Queen City Sounds and Art

Isserley Plumbs the Depths of the Dark Places of the Psyche With “VEINS,” the Lead Single From Her Latest Album VIRCHOW METHOD

Isserly2_crop — Isserley, image courtesy the artist

Australian doom artist Isserley released her latest album VIRCHOW METHOD on October 4, 2019 in time for the appropriate season for its dark, gnarled mood. On lead single “VEINS” the grey background tone and swirl of distortion unfolds into an insistent, burning riff while the agonized yet melodic wails of vocals float over the proceedings like an aggrieved ghost. The album is, according to Isserlely, “an examination of self through autopsy” and all the tracks are named after body parts and each song takes us down a darkened path of personal epiphany. The ancient Greeks initiated into the Eleusinian Mysteries underwent a ritual process symbolically embodied in the story of Persephone who went to the underworld. This album feels like a musical, modern journey of getting to the core of one’s being and identity and looking deeply at the places we often don’t or which remain hidden from our conscious mind until we are willing to delve a little deeper. Fans of SubRosa, Eye of Nix and Chelsea Wolfe will appreciate the way Isserley mixes dense, distorted, dynamic atmospherics with delicate sonic details to give the songwriting depth of field and a raw, vibrant emotionalism. Listen to “VEINS” on Soundcloud and follow Isserley at the links below.

soundcloud.com/isserleyishome
youtube.com/channel/UCn9uUETm8XfdGXoK7apMVFA
isserley.bandcamp.com
twitter.com/Isserley_OwO
facebook.com/IsserleyIsHome
instagram.com/isserleyowo

Stark, sharp and Nuanced, Nuri Anderson’s New Single “Super Predator” Captures the Climate of Fear, Desperation and Defiance in the Face of Police Violence

NuriAnderson1_crop — Nuri Anderson, photo courtesy the artist

The phasing on a synth line paired with processed strings on Nuri Anderson’s new single “Super Predator” gives the perfect air of warped menace for a song that captures the tense atmosphere of the continued legacy of American racism from the rhetoric of political leaders and public policy down to the level of the street where law enforcement in many places in the country seem unable to reign in violence against African Americans, particularly young black men. It’s nothing new, anyone paying attention has seen that violence and oppression for decades. Hip-hop and punk artists have written songs on the subject for years too. Public Enemy, after all, named an album Fear of a Black Planet which included a song called “911 is a Joke.” Comedians have discussed these issues, but easily dismissed as humor. Anderson’s take on the subject is raw and also includes a nuanced yet very personal critique with his fast and adept wordplay using modern references and language. You can hear the combination of outrage and fear in the words but also a call for justice backed with one for survival because justice hasn’t exactly been forthcoming in a society claiming to be one of laws and decency. In the song Anderson speaks of having dreams but not being able to keep them it cuts deep because it goes beyond the obviously unacceptable police violence and hints at the broader realm of the way racism seems to limit the future you envision for yourself and if that police harassment is part of your everyday it has to be even that much more desperate. Listen to “Super Predator” on Spotify and follow Nuri Anderson at the links provided.

open.spotify.com/artist/32jluxx3qTb8PTnttz0aXi
instagram.com/irunbackwardz

Mobile Steve and the Grand Slams’ “Landing” is the Sound of Skullduggery Afoot in a Cybernetic Future

MobileSteveAndTheGrandSlams_crop — Mobile Steve and the Grand Slam, image courtesy the artists

The curiously named Mobile Steve and the Grand Slams offer us its new single “Landing.” The analog electronic high pitched bubbling, the distorted low end synth and circular drum figure that runs in the first half of the song sounds like an update on the theme music for the 1967 limited series television show The Prisoner. But then the song goes in a direction more abstract with throbbing sounds like a jet engine of a craft gone sinister and the engine of a transport that is taking us to some clandestine rendezvous where we’ll be asked like Snake Plisskin in Escape From New York to do some daring rescue mission with little reward for the risk. If this is meant to convey a landing as the title suggests, it’s one done after dark and in a secret location. Listen to “Landing” on YouTube and follow Mobile Steve and the Grand Slams at the links below.

facebook.com/msatgs
instagram.com/mobilestevethegrand

The Mirrored Narrative of Jr. Rhodes’ “Trust Nobody” Reveals the Corrosive Power of Miscommunication in a Relationship Without Casting Anyone as the Villain

