SubmitHub – Page 181 – Queen City Sounds and Art

Glassio Captures That State of Being Confused and Lost When Your Long Term Relationship Falls Apart on “Are You Having Fun Without Me?”

Glassio_AreYouHavingFunWithoutMe1_crop — Glassio “Are You Having Fun Without Me?” cover (cropped)

Glassio’s “Are You Having Fun Without Me?” was inspired by the dissolution of a long term relationship and the endless pondering to salve one’s heartbreak that goes on for longer than we imagine it can. The upbeat rhythm and melody contain a deep wistfulness that seems to come from a place of pain, vulnerability and confusion, almost as though in denial that things are over or at least hoping they aren’t. The chorus is “Are you having fun without me? Are you having fun without my love?” It is childlike in its conceptualization of how the adult relationships work but when you’ve invested so much of yourself and your life with someone for what you assume will be the long haul, when it ends it can leave you lost and not sure of your place in the world so you cling to what you knew and have a hard time coping with it being over, wondering what the other person is up to and if they’re feeling as desolate as you. Listen to “Are You Having Fun Without Me?” on Soundcloud where you can also find more of Glassio’s music (linked below).

soundcloud.com/glassiomusic

Molina’s Ethereal, Windswept, Live Video for “Venus” Highlights the Song’s Otherworldly Beauty

molina_sarahliisborg_02_sm — Molina, photo by Sarah Liisborg

Molina recently released the Vanilla Shell EP and the live version of the single “Venus” as captured in the video on YouTube showcases the band in a room draped in white, enshrouded in a light fog as Molina seems to move about this fantastical world in miniature down to the drummer set up in front of a clam shell backdrop as perhaps a nod to Botticelli’s “The Birth of Venus.” The fabrics flowing in the wind fits a song in which all the elements seem to be operating to uplift the ethereal melody, Molina’s vocals reminiscent of a cross between Nico and Miki Berenyi of Lush. The guitar is as textural as it is tonal, serving as the connective tissue of the body of the song grounded in bass and percussion and the grand sweep of bright, hazy harmonics. Fans of Tamaryn and the aforementioned Lush or any of that entrancing 4AD dream pop will find a good deal to like with this presentation of the song and Molina’s output generally. Watch the video on YouTube below and follow Molina at the links provided.

corpusmolina.com
corpusmolina.bandcamp.com
open.spotify.com/artist/0pxhu7zSqPjBTUWMl6piHF?si=S7GN9ljpS6qJLtCMyrcQaw
itunes.apple.com/dk/artist/molina/28215143
facebook.com/molinamarble
instagram.com/rebbemolina

lynx 196.9’s “triangular warfare” is a Dub-Inflected Cautionary Tale of Trying to Juggle Relationships

lynx196_9_1_crop — lynx 196.9, photo courtesy the artist

“triangular warfare” by lynx 196.9 gets off the ground with a sample like the recording of one side of an emotionally fragile conversation, a confession, an apology for hurting someone. The beat is a downtempo dub mélange of meditative percussion, piano, keyboard samples and backing vocal samples in a jazz style like a lo-fi Blockhead. The vocals tell in short a sexually frank story of a love triangle that has progressed to the phase when people want more or want something different out of the relationship and communication has broken down and the conflict avoided earlier by balancing time and maybe being willing to set aside the usual demands and keeping ego in check. What makes the track surreal is how chill our narrator is throughout as though relating someone else’s story or a snippet of an experience from long ago and able to maintain a sense of distance. A lot to load into a song under two minutes that manages to establish an entrancing vibe immediately. Listen to “triangular warfare” on Spotify and follow lynx 196.9 at the links below.

soundcloud.com/lynx1969
open.spotify.com/artist/1LuNMKI03ynJJQMvBGJFfl
youtube.com/user/DamionLynx1981
lynx1969.bandcamp.com
instagram.com/lynx196.nine

Franko Elvis’ Tenderly Melodramatic “I Worry All The Time” is a Dream Pop Exploration of Our Mixed Emotions and Anxieties

