The World Over Announce Brand New EP, "Ventifact" Out 11/17 and Release "Traitor" Acoustic Single

LA-based active rock band, The World Over, is gearing up for an exhilarating end to an already impressive 2017. Next month, on November 17th, the band is set to release a brand new EP entitled, Ventifact (Ventifact - EP by The World Over PRE-ORDER). This fan-inspired EP is a mirrored image of their 2016 smash, Mountains but re-imagined as an acoustic release giving the band a new sound, style, and feel for their beloved tunes. After a year of touring and much critical acclaim, The World Over have crafted a new rendition of their fan favorite EP, Mountains, which included single "Let Go," into a masterful 5-track acoustic EP. The 5-track acoustic EP was produced, recorded, engineered and mixed by Ryan Knecht, and mastered by Siegfried Meier at Beach Road Studios. The band expands on the significance of Ventifact, below: 
 
"Ventifact was created as a tribute to both fans and our latest EP, Mountains. Mountains changed a lot things for the better within the band, changing our sound completely to cast a wider net to music listeners all the while trying to sound unique, heavy, and inspired. We feel as if it was a new beginning for us and we wanted to honour that with an acoustic re­imagining of it, taking it one step further. Ventifact came together very smoothly and naturally being the first original music we've ever self produced. Each song is meticulously crafted to sound fresh but also familiar."

Off the forthcoming EP, comes "Traitor," a re-imagined version with acoustic elements. Lead vocalist and front-woman had this to say about the track's meaning and new rendition: 

"I initially wrote this song to see if I could write about a subject matter I'm not really familiar with. I guess it could be considered songwriting practice because I usually try to dig pretty deep on my lyrics or at least on my own experiences. I don't actually know what it's like to revenge f*ck someone's girlfriend so if it were to happen, this is how I think it would go down haha. When we revisited this song to make "Ventifact", we really wanted to make sure that this album turned out different than just a bare-bones acoustic album like every other that you hear. Ryan (guitar) really took the reins on the writing process for the direction of this album to give these songs new identities. 

What made Traitor a bit of a challenge for him is that the song is originally very "riff-based". In the verses there's a guitar riff hook that repeats several times throughout the song as well as in the bridge. The main challenge with a lot of the album was translating that to sound good on an acoustic guitar. So instead of making "TRAITOR" riff heavy, he tried to emulate the synth line and took the bridge to a whole different direction with a latin feel. We had to create a new vocal melody as well for the bridge because it's driven by screams as a leading line. He got to play around with more complex chord voicings than were on the record originally which gives the song some latin and jazz undertones."

Connect with The World Over: Twitter | Facebook | YouTube

NYC's Experimental Rock Group Pollens Release EP "Mister Manufacture"

"Samplers, noise, ecstatic readings of boring lists," reads Pollens biography; a modestly blunt statement that is perfectly accurate, yet also completely insufficient in describing the band's sound. Pollens is a band that you can't easily describe; and one you must just experience. They have just released their latest EP, titled "Mister Manufacture", a masterful creation perched on the fine line between chaos and precision. Blending electronic dance beats, ambient noise and shouting, the quirky group makes catchy and undeniably clever music; it's sparse yet poppy, experimental yet honestly raw. 

If you ask the band for guidance, you'll find they're as upfront as you might expect: "Pollens doesn’t tell stories, they recite lists. They want their music to be dumb and immediate. No story. No metaphor," said the band. Inspiration for the band's material comes out of their love for endless observation and notation. "Pollens make lots of lists. Lists of things that kids might do. Sounds that animals make. Weird things to not believe in. Answering machine messages. The benefits of being invisible. Warning signs before kissing. Things I tell my friends. Promises I make. Things the cards say. Shifts in my behavior when I like someone. Kinds of tourists on the train. Things men say. Lovesickness and homesickness. Cats and witches. Problems with having a body. Real life and the internet."

Pollens' Mister Manufacture represents the perfect 'controlled chaos' found in their hometown of New York City; their music a constant analysis and reflection of their everyday life. Always with a twist of surprise, Pollens delight in the mundane with odd songs you'll be humming over and over, in the key of garbage trucks, train tracks, and emergency sirens.

Mister Manufacture is available for pay-what-you-want in digital format on Bandcamp; with limited edition cassette tapes available from the band at their record release celebration show on November 16 at Secret Project Robot in NYC. They’ll be joined by Operator Music Band, Salt People and, recently announced, Zula; full details on Facebook here. The EP was self-recorded and produced by Jeff Aaron Bryant of Pollens and mastered by Blake Bickel.

Stream/Download "Mister Manufacture" on Bandcamp

Connect with Pollens: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Soundcloud

Neo-Psychedelic Outfit Blue Sails Release Debut Self-Titled Album

Neo-psychedelic outfit Blue Sails are proud to release their self-titled debut record. Conceived by two brothers in rural Wisconsin, the record deals with the themes of anxiety and a spiritual awakening of sorts.  The result is a sonically beautiful record with endless textures and layers to be peeled away slowly with each listen.

Last month, Mitch and Max premiered the debut single, "For Now" to rave reviews.  Mystic Sons said, "The new track... captures the pair's affinity for synth-led pop music, combining their hazy take on electronic music with a subtle overtone of otherworldly vocal performances."

Just a few weeks back, Music & Riots premiered second single, "Beloved", calling it "a mesmerizing glimpse... of their dreamy and neo-psychedelic approach"

If you're not familiar, Blue Sails is the product of brothers Mitchel and Max Bell.  After leaving their hometown in Wisconsin to attend college in Chicago and Milwaukee respectively, the bustle of the city began to wear down on them.  The brothers both found themselves growing increasingly anxious and desperate for a certain type of peace that they only found when back in rural Wisconsin.

The wilderness won them over.  Mitchel and Max built a home studio to fit their needs, and they began recording songs that channeled the thematic juxtaposition of the tension they felt from living frantic, anxious urban lives, and the short relief they'd receive when working on songs in their newly found oasis.  

