In case you weren’t aware, Cincinnati has a growing underground synth scene, and The Serfs (Dakota Carlyle, Andie Luman, and Dylan McCartney) might be leading it if their new album, Half Eaten By Dogs, has anything to say about it.
Opening track “Order Imposing Sentence” has the band chanting / singing, “I can’t remember anything.” at one point as hot grease fire synths burn up everything around them. “Cheap Chrome” thumps with old racing video game beats. “Suspension Bridge Collapse” has echoing vocals that are difficult to decipher, but I think that’s the point, and the synths sound like they were pulled out of a burning garage and played while partially melted.
“Beat Me Down” has guitar rock riffs that simultaneously remind me of early Rolling Stones and The Go-Go’s. The haunting saxophone (by Eric Dietrich) on “Spectral Analysis” almost makes it sound like you’re listening to two different records (one goth-synth, the other 1980s Japanese city pop) at the same time.
“Club Deuce” is your new favorite goth dance club track, complete with frottage-inducing synth-bass and sexy vocals that practically light your clove cigarette for you. The harmonica on “Electric Like an Eel” is something The The might’ve done if they’d gone more industrial. I love the mix of electronic percussion and keyboards on this track, and the bass on it is a trippy hum.
“Ending of the Stream” brings The Velvet Underground and The Vacant Lots immediately to mind with its tribal drumming and vocals that sound like they’re sung by someone who just emerged from a sweat lodge. The bass riff on “The Dice Man Will Come” is as intriguing as the song’s title. Who is the Dice Man? I doubt it’s an Andrew “Dice” Clay reference. Or are The Serfs saying that mankind will become dice, being cast about for random purposes and producing random results? It’s probably something like that. It’s difficult to figure out while you’re mesmerized by the twitchy guitars and shimmering synths. The liner notes I received for this album described the closing track, “Mocking Laughter,” as sounding like “an end credits sequence.” I can’t put it better than that. It’s perfect. The synths, simple programmed beats, and echoing / fading vocals practically have The Serfs bowing as they walk backwards out of a room.
This is a solid record from beginning to end, and a welcome blast of coldwave perfect for the coming winter.
I don’t know what’s happening on the cover of CHAI‘s self-titled album, but it looks like they’re having a blast. My guess is that it’s them portraying their fans as they cheer on themselves at a rock show. CHAI are all about self-expression and being true to who you are, so why shouldn’t they love themselves? Isn’t that a goal we all want to achieve?
I’ve been a fan of CHAI since their debut album, and they only further cement my love for them by putting out a song called “MATCHA” (one of my favorite drinks) to start their newest record. It has the slip and slide of an R&B slow jam as they sing about drinking tea and taking time to enjoy it. “From 1992” has a delightful beat that probably inspires synchronized handclaps and dancing by their audience.
“PARA PARA” (a song about a popular dance in Japan) is a perfect mellow jam for summer pool parties or rollerblading along a beach. “I’m ready to rejoice,” they sing on “GAME” – a peppy dance track with synth-bass that sounds like it was pulled from a 16-bit video game. “We the Female!” is a bumpy, bouncy reminder to ladies everywhere that they rule the world. “Don’t try to be somebody,” they say. Again, stay true to yourself. “We the female. Just love us and listen.”
Yuna‘s drums on “NEO KAWAII, K?” could be dropped into any post-punk album or hip hop record. The song is the band’s philosophy of being cute and worthy of love in your own way, not according to others’ expectations or images of what “cute” is. The blippy, bloopy synths of “I Can’t Organizeeee” reflect the song’s title and the band’s (really, any band’s) hectic schedule. Likewise, “Driving22” is a fun song about something all bands experience – the frequent drudgery of getting from gig to gig without going mad from the boredom of all…that…driving.
Mana‘s synths on “LIKE, I NEED” start off in synthwave land and then move into synth-pop territory without missing a beat. “KARAOKE” closes the album with the band singing about how much fun it is to get goofy with your friends at a karaoke bar.