JrRhodes1_lg — Jr. Rhodes, photo courtesy the artist

Jr. Rhodes takes some risks on “Trust Nobody” in taking the first verse from the perspective of a woman, the second from the point of view of a man, both in a relationship together and airing frustrations. The first verse ends with the call to a voicemail. The second ends with listening to the voicemail left. The words illustrate a basic miscommunication and misapprehension between the two people but it doesn’t try to cast one or both parties as having ill intent or casting the other as irrational–no one is the villain of the piece. We just hear confusion and a yearning for reconnecting in a way that works for both people but most importantly, the expectations and needs spelled out explicitly and none of which sounds overly demanding, just not met. All while a spare, melancholic guitar melody sketches the lines of tear-streaked misery happening in the song and an even more minimal beat keeps a pace that while obviously programmed, comes off as accenting the vibe of the moment. While the song sounds like the beginning of the end of the relationship one also hears how with a little trust, perhaps the ability of which was damaged by past relationships, these two can patch things up. Listen to “Trust Nobody” on Soundcloud and follow Jr. Rhodes on Instagram linked below.

instagram.com/jrrhodesmusic

The Pastoral and Luminious “Cracked Porcelain” is but One Chapter of Kris Kelly’s Bohemian Coming of Age Album Runaways

KrisKelly6_sm — Kris Kelly, photo courtesy the artist

Kris Kelly’s vocals on “Cracked Porcelain” have a graceful, fragile quality matched by the delicate guitar work and luminous orchestral melody. It suggests a grand arc of a story and reflecting on the events that have transpired. Like an extended prologue before the main story takes place, introducing themes that recur throughout the narrative. The music video is like something out of 1970s manga depicting two figures making their way through a desert and reaching an oasis together where they indulge delights of the senses represented by endless food and drink and other hedonistic pursuits. One of the figures makes a break from this trap of endless indulgence and while the song comes to an end we are left wanting more of the story. The lyric, “We couldn’t see what we sacrificed for our gala” sums up the story so far well and the perils of a life out of balance and also suggests more to come. Turns out “Cracked Porcelain” is at the halfway mark of Kelly’s 2019 album Runaways and thus the turning point of a story of a young person’s journey from youthful wanderlust and excess to a place of love and belonging after making mistakes along the way, in form and structure the equivalent of a Bildungsroman. Watch the video on YouTube, visit Kelly’s website (linked below) to further explore the new album and follow the artist at the links provided.

kriskellymusic.com
soundcloud.com/kriskellymusic
open.spotify.com/artist/1ZBQXa9gaZit3EGc9g5c7l
youtube.com/channel/UCkWMVjoZzEPgouK9IXQh-Og/featured
twitter.com/KrisKellyMusic
facebook.com/KrisKellyMusic
instagram.com/kriskellymusic

stillhungry’s Warmly Melancholic “Sunco” is Makes Taking Accountability For Your Failures Seem Survivable

stillhungry1_sm — stillhungry, photo courtesy the artists

“Sunco,” the lead single from the new, self-titled album by Asbury, NJ-based band stillhungry takes a simple but intricate melody as the backdrop to finely complimentary vocal harmonies that sound like the affectionate but weary letter to a friend or a rehearsal for a serious conversation about life and where it’s going because some conversations are more difficult than others to have when maybe you need to take a different approach than you normally would. The gorgeously composed guitar work and the expertly cast keyboard atmospheres and seemingly steady but subtly dynamic pace is reminiscent of Low in the twenty-first century as is the countrified flavor of certain aspects of the songwriting but that all serves to give the song a crucial earnestness and warmth of tone for its lyrics to work. Everyone has had plans for life that didn’t work out or crashed nearly catastrophically and certainly friends and relatives who have had that experience. Because the seduction of those plans maybe made you ignore some of the warning signs of where it could go wrong. In the line, “Technicolor makes you wonder why it hurts so bad, thought you saw it coming but it was only a dream you had,” stillhungry acknowledges that way we will justify so much in the name of what we want or think we want. And in the aftermath of our world crashing down it’s so tempting to wallow in bitter misery and to reject the world, which the band articulates so well in singing, “You care so much about not caring at all/I know you’ve been slumping wearing dirty rags and sittin’ still/ Promised your mother you wouldn’t break it but you will.” But it isn’t a song about making judgments so much as it is about accountability and a gentle reminder that one needn’t cling to dreams and ideas that aren’t working by punishing yourself by holding the failure so close and doing little to nothing to move on. We’ve all been there if we’ve done anything even semi-significant in our lives. Listen to “Sunco” on Spotify and follow stillhungry at the links below.

open.spotify.com/artist/1bCzAERNkClcbD2V2gznc2
youtube.com/channel/UCNCg6qIbgM1-492uAlWmARQ
stillhungryband.bandcamp.com
twitter.com/stillhungryband
facebook.com/stillhungryband
instagram.com/stillhungryband

Wandour’s “Flux” Coaxes the Mind Into an Emotional Journey With No Set Destination as a Path Out of Mental Stagnation

