Anthony (guitar/vocals), Grant (guitar), Jacob (bass) and Sean (drums) are Broom. The band from Wisconsin released their debut Swept Under. They mention: “Swept Under at first sounds light and playful using catchy choruses and creative drones to capture the listener into a trance like state. When you take a deeper dive into Swept Under darker themes appear. It depicts using addiction to cope with depression and anxieties.”
I don’t know if I ever felt like any of this sounded light and playful. To my ears even upon first listen it seems to have an undercurrent frustration and anger not unlike a band like Car Seat Headrest. “Keep Me Updated” is a fine song. It reminded me of Les Savy Fav which was a band I loved back in my college days about twenty years ago. I loved the grooves throughout. The vocals hide in the background and I couldn’t make out a single word. “Chords” has a ’90s alternative quality mixed with a smidge of post-punk while “I’ll Call You Up” is atmospheric and motivational at points. The band continues with “Vex” which contains a badass groove. “Catching Up,” “Wild Wild” and “Midwest Charm” continue to build a loose foundation for the band. The highlight might be the fuzzy and catchy title track “Swept Under.” They close with “Fever” which slowly dissipates and fades out. The recordings were lo-fi home recordings. For this type of music it shouldn’t be a glossy pop production but you should still be able to sort of feel the intensity of the band. I’d love to hear a step up in this area next time around because these are visceral songs with a good amount of emotion. Overall, I thought this was a solid album with some really good songwriting and delivery. I look forward to hearing more from the band.
0 Comments
Side Thing is an indie rock band based in Rockford, IL. It’s Safe is their second album, an eight-track collection that readily implements synths, live drums, electronic riffs\ and fuzzy guitars to make a hazy shoegaze, new wave and synthpop concoction. A departure from their more “dreampoppy” first album, It’s Safe comes across edgier, more in your face with a harsher sounding vibe. Having dealt with a pretty severe trauma the past year, the band turned to their music to come to terms with what they had to face and what comes across can be very cathartic and purging. Packed with synths, keys and distortion, a bit of the darkness mentioned previously can definitely be heard in their sound. Though the darkness is not that heavy-handed, it can nevertheless be detected in the somber sounding vocals and lyrics. Sometimes this makes way for a touch of melancholy as the soft vocals reflect on a dash of introspection that can be very thought-provoking. ‘It’s safe’ seems to be a sort of a mantra the band keeps telling us through the album, but on the edge of this chant lies the precipice of danger. The album title is like a premonition of what is to come, something we secretly tell ourselves as we face the storm. The band incorporates the damage and brokenness seen in our lives, as they piece together the darkness found in us all.
It’s Safe begins with “A New Ideology” that is powered by synths. The track has a very retro and new wave vibe to it. The buzzing of distorted guitars adds to this sound. The female vocals are smoothly executed. The drumming beats keep a riveting pace to this song. Warbling synths sound out on “Payment Declined.” Oscillating in and out of this track, the fast-paced beats are driven and rhythmic. Dissonant vocals sound out here. At times euphoric and shimmering, the distorted vocals reminded me at moments of Bjork. Sounding really atmospheric, synths and drumming beats sound off on “Try 32.” This felt like a mix between dance and shoegaze, making for a unique sound. Guitar riffs on this song leans into an indie rock vibe. The female vocals here are echo-y and sound cavernous. Drums and synths make for a rush of colors and sounds on “On My Way Home.” The cacophony of noises is very enticing. Once the echo-y vocals enter, the track grows more dynamic in sound. Shooting synths flare up on “Advanced Disposal” to give a very chiptune video game vibe. The retro instances are very prevalent here. More guitars and drumming beats sound out here. Some subdued male background vocals make an appearance here. As the female lead vocals comes in, the swirling music builds tonally, growing in sound. On “A Foundling,” synths makes for a very welcoming and inviting sound. A dreamy synthwave pop concoction, the waves of sound are very moving. On “The Source,” synths and electronic music makes for a very ear-pleasing sound. As the drumming gains in traction, the song also builds in momentum. The band really reminds me of groups like Beach House and Mazzy Star. I think they do a good job of mixing their retro styles with modern bearings. Heavily based around synths gave this recording a very retro-styled approach that felt very '80s-inspired in the new wave vein. A home recording, the lo-fi-ness of this album seemed to add a rawness to the record that gave it a bona fide bedroom pop vibe. While their sound is definitely heavier on this album, also prominent is their dreampoppy appeal. This proved to be a good follow-up that showed a different side to the band. I look forward to seeing the band exploring more music that makes up their vision.
