Tag: premiere
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Track Premiere: Tyler Boone – “Jealousy”
Charleston singer-songwriter Tyler Boone and his band are driving home Boone’s departure from his previous pop-leaning sound with his new title track, “Jealousy,” the second single from his forthcoming EP. The single pulls no punches, packing harsh lyrics condemning a toxic, jealous relationship (not to mention a pretty killer guitar solo).
“This track was something I’ve been working on for quite awhile and after bringing it to the group in the studio for a live session, we finished writing it,” said Boone of the song. “We knew this was going to be one of our favorites.”
Recorded at Ocean Industries Studios in Charleston, SC and produced by Eric Rickert, “Jealousy” is out this Friday. The band will be releasing all five tracks as singles this summer and Jealousy will drop early this Fall. Stay tuned, and listen below to the premiere of “Jealousy.”
Writers – Tyler Boone, Eric Rickert, JR Spencer, George Baerreis
Engineer – Eric Rickert
Cover Art – Shannon Duke
Musicians:Drums, Percussion – Eric Rickert
Lead Vocals – Tyler Boone
Electric Guitars – Tyler Boone, JR Spencer
Keys – Ross Bogan
Bass – George Baerreis
Premiere + Track-by-Track: Reverie Rush – ‘Beginners EP’
Reverie Rush is the heart-wrenching bedroom pop solo project of Athens, GA-based multi-instrumentalist, Andy Barton. Written after moving from Athens to Atlanta and back again in the span of a year, Barton’s debut release, the Beginners EP, drops today (as in, right here, right now).
“I lived in the city for about a year or so to try and give Fake Flowers, the band I was playing in at the time, a shot,” said Barton of the EP. “It was a pretty rough period, with a break-up, a dead end job and the eventual (first) dissolution of Fake Flowers…at first, coming up with these songs was just a means to help process a lot of the sudden life changes I’d experienced, but it became clear pretty quickly that I had to put together a cohesive document of that period of my life, like my very being required it.”
The five-track EP was written by Barton and recorded with former Fake Flowers bandmates, Jake Chisenhall (Delorean Gray) and Freeman Leverett. Check out the premiere below, and scroll down for Barton’s track-by-track breakdown below!
“Taking On Water”
“Taking On Water” was actually the last track composed for the EP. The chord progression had been floating around since the early days of the project, but it wasn’t until we went to record that it received a full arrangement and really came together. From the get-go I knew the EP needed an instrumental intro, though. I had envisioned this sad, shoegaze-y score playing over an image of someone lost at sea, their little ship taking on water. Jake and Freeman really helped execute that with their additions to the arrangement, which we just kind of jammed out in just a few takes.
“Coming up for Air”
“Coming up for Air” channels, by far, the darkest themes and elements of the EP. It’s all about grief and guilt and letting your loved ones down. I felt like I’d reached an all-time low, and getting all these feelings out in song served as a much-needed moment of catharsis. Writing this song presented a moment of clarity, where I was able to completely acknowledge that I’d made some pretty big mistakes that put me in a dark place, but I could also just as easily work towards bettering myself, and by extension, bettering others — that I could come up for air.
“What Have We Become?”
“What Have We Become?” kind of came about after playing around with a lot of dreamy, jazzy major 7th chords that reminded me of Fake Flowers songs. I wanted a guitar-driven song on the EP, something really urgent to express how I felt after moving back to Athens and trying to start anew. I was really pleased with how we were able to incorporate all the different guitar tones I really like: there’s jangle, there’s fuzz, there’s some post-punk influence, there are some shoegaze elements.
“Out of Sight”
“Out of Sight” was probably the second to last song I wrote for the EP, and as such it definitely reflects a more serene, level-headed perspective, bordering bittersweet. The ballad of the record, I wanted to give it a kind of loungey/crooner vibe, especially in the chorus. Jake and Freeman were listening to a good bit of bossa nova at the time, so I think that rubbed off on me, here. Freeman’s Thundercat bass line in the outro is easily one of my favorite recordings on the EP; it was completely improvised and pulled off in just a few takes. He finished tracking it, and I just started busting out laughing; it was so good.
“Run Its Course”
“Run Its Course” is the song that’s the most special to me, as it was the first one I wrote for the project, and the first song that I really ever wrote to completion. Once I’d gotten the verses finished, I was acutely aware of how much of a caricatured sad guy I probably sounded like, so I wanted the chorus to acknowledge that and poke fun at my own mope in a tongue-in-cheek way. I didn’t really know how to end the song initially, but Jake was really instrumental in solidifying the arrangement for the outro. Writing and recording that vocal section with him was one of the most personally gratifying musical experiences I think I’ve ever had.
Video Premiere: Maitland – “Luna”
Philadelphia indie folk rock group Maitland follows up the June released of their debut full length Glimpse with the ethereal music video for track “Luna.”
“Although the song plays like a love song, ‘Luna’ has a bit of a deeper message, touching on the frailty of our environment and the world’s infatuation with endless consumption,” says the band of the video. “There are sort of three ‘mindsets’ that we were trying to convey through the video; one: vulnerability, suffocation, and the need to escape something, two: the dreamlike satisfaction of taking advantage of the world we live in, three: the search for something greater than the physical experience of life.”
