SubmitHub – Page 193 – Queen City Sounds and Art

Divide and Dissolve’s “Prove It” is the Droning Rumble of the Edifice of International White Supremacy Crumbling

DivideAndDissolve2_sm — Divide and Dissolve, photo courtesy the artists

Divide and Dissolve aim to “decenter and destroy” white supremacy with their music. And “Prove It,” the lead single from the forthcoming 2020 album Gas Lit, sure sounds like it’s shaking the foundations and destabilizing norms. Fans of The Body, Lingua Ignota and Echo Beds will find much to like about the crushing industrial drone and the abstraction of social criticism into the very sound and structure of the music itself. The thundering, echoing drums in a kind of menacing dance with writhing, collisions of heavy guitar sound like a great edifice being torn down from the capital of an ancient, empire that has long ago lost its sense of mission and dominance, whose corruption is already cracking its own edifice and which must be cleansed from the world beginning with the symbols of its power. This is an expression of the fractures that have been exposed from within that power structure in our own world of white supremacy, racism, misogyny and all the forces that are maintaining an abusive and oppressive international system that is hurting everyone and the very environment we inhabit. Watch the video and listen to the song on YouTube and look out for Gas Lit due out hopefully in early 2020. The duo of Takiaya Reed and Sylvie Nehill has already been championed by the likes of Unknown Mortal Orchestra (whose Ruban Nielson produced the album) , Deafheaven, Sumac, and Poliça with opening slots on tour so with any luck we’ll all get a chance to catch the project live soon as well.

“Heart Talk,” the Title Track to Alex McArtor’s debut EP, Demonstrates the Importance of Goodbyes Over Ghosting

AlexMcArtor1_sm_crop — Alex McArtor, photo courtesy the artist

The title track to Alex McArtor’s debut EP Heart Talk, Vol. 1 is part goodbye letter and and acceptance that the romance isn’t going to work out. She outlines the positive aspects of the relationship and what sparked an initial connection but then all the details of how those connections didn’t run wide or deep. That McArtor couldn’t fulfill a role expected of her that wasn’t her own identity. The song is a gentle refusal of warping her heart and psyche for a love that isn’t suitable. With finely textured acoustic guitar rhythms and soaring electric leads, a doleful synth melody and McArtor’s dynamic and passionate vocals, the song brings you into that moment when you cast off your own personal illusions about someone you love and are ready to walk away while acknowledging your own feelings in the process and recognizing your own part in how things went down, which is the harder realization to swallow for a lot of people, especially when you’re young and don’t have as much life experience. McArtor makes it sound not just melancholic but a necessary part of stepping away and that is actually saying so rather than ghosting. Listen to “Heart Talk” on Soundcloud and follow McArtor on Spotify.

LUC’s “Glow” is a Pure Synthesis of Fuzzy Garage Rock and Up-Tempo Electronic Dance Pop

LUC’s single “Glow” bursts with a fuzzy, funky synth pulse and soaring, soulful vocals that serve as almost a counterpoint to the grit of distorted processed guitar and bass that carries the main melody. In that way the track is reminiscent of the way Goldfrapp reconciles elements that seem to contrast but in the end compliment one another to give the music great momentum and emotional peaks that border on bombast but come off more like swagger. The mix of the track is fascinating in that it allows for the more granular sounds to shine as well as the ethereal soundscaping and the melodious and acrobatic vocal line. The Los Angeles-based project says the genre “is LA Garagetronic” possibly because its combination of electronic dance pop and garage rock but really it stands out for the super production and adeptness in making disparate elements work together to create something decidedly different than its component parts. Listen to “Glow” on Soundcloud and follow LUC at the links provided.

soundcloud.com/maxusnipes/04-ghost-m-editb-320kb
open.spotify.com/artist/4wbbDaTxjWd2fcghJQHIgn
youtu.be/aKvrbf-UYCg
twitter.com/We_Are_LUC
instagram.com/weareluc