Canadians Ben McGrath and Brooke Gallup started a long-distance musical relationship to create Atlatl and their eponymous debut EP Atlatl. How long is long-distance? About 2500km. For our American readers, that’s over 1500mi. McGrath is up in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, and Gallup is down in Vancouver. To get started, they met for a few in-person writing sessions. After that, Atlatl was created through the magic of remote recording and file-sharing.
The result is five tracks of what they describe as “lush indie pop.” Yes, but it’s more than that, as they touch a number of various styles over the fifteen minutes of music. The opener “Everywhere We Go” has a ‘60s garage-rock feel to it with its chorus-drenched open-string guitar chords and single-note electric leads. “Forest Fire Haze” uses synths and a flanged guitar to evoke its title. The thunder in “Yukon Thunder” comes from the tom-tom pattern and layered-in congas, taking a Latin-fusion turn. Atlatl gives us a bit of reggae on “I Love You, But…” with shades of English Beat, David Bowie and the Police (and a cool electric-sitar-like synth line). It’s a nice variety, generally held together well with the layered vocals. Lyrically, they write about everyday life and happenings in their homes, such as the vastness of northern Canada (“Yukon Thunder”) and the seemingly annual forest fires (“Forest Fire Haze”). “Time Please” takes a page from Cat Stevens’ “Cat’s In The Cradle:” “A kid of each leg as I’m trying to leave / I’m late for work again / We’ll play when I get home.” Although he’s more in touch than the father a half-century earlier, their themes are readily relatable. There’s a lot going on in these tracks, as McGrath and Gallup have layered on various interesting parts as they file-shared. That makes mixing and mastering a challenge, and Atlatl falls short a bit in that department. Certain parts were overwhelmed (for instance, the vocal hook in “I Love You, But…”), and the drums often sounded too soft and narrow in the mix (except on “I Love You, But…” where they blow everything away). An outside set of ears might help with these technical issues. I’d love to hear these songs re-mixed and re-mastered. That said, it’s pretty amazing what this long-distance collaboration has been able to produce. I hope they will continue to work together to generate more of these interesting, well-written tracks.
Singer/songwriter/guitarist Rob Quo grew up in rural England, and now lives and works as a folk/blues musician in London. He’s collected a set of five songs for his December 2020 EP release Rule of Three.
Rule of Three was recorded as a trio. Quo played acoustic guitar and sang. Sam Crooks played double bass with Gus White on drums. Crooks and White both helped out with backing vocals. White covered the engineering, production and mixing as well. Quo proudly states that it was “three days in the studio with one set-up and all tunes tracked live.” He should be proud--they’ve captured a sound that is present. With this instrumentation, the sound is not in-your-face, the record makes you feel like they’re right in your room, channeling the emotion of the songs just for your ears. “To Be Easy” kicks off the set. It’s an uptempo, folky number that cooks right along. There’s great interplay between Quo’s guitar and Crooks’ melodic bass with White’s drums filling the space out nicely. The sound is full and vibrant, and all from an unamplified three-piece. Producers, take note! You don’t need that seventh synth-and-shaker overdub to make your track sound full. Just get yourself some good players, record them correctly and mix it right, as they’ve done here. The choice to record live really shines, too, as the band reins the tempo in and later picks it back up naturally. And that’s only the first cut. “Ain’t It Sad” takes a slight country turn, as White breaks out his brushes for the snare pattern and Crooks lays down some nice bits of walking bass. Up top, they feature tight three-part vocal harmonie with a hint of George Harrison on the chorus. That’s two winners right off the bat for Quo and team. The other full-band tune “Keep Your Distance” is similarly well-done. The other two cuts feature less instrumentation. “Now You Know” is just Quo and Crooks. Crooks’ playing style incorporates enough rhythmic thump (and the occasional string buzz) to cover the needed percussion. On the instrumental outro, Quo also takes a more rhythmic approach to his guitar playing, which was very well done and sounded terrific in conjunction with Crooks’ lines. The final track “Four Seasons” is a solo ballad for Quo. He sings “we like to think of four seasons / for every lap around the sun / but recently I’ve lost my bearing / it’s like four seasons blurring to one.” The immediacy of the recording is just perfect: you can hear his fingers on the fretboard, and the rustle of the chair as he moves with the music. The notes aren’t all perfect and polished; instead, he’s sitting right here, and exposing this raw truth just for you. Wow. Rule of Three is the first of several five-song sets that Quo has planned. The stripped-back, roots-y vibe worked great for this round of material. I look forward to hearing what he brings for the next set.
