Queen City Sounds and Art

The Hazy and Disorienting “Talk Show Goth” by Dead Little Penny is a Beautifully Gritty and Grimy Fever Dream

DeadLittlePenny2_sm — Dead Little Penny, photo courtesy the artist

Dead Little Penny’s distorted vocals and guitar work create a gritty if hypnotic effect against the steady drum machine beat on “Talk Show Goth.” It’s hazy and disorienting like a lo-fi Curve song or like something Dirty Beaches might have done in his early days. Synths wash in like a bad video glitch on a VHS tape of the talk show in the title, obscuring the main musical line ever so slightly before the dirt in the mix clears up some toward the end of the song and yet it still sounds like it was recorded with some of the levels pegged like maybe Dead Little Penny listened to a bit of Times New Viking when considering the production on the song as the other songs on the Urge Surfing album aren’t as in the red sonically but share the same beautifully grimy quality that sets the project apart from bands that seem to be coming from the realm of shoegaze and psychedelic rock. Dead Little Penny’s production seems too intentional for it to be a matter of lack of access to recording equipment and the conscious choice to trust in what might be perceived as imperfections by those looking for tamer faire. Listen to “Talk Show Goth” on Spotify and follow Dead Little Penny at the links provided.

itunes.apple.com/us/artist/dead-little-penny/1111324563
soundcloud.com/dead-little-penny
deadlittlepenny.bandcamp.com/track/honeycomb
twitter.com/Deadlittlepenny
facebook.com/DeadLittlePenny
instagram.com/deadlittlepenny

Nomke Sings About the Pitfalls of Our Own Illusions and the Ghosts of Our Relationship Mistakes On “Ended (by the morning sun)”

Nomke2_crop — Nomke, photo courtesy the artist

Nomke takes us far beyond the usual tropes of a song about heartbreak and yearning for something more authentic and substantial on her single “Ended (by the morning sun).” Yes, there are choruses and exquisite structure, her urgent guitar work, bright, upbeat vocals and observations about life and her relationships that didn’t work out worded in a way that’s more poetic than most of us come up with every day. But then she sings these lines that seem so vivid and compelling: “When my dreams try to break me / I want to touch something real / but this town is full of ghosts.” In those lines Nomke expresses how sometimes what we think we want and dream about ends up being if not a nightmare far less than the real, heartfelt experience we want and if we live somewhere long enough our memories of our experiences with other people haunts us and makes it challenging to get out and not feel like you’re repeating past mistakes or risk running into the people you don’t want to see anymore if you can help it. It’s a fascinating line in what might otherwise feel like a breezy pop song but even the guitar work and song dynamics have a complexity that serves the sophistication of feelings expressed and thus the song bears repeated, rewarding listens. Listen to “Ended (by the morning sun)” on Spotify, follow Nomke at the links provided and look for her album True Queen due out in January 2020.

music.apple.com/il/artist/nomke/1198170286
nomkemusic.bandcamp.com
facebook.com/nomke
instagram.com/nomke

Dydo’s Italian Language Single “Tacchi & Jordan” is the Perfect Balance of Assertive Presentation and Reflective Tone

Dydo1_lg — Dydo, “Tacchi & Jordan” cover

Italian rapper Dydo’s song “Tacchi & Jordan” is in Italian but one needn’t understand the lyrics to appreciate his artistry. He deftly switches between rapping styles throughout the song with great nuance conveying urgency and contemplation. The beat employs organic and electronic instruments and the production balances an expansive melody with rhythmic texture and vibrant layers of atmosphere. Fans of artists on the Rhymesayers Entertainment imprint will appreciate Dydo’s forceful presentation and mastery of wordplay paired with dynamic music that suggests a reflective quality even as the moment of the song is clearly aimed at moving forward. Listen to “Tacchi & Jordan” on Soundcloud and follow Dydo at the links below.

instagram.com/officialdydo
open.spotify.com/artist/33MAeAFSnN1nTw6VKaB2Z6?si=WD6xdaH2
facebook.com/Dydohf

Take in the Splintery, Psychedelic Charm of Drug Couple’s “Be In 2”