The result is an 8-track epic that weaves a sonic blend harkening back to the likes of Pink Floyd, Spiritualized, and MGMT.  After hearing the record, a friend and poet convinced the duo to release the music to the world, and Blue Sails was born.

Stream/Download "Blue Sails" on Spotify

Connect with Blue Sails: Website | Twitter | Facebook

Alesana to Announce New Project, Seeks Fan Involvement

Raleigh-based rock band Alesana have released a video announcing a new project and are seeking fan involvement. The video, which features Alesana vocalist Shawn Milke, doesn’t reveal all the details about the new forthcoming project but asks fans to send a thirty second clip of themselves doing something creative and having a positive message. In the same vein of Alesana's mantra, "PMA", he also adds for fans to send a photo, along with their video, of them holding up a sign with the words, “I say farewell to giving up,” in their native language. About the project, Shawn said, “This new project we are embarking on is very dear to us. We want to show our fans how much they mean to us in a unique and special way. These last 13 years of getting to be Alesana would not be possible without the love, support, and positivity of our amazing army. Alesana is not just the six of us in the band; it is all of you as well. Hopefully when this project is done, we will have been able to show you at least a small bit of gratitude for how appreciative and thankful we are for your passion and loyalty."

To be involved, fans are asked to either upload their video to their YouTube channel unlisted or to their google drive and send the link to info@revivalrecs.com. The deadline for submissions is October 20th. Fans are encouraged to participate and be a part of something special. For all the details, including filming instructions, you can view the video below.

Connect with Alesana: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Bad Galaxy's Debut LP is Your Perfect Companion for the End of the World

Alexis Pastuhov is dead. He fought a good fight, but like all things that become increasingly tedious and restrictive, he had to go. The Brooklyn based singer-songwriter is survived by a strong penchant for candid lyrics, catchy melodies, and bedroom-pop recordings.

Alright, obituary aside, there was a death of sorts, but not a literal death. For Pastuhov, this shift in identity was more like a rebirth. Assuming the moniker Bad Galaxy at its deepest level marks the start of a creative evolution and a re-visioning of the self, and at its simplest could be looked at as just an attempt at visibility via a more memorable moniker. Whatever the motivation behind the change, the Brooklyn based musician's new self-titled album is still undeniably Pastuhov. The arrangements are more ambitious than past releases, yes, and the production more nuanced, but in many senses, Pastuhov picks-up right where he left off with 2013’s Murder Your Darlings. Sure, ‘Darlings’ was a more ‘guitar-forward’ style album, whereas Bad Galaxy seeks to differentiate itself through the exploration of electronic textures, but the dynamics and lyrical sentiments are similar and the impassioned vocal performances and stacked harmonies certainly harken back to past releases.

"I really wanted to make an album that people could listen to over and over again, and still discover something new in each song. Every subtle texture, every word and every little musical nuance is there for a reason, and a lot of the material on the album seeks to set a tone or a vibe rather than tell a straightforward story. A lot of my past albums were more focused around a clear narrative structure, whereas this album in some regards is more cryptic, experimental, and open to interpretation." - Alexis Pastuhov

While not exactly looking to re-invent his own wheel, Pastuhov remains true to his tongue-in-cheek writing style, clinging to a catastrophic yet humorous outlook on life. However he does manage to push forward his own unique brand of indie-rock, by embracing the use of synthesizers, drum loops, samples, ambient noise, and many instruments not featured on past albums. There is even a fully instrumental track on the album, and the opening song “Always In A Minor Key” is built around one phrase that is repeated over and over, building to a crescendo of voices all singing 'First you give up, and then you give in to it'  in four part harmony as the background instrumentation soars to an almost cacophonous roar.

At times, the music on Bad Galaxy delves into the realm of experimental and avant-garde, but more often than not there is a strong adherence to straight forward, verse-chorus-verse, pop sensibilities, with most songs clocking-in at under four minutes. Sonically and thematically the album covers a lot of ground, and offers music lovers of all kinds something new to discover with each listen. The fact that Pastuhov wrote, recorded, mixed, and performed all the instruments on the album is also a testament to his musical abilities and is worthy of note if for no other reason than to shed light on the vast amount of time and creative energy that most certainly went into the production of the record. 

"I think that the album has collected some of that dirty city grit. The kind that swirls up into your eyes when you're walking down the street, or inhaling the dust of a just missed train. And just like the city, the music is dynamic both sonically and thematically. There are a lot of highs and lows as the album progresses from song to song and those shifts are just as much a product of my own creative neuroses as they are a product of the city's ever-changing mood."

Bad Galaxy is beautiful and ugly, dark and bright, hard and soft, happy and sad. It is a brave album full of contrast and conflict, and it is a bold exclamation from an artist that regardless of his name, demands to be heard. 

Stream/Download "Bad Galaxy" on Bandcamp

Interview: Los Angeles Based Rock/Pop Singer-Songwriter Brookelyn Rose

Brookelyn Rose is an Los Angeles based Rock/Pop singer-songwriter, originally from Philadelphia, who just released the second single/visual, "Promises", off her upcoming EP "Does She Know". We connected with Brookelyn for this exclusive interview to find out what led her away from the comforts of Philly, to the unknowns of the west coast, why she selected "Promises" as her latest single, and much more. 

After reading our Q&A with Brookelyn, be sure to follow her on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, to stay up to date on all things "Brookelyn Rose" and for updates related to the "Does She Know" EP. 

You are originally from Philly but are now based in Los Angeles. What led you to the west coast and how long have you been living there?

I decided move to LA two and a half years ago because it was so far from my comfort zone. I think it’s important for artists to shake things up and do what scares them. I had lived in New York City and was originally planning to move back there after college, but a friend of mine persuaded me to jump into something new and give LA a shot. The idea of moving 3,000 miles away from everyone and everything that I knew scared me, so I knew I had to do it.

Congrats to you on the visual for your second single "Promises". Of the songs on your upcoming EP "Does She Know", why did you select "Promises" to release?