From Kitchener, Ontario comes Vulcan Nightclub, a four-piece band whose love for experimental jamming brought them together just as Covid-19 was beginning to tear apart Ontario’s live music scene. In response to the pandemic-induced deficit in live club music and in-person audience experiences, Vulcan Nightclub opted to “bring the club to your living room,” inviting audiences near and far to tune in during weekly livestream improv jam sessions. The band’s debut release Anthropomorphize is a three-track 30-minute album born of improvisation that is part prog-rock fused with groove music, and part indie jam-band.
Vulcan Nightclub is comprised of four members: Luke Cyrus Hunter (keys), Russell Jennison (bass), Ryan Dugal (drums) and Joel Morelli (guitar). Each member of the band has experience as a recording artist; three quarters of the band are music teachers; and two studied Jazz at Humber College in Toronto. Spontaneity, along with four individual sources of music inspiration, are the driving forces behind Vulcan Nightclub (the name, a nod to Star Trek, comes from the notion that a bright future can be born of times of strife). Anthropomorphize was self recorded, self-mixed and self-mastered, and ultimately released under Groove Step Records, a small independent label that currently represents only Vulcan Nightclub and Luke Cyrus Hunter. After abandoning their original plan to spend 2020 touring and creating music on the fly while performing, the members of Vulcan Nightclub had to switch gears for their music production technique and create their original works for audiences to enjoy from within their homes. As an “improv groove party band,” Vulcan Nightclub is no stranger to creating original material on a weekly basis, that forces the band to exist within the moment as it creates spontaneous and ephemeral compositions. The members of the band approach their sound by collaboratively riffing off a theme, groove or time signature, navigating the creation of each song in real time in front of an audience while performing. As performing this ritual in the same room as its audience ceased to be an option, the band began to stream weekly live jam sessions that used its music to reconnect to its audience. Despite the atmospheric curveball of physical disconnection from its listeners, the band has no shortage of energy, bringing all the adrenaline of a live club performance to its weekly forty-minute livestreams. The resulting product Anthropomorphize is an energy-infused tapestry of instrumental conversation, complete with catchy bass-lines, groovy keys and drums that propel its three tracks forward, into the next sound, and the next. The final track of Anthropomorphize “Lore’s Lament,” remains true to the band’s music-creating approach, as it is a seven-minute first-take live recording that reveals the journey of the band’s organic jam practice. The energy between the individual musicians can be felt even through MP3 format, and as the recording progresses, the band materializes to the listeners, filling the various spaces from which they are tuning in. To virtual audiences it is apparent that these are musicians who enjoy playing together, and clearly have comfortable experience creating with one another. The ethos of Vulcan Nightclub emphasizes communication through music, and the band’s creations seem to reveal a common vernacular spoken amongst its members, and if you happen to be tuning in to a live set, you might just start to learn to understand its language.
Zhivko Vasilev is a popular Bulgarian kaval player. He is well known for his experiments with the kaval and the constant seeking for unexplored paths in music. His recent release Places contains eleven songs and has a runtime of about fifty-three minutes.
