Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: On Le Ore Shares Punchy “Backroom Deal”

Split between NYC and Nashville, On Le Ore — Jon Moore (vocals, guitar), and longtime Guided by Voices producer and engineer Travis Harrison (drums) — specializes in what they dub mid-fi indie rock that’s unpolished and a bit damaged, anchored around grimy guitars, crooked, off-kilter hooks, blown out melodies and recordings that leave the seams and bolts showing.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the band cites Guided by Voices. Pavement, Sugar, MJ Lenderman, Hotline TNT and Weird Nightmare as influences and sonic references. I’ll leave that one up to y’all. Everyone’s ear is different. Their latest single “Backroom Deal” is a punchy tune that showcases their knack for punchy, off-kilter yet remarkably catchy hooks and rousingly, anthemic, shout-along worthy choruses paired with distorted guitars and equally punchy vocals. And at the core of the song is a soulful, heart-proudly-worn-on-sleeve earnestness.

The accompanying video by Dunkel features a slick collage of old-time stock footage, the digital binary code and fuzzy footage of the band’s Jon Moore playing and singing the song, further emphasizing the song’s gritty nature.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Throwback: Happy 65th Birthday, Chad Smith!

JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Red Hot Chili Peppers’ drummer Chad Smith’s 65th birthday.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Throwback: Happy 82nd Birthday, Jon Anderson!

JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates YES frontman Jon Anderson’s 82nd birthday.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Throwback: Happy 100th Birthday, Jimmy Heath!

JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 100th anniversary of the birth of legendary jazzman Jimmy Heath.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Trentemøller and The Raveonettes’ Sune Rose Wagner Team Up on Stormy “Your Love Walks Alone”

Anders Trentemøller’s self-titled eighth Trentemøller album is slated for a November 13, 2026 release through his In My Room Records. The self-titled album will include the previously released “Terrified” feat. Mew‘s Jonas Bjerre and the album’s latest single “Your Love Walks Alone” feat. The Raveonettes‘ Sune Rose Wagner.

“Your Love Walks Alone” is a stormy touch song featuring Wagner’s imitable delivery expressing despair, confusion, heartache and anger set to a brooding goth-inspired soundscape of scorching industrial-meets-shoegaze like fuzz, thunderclap-like beats. “A depiction of pure love slowly winding down and how it affects you in those moments where you realise you’re being ‘replaced,” Wagner says.

Trentemøller traces this collaboration back to an earlier collaboration: “Ever since Sune sang on my track ‘Deceive,’ we’d been talking about doing another song together. This time I had an instrumental that felt right for his voice, so I sent it over. He loved it, and pretty quickly came back with that great vocal that’s unmistakably Sune / The Raveonettes. With ‘Your Love Walks Alone,’ I feel like he hit the mood of the music perfectly. What I love is how the vocal melody is kind of ‘happy’ in a way, when the lyrics are actually pretty dark. It makes for a good contrast against the more brooding, insistent sound underneath. “

The accompanying video by DACU features brightly colored child-like, hand-drawn animation that captures the sentiment of the song while being simultaneously trippy and menacing.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Throwback: Happy 90th Birthday, Bill Wyman!

JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Bill Wyman’s 90th birthday.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: St. Panther Shares Strutting, Old School-Inspired “OUT ON THE CORNER”

Los Angeles-based Mexican/Colombian producer, singer/songwriter, rapper and multi-instrumentalist Dani Bojorges-Giraldo (they/them) is the creative mastermind behind the critically applauded recording project St. Panther. Bojorges-Giraldo’s previously released work was the soundtrack to the early part of this decade for many folks, but following their departure from the major label network, the Los Angeles-based artist took time to be among their peers, friends and loved ones. 

Last year’s McClenney and Bojorges-Giraldo co-produced EP Strange World featured a defiant, genre-transforming collection of soulful, modern pop songs that narrate and confront the wider climate of uncertainty and oblivion. Thematically, Strange World was as much about Bojorges-Giraldo’ and their world — their village, their people, themselves — but also, the very strange world we inhabit right now. Drawing from soul, R&B, jazz, hip-hop and alt-pop the EP’s material sets out to urge for a sense of purpose, security and love admits seemingly universal apathy and chaos. 

