SubmitHub – Page 157 – Queen City Sounds and Art

frogi Sings With Gentle Immediacy of a Love That Transcends Time and Space on “til i turn blue”

The way frogi arranges her atmospheric melodies has always given her songs a strong emotional resonance. They craft a sense of intimacy with the listener with a gentle immediacy. Her song “til i turn blue” catches us up in drifting with a nearly impressionistic piano melody and frogi’s contemplating the nature of the strong love bond and how it changes and evolves across years. How some people seem to be able to pull at our heartstrings because somehow we understand or have a natural empathy for what they’re going through and even if we drift apart for a time or forever that emotional dynamic somehow remains. Sometimes we struggle against it but frogi’s song speaks of an acceptance of that bond of love even if it can’t be the same as it once was because even if our lives change because we evolve as people it’s not so difficult to understand that our relationship to the bond can evolve as well if we don’t cling to the demands of ego’s insistence on the linear and the now. It’s a song about love in the spiritual and worldly sense but one that is imbued with a comprehension of the overlap. In a time of great conflict it’s a strong reminder of greater possibilities in our relationships with each other. Listen to “til i turn blue” on Soundcloud and connect with frogi at the links below.

open.spotify.com/artist/0frlcBV9pFq0Ip624rdUen
instagram.com/frogimakesmusic

Woods End’s “Rowan Road” is a Vividly Haunted Tale of Heartache and Loss

The soundscapes of “Rowan Road” by Woods End convey the physical and emotional sense of wide open spaces and the kind of isolation that induces an introspective spirit. With acoustic guitar, drums and piano sweep of drones give shading to delicate melodies through which the haunted vocals sing a tale of heartache and loss cast in hear mythological terms. Perhaps it would be better to think of it in terms of melodrama as the details that contain the artifacts of memory and experience figure prominently: parts of the landscape, food left out, wind, a labyrinth of feeling. As the song progresses it’s grand architecture is reminiscent of I, Robot period Alan Parsons Project and the personal darkness, emotional struggle and sound palette resonates with those same qualities heard in a 16 Horsepower song. Listen to “Rowan Road” on Soundcloud and connect with Woods End at the links below.

open.spotify.com/artist/0aRjJ2EpWQe1C15B2N241L?si=dtIWvglfSn6C8xcltaV6bA
woodsendband.com
soundcloud.com/woodsendband
woodsend.bandcamp.com
twitter.com/woodsendband
facebook.com/woodsendband

Tess Posner Helps us to Appreciate the Relationships We’ve Outgrown Without Getting Stuck in the Past on “Ashes”

Tess Posner’s song “Ashes” sounds like a nostalgic look back on an earlier part of life. The uplifting keyboard tones and soft percussion give the song a feel of an affectionate look back at one’s younger self and in some ways that’s what the song is, partly a memory of friends with whom you shared dreams, creative ideas and the shared collective experiences that bond many people for the rest of their lives in some way but other friendships, like some or many relationships, have a place in a very specific part of your life before you grow in different ways that result in a natural drift apart even if the intensity and exuberance of that time felt like it could last forever. Posner also wonders how they could ever go back and find themselves again as is natural when you’ve reached that period in your life where you feel like you’re missing being young and feeling everything is possible (even if it never really is) and that you have all the time in the world relatively unburdened by the demands of adulthood. Posner with the song helps us to understand that these experiences help to shape our lives but do not define them forever nor should they and that we can revisit them in our hearts and maybe, just maybe, reconnect and reminisce with an old friend yet not live in the past.

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

DISCHAAAGEEE’s Frantic, Synth-driven Song “Xuxu” Sits at the Sweet Spot Between Garage Rock, Synth Pop and Post-punk

Imagine a lo-fi blend of Devo, The Fall and Quintron and that will give you some idea what you’re in for listening to “Xuxu” by Japanese band DISCHAAAGEEE. Its propulsive pace, regimented yet borderline unhinged dynamics, playful synth melodies and enigmatic vocals sit in the sweet spot between garage rock, synth pop and post-punk. It sounds futuristic in the way it free associates musical ideas and recontextualizes them to make something that draws inspiration from what has come before without being beholden to it stylistically even if the spirit of that music can be heard echoing in the distorted gyrations and frantic pulses of “Xuxu.” Fans of Pow! and The Screamers will appreciate the songs surrealistic soundscaping and raw energy as well as its undeniably catchy tunefulness. Listen to “Xuxu” on Spotify and connect with DISCHAAAGEEE at the links below.

