New Music – Page 34 – Queen City Sounds and Art

ASA 808’s Ambient Pop Single “Let ur heart breathe” Sounds Like the Real Time Feeling of that Expansion of One’s Capacity For Sensitivity and Empathy

The title track to ASA 808’s EP Let ur heart breathe (released December 13, 2024) has a dreamlike warmth and playful energy in equal measure. It is somehow both introspective and expansive with layers of rhythm and melody that intermingle and intertwine with an airy tonality in a minimalist yet detailed ambient soundscape that resonates like the title suggests and the heart having that freedom grows stronger and more confident and more capable of feeling more freely and with an augmented sensitivity. Rather than this opening of the self to hurt it is a refreshing growth into capacities long forgotten, neglected and or until now unexercised but which now feels good and comfortable and even comforting like getting to where you should always have been. Listen to “Let ur heart breathe” on Spotify and follow ASA 808 on Instagram.

Fotosputnik’s Post-Rock Single “Pictured in Wenceslas Square” is a Colorfully Maximalist Piece of Post-Rock Prog Psychedelia

Fotosputnik meticulously crafted its latest album Incantations for a Tenrec (released December 6, 2024) across more than four years through the depths of the pandemic in studios in rural Illinois and Chicago, in remote collaboration and in person. In that way the double LP is like a cinematic work that requires efforts in a variety of contexts across time in the principal filming, editing, sound design etc.. The single “Pictured in Wenceslas Square” has layers of dynamics that are anchored by a strong, melodic bass line that drives the song with a simplicity and finely articulated accents. Around it guitars resound in screams, whooshes, glittery flourishes, string-like quavers, soaring harmonics, horn-esque blasts and other contributions to a rich tapestry of sound that is allowed to float freely within intertwining dynamics all while metronomic drum work locks down the rhythm further so that all the disparate elements can shine in seeming chaos that somehow gels into a piece of music that feels like a complete experience and a journey through a stimulating landscape with plenty for the mind to sink into and thusly the song can be listened to repeatedly with your ear catching different combinations within the song. Listen to “Pictured in Wenceslas Square” on Spotify and follow Fotosputnik at the links below.

Fotosputnik on Facebook

Fotosputnik on Instagram

The Video For raudiver’s “Mary Tombs” is a Technicolor Supernatural Giallo Short Fitting Its Themes of the Perils of a Toxic Relationship

raudiver, photo by Graham W. Bell/Third Eye Land Party

George Tripsas’ visual treatment of the music video for raudiver’s single “Mary Tombs” is part Dario Argento circa Profondo Rosso and a Jane Schoenbrun film. Which suits the music that pairs beautiful Omnichord drones with Lauren Eddy’s soulful vocals. Chilling synths twinkle in the backdrop of the song adding accents to the shifting drone and minimal electronic drums count the hypnotic rhythm but with nuance of pacing and composition so that it isn’t just one drum pattern or sound and programmed so that there is some subtle but well executed diversity in how the song is accented. Fans of Madeline Goldstein will appreciate the single as well as the band’s latest album Leave Before Dark which released September 11, 2024 on streaming, digital download, CD and LP. Watch the video for “Mary Tombs” on YouTube and follow Houston’s raudiver at the links provided.

raudiver on Facebook

raudiver on Instagram

Ocoeur’s Ambient Soundscape “Second Chance” is the Sound of a World Disconnected From the Rapacious Demands of Economic Thinking

The harmonic slow swell that subtly ushers in Ocoeur’s “Second Chance” is like the beginning of the day in its progression—a background shift in energy and emotional resonance that evolves seemingly suddenly into a sunlit sky. It’s a sustained harmonic layering that works together as tones make themselves known with an impressionistic coalescence of elements with single notes signing out and echoing with sonic trails like a fading afterimage. Musically it also has a feeling like being able to walk or drive through the streets in the days leading up to Christmas in the USA when people, businesses and the city leave their lighting decorations on throughout the night. There is bright tranquility to that feeling that even if the world is in peril at all times you can take in a moment or a dozen to take in something quaint and beautiful and simple that doesn’t have an immediate commercial utility. It’s in that moment that maybe you can entertain the idea that our conflicted species might have another chance if we can not obey our role in a global system of commodifying capitalism baked into every interaction, increasingly demanding our time and our energy in lives in which any idle moment is treated as theft from the economy. This song sounds like that mindset is irrelevant in the grand scheme of actually living. Listen to “Second Chance” on Spotify and follow Ocoeur at the links below.

