SubmitHub – Page 152 – Queen City Sounds and Art

Annie O’Neill’s “Wild Card” Boldly Embraces One’s Human Frailty and Shortcomings As Part of Authentic Living

Annie O’Neill, photo courtesy the artist

The title track to Annie O’Neill’s EP Wild Card is immediately striking for O’Neill’s emotionally direct vocals and ability to shift dynamics and tone on a dime. The deft but subtle chord changes lend the song a musical complexity that you’re not expecting in a bluesy rock song that’s just a bit over three minutes long. That compositional sophistication coupled with O’Neill’s confident vocals has a forcefulness and sense of mystery that one hears in the music of Heart, particularly when Amy Denio lends her vocals for the tasteful harmonies. Like many of the songs of the latter, “Wild Card” is about the contrasting emotions that happen in intense relationships, the kind that change and challenge you in various ways even if they ultimately have to end because they’re not good for you. “Wild Card” seems to be a nod to a creative partnership of some kind in which one party thinks the other is naive and foolish because she’s singer who, like pretty much everyone honest about it, hasn’t lead a 100% exemplary life because we don’t live in a world designed to reward talent and integrity while pretending to. And to make it through a world like that you often have to pretend you have no reaction to what’s thrown at you. Yet how long and how often can you pretend before you have to say something or react in a way that might make others nervous? The line “Doesn’t everybody fall from grace sometimes?” is so poignant as it calls out the way our culture holds everyone to impossible standards with no context, scrutiny without accountability from a place of humanity, understanding and compassion. Listen to “Wild Card” on Soundcloud and connect with Annie O’Neill on Spotify.

Through Flames Deconstructs the Dystopian Late Capitalist Conditioning in the Call and Response Dialectic of “No Clothes on the Warden”

Brad Hamers and jdaugh bring their respective backgrounds in music, poetry, performance art, visual art and filmmaking to bear for their new project Through Flames. The duo released its debut self-titled LP on Apri 24, 2020 and the single “No Clothes on the Warden” cleverly makes use of the concept of “the emperor has no clothes” to deconstruct the economic and political realities we internalize and take for granted that if we’re able to break our conditioning and see things for how they are the whole thing could crumble in a matter of days or months and maybe we would be forced to simply live in a better world where there’s no techno-plutocratic agenda necessitating a police and surveillance state to smooth the funneling of most public goods to the upper one percent of one percent. In a fascinating use of call and response delivering couplets of observations on society in a way that challenges rote and familiar constructions of thought and language to almost force you to think about what’s being vocalized and in turn examine your ow thinking on the subject of our ascribed roles in the dystopian late capitalist international system that we find ourselves in now and which threatens the existence of us all and the safety of the planet. But rather than torching the edifice of such verbally and musically, Through Flames with this song dismantles the cognitive framework that keeps it in place in your brain in a playful and charming way. The accompanying rhythms, drones and spare melodies make what is a fairly radical set of propositions vis what is now for us the norm much easier to accept and that is what makes for a work of art that might help change things. Listen to “No Clothes on the Warden” on Soundcloud and connect with Through Flames at the links below.

https://throughflames.bandcamp.com

The Softly Romantic “Give It A Chance” by Paragon Cause Puts You in a Nostalgic and Hopeful Frame of Mind

Paragon Cause, photo courtesy the artists

One imagines soft lighting, filters to cast the scene in warm colors, slow swirls of fog in listening to “Give It A Chance.” The single by Paragon Cause from its new album What We Started produced by Sune Rose of The Ravenonettes started life as a lo-fi hip-hop song but evolved into something more like the the New Wave pop R&B you might have heard in the early 80s like when Sheena Easton did “For Your Eyes Only.” And there is some of that romance to the tone of the song but in the vocals there is more of an enticement than an offering, thus the title of the song. It sounds like an invitation to attempt get two people to try loving again after getting hurt in the past and being reluctant to being vulnerable and open. The effervescent synth washes, softly accented percussion and simple keyboard melody augment the melodious vocals, drawing you into a winsome vision of possibilities without being pushy or desperate about those feelings. While invoking the moods and sounds of an earlier era of music in the end the song sounds very much of the present even as it borrows, intentionally or not, from the vibe of 70s and 80s soft rock. The production places the track in the present and its use of layered dynamics and atmospheres meticulously but subtly puts you in a nostalgic and hopeful frame of mind. Listen to “Give It A Chance” on Spotify and follow Paragon Cause at the links below.

https://soundcloud.com/paragon_cause
https://paragoncause.bandcamp.com
https://twitter.com/ParagonCause
https://www.facebook.com/ParagonCause
https://www.instagram.com/paragoncause

