New Music – Page 194 – Queen City Sounds and Art

Treasure Takes Us Into the Drift of Nighttime Contemplation on the Dreamy, Downtempo “Strength”

Treasure_Strength2_crop — Treasure, photo courtesy the artist

An ambient shimmer eases you into the incredibly mellow moods of “Strength” by UK artist Treasure. His softly spoken lyrics float amid echoing keyboard minimalism, lingering, ethereal guitar work, spare percussion and near the end of the song a more energetic synth line that guides us into the song’s conclusion. The overall effect is one of waking up in the dark of fall weekend evening after a nap and taking the time to reflect before getting up and getting to anything because you can take your time. It’s a fascinating blend of sounds that could be downtempo, dream pop, vapor wave and moody R&B yet isn’t really defined by specific genre considerations. At times it’s reminiscent of a lo-fi “Exchange” by Massive Attack and how that song seems to drift in circles before pausing and repeating that drift in what feels like a slightly different mode, a subtle shift in tonality or pacing that works as a hypnotic loop. It’s the kind of song that could be left on repeat and seem like it’s changing every time because of that almost intuitive, organic sense of rhythm. Listen to “Strength,” the third and final single from Treasure’s project “Suffocation & Air,” on Spotify and connect with the artist at the links below.

https://open.spotify.com/embed/album/6JyBhsMnhP50TqF3NQ3VVK

soundcloud.com/treasuretheband
open.spotify.com/artist/12tQ1YGmb2jzMds6LOCuiZ
facebook.com/olwhkb
instagram.com/treasuretheband

The Organic Ambient Jazz of Voyager II’s “Shape of Light” Conveys a Deep Sense of Pastoral Tranquility

VoyagerII_ShapeOfLight1_crop — Voyager II “Shape of Light” cover

“Shape of Light” by UK duo Voyager II develops in what seems like an organic fashion with soft percussion and impressionistic breezes of tone and melodic, wordless vocals that seem to flutter about in an invisible breeze. Electronic bass pulses in sync with the all but non-linear dynamics and like witnessing a natural phenomenon like the local weather or footage from deep space there is an elegance and easiness to the composition that may not follow conventional rules of music but is accessible by a kind of logic that transcends that which we impose on our environment everyday that can cause us to miss details. Thus it’s the kind of song that if you take in its ambient textures and fluid atmospheres as a whole rather than dissecting it for its component the listening experience is parallel to the ineffable sense of tranquility one gets from a bucolic landscape or a field of stars that the satellite Voyager 2 may be transmitting back to Earth. Listen to “Shape of Light” on Soundcloud and connect with Voyager II at the links provided.

soundcloud.com/user-444470767
youtube.com/channel/UC9Rc40KiT5Yzkzs1Cy9_ETA/videos
voyagerii1.bandcamp.com
facebook.com/VoyagerDuo

Jenny Dee Sings About Closure With an Unrequited Youthful Crush on “All These Words”

JennyDee_AllTheseWords2_crop — Jenny Dee, photo courtesy the artist

Musical brushstrokes of strings drift in the backdrop of Jenny Dee’s single “All These Words” like the haze of a cherished memory even if that memory is one of regret and opportunities lost. Accompanied by electronic and acoustic drums hitting a soft beat, a spare organ line and a touch of guitar, Dee lays out a kind of confessional about her feelings for someone for whom she has harbored feelings even though she never really expressed those feelings, just silently assuming the feelings were shared. Then she finds out the object of her affection was in love with someone else and the sense of deep disappointment in self and in circumstance is expressed in the lines, “I was foolish, I felt you were mine. We were nothing, so far from loving.” Years pass and Dee, or at least the narrator in the song, meets up with her crush again and talks like they had so often and so freely before to the point where she feels “like a kid again” and gets up the nerve to express how she felt even if it doesn’t result in some kind of fairy tale reconciliation into an ideal relationship. Sometimes being able to express your truth with no expectation is the best and most realistic way to accept that your feelings were valid. Less overt in the song is the implied bravery and self-honesty that conversation had to take. “All These Words” is from Dee’s most recent album Dancing From a Distance, produced by Copeland’s Aaron Marsh, released March 6, 2020. Listen to the song on Soundcloud and connect with Jenny Dee at the links provided.

open.spotify.com/artist/2zM8FcOLP924ypUODNi27S
youtube.com/user/Jennydee32
twitter.com/Jennykdee
instagram.com/jennykdee

Jan Echo Delves Into the Dystopian Standardization of Thought and Culture Through Social Networks on the Industrial Post-punk Song “Our Lies”

