SubmitHub – Page 21 – Queen City Sounds and Art

Mikey Demilio Burns Through the Cloak of Dark Memories on the Exuberant Noise Punk Single “2 Dead In New Brunswick”

Mikey Demilio, photo courtesy the artist

Mikey Demilio has some nerve lending joyous energy and an exuberant delivery to “2 Dead In New Brunswick.” The contrast between that vibe and the subject matter of the song is stark. And yet it makes the topic and the story bearable. Listen closely because the noise and shimmer coursing through the melody during the choruses really do give the impression that the song is about good times but the verses where things are more spacious the story Demilio tells of drugs and tragic misadventure and how everything you cherished at a particular moment of your life can be snatched away. In the last third of the song Demilio looks back on that incident and how even if that happens to you young, maybe especially when, it can color a lot of your perspective and be a downer for who can say how long and it’s not something you just get over and forget. The raw momentum of the song is like an inversion of melancholia, a demonstration that one can still muster spirit to not stay mired in dark memories all the time and that is sometimes just what you need to get you through. Listen to “2 Dead in New Brunswick” on Spotify and follow Mikey Demilio on Instagram.

Lucille Two’s Effervescent and Psychedelic Single “Pixels” is a Concise Commentary on the Nature of Our Digital Lives

The economy of songwriting on Lucille Two’s “Pixels” is impressive from the beginning. Without cutting corners on the crafting of exquisite yet minimal layers of melody and expertly placed tones the single catches your ear with Trudy Bennett’s winsome vocals, perfect rhythmic accents, vintage Mellotron sounds and more modern drifts of synth and psychedelic vocal processing. The song is both moody and effervescent, a combination we don’t hear often enough and at just two minutes nine seconds the song is all essence and none of the fluff of an extended intro or outro that make far too many songs tiresome. Instead “Pixels” invites an instant replay. The lyrics seem to be a commentary on the unsatisfying, ephemeral, illusory nature of out lives on digital platforms but without rancor simply stating “It’s all a fantasy.” And a fantasy isn’t necessarily negative. Listen to “Pixels” on YouTube and follow the band Lucille Two at the links provided.

lucilletwo.com

Lucille Two on Facebook

Lucille Two on Instagram

RAT BATH Scorches the Foundations of Religious Fundamentalism on Spirited Punk Single “Fuck you and Fuck yur god too”

Queercore punk band RAT BATH thrillingly mince no words on the pointedly titled “Fuck you and Fuck yur god too.” The music is relentless and noisy but the vocals carry the catchy melodies and righteous words with an anthemic cadence. Rambunctious seems slightly inadequate to describe the song because it is spirited and undercuts and takes down the point of view of right wing fundamentalists of all stripes. But there is such a humorous quality to the delivery that unless you’re the subject of the song it hits as very fun and wonderfully profane the way a campy horror movie in which the horrible people get what’s coming to them in hilarious fashion hits the spot sometimes. Fans of Lunachicks and Tribe 8 will love the way RAT BATH has a no holds barred approach to the performance and its choice lyrics. Listen to “Fuck you and Fuck yur god too” on Spotify and follow Milwaukee’s RAT BATH at the links below.

ratbathband.com

RAT BATH on Instagram

RAT BATH on Facebook

RAT BATH on YouTube

George Solonos Contemplates Moments of Existential Doubt on Ambient Jazz Single “Why Did You Put Me Here.”

George Solonos, photo courtesy the artist

George Solonos establishes a somber mood immediately with the textures and spaciousness of “Why Did You Put Me Here.” Minimal guitar and saxophone combine to suggest deep questions and pondering, a spirit of reflection in a period of self-doubt that lingers with you rather than being easily shaken off or left behind. As the song progresses the sounds tones shift to something more hopeful for a time like getting a glimmer of hope or a flash of perspective before returning to the earlier theme. The song, one of four from the REVERIE EP (out February 14, 2025) on which the composer worked with saxophonist John Waugh, without a word spoken expresses the notion that we have to allow ourselves to feel even emotions we don’t find particularly appealing as part of the whole human experience and to get through them and learn from them rather than get stuck there or avoid those feelings because there’s plenty more to live through in the broad spectrum of psychological and emotional states we will find ourselves in across a lifetime. Listen to “Why Did You Put Me Here” on Spotify and follow George Solonos at the links below.

georgesolonosmusic.com

George Solonos on Facebook

George Solonos on Instagram

Pain in the Yeahs Channels the Exhausting Demands of the Attention Economy Into the Upbeat Energy of Synthpop Single “Consumer”

