New Music – Page 75 – Queen City Sounds and Art

SANDS Brings Elegant, Nostalgic Glimmer to the Bittersweet Farewell of Shoegaze Pop Song “Horizon”

On “Horizon,” the concluding track of SANDS’ debut full-length The World’s So Cruel (released October 13, 2023), Andrew Sands brings together the rich array of sounds that he brought to the rest of the album. The guitar has a bit of pop jangle, the melodic bass line buoys the ethereal tones, multiple strands of synth course through the track and bring a nostalgic glimmer that uplifts the melancholic tones ever so slightly. It’s clearly a bittersweet farewell song and one where the emotions are mixed but the decision to part ways for the betterment of both parties is there. The final lines “Reality’s not what you expect/Don’t want to spoil your dreams.” Heavy but elegant. The style of the song recalls but the moods of chillwave but the songwriting and the way Sands has arranged how the emotional beats hit is like shoegaze after the impact of Britpop. Listen to “Horizon” on Spotify and follow SANDS at the links below.

“Mind the Gap” by Band Lolita Terrorist Sounds is a Thrilling Journey From Daily Banality to Creative Transcendence

Lolita Terrorist Sounds, photo by marilebones

“Mind the Gap” is a single by Berlin-based Lolita Terrorist Sounds from its harrowingly fascinating album St. Lola (released October 20, 2023). Apparently it’s a musical journey that connects London and Berlin and its music video show on 8mm is reminiscent of the kind of visuals one saw in Einstürzende Neubauten’s video for “Sabrina” – dark, lurid, spooky but in the end deeply compelling. We see a gender fluid protagonist taking a train as mentioned in the lyrics of the song through what looks like Europe of the 1970s or 1980s. The song is driven by a simple piano figure propelled by urgent percussion, some vital and haunting lap-steel presumably provided by longtime Swans member Kristof Hahn who contributed to the album. Band leader Maurizio Vitale’s vocals are somehow both intense and inviting and the song encourages the listener to do something inspiring with their lives rather than count down the days remaining to you in purely mundane pursuits. The song is in the vein of industrial post-punk as the aforementioned foundational industrial band and the likes of Crime and the City Solution and of course Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. The album was recorded and produced in a studio in East Berlin in a building formerly used by presumably the Stasi during the era of the Berlin Wall. The setting and the limited use of old microphones and analog equipment gives all the songs a certain quality of spontaneity and hauntedness that suits well its themes of marginalized people and the undeniable appeal of the freedom of gritty, urban avant-garde modes of expression. The album also includes the late, great, experimental multi-media artist Rob Rutman (Steel Cello Ensemble) on bow chimes for opening track “Shaved Girl.”

Lolita Terrorist Sounds on TikTok

Lolita Terrorist Sounds on Facebook

Lolita Terrorist Sounds on Twitter

Lolita Terrorist Sounds on Instagram

Frij Captures the Sense of Wonder at Deep Space Images on the Playful Ambient Song “magenta”

As “magenta” unfolds in its flow of soft and bright tones, the song by Frij sounds like the manifestation of a time lapse view of a cloudy nebula viewed through a powerful telescope. Tones wink and resonate, linger, an arpeggio of tones like small star systems floating in view overlapping hazy fields of light as per the song title, shining through the melodic drones that flow through the song in its short course. There is a playfulness and sense of wonder conveyed in the song from the beginning to when the song slowly fades to a minimal sequence. It’s like listening to what it’s like for the mind to get stimulated and fascinated by the sights of deep space and its eternal dynamism and inspired to capture that energy for a time beyond that moment. Fans of the Hearts of Space program will appreciate Frij’s elegance of composition. Listen to “magenta” on Spotify and folow Frij at the links below.