JanEcho_OurLies1_lg — Jan Echo, “Our Lies” cover, image courtesy the artists

With its new single “Our Lies” Jan Echo delves into the phenomenon of social media and the media in general and their impact on not just the narratives floating about in society and influencing public opinion but often our sense of ourselves and our place in this new social universe. The brooding synths and lingering vocals is reminiscent of a more industrial Depeche Mode. Guitar accents work like impressionistic tonal motes in the flow of slowly arcing melodic drones and meditative percussion. But unlike entirely too much modern music the song goes beyond one mood and a single, narrow dynamic particularly in the last half of the song when the band indulges a tasteful guitar solo that traces a line out of the dullened and even norm that is that increasingly internationally standardized modes of thought, expression and conceptualization that widespread interconnectivity has spawned. “Our Lies” suggests it needn’t be this way, and it does not, with the sheer potential of sharing diverse ideas, perspectives and experiences but as it is all being administered by a few corporations for their profit, the monetizable aspects of these interactions are most rewarded. A different kind of flattening of the curve to benefit the technocratic class at the expense of human independence of thought by increasing our dependence on being plugged into the network for communication, information, engagement with society and more so than ever the economy. Listen to “Our Lies” on Soundcloud and connect with Jan Echo at Instagram.

NTHN Evokes the Transformative Nature of a Deep Bond of Love and Understanding on “About Her”

NTHN_AboutHer3_sm — NTHN, photo courtesy the artist

Songs about devoted love can be overblown with purple prose and hackneyed premises in the pop world but NTHN brings an insight to a powerful connection that seems pretty rare in relationships in “About Her.” He sings as though he wrote down all the ways he feels loved and understood beyond there needing to be some transactional aspect to the bond. Taking that list, NTHN took the real gems and laid them out in a series of couplets that he set to a lush production of echo-y beats, an electronic string melody and sang those words as if contemplating their impact. The electronic saxophone line is even soulful in in the outro and when you hear the words you sense that it’s through the experience of the relationship that NTHN has come to know himself better and his own limitations and his gratitude in being transformed by it. Listen to “About Her” on Soundcloud and connect with NTHN at the links below.

soundcloud.com/producedbynthn
open.spotify.com/artist/1PqBLuAl3tnYxpG08RgD3U
business.facebook.com/producedbynthn
instagram.com/producedbynthn

Grace Gillespie’s “Goodbye” is a Gentle Farewell to Your Old Self to Make Way for a More Fulfilling Life

GraceGillespie_Photo — Grace Gillespie, photo courtesy the artist

Grace Gillespie’s voice is so vivid, intimate and direct on “Goodbye” and its shuffling, evolving guitar melody and spare rhythms so subtly moving and upbeat that you can get lost in the song before its depth and heaviness hit you. Certainly it’s a matter of interpretation but the folk-inflected piece comes off like a conversation to yourself writing a letter to someone you love but of whom you don’t know how you could be worthy. The chorus of “I don’t want to say goodbye/I’m not afraid of dying now/I am afraid to be alive” could take on multiple meanings like maybe you don’t want to sabotage something good and the prospect of doing so seems so terrible; that maybe you were seeing a blank horizon of your life without music or your chosen vocation to completely define it and that someone came along to expand what you thought could be your life with a meaningful relationship in it and that living in that expanded sense is scary because it will force you to change and face things about your personality you weren’t yet ready to look at and change. But the tone of the song is one of soothing and calming those anxieties and fears and a gentle call to be brave. Like in the beginning and the end of the song when Gillespie sings of putting down her guitars for awhile and “See what’s left of me under the sea of tangled wires.” The song is about choosing what might be great for you, challenging your insecurities because you need to whether or not it’s for anyone else and being willing to say goodbye to long cherished notions of what you have held onto as your identity even when it no longer makes sense or serves a life you want. Listen to “Goodbye” on Soundcloud and connect with Gillespie at the links provided.

gracegillespie.co.uk
soundcloud.com/grace-gillespie-music
open.spotify.com/artist/4owaayCKTzC8Y7PeADjuAk
twitter.com/GraceyGillespie
facebook.com/GraceGillespieMusic

VIVIAN’s Debut Single “Tick Tock Talk” is a Windswept Dream Pop Goodbye to a Mindset Limited by the Mundane

VIVIAN_TickTockTalk1_crop — VIVIAN “Tick Tock Talk” cover

“Tick Tock Talk” is the debut single from Fort Collins-based dream pop band VIVIAN. The group includes Timo Massa and Alana Rolfe of rock band Stella Luce. After a decade of performing sophisticated, experimental rock music, the duo switched gears for the more electronic VIVIAN. The track is crafted from sweeps of distorted synth and textural drone, minimal guitar tracing unconventional melodic structure, ghostly electronic tonal figures and Rolfe’s typically sultry vocals. The title of the song is a bit of alliteration to put into the song the way time is often imposed on us in a mundane, rote way even though we can dream about our lives in a less linear fashion as beings able to imagine existence beyond time and beyond our immediate existence and likely possibilities. “I want to leave the earth, but you want to stay right here” points at having aspirations of exiting the mundane and wanting to talk and live in ways that aren’t limited by the conventions of what we’ve been told is possible at all times in our lives and especially the timelines most people observe for when to stop dreaming and grow up. For the heady concepts that run in the song’s beautiful layers of dynamic minimalism, “Tick Tock Talk” seems direct in its poetry. Listen to the song on Bandcamp, connect with VIVIAN at the links below and look out for the duo’s albm The Warped Glimmer due out in 2020.