Thank you! I chose to release “Promises” as the follow-up single to “Does She Know” because I wrote them almost a week apart from each other; They show two different sides to the same story. These songs focus on the questions of, “What are the ways people move on after a relationship has ended and how can you feel empowered at your lowest?” It made sense to release “Promises” next because it answers questions presented in “Does She Know”.

What can you tell us about the "Does She Know" EP? When do you plan on releasing it and who were the producers on it?

This EP is not just about one breakup or one relationship; It’s also about family, love, loss, and empowerment! These songs are fun and honest and I hope people can relate to them. We’re planning on releasing the entire EP by the end of the year along with more music videos. I worked with Wes Kos from Kairos Music Group to produce this EP.

You live in a city where there are so many landmarks, beaches and other activities to partake it. What do you enjoy doing for fun when you are not writing or in the studio recording?

I love exploring new places so any time I’m free, I get some friends together and go on mini road-trips. Even if it’s only like 3 hours away, it’s still an adventure and being outside and just laughing with my friends recharges me.

If you were not an artist, what would you be doing for a living?

Hmmm, I’d either be a psychologist or a chef (such opposite ends of the spectrum haha!). But I’ve always been fascinated with human behavior and I enjoy talking to people and helping others. I also cooking because I love to eat….and it’s exciting to try new flavors and see what works well together and what doesn’t!

Connect with Brookelyn Rose: Twitter | Instagram

The Death of the Rock Star: Emaciated Indie Music Now Passed Off As Rock n’ Roll

So many rock stars have fallen to suicide lately, and it gets you thinking. But all you have to do is look at the musical landscape right now and it makes sense. You would probably hang yourself too if you saw the very music you made, lived for, and the music that ended up defining you being buried alive and made obsolete in front of your eyes. That is like the death of a child to them. And make no mistakes, rock is dead, it really is. You can respond to this article about how some band named “Midnight Critters” out in Texas still “rock the fuck out” but guess what? If NO ONE HEARS THEM BUT YOU, and radio and pop culture and mass media won’t take to it, it is the musical equivalent of a tree falling in the woods with no one around. It does make sound, but what does that matter if no one fucking hears it?

Sad, I know, and that is why I wanna talk about it. 

You know what we have left, honestly? Foo Fighters (who have gone pop but who can blame them when that’s where the money's at) and Queens of the Stone Age (both of which are more based of 70’s stoner and arena rock than actual crunchy, hard music) and some “here and there's” (meaning some awesome badass rock bands from here and there that no one but people from here or there will ever know about). That is it. That is all we have left. And even they lack that kick of shit like Pantera and old Nine Inch Nails (I can call industrial music rock if I want). But the point is, that percentage of modern rock is so little in the big picture (even if they are fantastic bands) it is like nothing at all. A blip on an otherwise massive radar.

Make no mistakes, any reader to this site can tell you, I love all music. I play all genres and and am a fan of all genres (except country, I can’t lie, I hate that shit), but that also means I love me some rock n’ roll, and to see a genre that helped me be confident when I felt weak as a kid vanish kills me. To see a genre of music that helped me find girls like me to date when I was young and homely become nothing more than a distant memory is painful. Rock n’ roll music, helped me deal with my family issues, issues of self-hatred and made me feel less alone as a kid. When I see something that was (natch, IS) that essential to my life (and the lives of many) going extinct, you bet your balls or vulva I am gonna do all I can to prevent that, and words are all I have, so let’s do this. And remember, denial isn’t going to help solve this issue.

Maybe If enough of us raise our collective voices, we can keep rock music from falling silent, and help future generations of malcontents realize they have a place, too, just like rock music did for me.

The Memories of REAL Rock Music

I remember lumbering men on stages, larger than life. 

Sonic riffs being played so hard you thought you were going to blow out your eardrums AND speakers just by listening to that shit cranked to ten. 

Drummers in the backgrounds, hammering away like metalsmiths, forging swords. 

I remember songs about fucking and drugs and often, anthems about doing both at the same time. 

Though we may still get songs about that stuff, where did the sonic resonance go? Where did the larger-than-life frontmen with mesmerizing presences all go? Why do all songs have drum machines on them now instead of drummers? Hell, name me one rock song with a memorable bass line in the last five years. Oh, you can’t? I know, and it kills me. 

It is like watching some animal that was hit by a car but not killed slowly dragging itself off the road and into the woods to die. You don’t want to ever kill an animal, but you also don’t want it to suffer so what do you do? Run it down and sob a little that you killed an animal for the sake of mercy, or don’t and sob a little that it is sitting on the edge of the highway, bleeding out?

Get my point, no one wins, and rock n’ roll, metal, music with an edge, is that proverbial animal, limping, bleeding, as Chester Bennington (from Linkin Park) would have screamed, crawling to the side of the road to die.

Yeah, I know, too soon, that is the point. This is all happening too fast, and it IS happening.

Did the Nu-Metal Backlash Kill All Rock?

I need help understanding this, and this is coming from a ‘music guy’ who generally understands the evolution of musical scenes and genres and such. When Grunge died out in the late nineties (the TRUE end of rock if we are being honest here) it birthed nu-metal. For those who don’t know, that is what bands like Korn and Deftones and Limp Bizkit were called. It was a type of hard rock-metal influenced music that sometimes used hip hop influences and fed off of band members who played their instruments with extra strings and tuned WAY THE FUCK DOWN. It was a different sound than the feedback heavy crunch of grunge, and though some say it lacked the depth of grunge and even the 70’s stoner rock that came before it, nu-metal had its place. When and why did nu-metal suffer such a HUGE and sudden backlash? Bands like Deftones (from the So-Cal scene, more 90’s than Nu-Metal) STILL make amazing music and sell out tours. Bands like System of a Down were fucking phenomenal musicians who wrote fantastic, politically driven music. Hell, even later in their career people would make fun of fans of Linkin Park saying they were pop metal, but don’t forget, JAY-Z HIT THEM UP TO MAKE A RECORD, so please don’t act like you’re all high and mighty and have better taste than the richest fucking man in music right now because I will slap your face. 

Truth is, no one really knows why. 

Everyone had that second Limp Bizkit album (Significant Other), yet, five years later, Fred Durst became the name to drop when you were mocking the scene. Huh?

