The single “Home” from Austra’s upcoming second album Olympia due out June 18th now has a video to pair with it. (If Austra sounds familiar but you can’t place it, perhaps it’s because their drummer Maya Postepski is also the drummer for Trust on their début album.) Having fallen in love with this track over the last couple months and jumping into the video with no background info on it, it left me feeling torn about it. The first half of the video does an excellent job of capturing the feelings of detachment when you’re holding crushing emotions inside as life continues on around you. But I felt gypped watching singer Katie Stelmanis deliver such heart wrenching vocals so passively. The video was filmed as one single take and features Stelmanis and the rest of the band preparing for a show. The director’s That Go (Noel Paul and Stefan Moore) explain, “the band wanted the video to be intimate and simple, which we thought was perfect for the track. To that end we not only kept the format simple, but we also put the camera behind a two-way mirror so the band couldn’t see it. Whenever someone is looking at the camera they’re only seeing their own reflection and the environment behind them.” So upon reading that insight, I think the video needs to grow on a me a bit, much as the track did.
Having always been a fan of Implant, the new music video and single “c.c.c.p.c.c.t.v.” didn’t strike me as much as I hoped it would. Perhaps I was expecting something a bit more fun. The social political nature of the video footage used in the music video for ”c.c.c.p.c.c.t.v.” gives the track a darker tone. But with lyrics like, “oh baby I’m on,” and the kidnapping sequences, there is some good old Implant playfulness in there. Implant release their new album The Productive Citizen this week on May 17th!
OOFJ is quickly becoming my new obsession and their debut album, Disco To Die To, which was released this week, has lived up to all my expectations. For a little taste check out this video for “Pinstripe Suit”. It has a nice film noir feel to it and it even comes with a trench coat. The members of OOFJ, Katherine Mills Rymer and Jens Bjørnkjær, also take on the roles of video directors and actors! Truly these ambitious people have some talent. Oh and here is my quick review of the album: pretty fricking sweet!
Disco To Die To is available for purchase online at OOFJ’s website and can be listened to on Spotify.
The Knife have now officially released Shaking The Habitual and it is getting mixed reviews. Now think about all the people who jumped on The Knife bandwagon after the 2006 release of Silent Shout and how they just did it because it was the “cool” thing to do. These are the people who just don’t get The Knife and I think you need to have an open mind and appreciate creativity to enjoy them in whatever they do. I personally love Shaking The Habitual and am very glad that The Knife progressed and didn’t puke out a second Silent Shout.
This week’s video is a new music video from Shiv-r, Australian industrial artist and Auxiliary Magazine cover model, who never fail to understand the importance of the aesthetic and visuals of a band and presenting a full, carefully crafted package. The new video is for “Devil’s Night” from their EP Shadow Between Worlds reviewed in the February/March 2013 Issue. The cheese factor is a little high on this video, I think because the premise of the performers performing for a music video is obvious. The highlight is the scene of the aerial silk acrobat performing in darkness as the viewer can more easily forget that this exists in the context of a music video.
Depeche Mode has been around forever and with the backing of a major label, some Sony Music division, they are still relevant to the masses. Now as many of you know I don’t really care for them, I didn’t like them in the 80s (that I remember), I wasn’t a fan in the 90s nor the 00s, and now Delta Machine is their first release in the 10s and well I don’t know if I like it or I just dislike it because of my previous views. But like any good music editor I gave this a try. I did like the music, it is very well produced, and it is interesting throughout. I won’t comment on the lyrics or vocals. Perhaps I just need some recommendations on what are the really good songs on this album. Anyways Depeche Mode is more than important in the subculture I feel I belong in and for that they do deserve the release of the week.
Give me some feedback on your favorite tracks off Delta Machine!
Delta Machine is available for purchase online and can be listened to online on Spotify.
Team Ghost, the five piece band founded by ex-M83 co-founder Nicolas Fromageau (who was on the M83 and Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts albums), recently released the music video for “Curtains” off their forthcoming album Rituals due out April 16th. What starts out as a high fashion model dancing around the band turns into tons of weird hair imagery.
IAMX has a new music video out for “I Come With Knives” off his upcoming album The Unified Field. I say a big “yes” to Chris Corner dressed in the fashion of Nick Cave and Fields of the Nephilim dancing around at dusk or dawn in Joshua Tree National Park!
Ghost & Writer’s Red Flags, which is out now on Metropolis Records, marks the return of the collaboration from Frank M. Spinath (Seabound/Edge Of Dawn) and Jimmyjoe Snark III (The Weathermen). Ghost & Writer present music, melodies, and lyrics that cut through you like a knife and leave you bleeding from the heart. What made me fall in love with Ghost & Writer when their 2011 album Shipwrecks came out was the stories that were told within the lyrics. This trend still continues with Red Flags and with time, I am hopeful I will enjoy this album just as much.
More new music from The Knife! The new music video for “A Tooth For An Eye” is from their forthcoming album Shaking The Habitual. Always aiming to present more than just an eye candy music video, the description for this video goes… “A Tooth For An Eye” deconstructs images of maleness, power, and leadership. Who are the people we trust as our leaders and why? What do we have to learn from those we consider inferior? In a sport setting where one would traditionally consider a group of men as powerful and in charge, an unexpected leader emerges. A child enters and allows the men to let go of their hierarchies, machismo and fear of intimacy, as they follow her into a dance. Their lack of expertise and vulnerability shines through as they perform the choreography. Amateurs and skilled dancers alike express joy and a sense of freedom; there is no prestige in their performance. The child is powerful, tough and sweet all at once, roaring “I’m telling you stories, trust me” (a quote borrowed from Jeanette Winterson’s novel The Passion). There is no shame in her girliness, rather she possesses knowledge that the men lost a long time ago.