facebook.com/pg/vivianmusicco
instagram.com/vivianmusicco
vivianmusicco.com

Without Pandering, The Memories Encourage Us All to be on the Lookout For When Life Sends Us a Helping Hand When We’re Down on “Second Try”

TheMemoriesKelseyReckling_sm — The Memories, photo by Kelsey Reckling

Instead of tapping into Laurel Canyon vibes and fuzzy, 90s rock, The Memories seem to have been influenced a touch by 70s power pop (think The Raspberries and Big Star) and 90s indie pop via the Elephant 6 collective for its single “Second Try.” Half the band is also in the great garage punk group White Fang but the only element that translates over to The Memories is a knack for solid hooks and surprisingly clever yet thoughtful lyrics and a spirit of fun and hopefulness. “Second Try,” though, has melancholic tones and atmospheric jangle in the guitar work and what might be described as an elegance of tone and sincere hopefulness. As if to say sure you’re down, you’ve weathered what seems a long string of misfortunes that simply isn’t ending but keep an eye out for when things aren’t always working against you by not adopting a defeatist attitude. The lyric “don’t deny the help if it comes to you, be kind” is just one of the turns of phrase in the song that builds on a theme of being aware of subtleties in opportunity to hang on to to pick yourself up a bit and not constantly beat yourself down. In fact, “Take life by surprise” and give it a, yes, second try or third or twentieth or more. But it’s the uplift in the melancholic tone and not offering the usual platitudes that makes this pop song something more noteworthy. Listen to “Second Try” on Soundcloud, follow The Memories at the links below and look out for the new album Pickles & Pies out May 29 through Gnar Tapes and Axis Mundi Records.

open.spotify.com/artist/4sGXRKVt3jXcqjUCRuK67C
thememories.bandcamp.com
twitter.com/memspop
facebook.com/The-Memories-321633651184829
instagram.com/thememories420

Furlong Celebrates the Dynamic of Social Rivals in the Brash and Catchy Fuzz Pop Anthem “Hate Girls”

Furlong_HateGirls1_sm — Furlong, photo courtesy the artists

Furlong takes a different approach to youthful angst on its single “Hate Girls.” Its brash, fuzzy pop bursts with palpable joy in being the villain in someone’s life story in the way people can be melodramatic rivals in high school. The zest for besting someone you love to hate because they’re annoying and imagine themselves superior over nothing. But the song is not without self-awareness in the line about how the two parties imagine themselves masters of the art of invective and revenge when in fact the stakes aren’t so high. The bouncy rhythm and rapid loud-quiet-loud dynamic of the song and the way the raw vocals and splintery guitar are on the verge of going off the rails is reminiscent of Butt Trumpet (“I’m Ugly and I Don’t Know Why”) or, to use a more recent reference, Bully. The possible nod to Mean Girls in the title is also a nice touch. So if you’re looking for something blunt but tuneful and brimming with exuberant energy, listen to “Hate Girls” on Soundcloud where you can also connect with Australia’s Furlong.

soundcloud.com/furlongband

Shasta’s “Roaming Hearts” Shows Us How to Process Heartbreak and Heartache Without Getting Stuck in Bitterness and Resentment

The music video for Shasta’s “Roaming Hearts” looks like something that might have come out of the late 80s with the washed out colors, collage style visual elements and a bit of stop motion effects. Something you might have seen in a Bangles or They Might Be Giants video of that time. Glistening synths casting an uplifting sheen, the mix of live drums and drum machines, the alternately jagged and introspectively atmospheric guitar and melodic bass in which Micayla Grace’s seems to dance about in reverie combine to make for a song that seems rooted in styles across decades. At the same time there is an emotional immediacy and intimacy to the song as though it had originally been written on an acoustic guitar to work out the melodies, the structure and the use of space. The pedigree of the group might suggest a different set of musical expecations as Grace was once a member of Bleached and Albert Hammond Jr.’s band, drummer Jon Sortland is in The Shins and guitarist Cecilia Della Perruti is a multi-instrumentalist who has been a touring member of Beck’s live band as well as that of Charlie XCX not to mention her own group Gothic Tropic. The band started when Grace met synth player Jennifer Duardo in an alley in the Mission district of San Francisco and found in each other kindred creative spirits. “Roaming Hearts” has a freshness of spirit that makes its tale of heartbreak and heartache not just more palatable but transformative in working through the complex emotions and not getting lost in bitterness and resentment, which is a much more original take on an age old subject than we often hear in a pop song.