Queen City Sounds and Art

A Sprawling Epic of Soundscapes and Dynamics, Carlo Peluso’s “Earthshape” is Like an Homage to Classic Progressive Rock and Jazz Fusion

Normally older tracks don’t get written up through Queen City Sounds and Art but when Carlo Peluso’s “Earthshape” from his 2015 EP EarthShape was submitted to us through Submithub, the rare exception was made. It sounds like Peluso listened to “And You And I” by Yes several dozen times and absorbed the tonality and structure of the song and its exquisite sonic details. Then wrote a kind of homage to how that song made him feel but did it in his own musical vocabulary that includes un-processed piano alongside electronics and synth and across the song’s 18 minutes 36 seconds takes us through the sonic equivalent of jazz ballrooms that Emerson, Lake & Palmer would have hung out with Mahavishnu Orchestra circa the writing of Tarkus. The intertwining arpeggios between Peluso on Keyboards, Giovanni Peluso on guitars and Marco Fabricci on bass is impressive and inventive, expressive and diverse across the entire song as though the trio is trying to evoke what it might be like to cross time zones, landscapes and cultures on a truly global world tour. Certainly the song is ambitious in its composition and perhaps aspirational in terms of where the band would want to take their music. Its scope is panoramic and while the chops of the players is evident like the work of many of the progressive rock bands of the 60s and 70s the aim is to express creative ideas using a broad palette of sound and dynamics in the maximalist way that has kept a good slice of that music interesting decades later. Follow Carlo Peluso at the links below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dcYr8SsBLc
https://play.spotify.com/album/3DSj1fRPDinlxDjSZGiuyI
https://www.facebook.com/carlopelusomusic
https://carlopeluso.bandcamp.com

The Brash Introspection of The Beekeepers’ “Endless Spiral Notebooks” Has an Undeniably Self-Effacing Charm

TheBeekeepers1_crop — The Beekeepers, photo courtesy the artists

The Beekeepers’ “Endless Spiral Notebooks” is an homage to the numerous journals and diaries a certain kind of person uses to work out personal angst and flesh out ideas all of which can be later consulted for creative inspiration or a reminder how ridiculous one can be charting your personal development in such an informal manner. Maybe you’ll read something or see a doodle that will make you cringe but the possible level of self accountability can be high. Musically the song is a lo-fi jangle that fans of New Zealand bands like The Clean and The Bats or American groups like Tyvek may find to their liking. It’s raw, off-the-cuff but not short on an undeniable charm informed by a paradoxically brash introspection. Listen to the song on Bandcamp where you can also follow the band’s happenings.

Song Demos by The Beekeepers

the-beekeepers.bandcamp.com

While Away the Dog Days of Summer in pantology’s “Lost Summer,” the Hippest Hold and Intermission Music Going

pantology1_sm — pantology, photo courtesy the artist

The strings in the beginning of pantology’s “Lost Summer” sound like an analog for the cool breeze vibe that permeats the rest of the track. Like a blend of new age meditation music, downtempo funk and library music. The low white noise, 808-esque clap sounds and Rhodes piano coupled with a Worrell-esque organ sound on top gives the song a sound like an ultra-hip late night jazz station willing to indulge the weirder end of the art form. There is a shimmer effect placed expertly throughout the song giving the whole song the vibe of an instructional video, that surreal energy of officialdom that weirdo artists have infiltrated to subversively insert content with a decidedly anti-corporate content. If Muzak had hired a cadre of songwriters from KPM Music to write intermission music it might sound a lot like this evocative and lush slice of über chillout zone and like a summer song you’d like to get lost within. Listen to “Lost Summer” on Soundcloud and follow pantology at the links provided.

soundcloud.com/pantology
pantology.bandcamp.com/releases
instagram.com/pantologymusic

“Venice” by Magdalena Bay Encourages Us To Calm Our Minds In Addressing the Global Challenges Rather Than Indulge in Non-Productive Angst

