Reviews, videos and more on emerging bands & music from around the world to enlighten past the lamestream masses. Published by Russian Winter Records, Kansas City based Indie Record Label, PR Firm & BMI Affiliated Music Publisher.
Innovative Chicago label, Impossible Colors, has released the latest work in their cassingle series. This installment features energetic electronica from Spaces of Disappearance and Mister Suit. The former serves up a laid back mix of sultry vocals and sensual synths, while the later takes a more upbeat approach, with 80's synth sounds, some heavy guitar and post-punk oriented vocals. Subscribe to the cassingle series, or stream and buy this release at the link below.
Virginia indie label Otherworldly Mystics have released Staring At The Stars While You Lay On Your Back On A Trampoline, by The Sleepwalk. The nine tracks are a mix of heavy guitar rock, atmospheric vocals and ambient shadings. Melodic, with darkish overtones, the album is a fine showcase for a band unafraid to push traditional hard rock limits. Stream and download Staring At The Stars While You Lay On Your Back On A Trampoline at the link below.
Artist/producer ticktock, aka Sebastian Zieler has released a video (NSFW) for his track A-A-A-, in advance of the release of his next EP. The video sees a woman on an open plain with a number of horses and a shotgun. Zieler says that when working on the video he, "wanted to stay clear of any direct interpretation of the lyrics, and instead go for a video that looked like the song sounded - a visual parallel.". Watch the video below.
L.A. based rock chanteuse VanDerRocker is set to release her debut album, Jupiter's Kiss this summer. Produced by Dan Chase (Lana del Rey, Dave Matthews, Paramore) this project features a top lineup of talent like guitar master Tim Pierce (Eric Clapton, Alice Cooper), bassist Chris Chaney (Jane's Addiction) and Jamie Muhoberac (My Chemical Romance, Avenged Sevenfold). As an advance tease to what will likely be a stellar debut release, we have a video for the album track, Kissing Booth. Directed by music video auteur, Matt Mahurin (projects include: Peter Gabriel, Tom Waits, REM, David Byrne, Joni Mitchell & more). Watch the video below.
Ontario indie rockers DB Cooper are back with a dynamic new single, The Election. The track features powerful vocals, some sterling guitar harmonies and crisp production. With the single, the band has released a great video in which local musicians Xprime, the Royal Streets and Brooklyn Doran square off against them in a high-intensity game of dodgeball. Watch the video and then stream and download The Election at the link below.
Today we have another selection from North Carolina based Silber Records' imaginative 5in5 series, that sees the label challenge bands to make five songs with a total playtime of five minutes. Outside the Shadow of an Aliquot Tree, by the artist Chvad SB, features ambient guitars, that weave alluring melodies over minimalist synth pads. The effect is as soothing as watching a late night snowfall by a warm fire. Stream and buy Outside the Shadow of an Aliquot Tree at the link below.
SoCal indie rockers Talk, Tired Thanatoid have released their debut album, Sunflowers Bitter As Ocean Water. Inspired by 90's emo and math rock, the duo of Zackary Kiebach and Arden Klawitter blend Ben Gibbardesque vocals with melodic guitars and punchy drums to good effect. There are a couple a complaints about this record, in that the changes seem disjointed at times rather then having the tightness that really makes a band stand out, and the record could benefit from crisp production and mastering. Those aside, this is a group that shows promise and their debut is enjoyable throughout. Stream and download Sunflowers Bitter As Ocean Water at the link below.
North Carolina experimental label, Silber Records is back with a new release, Recursive, the debut EP from Black Wedding. The duo is a collaboration between musician Joshua Heinrich (fornever) & music journalist Julie Johnson (Grave Concerns), featuring new wave filtered through a darkwave sieve. The EP is part of Silber's 5in5 series, which sees artists doing 5 tracks with a total run time of 5 minutes. With some danceable beats, atmospheric vocals and an overall ethereal feel, the five tracks are rich with sonic imagery. Stream and buy Recursive at the link below.
Australian band Why We Run has released a video for their debut single Comfortable Lie. The clip uses a technique known as Camera Obscura - incorporating a truck, 1000s of photos and many locations. The band believes it's possible that Camera Obscura hasn't been used before like this in a music video.The video is directed by Tim Gibbs, who has done videos for John Lennon, Dire Straits, Motorhead, Billy Bragg, and XTC. Check it out below.
On February 27th, Dazed Pilots will release their debut album, Drummers & Codies on Totally Wired Records. Watch the video for the first single, Sinners, below.
