boywithahalo and the beautiful contemplative "story"

"I've got a ways to go..."

When I first heard "story" by boywithahalo, an Asian-American, LGBTQ+ musician, content creator, fashion designer and multimedia artist, I heard the hushed wavering sound of youth today. I found the musical core, a strumming double time acoustic guitar, comforting. The fact that this youthful gen-Z artist codified his emotional searching on a real instrument that has not changed all that much in the last 4000 years means something (to me) as opposed to strictly programmed music. There are beautiful other tones, dreamy synths set the stage and fill out the spaces in subdued ways and a nicely stacked machine beat but the main focus is boywithahalo's vocals and that acoustic guitar. The track is amazingly evocative and in gen-Z style it was recorded on an Iphone.

boywithahalo shares:

[The song is about starting new chapters in your life.

When I was stuck overseas for over a year in mainland China during the pandemic lockdowns, I contemplated various paths my life trajectory could take from that point on. I had no job, I had no audience, and all of the little amount of friends I had back in the US were inaccessible now due to the firewall and distance, and everything stood still for a long while. At times it felt peaceful, being able to live with my grandparents again like I did when I was young. At times it felt like I have lost direction, stuck frozen in place and going nowhere at the same time. This song embodies my inner struggle with belonging, and ends on an optimistic note of approaching acceptance and confidence. The backbones of the song was completely during my stay in China, and was finalized when I returned to the States.

I also wanted to release this song specifically this moment, as I have just joined AWAL/Kobalt, a goal that I have been looking to achieve since before I left the US in January of 2020. After hard work and extensive self-led management and PR, I was able to now start a whole new level of my career, and I felt like this song really resonated that idea to its fullest extent. I am forever thankful to AWAL for giving me the push to find a new level of drive, and I am all the same thankful to publications and writers for considering my "story".]

"story" does sound like an opening to more stories and dreams. It plays like the theme of an evocative upcoming Netflix binger. I envision the series to be about the young and their challenges navigating through a broken world left that way by those who came before. Those who had no regard for the feelings of other but only themselves.

-Robb Donker Curtius

boywithahalo · boywithahalo - story

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Boywithahalo is an independent Asian-American musician, fashion designer, artist, and content creator with works expanding across multiple genres and scenes. He uses a DIY approach to music, creating everything from the songwriting to the production and final mastering. Boywithahalo is also a streamer on Twitch and occasionally creates gaming and variety content on YouTube.

The "boywithahalo" brand pushes an emotive, expressive sound filled with youthful gen-Z and millennial themes, an approach compared to contemporaries girl in red and Rostam, while convicting attitude akin to the indie rock of Metric with the spirit of classic dreampop acts like Slowdive.

His debut single "help" was released in February 2021, signaling a new musical direction as a solo independent artist. His Spotify currently averages 6k month listeners and 30k+ total streams.

In the past as a hiphop producer, he has collaborated and supported prominent acts in the background such as Future, Asian Doll, Queen Naija, and Jayson Lyric, working multi-platinum music producers such as Major Seven, Fresh Ayr (J Oliver), Oktober 1st, and Lonestarrmuzik.

Some career highlights include music placements for XXL Magazine, winning 1st place in iStandard's 2017 Producer Showcase and placing finalist in its international competition held in ATL, and nomination for "Best Song" on the highly respected Dallas Observer news publication in 2020.

Boywithahalo is also a YouTube creator and Twitch streamer who has played multiple sessions with well-known individuals in the community such as DNP3, Masterfiend, and PhokingTV, and he currently plays Among Us with a regular group of other streamer friends.

Asian-American, boywithahalo, content creator, fashion designer and multimedia artist, LGBTQ+ musician, mainland China, US, "story", peaceful, being able to live with my grandparents again

Hex Frog and the sad steps and starts of "New Year's Milk" (Official Video)

 

"battery, so low, how long ago, I don’t know..."

In a half asleep state and listening to "New Year's Milk" by Hex Frog and it is a lovely place to be. The beat feels half asleep too and it like it is following the plaintive guitar and mournful melodies instead of leading them. 

"Battery, so low How long ago, I don’t know /  I don’t pick up the phone / To the sky I look high up / It has lost all its color / I am here, clear and alone"

There is a sad beauty in the lo-fi synths, acoustic melodies and the sense of being alone and I don't mean physically but emotionally. Maybe this is a song for people who need to revel in sadness from time to time to not feel sad. I am like that. 

"Everything here shrinks / Everything is lost and found / Anything is possible / And nothing is missing / Everything’s the same / Anything is possible / And nothing is missing / Alone I am"

Hey Frog says "I write horror show folk songs and create virtuoso videos" and he that's what he did for "New Year's Milk". Revel in the sadness and wait to be found once again.

-Robb Donker Curtius

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I write horror show folk songs and create virtuoso videos

folk, indie folk, Psychedelic / Freak Folk, Hex Frog, indie rock, singer songwriter, musician, animator, artist, "New Year's Milk" (Official Video), I write horror show folk songs and create virtuoso videos

[THESSENCE] Vinny Alfano and the chillwave indie rock talkative "Group Chat"

 

"There's love, there's confusion, there's tension..."

[THESSENCE]  


New York City based multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, producer Vinny Alfano is a conversationalist even when the songs he crafts are technically instrumental. Take the chill funky and loquacious "Group Chat" with the dense synths, steady beat and screaming guitar lines that are definitely having a conversation. Besides all the instrument talk there is a one side conversation we can eavesdrop in on. Alfano explains:

[Group Chat is the sonic experience of feeling connected to your beloved friends in a text message-based realm. There's love, there's confusion, there's tension, there are the emotions that come out of nowhere. This is what a group chat sounds like. Throughout the song, you'll hear recordings of our in-person conversations in the background. This adds to the beautiful cacophony of friendship.]

Single from the album "The Best Minds of My Generation" 

-Robb Donker Curtius

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Vinny Alfano is a multi-instrumentalist singer/song-writer/producer based out of New York City. With a history as a session musician and composer for tv & film, Vinny gathers elements of various genres to craft his own sound.

Vinny Alfano, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, New York City, "Group Chat", new album, "The Best Minds of My Generation", composer, television, film

Purple Witch of Culver and the amazing crystalline "Malibu's Passing"

 

"the greatest heroines are those who hold on..."

