Four exciting new releases serve as the comprehensive focus here in this late summer DaveCromwellWrites Feature. Along with trips to the pool (providing opportunity for a growing “pool cast” phenomena), time has been carved out to investigate and ruminate on some of the more thought-provoking new music releases. Old friends and new share space here, with descriptive representations fully accompanied by the music they choose to share with the world.
It’s inevitable that prolific artist Julian Shah-Tayler (a/k/a The Singularity Music) would have new music to experience. A creative who’s always working, his output has been featured here at this site numerous times. Along with his primary focus on a solo career that continues to grow, Julian engages with live audiences through his wildly popular Electric Duke Bowie Tribute show. This latest original music takes things in a darkwave direction, exploring subtle, mood-driven suspense and cinematic atmospheres.
Hard snare-shot drum beat and throbbing bass guitar kick off new song (and video) “Just You Wait ‘Til I Get You Home.” Unsettling melodic tones emerge as video images of a man in a dark coat (looking suspiciously like Julian) moves through film-noir lit rooms, some with tape recorders and cassettes scattered on desks. As vocals emerge with those familiar Bowie-esque tones, a story of laying “awake at night waiting patiently for my nightmares” is told. Shadowy rooms and unoccupied hallways are pulled into view, leading to a running reel-to-reel recorder and the Julian/Darkman holding a dated reel (March 17, 1992).
Midway through shows Dark Julian closing filing cabinets in a grimy, trash-strewn room, as vocals rise in pitch on lines “thinking of you.” With the ominous melody line returning, a chant of “I’m waiting, I’m waiting” arrives, first softly, then more prominent as the beat drops out. Pulsing bass and distant sirens are heard, leading up to a distorted instrumental solo and glitch-cut sonics. As the darkman hunches over his tape recorder, a single “interrogation” chair is again focused on, having appeared throughout the video. Vocals now float with dramatic emphasis on lines “Oh, the things I’ll do to you” and overall theme “Just you wait till I get you home.”
Check out this brilliant new track and suspenseful narrative video here:
Follow Julian all across his Social Media via his LinkTree here.
Previous Features of Julian can be found on This Site - here - here - here - and - here.
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Another musician who is always creating new works is the Baltimore-based recording artist Andres Alfonso Lugo Cruz. While simultaneously producing a number of poetry books, he composes and records music under the name Los Dientes Hundidos en la Garganta (The Teeth Sunk in the Throat). Having already reviewed a number of those works here on this site, a new entry “AL OTRO LADO DEL OCÉANO” (On The Other Side of the Ocean) is now featured. Once again playing all the drums, bass and guitars, ethereal voices are provided by Gene Santiago-Holt aka Moyogash. Inspired by Andres 2024 poetry collection Postropodicea, everything was recorded and mixed at his Where Are We Going studio lab.
Subtle waves of churning ambience rise up from misty depths, as asymmetrical percussion attempts to establish some kind of beat. Heavily submerged voices provided by Moyogash wash through underneath, adding an element of mystery and wonder. The percussion moves about in a natural sounding way, avoiding more rigid, mechanized rhythms. An angelic hue is cast as a wider net of spacious audio fills this sonic field. As this supernatural feel intensifies and expands, the beats (now enhanced by cymbal-like splashes) lay out fractured patterns of dynamics. Never static in their execution, these beats will drop out momentarily, allowing ambient space to command the listeners focus.
Voices float up again into the mix, as waves of flowing textures rise and then slowly recede. What sound like field recording sound bites momentarily join in. Or perhaps not, and instead your imagination is set loose to create these elements from your own internal audio channels. With those synapses now fired, the sensation of being led through a jungle or tropical forest serves as an inspired journey. Voices continue to float through the sonic spectrum as deep and powerful audio washes abound. The tracks final minutes find the percussion getting busier with multi-strike shots rumbling throughout. Wind rushes, distant whistles and throbbing string notes lead everything out to it’s conclusion.
Listen to and find out how to acquire this visionary audio journey here:
Previous DCW features on this artist can be found - here - here - here - and - here.