What happened in between and why did this scene get a bigger fallout than fucking disco?
I understand it wasn’t for everyone, but riddle me this:

Since Nu-metal ended, what has happened to rock music? Do you hear it anymore, anywhere, at all? 

No, you don’t. 

Not outside of the few kids who still have the balls to start garage bands and the cities that still have some cool venues that support shows like that, but outside of that, rock really is dead, and somehow, we allowed it.

Fuck, why can’t we just blame emo? Because they will write whiny songs about it and get rich again and we can’t allow that twice in the same lifetime. Shame on you, men with bangs. Shame on YOU!

So Indie Hipsters Are the New Rock Bands Now?

Don’t get me wrong, I love The Shins, but you kinda see the passive point I am making, right? Just because a band plays their instruments doesn’t make them ROCK! Pop music is not rock music. Lines NEED to be drawn in the sand, people.

This is the real dick kick. Bands that are being passed off as rock on rock radio and on rock streams online are all the same. Indie bands, two word names, five guys in band all with ironic facial hair and fairly tight fitting, hipster-clothing. Rappers can wear red jeans, it’s cool. But when a band full of skinny dudes in red jeans playing acoustic music is being passed off as rock n’ roll, this scene is a eunuch. A man of wasted potential.

Oh, keep in mind, I know I keep saying all these gender specific analogies like “balls”, but female rockers used to make me wet and I am not even legally supposed to be able to get wet in that way. To me, there is NOTHING sexier than a woman rocking the fuck out, commanding the stage and her instrument and taking my ears to all sorts of sonic landscapes while taking my mind to all sorts of dirty places because I am a pig.

I will give one example. A band lead by two women I would have sold my soul to even take a nap between:

That is a PERFECTLY constructed rock song, a perfect video by two perfect humans. From the opening bass riff to the melodious bridge in between each crunchy chorus, don’t think when I say rock has lost its balls I mean this is a boy’s club, because it isn’t. 

Hell, some quintessential rock bands of the 90’s had female members (looking at you D’arcy from Smashing Pumpkins) so I know it is not a gender thing. Hell, I still think Joan Jett is the hottest, most badass woman alive. I’d let her spit into my mouth. That is how divine I find her.

But show me the Joan Jett of today (Troi Irons is my new Joan Jett, but she can be just very melodious or genre bending so I wouldn’t stick her under just the rock banner, though my god can she rock). Show me the Veruca Salt and Smashing Pumpkins of Today (get it, Smashing Pumpkins, Today). Oh wait, we have already concluded that you cannot because real rock, arena rock, the shit that pissed parents off and kids lost their virginity to and got into fights to, that shit is dead, and maybe that is half the reason this nation is SO FUCKED UP RIGHT NOW. We used to rage and headbang and vent that way. We used that music as an outlet. What do we do now? We take to Twitter and get outraged about all the wrong things. Fucking TRUTH, and you know it. We have gone from rock gods to whiny, self-entitled babies in ten years time. What the fuck is THAT shit.

Oh, and speaking of what the fuck...time to face facts….

Rappers are the New Rock Stars

I’m sorry, but the above performance? That is some rock-star shit.

Oh, so many people are gonna hate me for this, but Kanye was fucking right. He is the new rock star. You gotta understand, I come from a time when rock stars meant more than just music they made. They were larger-than-life presences that loomed over audiences. They played a role. A part pre-written for them, with music to match. They ate the fucking heads off bats that were thrown on stage (Okay, so Ozzie thought it was a toy, but regardless, he did it, and as fucked up as it was, it was metal as fuck) and also, they said and did stupid shit like that and got away with it. 

Remind you of anyone (*Coughs* Kanye).

They tore up hotel rooms and drove cars into pools. They got fucked up in public and acted like fucking tasteless rock stars. Well, someone needs to fill that void now that personalities like Kurt Cobain can’t and modern bands just don’t seem capable. 

The idea of a rock star is a concept, a brand, and it does NOT apply to genres. Anthony Bourdain is a fucking rock star and the guy has never played an instrument or sang a note in his life. It is about being bigger than something, and you only find that kind of bravado in hip hop now.
There is nothing wrong with that, but it cements the point of this tragic article.
Rock n’ Roll is dead (for now, 2017). 

I really pray some young kids with instruments read this article and immediately go out to their garage and form the best, loudest, most riotous rock band of all time and bring that shit back!
Here, use these two as inspiration, kids. One of the last bands that really packed a sonic punch. If you never saw the White Stripes live, you missed out on something otherworldly.

Let’s bring it back, motherf*ckers. The world has never been angrier or more unsettled. Therefore, there has never been a better time for that shit to rise back up to become our soundtrack to present day.

I do hate everyone and so do you, proving this song (and genre) is perfect and still pertinent, 17 years later. 

Interview: MYA Project Talks About Her Debut Album "MK"

MYA Project aka Dalila Mya is a Los Angeles based artist whose sound blends electronic and acoustic music, as well as Trip-Hop, World Music, and Pop Rock. She's not just a singer, but also an accomplished songwriter, violinist, synth player, sound engineer and director. MYA Project recently dropped a visual for her song "Something That Good", which appears on her debut album "MK", so it's only right that we connect with her for an exclusive Q&A. 

We really enjoyed the visual for "Something That Good"; it was very artistic. Who directed it and how did you come up with the treatment?

All done by Dalila Mya... yes - a multi-talented artist, I told you so...

The men behind the cameras are actually two amazing video makers - Eric Smith from San Francisco and Dave Hudson from the L.A. Film School. The script, storyboard, editing and post production were all done at MYA Project Studio in L.A., with the help of professional software, such as Final Cut Pro, Avid and Pro Tools :-)

Yes, women can do this besides dancing with that "erotic barbie-doll style" in a music video. Give us a chance.

Talk about your time working as a live sound engineer for artists like Tool, Depeche Mode and Massive Attack and as studio sound engineer. How did those experiences impact you as an artist and producer?