Purple Witch of Culver's crystalline "Malibu's Passing" folds inside and out like a surreal mirror floored dream birthed from the belly of poorly prepared fugu that doesn't kill you but twists and bends the pathways between our frontal lobe and our sensory cortex. There are musical nods to the Great American Songbook (circa late 50's jazz and musical theater) and 60's / 70's psychedelic and chamber pop creating some truly wtf moments, not in a harsh or bad way but quite the opposite. The slow waltz dreaminess is stunning, complete with a sung and spoken narrator, girl / boy vox and beautifully broad piano pop ascensions with sweeping kind of garden rock meets jazz tones. Purple Witch of Culver's aesthetic here feels like a rolling amalgam of Pink Floyd,  Suzanne Vega, Soft Machine, Harry Nilsson, Beast and George Gershwin. How fucking amazing is that?

Purple Witch of Culver are L.A. based writer, musician, producer /arranger and activist Sarah Safaie, acclaimed multi-instrumentalist / producer Evan Taylor and pixie dust. 

-Robb Donker Curtius 

  

Purple Witch of Culver · Malibu's Passing

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Sarah Safaie is a musician, writer, producer/arranger and activist in Los Angeles, California. After 10 years in NYC in the jazz and experimental underground art rock scene she made her way back west to work in the recording industry.

Safaie's duo project with Evan Taylor (multi-instrumentalist and producer whose credits include Bernie Worrell of P-Funk among other illustrious luminaries), Purple Witch of Culver, gained critical acclaim with their first track.Their call-to-action debut single "Trig" was featured in NPR's All Songs Considered; Safaie wrote most of the original poem while miserable at her dayjob in Brooklyn several years prior, and was inspired to revive it once more during the uprising of 2020.

Safaie and Taylor explore the power of frequency via words and sonics using a <<completely analog to tape>> recording set up. They have an album coming out in the coming months. The aim of their work is to bring people together through their art: grounding, uplifting and organizing as it is so important to do so during these times of great change.

Purple Witch of Culver, dark surf, indie rock, experimental pop, blendo pop, musical nods to the Great American Songbook, "Malibu's Passing", celestial downpour

Public Figures and the art punk tantrum "Hanging Around The Back"

photo by Marcela Morales

The first time I heard the noisy, punchy tantrum "Hanging Around The Back" by D.C. based Public Figures I thought of two ten year olds creating a ruckus in the family room and I thought of The Beatles. That might seem odd but the song with the simple piano, exquisitely heavy sort of power pop on high guitar strikes and the rather 60's Brit pop melodies feel very Beatle-eee or maybe drunken Beatle-eee like a Paul McCartney who doesn't give a demonstrable shit about what John thinks but, instead, just wants to wail... wail and be caustic like, well, a ten year old. AND, I don't mean this in any sort of critical way. Those of you who are familiar with American Pancake know that I only write about sounds that I like, that inspire me in some way.

Public Figures are two D.C. musicians, artists, creators who have been collaborating for two decades and they both exclaim:

“When I’m playing music, I’m not really thinking about anything.”

[With Hillard on drums and McCall on bass, the duo was able to unlock a world that feels at once expansive and succinct. Their debut record "Year of Garuda" unfolds straight from the source, a riotous, fun, and sincere chapter in the artists’ decades-long journey.]

I have been trying to be myself basically my entire life with different degrees of success and tapping into your inner child might be the key. Maybe the key that Public Figures have cut and filed over time. I like the sound here and I like the fact that they record most everything entirely live in their basement studio that they affectionately call 'House of Decay'. Cool.

-Robb Donker Curtius

Public Figures · Hanging Around The Back

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“When I’m playing music, I’m not really thinking about anything.”

This is the sentiment echoed by both Chad McCall and Van Hillard, the D.C. musicians who make up the ardent two-piece that is Public Figures. This singular state of mind, however, signifies not an absence, but instead an acute presence that feels as honest as breathing. It is the presence born out of a deep comfort, a natural ease, and a 20 year history of musical collaboration that now, finally, allows McCall and Hillard the ability to create a language that feels entirely like their own.

When Public Figures was formed in the early days of the pandemic, McCall and Hillard had recently seen through the benign break-up of their latest project, Park Snakes, and were considering starting a new three-piece band. Instead, they stumbled upon a sound that needed nothing more than the two of them. With Hillard on drums and McCall on bass, the duo was able to unlock a world that feels at once expansive and succinct. Their debut record Year of Garuda unfolds straight from the source, a riotous, fun, and sincere chapter in the artists’ decades-long journey.

McCall and Hillard met in the late 90’s in Tallahassee, FL, and within years they were collaborating in various projects in the Tallahassee scene before making the decision to move to D.C., drawn to the underdog energy of the scene that inspired D.C. bands such as Jawbox, Shudder to Think, and the Dismemberment Plan, among others. They were quickly welcomed into the local punk scene and went on to play in several projects over the following two decades.

“Sometimes you find that some relationships just click better than others,” McCall says of the musical and personal connection that formed over the years.

Year of Garuda was recorded by McCall and Hillard in their basement studio - the affectionately titled House of Decay. The songs were tracked almost entirely live, creating a sound that promises to be fulfilled faithfully and with vigor when live shows return. The pair have played in various D.C. bands including Park Snakes and People Chasing People, which have shared the bill with a host of notable acts, such as French Vanilla, Priests, the Dismemberment Plan, Lithics, and more.

Public Figures, indie rock, post punk, divergent punk, art punk, rock, Washington D.C., Chad McCall, Van Hillard, "Hanging Around The Back", two decade collaboration, "Year of Garuda", House of Decay

[THESSENCE] JukeBox County and the funky psych country rock "Need A Bit Of Spacetime"

 

"need a little bit of time working for the man these days..."

[THESSENCE] 

JukeBox County's music jubilantly dances like a psychedelic rainbow colored wind chime in Haight Ashbury or any bohemian place where there is a lineage of hippiedom and gatherings where at least 30% of attendees are wearing tie dye t-shirts. Believe me, I am not saying this with any amount of derision but instead with hay bale sized amounts of free love.