MagdalenaBay6_crop — Magdalena Bay, photo courtesy the artists

For a song about the world possibly ending, Magdalena Bay’s “Venice” is a dance pop song with texture and a great pairing of dire pronouncements and a spirit to enjoy life in spite of the urgency of the moment. Inspired in part by walking through Venice, California, perhaps Ghost Town, perhaps the boardwalk, the duo imbue the song with a duality that acknowledges the normal human impulse to seek out fun even in the face of the worst possibilities almost as a way of staying sane in tough times. It’s not quite whistling in the graveyard but given the predictions that human civilization as we know it might be done by around the middle of the century “Venice” is also a hopeful song that reminds us that panicking and focusing only on the drear won’t make tackling the most serious issues in our lives easier and having a kind of nonchalance means maybe you can focus and be more effective than you would be if you were losing your mind as some misplaced outward demonstration that you are taking the situation seriously. Magadalena Bay suggests its better to have a chill attitude, acknowledge the threat and do the best you can in saving everyone’s lives without losing your cool. Listen to “Venice” on Spotify and follow Magdalena Bay on Instagram.

soundcloud.com/magbae

“Opening Credits” by Superheart is a Nostalgic Pop Song That Suggests a Brighter Future

Superheart_cover1_sm — Superheart, image courtesy the artists

“Opening Credits” begins with a pilot speaking over the airplane P.A. welcoming us on a journey to who knows where. But it doesn’t matter as the bright melody eases us into what sounds like the first part of a modern movie taking place in the late 80s but with a wistful and whimsical quality like a prequel to Joe Versus The Volcano or the sequel to Roxanne. Except with T’pau collaborating with Anne Dudley to make music for a romantic comedy where everything turns out beautifully yet without that movie being cheesy. The song’s melody transports you to a better place in your memory while also tapping into the nostalgia centers of your brain. All while paradoxically looking forward to better days ahead. Listen to Superheart’s “Opening Credits” on Soundcloud and explore more by the group at the link below.

soundcloud.com/superheartmusic

Repenter Send Up the Dubious Achievements of Influencer Culture on Sardonic Rock and Roll Song “So Sick”

Repenter1_crop — Repenter, image courtesy the artists

Nevermind the Frank Frazetta-esque artwork, Repenter’s “So Sick” isn’t a metal or industrial song. It’s a headlong, sardonic send-up of influencer culture and the way some people in pursuing trends or trying to stay ahead of them all but become a human meme. The opening line, “Make a face at your phone like you’re Zoolander” sets the tone but the lyrics seem to be coming from a place that isn’t just cutting and sarcastic but from the perspective from someone who is wondering why anyone would make themselves so overtly a product to be marketed and consumed when most of us already give too much of our lives to social media companies to monetize and sell off to other corporations in order to provide data for market research. It would be too obvious to mock people who do the thing they’re being encouraged, conditioned and reinforced in doing with dubious rewards the things people imagine they must to become the mythical celebrity influencer that many aspire to be. “I just want you to know I ain’t mad at ya, but I ain’t a fan of ya/You’re just so sick with yourself, you don’t need my help,” the song’s chorus makes the perspective more explicit. Holly Winter’s vocals, with a cadence reminiscent of Karen O and the introspective but tough-edged tonality of Martha Davis, paired with a short, sharp, gritty rock and roll song conveys an outsider’s critique of what seems like an inherently toxic cultural anomaly. Listen to “So Sick” at the Soundcloud link below.

Digital Moss Conjures a Vision of Future Urban Decay and the Creative Community That Will Come to Embrace it on “nosa sifu”

DigitalMoss1_crop — Digital Moss, image courtesy of the artist

Digital Moss is the solo project of Evgenii of Russian synth/ambient trio I am waiting for you last summer. For the project’s latest single “nosa sifu” Evgenii makes maximum use of two voices on his modular synth for a rich and stirring sound reminiscent of Sinoia Caves’ work for the soundtrack to Beyond the Black Rainbow. It’s the kind of sound that suggests imagery and recalls the vibe and tone of avant-garde comics like material that would have been published in the magazine Garo in Japan and Italy’s L’Eternauta but perhaps more specifically this music seems to fit the comics and graphic novels that have come out of the Les Humanoïdes Associés (Humanoids in English) imprint. You know, the publisher of Métal Hurlant aka Heavy Metal. This song is so resonant with the style of Cathargo and The Saga of The Meta-Barons (and the work of Juan Giménez, Alejandro Jodorowsky and Moebius generally) that one hopes Digital Moss, Sinoia Caves too (maybe a collaboration) is tapped when someone finally makes a modern movie out of any of that. There is a strong sense of place in some far flung future of abundant urban decay as far as the eye can see upon which one might project one’s imagination and find a space to explore and express the products of that ferment as people have so often done in the past and present in forgotten and neglected parts of big cities around the world. Listen to “nosa sifu” on Soundcloud and follow Digital Moss at the links below.