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One more ambient instrumental collective circling the DCW orbit is Peruvian label Chip Musik Records. They have focused on releasing emerging artists that specialize in experimental and avante-garde music since 2007. A new entry into their catalog is an over 20 minute sonic journey by local project ion axs. Titled “Ceremonia Disoluble Procesión para nevados” (Dissoluble Ceremony. Procession for Nevados), the piece draws it’s inspiration from the Huandoy Nevado mountain range of the Andes. Allowing for a slowly developing experience, words begin to flow from this transformative audio journey.
A deep bass note is the first thing you hear as the piece commences. Slow and deliberate, ominous overtones join in as the bass notes measure out a subtle progression. A steady drone rises and then fades back. Descriptive liner notes indicate a desire to create through sound the immensity of traveling through this stark, beautiful landscape. Combing field recordings with synths and studio manipulation creates a meditative mental state that fuses with natural surroundings. Anyone who has gone on a long journey through mountainous terrain can relate to the hyper-alert, sometimes hallucinogenic feeling you get.
This recording approximates that through its repeated “dissoluble” textures of disintegration. Midway through, the piece introduces additional instrumental elements, like ancient wind instrument know as pututos. These ceremonial trumpets pre-date Spanish culture, going back to the Inca empire.
Deep bellowing and higher-pitched flute-like textures float in and out, while rough-scratch abrasiveness shares space with a steady repeated drum strike. As the audio journey fades to it’s conclusion, the sense of oneness with this geography creates a portal to inner contemplation.
Check out this meticulous introspective adventure (including how to acquire it) here:
At the beginning of this year, DCW was introduced to Italian record label I Dischi del Minollo. Vowing to avoid a single style or genre of music, the company focuses on a wider variety of sounds. While progressive instrumental music served as the initial feature here, vocal rock music is now presented for review. Venice, Italy’s Mother put out a full-length album recently titled “The Stars Within” that draws inspiration from 90’s alt rock and more. Listening to what they’ve created now inspires thoughts on it all.
Leadoff cut “Magic Lungs” kicks things off in full thundering motion. Hyper-strum guitars and speed rolling drums power anxious lyrical emo aggression alternating with melodic interludes. The title comes early with a declaration that “there’s no more magic in my lungs.” Precision sharp turns come locked between bass, guitar and drums with head spinning frequency. Melody arrives more fully on a chorus that states “I'm gonna push, push up daisies, before u will get what I’m saying.”
Second entry “Blaue Reiter” takes a more angular approach, with quick start/stop rhythms between half sung/half shouted vocals. A dramatic pause is followed by tempo change under lyrics “I want to dance the night away, eatin’ sun ‘n’ drinkin’ rain.” It’s impressive how many subsequent hooks are packed within this 3 minute song.
“To You, Red Giant” manages to work in multiple movements in even less than 3 minutes. The initial burst of guitar-riff and drum driven propulsion is quickly paused for a near-acapella harmony vocal asking “how could you love safely. If you never loved your scars?” Once the full chorus is reached, it’s sing-along time on lines “I’m giving you my hand, it can be late to make amend.” Special mention to the momentary bass guitar outburst following the line “you’re cold as stone.” Another interlude soon follows, with one more tempo shift complete with sharp accents and soaring vocals around repeated lyric “is it just a loop?”
Check out the video for this blistering track here:
Other tracks like “Star Rover” also come with an illuminating video combining effective animation with band performance clips. Inspired by author Jack London’s 1915 novel of the same title, a parallel is made between the books story of triumph over physical abuse and their own aversion to meaningless pursuits. Multiple segments blend angsty emo-rock (“Forgotten – At office – In a coffin”) with calmer interludes (“Lay things low”). The songs final minute taps Beach Boys style harmonies and Beatle-esque/Sgt Peppers-like instrumentation for redemptive lines “there are no savings to save,
by now I’m dancing with days.”