Wandour1_sm — Wandour, image courtesy the artist

Fluttering breezes of melody swirl around the synth swells in the beginning of Wandour’s “Flux” before vocals come in like speech coming in from real life into a dream. A crystalline arpeggio echoes gently in the distance when the song reaches the cruising velocity it seemed to be aiming for earlier in the song as all sounds floated upwards even as the vocals say, “Going nowhere.” Nowhere physically, maybe but certainly the vibe of the song is transporting and transcending everyday concerns. But no specific destination in mind or through intention. The bright streams of incandescent sound give way to almost atonal, processed bell tones before the the song lands in the fadeout with an effect akin to the heady effervescence of Slowdive’s cover of Syd Barrett’s “Golden Hair.” There is a coolness to the song that parallels the arrival of fall making this latest single by Wandour arrive at exactly the right time. Listen to “Flux” on Soundcloud and follow Wandour at the links provided. Also check out Wandour’s equally entrancing Night Wandering EP on Spotify.

soundcloud.com/wandour
open.spotify.com/artist/3Ak1a7Dr0OryHJZbiFbnFr

MONOGEM’s Latest Single “Soy Lo Que Soy” Is, Downtempo, Latin Synth Pop Homage to Mother Culture

MONOGEM_AveryWheless_lg — MONOGEM, photo by Avery Wheless

The new MONOGEM single “Soy Lo Que Soy” is a sultry electronic pop homage to one’s roots and heritage. The accents of synth arpeggio, shakers and Latin rhythms with the Spanish language lyrics (the title translates to “I Am What I Am”) defies easy categorization. It’s a downtempo song with a sound palette different from what we’re used to hearing in that style of music. It’s also a break from the lush and hazy, soulful synth pop that MONOGEM has released thus far. But as with her other songs, on “Soy Lo Que Soy” MONOGEM makes expert use of space. The vocals sit just right in the mix, the aforementioned arpeggios are quick and just as quickly decay in fast echo. The songwriting gives you the room to take it in on its terms and your own, meeting you partway by leaving the emotional and sonic space in its dynamics. The song was inspired by MONOGEM’s abuela Hortensia to never stop speaking Spanish and holding onto the culture. And thus aside from the language in the song and the touchstones of Latin music, its deeply introspective tones and sonic economy suggests some interesting directions of groth for the artist. Listen to “Soy Le Que Soy” on Soundcloud and look for MONOGEM’s full-length So Many Ways due out October 18. Follow MONOGEM at the links below.

monogem.com
soundcloud.com/monogem
twitter.com/Monogemlovesyou
facebook.com/monogemlovesyou
instagram.com/monogem

Lejonhjärta’s “I Try Alone” is a Darkwave Song About the Struggles of Overcoming Inner Obstacles to Live the Life You Desire

Lejonhjärta2_sm — Lejonhjärta, image courtesy the artists

Lejonhjärta’s new single “I Try Alone” alternates between passages of dense distorted synths and clean, spare passages through which sounds traverse whether that’s a single strand of the aforementioned synths, or ethereal guitar. Through it all the hushed vocals draw you in to a narrative about the personal ghosts of anxiety that keep some of us self-isolating when we yearn to be out doing the things that seem important or even merely normal and how in breaking that pattern we are largely on our own. The contrasting sounds and dynamics of the song provide the dramatic energy not unlike the sort of compositional style as you might hear on an early Fad Gadget track or Xeno & Oaklander channeling their atmospherics and textures into more overtly pop shapes. And although the song seems to be about a kind of soul deep loneliness reinforced by aspects of your personality it is one whose core melody strikes one as being hopeful. Like the song is an acknowledgment of a phase that will pass even though it has felt like forever. Listen to “I Try Alone” on Soundcloud and follow Lejonhjärta on Facebook linked below.

facebook.com/mittlejonhjarta

With Plaintive Robotic Voices and Relentless Evolving Rhythms, Oh Mr James Brings us Along for a Ride Through a Cybernetic Jungle on “Screaming Banshees”

OhMrJames_Primer_cover_crop — Oh Mr James, *Primer* EP cover

“Screaming Banshees” by Oh Mr James is the lead single from the latter’s new EP Primer. At first one hears the urgent breakbeats, alien robotic voices and ambient swells and take into consideration that the project is called Oh Mr James and wonder if that James is Richard D. James of Aphex Twin fame operating under a different moniker as the artist is also from Cornwall and the song wouldn’t be out of step with Aphex Twin’s most recent compositions. Whether that’s true or not, this song doesn’t sound like an omen of death so much as multiple planes of musical ideas working over and with each other in sync. The electronic percussion parallels and reinforces the staccato yet bouncing bass progression sounding like a frantic teletype receiving portentous news. Multiple synths come together throughout the song as the carriers of the melody while background atmospherics are the connective tissue for the song which you come to realize is a bit like the musical model of the functioning of a fast moving animal that races across the earth and arrives at its destination and place of rest at song’s end. Whatever the purpose of the song it takes us on a journey of texture and emotion rich in detail and expertly executed polyrhythms that make it impossible to ignore yet non-invasive enough to stimulate your brain into creative realms of thought. Listen to “Screaming Banshee” on Soundcloud