New Music – Page 139 – Queen City Sounds and Art

Wild Arrows Eases Wounded Emotional Confusion to Warm, Celebratory Acceptance in the Hazy Ambient Pop of “Here’s the Ghost”

Wild Arrows is a band headed by Mike Law of posthardcore bands EUCLID and New Idea Society but don’t expect that style of music on its new album Loving the Void. The single “Here’s the Ghost” exemplifies the fusion of musical ideas and palette of sounds. It begins as an almost ambient, synth pop meditation on being stuck in a feeling and the repetition of the line “So what if I still love you” the way you can get trapped in your head and the recursive loop of an internal narrative that probably serves to salve your wounded feelings but can be counterproductive in re-establishing psychological health. But halfway through the song the energy shifts and the words to “I only wanted to be with you in a way that you were all your own so here’s the ghost.” It’s a flipping of perspective from an aggrieved self-focus born of hurt to one of coming to terms with the break-up and maybe beginning to see a way clear of the unhealthy aspects of the relationship. The sudden yet somehow subtle shift of pace and tone around the 3:20 mark is an interesting way to show how your psychological orientation toward anything can change without having to lose anything. The uplifting sweep of the song out of a dreamlike melancholia is a dramatic evolution worthy of Mercury Rev. The whole album feels like a tapping into the emotional territory of Law’s other projects but through the lens of early OMD and that unlikely alchemy makes for a collection of fascinating and emotionally vibrant music. Listen to “Here’s the Ghost” on YouTube and follow Wild Arrows at the links below.

Queen City Sounds Podcast Ep. 39: doubleVee

Treat Her Strangely is the new album by Norman, Oklahoma-based art pop band doubleVee. The project formed in 2012 with Allan Vest and Barb Hendrickson whose creative backgrounds in music and art complemented each other well. The duo married in 2015 and released their debut album in 2017, The Moonlit Fables of Jack the Rider. Allan had been the lead singer and guitarist of indiepop band The Starlight Mints from 1998-2009. The group’s orchestral pop songs were some of the more creatively ambitious works in the realm of what was coming to be called indie rock and The Starlight Mints garnered attention and placement in film and television for its colorfully baroque compositions. Barb spent sixteen years in public radio and she wrote, hosted and produced Filmscapes, a nationally syndicated film music program that afforded her the opportunity to interview the likes of Danny Elfman and Philip Glass whose own music have long graced film scores. Barb’s and Allan’s experiences jibe well together in the songwriting for doubleVee with a body of work that reveals a talent for pairing mythical storytelling with establishing a deep mood and dynamic orchestration of musical elements so that the songs are like vignettes in the story arc of each album even when the albums are not necessarily conceived as having a unified concept or aesthetic. The albums draw you in like the theme music for a great radio drama from another era. In the interview we discuss the roots of doubleVee’s artistry, their mutual appreciation for a good Caesar salad, the possibilities for presenting this music of cinematic scope live among other refinements.

Listen to the interview at Bandcamp linked below and follow the adventures and goings on of doubleVee at the links provided.

doublevee.net

doubleVee on Twitter

doubleVee on Facebook

doubleVee on Instagram

doubleVee on YouTube

Maja Lena’s Lilting Art Pop “No More Flowers” is a Gorgeously Mystical Breakup Song For Friends and Lovers Alike

The lush background synth swells, the exquisitely accented bass line and Maja Lena’s warmly soaring vocals on “No More Flowers” itself sounds like a pagan cognate of something Rubblebucket might someday do. But in the context of the music video filmed, edited and costumed by Martha Webb (who also designed the flag) with choreography by Anders Duckworth and a sword provided by Bob Watson (look out for cameos from Apollo the Goat) it’s like a the mystical journey of a Viking priestess warrior as she carries out the proper ceremonial exercises and gestures to attain the next stage of her development and taking on more aspects of her power and prestige. Which could be a metaphor for the song which poetically mythologizes the ways in which people relate to one another and the barriers we put up so that people can’t get too close unless we want them to and the oblique ways in which we drift apart. It’s a song that delves into a realm of human interaction not often written about with that level of insight and creative imagery of not offering extravagant gestures of good will toward people we don’t want in our lives anymore. Watch the video for “No More Flowers” on YouTube, look out for the full album out on Chiverin likely later in 2022 and follow Maja Lena at the links below.