Check it out here:
One more song benefitting from video treatment is deeper track “Chamomile,” presented visually as an interpretive performance in stark black and white. Lyrically it portrays the journey of a bands evolution from young dreamers to more experienced adults. “Do you recall listening in that tiny place,
how our lives could change” is the initial question asked. It’s a musical love-letter to their past and present, filled with melody-filled guitar riffs, fluid bass and throttling drums. “Feeling something,
missing something, yearning something, longing for things” leads to the universal query “how will I spend the rest of days?”
Enjoy this one here:
Listen to all the the album’s tracks here, and find out how to acquire it, as well as some cool merch from the band.
Creative individuals are driven by a need to make something new no matter how many times they may have conjured up something before. One way to spark emerging ideas is through new partnerships and alliances. Drawing on familiar sources of inspiration and bouncing those ideas off a complementary musical mind can lead to something unexpected. The JuneDaveCromwellWrites delves into four separate releases that examine this approach and the positive results arising out of it.
Frequently featured label Patetico Recordings returns to the DCW realm with a new collaborative effort Heliocentric Overdrive and their debut EP “Weightless.” Formed via DIY internet track sharing, drummer Anthony Gatta and singer-songwriter/guitarist Tom Lugo now share their melodic-pop tracks fueled by precise and frenetic interpretations.
Lead off track “Reveling” builds out of a clarion ring guitar figure, before bass and drums quickly join in to set the rhythmic progression off into full motion. Vocals come on initially in an understated, effects free manner, offering a conversational style question “do you want to fly -do you want to touch the sky?” It's a song of delight and celebration, where you “make your move,” because “there's no room for doubt.” All vocals effects are reserved for the hook-chorus that rides a guitar-wave of speed-strummed melody while proclaiming having “had the time of my life.”
It's straightforward pop for sure, with the drums showing restraint while still propelling everything forward via subtle accents on highhat and snare. Like all great three and a half minute song, there's a vibrant guitar segment two minutes in delivering additional melodies and allowing the drums to stretch out with some rolls. A special nod to closing production elements where instruments are pulled back and an upper and lower register vocal are revealed.
Title track “Weightless” immediately establishes a more forceful percussive statement, with the opening beat jumping out first with hard struck toms, snare and jingle shake. A wall of sheering guitar wave commences with Johnny Ramone energy, while another melody rides over top of that. Like the image depicted on this EP's cover, a quick cut tale of space launch - “counting down – all systems go – time to blast off – rocket thrust – lift off” come in rapid fire succession. The chorus hits with expected hyperdrive momentum, extolling the virtues of “ripping through the atmosphere-feel the thrill of being here-weightless, floating in space.” However it is the unbridled instrumental breaks that follow (both here and on the songs end-out) that are the true highlights. On these segments the melody rises, with both percussion and bass guitar let loose underneath to throttle on in a relentlessly joyous cacophony.
If it seems like there is yet-another Shoredive Records artist being featured here on this site every other month or so – well, that's because it's true. One of the busiest, most-consistent labels out there, something new, exciting and previously unheard of appears in our listening sphere that simply can't be ignored. This time it's mysterious dreamgaze from Montpellier/Paris going by the somewhat painful name 40 Days Without Water. While contemplating how anyone could even survive that scenario (unless the water was replaced with some other beverage) the music produced by this collective is utterly sublime.
Lead off track and featured single “Shed” starts with a higher-register, piercing guitar texture chiming over a muted undercurrent. A mere :15 seconds of that is met with what is considered more “gazey” guitars, rumbling percussive undercurrent and those vague, emotive vocals synonymous with this musical genre. The snare beat is crisp and on time, guitars are strummed in quick speed tandem, bass throbs and those vocals are delivered with smooth, elongated cool. A minute in and drums get busier with repeated snare rolls until it hits an ambient plateau. It's almost dub-style here, with distant sounds providing the background for an upfront bass guitar segment. Hissing waves and another round of voices begin filling in the spaces as the bass-line fades back somewhat with snare-beats reentering the mix. It's full-on forward again until another plateau is reached, this time less sparse with wind rushes and melody tones remaining. The final minute pushes ahead with a strong drum beat leading it all out to it's ultimate fade.