I learned to be humble. The greatest artists I worked with were always extremely humble, professional and nice.The mediocre ones need to fulfil their ego with pretentiousness.

I learned how to develop my problem solving skills. When you're working on stage during a concert, every second you spend fixing a problem is a big deal.

I learned that good music is made by sacrifice, commitment and passion, and very often a lot of money invested in good equipment. That's the recipe for quality music, and that's the reason why I'm always broke!

If you had to describe your music to a stranger in three words, which words would you select?

Disclosing - there is a lot of information hidden within the lines, and the title itself refers to the MK Ultra mind control program - still in use since WWII.

Independent - no major music label's telling me what to do - (thanks Milky Bomb!)

Secret - Many attempts were made to give a meaning to my lyrics, but like a David Lynch film you can find a different meaning every time you play a tune!

Congratulations on your release "MK". How long did the project take to write, produce and record? Were there any songs that you recorded that didn't make the cut? If so, why?

Thank you!

It took a year to produce and record the album, although some of the songs were written many years ago, as far as 2006.

A few songs didn't make the cut - I guess because they didn't have that quality which I call "delivering the message". I'm an extremely prolific writer but I'm also extremely picky with my works.

What are you most proud of with "MK"?

The time, effort and sacrifice involved with the production of this album. Part of the production took place while I was dealing with a serious spinal cord injury. That didn't stop me from sitting in my studio and mixing. Coping with pain - and weed, which luckily is legal in California.

Stream/Download "MK" by Mya Project on iTunes

Connect with MYA Project: Facebook | Twitter 

The Top 10 Indie Songs 2000-2009

“Indie” is a big word. It’s hard to define, and, as you’ll see from our top 10 Indie Songs of 2000-2009 below, it doesn’t necessarily have a distinct style. 

It’s more of an ethos than anything, and all of the tracks below have tons of it. When you think about indie at the beginning of the 21st century, these are the tracks that encapsulate what it was all about.

10. Sleater Kinney – Jumpers

At this point, Carrie Brownstein might be better known for Portlandia than for her band, Sleater Kinney, but just listen to “Jumpers” for one of the finest pure indie rock songs of the aughts. 

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9. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Maps

This song has become iconic since its release in 2004. Included in the video game Rock Band, covered in live sets by The White Stripes, Radiohead, Ted Leo, and scores of other musicians, “Maps” is perhaps the perfect indie song. 

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8. The Kills – Last Day of Magic

With its dissonant guitars, industrial beat, male/female vocal harmonies, “Last Day of Magic” blends punk, indie, and pure pop into an unforgettable track. 

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7. The Decemberists – The Mariner's Revenge Song

Who can turn a steampunk, 8-minute song about being eaten by a whale into an epic tale that begs to be listened to on repeat? The Decemberists. There’s an entire novel buried somewhere in the lyrics of this track.

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6. Feist – 1234

This is what pure love sounds like, especially the last 40 seconds of the track.

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5. Arcade Fire – Rebellion (Lies)

From the very first seconds of “Rebellion (Lies),” you have a driving bass line and kick drum which signal that something epic is coming. Then the song slowly but surely builds to one of the best choruses ever written.

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4. The Avalanches – Frontier Psychiatrist

The Avalanches took sampling to new heights on Since I Left You (2000), perhaps most so on the track, “Frontier Psychiatrist.” It also led to one of the most absolutely bonkers music videos of all time. 

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3. M.I.A. – Paper Planes

This track only becomes better known with time—having been in the films Slumdog Millionaire, Pineapple Express, and Hancock, performed by scores of rappers, punk bands, and other artists, and featured in video games, “Paper Planes” is M.I.A.’s best known work to date. You only need to listen to the chorus once before it becomes forever stuck in your head. 

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2. Explosions in the Sky – Your Hand in Mine

Perhaps the finest post-rock track of all time, “Your Hand in Mine,” is, quite simply, one of the most beautiful instrumental pieces ever written. It is stark, uplifting, and immensely powerful–perhaps made even more so from its association with various incarnations of Friday Night Lights. 

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1. Wilco – Jesus, Etc. 

Just the lines “tall buildings shake/voices escape/singing sad sad songs” alone can effectively summarize post 9/11-era America–an especially daunting realization when considering the song was recorded before the attacks (though released after). All of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is a masterpiece, but this track specifically is one that will forever be associated with the era.

Interview: San Diego Based Rock Artist Sluka

DCWS connected with San Diego-based rock artist, Christopher Sluka, who recently presented his new album, “Colorful Radiation”. During the exclusive interview we inquired about Sluka's creative process when developing songs, what he enjoys and hates most about being an artist and much more.  

Tell us about your new single "Number One". What does the song represent for you and what do you hope that those who listen to it for the first time take away from it?

I'm fascinated by how groups of human beings throughout history have a strong desire to get together and strive to proclaim themselves "Number One," similar to the Queen song "We are the Champions." However, in this case, not just to sports teams, but political parties, nations, cities, and especially religions... this sense that "God is on our side" and we are somehow the "chosen people."

Describe your creative process in relation to developing songs. Do you write lyrics first and then figure out the instrumentation?

The good ones just come to me. If I think about it too much it never works. And you must be willing to sound terrible in order to experiment and discover something new.

What do you enjoy most about being an artist? 

It is a wonderful feeling when an inspiration all comes together, very fulfilling.

What frustrates you the most about being an artist? 

It is a horrible feeling when an inspiration doesn't come together, very exasperating.

How would you say that your latest release "Colorful Radiation" is different than your prior albums?

Not only did all the songs come to me melodically & lyrically, but also the arrangements, in a very short time, about three weeks. I could hear everything in my head very much like how a song gets stuck in your head, only in this case they were original songs. And they came to me in the order of the album, like chapters in a book, to tell a cohesive and emotional story that I hope resonates with an audience, and may become something they turn to for sustenance throughout their lives.

As someone who has traveled across the world, what's your favorite city to visit or a place you'd want to end up living?

I've always been drawn back to Venice every few years. I speak a little Italian and I love the food. But as much as I love traveling, and I've lived many years of my life abroad, when away for long periods, I still find myself missing the ideals of America, the aspirations for innovation, creativity, and the pursuit of knowledge and happiness.