Pain in the Yeahs, photo courtesy the artist

It’s pretty much impossible to escape being marketed to these days unless you’re willing to pay for the privilege with a subscription that isn’t presented as such. Pain in the Yeahs has zeroed in on the existential ennui that comes from being targeted and your insecurities and vulnerabilities exploited digitally by algorithms. It’s even hard to function or get through something even as basic as a doctor’s appointment without being asked for your feedback and told your opinion matters. It all feeds into the same dynamic that demands little bits of your life. James K. Ultra of Pain in the Yeahs sounds like he’s been through it all and as an artist the things you have to go through to get your creative work the attention it requires to flourish outside your immediate circle of friends. It can all wear you down and erode your spirit. But with a heavy and expertly cadenced rhythms and spiraling, spooky swirls of tone and Ultra’s every so slightly dissociated vocals born of an emotional exhaustion from the death spiral of late capitalism’s demands might be perceived to be a satire of how we’re all basically being eaten up by a thousand bites on our energy and attention daily and it is but it’s also an act of resistance to the whole process by making a banger of a single that reflects all of it back in vivid contrasts. Think something like “Cars” for the modern era. Listen to “Consumer” on Spotify and follow Pain in the Yeahs at the links below.

Pain in the Yeahs on Instagram

Pain in the Yeahs on Bandcamp

Fotoform’s Gauzy Post-punk Single “If You Knew/Don’t You Worry, Baby” is a Gentle Reminder To Not Get Stuck On Past Mistakes

The ethereal drift of the guitar at the beginning of Fotoform’s “If You Knew/Don’t You Worry, Baby” feels like something you can get lost in for countless time. But the vocals bring you back to earth ever so slightly even though they too bloom into soaring melodies along with the guitar with all anchored gently by the almost textural bass lins and steady drumming. The song seems to be one pondering the human instinct to second guess our choices and to re-litigate moments of our lives we wish we could have done differently but can we ever fully know how things will play out if given that second chance? It’s easy to dissociate from the life you have if you spend too much time thinking about those sorts of scenarios. And this song with its airy spirit suggests that maybe it’s okay to trust in uncertainty because that in itself is a comfort if you are willing to accept that there are so many factors in the universe that affect everything and ourselves that we could never fully predict or control. And not as a passive act of complacency but as a way of having peace of mind and going with the moment and live in the present. Watch the mystical and hazy video for “If You Only Knew/Don’t You Worry, Baby” on YouTube and follow Seattle’s Fotoform at the links below. The band’s album Grief is a Garden is out April 18, 2025 on streaming, vinyl and digital download.

Fotoform on Twitter

Fotoform on Facebook

Fotoform on Instagram

Fotoform on Bandcamp

Cici Arthurt’s World Weary Jazz Pop Single “Way Through” is a Song About the Inspiration Deficit in a World Plagued With Marketing

Cici Arthur (L-R: Thom Gill, Joseph Shabason and Chris A. Cummings), photo courtesy the artists

The title track to Cici Arthur’s debut album Way Through (released via Western Vinyl on February 21, 2025) has an easy pace to it like some kind of lounge pop song from the 1960s. But the production and quality of sound is more modern even if the sensibilities of the song suggest something more resonant across time. It’s a song written from the perspective of someone who has had a lot of life experience and is used to finding inspiration and creative stimulation just going through life and stumbling into it. Which is a function of being new to all kinds of experiences. But the song’s lyrics suggest a more deep world weariness and one that hangs heavy on most people now as so many things that are shallow and hyper marketed compete for and in fact are pushed into our attention and thus consciousness. But we have an underlying sense of it being utter nonsense. At least if you’re a thoughtful person that craves deeper experiences at least once in awhile. But when so much pressure is put upon to create fluffy content that has no real depth of thought or feeling much less creativity behind it, the cultural creations to which we have access can be watered down and when we’re being manipulated to be distracted and unsatisfied and or satisfied with a temporary dopamine hit the world can seem flat and low key hopeless. The songwriters seem aware of this phenomenon of modern life on a profound level and yearn for a path through this period and this haze that is weighing down the ambient human energy level. The song also hints at a personal revelation that often what we expect can warp our perception of how things are and may blind us to something we’re actually looking for but our ways of seeking are outmoded and the way we’ve conditioned ourselves might be ditched in favor of newer ways of being and seeing. And yet it’s hard to start over and this song’s tone in its downtempo fashion in a classic pop mode honors the humanity of wanting to find something to stir the imagination without having to toss out what you’ve already built up in your mind. Watch the video for “Way Through” with its vintage landscapes, human and otherwise, on YouTube and follow the members of Cici Arthur on their social media accounts linked below as well as find ordering information for the record on Western Vinyl’s website also linked.