The EP featured the EP title track “Strange World,” the old-school Quiet Storm-meets D’Angelo-like “The Deal” and “American Dreams.”

Bojorges-Giraldo’s highly anticipated McClenney co-produced St. Panther full-length debut, East Side Love Story is slated for a November 20, 2026 release through Los Angeles-based label drink sum wtr. East Side Love Story is reportedly an effervescent, soulful set of love songs dedicated to both their hometown and their neighborhood. Work began subconsciously when the rising and acclaimed Los Angeles-based artist started Shazamming songs that their neighbors were playing every day, populating a playlist that they playfully titled “East Side Love Story,” a nod to their cat’s bustling social life. “She’s a stray, literally got her from my neighborhood outside. She has a roster of boyfriends who come to visit her at the door and window. Pretty soon, my life started mirroring hers,” explains Bojorges-Giraldo. East Side Love Story traces seasons of relationships, from the ecstasy of newness to the pitfalls of monogamy, the distance between one another on respective paths, and an evolving understanding of love in its totality.

Coloring their craft with their surrounding neighborhood and culture, the acclaimed Los Angeles-based artist’s full length debut captures a chapter in their life defined by freedom and love. Continuing their ongoing collaboration with McClenney, Bojorges-Giraldo sees the album as a culmination: “I’ve been able to apply my influences and build a world around what my signature is, pulling the best of my performances and musicality, figuring out the place that I want it all to sit.” 

East Side Love Story’s latest single “OUT ON THE CORNER” is a strutting blend of Chicano and Motown-era soul featuring twinkling keys, old-school soul drum fills, a supple bass line and soul/funk guitar stabs beneath Bojorges-Giraldo’s soulful, lullaby-like croon . While showcasing their uncanny knack for pairing catchy hooks with earnest, lived-in lyricism, “OUT ON THE CORNER” details the often complicated and fleeting nature of modern romance with a sweet, old school-inspired charm. Lemme tell y’all, sometimes a sweet love song is what you need when the world is on fire and everything is seemingly full of hopelessness and doom. I say that because life, dear friends, is often about the small moments — especially the seemingly endless process of falling in love, falling out of love, heartbreak and repeat.

“I was pacing around my apartment singing the ‘oo’s’ and quickly picked up my Cordoba to try and sound out the chords,” Bojorges-Giraldo says of OUT ON THE CORNER’S creative process. “That demo was like an ear worm, it lent all the space for a Motown approach but we still needed a modern touch. After reworking it with Chris (McClenney) I called in Brian Gazo to track some “oo’s” on top of mine. There’s these isolated moments that crack a whole album open, hearing Brian’s first takes was exactly that. By the end of that session his vocals were on four songs on the album.” 

They continued: “What was important to me was capturing this particular moment in time on a record. I think we’ll look back on records like this and be able to appreciate that from Boyle Heights to Long Beach we were a movement of brown artists, the next generation of the music we grew up loving. To be able to have him across the album felt just right, like a family photo that will be passed down for generations.”

Directed by St. Panther and Khari Cousins, the accompanying video for “OUT ON THE CORNER” follows the acclaimed Los Angeles-based artist through their neighborhood and hometown, lovingly capturing its soul and character, as well as the warmth and kindness of its people.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstay Super Plage Shares Breezy “MINI CLUB”

Jules Henry is a Montréal-based singer/songwriter, electronic music producer and creative mastermind behind the acclaimed, JOVM mainstay recording project and Super Plage. Founded back in 2019, Super Plage sees Henry crafting slickly produced, dance floor friendly electro pop that draws from house and nu-disco. He frequently collaborates with local French Canadian artists to create a playful, fun-loving and escapist universe, where it feels good to party. 

Since 2019, Henry has released a handful of albums including 2023’s Magie á minuit, which received an ADISQ Félix Award-nomination for Electronic Album of the Year. Building upon a growing profile, Henry has made a run of both the provincial and international festival circuits, playing sets at Francos de Montréal, FME and Festival d’été de Québec, SXSW, Wide Days and others. He has opened for Miel de Montagne, Juilen Granel, Bon Entendeur, MYD and more. 

Last year’s GROSSE MAISON featured a sleek and daring blend of house, disco and French touch anchored around catchy, downright funky grooves, much like on album single “Tip Top.” 

