The Surround - "Skin"
Blending bare-bones, guitar-driven songwriting with colorful hooks and vintage synth lines, The Surround entered the indie scene in the summer of 2017 with their first EP, Friends. The group formed in their hometown of Natick, MA in the spring of 2015. The Surround's eclectic mix of folk, pop and indie rock soon grabbed the attention of Boston producer Mike Woods, who picked up The Surround for their debut EP, released independently on July 8th, 2017. The group has another EP planned for early 2018, as well as a full-length album to be released that following summer.
Ruler - "Complicated Mind"
When we spoke to Ruler ‘s Matt Batey earlier this year , he detailed how he approaches music “looking for a feeling of being lifted up by the experience.” With his soaring hooks and insanely catchy riffs, he has a remarkable track record for hitting that mark. It’s no wonder that he’s become such a sought-after musician in the Seattle scene, using his instrumental wizardry and dynamic vocals to support acts like Cataldo and Rocky Votolato. Ruler has existed all along while he’s supported these artists, but for the most part, you’ve needed to attend one of his totally life-affirming live shows to hear Batey’s hooks in action. With Ruler’s latest single, “Complicated Mind,” we can now pour over just how expertly crafted Batey’s songwriting really is.
Over a chugging, muted riff, Batey opens the song with a litany of questions, “What are you running from? Is it real or is it dumb?” The push and pull between the pounding drums and the steady bass line heighten the tension, putting the pressure on like an indie rock interrogation. Suddenly there’s a brief pause, then we’re flying again as Batey wails a chorus condemning “you and your complicated mind.” Musically, it fits Batey’s mission of trying to feel lifted, even when the lyrics feel damning. They aren’t mutually exclusive ideas. The feverous pressure he’s exuding throughout the song feels like motivation – a coach grabbing you by the shoulders telling you to get back out there and to prove yourself wrong. It’s two-and-a-half minutes of guitar rock perfection, repeatedly bottling up and exploding.
Ruler currently does not have any upcoming dates, but you can follow the band on Facebook and Twitter to stay in the loop on future happenings. In the meantime, bliss out to “Complicated Mind” below.
Chasing Giants - "Till the Night Ends" (Feat. C Major & Maxine Champion)
Chasing Giants are a three piece R&B/Rock band that write and perform with a variety of different singers. Made up of members Ben Corby (Guitar), Maurice Webb (Bass) and Jake Arvonen (Drums), the three want to bring featuring artists, which is already conventional for DJ’s and producers, into a band environment. Chasing Giants have featured a unique roster of local Sydney singers including the likes of Carlos C Major, Ethan Conway, Maxine Champion, and Amastro. Chasing Giants crush the stereotypical aural palette into oblivion, teasing audiences with fresh heart-on-your-sleeve tracks such as Bad News and Shutdown.
Like the perfect hybrid of biscuit and ice cream that is Maxibon, Chasing Giants are the ideal, scrumptious R&B-rock treat, drawing inspiration from Justin Timberlake and Bruno Mars to Foreigner and David Bowie.
Yacht Punk - "Radar"
www.yachtpunk.com
Laying on the floor of his unfinished basement studio in Beachwood Canyon, Graham Bockmiller realized it was time to go out on his own. The LA-based band Great White Buffalo had run its course, leaving him unsure what would come next. Graham spent the next year holed up inside his studio by himself; contemplating life, writing, collecting nude calendars of Eastern European women suggestively holding large trophy carp, and experimenting with the raw recording skills he had taught himself. Inspired by artists like Queens of the Stone Age, Foals, and HEALTH, he began exploring new sounds and textures outside of the traditional rock staples of guitar, drums, and bass – testing the limits of his DIY recording chops in search for a more interesting, vibier sound. These songs would later become the beginning of Yacht Punk.