Without the haunting yet beautiful imagery of video, the track itself expresses its message through artfully crafted poetic lyricism.
“Lyrically, the chorus is a mantra of sorts, chanting about a finite spring that everyone needs to drink from.,” says the band of the track. “Unless we only take what we need (and no more), we’ll run dry. As a few people search for a fleeting fulfillment, taking more than their share, others are left with the final drops. But there’s room for rebuilding, and it takes a village. These words also point at a holy spring. The source from which all life comes into being. This spring will never run dry and will always offer what is required in order to rebuild the individual, the community, and the world.”
Check out the premiere of “Luna” below.
For those in the Philly area on November 9, head over to Johnny Brenda‘s to catch the band live with Square Peg Round Hole and Abi Reimold.
Track Premiere: EL MAR – “Dreamcatcher”
Brooklyn singer-songwriter Joey Primero, under the moniker El Mar, is all set to release her debut full-length, Try To Forget, next Friday, August 11.
Self-defined as “mystic mermaid rock,” the album is a follow-up to her recently released The Road EP.
To give you a little taste of what Primero—along with a collective of musicians—has cooked up for us, we’ve got the exclusive premieres of “Dreamcatcher,” a track about lost love that shows off Primero’s vocal chops in a big way.
“‘Dreamcatcher’ was written on Cape Cod last summer,” said Primero of the track. “I wanted it to have a sense of urgency in order to capture that feeling of being frazzled or just unsettled in knowing things are coming to an end. And realizing that they were never meant to be.”
Frazzled or not, Primero has found her voice on this debut, and we’re already ready for more.
Be sure to catch El Mar at Rockwood Music Hall on August 26th—it’s a FREE show, so get your ass down there.
Video Premiere: Powerkompany – “Learning to Love”
Athens, GA-based dream-pop duo Powerkompany (Marie Davon and Andrew Heaton) are debuting their music video for their sexually frustrated (aren’t we all?) trip-fest “Learning to Love.”
“Every time I listened to the song, it pushed me into another world of excitement and frenzy,” said Davon of the track. “And that’s what I tried to create in the video, which was filmed and edited over the course of about six months of experimentation. The party scene was filmed by Ethan Payne with lighting help from Pascaldmx in the Fuel Hot Yoga studio with some of my favorite women in Athens: Moriah Piacente, Gracen Daniels, Sienna Chandler and Farida Gasser. The other scenes were filmed with help from Zelium who has a great little photography studio in the Chase Street warehouses. And like mixing ingredients and spices together to create a feast, I edited and messed with the footage, whipping it into the delirious experience that you see now.”
Watch the exclusive premiere of “Learning to Love” below.
Catch Powerkompany in Atlanta this Sunday July 30 at Dirty South Yoga Fest. You know that sounds awesome.
Track Premiere: The Majorleans – “Dancing With The Darkside”
The Majorleans are a New York-based lo-fi rock project led by singer-songwriter Nick Francis DiFonzo and guitarist Chris Buckle, with Christian Bongers on bass and Colin Brooks on drums.
Today, they’re debuting their titillating new single “Dancing With The Darkside.”
“I had originally written this song for the band Mother Feather, or with them in mind at least,” said DiFonzo, who typically channels organic, roots-based songwriting for The Majorleans. “They passed on it, and I realized that even though it was stylistically a bit different from our other stuff, that we had fun indulging some of the more rock-club, dancefloor vibes that we dig but aren’t a huge part of our sound. The lyrics just came in a whirl like they always do, and the chorus was certainly emboldened by the post-election malaise here in NYC last winter. I’m not a topical writer, but the sentiment seemed apt to the times.”
Check out the exclusive premiere of “Dancing With The Darkside” here!
New Yorkers, be sure to catch The Majorleans at Union Pool with the newly re-united Des Roar on August 20th. See you out there.
Track Premiere: Hidden Hospitals – “Smile And Wave”
Chicago pop rock trio Hidden Hospitals are dropping the newest single from their second full-length, LIARS, out later this year. “Smile And Wave” hits you where you live, with a climactic-scene-of-a-movie, hope-for-the-future, montage-of-the-past impact.
Or, as the band describes it, “Christmas meets summer crush and the facade of playing house.” So there you go.
Check out the premiere of “Smile And Wave” right here, and let it wash right over you.
