SubmitHub – Page 201 – Queen City Sounds and Art

Charcoal Burners Tap Into a Fine Vein of Sardonic Humor and Melancholic Introspection of the Fuzz Pop Single “Time’s Informers”

CharcoalBurners4_sm — Charcoal Burners, image courtesy the artists

Charcoal Burners described their new single “Time’s Informers” as “an unlikely marriage of Hüsker Dü and Pet Shop Boys.” Fair enough considering the mix of distorted pop hooks and acerbic wit is actually like a latter day, more slackery “Could You Be The One.” But at times it also oddly reminds one of “Living After Midnight” by Judas Priest in its changes and dynamics. All this combines to make for a song that touches upon familiar places in your brain. But overall its sweet synth sheen and back beat-driven rhythm and introspective yet pointed lyrics delivered in laid back, almost disengaged, fashion give the single fascinating contrasts that add another dynamic dimension to the song but one more emotional than purely sonic. For a band that has a single called “The Verlaines and Hüsker Dü” name-checking its most obvious influences, this song isn’t as crackling with inspired cheek but it is informed by a similarly wonderful sardonic humor. Listen to “Time’s Informers” on Bandcamp and follow New Zeland’s Charcoal Burners at the links provided.

Time's Informers by Charcoal Burners

charcoalburners.bandcamp.com
facebook.com/charcoalburnersdunedin

Iñigo Montoya’s Video for “MDTG” is a Surreal Expression of Triumphs, Frustrations and Perversity of the Illusion of Choice in the Developed World

Iñigo Montoya’s animated video for “MDTG” traces the band’s journey since releasing its debut EP in 2015. The triumphs signified by green and frustrations by red. Natural disasters both benefit and throw stumbling blocks. Nuclear waste and warplanes represent the active and passive conflict that plagues everyone’s lives making them more dramatic than need be but also enervating at times that aren’t always obvious. All the while the playful yet sometimes frantic melody and almost sing-song-y vocals give the surreal imagery their emotional context as an expression of perversity of our lives in the developed world as we are encouraged to indulge our whims even in the face of impending global disaster. Follow Iñigo Montoya at the links below.

facebook.com/inigomontoyapark
instagram.com/inigomonto_ya

Fatima Al Qadiri’s Score for Atlantics Embodies the Complexity and Tragedy of the Film

FatimaAlQadiri_Atlantics_Soundtrack_crop — Fatima Al Qadiri *Atlantics* soundtrack cover (cropped)

Senegal born, Kuwaiti raised composer Fatima Al Qadiri brings the gravity of her experience with war and post-colonial history to her darkly evocative soundtrack for the critically acclaimed 2019 movie Atlantics. The movie, marking the directorial debut of Mati Diop, is the story of a woman in a suburb of Dakar, Senegal who falls in love with one of the construction workers that have been building a futuristic-looking tower although she is betrothed to another man. The track “Boys in the Mirror” is imbued with that sense of melancholic longing, conflicted emotions and portents of tragic endings. The linger keyboard melody is reminiscent of Eduard Artemiev’s beautifully brooding and desolate work for Andrei Tarkovsky’s Solaris (1972) and Stalker (1979). The depth of tone, the suggestion of texture and an organic flow that courses through your mind, haunting it long after. Listen to “Boys in the Mirror” on YouTube, stream Atlantics on Netflix from November 29 onward and follow Al Qadiri at the links provided.

twitter.com/FatimaAlQadiri
facebook.com/FatimaAlQadiri

“Stranded” is a Chilling Taste of Mark Korven’s Unsettling Score for The Lighthouse

MarkKorven_TheLighthouse_Soundtrack_crop — Mark Korven *The Lighthouse* soundtrack cover (cropped)

Mark Korven’s score for the 2019 supernatural horror film The Lighthouse is well represented by the track “Stranded.” The swell of menacing horns like a sudden stormy wind giving way to a tense calm only for the horns to weft their way into the sonic frame again with portents of cosmic horror on the horizon. Director Robert Eggers worked with Korven for his chilling and moody score for Eggers’ previous horror masterpiece, 2015’s The Witch, and brings a similar sensibility employing textures and interweaving, dynamic layers of brass instruments to give voice to the forces of darkness waiting outside normal space to drive humans mad and feed on their fear. Like his work for The Witch, Korven’s composition on “Stranded” gets under your skin with its deeply unsettling moods by masterful use of tone, texture and dynamics. Listen to “Stranded” on YouTube and follow Korven on Twitter.