There’s a lot to this album and it's a bit hard to know where to begin. There’s so many different moods and flavors to the songs all of which contain exceptional musicianship. Take for instance the ominous and sparse “The Emigrant” which is thematic and felt a bit like music that would create tension in a movie. As the song progresses it begins it begins to solidify and energy begins to emerge. It’s jazzy and elegant. There’s some fantastic piano and drumming and overalls an impressive song. The sweeping “It’s Raining in 7” is action packed with sound. There’s so much movement. I was wanting someone to dance to the song. There are also a lot of different sections. Great stuff. Then you have the beautiful melancholy “Rotterdam Rooftop” which contains sweeping sad strings. Similar to the previous songs it felt thematic and then suddenly it shifts to midnight jazz that is absolutely serene and calming. That’s followed by “Transcendence” which just has exceptional playing. The piano in particular sounded incredible but really everyone sounded top notch. As the album progresses there’s so much more to appreciate. The woodwind on “Rachensita” which sounds like a flute and the cello on “Eight Sheep” are a master class on playing. One of the most beautiful songs and perhaps the most emotive song was “Sunrise with Zori.”This song in particular sounded spiritual. There are lots of interesting things happening all around this song from the synths to the strings. It’s also a very cinematic song. This is an album that contains amazing musicians and definitely one that benefits from appreciating the technical aspects. It’s musicians' music in a lot of ways but at the same time I hope everyone can appreciate this exceptional album. Highly recommended.
WRYT is a band from Washington D.C. that recently released a two-song self-titled EP WRYT. The songs are a mix between pop and rock.
The first song “Ivory Tower” starts with strummed major and minor chords and vocals. Drums and other instrumentation comes in around thirty seconds.The vibe feels large like a song that could feel an arena. As the song progresses it gets more intense and feels like a single worthy song you might hear on the radio. The song does a good job building energy and eventually has nowhere else to go but down with guitar and vocals. There are no surprises as the song unfolds but it’s delivered well and it is a song that I can picture a lot of people singing in the shower. The melodies are familiar. Next up is “Milk & Honey” and it is more pensive, moody, cerebral and melancholy. The song begins with warm picked guitar, a straightforward beat and emotive vocals. A little before the two-minute mark the song gets some bass and drums and is definitely a killer groove. I especially enjoyed the bass work on this track which sounded really good against the guitar. Similar to the last song this song builds and builds like one big crescendo. I was a little surprised how epic the song tries to become around the four-minute mark. The production of these songs sounded great. All the instrumentation had clarity and I thought the use of compression was well implemented to control the dynamics of the song. These songs felt like a solid introduction to the artist. The vibe felt more pop oriented and I thought the artist did a good job at making accessible songs that a broad demographic might appreciate. Overall, this was a solid two-song release and I look forward to hearing where the artist goes from here.
Artemis Aether is a mysterious Australian collective that has just released their debut album entitled Leaver. A fully-integrated “dark indie” concept album, Leaver is meant to be heard as a whole, and is intimately connected with striking, three dimensional gallery-level artwork and conceptual stories.