JukeBox County is birthed from the creative mind of Rich Tyo with help from others. "Need A Bit Of Spacetime" is from the debut album "Inner Space / Outer Space".

-Robb Donker Curtius

[JukeBox County’s debut album dropped on May 26, 2021 through Wolfe Island Records and produced by Hugh Christopher Brown. Rich Tyo, the creative mind behind the songs and vision of Jukebox County, gets his inspiration from his experiences out on the streets working as a mental health crisis worker, developing music-based mental health programs for youth and adults, and being witness to life’s hardships and the will to overcome through hope, compassion, firm grounding, and connecting to one’s passions above all else.]


[Drawing from influences such as Neil Young, Nick Drake, The Grateful Dead, Velvet Underground, and The Beatles, JukeBox County’s album (Inner Space/ Outer Space) contains deep dialogues about what makes us human and how we cope with the questions that come with our existence. The music inspires hope, connection, introspection, and joy. He teamed up with some amazing musicians from Wolfe Island and Kingston to create sounds that will inspire your body to move, your heart to leap, and your mind to explore the deeper realms of your being.]

JukeBox County · Need a Bit of Spacetime

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JukeBox County’s debut album dropped on May 26, 2021 through Wolfe Island Records and produced by Hugh Christopher Brown. Rich Tyo, the creative mind behind the songs and vision of Jukebox County, gets his inspiration from his experiences out on the streets working as a mental health crisis worker, developing music-based mental health programs for youth and adults, and being witness to life’s hardships and the will to overcome through hope, compassion, firm grounding, and connecting to one’s passions above all else.

JukeBox County, Psychedelic Rock, Garage Rock, indie rock, folk underbelly, Rich Tyo, creative, artist, singer-songwriter, collaborator, new album, "Inner Space / Outer Space"

Contessa di GongGong cinematic rock imaginings of "El Camino" (Official Video)

 

"takes your breath away"

The Swiss progressively drawn rock outfit with the interesting name, Contessa di GongGong, craft improvisational based jammy what they call "cineastic spacekraut" and listening to "El Camino" I will not argue with them. It is, in fact, not often that I hear an improvisation based track that has such a dense narrative. It sports an eclipsing funky bass and drum groove with percussion adding a worldly allure. There is a meditative, yet dangerous curve to the guitar rhythms and the ever winding composition turns, shifts, drops and floats with the precision of, dare I say, a Swiss timepiece. When you are solidly entranced in the groove, bass lines flourish and guitar strikes stab away creating an ethereal yet hard edged atmosphere. There is a cool breakaway with a voice talking in the background, it does sound incredibly filmic, like Hitchcock-ian espionage and then the track spins out (again) in wonderful ways, off on musical tangents and then back into the fray. No second is lost on this evocative journey.

Contessa di GongGong are Giuliano Sulzberger (guitars), Severin Graf (bass) and Mattia Ferrari (drums). Let them take your breath away.

-Robb Donker Curtius

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The swiss based trio «Contessa Di GongGong» describes their sound as cineastic spacekraut. The tracks are based on improvisations and involve consciously random developments.

Contessa di GongGong, Indie Electronic, Shoegaze / Dream Pop, Post Rock,  "El Camino", cinematic rock, Switzerland based, Giuliano Sulzberger, Severin Graf,  Mattia Ferrari

Yaehsun and the translucent beauty of "Windermere" Featuring Dan Mangan

 

"I love the real you..."

"Windermere" by Yaehsun, the project name of Toronto-based Canadian multi-instrumentalist Jason Haberman, is one of those songs that, in temperament, feels translucent like a sonic mirage. I literally feel my eyelids get heavier as I absorb the mellowness not because it makes me sleepy but because it makes me escape into hundreds of sun splattered memories. I think it is the incredible surf meets garden rock vibed guitar and keys, the beat that shifts a hard snare for a soft one and back again, the percolating bass, the dreamy synths and Dan Mangan's hushed and hypnotic vocal aesthetic poised perfectly in the pocket.

Haberman shares:

"My daily ritual changed shape, day into night this bizarre perception of time circled around me - and still does. Devouring seasons, gathering hope, pondering subtle breezes that turn to rapid growth and repetition. All in time - go easy on yourself.”

"Windermere" will likely become my daily ritual and in some odd way it feels like an inner sourced amalgam of Porches, Smashing Pumpkins and Fleetwood Mac.

[Jason Haberman (aka) Yaehsun is a Toronto-based Canadian multi-instrumentalist. He has been apart of many different collaborations and touring bands over the years (Dan Mangan, Zeus, Jason Collett, Yukon Blonde). In 2019 his first release was an instrumental album self-recorded with John Jeffrey (Moon duo) spanning a few weeks between Berlin and Northern Ontario in 2014. Since then, Yaehsun has released a few singles some of which feat friend José Contreras (By Divine Right). Earlier this year (2021) Yaehsun released "Natura Sophia" - an experimental album made with collaborator Isaac Symonds.]

-Robb Donker Curtius

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Jason Haberman (aka) Yaehsun is a Toronto-based Canadian multi-instrumentalist. He has been apart of many different collaborations and touring bands over the years (Dan Mangan, Zeus, Jason Collett, Yukon Blonde). In 2019 his first release was an instrumental album self-recorded with John Jeffrey (Moon duo) spanning a few weeks between Berlin and Northern Ontario in 2014. Since then, Yaehsun has released a few singles some of which feat friend José Contreras (By Divine Right). Earlier this year (2021) Yaehsun released "Natura Sophia" - an experimental album made with collaborator Isaac Symonds.

Yaehsun, Toronto, indie rock, dream pop, alternative music, multi-instrumentalist, Jason Haberman, collaborator, songwriter, creator, artist, "Windermere", Featuring Dan Mangan

Sailor June and the brooding swinging heaviness of "After Image"

"you and your friends, you talk about me..."

Nashville based Sailor June is the solo project of singer-songwriter Juniper Jefferies and her track "After Image", a dense stormy bit of heavy rock with shoegaze, dream pop and electronica affections "is a story of revenge and getting even with mortal enemies" produced in collaboration with her partner Patrick Gleeson. It is good to battle your enemies especially within the confines of your art. I am digging the unabashedly wild guitar work and the sound of the pearly but heavy chords as they tweak and ring. Within this kind of internal brooding song and Jefferies sort of goth pop vocal aesthetic, those guitars feel a bit Eddie Van Halen-ish doing a project for MJ. 