https://open.spotify.com/artist/3OEW90E5e6KLcFFRrDJCba
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCK3Eokb8k_1NsZO4IQnLPrw
https://twitter.com/dischaaageee
https://www.facebook.com/uch.kenhttps://www.instagram.com/dischaaageee

AWON, BluntOne and ANTITHESIS Give Voice to a Skeptical Yet Tentative Hope for the Fulfillment of Creative Dreams on “Timing”

AWON, BluntOne and A N T I T H E S I S ” Timing” cover (cropped)

“Timing” is a collaboration between A N T I T H E S I S, a piano project by Georgii Speakman and Phil Lewis, BluntOne and rapper AWON. Speakman and Lewis have crafted for the song a spare piano line that starts simple and crescendos into more emphatic emotional spaces alongside a horn part that is melancholic, moody and accents the reflective tones and tempos throughout. It sounds like a perfect melding of downtempo hip-hop, modern classical music and jazz between its repeating figure acting like a sample in real time in the beat. AWON raps through the song a tale of wanting to live up to responsibilities to the people that make it possible for him to pursue his art with integrity and support and the fears born of uncertainty and the pressure to succeed being both exciting and threatening to undermine what can feel like an edifice when you’re hampered ever so slightly by a touch of impostor’s syndrome. But amid that wave of doubt, at the beginning of the song, we hear that burgeoning trust in self that will hopefully carry the day when you know you’re on the right path and the creative work you’re doing is solid and not you and your friends simply pumping each other up as friends and collaborators do in faking until you make it. You hear the hints of someone who has been down that path and now doesn’t trust it and instead feels tentative as a defense against wishful thinking and the way that can compromise your work. Listen to “Timing” on Spotify, connect with A N T I T H E S I S at the links below and keep a look out for the project’s new album A N T I T H E S I S Vol. 1, Pt. 3.

https://open.spotify.com/artist/1sbuH2QadilkAzCOOrjHuf
https://soundcloud.com/project-antithesis

The Dusky, Incandescent Tones of “Days on You” by Joe James Lewis Takes us Into the Deep Waters of Romantic Doubt

Joe James Lewis, photo courtesy the artist

Joe James Lewis says that “Days on You” is a “song for the age of indoors.” The title track of his new EP finds Lewis using what sounds like Fender-Rhodes to cast the tone of the song in a dreamlike haze matched with a downtempo beat and a soulful hush in his vocal inflections. If one could have a jazz lounge chillout room in your ground floor apartment in a coastal town and perform during one of those late nights when the rain has been going on steadily on and off for hours that would be an analog to the vibe of the song. Lewis contemplates a period of doubt in a relationship where he examines aspects of the interpersonal dynamic and if the excitement and passion is worth the challenges and in the end he makes no absolute decisions, there’s no television show ending platitudes and that makes the songwriting emotionally and creatively brave because often people want to hear a song that tells them it’s all going to be okay but we all know life is rarely like that even if it would be nice once in awhile. That choice, coupled with the song’s lush soundscapes also rewards repeated listens through the song’s duskily incandescent tones. Check it out for yourself on Soundcloud and follow Lewis on Bandcamp linked below.

https://joejameslewis.bandcamp.com/releases

The Sweeping Momentum of “Far Behind” by Sub Cultures is Like a Hurried Yet Wistful Goodbye From Life in a Dead End Town

Sub Cultures “Far Behind” cover (cropped)

You can hear the echoes of the breezy, emotive melodies of the likes of Sarah Records bands or Veronica Falls and Beach Fossils in “Far Behind” by Sub Cultures. The simple yet intricate guitar lead transitions seamlessly into impressionistic rhythmic passages and back again. The captivating vocals evoke a sense of renewed hope in the wake of feeling like you might be trapped by life circumstances for the rest of your life like many of us seem to if not prodded by friends or family or events beyond our control. There is a touch of regret in the song even though it has great forward momentum like you’re taking a quick glance back at a life that felt like the whole world as you’re about to exit it for something better or at least different. Listen to “Far Behind” on Soundcloud and connect with the UK-based band on Spotify below as well.

