Song Post – Page 182 – Queen City Sounds and Art

“I’m Gone” by Ginger Cowgirl is an Anti-Ode to Fragile Tough Guy Masculinity

GingerCowgirl_cover_crop — Ginger Cowgirl, image courtesy the artist

Stacy Antonel of Ginger Cowgirl minces no words on “I’m Gone.” She starts out singing about how she’s tired of the endless disappointments and her tolerance for them in an ex-lover. And of the culture that produces men whose range of outward emotional expression goes from simple lust to a charade of strength that is really an unwillingness to be vulnerable and, in the end, real and giving. The stoic tough guy thing gets old and tiring to maintain when you are a man but having to deal with that nonsense across a lifetime when you want genuine connection with someone has to be incredibly frustrating. How many times have you had conversations with men who talk about how women are emotional but they’re not and yet get upset about anything at all? Best to drop the facade and live like a human and risk getting hurt and feeling that in the moment and having a dynamic inner life that you can share with others and not feel ashamed about letting it show. This song is about that from the perspective of someone who has had more than her share of it all. For fans of Neil Young at his most world-wearily tender. Listen below and follow Ginger Cowgirl at the links provided.

gingercowgirl.com
soundcloud.com/gingercowgirl/sets/ginger-cowgirl-ep/s-4VJPm
open.spotify.com/artist/0jNIIsjRvChD5NDEUgDenA
gingercowgirl.bandcamp.com
facebook.com/gingercowgirl
instagram.com/gingercowgirlband

Idem Zerum Takes Us On High Tech Thriller Trip on “A Healing Place”

IdemZerum1_sm — Idem Zerum, photo courtesy the artist

The intro to Idem Zerum’s “A Healing Place” sounds like the beginning of a soundtrack to a high tech thriller taking place in Cairo. The song edges into a progressive techno beat with a sound and feel like you’re in a transport rushing through night time skies past the city lights and hints of massive human activity headed to where you destiny awaits you. Idem Zerum has crafted a song that clearly has a footing in different strains of EDM including progressive trance and techno. But in aiming to avoid the sonic tropes and utter predictability of so much of the commercialized end of that music he has made a track that is both of made up of the stuff of modern EDM and a step into its future.

soundcloud.com/idemzerum
youtube.com/channel/UCeBTelOos6Me8MjPR8Pgsgg
idemzerum.bandcamp.com
twitter.com/IdemZerum
facebook.com/IdemZerum

The Disaffected Surreal Pop of King Ropes’ “California Stars” is an Ode to Personal Misadventure

KingRopes_GravityAndFriction_sm — King Ropes, *Gravity And Friction* cover

There’s something wonderfully slightly off to the tone of “California Stars” by King Ropes. It sounds like King Missile tried to write a typical country song but gave up on that idea and went for something more in the realm of Americana pop. Then failed at that stylistic mistake and simply wrote something that sounds more like a chamber pop band making post-punk in the style of Camper Van Beethoven. The languid pace gives the song an introspective and wistful quality while the finely accented and brooding bass provide a foundation over which the mutely bemused, somewhat disaffected vocals could opine over foolish misadventures, misguided wanderlust and a sense that in spite of perhaps unknowingly modest, low rent dreams the world could end at any moment and we could have done ourselves the favor of aspiring for better for ourselves years ago. This single is from Gravity and Friction which comes out on July 26 and if the rest of the record is as strange and as off angle from typical indie rock and pop of late it’s bound to be worth more than one spin.

www.kingropesband.com

The Sun Bleached Psych of Corniglia’s “A Lost Forgotten Dream” Is Like a Cherished Buried Memory Just Out of Reach