-Robb Donker Curtius 

Sailor June · After Image

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Based out of Nashville, TN, Sailor June is the solo project of singer/songwriter Juniper Jefferies.

Sailor June, electronic pop, alternative rock, brooding rock, heavy metal affections, goth pop affections, dream pop, "After Image", Patrick Gleeson, Juniper Jefferies, Nashville

SALT and the searing truth of "Suffocate" - Benefit Song for Medical Aid for Palestinians

"they have nothing, we have more..."

Edinburgh, UK eclectic post punk outfit SALT release "Suffocate" with all proceeds going towards Medical Aid to assist the Palestinians in Gaza. The song has a broader view lyrically speaking darkly, poetically about the refugee crisis in general, over time all around the world. The mid tempo burner rides on a reggae-esque groove with eloquent guitar lines, booming shifting drums all carried by a big booming bass line. The vocal aesthetic is so compelling, sadly drawn and slowly crying,

"Look / At their lives.
They have had enough / Had enough.
Sick / And so tired.
With humanity / Humanity.

We should love the human race.
We should treat with them some grace.
We should sail their boats ashore.
They have nothing.
We have more .
but who the hell am I?
to write this."

The band shares: 

"Suffocate" is a song about the refugee crisis and the emotions of what we can all do to make things better and how we think about what is happening.

This is a benefit song for Medical Aid for Palestinians.

The cost is £2, but you can pay more all proceeds from this song will go to the below charity.

www.facebook.com/MedicalAidforPalestinians

Please purchase the song- Donate and please share the link.

-Robb Donker Curtius

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SALT have an emotional intensity using a wide variety of influences. Powerful, broody, eclectic and dark. Like Nick Cave meets the Fall meets the Pixies. Loud messy guitars, brooding bass and exhilarating drums backup an emotional eclectic vocal that entices you into the fairytale on fire that is SALT.

Featuring members from the late 80s’ “The Ruby Suit” and “Vatican Shotgun Scare”.


https://www.facebook.com/SaltEdinburghBand/posts/2028928280588004

SALT, post punk, indie rock, alternative rock, brooding, eclectic, dark, Edinburgh, UK, proceeds help Medical Aid for the Palestinians, Gaza Strip, "Suffocate", donate

JW Francis and the effervescent "John, Take Me With You" (Official Video)

 

"John, take me away.... gone, I'm done with the day..."

"John, Take Me With You" by New York based JW Francis, and from his eagerly anticipated 2nd album "Wanderkid" (due to drop October 1st 2021, via Sunday Best Recordings), is not one of those kind of songs that you review really, it is one of those kind of songs that you gleefully digest and feel much better for doing so. Sparkly guitars dance and frolic like raindrops bouncing off New York pavement while a drum beat chugs along quickly. Francis' vocal aesthetic is upfront and feels like a conversation with the upbeat neighbor, the cool guy who never gets that down, the one who smile and says good morning. Of the upcoming album, Francis offers:

“WANDERKID is an album about escape. It’s supposed to be a gut punch of a record about an anti-hero named WANDERKID who wants to get OUT: out of his living situation, out of his head, out of his life. This album is like looking out the car window with an urgent desire to be on the other side. It was finished during the most recent global pandemic, so hopefully folks find it relatable.”

We all love anti-heroes, at least I do. Check out the wonderful accompanying video directed by Emma Fernandez. Where is my skateboard??

-Robb Donker Curtius





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WANDERKID is the sophomore album from New York’s next lo-fi legend JW Francis, and in an appropriately maverick move, will be released whilst its creator is in the middle of trekking 2000 miles along the Appalachian Trail in the US. The follow-up to JW’s critically acclaimed debut album We Share A Similar Joy, WANDERKID will be released on October 1 by Sunday Best Recordings (The Cure, David Lynch, dan le sac Vs Scroobius Pip, etc). Shortly after this, JW is set to leave the mountains of the Eastern United States and make his way over to New York for a show at Elsewhere on October 8 before heading to the UK for his first ever headline shows there.

His new single “John Take Me With You,” and its accompanying video, is wistful, upbeat and bursting with charisma, it is quintessential JW and sets the tone perfectly for an album that tells the story of a wandering anti-hero. As JW elaborates, “WANDERKID is an album about escape. It’s supposed to be a gut punch of a record about an anti-hero named WANDERKID who wants to get OUT: out of his living situation, out of his head, out of his life. This album is like looking out the car window with an urgent desire to be on the other side. It was finished during the most recent global pandemic, so hopefully folks find it relatable.”

With support for JW’s debut album flooding in from BBC Radio 6 Music, DIY Magazine, The Line of Best Fit, Wonderland, NME ,The Independent, HMV to name a few, JW is fast making a name for himself as one of the most exciting new artists around. Born in Oklahoma, JW landed in New York City at 19 to study Economics at Columbia University, but not before making stops, stays and stints in Vermont, aged 12 and Paris, aged 13. Whilst at Columbia, the troubadour started music blog Rare Candy and founded student-run recording studio CU Records. Musically, JW takes his lead from the greats of the Downtown scene - Patti Smith, The Velvet Underground, Television, Talking Heads, The Strokes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs - and is fast emerging at the forefront of the next generation of New York greats.

JW Francis, New York based, singer-songwriter, musician, new album "Wanderkid", indie rock, indie pop rock, happy guitars, sparkling, "John, Take Me With You"

Fruitfly and the gravitational kinetic pull of "Lopsided"

 

Photo by Andy Shue         

Fruitfly is the Cleveland, Ohio based solo project of singer-songwriter / multi-instrumentalist Kyle Thompson and the kinetic indie rocker "Lopsided" turns on a progressive axis of guitar based indie rock bathed with spun out emo and even big broad pop ascensions. Thompson's fluid math rock-esque guitar lines are beautifully balanced and his vocal aesthetic feels in many ways infused with the kind of theatricality born out of someone who spent many hours in jazz band, whether he did or not is anyone's guess but the kind of metered mania he delivers makes me think he has. There is a moment when the hyper emotionality calms down for the pre-requisite build up and big eruption, and big it is... and glorious like a crowd pleasing resolution of a teen movie. Even though I knew it was coming I enjoyed it just the same. There is something jubilant about Thompson's overall aesthetic, the way he attacks his art and it pulls you in. 