In a nutshell, the name Artemis Aether refers to “…a mask moving fatalistically from character to character, seeing the world a little skewed from each set of eyes. The album traces the arc of Artemis's search for meaning and redemption through the many faces that are found.” The group describes this work as “erratic yet interconnected, sombre yet soothing.” The album was recorded in several locations around Melbourne using Ableton, Logic and Pro Tools, and was mastered by Peter Linanne at Patch Hill Mastering in Massachusetts. That’s about all for credits, which pains me as a reviewer because there’s so much here to appreciate and I’d love to heap the praise on somebody! But I respect Aether’s conceptual anonymity and will approach their project in that spirit. In general, this music is heavy with electronic keyboards and somber beats. The lead vocals recall Imagine Dragons, while the lush background voices have the eerie quality of the moodier Radiohead songs. “When You Return” is a “weighted reverie” constructed from bits of piano samples played forward and backward, anchored by electronic beats and short percussive sound effects. It’s dramatic and beautiful and difficult to describe. The vocals swell for the big climax: “Laid my flaws beneath you / Waited for the storm / Gave my word to leave you / Better than before / When you return here to me.” This track flows directly into “An Insubstantial Creature,” a short spoken-word coda about jellyfish. Moving into a short song section, the background vocals multiply and break off into tiny, gorgeous gems of sound. “Half” continues similar themes and beats from the first two tracks with subtle variations. The interplay between the male and female voices recalls Of Monsters And Men; the track builds inexorably, finally exploding in a supernova of vocals, electric guitar and strings. The next track “The Light” is stylistically more of quiet, lovely piano coda than a new composition. “Fold The Fires First” is melodically exciting but is perhaps too dependent on studio tricks such as reverse echo and sampling, calling attention to the more artificial aspects of this music (the band itself calls this song “bombastic electro”). This is a personal preference and your mileage may vary. However I was gladdened by the sweet, gentle piano melodies of “Brittle Bones” which feels like the best songs of Imagine Dragons. I really love the orchestral string samples played pizzicato here. “Help Me Rest” appropriately slows down the tempo for a more contemplative vibe. There’s some French spoken word that I made the effort to translate: hilariously, it’s the lyrics to Neil Young’s “Heart Of Gold”! The mellow feel continues with “If Only All” with lazy handclap percussion and sparkling keyboard samples; the synthetic horns reminded me of The Weakerthans’ melodic ennui, and some of the keyboard fragments are like dreams of Vegas slot machines. This song is dramatic enough to feel like the capper, but “Let It Breathe” ends the collection for a bit of “spiritual solace.” The beat is constructed from multiple stutter-y samples behind some of the most gentle vocals on the album. Although it feels a bit overly constructed at times, I thought this was a great conceptual piece that plays through with consistent themes and sounds, beautiful melodies and fine musicianship. But really… who ARE you?
Wax Romantics is an alternative duo from Denver, Colorado, that released their debut EP Heart of Wax in March of 2020. The band consists of Collin Orr and Keaton Nalezny. Their follow-up, Nail Biter in Pinky Land, was released this February. Heart of Wax describes the story of a possessed romantic – a man infatuated with a woman and accompanied by a musical score that combines the shimmering lushness of Brit pop with the jangly quirkiness of Vampire Weekend. Nail Biter in Pinky Land takes on a much darker tone; both in the music itself and in the theme of the songs. Taken from an episode of Spongebob Squarepants, the band interpreted it to mean a troubling figure or bad entity (to actually have a ‘Nail Biter in a land of Pinkies’ would be devastating) and that's what the EP explores: the presence of an ominous figure.
The first track “Come Down” starts off with a very imaginative, raw sound with blaring guitar sounds and a tribal beat. The rock vibe breaks in and things start ramping up in a ‘80s new wave/goth/alternative kind of way – think Love and Rockets, INXS – maybe a little of The Church in there, too. Next up is “I Love U” and it’s quite danceable with its quirky pop rock style. The bass melody is fantastic, not to mention the surf punk sound of the guitar. If you were familiar with a short young cultural movement in Britain called “The New Romantics” (which happened during the early years of the 1980s), this duo’s music reminds me of that time – when the waning years of punk met up with the alternative freshness of new wave. I think I am having flashbacks! Moving on to “No Distance Left 2 Run” which features a low end, rumbling sound and a repeating guitar riff. I love the effects they used on the bass and guitar – those warm tunes are just lovely. “Something Like Angels” switches into an electronic “Nine Inch Nails goes back in time to meet Devo and/or Kraftwerk” sort of way. If you like early digital sounds, mixed in with a little modern house EDM and a few surprises that sound like the classic “Centipede” arcade game – you’re in for a treat! “In Shangri-La” sounds like a page right from Daniel Ash’s notebook or Robert Smith’s (or name your ‘80s, dark soul front man) – but I thought this song had something more than just direct throwback music references. It was in the change up during the song’s bridge and chorus parts. It seems like the band threw in some '60s pop styles, perhaps even psychedelic. Overall, an awesome track – the drums were the best. Last, there is “Fall Time” a song that just tears into you with its loud, grinding guitar riffs – very glam ‘70s – and a slinking, sultry bass/drum groove, reminiscent of T. Rex. This one was worthy of turning up just for the solo guitar parts alone. Sonically, that band states their EP aims to match the same palette as Heart of Wax but it’s cast with a darker veil. (I would agree – there is a darkness about it.) This latest release features distorted guitars more prominently, the beats sound more industrial and there is more of a minimalism to the songs and production. However, even with this darker vibe, the tracks do not lose the danceability and listenability that is so prevalent on their first recording. If you like music that’s dark but danceable, electronic with an edge that gives props to new wave styles of the early ‘80s, the Wax Romantics might be your thing.
