Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Sinkane Teams Up with Mdou Moctar on Breezy, Ebullient “So It Goes”

Ahmed Gallab, best known as Sinkane will be releasing his sixth album, He’s Gone on February 26, 2027 through City Slang. Entirely self-produced, engineered and mixed by Gallab, the album features collaborations with Yo-Yo Ma, Mdou Moctar, Preservation Hall Jazz Band and Annie & The Caldwells.

Whereas 2024’s We Belong was an exuberant communal effort, conceived as a love letter to Black music and made with a large cast of collaborators, He’s Gone takes a different approach: Written after the death of his father, the album reflects on grief and how it surfaces in memory, faith and family. The forthcoming album sees Gallab allowing himself to sit in the discomfort of loss without letting it consume him. The album begins with the Istirjāʿ from the Qur’an: “Indeed to God, we belong and to Him we return” — words of surrender and faith traditionally spoken upon hearing of a death. And from there, the album follows grief not as a straight line towards resolution, but something unruly and at times, unpredictable. It disappears and returns — sometimes at the most inopportune and strangest times. It changes shape. It can coexist with joy, movement, love, and a deep groove.

Since the release of We Belong, Gallab followed in his parents’ footsteps, becoming a university professor, teaching music appreciation, theory and songwriting. And while making the record, he found himself inadvertently following his father. At the core of He’s Gone is the things we’ve inherited without noticing — the gestures and ideas that survive people; the moment when grief reveals that someone who has departed is still very much present in the way you think, work, teach, listen or even more through the world.

The album’s cover art features Ibrahim El-Salahi’s celebrated painting Reborn Sounds of Childhood Dreams I, used with the permission of The Tate and the artist’s family. El-Salahi, was not only one of the defining figures of modern Sudanese art, he was also a friend of Gallab’s father, continuing to add to the album’s overall themes of memory, family, history and the like.

“Making the record gave me permission to grieve and, eventually, became a kind of catharsis,” Gallab says of the album. “I thought I was making an album about losing my father. Instead, I started finding him and, ultimately, myself.”

Arguably one of Gallab’s most personal albums to date, the album sees him blending Sudanese pop, West African music, dub and Brazilian and Caribbean influences. The album’s first single “So It Goes.” feat. Mdou Moctar derives its title from the refrain that follows every death in Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five, drawing from the novel’s central premise that all moments in time exist simultaneously, making death only one moment among countless others in a person’s existence.

Sonically featuring a strutting groove, skittering beats and stabs of shimmering keys, “So It Goes” is a breezy and ebullient blend of Afrobeats, Eastern African music, dancehall and contemporary pop beneath Gallab’s breathy falsetto. Mdou Moctar contributes a woozy and expressive guitar solo fed through layers of distortion and haze.

“After my father died, I found that strangely comforting. Maybe being gone doesn’t mean every version of you is gone,” Gallab says.  “I wanted the song to feel like an East African psychedelic fever dream. “I asked Mdou Moctar to play the guitar solo, and he took it somewhere wonderfully unexpected.” The song gradually swells with a brightening sense of optimism and acceptance, viewing death as but a small part of a life. And it’s all underpinned by the joy of knowing that person was — and still is — a key part of your life.

“There’s something beautiful about a song about death feeling so full of life,” he adds.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Sweden’s Menderbug Shares Shimmering “Swallowed Flame”

Swedish indie rock duo Menderbug specializes in a sound that draws from shoegaze, slowcore, 90s emo and a bit of post rock and pot punk. But at the core of their work is a distinctly Swedish sense of melancholy: In a country where winters seem to stretch forever and daylight can feel like a distant memory, some of that darkness will inevitably find its way into both the music and lyrics.

Sonically, fragile, almost whispered vocals drift through layers of distorted guitars while driving bass lines and restless rhythms give the music a propulsive sense of movement.

Fragile, almost whispered vocals drift through layers of distorted guitars, while driving basslines and restless drums give the music a sense of movement. Some songs lean into the quiet desolation of slowcore, others carry the emotional weight and melodic urgency of 90s emo, while darker moments venture into the heavier, noisier textures of blackgaze.

The duo tends to work quickly and intuitively, allowing songs to take shape without overthinking their overall direction. The aim is to preserve as much of the feeling that made want to write in the first place, rather than polishing away the imperfections and feeling at the core of the song.

Thematically, much of Swedish duo’s work explores the quieter form of human struggle: the distance between people, the feeling of being alone in a crowd, and the sense of not quite belonging anywhere.

Their sophomore EP, Fading Signs was released last Friday and follows their debut EP, Falling Voices, which was released earlier this year with both EPs being part of a planned trilogy. Throughout each of the EPs, there’s a loosely connected theme of things slowly slipping away — voices fading, traces disappearing, and the quiet realization that something once familiar is no long there. What’s been lost isn’t entirely clear, and perhaps that’s up to the listener’s interpretation.

Fading Signs EP‘s latest single “Swallowed Flame” is a seamless blend of emo, post punk and shoegaze featuring shifting yet propulsive rhythms and distorted, chiming guitars that’s melancholy while conveying an unease and hurt creeping just below the surface, much like a bruise.

“It’s about something burning quietly beneath the surface. A pain without a name, something that slowly becomes a part of you,”
the Swedish duo explain. “The strange feeling of moving forward while something inside remains exactly where it was.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: School of X Shares Breezy, Deceptively Sunny “Exist”

Rasmus Littauer is a Copenhagen-based producer, singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and creative mastermind of indie pop project School of X. School of X derives its name from Ekskole, Copenhagen’s anti-establishment, experimental art school. which featured Warhol collaborator Jørgen Leth, art historian Troels Anderson and artists Poul Gernes and Per Kirkeby. “It was about learning from each other and being progressive,” Littauer explains. “There were no labels — anyone could join. That philosophy is so cool and I really admire all those artists.” 