Frij on Bandcamp

Frij on Instagram

Mary Middlefield’s Indie Orchestral Single “Sexless” Spells Out a Situation Everyone Gets Into When They Have Standards

Mary Middlefield, photo courtesy the artist

Mary Middlefield articulates in “Sexless” a certain kind of desperation and frustration that many people can relate to at some point in their lives or for entirely too long a stretches of time. The song’s orchestral sounds and upbeat energy are a wonderful contrast to lyrics that in another context might be considered pathetic. But in Middlefield’s words we hear about how she’s not without options just none that seem appealing and she expresses how she finds even self-pleasure unsatisfying. She sings about how when she was a little younger she had that network of friends that meant she could find someone to pair off with for fun and companionship but that maybe her temperament as an artist or as a human being with regular human needs that some might see as a burden has ensured her lonely status. And she wonders how this all happened leaving her thinking, “I’m sexless and I’m not loved.” Maybe a lot of people can’t relate to it and when you watch the music video directed by Imogen Harrison you may think oh right, how is Mary Middlefield suffering from this state of things. But it happens when you have standards and you’re not someone who can feel attracted that way to just anyone for whom you feel like you’re settling. Stranger things have happened and one can only hope this plight in the life of Middleton has resolved itself or will soon and for you as well if you also find yourself “Sexless.” Watch the music video on YouTube and follow indie singer-songwriter Mary Middlefield at the links below.

Mary Middlefield on TikTok

Mary Middlefield on Instagram

L Twills’ Soulful and Menacing “Illusion II” is a Fusion of Dark R&B, Industrial and Art Techno

“Illusion II” is the second single from L Twills’ forthcoming new multimedia album [After her Destruction] (due out February 16, 2024). The album is a cybernetic sci-fi opera in which its protagonist Girl journeys through her own mind to find out whether it has mutated. In ten video chapters of the album Girl meets various characters and creatures and undergoes epiphanies that transform her and opens her to new vistas of creative imagination. “Illusion II” brings us in with a rippling low end sound like a deeply processed piano abstracted and echoing, metallic sounds counting time and creating an evolving texture while L Twills sings soulfully about a figure that seems to hold a strange and irresistible allure while she is under the spell of a mysterious affliction. Even though it’s obvious you’re hearing a portion of a larger narrative the song stands on its own. It sounds like an unlikely pairing of Fiona Apple, Malaria! and Chris & Cosey and hints at a fascinating album ahead. Listen to “Illusion II” on Soundcloud and follow L Twills at the links provided.

Kaeto’s Sultry and Urgent Synth Pop Single “No Body” is an Entrancing Mantra of Personal Liberation

Paula Romy’s video treatment for Kaeto’s sultry and urgent synth pop track “No Body” gives it a feel like if Flashdance took place in some grimy, underground Berlin industrial music venue that took over an abandoned parking structure. That this place likely doesn’t exist in reality gives the video a sense of being futuristic with the aesthetics of cyberpunk without the glitz. The fantastically driving and pulsing yet fluid bass line alongside Kaeto’s introspective and exploratory vocals in a song that seems to have something to say about the nature of personal liberation creates an immediately compelling dynamic and finely paired with the choreographed moves and dancers frolicking amid hazy lights and the shadows of a place that in addition to the aforementioned is reminiscent of a techno club that could be in Germany, London or Detroit. It lends a widely accessible spirit to the song. Fans of The Knife will appreciate the sense of mystery Kaeto establishes with the moods and rhythms that interlock and release throughout. Watch the video for “No Body” on YouTube and follow Kaeto on Instagram.

Dax’s Vulnerable and Reflective “Life” is an Embrace of Living in the Moment and Savoring the Limited Time We All Have on Earth

For his single “Life” Dax brings together a simple guitar melody played over a spare beat and lets his typically fluid and commanding vocal cadence carry the momentum of the song. For this song there’s an accompanying video, Dax’s signature and consistently creative and compelling presentation of his songs, that shows ups, downs and everyday struggles of life. We see Dax serving as a janitor in a music venue symbolizing paying his dues and how it must have felt after he’d established himself somewhat as an artist. We see Dax sitting in a classroom being open to learning and setting aside ego to learn from sources beyond his immediate faculties. In the song he refers to his faith and his battles with that and keeping it even though he finds solace and a source of strength and perseverance in it. But even if you don’t share his particular belief system the song has plenty to say about the impermanence of life and how it’s best to make the most of the time we have in this life because it’s all we know. Even if you believe in an afterlife the only life you know is this one and it’s too easy to waste that time and not make the best of our lives even with the challenges that may be in front of us. It’s a compassionate song about living life and the spirit of vulnerability that Dax expresses throughout is a welcome change from the hollow bravado positivity and toughness of entirely too much popular music in all styles. Watch the video for “Life” on YouTube and follow Dax at the links below.