Anhedral’s Flowing Ambient Piece “Coffee@sea” is Like a Sense Memory of Life Before The Plague and a Seed For a Future Life Lived in Full Definition

“Coffee@sea” has its roots in Anhedral’s submission to the Adam Audio Soundtrack Competition 2020. The challenge was to create a thirty second piece of music for Edward Hopper’s classic 1942 painting “Nighthawks.” Anhedral didn’t win and instead took the essence of the piece and extended it out to six minutes and eight seconds of flowing, abstract harmonics that sound distant but comforting. It was perhaps intended to reflect the way many of us have had to live during the 2020 global pandemic sometimes with the world we knew as a memory of a better time that beckons to us but to which we must be content to hold on to that memory until we can be reunited with life in full definition. Fans of The Sight Below and Seefeel’s more blissed out and hazy moments will appreciate Anhedral’s unobtrusive yet immersive soundscape. Listen to “Coffee@sea” on Spotify and connect with Anhedral at the links provided.

https://soundcloud.com/anhedralsg
https://anhedralsg.bandcamp.com

JJCnV Gives Us a Dream of a Future Less Wack in the Retro-Futurist Video For Fuzz Punk Pop Song “Time Machine”

Phoenix-based art punk band JJCnV recently released its single and video “Time Machine” giving a visual side of a song that seems to be about traveling in time to meet up with kindred space aliens to take off from this often dystopian hellscape of a present world. The contrast of crunchy riffs and melodic vocals is paired well with a video that’s black and white like a cross between Repo Man and an old episode of The Twilight Zone with black and white giving way to the color of the star crowded sky in full color hanging over the black and white earth and the three members of the band walking down the road for a better life. In the beginning of the video singer/guitarist Dana Stern is indulging in a reading diet of Jules Verne’s pioneering work of science fiction, 1870’s Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas, Andre Norton’s 1952 post-apocalyptic science fiction classic Daybreak 2250 A.D. and Betty Friedan’s 1963 feminist landmark The Feminine Mystique. All significant choices as each involve daring to imagine a better future and working toward one but also knowing there can be one. Heady stuff for a roughly two and a half minute punk song but it gives an added dimension of meaning to what the song and the band is about and the use of music and art as a vehicle for maybe making a more humane and vital future a possibility by creating works that embody the aspiration toward and vision of a society in which you’d actually want to live. Watch the video for “Time Machine” on YouTube, connect with JJCnV at the links provided and give a listen to the group’s new EP Stays Up Late, which includes “Time Machine,” which released on Bandcamp on May 8, 2020.

https://soundcloud.com/heyheycnv/3-happyning
https://jjcnv.bandcamp.com
https://twitter.com/jjcnv
https://www.facebook.com/jjcnv
https://www.instagram.com/jjcnv

Lunakid’s “Living In The Last Days” is a Reflection of the Brooding Menace and Glimmer of Hope Inherent to a World Facing Multiple Existential Crises

The rapid eye movement in the video for Lunakid’s “Living In The Last Days” reflects the dark urgency of the track. The title may be a bit on the nose for the various crises the world faces from the COVID-19 outbreak to the rise of far right political parties and authoritarian regimes in general across the world, the climate crisis bearing rapidly upon us all and all manner of issues that make right now feel like we are living as though it’s the last days of the human race. The mix of organic sounds and analog synths give this electronic song a physicality and emotional directness that brings you into that dark moment of realization and allows for a catharsis of that angst that makes the pressures coming at you from all angles seem manageable through the resolve at the end part of the song. The building of tension in the beginning and the natural and almost intuitive shift in direction and tone is a nice touch that transform darkness into not a state of denial but one of quiescence able to take on challenges ahead rather than in a perpetual mode of trauma management that will eventually erode your ability to handle anything when you really need to and sooner than later we all will in our various ways and through our multifarious capabilities. Watch the video for “Living In The Last Days” on YouTube and connect with the German production project at the website linked below.

www.lunakid.net

DOV’s Brooding and Deeply Resonant Downtempo Pop Song “Reciprocate” Speaks to the Universal Human Need for Genuine Love for a Night or a Lifetime

