired people realizing they could be tired together if they could get past their vices and egos.

“Matador” is another spooky road story as Tulve sings of being on the run from creepy men in her hotel room and spending every cent she can get on gas so she can keep moving. The guitars on the track go deep into psychedelic visions during the chorus and the simple drum beat is almost a tribal chant. The guitars turn into mesquite smoke on “Come On, Slowly.”

The guitars on “Trouble” bring spaghetti western scores to mind with their mix of bold chords and echoed soft touches. The stunning instrumental closer, “Life Valley (So Many Miles Away),” is like a long lost Velvet Underground or Traffic cut that sinks deep into your veins and carries you away from whatever you’re dealing with at the moment.

Horse is one of those records that lures in the back of your head once you hear it and emerges in serene moments. It’s a record that, if you hear part of it in passing, will stick with you and make you seek it.

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[Thanks to Tom at Hive Mind PR.]

Yardsss’ “Cultus II” is a wild burst of drone rock.

Portland, OR band Yardsss — ethereal music brainchild of Southerly and Sndtrkr leader Krist Krueger — share the first track from their forthcoming new album Cultus today via TrebleZine. Hear and share “Cultus II” HERE. (Direct Bandcamp.)

The album is performed in the full trio lineup of the band, Paul Schaefer, Robin Levy, and Krist Krueger.

The first two Yardsss releases, the Foma EP (2013) and Granfalloons EP (2016) were masterpieces of sonic effluvium, walking the fine line between abrasive noise and gorgeous, sometimes cacophonous melody inviting comparisons to Swans, Glenn Branca, White Suns and Godspeed Y!BE. Later efforts like the collaborative 333 (2016) and musical stream-of-consciousness Epithets (2017) explore conceptual themes of text as well as lineup. With the newly solidified delineation of Yardsss’ varying entities, Krueger and interlopers are free to expand upon ideas as they arise without fear of confusing fans.

Krueger is best known for his work with Southerly, whose 2007 debut Storyteller and the Gossip Columnist was met to national critical acclaim. His collective-run label, SELF Group, began a major relaunching in late 2015, with new releases from like-minded outfits Southerly, Mothertapes, King Who, C^VES, Swansea, Scriptures, and more.

Cultus will be available on September 11, 2020 via SELF Group. Pre-orders are available HERE.

On The Web:
selfgroup.org/yardsss

facebook.com/Yardsss

twitter.com/Yardsss

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[Thanks to Dave at US / Them Group.]

Review: Spun Out – Touch the Sound

If I had to pick one word to describe Spun Out‘s debut album, Touch the Sound, it might be “lush.”

Formed by former members of Chicago indie rockers NE-HI, Spun Out (the main trio being Alex Otake, James Weir, and Mikey Wells) are more of a musical community than a band. Spun Out is all about collaboration with friends and colleagues, or, as they describe it, “…a revolving door for our friends to come in and work with us.”

It produces great results. Opener “Another House” builds to a great mix of shoegaze and psych. “Such Are the Lonely” has power pop bounce but doesn’t lose its shoegaze roots, and that brief saxophone solo by Kevin Jacobi is a cool way to end it and leave you wanting more. Thankfully, Sean Page‘s keyboard work on “Dark Room,” backed with a wicked beat that Chicago hip hop DJ’s are probably sampling even now, more than satisfies.

The acoustic guitar chords of “Running It Backwards” bring early tracks by The Fall and The Church to mind. “Antioch” walks along the edge of synthwave at the beginning and then takes the plunge into a pool of lovely dream pop that instantly mellows you. “Off the Vine” brings in funky bass and keyboards to produce dance-psych (Did Spun Out just create a new genre?). “Don’t Act Down” implores us to rise above chaos and drama and not succumb to such distractions from the journey inward amid its groovy beats.

Speaking of groovy beats (full drum kit and plenty of hand percussion, I think I even heard a triangle in there), the opening ones on “Pretender” will get your toes tapping. “Cruel and Unusual” is as lovely as a warm breeze drifting across a Chicago balcony in late summer when either baseball team in town is doing well in their division’s standing. The closer, “Plastic Comet,” starts out with a tribute to Bob Dylan and “Knocking on Heaven’s Door” with its lyrics and then it melts into lava lamp psychedelia.

It’s a lush record that is suitable for lounging on the couch, the balcony, the beach, or the park…or the dance floor. A surprising number of songs on Touch the Sound will get you moving. It’s a good debut and a successful experiment that bodes well for future records.

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[Thanks to Jacob at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Review: Remington Super 60 – New EP

Christopher Schou of the Norwegian dream pop band Remington Super 60 recently asked me to check out his band, which he described as being “inspired by everything from the Beach Boys to New Order with a little dash of Stereolab
and Velvet Underground in the middle.” How could I pass that up? I decided to check out their cheekily-named record, New EP.

It turned out to be a smart decision because it’s a lovely record. The opening track, “The Highway Again,” has those Velvet Underground synths and driving-around-at-3am drums that are always perfect for such endeavors. “I Don’t Wanna Wait” is perfect dream pop with subtle, sexy vocals from Elisabeth Thorsen. The psychedelic-tinged guitars of “Fake Crush” provide a bit of a hedonistic backdrop to lyrics about lust and erotic confusion.