Graham tinkered on demos until a chance meeting with Michael Pozzi (guitar) at Davey Wayne’s on Hollywood Boulevard. Michael was all-in on the project after visiting the studio and hearing where the music was going, and they were soon joined by Graham’s roommate Tricky (drums, no discernible first or last name) and Justin Ricard (bass). They took the demos to producer and indie-rock guru Matt Wignall’s (Cold War Kids, Mando Diao, J. Roddy Walston and the Business) eclectic Tackyland studio in Long Beach. In his converted garage studio (where “Hang Me Out to Dry” was recorded), Wignall took the music to further and weirder places with his unique production black magic. Afterwards, the band brought the tracks back to LA, where they were finished with mixer/engineer Will Brierre (The Killers “Hot Fuss”).
So here it is. Yacht Punk sounds like Stephen King’s movie Maximum Overdrive took a handful of downers. It has something to do with free-basing weed wax off nice silverware you heated up on an electric stove. It’s drinking daiquiris out of a hollowed-out pineapple at a vampire bar, flying on acid. It’s doing hippie-flips in the desert while eating steak dinner with a roommates’ retired relatives, having a black dumpster cat named Mazzy Star, and destroying another pair of white Converse. No, they don't ride on yachts and they don't play punk.
Young Creatures - "To Be Alive"
LA's Young Creatures latest release, 'To Be Alive,' is a heart-racing, existential serenade. The track begins with a sparse drum part followed by layered melodic guitar lines. It feels almost like a psychedelic shoegaze version of Fleet Foxes, Mike Post's vocals resonating purely over droning guitars.
The track explores the morose subject of enjoying life while we can, despite it's heartbreaking brevity. "Happenstance happens fast. A beautiful bitter dance, to be alive." The song reminds listeners to appreciate what they have and to never forget that it could be taken away in an instant. Young Creature's 'To Be Alive' is a genre defying aria with impressive instrumentation and refreshingly philosophical subject matter. We can't wait to hear the rest of their upcoming album, The Future Is Finally Now.
BIO:
CREETCH.
What is it? What does it mean? While ostensibly an abbreviation of the word “Creatures”, as in the LA-based band Young Creatures, the meaning has become more and more contested over time. The most widely accepted interpretation of it, as of the year 2017, is an acronym for “Creating Radical, Ethereal, Energetic Tunes in Chop Heaven”, “chop” being slang for one of the band’s favorite tightly-rolled pastimes. But even Young Creatures themselves will be hesitant to state the term’s definitive meaning, leaving much of it up to a listener’s personal interpretation, just as the band prefer to do with their music.
Combining elements of shoegaze, psychedelic rock, indie, and pop, Young Creatures toe the line between blissful dreamy pop and dark, eerie soundscapes. After dropping their debut self-titled EP in 2012 and the Habitats EP in 2013, the band underwent some line-up changes, as well as evolving the sound from its raw and raucous beginnings to its current atmospheric and energetic sound.
Their full-length debut Fear All The Things was released in 2014, solidifying the band’s sound and ethos. A proudly DIY band, Young Creatures have toured major cities all over North America and gotten attention from several publications, including Classic Rock Magazine, LA Weekly, OC Weekly, Buzz Bands LA, and Slug Magazine. In LA they’ve played venues like The Bootleg, The Echo, The Satellite and a residency at the Silverlake Lounge. They’ve done performances for Daytrotter, Converse Rubber Tracks, Balcony TV, Sofar Sounds, & Jam in the Van. Their music has been featured in television shows and independent films, as well as on repeated plays on terrestrial radio stations such as Los Angeles’ 88.5 KCSN.
Currently a three-piece of Mike Post (vocals/guitar/keyboards), Michael Escalante (drums/percussion) and Andrew Gleason (guitar/bass/vocals), the band is set to release their upcoming sophomore album, The Future is Finally Now. Recorded and mixed at Mike Post’s own MooseCat Recording studio in LA, the album refines and expands the haunting dreamy sound of their debut. The band performed and produced the entire album themselves and is looking forward to a 2017 release.
John Pagano Band - "Rise Up"
August 1st, 2017 was the official release date of the John Pagano Band’s album, “One More Round”. This groundbreaking album captures a new sound with a gritty roots feel that reaches down into your soul. The John Pagano Band hits you with its raw soulful guitar, innovative rhythms, infectious melodies and smart lyrics. All of this executed with John’s powerful vocals and the solid backing of Shiloh Bloodworth (Drums) and Tony Hossri (Bass).