Corniglia1_crop — Corniglia, photo courtesy the artists

In its driving rhythm there is a nevertheless a nearly hypnotic quality to “A Lost Forgotten Dream” by Corniglia from Perth, Western Australia. The meditative drumming against the undulating, droning guitar lines sounds like something coming to you from decades ago like shadow of memory of a summer that never was and a sense of nostalgia of memorable times just out of reach. It’s not unlike waking from a dream that seemed so strong that your conscious mind retains an emotional impression of that subconscious experience. You can listen below and check out the entirety of the forthcoming On/Off album due out July 5 with more information on doing so at any of the links provided.

soundcloud.com/cornigliamusic
open.spotify.com/artist/7j9w3ZdRfX9yqzC0Gjbyrl
corniglia.bandcamp.com
facebook.com/cornigliamusic

STK Sound’s “Do You Feel My Love” is a Dream Flight Into Subconscious Realms of the Imagination

STKSound_Reincarnation_lg — STK Sound, *Reincarnation* cover

A drifty loop of melodic percussive tones runs through “Do You Feel My Love” to ground the arcs and swells of synth and impressionistic vocals. It feels like a journey flying through breeze swept landscapes in a dream but cross over into the hypnogogic state and wake briefly with memories of the experience and your brain misses the feeling enough to take you back in and you’re able to flying again into skies of permanent twilight. The band’s new album Reincarnation feels like many of the songs are opening up beautiful, buried memories of subconscious experiences that remind us of mysterious depths of the universe and existence that are not part of the our logical, linear experience of what we perceive as reality during our waking hours. In that way the music operates much as does that of Boards of Canada—tapping into the part of our brains where emotion, memory and imagination combine to shape our associations of experiences. In doing so, drawing forth a sense of tranquility and wonder. By naming the album as they did, STK Sound are clearly giving reference to knowledge of experiences beyond the limitations of the current manifestation of this mortal coil. Give “Do You Feel My Love” and the rest of the album if you’re so inclined a listen below.

With “Sense To You” Hugh and Bonjay Carry You Through a Foggy Street Lit Downtempo Soundscape of Romantic Yearning

Hugh_HughXBonjay_cover_crop — Hugh, “Sense To You” cover (cropped)

Hugh’s “Sense To You ft. Bonjay” feels like rainy day either traveling some distance by train or looking out the window into the overcast evening contemplating what could be and what could have been with while nursing a melancholic loneliness. The lush synthscapes hang close and flow with a shifting opacity to carry you adrift with the wash of complex emotions flavored with a sense of muted yearning. The highly processed vocals late in the song are like the voice of the room around you saying what is oft wondered if walls could speak the un-mediated truth. The small sonic details really anchor the hazy melody like lights on the side of roads in the distance and lend to a sense of aural depth and not layers so much as a complete musical environment through which the listener moves along with song’s narrators. Listen below and give the band’s links a visit to further explore its beautifully moody music.

soundcloud.com/hughlovehugh
open.spotify.com/artist/4p0QVR6IXF7g1AyKcW3I4r
twitter.com/hughlovehugh
facebook.com/hughlovehugh
instagram.com/HughLoveHugh

Ghost Against Ghost’s “still love” is a Stirring, Exultant, Towering Epic

GhostAgainstGhost1_sm — Ghost Against Ghost, photo courtesy the artist

The main progression of “still love” by Ghost Against Ghost is reminiscent of that of the otherworldly and chilling Goblin composition “Tenebre” from the soundtrack for Tenebrae. And from there the song sweeps with multiple streams of sound into an emotional peak before soaring off into ethereal minimalism held aloft by the main melodic theme. At a little over ten minutes the song sounds like the official music for a far future artifact that one would expect to see in a Moebius or Alejandro Jodorowsky comic complex machine that brings culture, art and technology across parallel universes appearing like a divine sculpture, an abstract expression of the local culture’s mythology. Its elegant sonic architecture is massive and cascades tones in what feels like great forward momentum. Composer Christopher Bono worked with drummer Thomas Pridgen and multi-instrumentalist Anthony Molina on this piece and it is obvious all the combined talent came together to create a powerful listening experience. Informed by classical music it’s the kind of art/progressive rock that belies the notion that it is all of the head and not the heart. If a movie is made of the comic series Saga, the producers should consider contacting Ghost Against Ghost because the music is on a scale worthy but as unpretentious as Bryan K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples creation itself. Listen below and follow Ghost Against Ghost on the Spotify account.

