SubmitHub – Page 35 – Queen City Sounds and Art

Elly Kace’s “I Did My Best” is a Avant Jazz Inflected Art Pop Song Song About Heartbreak and Coming to Terms With One’s Limitations

Elly Kace blends impressionistic, orchestral strings with shimmery jazz-y flourishes in the percussion on “I Did My Best” for an effect like a deeply melancholic torch song. The organic flow of sounds makes for a song that provides an ever evolving textural and tonal backdrop to Kace’s mournful yet rich vocals so that the song sounds like a direct connection to its words about a relationship in shambles that was never on the right footing from the beginning and which couldn’t be salvaged with earnest effort on the part of one person to make it all happen. In moments Kace’s vocals are reminiscent of Björk at her most vulnerable but overall the song resonates strongly with the art pop of Julia Holter and its pure fusion of pop, jazz and the avant-garde in a personal creative comment on one’s own limitations and blind spots. Listen to “I Did My Best” on Spotify and follow Elly Kace at the links below.

Elly Kace on Twitter

Elly Kace on Facebook

Elly Kace on TikTok

Elly Kace on Instagram

Sthlm Blush Captures the Tranquil Complexity of an Evolving Ecological System on Textural Ambient Track “Växer”

Swedish ambient artist Sthlm Blush attempted to express the act of growth on “Växer” (Swedish for “growing”). To accomplish the sonic manifestation of what can be a nearly impossible to trace whether through direct observation or the experiencing of it as a human, Ludvig Kullberg aka Sthlm Blush, assembled bell tones, background flows of white noise, echoing, the stretching sounds like insects and birds communicating with one another, processed, abstract synth tones and an array of impressionistic layers of sound in what sounds like an open environment in which all can interact. There is a trace of a crystalline melody that enters into the field of hearing near the middle of the song like an animating energy to shift the dynamic of the system ever so slightly. It’s a bit like listening to the sounds inside a tropic cave and being able to immerse oneself in the complexity of the place as a whole experience rendering its essence more explicable than separated elements. Kullberg’s command of texture as atmosphere and tone is impressive throughout and rather than serve as background music in the ambient mode the song makes staying present easier than if you consciously focus on being so. Listen to “Växer” on Spotify and follow Sthlm Blush at the links below.

Sthlm Blush on Facebook

Sthlm Blush on Instagram

Sthlm Blush on YouTube

Paper Citizen Celebrates the Communal Power of Music on Exuberant Indie Pop Single “American Song”

“American Song” is Paper Citizen’s tribute to singer/multi-instrumentalist Claire Gohst’s experience with live music in the USA. Gohst is originally from Singapore but moved to Boston to study recording and jazz violin at Berklee and inevitably discovered the local and underground music scene and the various opportunities to witness live original music and to write and perform music of her own. The music video, directed by Alissa Wyle, shows the band performing in a garage, truly a long-standing mainstay in music across America with friends coming over to share in that experience and being together as a community. The song is a lighthearted yet exuberant bit of indie pop with some tasty soloing by Gohst on guitar that highlights the level of musicianship in the band. But the heart of the song is an earnest and endearing portrait of how in Gohst’s mind, and likely in the minds of many listeners, how the music community can bring people of disparate backgrounds together in a mutually supportive spirit of camaraderie in a very unpretentious, grass roots way accessible to virtually everyone. Watch the video for “American Song” on YouTube and follow Paper Citizen at the links provided.