FrankoElvis2_sm — Franko Elvis, photo courtesy the artist

Franko Elvis minces no words with the title of his song “I Worry All The Time.” With shades of tone and delivery reminiscent of Viva Hate-period Morrissey or Magnetic Fields this song waxes tenderly melodramatic and makes use of sound elements beyond the obvious synth, guitar, bass, drums and vocals. The reverb on the vocals and the female backing vocals paired with the cadence of the song share similar influences from the Gold Star Studios production style of the 1960s giving the song a sense of being out of normal time. It’s a heartfelt/heartbroken appeal to one’s love to be allowed to stay and have some relief from the worry and insecurities arising therefrom. Is the song a bit of a dream? It does end with the sounds of birds tweeting in the end like something you’d hear in the morning on a spring day so maybe this song informed by being on the fence about sadness and happiness if neither is genuine ends on a hopeful note. Listen to “I Worry All The Time” on Spotify and follow Franko Elvis at the links provided.

open.spotify.com/artist/5TMotqPzzBLNmPLObz7P7Q
instagram.com/franko.elvis

Sterile Cuckoo Evokes a Waking Dream State With “Details in Feathers”

SterileCuckoo1_crop — Sterile Cuckoo, photo courtesy the artist

Sterile Cuckoo’s music is designed to be the soundtrack for the hypnagogic state, that state of consciousness between sleep and wakefulness. The hazy composition of “Details in Feathers” with lightly echoing sounds seeming to drift down upon one another in a flow of organic melody. Even the vocals sound like bits of consciousness caught in the fractal of long term memory given voice and swirling with the other leaves, the other motes, of sonic presence that gently synergize with the spare guitar melody as the through line, accented by electronic bass and luminous, impressionistic keyboard work. Though short, the song is something that your head can get lost in taking in the dream logic of its flow of tone and mood. Listen to “Details in Feathers” on YouTube, follow Sterile Cuckoo at the links provided and, should you be so inclined, listen to the rest of the album Elysian on Bandcamp.

sterilecuckoo.tumblr.com
soundcloud.com/sterile-cuckoo
youtube.com/channel/UCZoyjIKnLrX3XMG0VHb9GWA
sterilecuckoo.bandcamp.com
facebook.com/sterilecuckoo

The Agony of Loss and Lack of Closure is Embodied in Alex Henry Foster’s Harrowing “Summertime Departures”

AlexHenryFoster3_crop — Alex Henry Foster, photo courtesy the artist

“Summertime Departures,” the title, sounds like you’re in for a melancholic pop song but Alex Henry Foster has written a song that immediately draws you in to an emotional experience as much as a song with spoken lyrics and almost sound effects for music before it enters somewhat more conventional song territory nearly halfway through it’s over five minute length. It’s reminiscent of Slint in the beginning with its desolation and emotional fragility and in a like fashion the sounds escalate into whorling howls of controlled guitar feedback and splaying percussion to enhance a sense of one’s own mental breakdown. It’s not enough for Foster to write a song about what sounds like someone trying to come to terms with the death of a close friend, family member or other loved one and struggling painfully with that fact, the memories, the regrets of the things you wish you had said or done rather than taken for granted that there would be time to find closure. The song is the sound of the pain of that open psychological and emotional wound that persists despite your best attempts to heal. It’s a harrowing listen but one that honors the experience and emotional agony of the loss. Listen to “Summertime Departures” on YouTube and follow Alex Henry Foster at the links below. Look out for the new album Windows in the Sky, on which you can hear the single in context, out May 1.

soundcloud.com/alex-henry-foster
open.spotify.com/artist/3xxV7Humr8VBXGhNNbyWoY
youtube.com/channel/UCPJ9svra9xkqsC0ZIKZdZ0w
twitter.com/umitohanasuhito
facebook.com/alexhenryfosterofficial
instagram.com/alexhenryfoster

Death Hags Encourage Us to Exercise Radical Self-Acceptance on “Be Who You Are”

DeathHags_BeWhoYouAre2_crop — Death Hags, image courtesy the artists

The Skyforest edit of Death Hags’ “Be Who You Are” is reminiscent of Lush through the filter of C86 or late 90s Denver, Colorado and Athens, Georgia indie pop. Its introspective minimalism and hazy melody is irresistible with enough of fuzzy grit to give the song the kind of texture that sticks with you as well in the wash of sounds. Comparing the song to something Black Tambourine might have put out seems facile but the resonance is there for anyone looking for something with a similar vibe today. The message of the song, what the band says is “a call for radical self-acceptance,” seems essential in an era when there is so much personal dissection and the critique of others in our over-mediated society with our presence on the internet on various platforms. Simply accepting yourself for who and what you are shouldn’t seem radical, though it was challenging long before social media existed, but at this point in our collective social development in tandem with that of our technology it is. The song is part of BIG GREY SUN, a seven volume project to be released as four cassettes and a triple album throughout 2020 and 2021. Listen to “Be Who You Are” on Bandcamp and follow Death Hags at the links provided.