Dax on TikTok

Dax on Facebook

Dax on Instagram

Queen City Sounds Podcast S3E40: Danny Stewart of Pete’s 9mm Rec hords

Danny Stewart runs Pete’s 9mm Rec hords and in 2022 and 2023 he has issued the first two volumes of Colorado Springs Underground 1983-1994. Stewart grew up Southern California and came of age around the time of the heyday of Los Angeles punk and experienced some of those shows and that culture firsthand in the early 80s. By his late teens, Stewart’s mom moved to Colorado Springs in time for his senior year of high school but there he found his people albeit in smaller numbers and became involved in the underground music world in the city and at times with voyages north into Denver and beyond. While still in Los Angeles, Stewart was involved in a garage rock/punk band in that Sonics vein called Incest Cattle. In the Springs he played in various bands including Night Gallery and Idle Hands before relocating back to California for several years and returning to Colorado in recent years. He currently plays in Glass Parade and cover band #1 Crush.

At some point Stewart realized he had access to several recordings from bands in the period covered by the compilations and the ability to master them for vinyl and set about assembling a collection of songs documenting a time in a place that would largely be otherwise forgotten. The songs on both volumes of the compilation thus far reveal that the Springs didn’t just have quality punk bands but a broad spectrum of rock and experimental music with a metal song or two included. Which is a feature of the eclectic and rich music scene in the city to this day. The compilations are available as digital downloads on Bandcamp, linked below, where you can also purchase the limited vinyl editions as well.

Listen to our interview with Danny Stewart on Bandcamp in which we talk about his youth in punk and in Colorado Springs as well as how the compilations came together.

Pete’s 9mm Rec hords on Bandcamp

Salvana’s “Cielos Rojos” is a Deep Dream Pop Song to Warm Your Winter Months

The drift of melody in Salvana’s “Cielos Rojos” (“Red Skies” in English) is anchored to a weighty sound when the song shifts gentle from ethereal to a gentle boil. The percussion provides a physicality that frames the song with a meditative rhythm as its guitars billow forth and the vocals occupy the center of the song like a spirit of warmth commenting on nostalgic memories. The resonant guitar tones that linger have a crystalline quality like something you’d hear in a Slowdive song from the Pygmalion period. While the atmospheres here are full there is a spaciousness that draws you into its immersive, dreamlike moods. The pairing of heaviness and lightness also brings to mind the more gentle end of Slow Crush and SOM and a more dream pop cousin to Holy Fawn. Comparison’s aside “Cielos Rojos” evokes a time of life one can look back on fondly to warm the colder months. Listen to the song on Spotify and follow Barcelona, Spain’s Salvana at the links below.

Salvana on Facebook

Salvana on Instagram

“Chrysanthemum Rock” is llawgne’s Shoegaze Ballad Against Capitalism’s Culture of Toxic Striving

“Chrysanthemum Rock” engages in a bit of subversive songwriting in opening with a burst of noise before settling into a measured pace with layers of melody and texture on guitar. The song rushes and whirls while glittering with guitar jangle in a wall of noise mode while Matthew Engwall sings about personal decline and how that often comes about from burnout and the depression at so many factors living in a world mostly dominated by the extractive economic system that is capitalism that demands more and more of everyone at all levels while delivering little to anyone but the system itself and its biggest “winners.” Instead you have to do more faster and more efficiently but that isn’t what humans are built for and Engwall’s song takes aim at that culture of striving and grinding yourself to death and making yourself useful to a system on its own terms and not meeting you on yours. The chorus of “Teach yourself to ease the pain of learning how to live again/Prepare your body for the shock of learning to sing chrysanthemum rock”is so poignant if you know that chrysanthemums in many European cultures symbolizes death and the flower is used for funerals and left at graves and in China, Japan and Korea the flower symbolizes adversity and grief. In his own poetic and clever away Engwall has given us a song about how we’re all encouraged to work ourselves to death even if we no longer possess the capacity to operate at 100% at some job all the time. No one has that capability without it costing them long term. But at this point hopefully all of us realize this at some level but in America people largely still suffer from capitalism’s equivalent of the Stockholm Syndrome yet it seems more and more people are becoming aware of the deleterious effects of overwork and having little to show for it. This song is a lively expression of solidarity for that awakening. Listen to “Chrysanthemum Rock” on Spotify and follow llawgne at the links provided.