Stream/Download "Colorful Radiation" 

Connect with Sluka: Website

The Top 10 Indie Albums of 2000 – 2009

The beginning of the century saw a boom for indie music, brought about by the interconnectedness of the internet, which made the act of discovery, of sharing, easier than it had ever been in history. 

For those who craved for music outside of the mainstream, before the ease of checking out your favorite music blog for what’s new, there was trekking down to the local record store and talking to the clerk or there was college radio–but the quality and availability of these stations varies greatly from region to region. 

The internet was the great equalizer for indie music, which is why our list of the top 10 indie albums of 2000-2009 features a handful of Canadians, a British rapper of Sri Lankan descent, and a collaboration between two of Hip-Hop’s best known underground artists. Indie music, once local and regional, had become global.

10. Feist – The Reminder

As a part of super group Broken Social Scene, and with her earlier release, Let it Die, Feist had already made a name for herself when she released The Reminder in 2007. But with tracks like “1234” and “I Feel it All,” this is the album she is best known for, and for good reason.

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9. Arcade Fire – Funeral

Before the Arcade Fire had won a Grammy, had shared a stage with David Bowie, and had become one of indie’s best known groups, they were a relatively unknown Montreal band formed by husband and wife songwriting duo Régine Chassagne and Win Butler. Within a few years, they had earned the praise of David Bowie and their breakout debut full-length, Funeral, earned them a spot in indie music’s pantheon. 

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8. Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend

I remember first hearing Vampire Weekend on Myspace. They had a few tracks on a simple page, before their self-titled album was even released, and someone had emailed me the link. I remember returning to that site day after day and noting that the number of listens was skyrocketing. Anyone who sang about Oxford commas in such a fun, upbeat, an unabashedly nerdy way, was likely to find legions of fans in dorm rooms across the nation, and that they did. 

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7. Iron & Wine – The Creek Drank the Cradle

Sam Beam took Americana, slowed it down, and packaged it up into the lo-fi, whispery masterpiece that is The Creek Drank the Cradle. Anyone who doesn’t feel something when
listening to “Upward Over The Mountain” doesn’t have a soul. 

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6. Madlib – Shades of Blue

Madlib’s perfect blend of hip hop and jazz, a love letter to the deep history of Blue Note Records, is a work of genius. There’s no other way to describe it, and even if it is at times dissonant, or even abrasive, there is no other way to listen to it. 

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5. M.I.A. – Kala

Within a span of three years, M.I.A. released three outstanding albums, working with Diplo and other artists to seamlessly blend the sounds of the entire world into unforgettable beats, starting with Piracy Funds Terrorism, Vol. 1 (2004), followed by Arular (2005), and culminating with her magnum opus, Kala (2007).

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4. Explosions in the Sky – The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place

Perhaps the finest post-rock album of all time, The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place makes one feel exactly what the title suggests.

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3. Broken Social Scene – You Forgot it in People

Broken Social Scene sounds like joy. Their elaborate lineups and collaborations, their friendship and camaraderie, the harmonies, the blending of so many sounds into something beautiful, all of it comes through in their work. You Forgot it in People, from beginning to end, just exudes love. It is easy to become wrapped up in, and totally worth doing so, again and again. 

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2. Madvillain – Madvillainy

Fragments, interludes, songs—who can tell what is what on Madvillainy? It doesn’t matter. Just listen to one of the greatest hip hop releases of all time.

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1. Panda Bear – Person Pitch

Animal Collective’s Noah Lennox already had considerable indie clout when he dropped his solo album, Person Pitch, under the name Panda Bear. Blending Brian Wilson-esque harmonies with masterful production, if one album sounds like the culmination of a decade’s worth of indie music, this is it. 

Indie Singer/Songwriter Khalid Quesada On Music, The Cold War, And Artificial Intelligence

Khalid Quesada is an indie singer/songwriter from New Jersey who has performed all over the Garden State, Philadelphia, and surrounding areas, including regular appearances at the annual Elephant Talk Indie Music Festival in Atlantic City.

He recently took some time to talk to DCWS about William Penn, Six Flags Great Adventures, and Spotify. Check out the full interview below.

According to ReverbNation, you are the 13th most popular* indie musician in Philadelphia. When they erect a statue of you, would you rather it replace the statue of Rocky or the statue of William Penn atop city hall? Why? 

I would probably choose William Penn because I don't see the point in having statues of fictional characters. Rocky Balboa single-handedly ended the Cold War and saved us from the Russians. The answer is clear.

*Note: Since sending these interview questions, the ReverbNation charts have appeared to have changed, but rest assured, Khalid is still very well-known and adored in the region.

One of your most popular songs, "Radio Silence," was released in 2012 and has been followed by five years of radio silence. Was this series of events a piece of some sort of long-form performance art? Please discuss.

*ridiculously long pause*
No.

You often post pictures of people holding up signs that say "Listen to Khalid Quesada." Please post three of your favorites here. Then provide a few sentences about why each is one of your favorites. The sentences don't have to be true.

I have no idea how to insert photos directly into the e-mail. You're lucky I can play guitar... sorta. 

I can attach them and you can choose which sentence goes with which picture.
I just really appreciated her attention to detail.

I enjoy depictions of social anxiety.

He paid me to put him in.

If you could take two musicians, one living and one dead, to Six Flags Great Adventure for the day, who would you choose? 

Probably Dave Grohl and one of the Munchkins who was in Wizard Of Oz, I'm sure one of them was a musician. It's probably going to be hassle though dragging a decomposed corpse around Six Flags, so we're gonna wanna go with a small one. Is that racist?

There are more than 30 million songs on streaming services like Apple Music and Spotify. Which means there's way more than that many songs that have been recorded in the history of the world. Plus, artificial intelligence can now compose music. So, like, what's the point of recording and writing more songs? Haven't human beings created enough music? Can't we move on to something else? If so, what should that something else be? 