Fruitfly's debut album, "Running on Fumes", set to drop on July 16th, 2021.

-Robb Donker Curtius  

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Fruitfly is the solo project of Cleveland, Ohio based singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Kyle Thompson. Combining a myriad of sounds from influences in bedroom pop, neo-psych rock, and Midwestern emo, Fruitfly's music tells introspective stories surrounding love, loss, and self-realization. The project began towards the start of the COVID-19 shutdown in 2020 when Thompson spent sleepless nights driving around his neighborhood, singing songs to himself because his car stereo was broken. After over a year of writing, performing, and producing his own songs, Fruitfly has announced his debut album, "Running on Fumes", set to release on July 16th.

Fruitfly, indie rock, alternative rock, Post-Punk, New wave, Cleveland Ohio, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist Kyle Thompson, debut album, upcoming album "Running On Fumes", "Lopsided"

Emily Wolfe and the indie rock gravitas of "Something Better" (Official Video)

 

"are you so afraid you might come on to me wasted....?"

In the Official Video for Emily Wolfe's pop forward indie rocker "Something Better", Wolfe looks at her reflection in the mirror as it sings back to her (and she back to her mirrored self), "will this ever change..., don't want to waste my life away hoping to find something better". The chunky walls of guitar, snappy drums, and driving bass lines are dramatic and powerful against Wolfe's resonant emotional vocal aesthetic that feels somehow infused with equal parts sadness and hope. As she expertly slides and bends her thick guitar tones, on her own signature Epiphone Sheraton Stealth ( I might add), I am flashing on the depth of emotions on this pop rock song. There is the over-riding sense of either living in the present and realizing that the joy is in the journey or the realization that it it time to move away from what is holding you back.

This track might feel more glossy than a lot of Wolfe's songs that blend in heavy blues rock into the broad indie rock pool but she always injects layers of emotional gravitas. She always makes me feel something and "Something Better" is not exception.

“Something Better,” the first single from Emily Wolfe's highly anticipated full-length album, "Outlier", out on June 25, 2021 via Crows Feet Records. Wolfe is from Austin, Texas. 

-Robb Donker Curtius






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Emily Wolfe, a self-taught guitar player starting at the age of 5, has honed her craft over the past 22 years and continues to take her playing to the next level. After self-releasing her EP “Roulette” in 2014 followed by single “Atta Blues” in 2016, Emily used 2017 and 2018 to strategize and write new music. She released a debut self-titled, full-length album in February 2019.

Wolfe has been described as a sonic merging of PJ Harvey and Jack White and is guaranteed to not disappoint early fans who are already along for the ride to greatness. Featured by the Wall Street Journal, MTV, NPR, and American Songwriter, Emily Wolfe is definitely one to watch.

alternative rock, Emily Wolfe, indie rock, blues toned rock, new album "Outlier", singer-songwriter, guitar player, multi-instrumentalist, rocker, "Something Better"

Premiere: VOLK tell it like it is with sparkle and fire in "Old Palestine" (TX) Official Video

 

photo by Elisabeth Donaldson

VOLK has a wonderfully busted up country spiked blues rock sound like a fight between honky tonk and punk (in some way) and listening to Chris Lowe's chunky big hollow body guitar and Eleot Reich's down home in your face vocal aesthetic and pounding drumming and I oddly thought of an amalgam of the hillbilly swoon of The Carter Family and the caustic L.A. punk sound of X (no kidding). And, in an alternate universe kind of way, Lowe has the glitter sparkle play of Billy Zoom and Reich has the derisive take no prisoners charm of Exene Cervenka. 

Their latest track "Old Palestine" is delicious in it's gritty scowling sound. Lowe's guitar embraces the melody that Reich's amazing croon mirrors in a truly roots sort of way. The porch blues sound rolled in honky-tonk like chicken rolled in ample amounts of cornstarch infused flour, before dropping in the friar, is deeply engaging because it sounds honest and real. Make no mistake about it, there is chewing on scenery within this sound but that, after all, is the rock and roll here and it is gleefully bold. 

“Old Palestine (TX)” is an unfiltered critique of the American South. It takes its beats from Neil Young's “Southern Man” and Bruce Springsteen's “Born in the USA,” as well as the writings of Twain, Faulkner, Tennessee Williams, and Thomas Wolfe. It will be the final single dropped before the release of VOLK's first full-length album, Cashville, on May 28th via Romanus Records.  

The boldness of VOLK's overall aesthetic extends to the social commentary in this song and the pair de-glorify the small town mythos framing it squarely at Lowe's hometown of Palestine, Texas. The town like many throughout the south have a difficult time reconciling their past. Steel tentacles hold onto Southern Pride while not coming to terms with old racism and white supremacy that forges modern day systematic and cultural racism, "modern-day residents left trapped in an antebellum time warp, drowning in stagnant economies, crumbling infrastructures, and cultural vacuums, victims to corporate scavenging." 

Step into VOLK's downhome stew of garage rock, country-fied blues baked rock, hillbilly punk toned musical diatribe. 

-Robb Donker Curtius

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Lightning-charged duo VOLK is a Molotov cocktail of high-octane Rock & Roll and Honky-Tonking Country swagger. Their live performances explode with Chris Lowe's (TX, guitar) and Eleot Reich's (CA, drums) Motor City energy and Nashvegas pageantry. They boast musical influences ranging from the Carter Family to Little Richard to Dwight Yoakam to ACDC. VOLK is loud suits and loud amps, shiny dresses and shiny drumsets; it’s growling tones and thunderous beats; VOLK is Rock & Roll, Country-Fried.

VOLK, indie rock, garage rock, country tinged rock, blues tinged punk, country fried, rock and roll, Texas, California, "Old Palestine", Premiere

computer science and the honey drip slow waltz of "Hell"

 

"the devil hasn't won / well, i've become one of them..."

