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Vivienne Cure Embraces Her Elemental Dark Side With “Fire Flies”

Vivienne Cure, image courtesy the artist

Vivienne Cure sounds like she’s singing from within a tunnel to a parallel universe on “Fire Flies.” The accompanying music video confirms a sense of the mysterious and otherworldly cast in black and white and a changes of visual perspective. Whether right side up, upside down, sideways, Vivienne Cure is bathed in sheets of doomy, distorted guitar, drums pounding in the cadence of a processional epic. The singer looks clothed in black ceremonial dress, at times partially unclothed to emphasize the raw and bare emotions and other times singing nearly submerged in a bathtub as if to symbolize being surrounded by feelings and both nearly overwhelmed by and buoyed by them as a connection to one’s subconscious self. When she sings “embrace my own dark side” at the end of the chorus it is not a declaration of nefarious intent but an acceptance of the side of one’s psyche, of one’s personality, that is in opposition to conditioned ways of feeling and being. It is a poetic recognition of the process of ignoring the so-called irrational and emotional aspect of a whole human denigrated by a patriarchal culture that bell hooks termed “psychic self-mutilation.” Fans of Anna von Hausswolff and Jarboe will appreciate the elemental strength and delivery of the song. Watch the video for “Fire Flies” on YouTube and connect with Vivienne Cure at the links below.

Vivienne Cure on Deezer

Wombo Indulge in Some Lighthearted Creepy Fun With the Video for “One of These”

The aesthetics and the fonts in Wombo’s music video for “One of These” looks like something from a black metal band. In fact it looks like it was filmed in the basement of an abandoned house like something from a reboot of The Blair Witch Project. But Sydney Chadwick’s vocals, while melancholic, is more like the performance for a wistfully romantic surf rock song while the music itself has a languorous pace with the guitar line stretching and compressing in a spiky, melodic progression over a minimalist beat like something out of the recording sessions for an old Pixies or No Joy record. The eclectic yet coherent style and in the context of the visuals point to a playful and experimental spirit within the songwriting. Watch the video to the end because Wombo breaks character and jokingly scare each other at the end of the video acknowledging this visually fantastic representation of their music is kind of creepy but fun in the absurd way of many horror movies.

Wombo on Instagram

Olivero and Alain Pérez Conspire to Elevate Your Mood With the Elegantly Energetic “Juntando Amores”

Olivero and Alain Pérez complement each other expertly on the song “Juntando Amores” (in English, joining or combining loves). Olivero’s energetic, hybrid salsa, flamenco and jazz style in sync with the horns and Pérez’s raw presence and lyrical vocal delivery combine for a song that covers a wide emotional range beginning with a melancholic, yearning tone that fluidly evolves into a mood more confident and affirmative graced with Olivero’s tastefully intricate guitar solos that never steal the spotlight from the other performers. It’s a song with elegant power and grace that draws you in quickly and brings you along for a ride to an elevated mood. Watch the video for “Juntando Amores” on YouTube and connect with the artists at the links below.

oliveromusic.com

Olivero on Facebook

Olivero on Instagram

Kevin Blake Guides Us Through a Lively Process Video With the Buoyant IDM Track “Heartsines”

Watching the video for “Heartsines” it seems like a perfect song to accompany a process video for creating a range of visual art and animation. Paintings in collage with live footage and animated stills are in sync with the bright, playful tones of the song and as the rhythm picks up pace the parade of images matches growing layers of sound from the ghostly background synth to arpeggios of bleeps and textural tones in complexity and energetic expression. The mix keeps your brain engaged with the forward bell tones while other forces musical and visual keep a gentle momentum that keeps your attention and the full six minutes twenty-six secongs of the track passes feeling like half the time. Halfway through the song Blake takes time out from the headlong pace and the song fades to near silence before engaging once again with an even fuller sound and sustained frisson. Watch the video for “Heartsines” on YouTube, give a listen to the rest of the album The Rough With the Smooth on Bandcamp and follow Blake at the links provided.

Sugarplum Fairies “Hold On to Me” from the Altar Songs Collection Brings Together a Deep Melancholy With the Will to Weather the Gloom

With the recent release of the 15 track collection Altar Songs in early December 2021 the Sugarplum Fairies reintroduced the world to its hazy, emotionally stirring dream pop across it’s career thus far from 1998 to 2021. With new versions of older songs, the retrospective is a reminder of singer Silvia Ryder’s great, nuanced vocal range. The single “Hold On to Me” originally came out on the 2009 album Chinese Leftovers and featured on S5E23 of Grey’s Anatomy. But its winsome beginning and float from ethereal tones and Ryder’s warm voice into a triumphant procession awash in distorted guitar and uplifting strings the song hits as timeless. It brings together a deep melancholy and the will to weather through the gloom. Listen to “Hold On To Me” on Soundcloud, check out the rest of Altar Songs on Bandcamp and connect with Sugarplum Fairies at the links below.