Hidden Hospitals Tour Dates:
6/30 The Melody Inn – Indianapolis, IN
7/1 Beat Kitchen – Chicago, IL
7/6 Crofoot – Pontiac, MI
7/7 Skully’s – Columbus, OH
7/8 Smiling Moose – Pittsburgh, PA
7/9 Tralf Music Hall – Buffalo, NY
7/10 Bug Jar – Rochester, NY
7/12 The Range – Ithaca, NY
7/13 The Low Beat – Albany, NY
7/14 PA’s Lounge – Somerville, MA
7/16 The Space – Hamden, CT
7/17 Rockwood Music Hall – New York, NY
7/18 Cafe Nine – New Haven, CT
7/20 Maxwell’s – Hoboken, NJ
7/21 Milkboy – Philadelphia, PA
7/22 Gold Sounds – Brooklyn, NY
Song Premiere: Jo Harman – “No One Left To Blame”
Jo Harman is back with her signature bluesy style in her new single “No One Left To Blame.” The track marries her smooth vocal line with a rock-driven bite and leaves us even more excited to hear the rest of the album. People We Become will be Harman’s second studio album and drops on February 3rd. While her first record was released independently in 2013, this time she’s teamed up with Sands Foley Entertainment.
“‘No One Left To Blame’ is, like most of the songs I write, more about my relationship with myself than anything else,” Harman says. “People can take from it whatever they find in it—I’m not even sure I understand it completely yet. But I guess it comes from a place of self doubt, of self blame, of experiencing loss. The Nashville musicians did a fantastic job with this, and I especially love Pat Buchanan’s slide guitar playing. My friend Mike Ross back home had some incredible old vintage pedals from the ’70s which give us the sirens in the middle section—he ‘played’ those parts live, no samples or digital enhancements in sight. I think they add a perfect tension to an already rather dramatic track!”
The singer-songwriter hails from Southwest England, but made the trek to Nashville to make this record. With a producer like Fred Mollin (Billy Joel, Carly Simon, Joe Cocker) and a feature from The Doobie Brothers’ Michael McDonald, fans are sure to have their soulful cravings met. To get the full Harman effect, grab a seat at Joe’s Pub in New York City on March 28 to witness her first US live performance. It’s sure to be a good show since Harman is no stranger to the stage. After her first record, she performed with Sinead O’Connor and Patti Smith, just to name a few.
Listen to “No One Left To Blame” above.
Album Premiere: Billy The Kid & The Soulful Saints – ‘Pullin’ On My Heartstrings’
New York-based vocalist/songwriter/producer Billy The Kid (Billy Aukstik) is dropping his dreamy new 7-inch, Pullin’ On My Heartstrings, available now on vinyl and digital download.
“I wrote and recorded the Heartstrings 7-inch after studying the early demos of Sly Stone and countless arrangements by Allen Toussaint and other soul legends,” says Aukstik of the track. “Using the Maestro drum machine and an 8-track tape machine as my foundation enabled me to create simple yet honest arrangements and gives the record a very intimate feeling. The backing band, The Soulful Saints, is an all-star squad hailing from the crews of Charles Bradley, The Shacks, Mark Ronson, and many others.”
Aukstik is the founder of indie label Dala Records and is also a member of the Daptone Records family, currently playing trumpet with Charles Bradley and His Extraordinaires.
“Both ‘Pullin’ on My Heartstrings’ and ‘Love at Hello’ are inspired by the game of love and use many of my own experiences navigating that game as references,” Aukstik tells us. “I came up with the chorus to ‘Heartstrings’ first and then continued to paint a picture around those lyrics. Even though that song begins on the darker side, I wanted to write about the journey of love and why people come back around even after the hard times. I wrote ‘Love at Hello’ from a much more idyllic perspective, speaking to that moment when you lay eyes on someone for the first time and get swept off your feet. It was largely inspired by one of my friends who met someone at a show and then became totally enamored from that point on.”
The third and final track, a smooth instrumental piece, showcases both Aukstik’s influences and production skills.
‘Hit and Run’ was not inspired by love, but by the early instrumental recordings of Allen Toussaint, specifically the song ‘Tampin’’ which features The Meters under the pseudonym of The Rhine Oaks. I went for that gritty New Orleans sound of the ’60s by writing a simple jazz-themed melody and filling out the arrangement with piano, organ, drum machine, and a big horn section. I even recorded a call to prayer from my local mosque and included it in the song’s intro, attempting to recreate those ‘sound on sound’ techniques that Toussaint and other producers of that era were known to utilize.
Listen to the exclusive premiere of Pullin’ On My Heartstrings right here.
Watch: Deerhoof: “Paradise Girls”
Not entirely sure what I’m watching, but I’ve watched it at least five times already.
Tuesday, rock band Deerhoof released the video for their latest single, “Paradise Girls.” The song appears on their full-length album, La Isla Bonita. While the song seems to have a focus on the instrumentals with hardly any lyrics other than the same chant of “giiiirls” and “you are smart” among other little snippets, the video is extremely intriguing. For one, there are girls prancing around in costumes that look similar to the creature in that movie “Slither,” and there’s a primary woman throughout the whole video who has some incredibly bright eye shadow and lipstick.
She prances and dances around singing the three-four chants – to a dance-provoking beat that reminds one of tUnE-yArDs – while the others looking like Teletubbies rolling down a grass hill. In a turn of events, the girls give birth to themselves in a sense, breaking their heads out of the cocoon that they were fully wrapped in.
Needless to say, the video will make you stay, the music will make you replay, and the dance moves will drive you…cray.
Check out Deerhoof’s “Paradise Girls” below, and check out their new album, La Isla Bonita via iTunes!