If we move onto something else, I think it'll be directly downloading the memory of watching or listening to something without doing it. Like in Johnny Pneumonic, only less shitty movie like. Or is that the wrong Keanu Reeves movie? As far as what humans will contribute artistically after music dies out, I'm not sure. But we'll probably make pretty excellent batteries.

Please list your five favorite musicians or bands that we probably have not heard of, and tell us which song we should listen to by them if we are to only choose one. 

Nada Surf - Blizzard Of '77

Elliott Smith - Waltz #2

Superdrag – Unprepared

Amedio Kitts – Panda

The Beatles - A Day In The Life (these guys are probably gonna hit it big soon)

Check out some of Khalid Quesada’s music here.

Interview: LA Based Rock Band Adventures In The Underground

Adventures In The Underground is a Los Angeles based rock duo who just dropped their second single "Streetlight", a song about a toxic relationship, driven by substance and emotional abuse. We connected with the bandmates (Kevin, Luke) to find out more about the new single, how they came together to form the band, when they know a song's creative process is complete and much more.

After reading our exclusive Q&A with Kevin and Luke, be sure to follow them on their social media streams and check out their website to stay up to date on all things Adventures In The Underground. 

Tell us about the name " Adventures In The Underground". Does it have a special meaning to you guys?

Kevin: We spent a lot of time in other projects thinking up band names, this one actually came to Luke pretty quickly and it gave the feeling we wanted for this project. “Adventures in the Underground.”  Sounds cool.

Luke: Yeah it’s iambic, it rolls off the tongue, and it speaks to what our thoughts and feelings have really been about in the last few years.  In our own lives, in the past, and out in the world now. When I suggested it I was thinking of Notes from Underground by Dostoyevsky—and it’s not a similar name, but also of Orwell’s Down and Out in Paris and London, which is more or less about him as a young man trying to eke out a living and seeing the sadder side of society along the way. We wanted to explore stuff like that with our music so the name just seemed right.

How did you guys meet and how are your personal experiences and events of today personified through your music?

L: We met in film school.

K: Senior year we worked closely on our thesis projects and around that time Luke started learning how to play guitar. I started showing him some things. And I can’t sing.

L: I can sing though. (laughs)

K: And from there we started writing songs together.

L: Yeah it was one of those like “Ah! You like James Taylor? I like James Taylor! Let’s make music!” That seems like an out of left field thing to mention, but James Taylor’s nice—everyone likes some James Taylor here and there, right?

K: (laughs)

L: Then we started writing songs and over time just kind of grew in this direction. Streetlight is about someone I was in love with when I first started college. She was brilliant, we had this on again, off again thing, but she moved progressively into a pretty dark lifestyle that really changed her. Then she moved far away, and the last text I ever got from her—which must have been to the wrong person, because I was 2000 miles away—was “Hey, so and so’s coming over tonight.  Do you have any crystal?”  And I was just, like… whoa.  I thought about that for a long time, and kept wanting to write a song about it. Streetlight is it.

Describe your creative process for us in relation to the development of a new song. Also, how do you two know when a song is finished?

K: Luke will come up with a vocal idea or riff and we’ll go from there. Or I’ll come up with a progression or very small vocal idea and we’ll bounce it off each other. We work pretty organically together.

L: Yeah. Kevin brings most of the music and I bring a lot of the lyrical content.

K: It just works out. We have a similar artistic sense. It’s weird how that works sometimes. Same wavelengths, different skills.

L: Yeah.

K: When is a song finished? I don’t know if a song’s ever finished

L: Yeah one of my favorite quotes about creative work is something like: “You’re never done with a piece of art, you just eventually have to stop working on it.” You could go on forever but there’s a certain point when you’re telling the story you want to tell and it’s making you feel the way you want it to, and you know it’s time to put it out there.

We really dig your latest single "Streetlight". Where does the song fit with your upcoming debut EP and is it reflective of what we can expect from it sonically and from a production standpoint? 

K: It is, though there’s definitely some sonic diversity in the EP. All of our tracks are very guitar-driven synth.  We wanted similar sonic feels, while also having each track stand on it’s own and be unique.  And we really wanted to challenge ourselves musically.

L: “Streetlight” is thematically in the same space as the rest of the EP for sure. Not to get all into Faulkner and everything but it’s all that “man’s inhumanity to man” stuff.  It’s about dark things, but also about some glimmer of hope, positivity, a way out. “There’s a chance if you want it.”

Speaking of the EP, can you tell us what it will be titled and when you expect to release it?

K: The EP will be self titled.

L: We’ll be releasing it in October.

K: We’re about to record the last song actually. The producers for our project, Mario and Steve from the band thanks., are two really righteous dudes who we became real quick friends with. We ended up shooting a music video for their project in exchange for recording another track. So we’re in the process of doing that.

L: Which is very much in the same vein as the other songs. The band’s name tells you what this project is about and what the EP is about thematically and musically. It’s dark, but fun. Really fun, we hope.

K: Also check out that thanks. video “Your World.” You’ll never guess who’s dancing under that fox costume.

L: (laughs)

Connect with Adventures in the Underground: Website | Facebook | Instagram

Review: Gentlemen And Scholars' "Revelry" Album

"Revelry" starts out with a straightforward blues riff—this is the song you might hear as the backing track to the scene in a film when someone snaps a pool cue over someone’s head in a barroom brawl.

There’s a lot of The White Stripes in there, and The Black Keys—Gentlemen and Scholars are, quite simply, offering straightforward blues rock here. It’s nothing new (it was nothing new when The White Stripes and The Black Keys did it, either), but they do it with proficiency.

Vocalist Jeremiah Galey exhibits his impressive vocal range immediately in, “Hold it Down,” Patrick Brady rips through a solid guitar solo, and Marco Vaughn on drums with Shane Strickland on bass keep everything bouncing and plowing forward.

“Smooth & Fine” continues in a similar style, and the band keeps offering catchy riffs and melodies with “Way She Goes” and “Cruisin.”

“Right City” features a Modest Mouse-like bass line and an Arctic Monkeys style. 