Cici Arthur on Western Vinyl

Chris A. Cummings on Twitter

Joseph Shabason on Instagram

Thom Gill on Bandcamp

Ceremony Shadows’ Darkwave Dance Single “Prey” is a Song of Solidarity Against Sociopathy

Ceremony Shadows, photo courtesy the artists

Ceremony Shadows employ short lines like mantras on the song “Prey” so that it has almost a hypnotic quality on its own as it sketches the portrait of a social dynamic many if not most of us recognize. The percussive quality of the rhythmic synths accents the song in echoes while the minimal percussion carries the song along in a processional cadence. The words describe how the predators of human society find the cracks in society and take advantage of people who may not already have had to defend themselves from sociopathic types that look for “weakness” in others that are simply normal, human vulnerabilities that make it possible to function in a healthy way. But as we’ve seen in society in dramatic fashion over the past several years and weaponized as movements in the past couple of decades (but really nothing new for people who have been on the receiving end for however far back you’d care to look) something that seems simply a personal problem that you have to “deal with” is a feature of our culture itself. The song seems like a more compassionate take on a way to take oneself out of that dynamic through changing one’s consciousness and not let the poison of the predator personality break you or turn against others. It is a song in essence of solidarity and with its strong beats it’s reminiscent of the more accessible end of Skinny Puppy that fans of Chris & Cosey, Buzz Kull and S. Product may appreciate as well. Listen to “Prey” on Spotify and follow Portland’s Ceremony Shadows at the links provided. The band released its nw album Ascension on March 20, 2025 and available now for streaming and digital download.

Ceremony Shadows on Facebook

Ceremony Shadows on Instagram

Ceremony Shadows on Bandcamp

Ceremony Shadows on YouTube

AUS!Funkt’s “Reincarnation Blues” is an Industrial Punk Song About the Constant Need For Reinvention in the Work of Resistance

AUS!Funkt’s “Reincarnation Blues” is pulsing with driving industrial punk sounds befitting its themes of constantly needing to reinvent and revisit the ideas and practices of resistance because the forces of oppression adapt and appropriate language and symbols as well. When the wild sax riff comes in over the steady electronic drums it’s like the surprise element that pushes the deadpan vocals into clearer focus which being part of the messaging itself of throwing in fun surprises to switch up the dynamic. The animated music video is a Dada-esque collage of imagery subverting gender representation and blurring the lines between human and machine, a gallery of eyes surrounding the figure in the foreground with its head replaced by one of those eyes in moments. The lyrics mention how there’s always something better coming up and something ending and it’s best to roll with the changes to keep ahead of the forces of repression even if it can get occasionally get tiring having to regularly reinvent oneself and one’s outlook. It’s a song against getting too comfortable. Watch the video for “Reincarnation Blues” on YouTube and follow Canada’s AUS!Funkt at the links below.

AUS!Funkt on Facebook

AUS!Funkt on Instagram

AUS!Funkt on Bandcamp

Cleopatrick’s Bitcrushed, Lo-Fi Single “BAD GUY” is an Anthem Against Being Villainized

Canadian rock duo cleopatrick released its new album FAKE MOON on March 14, 2025. The video for “BAD GUY” looks a little like something out of a Dash Shaw film but done with graphics straight out of a 16-bit video game. With an unusual plot to go with the video including escaping the situation and the world through a trip on a craft that looks like the moon. Which fits how glitchy the production is on the track with the vocals and other sounds bit-crushed ever so slightly. The effect creates a sense of vulnerability and as the song progresses a lo-fi psychedelic sound. The song seems to be about the feeling of being made to feel like the villain in the life story of someone yet again in some psychodrama that gets really old. The song is almost diametrically the opposite in sound and tone from the music on the group’s outstanding 2021 debut album BUMMER but it also expands upon how Luke Gruntz and Ian Fraser have essentially mixed and matched aesthetics within their music that overtly taps into 90s alternative rock with some urgency and aggression but also electronic music and hip-hop production techniques. This song is even a step removed from that fusion and its admittedly grimy and gritty charm. Like the rest of FAKE MOON the vibe is gentler but no less connected to raw feelings and emotional honesty. Watch the video for “BAD GUY” on YouTube and follow the Canadian band at the links below.