DrugCouple1 — Drug Couple, photo courtesy the artists

Drug Couple makes no bones about its being influenced by Yo La Tengo and Dinosaur Jr and indeed the splintery guitar work on its new single “Be In 2” bears that out as it stretches the song’s motorik beat out some. As do the the way the vocalists diverge and take on complimentary yet disparate roles in the mix. Becca carries the melody in the more traditional manner, Miles’ more like sing-talking but both styles together give an added dimension to a song that is wonderfully fuzzy around the edges and feeling like it could come apart at any moment from the musicians not trying so hard to reign in its seemingly divergent collection of sounds. Too much music now is trying to be too clean and overproduced in unimaginative ways. Drug Couple makes a virtue of its rough edges by crafting a song that invites you in for a ride through a soundscape where you can be yourself because it is itself unburdened by the usual conventions of how music is “supposed” to work in 2019 but the real trick now is that music and art that would be difficult to imitate by virtue of a unique creative vision is far more compelling than a tired, imitative songwriting style or played out production technique. Listen to “Be In 2” on Soundcloud, follow Drug Couple at the links below and check out the duo’s 2019 EP Little Hits on its Bandcamp page.

soundcloud.com/papercup-music
drugcouplemusic.bandcamp.com
instagram.com/drugcouple

Mokhov’s “Dream Spectrum” Will Brighten Your Spirits With Its Gentle Energy

Mokhov2_crop — Mokhov *Sun Bloom* cover (cropped)

“Dream Spectrum” is an apt name for this song by Mokhov. The mix of melodic drones, processed white noise like an Autumn breeze through branches that have not yet lost their leaves, the bright, drawn out synth melody and upbeat percussion sounds like what you’d want to hear in a dream in that upper register of that phenomenon where nothing terrible happens, just peaceful wandering and a sense of utter tranquility and health. It sounds like the kind of reprieve from heaviness and pressure that hits you in waking life every day and it carries you along rather than demand you follow the music. Reminiscent of some of M83’s instrumental tracks and their seeming ability to tap into the pleasure centers of your brain, “Dream Spectrum” runs at over seven minutes but feels like less than half that time because of how light it sits on your psyche and not in a superficial way but in the way its combined sonic forces work their way into your brain and brighten your spirits with its gentle energy. Listen to “Dream Spectrum” on Soundcloud and follow Mokhov at the links below where you can also listen to the rest of the project’s new album Sun Bloom.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mokhov_(musician)
soundcloud.com/mokhov
mokhov.bandcamp.com
twitter.com/olegmokhov
facebook.com/mokhovmusic

Serge Bulat Creates a Sense of Mystical Space on his Otherworldly “Kalah Seanse”

SergeBulat1_sm — Serge Bulat, photo courtesy the artist

Serge Bulat is a Moldovan electronic music artist who immigrated to the USA in 2009 in search of greener pastures for a career in music. His new single “Kalah Seanse” is based on the Argentinian copla “Ya Viene la Triste Noche (Vidala, Catamarca).” The song is an instrumental centered on a piano figure that evolves subtly as the song goes on with motes of synth tone that issue forth in the tonal breeze created by the piano line and all seem to move through what sounds like a large, luminous cavern embodied in your ear by low end and higher pitched drones and echoing electronic percussion. Sounds float away and flicker out and white noise hits the field of sound like rain, intermittent and ambient to the point of being nearly hypnotic itself. It’s like a miniature journey through a mystical space that seems like the memory of a walk you took in a dream to a place of great significance and tranquility. The Kalah Folklore EP will be out in 2020 but for now you can listen to its title track on Spotify and play Wurroom, a video game of an interactive art experience based on Bulat’s musical universe, developed with Michael Rfdshir. Follow Bulat at the links provided.

sergebulat.com/read
soundcloud.com/serge-bulat
facebook.com/sergebulatmusic
instagram.com/sergebulat

“Tyrannology” is Jon Ditty’s & DJ Hurley’s Character Study of Authoritarian Regimes in the Present Tense

JonDittyAndDJHurley1_sm — Jon Ditty & DJ Hurley, photo courtesy the artists

The George Carlin sample about government corruption and news clips at the beginning of “Tyrannology” sets the mood for the song to follow. Jon Ditty and DJ Hurley bring in Blueprint, Ceschi Ramos, Reed Skahill of Ajeva and HeyeYella of Zhudaru Crew in to give some choice words about the collaboration between politicians and the oligarchic class. Seems a bit topical now given the impeachment hearings against Donald Trump. The beat is playful and charged to match the subject matter but even though the topic is heavy Jon Ditty and DJ Hurley make it accessible and relatable with deft cultural references including the chorus of part of Lord Acton’s famous maxim: “absolute power corrupts absolutely.” The guest vocals never seem excessive and an excuse to have heavy hitters, it just brings some different voices to something most people of conscience have thought a lot about in the Twenty-First Century. As the title suggests, the song is a kind of character study of authoritarian regimes in the modern era as a classic echo of dictatorial orders of the past. The single is the second from the duo’s album Factory Recall and you can listen to it on Spotify and follow Jon Ditty and DJ Hurley on Facebook and Instagram (linked below).