“Gasoline” by Art-Punks Rx27 is a Cool, Scuzzy Deathrock Song

Rx27_RikkAgnew1_sm — Rx27, photo courtesy the artist

When “Gasoline” starts up, you think for a second that it’s going to go into a warped version of “Repo Man” by Iggy Pop but then the rhythm fully engages and its headlong pace and cutting but melodic guitar riff, helped by Rikk Agnew formerly of The Adolescents and Christian Death (circa the 1982 classic Only Theatre of Pain), are an integral part of the song and its tale of a combustible relationship that is mutually destructive but irresistible. The kind where both people know how fucked up it is but the drama and the darkness are a turn on for both people and they’re going to ride it out until it flames out in spectacular fashion. The metaphor of relationship as perilous car ride is borne throughout but especially the part that begins with “crash and burn” and completes with “built for speed,” I’m what you need.“ Singer Joie Blaney takes some lines and MisMaxine Murrderr others as they sing/scream almost as call and response but also together. And dark as the song goes there’s something sweet about it at heart like two cynical hedonists who’ve seen it all get each other and get to each other by bypassing their defenses and numbness to vanilla stimulation even if it will cost them in the end. Listen to “Gasoline,” produced by Paul Roessler of The Screamers, 45 Grave and Nina Hagen fame, on YouTube and follow Rx27 at the links below.

therx27.com
twitter.com/therx27
facebook.com/therx27
instagram.com/rx27_official

Birdman Cult Uses Occult Imagery in the Video for “Snakes” to Symbolize a Rejection of Mainstream Normalcy in Favor of the Dark Power of Rock and Roll

BirdmanCult2_crop — Birdman Cult, photo courtesy the artists

If Birdman Cult’s song “Snakes” wasn’t a jaunty, fuzzy post-punk garage rock song its video would come off more like the notorious “11B-X-1371” clip that circulated a few years ago. A hooded and robed figure in a bird mask bearing tilted pentagrams presents as the high priest of some nefarious cult handling snakes like he’s officiating at something more sinister than the “Cremation of Care” ceremony at Bohemian Grove. Rather, the symbols are more primal connecting the vitality of the song itself to more elemental forces than the theatrically wicked. The “snake” in this song also taps into mythology and turns the symbol on its head with the temptations of the city and its culture serving as transformative role through corrupting an outmoded set of values and sensibilities. If you turn off the sound the optics are certainly spooky but the music gives it the playful context much as many things seem far scarier than they are if you don’t know much about them and this song challenges that cognitive dissonance beautifully. Watch the video for “Snakes” on YouTube and follow Birdman Cult at the links below.

soundcloud.com/birdmancult
facebook.com/birdmancult

On “Amygdala” (featuring ZAAR), RARE CIGARETTES Shows How Fear and Anxiety Can Overwhelm Our Conscious Mind if We Remain Unaware

RARE_CIGARETTES1_crop — RARE CIGARETTES, photo courtesy the artist

RARE CIGARETTES is the alias of producer Daniel Gol who in the single “Amygdala,” made in collaboration with ZAAR, gives us a downtempo exploration of that most modern of ailments, anxiety. The vocals seem very chill on the subject but in the music with the distorted synth haunting after the finely textured beats and enshrouding the other elements of the music you hear how those emotions can overwhelm so much of your life. The vocals can’t escape it, the rhythm can’t and in the end those distorted drones and synth arpeggios close out the track. In expressing the power of those phenomena of the mind, though, Gol suggests we can externalize and express those feelings and perhaps better understand and get a grasp of them so they do not have undue power over our minds. Listen to “Amygdala,” a word that refers to the part of the brain that processes emotion, another nice touch to the song, on YouTube and follow RARE CIGARETTES at the links provided.

soundcloud.com/rarecigarettes
facebook.com/RARECIGARETTES
instagram.com/rarecigarettes_

Voga’s Ambient Track “A Render In Sepia” Combines the Analog With the Digital to Convey a Sound Like the Prelude to a Round of Homespun Storytelling

Voga1_crop — Voga, photo courtesy the artist

A distant drone flecked with the sound of static or a nearby flame introduce us to Voga’s new track “A Render in Sepia.” When the strings come in with the melodic and drifty companion tone like a processed organ one does get the sense of looking at an old photograph. The song has the mood of a window onto a time and place of rustic simplicity. Like sitting by the fire in your cottage in the woods as the snow falls outside in heavy but quiet layers, reading from a beloved book and pausing now and then to stoke the fire and contemplate the fact that you don’t have to be anywhere for days compounded by the snowstorm. Because of this the quiet part of your mind can merge with the imagination and put your mind in its own storytelling mode as you finally get to writing your own book of wonder and adventure. This song feels like a prelude coming from a place of supreme tranquility. Created with synth drones, strings and muted horn the track was re-recorded through a cell phone and thus the sense of another time or cut off from civilization is an illusion but one that seems welcome fantasy away from the rate race most of us live in today. Listen to “A Render in Sepia” on Soundcloud and follow Voga at the links provided.