CHAI’s love of Japanese culture and being modern Japanese women is a running theme throughout the record, thus the self-titling of the album. It’s an album about them, but to which anyone in any country, or any sex or sexual identity, can relate.
Keep your mind open.
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That might be the easiest way to describe LSS‘ new EP, Hydrospatial. The duo of Edward Richards and JXTPS lay down hard-driving techno beats with touches of punk and garage rock here and there, resulting in a quintet of tracks that would easily glide into any DJ’s set and will find a permanent home on your new workout playlist.
“TNK” is straight from a rave aboard Deep Space 9’s holodeck rave with its futuristic, pulsing synths. “Fractual” pans and hums like a swarm of bees drifting above a party at a beachfront, but with more moonlight than sunlight. “Axion” has definite krautrock influences with its repetitive, almost hypnotizing beats.
The high-hat on “Factory” reminds you of a hissing steam engine (and there are steam-like synth hisses throughout it), while the bass is so bottom heavy it feels like it could break through your floor. The title track hums, bumps, throbs, and gristles in all the right spots, causing visions of floating in space, dancing with a bunch of fun, sweaty people in a small club, and running from monsters all at the same time.
To simply put it, trumpeter / composer / bandleader Matthew Halsall has created one of the most beautiful albums of the year with An Ever Changing View.
Combining jazz with spiritual music, world music, ambient electronica, and maybe a touch of synthwave, An EverChanging View drifts like a bird gliding over the waters of the album’s cover, or caresses you like wind through the grass on the album cover’s foreground. Halsall has described his writing process for the album as “hitting the reset button,” and “a real exploration of sound.” Both are accurate, because the album instantly resets you wherever you are and during whatever you’re doing. It’s also like finding an oasis or a garden or a library or a back room chill lounge when you need any of those things the most.
After a brief intro (“Tracing Nature”), the record gives you a nice hug and invites you to have a cup of tea and just forget about everything for the next eight minutes with “Water Street.” Harp, flute, trumpet, and hand percussion all meld in perfection. The title track clicks and snaps with late night jazz beats and Halsall’s trumpet echoing from some rooftop club where they have cool drinks and warm people.
Jasper Green‘s Rhodes organ on “Calder Shapes” is as smooth as melting wax and Matt Cliffe‘s alto sax is practically the voice of a jazz crooner. “Mountains, Trees and Seas” is instant stress relief, and, I dare say, perhaps the sexiest song on the whole album. I’m not saying the song will guarantee you’ll get laid, but it will certainly enhance the mood. Liviu Gheorghe‘s work on the Rhodes organ is superb throughout the whole track.
If you somehow need further resetting, “Field of Vision” is just over a minute of bird song and harp-like field recordings. “Jewels” might be the closest to a “dark jazz” (Is that even a thing? If not, Halsall might’ve invented it right here.). “Natural Movement” is a splendid, toe-tapping mix of Halsell’s trumpet, Sam Bell‘s congas, and harp work by Alice Roberts. Lastly, Chip Wickham‘s flute on “Triangles in the Sky” picks you up from the ground and Alan Taylor‘s simple, snappy, yet subtle beats carry you along as you stroll down the street about two inches off the pavement.
You need this record. Heck, everyone in this day and age needs this record. It soothes the soul. It’s probably going to be the most gifted music I buy for people this Christmas season.
Today,i’ve seen a way — the acclaimed debut from Manchester quartet Mandy, Indiana released via Fire Talk Records — was named one of Rough Trade’s Best Albums of 2023. In conjunction with today’s announcement, Mandy, Indiana present “Sheared (Pinking Shears Rework),” a clipping. remix of album standout “Pinking Shears.”
clipping.’s rework of “Pinking Shears” filters the politically charged track through a US lens. “The dream is all crooked cops, retail mark-up on basic goods, an ex-president getting away with treason,” raps Tony and GRAMMY Award winner Daveed Diggs. Rough Trade’s exclusive 12”features the clipping. remix alongside the original “Pinking Shears” and an instrumental version of the track.