Wild Manes Combines Spare Elements to Craft a Deep Listening Experience With Indie Pop Song “Cicadas”

“Cicadas” by Wild Manes is a great example of a song that combines several spare elements to create a deep listening experience. The interlocking guitar melodies are both soothing and gritty as befits the moment in the song. The vocal harmonies are tight and melodious yet flowing with a gentle energy that helps carry the momentum of the song alongside an equally fluid, tuneful bass line that doesn’t serve merely to accent the rhythm as is often the case in a lot of modern indie music. The percussion is minimal but it sets a mood of its own, one of anticipation that resolves in the choruses and by the song’s end. One imagines the entire song conceived of and written for all the parts to complement each other so that even a song that doesn’t bowl you over with volume or melodramatic dynamics can strike you as so vivid and compelling. There are no cheap tropes, no empty sonic calories, not heavy handed sentiments or musical flourishes, it’s simply a song that you can get something new out of with every listen which is rare in pop music at any time. Listen to “Cicadas” on Spotify and connect with New York’s Wild Manes at the links below.

https://open.spotify.com/artist/19keP25yDsn0Y6WpOvmxaB
https://www.reverbnation.com/wildmanes
https://soundcloud.com/wildmanes
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3jcJoOdCg7DkXPCqsgh9EQ
https://wildmanes.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/WildManesmusic
https://www.instagram.com/wildmanesmusic

Alex Mali Dismisses the Trifling Fools in Her Life With Swagger and Style on “Problem”

The glossy lips and gold grill that you see in the beginning of the music video for “Problem” by Alex Mali (directed by the artist and OMNI) is more than symbolic of someone finally having to listen after so not doing so for entirely too long. Mali sings with a bold but cool swagger outlining the ways in which she had been taken for granted with her needs dismissed as insignificant. But now that the offender is in a time of need the chorus of “Sound like a you problem, cuz it ain’t my problem” is delivered with a touch of amusement—the kind you get when someone who has been so neglectful, abusive and unmindful of you has the gall to approach you like you owe them a favor or anything at all. When Mali manages to make the rhyme and rhythm work on the line “All the time I gave you was unrecognized, now all you want do is reconcile” it’s a marvel of creative vocals and speaks directly to the remembered pain while giving nothing to the person undeserving of consideration. The beat is trap but Mali makes use of a deeply evocative palette of sounds that goes beyond the tropes of style. It feels dark, lush and fluid and fans of Kari Faux and R A R E B Y R D $ will appreciate the attitude and the chill yet intense vibe of the track. Watch the video for “Problem” on YouTube, connect with Alex Mali at the links provided and look out for her new EP Phenom due out late Spring 2020.

https://open.spotify.com/artist/77SLhlrrJKzclwLB9bnRJZ
https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/alex-mali/1123463077
https://soundcloud.com/alex-mali
https://twitter.com/MAINLYMALI
https://www.instagram.com/mainlymali

“Creep For Life” by The Great Dictators Mirrors the Warped Dynamic of a Dysfunctional Family and Renders it Escapable

The Great Dictators, photo courtesy the artists

“Creep For Life,” the final single from The Great Dictators’ new album One Eye Opener (released April 17, 2020 on Celebration Records) sounds like a warping collage of melodies and textures held together, oddly, by the vocals telling the story of a dysfunctional family, the deviously passive aggressive kind in which that dynamic rolls back and forth with everyone on the lookout and never really knowing where they stand with anyone. The kind of family dynamic of mutual abuse that goes unexamined and undiscussed for years because to admit to not being able to “deal” with it is to admit one’s shortcomings, leaving oneself vulnerable to becoming the family scapegoat that everyone else can pile on even when they’re fairly shitty to each other if the occasion presents itself. The song’s soundscapes is like the emotional feedback loop that one can ride out of the situation and it’s reminiscent of a more pop version of My Bloody Valentine’s “Loomer” from Loveless. Though, according to the band, the song is a bit of a tribute to the imaginative soundscapes of Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannson who passed away in 2018. The imagery that includes the line “This party is the worst party ever” is so poignant because it captures those awkward family gatherings, name the occasion, in which people seem to competitively snipe at each other. Fortunately, in being able to identify all of these shenanigans the song offers an exit which is often taking yourself out of the situation as often as possible because that kind of neuroses is only perpetuated when people participate without having any distance from that being the twisted norm and even if, when you make that move, you’re dubbed a terrible person by those choosing to be snared by that endless cycle of co-dependent abuse. Listen to “Creep For Life” on Soundcloud and connect with The Great Dictators at the links provided.

soundcloud.com/the-great-dictators
open.spotify.com/artist/5lLz1TtyX6e2LlUdbbAsJH
youtube.com/user/TheGreatDictators/videos
twitter.com/great_dictators
facebook.com/thegreatdictators
instagram.com/thegreatdictators