twitter.com/KorvenMark

ARCHE Demonstrates Peak DGAF Attitude in the Video For Its Evocatively Breezy Single “Back to the Sun”

Arche1_crop — ARCHE, photo courtesy the artists

The music video for ARCHE’s single “Back to the Sun” suggests a certain disregard for conventional style and in subtle ways a willingness to look silly and absurd. Like when one of the members of the band looks into the camera nonchalantly as a shower rains down on him in the background. Musically it’s a bit like if Duran Duran had come up in the period after chillwave and summery post-punk like Beach Fossils happened. Glistening synth melodies and swirl around as you see the guys wearing terrible sandals, intentionally mis-matching outfits and a mix of personal styles that a conventional manager trying to guide a band to commercial success would advise against. But it works so well for the song and speaks to a wonderfully carefree spirit in the music itself. It is a level of self-awareness that embraces ones imperfections in a real attitude of not caring about superficial nonsense when its the transporting emotional quality of the music that matters. A lot of videos where bands are looking like they’re relaxing and having fun it looks like they’re also trying too hard. ARCHE is having none of that try harditude. The subtext of the video and the song is be yourself especially when no one is watching. Check out the video on YouTube and follow the band at the links below.

open.spotify.com/artist/0HSZWleTsKOcWUQuDXizYk
facebook.com/Archeband
instagram.com/archeband

Hollowlove’s Brooding “River of Crows” is the Soundtrack to a Grand Adventure Fraught With Peril

HOLLOWLOVE-ALBUM-COVER_crop — Hollowlove, self-titled cover (cropped)

The throbbing hum of low end coursing through “River of Crows” by Hollowlove as misty synths float over top alongside the sound of the titular birds cawing in the distance sounds like the soundtrack to a long lost 80s science fiction or fantasy movie. The music video suggests a mythical take on urban decay and hazy imagery akin to Children of Men or, in a lighter mood, the next Dash Shaw film. The track meanders with menace and dark promise of the mysterious path ahead with the crows as harbingers of something approaching out of sight. At times it’s reminiscent, moodwise, of the part of Apocalypse Now when Willard and crew reach the haven of Kurtz but have not yet met the Colonel. As crows are both a symbol of ill fortune and intelligence and destiny it’s perfect for a song that sounds like we’re in for a great adventure fraught with peril. Listen to the instrumental track on Soundcloud, watch the video and follow Hollowlove at the links below where you can listen to the rest of the project’s entrancing self-titled album.

hollowlove.com
soundcloud.com/hollowlove
open.spotify.com/artist/6yP391zvvWkwjlUnBqkt2N
youtube.com/channel/UCA00NrDsgpVPevF_BEKo1Sw
hollowlove.bandcamp.com
twitter.com/hollowlovemusic
facebook.com/hollowlovemusic
instagram.com/hollowlovemusic

KIN CAPA’s “Queen of the ‘Niles” is a Brilliant Use of the Metaphor of Human Civilization as Celebrity Diva on the Subject Ducking Addressing Climate Change

KIN_CAPA2_crop — KIN CAPA, photo courtesy Lee Capa

The new KIN CAPA single “Queen of the ‘Niles” from The American Opera: Act II might be too clever for its own good. Couched in a sort of sound design production style, the song feels like an experience presented as much as well-crafted pop song with no short measure of creative ambition. The rousing choruses outline the various ways our civilization has failed to grow up (the “Queen of Juveniles”) and the multiple ways its been in denial about its direct role in the destruction of the planet and the consequences that have been crashing into our lives for more than a few years now while America and other world powers are busy telling themselves how great they are and that they can put off the impending disaster for some future date that never seems to come. Capa’s use of the diva, the kind that can’t be bothered with the petty, everyday concerns of “regular” people lacking extreme privilege, as metaphor for the attitude our societies take toward Mother Nature’s not so gentle warnings is brilliant and clever taking what could be a bluntly topical song about climate change to the level of art without blunting the message. Listen to “Queen of the ‘Niles” on Spotify and follow KIN CAPA at his website linked below.

kincapa.com

Lochie Earl’s “Superyacht Party” Is a Gloriously Self-Aware Pop Song About Income Inequality and Social Injustice

LochieEarl2_crop — Lochie Earl “Superyacht Party” cover (cropped)