The French Canadian JOVM mainstay’s fourth album MINI CLUB was just released today through his longtime label home, Lisbon Lux. MINI CLUB sees Henry solidifying his place within Québec’s electronic music scene while bridging the project’s multiple sonic identities throughout its history — the electro pop of MINI CLUB track “PARIS” the house music of last year’s GROSSE MAISON and a decided shift towards tech house of “SÉOUL” feat. Zéa Calla. Rooted in synth and digital driven textures, there is more than enough room for organic textures throughout — including everyday sounds recorded in the studio and on Montréal’s streets. The album’s material sonically is suited for both the club and chilling in the park, but lyrically, it’s rooted in observations and thoughts on everyday life.

MINI CLUB is arguably one of Henry’s most collaborative efforts to date — fellow JOVM mainstay Virignie B.; Zéa Calla, a childhood friend, who he reconnected with; and Hawa B have contributed both vocals and songwriting to the album.

The album includes the previously released “POOL PARTY” featuring longtime collaborator Virginie B. and the album’s latest single, album title track “MINI CLUB.” “MINI CLUB” is a club and lounge friendly that nods a bit at Larry Levan-era house with a looping whistled melody, twinkling and bubbling synths, wobbling bass and skittering beats beneath Henry’s ethereal cooing and crooning.

Directed by Henry, the recently released accompanying video follows Henry as he’s barbecuing in a Montréal park and lounging by a pool — all while playing the song. With fall in full effect in the Northern Hemisphere, the video and the song are a fond reminder of summer — and of summers to come.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: London’s Black Doldrums Shares Broodingly Cinematic “Echoes”

London-based post punk trio Black Doldrums founding duo Sophie Landers (vocals, drums) and Kevin Gibbard (vocals, guitar) with newest member Matt Holt (bass) — will be releasing their third studio album Repetition Compulsion on November 13, 2026 through Fuzz Club. Deriving its title from a psychological concept first explored and named by Freud, the recently announced album is the final part of the London-based band’s State of Mind Trilogy, a three-album exploration of the psychological forces that shape identity, memory and human connection which began with their debut, 2022’s Dead Awake and 2024’s In Limerence. At the heart of all of their work is the creative and personal relationship between the band’s founding duo of Gibbard and Landers, whose relationship forms the emotional foundation for the forthcoming album — and the lens through which its themes are explored. As Gibbard explains, “These songs are either about Sophie, for Sophie, or inspired by her.” 

Thematically, the 11-song album reportedly sees the London-based trio exploring how repetitive patterns and behaviors shape intimate relationships, collective memory, politics and wellbeing in a way that’s both deeply personal and quietly universal. Through evocative songwriting and cinematic production, Gibbard says “the album invites listeners to confront the echoes of the past while questioning whether those patterns can ever truly be broken.” 

Inspired by 80s gothic post punk, synth pop, darkwave and the film scores of John Carpenter and Vangelis, Black Doldrums build on the emotional and sonic foundations of these influences to create something cinematic, modern and completely their own. Each of Repetition Compulsion‘s 11-songs has been crafted with intention, with the band balancing darkness with beauty to create a sod that’s melodic, broodingly atmospheric and with emotional depth. Listeners should expect to hear layers of analog synths, chorus pedal-soaked guitar and driving rhythms paired with an expansive production that gives each arrangement a sense of massive, cinematic scale. Rather than relying on nostalgia, the album presents post-punk as a living, ever-evolving form, with the band embracing atmosphere without sacrificing melody, introspection without loss of momentum and darkness without abandoning hope. 

Repetition Compulsion will feature the previously released “Repetition” “Compulsion” and the album’s latest single “Echoes.” “Echoes” is broodingly cinematic tune that’s seemingly a blend of Joy Division, Cocteau Twins and contemporaries like JOVM mainstays PLOHO and Molchat Doma as Gibbard’s remarkably Ian Curtis-like delivery glides over angular guitar attack, a relentless mototrik groove and glistening and arpeggiated synth figures.