The perfectly named “Tropical Drone Pop” is ideal for that space station Tiki bar you’ve been designing in your head since you began reading rediscovered issues of Omni magazine. “Dreaming of Summer” puts Schou’s love of The Beach Boys on full display with Thorsen’s vocal styling, mellow southern California guitar, and hypnotic synths. The closer, “Dina Hender” (“Your Hands”), pops and bubbles like a happy robot toddler.

Remington Super 60 plan for another record to be released this autumn, and having a record as bright and lovely as New EP land in the time of falling leaves, pumpkin spice, and further COVID-19 blues seems like a great idea. I’m eager to hear it.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Jess Cornelius – Distance

The first thing that strikes you about Jess Cornelius, of course, is her haunting voice. It’s right up there with the vocal chops of Erika Wennerstrom and the honesty of Patsy Cline.

Her new album, Distance, starts out with the powerful “Kitchen Floor” – a song about getting up and moving on after a one night stand (which, I suspect, is both a literal tale and a metaphor for moving forward when things are tough, even if that walk from the bedroom and out the front door feels like a marathon) and then finding a lover who isn’t so easy to leave. The groove on it is empowering. “No Difference” is a song summed up by the Zen proverb “Let go or be dragged.” Cornelius sings, “If it’s gone, it’s gone. You gotta keep on doing without it, and one day it’ll feel like none of this was real.” Tony Buchen‘s keyboard work on the track is excellent.

Cornelius gets real and raw on the electro-poppy “Body Memory” – a song about the loss of a child and how the loss left her unsure of everything. The country-tinged “Easy for No One” has Cornelius realizing that living in the past is a treacherous game (“I keep wasting my time on other things, like thinking of the past and all the other lives I could’ve lived instead.”). She gets real about lust and hot sex on “Here Goes Nothing” (and Buchen lays down a cool bass groove) with lyrics like “…nothing kills lust like real life.” and “…you know that we won’t want each other if we could actually be lovers.”

The subtle “Born Again” pulls the veil back on Cornelius’ feelings of isolation as a younger woman (“Have you ever wanted to be loved so bad, and not by a person who could love you back, and not by a person at all, but by the world?”). The addition of Mary Lattimore‘s harp is a beautiful touch. “Palm Tress” drifts from an alt-country sound to shimmering Southern California shoegaze thanks to Michael Rosen‘s keys and Cornelius’ guitar work.

“Banging My Head” would’ve been a massive hit were it released in the mid-90’s era of Liz Phair, as it’s full of self-anger (about returning back to old behaviors and bad relationships) and big, bold chords and softer verses, not unlike a Pixies track. “Street Haunting” has a neat, rolling groove that weaves throughout it without beating you over the head. The closer “Love and Low Self-Esteem” has Cornelius finding the strength to talk about being jilted, but also knowing that she still has some longing for her ex (“I just don’t care at all, that’s what I’m gonna say to you when it is true, when I no longer need a single thing from you.”).

The title of Distance covers a lot of ground. It’s easy in this time of COVID-19 to apply it to all of us distancing from each other, and even members of our own families. It can refer to the distance Cornelius feels in her heart toward ex-lovers, her current beau, and herself at different stages of her life. It can refer to the physical distance between her English homeland and California, to the passage of time, the healing of wounds, and probably a dozen other things. The album is a look into Cornelius’ heart, but at arm’s length. She’s not going to let just anybody in there, but she is willing to share her stories and encourage us to look into our own hearts. Bridging that gap in ourselves will eventually let us bridge the gaps we’ve built between others.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Jaycee at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Review: Kestrels – Dream or Don’t Dream

The first thing you notice about Kestrels‘ new album, Dream or Don’t Dream, is the wall of guitar that smacks you in the face and then the soft vocals of guitarist / singer Chad Peck. It’s a powerful one-two combination, but in reverse – like a boxer whacking you with the cross and then fading out with the jab.

This is apparent in the opening track, “Vanishing Point,” which flows back and forth between roars and whispers. The equally heavy “Grey and Blue” includes some frantic drumming from Michael Catano and a guitar solo by none other than J. Mascis (who, of course, shreds it).

“I wanna be where you are. Could I find you there?” Peck asks on “It’s a Secret” – a rocking song about unrequited love that wouldn’t be out of place on a Matthew Sweet album. “Don’t Dream” crashes like surf waves and then bursts back into heavy guitar chords that remind me of Hum tracks. “A Way Out” has some of Catano’s snappiest drumming and I love how it’s on equal footing with Peck’s impressive guitar work throughout the track.

The raw fuzz of “Everything Is New” mimics the energy Peck probably felt while constructing the album after his original backing band split up in 2016. “Dalloway” has a cool, deep bass groove throughout it that mixes well with straight-up shoegaze guitars. “Keep it close from the start. Watch it all come apart,” Peck sings on “Keep It Close” – a song about how fast things can dissolve, and how to recover from such a thing. “Feels Like the End” has some neat chops from Catano that zig and zag around Peck’s shredding. “Lost in the thought again, feeling like it’s all going to end,” Peck sings on the closing track, “Say Less.” It builds to a crescendo and then pulls the rug out from under you to drop you into a psychedelic rabbit hole that leads to another tunnel of fuzzy distortion that takes you to Peck’s biggest and best solo on the record. It’s a hell of an ending.

Dream or Don’t Dream is a nice bit of shoegaze and dream pop that gets in your head with solid grooves and blistering guitar solos.

Keep your mind open.

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