DOV establishes a deep sense of regret and disaffection on his single “Reciprocate.” The processing on the vocals, provided by London artist Vaughan, gives its almost falsetto tones in the choruses a distorted quality that enhances its message of yearning for real emotional connection in an era when many people pursue their natural sexual impulses through apps and other online avenues and can kind of scroll through a seemingly endless string of people as though choosing something to try out for awhile or just once. The lingering but propulsive bass line, the bell tone arpeggio and shuffling percussion are both brooding and contemplative, giving one a feeling of unease. The accompanying music video, according to the artist, “explores the representation of queer male sexuality in ’80s media through vintage porn and film clips” where even the hint of emotional bonding between people and the sometimes lurid romance of it seems preferable and more real than the even more highly mediated experiences one can have today. Everyone wants to be loved, to feel special even if a relationship isn’t lasting and the song evokes that desire, that need, in a resonant way whether or not the LGBTQ aspect of the video or the song is something that directly correlates to your life. The core humanity of it is universally relatable in a powerful way and this moody, electronic pop song stays with you long after it’s over. Watch the video for “Reciprocate” on YouTube, connect with DOV at the links provided and look out for the five-track It Feels Right EP due out July 24.

https://open.spotify.com/artist/2hZZ8OqdBU60DJTCt0OTKc
https://soundcloud.com/dovisnotabird
https://www.facebook.com/dovisnotabird
https://www.instagram.com/dovisnotabird

“Rise Up To Pray For The Dawn” The Malibu Beachband is Like a Massage and a Cleanse for the Psyche

The Malibu Beachband “Rise Up To Pray For The Dawn” cover

The Malibu Beachband is from Denmark and its single “Rise Up To Pray For The Dawn” may be inspired being in Istanbul one summer for a friend’s wedding and waking up before sunrise to hear the Imams utter the appropriate prayers (the Güneş) through speaker systems but the vibe of the song invokes the kind of mood one experiences in Southern California in the early morning assuming you’re not scrambling to get to some job. The organic flow of textures, impressionistic guitar work reminiscent of Daniel Lanois’ own on Brian Eno’s Apollo album, the blissful vocals tracing the slow arc of the sun into the full bloom of day and the delicate percussion flourishes through bells and drums have an effect similar to that of the music of Alice Coltrane’s spiritual albums. It is like a massage and a cleanse for the psyche, much needed in these angst-ridden times, and you’re better for having given it some time with your ears. Listen to “Rise Up To Pray For The Dawn” on YouTube, connect with The Malibu Beachband on Spotify where you can listen to the rest of the Freestyle Alternatives EP.

Mashmellow Captures the Peak Moments of a Magical Romance With Its Dream Pop Single “Share It”

Mashmellow seems to channel a bit of The Shape of Water in its colorful and imaginative video for its debut single “Share It” with its own plot of a romance between a mermaid and an earthbound human. The duo comprised of Masha Shurygina and Egor Berdnikov (of popular Russian indie rock band Hospital) are now based out of Moscow but have roots in Eastern Russia in the Vladivostok area. Inspired in part by 90s dream pop in the writing of the single, the band captures the sweeping dynamic of that era of music with the fuzz tones giving some grit to ethereal melodies but its captivating layering of the music with Shuygina’s melodious voice sets it apart from the current wave of 90s nostalgia rock. The production and choice of pace and rhythm has more in common with the likes of Voice of the Beehive more so than the ambient rock of Seefeel or Slowdive. Though its experiments in entrancing atmospheres throughout the song resonate with the work of those bands as well. It’s an elegant pop song with a touch of power behind the guitar work and an ear for evocative dynamics that strike the perfect balance of uplifting passages and those more introspective. The single was released by Revolver Records (UK) with a forthcoming EP due out in 2020. Watch the video for “Share It” on YouTube and follow Mashmellow at the links below.

https://soundcloud.com/wearemashmellow
https://open.spotify.com/artist/07QqFGQPEVwVtv3jCOy6Wr
https://music.apple.com/us/artist/mashmellow/1506641635

Kosch & Bosco’s “Othered Bubble” is a Concise, Jazz Pop Exploration of Self-Alienation

Kosch & Bosco give us a rather unusual music video for its short song “Othered Bubble,” a song with an enigmantic title as well. It looks comprised of repurposed scientific process videos of material dynamics and titration, of manufacturing and the automated production of a plastic toy. The song, what might be described as progressive jazz with all the fluff cut out, seems like a commentary on the way many people self-alienate by holding other people in some way as inferior. The lines “Radioactive in my othered bubble/Completely different, nothing but trouble/I am better than this, I want to be better than this” point to an awareness of how problematic such a cultivated stance of considering oneself separate from other people, special even, and how toxic such a mindset can be. That this song is kind of a jaunty jazz pop tune is coupled with the video and those lyrics gives it an interesting conceptual contrast that is sustained and contained perfectly in its one minute, sixteen second duration. Connect with Kosch & Bosco at the links below.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIWnfdZWxibHnFvm7WxVzhQ
https://www.facebook.com/koschandboso