Next month, Mandy, Indiana will bring their ”physically — yet brilliantly — overwhelming” (NME) live show to the US for their debut tour, featuring stops in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and a newly announced date in Chicago. Mandy, Indiana thrive in the unexpected, and their performances have become a vehicle to explore the boundaries of tension and release. A full list of dates are below and tickets are on sale now.
You know you’re onto something when Carlos Santana calls your album “a work of supreme creativity.”
That’s how he referred to Nevaris‘ album Reverberations – a great album of dub, trip-hop, and world beat music put together by percussionist / keyboardist Nevaris and a great lineup of musicians including producer / bassist / legend Bill Laswell, DJ Logic on turntables, Will Bernard and Matt Dickey on guitars, Lockatron on drums, and Peter Apfelbaum on horns and additional keys.
The album had me hooked within the first twenty seconds of its opening track, “Dub Sol.” The sexy horns, panning beats, and incense smoke bass lured me into an exotic desert tent where you are sorely tempted to stay the rest of your life. “Disruption” has some of the best horn arrangements on the record from Apfelbaum, and DJ Logic gets to strut his scratching stuff as well on the track.
Laswell’s excellent dub bass returns on “Ninth Sun,” which also percolates with plenty of weird, trippy effects created by him. “Remedy” could easily fit into a mystery film set in Jamaica, while “Interference” would slide easily into a Bond film soundtrack – particularly a scene in which Bond enters an exotic casino in order to set up a trade of valuable information and ends up in a dangerous situation that’s either going to get him killed or laid.
It’s only appropriate, then, that the following track is called “Safehouse,” and we can imagine Bond making it out of the casino in one-piece and kicking back with a lovely lady in a backroom lounge at a Kingston restaurant. The track instantly puts you in a calming place with synth effects and reverberated beats that slow you down and bring you some much-needed chill.
“Frequencia” thumps and bumps in all the right places, with DJ Logic’s subtle scratching mixing well with the hand percussion and Hammond organ riffs. The closer, “Lockatronic,” gives drummer Lockatron plenty of time to show you how he locks it down and puts the whole band in his back pocket. He absolutely snaps every beat.
I love experimental, almost ambient dub albums like this. It’s solid.
Chock-full of floor-filling beats and sexy grooves, Movement Remixesis a collection of eight tracks by Gimenö done by DJ and producer pals of his. It’s difficult to choose a favorite because they’re all good.
Vøsne‘s dub remix of “@cid” builds like the effects of something you took earlier but aren’t sure if it’s working. It is. It builds into a thumping, bumping, humping dance track. Vøsne also has a “regular” remix of the same track later on the EP that’s sexy and menacing at the same time. Reeko remixes “It’s my break” into something you’ll want to crank during your lunch break in the storeroom so you can drown out those Black Friday customers and your boss’ ridiculous demands…and then play the song for your boss so he / she / they can forget their stress for a little while.
The Hd Substance remix of “DT001” percolates for a bit to let you know you’re about to receive a hot, energizing brew. Avox25‘s remix of “Old Trib” buzzes and crackles with industrial touches and racing heartbeat rhythms. Jorge Ciccioli turns “Movement” into something you might hear at a haunted attraction next year. Klint‘s remix of “Day One” is something you might hear at an underground club that features both dancing and bare-knuckle boxing.
Edgar De Ramon piles on the electro-cymbals and hi-hats on his remix of “Ports.” The last cut is, appropriately, RE-ST‘s remix of “Finale.” It doesn’t send you out on a mellow note, however. It keeps you dancing, reminding you of the energy this record’s given you, and tempting you to just play the thing on a loop for an hour or more.
There isn’t a bad mix on here. Don’t miss it.
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oday, Egghunt Records releases “Teardrops” (parts 1 and 2), the new single from Rubblebucket. FLOOD has the premiere here, saying that “‘Teardrops’ is a rare duet from the band, with Tōth singing lead over the main riff while Traver sings harmonies in response.”
Just two months ago, Rubblebucket released “Abbreviation (Earth Worship Remix),” a collaboration with Grammy Award winner Kimbra –– and now “Teardrops,” a mellow breath of fresh air and a sort of breadth-widening for these heroes of indie-dance-pop.