As has become something of a tradition, FZB favorites and manx alternative (or 'zebracore') band Postcode have released a new record on guitarist Mikie's birthday. The follow up to September's 'Year Of The Zebra - Part One' EP, Part Two is out now from Small Bear Records. Whereas the first part was lighter and more upbeat, 'Year Of The Zebra - Part Two' sees Postcode returning to more familiar terrain, darker and in places noisier. Recorded immediately after 2013's 'The ZebrATP EP', the record continues in that vein, expanding in different directions and adding in different sounds, including keyboards, 12-string guitar and backwards delay. Once again the EP was recorded as a duo by founding members Marie Reynolds and Mikie Daugherty. Watch the videos for tracks Take Me As I Am and This Day Will Come and then stream, download or buy Year Of The Zebra - Part Two at the link below.
Every so often we do a special piece on Friday. So for this Friday the 13th, we are bringing you Art... Art in both the pure and broad sense of the word. We are declaring it "We Are Temporary Day" on FZB. If we had to pick a favorite in the world of boutique indie labels, the choice would be down to a precious handful. A likely contender for the top spot of FZB favorite indie label would always have to be Stars and Letter Records. This label is superbly curated ,with an artist roster including: Shocking Pinks, Bad Blocks, Ruane Maurice, Empathy Test, Black City Lights and, of course, We Are Temporary. The artist/producer We Are Temporary, aka Mark Roberts, should be familiar to readers of this blog. What some may not know is that, besides making brilliant music, Mark is also the founder and creative force behind Stars and Letters Records. He has a knack for finding excellent talent, nurturing that talent and doing imaginative and innovative releases. Mark is an artist with a gracious air, a masterful ear and a creative integrity matched by few. In honor of We Are Temporary Day on FZB, please enjoy the new video of Mark's sublime performance of Let's Fall Silent, shot live at his recent concert at Tans-Pecos in Brooklyn. Then follow the link to We Are Temporary's music on Bandcamp. Enjoy, this is about as good as it gets.
Indie rockers The Holy Gasp have released a video for their single A Daily Affirmation, in advance of their album release later this month. Check out the video below.
A couple week ago we featured the fine new EP, There's A Light On, from singer/songwriter Brooklyn Doran, along with a video for the title track. Today we have a new video for another of the EP's standout tracks, Lansdowne. Watch it below.
Toronto indie rockers Purple Hill have released a new album aptly titled, Top 40 Radio Memory Dream (Oh Yeah!). The ten tracks have a distinct late 70's early 80's feel with influences of Tom Petty to the Jam evident. Unfortunately the tracks are marred a bit by lackluster production that has little in common with how albums are produced today. These retro tracks could benefit from more power and crispness, but that one complaint aside, this is a fine album that will deliver over repeated listens. Watch a video for the track Six Strings All To My Heart and then stream and buy Top 40 Radio Memory Dream (Oh Yeah!) at the link below.
North Carolina based indie label, Silber Records, has released a new compilation Broken Hearts Broken Sounds. Put together by Michael Wood, who has been a veteran of the music scene in the Carolinas for almost 20 years, running venues, record stores and record labels, being a music journalist, and of course being a musician. He currently is working with bands to help book tours & Broken Hearts Broken Sounds showcases some of the eclectic bands he's working with from shoegaze to experimental pop to post punk to Americana. A few names on the comp should be familiar to longtime Silber fans - Remora, Electric Bird Noise, Feel No Other, LoveyDove, Miss Massive Snowflake. Stream and buy Broken Hearts Broken Sounds at the link below.
Hailing from the picturesque tourist town of Lucerne, Switzerland, unsigned duo Huck Finn release their new wintery-rough video for Before You Begin. Set in beautiful Swiss scenery, naturally (in the Engadine to be precise – think mountains, wind, deserted valleys, and Sils Maria). The video is directed by photographer Cyrill Matter who is currently making a name for himself with his bold portraits, e.g. of top model Karlie Kloss. Cyrill Matter also filmed and directed the video for We Ain’t Worried. The song is Huck Finn’s title track of last year's EP on which Before You Begin was first released. A new EP by Huck Finn is set for a spring 2015 release date. Watch the videos below.
Cincinnati noise-punk band Gazer have released their second EP titled, Fake Bulbs. The four tracks are explorations of noise as a integral part of their genre, with lo-fi production, dirty vocals and an overall sense of dread achieved through the ample amounts of noise allowed to reverberate throughout. With instrumental parts and vocals leaning more to hard core, the muddled nature of this release will appeal to fans of hard core and metal more than typical post-punk aficionados. Stream and download Fake Bulbs at the link below.
Some in the press are already calling 2015 the year of the return of the singer/songwriter. Today we feature Between The Hangman And The Halo, the new album from Denver based singer/songwriter Anthony Ruptak. The seven tracks all feature an intimate look into folk based narratives. That doesn't mean all acoustic guitars and soft textures though. Ruptak uses a full band on this album and shows us rocking passages, towering harmonies and flawless production. A very fine album. Stream and buy Between The Hangman And The Halo at the link below.