soundcloud.com/voga_music
open.spotify.com/artist/2RlJC4L25sFb1dL7FKJerv
voga1.bandcamp.com/releases
instagram.com/voga.music

Like a Good Science Fiction Story, the Video For Cares’ Environmental Noise Track “Lucid” is a Startling Look at the Brutal Present to Warn Against a Worse Future

Cares4_sm — Cares, photo courtesy the artist

The floating eye in the middle of the collage of footage of technology and society gone awry in the video for Cares’ single “Lucid” looks troubled. As if to suggest we see all of this happening but we are also a bit dazzled by the seeming options and frontiers it opens for us without considering how it might all impact our lives in ways we can’t predict. Footage of black bloc protesters, looting and high speed rail, body sculpting and a pit where a fire has been going on for perhaps decades, car crashes and crash test dummies are all reminders of the compromises we’ve all made to make life easier when really we’ve also made it more mediated and enriched a ruling elite who seethe vast majority of us as interchangeable and when we act up maybe someday they’ll send in the automated army. In the background sub bass pounds with the heartbeat of civilization, sub-howling white noise streams and after disappearing for a few minutes the eye returns with visible tears as if to suggest we could stop this if we wanted to or is it too late? Are these trends documented in the video beyond our control? The track comes from the latest Cares album Control Isn’t Real and you can watch the video on YouTube and follow the project on Soundcloud.

soundcloud.com/cares

Ava Heatley’s “Party” is a Song For Everyone Who Dread’s the Superficiality of Forced Social Interaction to Let Them Know They’re Not Alone

AvaHeatley2_crop — Ava Heatley, “Beautiful/Terrifying” cover image courtesy the artist

The languid pace and spaciousness of Ava Heatley’s new single “Party” serves as a fine backdrop to her song about anxiety and how it can be a bit of a wrecking ball in your life. From putting a damper on social situations and using the supremely anxiety-inducing situation of the party as the centerpiece. An occasion where everyone is supposed to mix and enjoy themselves. But for anyone with a bit of the introvert in their personality that setting embodies one of the greatest potentials for awkward conversation or behavior as they are most often best handled with a lighthearted, casual spirit to get the most out of them. But when you’re used to committing to ideas or a conversation or a way of being, an emotion, all of that social lubrication seems pointless and a disservice to everyone involved. This song is written keeping in mind all the people who would rather give their focus and energy to people or a project in a direct way rather than sprinkling that attention around superficially, even if a little of that wouldn’t be so bad, to let them know they are not alone in experiencing anxiety over all manner of things but especially over the thought of having to spread themselves too thin in order to please the most number of people. Listen to “Party” on Soundcloud where you can also give a listen to Heatley’s other emotionally rich and thoughtful work.

soundcloud.com/user-949113108

Devorah’s “Blue” is a Warm and Sympathetic Salve for the Heartbroken Soul

Devorah1_sm — Devorah, photo courtesy the artist

Devorah, aka Anita Lester, seems to share the heartache of the protagonist of “Blue” who gives up on an attempt to externalize a deep sadness. The warm, textured, billowing, guitar chords drone and strike both melodic and discordant notes in time with the waves of feeling as the gnarled feelings and conflicted thoughts rummage through your heart finding an anchor from which to haunt the psyche. But there is a compassion to Lester’s tone and an understanding that dealing with heartache is not a simple apply a cure, go to a therapist a few times, work it out in some physical way or the false magic of putting it all into your art to make it go away. It’s a process and it may never fully leave you. The song sounds like a coming to terms with the ways these feelings can get stuck or take years to work through rather than simply fool ourselves into thinking we’ve conquered them through a simple legerdemain of the mind or chemistry. Listen to “Blue” on Soundcloud and follow Devorah at the links below.

devorah.net
facebook.com/theycallmedevorah
instagram.com/devorah.music