Paper Citizen on Facebook

Paper Citizen on TikTok

Paper Citizen on Instagram

Paper Citizen on Bandcamp

“Landlord Cull” is Muscle Vest’s Wild Noise Rock Call For Righteously Radical Economic Justice

The title of Muscle Vest’s “Landord Cull” is a statement in itself and in essence not a bad idea. But in the music video we get some facts about landlords and examples of their neglect in the UK with obvious cognates elsewhere that speak to the predatory practices of the landlord class writ large, particularly over the last few years like that group of people were getting revenge for pandemic era protections for renters. With the rampant expansion of private equity firms buying up huge swaths of residential property over the past couple of decades has simply amplified the effect of soaring rent prices, much less actual property ownership, so that an investor class can get in on the action and feel like it’s “just business” and not personal. But in the lived existence of people it is deeply personal and this song speaks to that rage and frustration with more than a little playful sonic mayhem The ragged and joyously delivered vocals and cutting, whorling noise rock is reminiscent of a combination of Chat Pile and The Jesus Lizard with a surreal and caustic sound. Watch the video for “Landlord Cull” on YouTube and follow Muscle Vest at the links below. The song is part of the Every Day For The Rest Of Your Life EP which came out July 26, 2024 via Muzai Records.

Muscle Vest on Facebook

Muscle Vest on Instagram

Mr. Gnome’s “Nothing and Everything” is a Brooding, Psychedelic Synth Pop Reaffirmation of Love and Commitment in Challenging Times

Cleveland’s art pop duo Mr. Gnome returns with its first album in four years with A Sliver of Space due out September 27, 2024 on El Marko Records (vinyl, CD, download, streaming). Lead single “Nothing and Everything” and its lyrics video showcase what’s in store with the new record. We see a mysterious figure drawing down cosmic energies from the heavens while floating above a rocky, desert landscape like a figure out of a Dune novel. The brooding synths contrast well with Nicole Barille’s lightly distorted and passionate vocals and the finely syncopated beat and together the music serves a song that seems to be a reaffirmation of love and commitment during challenging times through personal struggles and doubts. Sure it’s a classic theme but Mr. Gnome’s particular approach and style gives the messaging a sense of being in it for the long haul even if things get tough and require extra grace. It’s truly a song for the current period of human civilization and the title speaks to the layered challenges we all face individually and as a civilization. Watch the video for “Nothing and Everything” on YouTube and follow Mr. Gnome at the links below. The band tours across the USA September 27 through November 2.

mrgnome.com

Mr. Gnome on Twitter

Mr. Gnome on Facebook

Mr. Gnome on Instagram

Mnevis’ Alt Pop Single “Sparks (Zig Zag)” has the Soothing Sounds of a Cosmic Tropical Paradise

Mnevis’ single “Sparks (Zig Zag)” immediately brings you into an alternate world of shimmery sounds like a cosmic tropical paradise. The blend of strings, soft percussion and what seems like a rich tapestry of electronic/keyboard sounds crafted in a dynamic array of impressionistic composition is easy to get lost within even in the moments the song ramps up with fuzzy guitar entering the mix. The song has the energy of something from another era but one that remains fascinating elusive to the end. Because of that those familiar with the band Orions Belte or the music of Mary Ocher will find much to like with what this Swiss band has been up to up to in its career thus far in experimenting with what pop music can be. Listen to “Sparks (Zig Zag)” on Spotify and follow Mnevis at the links below.

Mnevis on Facebook

Mnevis on Instagram

Bryce Terry’s Ambient Downtempo Track “The Only Game In Town” is a Beat Driven Journey Into the Shadow Economy

Bryce Terry’s “The Only Game In Town” opens with ethereal drones like a walk through a hallway into an abandoned building. From there a steady, syncopated beat anchors screaming streams of tone, sustained, distorted synth and a ghost of a melody in the background. Rapid echos of harmonic sound give way to the latter early in the song as the beat establishes itself and the layers convey a sense of space like being given access to a secret area in which clandestine activities are undertaken and moves are made, think something like the vibe of an underground casino that is hidden away in the back rooms of a legitimate business that operates mostly on cash but in the after hours deals in the black market economy. Like the rest of Terry’s album Two-Thousand Yard Stare there is an undercurrent of menace in the song that suits the album’s themes of addiction and succumbing to the inner demons that drive one in that direction but despite the song’s title the song doesn’t sound like video game music like this song and a few others on the album reflect the moments when one is able to break free of the spell of addiction for some moments to see one’s life for what it is and the context in which one has placed oneself in service to addiction. In this way it’s reminiscent of Oneohtrix Point Never’s soundtrack work for the film Good Time and that film’s tone of unreality and gritty reality side by side to give resonant tonal contrasts. Listen to “The Only Game In Town” on Spotify and follow Bryce Terry at the links below.