ocoeur-music.com

Ocoeur on Facebook

Ocoeur on Instagram

The Video For Yemen Blues’ “Miss Ballad” is a Mysterious and Sinister Manifestation of the Song’s Subversive Genre Bending

When you enter the world of Yemen Blues’ song “Miss Ballad,” at least as manifested in its music video, be prepared for layered cultural expressions and references that mutually enrich a unique musical and visual experience. The song itself seems to represent the name of the band because it has a distorted guitar riff in a blues rock mode but the rhythm is more textured and outside conventional Western time signatures. We see figures in Noh theater style masks but with social roles subverted in a surreal fashion the way Devo would do in its own music videos paired well with the message of the lyrics. But here the lyrics are in Arabic yet the meaning if the video is an apt analog is clear regarding social norms and the breaking of social contracts as the story of the video drifts into decidedly sinister territory like an unusual, Japanese horror film. Musically its like if a Krautrock band indulged a moment of more conventional musical style only to bake into it something more subversive. Watch the video for “Miss Ballad” on YouTube and follow Yemen Blues at the links below. The group’s latest album Only Love Remains dropped August 28, 2024.

yemenblues.com

Yemen Blues on Instagram

Cici Arthur’s Baroque Jazz Pop Single “All So Incredible” is Brimming With Warmth, Intimacy and Emotional Nuance

Cici Arthur is a project featuring Toronto musicians/composers Joseph Shabason, Chris A. Cummings and Thom Gill. The trio is set to release the album Way Through on February 21, 2025 via Western Vinyl. The lead single “All So Incredible” is accompanied by a music video directed by Nicholas Krgovich that is comprised of footage shot by artist and activist Gary Whitefield Coward (provided courtesy his daughter Mara Coward) in the 1960s. It pairs well with the baroque pop hush of the song and Cummings’ slightly husky and rich vocals. The backing vocals provide harmonic contrast and support for Cummings mixing well with the sparest percussion and languid yet lively piano work and horns. The song sounds like something from another era as well with sensibilities that allow for elegant details to enrich the songwriting like the musical equivalent of a vibrant painting, reminiscent of vintage era Frank Sinatra or Tony Bennett with tones trailing off and a feeling of emotional warmth and intimacy that can go by the wayside when songs are perhaps written to be disposable or consumed. “All So Incredible” is imbued with a spirit of writing to express enduring human emotional experiences in their depth and nuance as suggested by the title. Watch the video for “All So Incredible” on YouTube and follow the artists at the links below.

Cici Arthur on Western Vinyl

Chris A. Cummings on Twitter

Joseph Shabason on Instagram

Thom Gill on Bandcamp

Anastasia Nikoulina’s Debut Song “In coherence” is an Orchestral, Experimental Pop Analog of the Human Struggle to Create Meaning in the Chaos of Existence

Anastasia Nikoulina, photo courtesy the artist

Anastasia Nikoulina’s debut “In coherence” has a quiet sense of foreboding generated by string drones and meditative yet menacing and urgent piano work. Her vocals contrast that energy with an introspective, smoky quality that reflects her words asking questions about the workings of the human mind and the way the mind struggles to comprehend a world of constant stimulation that we sort through in every waking moment and casting much of that aside in pursuit of significant perceptions from the external world and the content of what’s going on inside our own minds and how that balance can be relatively easily disrupted. The orchestrated tonal and rhythmic emphases and changing dynamics parallels this process and so the song feels like something we’ve experienced directly without it having to work hard to reach natural comprehension. Even the percussion has a cadence like a heartbeat and so the whole piece is like hearing the equivalent of the experience of daily human life. Listen to “In coherence” on Spotify.