"Hell" by Computer Science, the divergent musical project of North Carolina's Tim Brozowski, is a darkly drawn slow waltz. There is a dichotomy of emotions here, propelled by dour, yet really beautiful melodies and beneath the barbiturate drip tempo there is an underlying sweetness. The sweetness, like honey, is translucent only tinting life and bending light but not opaque enough to feel real for very long. Brozowski says: 

"This song was written in early 2020 and discusses my thoughts on the afterlife, and religious condemnation."

I wonder if some religious zealot did actually condemn him to hell. It is, of course, what some religious folk like to do. It makes them feel so much better about themselves. I am absolutely loving the surprising sounds on this track and the experimental nature. "Hell" holds you in it's grasp for a long time after it ends. It is the first single off of Computer Science's upcoming EP "It Is Me" on Z Tapes records that you can pre-order digitally or on cassette via their Bandcamp pages (see below).

-Robb Donker Curtius  

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computer science is tim brozowski, who lives near carrboro, nc.

computer science, ,Slowcore, Shoegaze / Dream Pop, Bedroom / Lo-fi Pop, divergent pop, death, dying, religious condemnation, the devil, the afterlife, "Hell", EP "It Is Me"

KLEPTO and the snap and bend of "The Newest"

"you can go away anywhere..."

Japan's KLEPTO are kicking up their heels on the snappy "The Newest" that feels utterly free and easy sporting a blend of indie rock meets doo wop punk flavors and sort of 80's power pop affections. Loving the guitar sounds (bends intact), the switching dynamics, super cool lead guitar work, dreamy vox and even a vibra-slap pushing that sort of orchestrated chamber pop vibe.

KLEPTO is SJM (vocal, guitar) and BNKN (bass, drum). Their sophomore EP "1983" drops on September 12th, 2021.

-Robb Donker Curtius

KLEPTO Official New · The Newest

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Japanese indie rock duo, formed in 2019 in Tokyo, consisting of SJM (vocal, guitar) and BNKN (bass, drum).

They have a respect for garage rock revival.

Released of the long-awaited first EP "PLANET" on June 27th, 2020

Continuing on from this, the single "sound wave" was released in July

The 2nd EP "1983" has released on September 12th


members

SJM (vocal, guitar)

BNKN (bass, drum)

KLEPTO, Indie Rock, Garage Rock, Alternative Rock, Japan, doo wop punk tones, snappy guitar work, dreamy vox, "The Newest", bending guitar lines

The Pleasure Dome and the screaming slap in the face of "Pretty Picture" (Official Video)

 

“Maybe I’m a narcissist..." Photo by Jackie Palms

The sheer pummeling post punk power of "Pretty Picture" by Bristol's The Pleasure Dome feels like a rebellion in the streets with guitars screaming like an army of Italian police cars with sirens blazing. The double time throttle of bass lines by Loz Fancourt, shifting pounding drums by Bert Elvin, Harrison Newman's driving guitar rhythms and Bobby Spender's open throated vocal wail and piercing lead guitar lines, “Maybe I’m a narcissist / Maybe I can’t see / That all my best traits / Are my insecurities”! In total, feels like an eclipsing assault of mosh worth sound. "Pretty Picture" is a noisy rebuke of social media and "not only screams their distrust of social media’s curated lifestyles, but also begs for self-reflection as a way to break the harmful cycles it can be all too easy to fall into."

Spender offers:

"Self love is important. It's important for our mental health, our relationships and even to our dreams and ambitions. Sometimes you wonder if anyone will love you, first love yourself. "Pretty Picture" is inspired by everything from the nursery rhyme, 'Mary Mary Quite Contrary' to Show Me The Body, Metronomy's album 'Nights Out' and The Beatles the song 'Taxman' - it presents the idea of people's desire to share their lives on social media, with their superficial sand castles soon lost to the scrolling tide. Their carefully crafted content is gone in a moment - does this impact the self, is it healthy, is personal social media contrary to the reason we do it? It explores these ideas of narcissism by looking inwards at the self, the way we give meaning to our own image based on our experience, how we can be blind to aspects of our personality which are clear to others."

I am fully digging The Pleasure Domes unmitigated shock and awe sound while holding up a mirror for us all, that mirror being our phone, our Instagram account, the propensity to text instead of calling someone and actually speaking to them. It is, after all, easier to hide your pain behind texted words.

-Robb Donker Curtius






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Bristol punks The Pleasure Dome are back today with scathing new single, “Pretty Picture”. Somewhat at odds with its title, it paints an ugly scene of narcissism as currency, presented in a world where pride has become interchangeable with vanity. Through three short minutes the four-piece channel a raw and direct energy, in which “Pretty Picture” not only screams their distrust of social media’s curated lifestyles, but also begs for self-reflection as a way to break the harmful cycles it can be all too easy to fall into. It is part bitter rebuke, part message of self-love.

“Maybe I’m a narcissist / Maybe I can’t see
That all my best traits / Are my insecurities”

“Pretty Picture” was record live with producer Theo Verney (TRAAMS, Pip Blom, Egyptian Blue) who masterfully captures the band’s bludgeoning, caustic and vitriolic tongue. Several of singer and guitarist Bobby Spender’s lyrics are heavy with the weight of reality. “How can we dream when we don’t sleep ourselves” speaks to the idea of lost ambition, as we attach our self-worth to unrealistic levels of adoration. His repeated questioning of “What really happened?” points to how the way in which we portray ourselves online can often mask our truth. It’s a song of whirlwind intensity, harnessed into stunning clarity. "

The Pleasure Dome, indie rock, alternative rock, Bristol, UK, politico punk, social commentary, self love, social media false lives, "Pretty Picture"

Dark Side of Light and the post rock / art rock alien hybrid "Pull My Strings" (Official Video)

"hopelessly embracing little tale that I am chasing..."

Listening to the art rock kaleidoscope that is "Pull My Strings" by Dark Side of Light and I did, indeed, feel like my head and heart strings were being pulled in clever and artistic ways. What, at first, feels like a kind of industrial rock meets sci-fi rock milieu evaporates, spills over into a something else. The tones, the musical narrative has a depth of rock that blends different genres and generations. The textured, heavy synths keys, what feels (at first) like machine beats and Nick Frost's art rock vocal aesthetic with lush vocal harmonies feels highly stylized and when full drums, bass, and lead guitar melodies intertwine, it feels like post rock with electro wave affections with 70's rock vibes feels stirred in. There is an undefinable art rock elegance happening here. I feel bits of rock classicalism that made me think of Pink Floyd, specific 90's Radiohead cues and even a kind of late 70's power pop / glam sheen.  