soundcloud.com/digitalmoss
open.spotify.com/artist/56m25Ot58GnKosZoB220kB
youtube.com/channel/UCbK56gCyJzDVwaA0I_PDP7Q
digitalmoss.bandcamp.com

Jon Ives’ Cinematic Track “Between The Times” is the Soundtrack to the Denouement of a Chapter of Your Life

JonIves6_sm — Jon Ives, photo courtesy the artist

Jon Ives has said that “Between The Times” feels to him like the end credits of a movie or video game. And the way the song evolves and resolves feels like the conclusion of something for certain. Especially when the gently swirling synths come in, sweeping into the song like cool ocean breeze, clearing out the unresolved issues and bringing a clarity to the next section of the song that sounds more certain than the reflective tone of the first third of the song. The tonal pitch on the synth in the final third of the song used more sparingly earlier puts you in a frame of mind of concluding your current life’s adventure, to accepting closure of feelings you were processing maybe for years but which seem clear to you know and ready to put to rest. It is a song that welcomes you to where you’ve been wanting to end up but where your conscious mind was blocking you from accepting until now. Listen to “Between The Times” on Spotify and follow Jon Ives at the links below.

jonives.de
instagram.com/jon_ives_

The Intricate Guitar Work and Dynamic Swells of Feeling on Amberhill’s “Indecision” is the Perfect Embodiment of the Romance and Mixed Feelings of an Unrequited Love

Amberhill1 — Amberhill, imagery courtesy the artist

“Indecision” by Amberhill begins, oddly enough, on a note of raw musical enthusiasm before falling back into a melancholic introspection. But throughout the intricate, math-y guitar work threads the song with the fragile emotions and nervous energy one would expect of a song about a love long desired but never fully acted upon—the sort of subject matter of many an emo song. The upswinging arpeggios and emotional exuberance and countermelodies, though, set “Indecision” beyond the purview of emo throwback. The musicianship is technically proficient but the performances heartfelt, the delicacy of feeling in the lyrics are informed by an emotional nuance that speaks to an understanding of the human heart that goes beyond the black and white feelings of adolescence. There is a care and a warmth to the romantic tones of the Joshua Lau’s singing and the rush and dissolution of mood evolve with the dynamism of the tides reflects the songwriter’s intimate familiarity with the ways one’s feelings evolve over time and the way strong feelings dilates your experiential time. The synth work in the song in particular enhances the whimsical, daydreaming quality of the sparkling guitar giving the track a sonic depth that isn’t always there with music written in a similar or adjacent style. “Indecision” is the lead track on the project’s forthcoming album Motion & Bloom but for now you can listen to the song on Spotify and follow Amberhill on the band’s Spotify artist account.

“New Angels” by Tess Posner is a Song of Resistance to the Despair in the Agony of the World Today

TessPosner1_sm — Tess Posner, photo courtesy the artist

Tess Posner wrote “New Angels” as a response to her witnessing a man being killed but not covered by the local news. But the song is also inspired by what seems to be a never ending series of catastrophic events in the world of late including the 2018 Camp Fire in Northern California that devastated huge swaths of the forest and sent smoke into the air affecting the environment and living creates far beyond the borders of the state. Posner’s dynamic vocals range from the close and personal to the soaring and in her words we hear the ways in which despair can be instilled in us but also how we can resist giving in to that psychological paralysis that makes even worse consequences inevitable. Posner offers no shallow and pat answers or the insipid hopes and prayers pabulum. She evokes her own reaction to events and how she tries to transform despair into hope and action in spite of the pain and struggle hinting that maybe we all need to be the world’s new angels in the ways that we can in order to turn things around. Listen to “New Angels” on Soundcloud and follow Posner at the links provided.

sonicbids.com/band/tessposner
soundcloud.com/tessposnermusic
open.spotify.com/artist/6E0ipJwSn72SyGZUHAp2ht