Gabe Lopez’s Vibrantly Melancholic “Long Road” is a Love Song Full of Yearning and a Spirit of Romantic Commitment

Gabe Lopez might be more well known for his co-writing and production for projects and artists like Belinda Carlisle, New Kids on the Block, The Go-Go’s, RuPaul’s Drag Race and James Brown but his own pop songcraft is what got him there. His latest song “Long Road” showcases his soulful vocals and gift for creating melodies of melancholic beauty. The song seems to be about feeling a connection with someone and yearning for more than sharing some moments of laughter and meaningful conversation. The title is a metaphor for being willing to make a commitment to someone but the song itself has the sound of the kind of song for night driving perhaps conceived while taking a contemplative drive and taking in other such songs that make a journey both psychologically resonant and emotionally satisfying in the way night drive can, the way a trip in real time can set the mind in motion toward achieving short term goals with the long term in mind. The elegant piano melodies and minimal guitar figures are stirring and build toward the kind of songwriting denouement reminiscent of the best end of Coldplay’s expansive and uplifting atmospheres and the more pop side of The Verve. Listen to “Long Road” on Spotify and follow Gabe Lopez at the links provided.

Gabe Lopez on Twitter

Gabe Lopez on Facebook

Gabe Lopez on TikTok

Gabe Lopez on Instagram

Gabe Lopez on YouTube

Kuh-Leeb’s Perceptive and Dreamlike Single “Tadpole Racing” is a Vivid Emotional Snapshot Into the Rewards and Downsides to a Life in Music

“Tadpole Racing” demonstrated that Kuh-Leeb is capable of great economy of expression while producing a rich soundscape to pair with his lyrics. From jump the textured rhythms and dream-like melodies swirl and intertwine to produce a sense of being outside normal time. Kuh-Leeb comments on the tensions between the demands of what it takes to achieve success and the trappings and rewards thereof and the desire to not compromise one’s values and get too attached to the “good” things of a life in art and music that end up being burdens that undermine your ability to stay with it with integrity or at all. In the end it seems like Kuh-Leeb is expressing how it can all end in disillusionment when the reality of everything involved hits you all at once with a simple “Oh damn” repeated into the outro. The song is just under two minutes long but contains an astute evaluation and heartfelt assessment of the complexities and nuances of how things are and how they shouldn’t have to be. Listen to “Tadpole Racing” on Spotify and follow hip-hop artist Kuh-Leeb on Instagram.

Kramies’ Warmly Vulnerable “That’s a Midwest Christmas” is a Minimalist Folk Pop Embodiment of the Best Essence of the Holiday

“That’s a Midwest Christmas” may be overtly a different kind of Christmas song but one that’s imbued with layers of memory peeled back to mixed together with memories and the essence of family bonds and traditions. Kramies is no stranger to crafting elegantly executed atmospheric pop and this single is no different though it’s brought together with seemingly just his vocals and strummed acoustic guitar but the mood is rich and the tones vivid and detailed in a way that casts emotionally vibrant and real moments that linger as his lyrics string together musings and meditations on the holiday and acknowledgments of how in the past maybe not everyone in the family got along but can now share laughs and singing and thankfulness for being able to be together at least part of the year at a time when maybe similar scenes and experiences are going on elsewhere with other families who have the privilege of having the time off, or at least part of the day, and the means of getting together and setting aside the time to be together because it matters more than what we’re told truly matters everyday with the usual daily demands on us away from actually living as people. The song is a warm reminder of the things that matter deep down and that more than the crassness of a commercialized holiday that was made up by previous cultures the season signifies for many people at least sometime in their lives. Listen to “That’s a Midwest Christmas” on Spotify and follow Kramies at the links below. Look for the new Kramies album due out in Fall 2025.