“Teardrops,” the new super groovy mid-tempo lounger from Rubblebucket is an anthem about crying out all the emotions. It represents a new direction for the band, who Rolling Stone has called “the indie rock Miami Sound Machine.” In contrast to much of their previous high-energy indie-pop work, “Teardrops” could be the perfect soundtrack for lazing on the sundeck and wistfully letting your feelings move through you (“Take me so deep I become the rain”). “Teardrops” is a rare duet from the band, with Tōth singing lead over the main riff while Kalmia Traver answers in response over a sea of 808s, synths, hazy rhythm guitars and Afrobeat horn arrangements. While mood and tempo may be slightly subdued, the hooks are are strong as ever, as Paste once put it, “catchy enough to ass-kick Katy Perry off the pop charts (in a just world).”
One of the most compelling groups on the scene since the early 2010s, Rubblebucket’s seeds were sown when Kalmia Traver and Alex Toth, the group’s front persons, co-writers and co-producers, first began a friendship as jazz students at the University of Vermont. Soon after, they formed Rubblebucket, using the project to delve into pop, funk, dance and psychedelia; performances have spanned Bonnaroo to Glastonbury to their self-curated Dream Picnic Festival, and they’ve collaborated with kindred genre-blenders including Arcade Fire and Scissor Sisters’ Jake Shears. Their latest full-length LP Earth Worship showcases intricately sparkling beats, hooky vocals, and irresistible melodic complexity—a celebration of togetherness, environmental curiosity, and the pleasure of doing what you love.
Kirin J Callinan; Australian artist, actor, writer, provocateur and musician releases “Eternally Hateful“ a super-charged, 80’s synth-pop track with repeated bold ambivalent lyrics. To accompany the video Callinan shares a medieval-inspired torturous music video – watch here. ‘Eternally Hateful’ is yet another taste off Callinan’s upcoming fourth full length LP titled If I Could Sing. The last four years new music from Callinan has been much speculated and mythical, but after some ambiguity and delay “Eternally Hateful” is here with more music on the way and arguably this is his finest work yet.
When asked about the new single “Eternally Hateful” Kirin says: “Musically, it could not be more simple. Three chords. A. E. B. IV-I-V. Over n over n over again, eternally. Hate, on the other hand, is a far more complex idea. Distressing, tbh. Destructive. Embarrassing. But no more so than Love. A resentful rage, a bitter overflow, a pointed supervex; forged from hurt, seeping from a seething heart, desperate to heal, by any means available, finding validity in anger, making sense of its pain, thin air turn to rage, some other type of cage. “You don’t know what love means anyway… Eternally Hateful! I hate you. I love you. And so on and so forth.””
This video directed by Isaac Brown and shot in France at Château de Sarzay, Ferme La Lande and Château de Crozant, is everything Kirin is, entertaining, provocative and creates a swirling train of thoughts of the juxtaposition of that love / hate game making it the perfect accompanying video for this single. Is there a cameo by Mac DeMarco? The video adds to the recurring phenomenon that is a Kirin J Callinan music video and strikes a fine balance between vision, vulnerability, complete and utter absurdity, pure pathos and unadulterated joy and have gone on to be cited as references and influences for countless others.
“What you’re about to witness is by far the most ambitious video project I’ve ever had the dis-ease, dis-comfort & dis-gust to have ever been involved with.” Kirin shares of the video. “It’s all entirely real. All of it. And it’s a miracle that I’m still here, alive today. Not only did the shooting of Eternally Hateful involve showing up to locations that none of us had ever been, to shoot things none of us had ever shot, without permission nor any other lawful, moral or divine right to do so (a scenario I have had more than some experience with before, to be perfectly honest); it was Isaac’s vision and the nature of this specific shoot ~ it’s scope, it’s impossibility, and it’s high potential for disaster &/or death ~ that was the most insane, most intoxicating & most appealing aspect of the idea to begin with. I hope you are as engaged and inspired watching this clip as I was ~ literally & figuratively ~ pushed, pulled & all round tortured making it.”