Their affinity for blues rock remains apparent throughout the entire record—and they continually prove they are good at it. At times, they sound almost like a really put-together blues cover band—these are tropes, sounds, and arrangements we’ve heard for decades. 

The last track, the title track, “Revelry,” brings things back down a bit, relying mostly on a single acoustic guitar. The song is deeply personal and will probably find fans with listeners who are feeling introspective, even if the song drags a bit.

Overall, “Revelry” is a strong offering by a talented band—this critic just hopes that with their next offering they step a bit further out of their comfort zone and begin to explore new territory. 

Stream/Download "Revelry" on iTunes

Interview: Indiana Based Rock Band Gentlemen And Scholars Discuss Their New Album "Revelry"

Our latest exclusive interview is with none other than Evansville, Indiana's finest Gentlemen and Scholars. The band has just released their latest album "Revelry" and we have been jamming to it all week. We connected with the guys to discuss the album, find out how it compares to their earlier projects, and we ask whether they will be performing in our hometown of Raleigh in support of it. 

After reading our Q&A with Gentlemen and Scholars, be sure to follow them on their social media streams, and more importantly, stream/download "Revelry" and tell all your closest friends who love hard hitting, authentic rock music to do the same.

You guys have been together as a band since 2006. How did you all meet and decide to form Gentlemen and Scholars?

Jeremiah and Patrick actually started playing music together at around age 11 or 12. At the time, the band consisted of the two of us, plus G&S's original drummer and Patrick's younger brother. Shane joined G&S around 2010, about a year after our sophomore album, The Fault. Marco has been with G&S for about a year and a half now. We held drummer auditions after we parted ways with our original drummer. It only took a single jam session with Marco for us to realize that he was the guy that we needed.

Congratulations on the new release "Revelry"; tell us about the creative process for the album. How long did it take to write and record and how did you decide which songs made the cut or were not included?

Thank you! We're really proud of Revelry and are thrilled that it's finally out! I'd say that we took a pretty non-traditional approach to Revelry, or at least in comparison to how we usually write an album. Most of our previous albums were comprised of songs that we would collect over the course of a year or so. We were always performing live so frequently that we'd occasionally just toss in a little jam here or there. Over time, those jams would evolve into a song. That song would get thrown into our set list, and the cycle would start all over again. There's not necessarily anything wrong with this process, but we also felt like we may not have allowed ourselves to really spend enough time making sure that those songs were the best that they could be. They'd just sort of evolve into a song, and there we were. Very rarely did we consider rearranging anything, tweaking vocal melodies, etc. 

With Revelry, we tried to make sure that each song got the time and focus that it deserved. We promised ourselves that we wouldn't try to perform regularly while writing and recording, and we stuck to that. We began writing in 2015, shortly after we completed our recording studio. Prior to that, we had taken close to 8 months off, at which time we didn't play music together AT ALL. During those 8 months we spent every rehearsal session, weekends, and all additional free time on building a full fledged recording studio. It was a huge undertaking, but it was well worth it. We've been self producing our albums since 2011's Bad Apples, but we never really had the resources and equipment to produce the results that we wanted. That changed with Revelry. We had close to 30 or 35 different demos and riffs that we had been working on, but many of those were started with our old drummer and either didn't translate well or just didn't feel like the direction that we were headed in. We kept a couple of them, but most of the songs on Revelry were ideas that we'd spend a few nights hashing out before diving into tracking drums and scratch tracks. We essentially had the freedom and flexibility to write and record at nearly the same time, which has never been the case before. It's as close as we could get to reproducing what we've seen so many of our favorite bands do in the past: rent studio time and lock themselves up in there to write and record an album over the span of a few weeks/months. 

What makes the "Revelry" album different from your prior releases?

From a musical aspect, Revelry is a bit more refined or more finely tuned than our previous albums. I think that each track has clear and audible contributions from each member, which gives the album just enough flex and diversity to be original and still sound like Gentlemen and Scholars.

Describe a typical Gentlemen and Scholars live show for us. 

Gentlemen and Scholars is a live band, there's no doubt about that. I don't think anyone has ever walked away from one of our shows out of boredom. We bring a ton of energy and are just generally fun to watch. When we're on stage, the audience can tell that we love what we do. Even if someone doesn't dig our music, it's extremely hard not to appreciate someone truly enjoying their craft. Jeremiah and Share are so full of energy, Marco's drums basically become and extension of his body, and I spend most of my time bouncing back and forth from guitar to keyboards. People find that entertaining.

Will we be able to catch a live Gentlemen and Scholars show in North Carolina, specifically the Raleigh-Durham area anytime soon?

Of course! We're currently booking our fall tour now. I'm not sure if we're going to be getting that far south east from us this time around, but if we don't, then plan to see us this spring!

Stream/Download "Revelry": iTunes | Bandcamp | Spotify | Google Play

Connect with Gentlemen and Scholars: Website | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Bandcamp

Review: Light Treasons' "Fortunes" Album

Fortunes starts off with an instrumental piece, “The Fates,” which sets a dark, somber tone for the rest of the album—it’s an interesting piece, though once the second track, “The Gravedigger,” begins, you start to hear Light Treasons’ true style come through.

Light Treasons has a sound that we’ve heard for decades—beginning with groups like Coheed and Cambria in the 90s and picking up speed and popularity through the aughts with groups like Fall Out Boy.

Fortunes continues in this fashion, exhibiting Light Treasons’ musical chops—the guitar riffs are catchy, high-energy, the vocals are pitch-perfect, fuzzy bass drives everything forward, and the drums are almost melodic themselves, seeming to sing out with every track.

With Fortunes, Light Treasons are not pushing the limits of their genre—but they are delivering a high-quality album that nostalgic alternative and pop punk fans may crave.

If they continue to explore their sound, perhaps introducing more of the atmosphere that they exhibited in the first track of Fortunes, they may begin to venture out into new territory in their next releases. For now, we just know that they are here, they’ve got skills and have mastered a style we’ve been hearing for more than 20 years. 

When Light Treasons decides to move past that style, to destroy what came before them, things might start to get really interesting.

Stream/Download "Fortunes" on iTunes