Written in one go while the band was on tour, “Echoes” captures a rare moment of inspiration on the road. “This track was finally completed while touring and playing a show in Belgrade, Serbia, where the city’s warmth, creativity and discussions about local history inspired the song’s lyrics,” Black Doldrums’ Kevin Gibbard says. “Our time spent there won’t be forgotten. It’s one of those special moments and opportunities you wouldn’t have got if we weren’t in a band. I’ve never written a song whilst on tour before. Realistically, it never happens, but this one came out in one go, sat in the van.”

Directed by the band’s Sophie Landers, and filmed by Landers and Gibbard, the accompanying video for “Echoes” features the band playing in a hauntingly goth-like forest, and an abandoned, graffiti-strewn Cold War-era structure and the members of the band broodingly posing for the camera. It harkens back to the imagery of MTV‘s early days.

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Video by William Ruben Helms

Throwback: Happy 89th Birthday, Yvonne Staples!

JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 89th anniversary of the birth of The Staple Singers’ Yvonne Staples.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Tycho’s Punchy Remix of Elder Island’s “Pink Lemon”

Over the past decade, Elder Island — Katy Sargent (vocals, cello), Luke Thornton (bass, beats) and David Havard (guitar, synths, programming) — have built a dedicated fanbase while amassing 375 million streams globally with a sound that’s rooted in 90s club culture.

The trio’s latest album Hello Baby Okay was released earlier this year. The album sonically features lilting funk pop guitars, hypnotic synths, intricate rhythms and warm analog textures. Last month, the band released the Hello Baby Remixed, Pt. 1 EP, which features remixes from Tycho, Harvey Sutherland and Dam Swindle.

Album track “Pink Lemon” is a breezy, hook driven disco pop tune anchored around Nile Rodgers-like funk guitar, twinkling keys and a supple bass line beneath Sargent’s soulful delivery. Tycho’s adds a punchier, funkier bass line, and glistening synth arpeggios while retaining the original’s remarkably catchy hooks, giving the song his singular take.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Lisa LeBlanc Shares Strutting and Funky “Too Many Cooks”

Acclaimed Rosaireville, NB-born, Montréal-based singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and Acadian icon Lisa LeBlanc will be releasing her sixth album Patchwork on February 5, 2027 through Bonsound. The roots of the album stretch from Moncton, New Brunswick to Lafayette, LA, two cities separated by about 2,200 miles/3,5000 kilometers, a distance that LeBlanc traveled in her van during a two month road trip. In the years leading up to the recording of Patchwork, Leblanc also spent time in Corsica, where she was struck by the rugged landscapes and in Ireland, where the cliffs and traditional music festivals brought her a new creative spark.

While nature plays a significant role for the album, LeBlanc channels her long-held love for 60s and 70s folk and rock to create a lush and rich tapestry of melodies, harmonies and grooves. The album also sees her drawing inspiration from traditional Cajun and Acadian music. The result is a sound that’s original, timeless — and singular. The album’s title is a nod to her grandmother, who, for over 50 years, has been making quilts meticulously from fabric scapes that weren’t originally meant to be sewn together.

Thematically, much like a travel journal, the new album offers observations of everyday life set to music with both sensitivity and humor.

Patchwork will include the previously released, rollicking “Whole Lotta Talkin‘” and the album’s second and latest single, the LeBlanc, Benoit Morier and Eric Heigle co-produced “Too Many Cooks.” A strutting and seamless blend of disco country, folk and Muscle Shoals-era soul “Too Many Cooks” may arguably the most playful and funky song LeBlanc has released to date, featuring contributions from Alabama Shakes‘ Ben Tanner and Dr. John‘s and Social Distortion‘s Ben Alleman on keys and piano; Sébastian Michaud on brass; Les Hôtesses d’Hilaire‘s Mico Roy on guitar; and Maxime Gosselin on drums. Based on the idiomatic phrase “too many cooks in the kitchen . . .,” “Too Many Cooks” points out what would happen when you’d have too many cooks in the kitchen: indecision, confusion, arguments, some sabotage, a wildly disgusting, poorly cooked meal and pissed off dinner guests.

“The music video for ‘Too Many Cooks’ is inspired by a reality cooking show where contestants host the other participants in their homes,” explains LeBlanc. “I’m competing against little mischievous puppets who are trying to sabotage my chances to win. Based on the turn of phrase ‘Too many cooks in the kitchen,’ it’s a quirky, kinda funky, kinda country fun tune!”