Maja Lena on Facebook

Maja Lena on Twitter

Maja Lena on Instagram

Queen City Sounds Podcast Ep. 38: White Hills

Since 2003 White Hills from New York City has been making psychedelic rock that has evolved in consistently interesting ways across a prolific career. The core duo of Dave W and Ego Sensation have incorporated elements of krautrock, space rock, metal, ambient soundscaping, post-punk into their sound so that the project’s body of work is eclectic yet coherent with a palette of mind-expanding sonics and rhythms that have separated the band from most other artists that might fall under the psych umbrella. For White Hills it’s not just a sound adopted from influences, it’s an outlook on the possibilities of the psychological impact of the music on both the members of the band and those who take in one of its records or attend a performance. Each record has been made with an approach that gives it its own sonic identity so that while the band’s sound may be fluidly evolving it has built into its aesthetic a drive to not get stuck in a rut. Now after nearly 20 years as a band White Hills has established its own imprint Heads On Fire Industries with its first physical release being that for a double vinyl of The Revenge Of Heads On Fire which is a reworking and re-imagining of the 2007 album Heads On Fire for which several more songs were recorded during the sessions with an album in mind with that music included but due to a disagreement with one of the parties involved with the record some of the songs were left out. So with some refinements added to complete the recordings left on the cutting room floor, as it were, really on an old, thought dead/defunct hard drive, White Hills presents the album as it was meant to be heard in its originally conceived form and with its themes of transformation and self-inspiration seeming as relevant now as it was at the time of original release. The vinyl edition of the record is available for pre-order (releases, assuming things go as planned, on September 16, 2022) on the band’s Bandcamp page linked below where you can find other links related with White Hills currently on tour with Telekinetic Yeti.

See White Hills with Telekinetic Yeti and Hashtronaut at Globe Hall on Sunday, August 7, 2022 and listen to our interview, apologies for the usual mobile phone connection issues, on Bandcamp also linked below.

Gamblers featuring NOVA ONE Offer an Infectiously Charming, Synth Pop Science Fiction Existential Horror Song and Video With “Preach Your Love”

“Preach Your Love” by Gamblers featuring the infectiously melodic yet enigmatic vocals of NOVA ONE taken in the context of its most unusual video packs a lot of content into a 3:42 synth pop song. It’s sound is reminiscent of early chillwave but the spare production probably wouldn’t have been part of that movement of music. Not this way. Yes, the 1980s VHS instructional video aesthetics are there in perfect sync with the song’s gorgeously transporting flow of engrossing layers of saturated tones while making perfect use of space in the mix. But the lyrics sound like something an AI that doesn’t fully understand human language might use to express affection like the line “I’ll drink your blood to see you” and how that sounds like something some alien read about tribes eating parts of the bodies of the recently deceased to symbolically and not so symbolically reincorporate them into the community. All the while images of what seems to be a cognitive test scrolls on with multiple choice questions and delivered by the mysterious National Division of Metaphysical Expanse. That’s like something straight out of the Cronenberg universe and the video itself like a benevolent version of the videotape from The Ring. Who can say what the inspirations for this entrancing and charming track might be but its ethereal tones and light sonic touch is irresistible if you don’t get too caught up with its sinister yet well-intentioned lyrics. Watch the video for yourself on YouTube, look out for Gamblers’ debut album Small World out 9/25 via Symphonic and follow the project at the links provided.

Gamblers on Facebook

Gamblers on Twitter

Gamblers on Instagram

Sebastian Müller Generates Dreamlike Feelings of Hopeful Anticipation on the Brightly Ambient “Manor Farm / Finding Life”

Sebastian Müller, photo courtesy the artist

The mysterious moods evoked by Sebastian Müller’s “Manor Farm / Finding Life” is perfectly paired to footage of a night drive on a country highway with the foliage at the side of the road lit by headlights and passing by in a kind of blur like the details of a half remembered dream. The ambient synth and processed drone alongside field recordings of distant conversation and rain progresses along until brighter melodic sounds come into the field of hearing and more distinctive sounds carry you along even as the imagery in the video turns more abstract and blurred out into the infinity of the subconscious mind. There is a sense of hopefulness and low level excitement as though traveling toward something promising an elusive which is a quality one doesn’t hear enough in ambient music and the track fades out in a way that finally achieving one’s goal puts an end to the anticipation with one hopes is the payoff of one’s patience and rewarding of the anticipation. Watch the video for “Manor Farm / Finding Life” on YouTube and follow Sebastian Müller at the links below.

Queen City Sounds Podcast Ep. 37: Felix Bechtolsheimer of Curse of Lono

Felix Bechtolsheimer of Curse of Lono, photo courtesy the artist

Curse of Lono is an alternative rock band based in London, UK that formed in 2015 when former Hey Negrita members Felix Bechtolsheimer and Neil Findlay continued making music together after their former band’s split. Curse of Lono borrowed its name from the rare 1983 Hunter S. Thompson book of the same name and its songs have been informed by a literary sensibility and exquisitely soulful moods. The group’s new album People In Cars (Submarine Cat Records) is named after Mike Mandel’s 2017 photo book featuring people through the windows of cars in a Los Angeles intersection in 1970. The aesthetic of the photos parallels that of the songs with their late night, weary, existential folk blues like one might hear in the late 1980s and early 90s albums of Leonard Cohen. There is a noir quality to the songs and its themes of menace, depression and personal dissolution resonate like Ed Brubaker’s Reckless series. A version of the new album was recorded in June 2020 with each band member (guitarist Joe Hazell, drummer Neil Findlay, keyboardist Dani Ruiz Hernandez and bassist Charis Anderson) recording their parts individually. But Bechtolsheimer had lost his father that April and he began writing more songs for the album and delved deeper into his psyche and re-recorded the songs in stripped down form with Bayston pedal steel player Joe Harvey-Whyte and Boxed In drummer Liam Hutton in the first part of 2021. The resulting album is a vibrant and introspective piece of work like many long nights driving alone and leaving oneself exposed to the raw side of one’s feelings and tapping into their insight that can be covered over in everyday life.