Isaac Brown adds: “I’ve always wanted to torture Kirin, so when there was an opportunity to do it for real, on camera, I was over the moon. “Kirin J Callinan’s performance is the heartbeat of our cinematic masterpiece. It’s a pulse of intensity and emotion that makes every scene come alive. This was a dream shoot if your dreams are like mine – cloaked devils with goat heads tying you up, slitting your throat and setting you on fire. People will love it. Singing, dancing, and some questionable swordplay. There is something for everybody”
If I Could Sing, Kirin’s fourth full length body of work will be released via a new signing deal with Callinan’s own record label Worse Records and [PIAS]. “Kirin J Callinan is ecstatic to announce that WORSE Records and WORSE WORLD WIDE Industries Incorporated (“It can only get WORSE™) ~ in our second coming and new configuration since the label’s initial insemination and honest beginnings as the honorary off shoot of TERRIBLE RECORDS USA and the humble home away from home for Quebecois superstar Hubert Lenois, Australian icons JACK LADDER & The DREAMLANDERS, and the long forgotten, one hit wonderkids SECONDS FLAT ~ have now, with the wind in our sails and our sales though the roof, signed on for exclusive distribution with the world’s best distributor & unrivaled international music network, PIAS. Our debut collaboration with PIAS will indeed be the release o’ my, KIRIN J CALLINAN’S, long awaited & well overdue opus IF I COULD SING, with a slew o the worlds very WORSE artists to follow soon thereafter. I’m excited. Thank you for your patience. It only gets WORSE”.
To celebrate the release Kirin will be performing a one off special show in Perth at Mojo’s in Fremantle on December 2. Tickets will be going on sale today. For more information and tickets please visit this link here.
Kirin J Callinan, misunderstood by the masses but loved and revered by artists the world over and his niche, eclectic and growing fanbase alike, Kirin’s new work with “Eternally Hateful” is here and his much speculated fourth full length LP If I Could Sing is rumored to be released any minute now…
To say that Faithless‘ 1996 album, Sunday 8pm, was a monumental release at the time is a bit of an understatement. Everyone was clamoring for albums like this, for bands like Massive Attack and Portishead and, really, anything from the UK that sounded like those bands, and then Faithless comes along and proves that they weren’t a cookie cutter band in the molds of those other great bands, but one that had their own unique style that mixed ambient music, shoegaze, trip hop, dub, and, yes, spiritual music.
Consider Maxi Jazz‘s line of “Even sitting in the garden one can still get stung.” on “The Garden.” It’s a Zen reminder at the start of an album that will explore love, loss, loneliness, yearning, reunions, and separations. On “Bring My Family Back,” Jazz reminisces about working hard to get ahead and realizing, once he’s “made it” that he hasn’t really arrived at anything worthwhile. Again, more Zen.
Please check your pulse if the drums on “Hour of Need” don’t get you moving. It’s a delightful song about letting your lover know you’ll be there for them when they’re at their lowest. “Postcards” is an instant classic, with Jazz’s lyrics taken from postcards he sent home during the band’s U.S. tour. “Take the Long Way Home” isn’t a cover of the Supertramp classic (although that would be wild to hear), but rather a synth-laden dance floor classic with snappy hi-hat beats and sexy, thudding bass.
On “Why Go?”, the band sing about a lover who unexpectedly shows up and how it can be awkward to talk them into staying. Unlike, “She’s My Baby,” a wild song that has Jazz talking about his wild sex life with his gal. The only thing more sultry than the lyrics is the wicked beat throughout it. “God Is a DJ” was, and still is, another classic, with Faithless (rightfully) comparing raves and dance clubs to places of worship, fellowship, and healing. To further that symbolism, the next track is “Hem of His Garment” – which speaks of love as something to be worshipped and cherished. “Killer’s Lullaby” is another thumper, and the special edition of the album has a sharp remix by Nightmares on Wax to boot – as well as a Paul Van Dyk remix of “Bring My Family Back.”
Sunday 8pm is a classic of the mid-1990s house / rave scene that still sounds fresh today.