Bryce Terry on Apple Music

Bryce Terry on Instagram

“Return to Sender” is talker’s Triumphant Song of Liberation From Emotionally Stifling Relationships

“Return to Sender” from talker’s 2024 debut album I’m Telling You the Truth (out June 21, 2024) is typical for the songwriter in its dramatically unorthodox presentation. The music video begins like a horror movie with perhaps undead pallbearers bringing a casket into view and opening it with talker inside and seemingly liberated from a living death to dance in choreographed moves like a vampire film in reverse. The song’s lyrics seem to be directed to a loved one, former or potentially so, who seems to find it hard to deal with her how she is in the moment. No one is always going to be how you think they need to be all the time and human life is full of flux and struggles that if we don’t feel them and express that reality and instead bury that pain and flux it can fester in your heart in unhealthy ways. The song with its richly triumphant tones are a declaration of self-acceptance. After all, if someone you love can’t talk with you about what’s going on with them in a real way is it really love? If you’re always trying to “fix” them rather than share in a moment of empathy for regular human frailty is it the kind of love you’d want to have? Sometimes you just have to listen to people and not offer what you think is a solution because a part of getting through tough emotional times is just being able to express those feelings without judgment and dismissing them. Talker’s song is about that set to music that feels like it’s bursting free of emotional limitations. Watch the video for “Return to Sender” on YouTube and follow talker at the links provided.

Sea Girls Spin Despair Into Radical Self-Acceptance on “Does Only God Know That We’re Lonely”

The slightly quavering vocals on Sea Girls’ “Does Only God Know That We’re Lonely” speaks to the vulnerability and existential fear suggested by the title. But the song which openly and frankly considers these moments of pondering questions of personal potential and accepting ourselves for who we are and life situations for what they are even though there is a cultural pressure to be and within more than that doesn’t stay stuck there. Its melodies and chords and sentiments strike out with a defiant and triumphant spirit. The song seems to say that maybe we’re not perfect or have perfect lives according certain standards but that our lives have their inherent dignity and worth and that we can’t very well live the lives of other people. The song in that way spins what could be despair into radical self-acceptance. What kind of music is it? Touchstones might include Death Cab For Cutie or Modest Mouse but Sea Girls has its own sound on the spectrum of emotionally raw and melodically vibrant pop that in times is reminiscent somehow of the tonal range and pace of Flock of Seagulls’ “Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You).” Listen to “Does Only God Know That We’re Lonely” on Spotify and connect with Sea Girls at the links below. The group recently released its full length album Midnight Butterflies on June 14, 2024.

Sea Girls on Facebook

Sea Girls on TikTok

Sea Girls on Instagram

Kai Tak’s Downtempo Dream Pop Single “Until We Leave From Here” Warmly Layers Nostalgia With Hope For the Future

“Until We Leave From Here” finds Kai Tak’s richly layered melodies streaming into the horizon as Chesley Boy’s melodious vocals opining nostalgically on where a relationship has been and where it might and should go. Musically it’s a fusion of billowy dream pop and chillwave’s introspectively romantic and expansive drones. But composer Chris King brought Annie Zhou on board to add the textural tones of the guzheng to lend the almost elusive song subtle flourishes of anchors to tactile, emotional immediacy. Its moods are reminiscent of the 80s but of an 80s that never existed making the track and the rest of the album Designed In Heaven Made In Hong Kong (out June 21, 2024 via à La Carte Records on digital download, streaming and limited edition colored vinyl) resonant with modern cinema that juxtaposes era with modern sensibilities for a hybrid aesthetic that seems fresh rather than dated. Listen to “Until We Leave From Here” on Spotify and follow Kai Tak at the links provided.

Kai Tak on Instagram

Kai Tak on YouTube