“Chore” rises up out of some mysterious void, before settling into a quick military rolling snare-drum pattern, deep-tone guitar line and soft-vocal delivery. Sheering “gaze” guitars soon enter the mix that now feature more elevated voices, along with staccato, fragmented percussion. This formula continues to delight with additional sections playing off the simpler “Cure-like” guitar-bass melody interplay floating over those unpredictable broken-pattern drums.
“We Woke Up Early” builds around a clean bass guitar pattern, cymbal rushes and FX-laden vocals that give off a dream-like sensation. Continuing this meditative state for three and a half minutes, the calm is ultimately shattered with an explosive wall of guitars powering the tracks final 2 minutes.
Listen to these tracks (and more) from this wonderful recording here:
Acquire the EP Here - and keep in touch with all things Shoredive Records via their Socials Here and Here.
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Another independent label discovery is the Peruvian based Chip Musik Records. It specializes in ambient, electronic, chillwave, experimental, glitch, dreamgaze, vaporwave and experimental artists from all over the world. Their latest release Lego 15 – Pulsos de Bosques (Forest Pulses) is an extensive collection of music from Central/South American and other international locales.
Opening cut Miyagi Pitcher - Akiraka ni suru (を明らかにする) is a gentle meditative offering that relies on looping ambience, alien vocal snippets and beat-free environment. A Dream Short - Better day (Italia) follows that up with more traditional songcraft. Melodic, bass-heavy synth pulses provide the rhythmic basis for vital female vocals delivered in tandem. An active percussive element enters the mix, along with guitar layers adding a decidedly alternative rock feel. Big Channels - Sigue orbitando (Argentina) churns out the bliss of sawing between two-chords over a drum machine, with effects on the guitars providing much of the musical variations. Strong, single guitar notes emerge at the mid-point (and end) adding further movement overall.
Cielo Oceano - “Eclipsed” returns a familiar collective to this site, having reviewed their work previously here. This new track emerges out of ambient build-up of wind rushes leading into a slow shuffle drum beat groove. Against that two-pronged backing of swirling rushes and ambling beat are vocals presented in deep, breathy cadence. A sheering wall of high-wind guitars surge up in the mix and threaten to obsure everything else going on underneath. Snippets of vocal melodies can only be made out – until a sudden shift and the harshness is temporarily pulled back. That easy shuffle beat and soft vocal delivery step forward once more, and the cycle repeats. Halfway in a guitar solo (of sorts) commences amid the chaos, proving one more audio element to latch onto. A final round of MBV-style (mini “holocaust”) noize consumes the tracks final 2 minutes, fading out under slow moving melodies over top.
Listen to this incredible track here:
There are many more remarkable tracks on this compilation, which can be acquired here:
Sometimes a record is released in a low key manner with little fanfare, and the band moves right to playing live as a means of showcasing this new material. Such is the case with Tight Lips debut EP, which was released at the end of March. A quick scan of recorded evidence shows the tracks were first put out individually throughout last spring and summer. With bands and audiences reconnecting at live shows again, the opportunity to focus on this previously uninvestigated recorded music now presents itself. Aware that it's the collaborative work of many-time reviewed (in multiple iterations) Jasno Swarez and Abdon Valdez, indicates a high-quality output.
Initial release “Leaving the Planet” evolved from drum and bass riffs into a fully-formed three minute-plus melodic, danceable rhythm pop song. Drawing lyrical inspiration from futurists J.M. Godier and Lex Fridman spark the creativity for original prose. As the angular guitar melody and crisp percussion drives the track forward, signature lyric "I want to feel what it's like to fly, I want to fly when it feels like I could die," is delivered with nuanced flair, followed by the hooky “I'm alright, I'm alright, I'm alright – yeah.” Fluid guitar-line turns lead into musings on “the atmosphere in me to the moon in the sky.” The pure enthusiasm is felt completely on the beat-less, keyboard only segment stating “I wanna be unstoppable.” A rock-solid instrumental interlude follows, locking down that melodic-dance appeal. Going introspectively deeper with lyrics “all I can hear, and all I can feel – freak out with fear I knows not real” leads to “maybe neither am I?” Ultimately the uncertainly is pushed aside with the return to dramatic sonic plateau and the declaration “I wanna be – a trillion miles away from here – with you.” Roughed-up guitar chords, keyboard and that steady beat leads everything out to conclusion.