Sugarplum Fairies on Instagram

Sugarplum Fairies on Facebook

Dvanov Gives Voice to the Spirit of Restlessness and Discontent in Suburban Russia on “древолюция”

Utilizing an array of sounds that gives the impression of a flurry of images glitching and a disordering of the senses, “древолюция” (Drevolyutsiya, the Russian word for “revolution”) by Dvanov embodies a time of confusion and chaos with an eerie precision. The arrangements are like a hip-hop track but the noises and the urgency of Ivan Beletsky’s vocals are more in line with industrial music aesthetics making what you hear more comparable to Death Grips and Sleaford Mods than something that will hit you immediately like hip-hop. The collage of samples, synths and drum machines is a raw expression of the angst and anxiety of the suburbs that are the subject of a good deal of Dvanov’s material informed by a desperate desire for change that you see even in the most mundane of contexts whether you’re in St. Petersburg or Chicago. Listen to “древолюция” on YouTube and connect with Dvanov at the links provided.

“waves” by sine language Embraces the Hurt of Heartbreak With Questions and Not Anger

The sorrowful tone of “waves” by sine language seems at odds with the playful percussion, introspective vocals and layered synth melody. But when the guitar comes in it brings with its tracing the line of rhythm a touch of melancholic tones reminiscent of a late 80s Cocteau Twins song. It would be difficult to say exactly what the song is about but it delves into issues of something having gone wrong in a relationship and an accidental betrayal of trust where one person is held to account for some transgression of which they are kept in the dark and the shame and confusion that comes with trying to process the fallout. And while it might be normal to react to that situation with anger this song explores more the feelings of hurt and a desire to understand what went wrong and ponders whether the relationship damaged by a mistake can be rehabilitated and that emotional bond be found once again. What makes the theme of the song interesting is that it is mostly questions and no answers affirmed. In a time when most people using social media have what they think their opinions are on hand and strong in the resolve of their righteousness, the songwriting here offers a far more believable and relatable expression of what it feels like to be heartbroken and not wanting to hurt back but rather to comprehend. Watch the video for “waves” on YouTube and connect with sine wave at the links below.

sine language on Apple Music

sine language on Instagram

“Keep Me Safe” by DJ Chillz is a Soothing Mantra of Self-Protection in a Time of Deep Vulnerability

DJ Chillz produced and wrote “Keep Me Safe” after a Kemetic Yoga session and the contrast of a warm, simple guitar figure with acoustic percussion and vocals that seem to shimmer from an otherworldly space or from deep within has an intimate quality like a mantra to keep yourself in the proper frame of mind. Repeating the simple request in a vulnerable way as a sign of trust to another or the universe in both English and Yoruba enhances that multidimensional feel of the song so that its spare elements gather together and create an environment when being at one’s most vulnerable and open feels safe and the reception nurturing. The gentle tone of the track too makes what might sound like something from another world inviting and accessible. Listen to “Keep Me Safe” on Soundcloud and follow DJ Chillz at the links provided.

DJ Chillz on Apple Music

DJ Chillz on Facebook

DJ Chillz on Instagram

DJ Chillz on YouTube

Paul Cousins’ “Afterimage” is an Entrancing Bit of Improvisational Analog Sound Design

Paul Cousins set up reel-to-reel tape machines with a fifty-eight inch tape loop running between them to craft the warm yet otherworldly sounds for his composition “Afterimage.” It is a whorling tone that sounds like it’s breaking up as it ripples outward and repeats at unexpected intervals like an extended sample but one which has slight changes with every iteration due to the physical quality of the tape running and underneath are what sound like the mechanism of the tape machine captured on the recording like a built in counting of the passage of time rather than a more traditional beat. The gorgeously repetitive dynamic is reminiscent of the work of ambient band The Kevin Costner Suicide Pact and as gifted at creating music that suggests cinematic aesthetics of collage images and improvisational sound design. Listen to “Afterimage” on Bandcamp and connect further with the London-based composer at the links provided.

Paul Cousins on YouTube

Sanctuary Transforms the Tragic Into the Epic With the Orchestral Ambient Song “In Absolute”

The orchestral ambient soundscape of “In Absolute” flows into your ears and immediately conjures a mood and a cinematic experience of sound. It may make you wonder if Howard Shore is a secret member of Sanctuary because the orchestration of elements and the evocative arc resonate with that master composer’s flair for dramatic, impactful atmospherics. The elegant build to a peak of sorrowful emotions, of a brooding realization of tragedy is stunning in its beauty and the way the song carries you along to a conclusion of that wave of feeling followed by a quick resolution that doesn’t feel like it could be an end but ultimately could be nothing else is an impressive feat of songwriting. Listen to “In Absolute” on Soundcloud, look for the project’s double EP Sanctuary Vol. 1 and Sanctuary Vol. 2 out on Safari Riot and connect with the artists at the links below.

Safari Riot on Facebook

Sanctuary on Instagram