Levi Larsen is a 20-something songwriter and multi-instrumentalist based in the windy capital of Wellington, New Zealand. Larsen played in bands throughout high school, but decided to drop out of performance music at university to pursue becoming a lawyer. Even though this meant music was left on the back burner as life happened, music has been a way to deal with various obstacles. The past few months have been a rewarding time period while Larsen as a solo act got the chance to explore artistic creativity. A talented musician, Larsen plays guitar, bass, keys, banjo, ukulele, bagpipes, trumpet and saxophone, and a lot of these instruments can be heard The Ghost Town EP. Larsen doesn’t just make acoustic music but incorporates instances of folk, blues, old jazz, grunge, punk, ska and pop, making for a very diverse and eclectic listen. Larsen’s latest EP mixes elements of folk, rock and acoustic.
The Ghost Town EP right away starts out with “Closed Caption,” where some drumming beats and the guitar settles in. Gradually, with the inclusion of vocals, the track embraces a warmer sound. This felt like a great acoustic song with tons of happening singer/songwriter vibes. Eventually the vocals become more driven with amped emotions. The way Larsen shouts out the vocals reminded me of Glen Hansard in many ways. The heightened emotions effectively add momentum to this track. The sound of the saloon-style piano incorporates a startling vibe to “Take It To The Grave.” The vocals are executed with a hushed sensibility in a kind of near-whisper. The piano becomes more haunting going for a horror-themed movie feel. The vocals soon become more amped up, packed with antics and characteristics and the singing was big, outlandish and over-the-top sounding. Inspired by a jaunt through the cemetery one night is according to the artist about “reclaiming the night and your right to exist without fear of harm from others.” On “Long Ago,” the sounds of the banjo lean onto a country-bent, Americana feel. The piano adds a touch of melancholy to the vibes. This felt like a resonating acoustic ballad with loads of mood and feeling. “I Ran” is a more straightforward rock piece. The drums in the backdrop make for some compelling rhythms. The reverb-drenched guitar riffs and gnarly vocals make for a raw and uncompromising sound. This is the least polished track on the album, but one that will probably resonate the most with listeners. On the title track “Ghost Town,” drums and percussions sizzle in the backdrop of this piece. Gradually overdubbed vocals add a distinctive layer to the vocal harmonies. The beats have a poppy vibe to it that made it one of the more accessible songs on this EP. Larsen mixes a wealth of experiences to give a very personal and intimate look on the album. The tracks all have an immediacy to them that gives you a kind of cathartic release. Larsen’s timbre, which is a mix between baritone and a tenor, is often sung in a straightforward manner which sometimes changes frequency with more emotional emphasis. This gives a heightened effect that is reminiscent of Glen Hansard and The Civil Wars. This is a great debut and I look forward to seeing what new things will emerge from this burgeoning artist. |
Critique/insightWe are dedicated to informing the public about the different types of independent music that is available for your listening pleasure as well as giving the artist a professional critique from a seasoned music geek. We critique a wide variety of niche genres like experimental, IDM, electronic, ambient, shoegaze and much more.
Are you one of our faithful visitors who enjoys our website? Like us on Facebook
Archives
May 2024
|