open.spotify.com/artist/3kekIPWkSOIfesmlmX8T3a

Krept & Konan Give Us a Gritty and Powerful Slice of Life in London’s Hip-hop Underground With “Ban Drill”

KreptAndKonan2_sm — Krept & Konan, photo courtesy the artists

Krept & Konan’s “Ban Drill” is a harrowing and poignant song about life on the lower rungs of society and the desperation and dream crushing aspects of a social reality that seems aimed at undermining anyone’s efforts to escape the cycle of poverty. Much as in the USA in the 80s and 90s, so-called “gangsta rap” that dared to accurately depict life in impoverished urban life mixed with a sometimes nihilistic sometimes aspirational mythologizing and swagger was targeted as being inherently dangerous to society, especially when it started to become commercially successful and popular outside the areas that spawned it. Drill music, its artists and its culture have been seen in a similar light whether in the USA where it spawned as a form of trap in Chicago or in Brixton in the UK. But “Ban Drill” and its video shows not just the down side of how that subculture is treated but also its promise as reflecting a life that isn’t 100% positive so it doesn’t have to hide or be swept aside or unacknowledged. Watch the remarkable video below a dollow Krept & Konan at the links provided.

twitter.com/Kreptplaydirty
twitter.com/konanplaydirty
www.instagram.com/kreptplaydirty
www.instagram.com/konanplaydirty
www.facebook.com/KreptandKonan

Ramz Takes You On His Fraught Journey to Success on “Don’t You Play With Me ft. LD”

Ramz1_crop — Ramz, photo courtesy the artist

Ramz recently released his Blockbuster EP and the single “Don’t You Play With Me ft. LD” and its attendant video are a peek into a life of a corner of London that not a lot of people not from the city know about. And he does so with such vivid storytelling, teaming with Doom-esque, bemasked rapper LD, that you feel like you were with him on the journey to chase a dream of making music that impacts a wide audience with the challenges in your way and the temptations that can trip you up along the way. The diverse influences on the track make for an enriching listen threading together hip-hop/trap, club music and modern dancehall—influences one hears in weirdo post-punk band Sleaford Mods. Ramz embraces his roots and where he’s from as a place where respect and authenticity are the social currency valued and it shines through in every moment of the song. Watch/listen below and follow Ramz at the links provided.

www.facebook.com/RamzRochester
twitter.com/RamoneRochester
www.instagram.com/ramonerochester

eva’s Seething, Gloriously Trashy, Dark Glam Goth Song “venacava” is Also Pure Rock and Roll

Eva_courtesyOfTheArtist_crop — Eva, photo courtesy the artist

In under three minutes Los Angeles band eva packs a lot of power and imaginative songwriting into its single “venacava.” Practically the whole history of post-punk, dark glam and 80s New Wave Goth is deconstructed and put back together in a song that crackles with a brash energy with an appeal beyond the obvious. It’s raw and sleazy guitar riff reminiscent of Daniel Ash gives way to a Gary Numan-esque robotic mid-secton with nods to Fad Gadget’s depth of field. The vocals are in your face with the guitar the way a gloriously borderline trashy glam band should be. But underlying this aggressive stance is a rich background of electronics giving a sense of space that in the end is the most surprising and striking with the contrast. Bold and introspective both, “venacava” hits many emotional spots in your field of listening in a way rare in the current field of post-punk and the new dark wave. It is unabashedly rock and roll and shamelessly arty.

soundcloud.com/evalosangeles/venacava
open.spotify.com/artist/1aMXwL79MfuV2t9FCUOgo7
https://www.instagram.com/eva_losangeles
evalosangeles.com