Follow-up track “Black Rainbow” ruminates on the human mind and how we are presently faced with technological evolutionary stress. Fuzzy bass-bounce guitars and trip-hop percussion powers the track along momentary synth-twinkle grooves. Space is carved out through drop-outs and stark power-chord moments, emphasizing the songs overall theme. Choosing to “be a light” and “do right,” focuses on human choice that rises above “the sums of my thoughts ran on living circuitry.” Whether intentional or not, the riff from Jimi Hendrix “Third Stone From The Sun” is echoed a various points throughout the song. It serves as a launching point for the sinewy guitar riffs and extended percussion that follows.
Center placed on the EP is the popular YouTube track (impressive at 111K+ views so far) “Nearly Nude.” Taking the previously established theme of human-to-cyber existence (in this modern world we now live) even further, striking representative video imagery creates a “Max Headroom” style experience. Open note chords and tweetering bird sounds introduce the audio as the first “head” flickers into view. A walking bassline sets the groove in motion as a second “head” (and shoulders) pops up with appropriate visualized distortion. Sparse and minimal audio serves the track well, as vocals about “feeling like a hologram” sync perfectly with the imagery. Jasno's soulful vocal delivery and Abdon's fingersnap/handclaps on percussive moments add one more level of appeal. Keyboard strokes at opportune moments (like when everything else drops out) underscore how well-produced this whole song is. The bass guitar drive is just funky enough against spacious ambience, while lyrical passages emphasize android confusion. “I fragmented my mind” leads to “I am a human being with circuitry made to bleed and see sunlight. I think I know that I'm me – because I'm alive. This is the person I programmed myself to be.”
Check out this trippy (electronic-soul) song and video here:
Deeper cut “Digital Death” emerges out of atonal synth drones before drums, bass and guitar kick in with an angular progression. The movement is downward-circular with bass guitar (once again) an initial driving force. Self-discovery becomes the primary lyrical focus (“Try – try to be me – should be easy”) and yet one more “digital killing” seems necessary. Open note chords take the instrumental spotlight later on, along with a 20 second (or so) guitar solo. “Immortal Living” pulls elastic, bouncing guitar chords into focus, alternating those strokes against snare and high-hat percussion. Allow ample space for vocals, the running theme on our high-tech lives looks closer at cellphone dependence. “I am processed on a screen,” and “through the internet – I can outlive death.” However, it is the human component (once again) that garners the bigger musical moments. At the 2:20 mark a guitar segment begins but it abruptly truncated by single twinkling keyboard notes – before the initial cycle starts over. That's as much a statement as any of the lyrics.
Final cut “People” bubbles up from an ominous electronic field with piercing keyboard notes stabbing out a slow moving melody. Deep buzzing bass joins in along with solid trap drum percussion. As the title suggests, a litany of individuals are named, both well-known icons along with those known only to close family. “I'll never meet Elvis Presley, I never met my dad's mom, I'll never know Jimi Hendrix, my mom's dad is dead and gone. My sister's got a new last name, and I'll never be Kurt Cobain.” Combining universal themes with a personal touch, the central theme “I don't wanna be alone” (paired to descending keyboard line) pulls everything together. Bonus points for the lines, “I'll never meet my great grandson, John Lennon or Johnny Cash. I saw Bowie on Lafayette now he's dead.” Although those three icons may have left this planet, their influence is still very much alive. Tight Lips now make a case for their own influence as well.
Dave Cromwell has been writing about music since the dawn of the internet age. In addition to the steady flow of features here on this site, he has been a regular contributor to The Deli Magazine (both Print and Web) since 2010. With numerous Print Issue cover features and weekly contributions on the Deli website, scores of artists have received the Cromwell point of view. Along with ongoing contributions to this site and The Deli Magazine, Dave has written for Dingus, My Social List, The Waster, Spin and Rolling Stone magazines.