Listen to our interview with Felix Bechtolsheimer on Bandcamp linked below and follow Curse of Lono at the links below.

Curse of Lono on Instagram

Curse of Lono on Facebook

Curse of Lono on Twitter

“Toothrot” is headboy’s Delicate Then Defiant Song of Solidarity With the Suffering of Friends

“Toothrot” by headboy begins with the vivid image of someone’s tooth falling out of their mouth onto a friend’s palm who picks it up and puts it away for another day. A whimsical and gentle guitar melody accompanies this almost spoken word part of the song before it escalates into distorted intensity as the lyrics bemoan how one can have toothrot and while doing what one can to prevent the continuing ailment. It’s a song about solidarity with daily life misfortunes and the injustice of a world where some people have to just deal with ailments while others can have them seen to without issue. It’s a song commenting on class issues without being so overt about them because at its core is a very roots level compassion for people on a human level even in situations that might draw judgment from people in the ways they’ve been conditioned to denigrate people for perceived carelessness. The dynamic shift from delicate melody to nearly blown out punk intensity is reminiscent of Butt Trumpet’s great 1993 song “I’m Ugly And I Don’t Know Why” though it’s fairly certain that old Los Angeles punk band isn’t in the mix of influences here but that irreverent spirit of defiance and not needing to fit in with a prevailing punk style resonates. Listen to “Toothrot” on Spotify (out now on Blitzcat) and follow the London-based DIY scene connected band headboy at the links below.

Queen City Sounds Podcast Ep. 36: Chuck Wright

Chuck Wright performing with Quiet Riot, photo courtesy Chuck Wright

Chuck Wright is perhaps most well known as the long time bass player in heavy metal band Quiet Riot and he performed background vocals on all of and bass on “Metal Health (Bang Your Head)” and “Don’t Wanna Let You Go” on the band’s breakthrough 1983 album Metal Health. Throughout the 80s Wright played in prominent hard rock bands like Giuffria and House of Lords and rejoined Quiet Riot in 1986, playing with the band on and off on studio recordings and in the live band until 2021. During that entire time Wright’s skill as a bass player and producer brought him to a wide variety of musical projects including seven film scores like that for the 1997 action fantasy film Kull the Conqueror. Since 2015 he has headed Ultimate Jam Night at the Whisky a Go Go which has featured up to several dozen professional musicians a week (barring of course pandemic limitations). So decades into his career Wright has finally released his debut solo album Sheltering Sky. For the record Wright has brought to bear his eclectic sensibilities and styles in cinematic fashion for a set of songs that incorporate hard rock, progressive/art rock, jazz fusion and more experimental musical ideas including those for his fascinating cover of Björk’s “Army of Me.” Over 30 guest performers grace the record including members of Tesla, Dream Theater, Great White, Asia, Jefferson Starship, Allen Hinds and Toshi Yanagi but there is a coherence of creative vision that Wright was able to assemble in a way that challenged his multifaceted skills and creativity rather than simply putting out a record that seems to have rested on the laurels of his musical past.

Listen to our interview with Chuck Wright on Bandcamp below. Sheltering Sky came out on Cleopatra Records and for more information on Wright, his releases and his career please visit his website, both linked below.

www.chuckwright.com

www.CleopatraRecords.com

Chuck Wright on Instagram

Heavy Feelings Gives Voice to a Frustration With Lack of Commitment on the Noisy Post-punk of “Light Contact”

Heavy Feelings, photo courtesy the artists

Heavy Feelings is a Bristol, UK-based collaborative musical project centered around guitarist Ben Shillabeer who is a bit of a veteran of the Bristol music scene as a contributor to, among other musical concerns, Soeza, The John Parish Band and Empty Pools. The single “Light Contact” features the commanding vocals of Nadia Garofalo of the great Chicago post-punk band Ganser. Its cycling guitar riff establishes a mood of impending disaster or dissolution while Garofalo’s voice, reminiscent of PJ Harvey circa Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea, adds her own layer of grit to a song that sounds like harnessed menace and chaos. The song seems to be about, based partially on the title, the habit of many people to not commit to a course of action, a way of life, a project, relationships or much of anything hoping for the proper circumstances to come along that never really will in providing an auspicious time to take the dive into something that could be important even if for a short time. The song with its crackling and and intense energy seems to reflect an anxiety over an all too common misplaced lack of faith that can paralyze one’s effectiveness as a human or to even live a life that might be more fulfilling than playing it safe and being ready to bail when something requires more of you than casual interest. Listen to “Light Contact” on Spotify, follow Heavy Feelings at the links below and give a listen to the debut Heavy Feelings album Power⚡Reflection which released on June 3, 2022.

Heavy Feelings on Instagram

Heavy Feelings on Amazing Radio