facebook.com/therealjonditty
instagram.com/therealjonditty

Domus Searches For the Spark of Life’s Inspiration in the Dream-like Sounds of “Canada”

Domus11_sm_crop — Domus, photo courtesy the artists

“Canada,” the second single from Domus forthcoming album, comes in with a meditative dynamic, like a slow-motion motorik beat, as synths are joined by minimal guitar and distinct, melodic bass accents. Guest vocalist Ljung’s languid voice wanders into sonic frame, sometimes processed and sometimes not to suit the moment. The introspective lyrics seem to be about reconnecting with the spark in one’s life and searching in unlikely places guided by intuition and a sense of where a similarly stimulating experience or setting might exist when encountered. The sense of low key but deep yearning is palpable as the late night pace wends forward with a sense of the inevitability of that encounter even if the song is caught in dreamlike contemplation of the needs of the spirit. Listen to “Canada” on Soundcloud and follow Swedish outfit Domus at the links provided.

soundcloud.com/domusband
facebook.com/domussthlm
instagram.com/domusband

The Reckless and Angular Dynamic of NARUKORESPUSINN’s “YASI” Takes You to New Territories of the Gloriously Weird in Post-punk

NARUKORESPUSINN1_sm — NARUKOPRESINN, photo courtesy the artists

NARUKORESPUSINN fool you in the beginning of “YASI” with a slightly off kilter but urgent saxophone line before guitar comes in at an even stranger angle that seems out of tune but makes sense on its own. The frantic vocals stretch the sonic palette of the song in yet another dimension for an over effect like a song that relentlessly borrows ideas from broadly disparate sources. The angular yet reckless dynamic is reminiscent of The Pop Group teaming up with The Contortions. That toward the end of the song the group uses an odd organ sound to accent the melodic line before launching into hyperkinetic guitar work preceding an outro that wonderfully returns to where the song started but almost as if to punctuate that this song and this band is not going to fit in with the program and you’re better for having listened to a song like it. Contemporaneously the group should be playing shows with the likes of Lithics and Old Time Relijun but for now you probably won’t get to see them out of Taiwan and Japan. But the very existence of this band in Japan gives one hope for the world. Listen to “YASI” on Soundcloud and follow NARUKOREPUSINN at the links provided.

narukorepusinn.tumblr.com
soundcloud.com/narukorepusinn
narukorepusinn.bandcamp.com/track/yasi
twitter.com/tintinkunkun
facebook.com/NARUKOREPUSINN.FUK
instagram.com/naokisakata_1981

The Delicate Sensibility of Linda Gardens’ “New Year’s Day” Reveals a Tender and More Refined Side of Modern Darkwave

LindaGardens1_crop — Linda Gardens *Real Time* cover (cropped)

Linda Gardens’ “New Year’s Day” single from her 2019 EP Real Time sits poised between early 2000s electroclash and synth based post-punk for a sound akin to a lo-fi Adult. Unlike a lot of music out of the modern darkwave, this song has a lighter touch and shares more in common in some ways with twee and indie pop than the brooding intensity of much post-punk. The fluttery synth tone that opens has a quality like a trained firefly rapidly emitting indicator lights to count the fast cadence of the cycle of the sound. A spindly, slightly distorted synth sound swirls through while clear yet ethereal vocals haunt the song the way the narrator aims to leave an indelible mark on the psyche of the object of her attentions: “I’d drive all night just to stand in your mind.” At moments the way the song comes together and resolves is reminiscent of Siouxsie and the Banshees circa Hyaena and that dynamic in which vocal lines trade off with shimmery and urgent instrumental passages before syncing up in counterpoint to the main melody. It sounds like a peek into an intimate world of private aspirations and cultivated dreams. Listen to “New Year’s Day” on YouTube and follow Linda Gardens at the links below.

songkick.com/artists/9891749-linda-gardens
soundcloud.com/lindagardens
lindagardens.bandcamp.com
instagram.com/linda_gardens