“Superyacht Party” is a bit of a different flavor for multi-instrumentalist, producer and drummer for Gypsys of Pangea, Lochie Earl. It was inspired by his having taken an Uber home one day with a Pakistani driver who had an engineering degree that wasn’t considered valid in Australia so he worked in retail and drove Uber with the rest of his time so that he could bring his family over to Turtle Island and hopefully a better life. The song starts out like an odd but evocative 80s lounge pop song written after having your mind blown by a bummer story, as it happens to be, and your mind aswirl with the hard realities so many people face and the opportunities they never have due to class and legal status. They have to take jobs that more privileged people would never countenance, deal with horrible work situations that make one think things like the Simpsons quip where Homer once said, “Kill my boss? Do I dare live out the American dream?” and otherwise settle for extremely diminished expectations. While some get to go to those superyacht parties of the song title and worry about things like Tinder matches. From the initial lounge sound the song kicks up in sound and dynamics like the end of The Beatles’ “A Day in the Life” before Lochie offers the line about Tinder matches as if throwing out such a trivial concern when compared with hustling and grinding away in a society that generally treats you like trash. Not only does Earl address the immigrant situation but also the lingering injustices suffered by Australia’s Aborigines population. It is a rare sensitive take on a sensitive subject and a great pop song to boot. Listen for yourself on Soundcloud.

Wax Heart Sodality’s Rousing Post-punk Anthem “Alphas” Calls For Cutting Out the Marketing Culture-Driven Generational Conflict

WaxHeartSodality1_crop — Wax Heart Sodality, photo courtesy the artists

The concept of Wax Heart Sodality is that of a secret society against despair and more, to take those down low and take them to their potential heights. Or at least that seems to be the aim outlined in the sort of short origin story video below the Spotify player below. The group’s debut single “Alphas” is the story of a frustration with the kinds of bully alpha males many of us grew up knowing and who grew up to be authoritarian personality types who think Brexit or Donald Trump or Jair Bolsonaro are perfectly fine. But also with the mentality of “generation alpha,” the children of millennials who are tech savvy and imagine themselves more informed and thus superior in some ways to previous generations but due to the inescapable realities of age and lack of life experience do not possess the knowledge and perspective to be aware of their own blind spots just like all previous generations in their youth and the myriad social and psychological problems not yet understood, acknowledged or dealt with in a humane and productive way. On the surface the driving pace of the song and its melancholic tone seems to be a both sides critique but in the end it’s really a call to cut with the praise of generations as the clear tool of marketing and the oligarchy to flatter and divide. Which is a much more nuanced perspective than self-congratulations on not being a “Boomer,” an apathetic “Gen X-er” or smugly vitriolic casting aspersions on “millennials” and “Gen Z” and their supposed laziness and subpar taste in music and so-called culture. But even if one doesn’t want to engage in the finer points of the song, it’s a rousing post-punk anthem with momentum and splintered yet brooding melody delivered by a band intentionally keeping its identities under wraps for the moment at a time when there’s not a lot of mystery in the world of music, art and culture. Listen to “Alphas” (recorded by Steven Bardgett of Mouses) on Spotify, watch the Anonymous-esque origin story video below and follow the band at the links provided.

Origin story

twitter.com/WaxHrtSodality
facebook.com/waxheartsodality
instagram.com/waxheartsodality

The Sensuous and Hopeful “Krill” by shi offline is a Minimal Techno Pop Song About the Uncertain Feelings of a New Relationship

shi_offline1_crop — shi offline *Golaya* cover (cropped)

The new shi offline single “Krill” uses minimal synth swells and an evolving rhythm scheme to convey a sense of a fragile love in the early stages of its development. There is a tentative quality to the music that is somehow also evocative embodying the uncertain feelings and caution of someone who isn’t sure if committing to the feelings welling up in her is a good idea or if the potential heartbreak she senses possible is worth the risk. Akisa Tsybina’s vocals are reminiscent of a more contemplative Alice Glass while Gordian Gleiß’s production mixes a chillwave sensibility with the tonal scheme and rhythmic cadence of 1980s New Order for an effect that manages to make the song sensuous and hopeful rather than fearful of an unknown future with the object of one’s attraction and affection. The track is from the duo’s new album Golaya (released on October 18, 2019) and you can listen to it, and likely the rest of the album, on Spotify. Also below you can watch the official music video and follow shi offline ONLINE at the project’s website.

shioffline.com