Dark Side of Light, at it's core is Frost, 'a singer/songwriter/DJ who’s worked with everyone from Malcolm McLaren to Photek' and Grant Conway, 'a drummer by nature and a producer/engineer by trade'. 

[Frost and Conway share programming/keyboard duties equally. The remarkable James Jamerson-esque bass tracks are performed by longtime Frost friend and collaborator, Ronnie Elvis James, while the sonically rich yet always groovy guitar tapestries are handled firmly by the innovative Joe Perez.]

The Official Video as directed by Jason Tate pushes "the other" and the history of American xenophobia and twists it into an enlightening parable of love and acceptance. 

-Robb Donker Curtius

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Dark Side Of Light is a soundchild of the nouveau California scene. Natives, Nik Frost and Grant Conway birthed this tangerine slice of novel, tripped-out folk-hop to counteract the anxiety filled hours of our new normal.

Conceived over the last four months as a distraction from the timeless nature of the New Normal; the duo was looking for new artists to listen to but found a landscape of music that repeated itself. Tired of searching for something fresh and new, they burrowed into a deep, sonic exploration to make a sound of their own: “We didn’t want to be a traditional band,” says Frost, “so we started writing from the genesis of beats and rhythm tracks that we thought were cool.” Conway is a drummer by nature and a producer/engineer by trade. Put this up against Frost, a singer/songwriter/DJ who’s worked with everyone from Malcolm McLaren to Photek, and the duo were bound to come up with something fresh and inspiring.

“I’d been working on a bunch of Stoner Rock stuff out in the desert with the Rancho De La Luna gang and started revisiting some of the stuff Goss (Chris Goss) had been doing with Unkle a couple years back,” Frost says. “This got me spinning Grant some tracks I’d done as a kid with the Liquid Sky crew in Germany and BOOM, we had a vibe.”

Frost calls on melodies, harmonies and psychedelic lyrics which harken back to everything from the early 70’s Eno-produced pop of The Roches to CSN&Y. Conway’s broken, poppy/nouveau trip-hop grooves never disappoint: As most of the songs originated from the beats, Conway’s playing shines through on every groove, never pretentious, true to the vibe, and never thirsty for attention.

Frost and Conway share programming/keyboard duties equally. The remarkable James Jamerson-esque bass tracks are performed by longtime Frost friend and collaborator, Ronnie Elvis James, while the sonically rich yet always groovy guitar tapestries are handled firmly by the innovative Joe Perez.

“We didn’t really know what we had or how seriously to take anything we’d done,” says Frost. “We sent a link out to some friends of ours and within a couple weeks KCRW’s Liza Richardson played ‘Summer Breeze’ on her Saturday night show and we realized that we had something special.”

Dark Side Of Light will be releasing their self-produced-and-conceived video for the first single, a cover of Seals and Crofts’ “yacht rock” classic, “Summer Breeze,” directed by Eden Tyler, followed by the digital + vinyl release of the single. Their self-titled EP will follow in the fall.

Fans of Tame Impala, alt-j, Primal Scream and Radiohead will get down to this fresh new duo. Maybe even some Chemical Brothers devotees will come along for the ride...

Dark Side of Light, electronic rock, industrial rock, post rock, art rock, poppy/nouveau trip-hop grooves, "Pull My Strings", alternative rock, divergent duo, artists, songwriters, musicians

Ngaiire and the genre agnostic revelry of "Boom" (Official Video)

 

"that was how we did it / shootin up 100 / driving without a permit"     Photo by Ruth Joseph

Australian based Ngaiire recently signed to Majestic Casual and listening to her sublime vocal aesthetic, artistic melodic moves on "Boom" and it is utterly apparent that she is at another level compared to most. The pop forward world feels so stagnant to me and has felt so for several years. Even artists like Eilish have a sort of plastic American Idol-esque quality and that is why Ngaiire feels like such a revelation not only here but in everything she does, everything she touches. Oftentimes her artistry feels like a pitch perfect hybrid of genres so much so as to feel genre agnostic, call it future soul, future pop, indie R&B, call it Ngaiire.

-Robb Donker Curtius

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YouTube tastemaker and artist incubator Majestic Casual announces the signing of future-soul darling NGAIIRE. The signing comes as the Papua New Guinea (PNG) born, Sydney-based artist prepares for the release of her third studio album (due out August 2021).

The first official single from the album, 'Boom', is about the taboo nature of sex in her home country of PNG. NGAIIRE adds: “Boom is about all that drama and lust – the glutton of sex and adultery and the debauchery that comes with sexual suppression and colonisation.”

Having built a musical identity that effortlessly crosses genre and art form, her renowned vocals, tight beats and big pop sounds have seen NGAIIRE acquire countless accolades including four National Live Music Awards, an FBi Radio SMAC Award for best live act, Australian Music Prize and AIR Award nominations for her 2016 release 'Blastoma' and the inaugural Australian Women in Music Award for Artistic Excellence. Not to mention gracing the stages of Glastonbury through to Splendour In The Grass, and touring alongside artists from Sufjan Stevens to Alicia Keys to Flume.


NGAIIRE released the next single from the album, 'Closer', on May 20th.

Ngaiire, indie pop, future soul, neo soul, inaugural Australian Women in Music Award for Artistic Excellence, "Boom", divergent artist, alternative, indie R&B

Max MacLaury and the vast Americana wanderlust of "Cut From the Same Cloth"

 

"honey, I know it's wrong to want it all, want it all now..."