soundcloud.com/death_hags
facebook.com/deathhagsmusic
instagram.com/death_hags

Lizzy & The Fanatics Set a Relationship Down Lightly With the Breezy Dream Pop Song “Far Away”

LizzyAndTheFanatics_FarAway1_sm — Lizzy & the Fanatics, photo courtesy the artist

Lizzy & The Fanatics waft in with “Far Away” with a swirling puff of sparkling sounds before the vocals seem to bring a coherence to these tones. The effect is a bit like becoming aware during a daydream and the gentle guitar riff is a bit reminiscent of that of “Dreams” by The Cranberries. The song sounds so nostalgic you might think it’s wistful about missing the one you love but the turn of phrase about “I need to let you know, I wanted to feel close” reveals a complexity of feeling that isn’t common enough in music. Of needing to be honest with oneself and with one’s feelings while not wanting to hurt those of another person. The progression conjures images of someone floating on a cloud and contemplating a potentially messy situation from a more objective vantage point one step removed from the immediate events but not the immediacy of feeling. And the song has a freshness bright tones that indicates no heaviness or dark intent is meant even if it’s probably unavoidable that someone will get hurt in the end, perhaps a poetic attempt to let someone down lightly. Listen to “Far Away” on Soundcloud and follow Lizzy & The Fanatics at the links provided below.

lizzyfanatic.tumblr.com
soundcloud.com/thefanaticsofficial
open.spotify.com/artist/7l4sVkNSc4v6058rs4GnJr
lizzysongs.bandcamp.com

“Hackney smack deal” is the Rec’s Public Service Announcement to the Roommates of People Who Might Have a Falling Out With Their Procurers of Elicit Substances

TheRec_HackneySmackDeal2_crop — the Rec “Hackney smack deal” cover (cropped)

Without making too much light of the situation, the Rec tell a true story of the negative fallout of drug use and the people with whom you share a dwelling on “Hackney smack deal.” In the group’s style of gritty yet playful vocals and a lively beat, the Rec describes a group of men who show up one day to collect money due regardless of whether the unlucky sod who answers the door is the person owing the debt. A synth like a lazy but insistent siren runs through the track along with a jangle of what sounds like metal trinkets and a pounding drum giving the whole song an intense but surreal energy. The chorus is delivered in a nearly casual manner, describing a terrifying encounter: “We want the smack or the cash, is what they said, we want the smack or the cash, with a crack to my head, we want the smack or the cash, now my mind is numb, we want the smack or the cash, with a heart like a bass drum.” Later we hear about a “punch to the eyeball” and “no friendly handshakes” and confusion about the whole situation until, in the end, our narrator figures out what is going on and tells us, “The moral of the story is know your mates, never trust a man with black spoons or paper plates.” Fans of Sleaford Mods and Pop Will Eat Itself will appreciate the way the Rec’s style in putting a harrowing story to a captivating beat. Listen to “Hackney smack deal” on Bandcamp and follow the Rec at the links provided.

therec1.bandcamp.com
facebook.com/therecOswestry

JAF 34’s Video For “Light” is an Audio-Visual Experience of Abstract Cosmic Proportions

JAF34_Light1_crop — JAF 34, image courtesy the artist

JAF 34 crafted “Light” as a multimedia experience with the music video a perfect parallel to its evolving, ambient music track. Beams and fragments of light swirl and come together the way the informal melody saturates and and develops and then gives way to open space within which contours represented by solid streams of sound sketch the entire universe in the background of the figure in the foreground of a color not out of space but in it, giving off a warm orange glow as white lines like ley lines in the architecture of the greater universe can be seen. Triangle shapes connected like something out of a the inspiration for Buckminster Fuller’s geodesic domes connect the various places in the video like the lattice in which material existence is overlaid. Then a cowled figure sits in this space-scape, translated to a cluster of light motes once the shimmering drone that has carried us throughout the song so far passes into silence replaced by a distant, cycling tone as though to reflect the dearth of light and imagery in the video that had been so bright and relatively dense before. The white noise in the track at that time like the fragments of the last transmissions of a craft that has passed into the event horizon of a black hole. Watch the video for “Light” on YouTube follow JAF 34 at the website linked below.

jaf34.com