“One More Round” features eleven songs that is available on every digital retail provider. Physical copies of the album can be found on tour with the John Pagano Band as well as through the band’s website www.johnpaganoband.com . “One More Round” was recorded at Midnight Circus Studios in Buford, Georgia and mixed by producer John Young in Brooklyn, New York; both of which gave it its new roots vibe. The John Pagano Band has released two music videos to support their songs “Ain’t Gonna Lose You” and “Bottoms Up” from the new album; with “Ain’t Gonna Lose You” reaching a staggering 100,000 views.
The John Pagano Band is a Roots Rock influenced act hailing from Atlanta, Georgia. John Pagano moved from the NY music scene in 2011, where he performed with such artists as Richie Canata and Liberty DeVito (Billy Joel), Innes Sibun (Robert Plant) and Phil Grande (Joe cocker) to name a few. Since moving to Atlanta, John has honed his band and put together a powerhouse trio that has the reputation as a must see LIVE act!
Chameleon Culture - Not Again
"Not Again" is the final track on Brooklyn-based indie/rock/sonic-punch band Chameleon Culture's debut album "The Universe Is A New Year's Day Parade"!
HOAX - Pretty
“Pretty” is an observation. I wrote the song after going to multiple bars, clubs, enviornments and seeing how mistreated women are (in almost every sense, and how collectively its kind of a norm (WTF). From my experiences, a lot of times woman are rated based on their physical appearance first, and then (if given the chance) on their actual personalities (intellect, passions, everything that makes them - them, etc.) second. The second verse is more about how I think that people are to being boxed into preconceived categories (especially women), when in reality we are all complex creatures and its not fair to be bogged down by someones desire to compartmentalize and index us into something that is understandable, on their terms. Someones inability to understand us should never be a determinant of who we are. - Mike & HOAX
Lyrics:
Pretty Girls From The Night School
Who Knows what they've been through
Sinking Low in your bar stools
Oh no heres a new fool
He thinks he knows whatchu been through
Go home and leave her alone, leave her alone
Chorus:
Cause Even in our darkest Hours
I still stop and stare
even in a world full of flowers
You are there
Verse 2:
Burn My mind and my mental
your cigarettes with the menthol
a holy kiss from the temple
your buddhist monks and heavy metal, I'm up
And when we're thinking a lot
and when we're drinking a lot
and when we're sinking a lot
are we figuring out
its not about when its happening
but are you listening to the moment
and making it work
Chorus:
Cause Even in our darkest Hours
I still stop and stare
even in a world full of flowers
You are there
Bridge:
Even, Even
Even, Even
Chorus:
Cause Even in our darkest Hours
I still stop and stare
even in a world full of flowers
You are there
Patrick Joseph - Arsonist Blues
Pittsburgh native, Los Angeles resident & Award-Winning singer/songwriter Patrick Joseph has been active in the music world for years now, having toured extensively in North America, Europe, and having showcased at festivals such as SXSW, CMJ, NXNE, ASCAP Expo, and the Sundance Film Festival. With the support of music licensing, having landed dozens of film and TV placements (The Office, Grey’s Anatomy, Gossip Girl) and the support of independent radio such as KCRW and KEXP, Joseph has independently forged a spot for himself as one of LA’s brightest young songwriters and rising stars on the indie scene.
His latest release Hindsight (December 2016) brings Joseph back on the road in 2017. Often compared to a range of contemporaries ranging from Ryan Adams, James Bay, Jeff Buckley, and Tom Waits, Joseph is a freshly unique brand of indie-rock flair in the modern realm of the singer/songwriter genre.
A multiple winner in the Independent Music Awards as well as multiple awards won locally and internationally, Joseph's music is a hidden gem of pristine caliber from the indie music scene.
Hindsight is available now on CD and Vinyl at patrickjoseph.com.