There is something so exquisitely vast, Americana and romantic about Max MacLaury's folk chamber pop rocker "Cut From the Same Cloth". You can feel the amount of miles traveled, the wanderlust in the heart, the desert dust painted on shit kickers, and the feral passion on display in the strident western guitar strums, crazy drumming and especially MacLaury's wailing croon. His captivating vocal presence feels so classic. Along with the musical motif that this production crafts you feel a nostalgic hard pull in his resonant big voiced croon. You think of singers like Roy Orbison, even Elvis pushing a sort of Springsteen heartland rock tone with a haunting patina of Glen Campbell and Jimmy Webb. Beautiful stuff, classic forever. So classic that "Cut From the Same Cloth" will turn heads within any playlist.  

-Robb Donker Curtius

Max MacLaury · Cut From The Same Cloth

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Max MacLaury is inspired by the old jazz crooners and folk songwriters. Paving a path as a strong vocalist and songwriter, Max began creating his own sound. He has been recognized in his community on the Central Coast as a strong songwriter where he won “Best Performance” and “Best Song” in multiple songwriting competitions.

He has been described as “a crooner with a folk guitar.” But don’t let the carefree attitude that is conveyed in his songs fool you. There is urgency in his voice with lyrics that have a relatable honesty. His voice floats over the raw sound of his acoustic guitar and blends with the warm tone of electric guitar that is reminiscent of the Tulsa Sound. Max MacLaury takes a page from the great musicians before him. You can’t help but feel a sense of nostalgia while listening to his music.

After years of releasing self produced and recorded albums, Max MacLaury teamed up with a local sound engineer/ drummer, Graham Ginsburg and lead guitarist, Chris Stephens. The latest release from Max MacLaury is called “I Don’t Wanna Talk About It” and will be available 5/7. The album shows passion and a sound that ranges from 1970s folk rock to modern rock neo-psychedelia.

Max MacLaury, folk rock, indie rock, neo psychedelic, romantic folk, classic folk, classic pop, Americana, "Cut From the Same Cloth", captivating vocal presence feels so classic,

Emby Alexander and the surreal exaltations of "Dye it Gold" (Official Video)

 

"in the full moon singing..."

There are some wonderful happenings on display in the music video for Emby Alexander's pearly imaginative "Dye It Gold" from a desert big foot to a saguaro cactus crucifixion (or something like that) and other oddities in between. The experimental pop track percolating on rambling percussion, beautiful fluid guitar lines, a vast starry eyed vocal aesthetic and a surreal sense of whimsy manifesting in fever dream exaltations of sound. Alexander is able to create a trippy universe to play in. Digging this. 

"Dye it Gold" features Emby Alexander (voice), Kyle Grabski (bass), Austin Harshman (guitar), Jeremy Lentz (drums) and additional vocals by Mandi Kimes (aka Lane Lines). Released on Earth Libraries.

-Robb Donker Curtius

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EMBY ALEXANDER is the SOUND OF PHOENIX


Experimental Pop / Indie

Emby Alexander , indie pop, dream pop, experimental pop, bohemian pop, "Dye it Gold", Earth Libraries, manifesting in fever dream exaltations of sound

Moral Pleasures and the dreamscapist future folk "Goth"

 

"she's a fairy sings at night..."

I love music that transports you somewhere and "Goth" by Alberta based Moral Pleasures, the solo project of Ryan McKinley (Pkew Pkew Pkew), does just that. And it is not only because of the dreamscapist ethereal sound but the organic flavors he incorporates in this piece of oneironautical theater. The acoustic piano sounds, acoustic guitar and even plaintive harmonica feel anchored in a sort of 70's folk pop motif. I also love McKinley's vocal aesthetic with what sounds like his own self harmonies or maybe ghosts from the past lending their voices. 

McKinley shares: “Goth” is more about celebrating youth while you’ve got it. When you’re young, experiences and relationships are so intense and you’re so carefree, but that part of life doesn’t last very long. By the time you’re around 30, you start to look back on your youth as this huge part of who you are that you can never go back to because you dare not behave like that again. I was reading a lot of Irish mythology and fairy tales at this time, so there’s a lot of that injected into this song."

"Goth" is from Moral Pleasures sophomore EP, "Sleepy Songs for Dying Loves" set to drop June 11th, 2021.

-Robb Donker Curtius

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"Goth" is a cerebral slow burner with an early 00's-era dream pop angst. Mixing gritty guitar distortion with hard-hitting acoustic strums and harmonica, Moral Pleasures creates a moody soundscape for a mythological exploration of youth and its deterioration.


On the track, McKinley says: “Goth” is more about celebrating youth while you’ve got it. When you’re young, experiences and relationships are so intense and you’re so carefree, but that part of life doesn’t last very long. By the time you’re around 30, you start to look back on your youth as this huge part of who you are that you can never go back to because you dare not behave like that again. I was reading a lot of Irish mythology and fairy tales at this time, so there’s a lot of that injected into this song."

And on his production process, McKinley shares: "There’s really only two parts and an ending to this one, so I wrote the music first on guitar, which probably only took 20 minutes. If you strip away the other stuff, it kind of sounds like something you’d hear in a folk/country song, which is why I put a harmonica solo in it. Everything else I did musically was to pull it in the opposite direction. There are strings, a Synclavier with a bunch of filters on it, and a Sonic Youth-inspired guitar part that give some depth. I added the percussion at the very end to give it a greater feeling of space that it was lacking."

Sleepy Songs For Dying Loves is a short collection of simple and dream-like love songs told from various perspectives, times, and places. Diverting from the typical love song tropes, McKinley veers away from themes of straight-up heartbreak, deceit, and lust, taking a more psychological and existential approach, confronting the problem of mortality in the face of love and happiness.


In the collection of cerebral songs, McKinley masterfully weaves together references to art, poetry, literature, and psychology through a nostalgic (but not rose-tinted) lens. Written in a week-long stint cooped up at home in Alberta in January, themes of longing and dreams resurface throughout the five tracks, glued together with an overarching ambient sonic pallette. Combining his love for "weird neo-classical and ambient electronic music," synth pads and drones pervade the undercurrents of the record, giving it a spacey, ethereal energy. The EP was written, produced, recorded, and mixed entirely by McKinley in his home studio, and was mastered by Jon Drew (Fucked Up, Tokyo Police Club, Pkew Pkew Pkew).



Moral Pleasures, Dream Pop, Indie Rock, Alternative Rock, 70's folk pop, Alberta Canada, EP "Sleepy Songs for Dying Loves", "Goth", oneironautical theater