Inspired by Ekskole’s ethos, Littauer created a collective with a similar ethos: Over the past decade, the Copenhagen-based artist has worked with Liss, MØ, Clairo, Deb Never as a producer, songwriter or musician — and as School of X, Littauer has collaborated with Half Waif’s and Empress Of‘s Spencer Zahn, Hinds‘ Anna Perrote, Lord Siva. Soleima and JOVM mainstay Trentemøller.

He also runs a studio in Copenhagen’s Nørrebro District with friend, collaborator and fellow producer Vera.

The Danish artist’s fifth album, 2024’s Seventh Heaven was released to widespread critical praise. Building upon a growing national and international profile, Littauer’s self-titled, sixth album is slated for a January 8, 2027 release through No3. The album will include the perviously released “Not Enough Time,” and the album’s second and latest single “Exist.” “Exist” is a breezy tune, anchored around a hooky acoustic guitar-driven arrangement paired with Littauer’s sunny, downright bright delivery. But at its core, the song’s optimism is actually deceptive as the song’s narrator openly talks about suffering from regret and delusions — with both an unvarnished honesty and the hope of being able to change. ‘

“It’s a song about suffering from delusions and the anxiety that inevitably comes with them, while doing everything you can to function in the world,” Littauer explains. “For me, it has been about feeling persecuted. At times, it it became so extreme, that I thought it would kill me. That’s also why ’Exist’ is a small miracle, because I wrote it at a time when I was at my lowest.”

“Love and family are what ultimately prevail. People who lift you up and can be a source of pure life energy, giving you a new perspective on how to find your way back and move forward,” Littauer says.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: The Ironsides Share Sweepingly Cinematic “Passing Glance”

Led by Max Ramey (production, bass) and Joe Ramey (production, saxophone), and featuring members of JOVM mainstay act Monophonics, as well as a collection of some of the best Bay Area-based players, The Ironsides have specialized in a […]

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Always You Share Glistening and Breezy “Shadow Play”

Los Angeles-based duo Always You — twin brothers Christoph and Anton Hochheim –will be releasing their third album, the Jack Tatum-produced Against The World is slated for a Friday release through Hit The North Records.

With Jack Tatum at helm guiding production and mixing, he tirelessly broke down and then reconstructed all the elements of the material with the twins, pushing the album’s overall sonics to the absolute breaking point while still retaining their signature sophtisipop sheen. Throughout the album’s run time, heavy guitars and bending sheets of white noise clash over frenzied hi-hats and The Prodigy-like sub bass. Abrupt starts and stops seemingly crash down with the weight of the world. Drum ‘n’ bass and house beats thump over soaring melodies and chopped up vocal samples. The ballads seemingly sparkle with more heart and tension than anything in their previously released work.

Thematically speaking, Against The World is a statement for and against the times: a manic manifesto drawing a line in the sand, pointing out that love is the only resistance against the forces manufacturing distance and endless dissent between us. It’s a rallying cry pushing for something better, a staunch refusal of the status quo, fueled by the belief that we all deserve much better. The album’s material is rooted in the deep sense of longing for something, hell, anything else than this — a different reality, an alternate timeline, anything. Increasingly divorced from the world around us, the false promises of a new lover, a new leader, a quick and seemingly effortless salutation or a new savior become impossible to resist. That fantasy leads us further and further underground, leaving miles of rubble in its wake and keeping us all just out of reach.

Against The World will include”1994,” “Eye to Eye,” and the album’s final pre-release single “Shadow Play.” “Shadow Play” is the album’s most sophistipop-leaning tracks of the released singles. Featuring glistening synths, thumping electro pop-like beats, “Shadow Play” is a breezy tune that’s rooted in inquisitive themes.

“‘Shadow Play’ is about living for an imagined audience,” the duo explain. “We all do this to some extent in life and in love. Relationships are a type of performance, with specific roles that get cast and stories that get etched out and retold with time. It’s about love as a projection, as something very personal to a person rather than something created by two, and the dangers of copy and pasting that onto others.”
 

The accompanying video for “Shadow Play” follows a woman and one-half of the duo performing — in their own way– for an audience with concert strobe lights to emphasize the performative nature at the core of the song.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Alain Void Shares Brooding “Amo questa vita”

Alain Void is an Italian electronic music scene and producer, who first emerged into the synthwave and electro pop scenes in 2022 with his solo recording project Empty Essence, which saw him blending elements of post-punk, electro pop and darkwave paired with lyrics that frequently tackle philosophical themes.

Void eventually stepped out into the spotlight as solo artist, writing and recording under his own name. His work as a solo artist has largely been inspired by the nee to spread awareness and awaken consciousness through music.

The Italian artist’s latest single “Amo questa vita” continues a run of material that pairs Void’s remarkably Dave Gahan-like vocal with a brooding early era-meets-Violator-era Depeche Mode-inspired production featuring layers of glistening and shimmering synths, a motorik-like bass synth-driven groove and industrial beats. “Amo questa vita” thematically touches upon accepting oneself entirely — including their complicated history.

The accompanying video was shot in black and white and follows Void wandering through a wood area and in graffiti-strewn ruins — and in some way it reminds me of early era MTV videos.

singer/songwriters by William Ruben Helms

Throwback: Happy 77th Birthday, Bonnie Rait!

JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Bonnie Raitt’s 77th birthday.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Throwback: R.I.P. Richard Lloyd

JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the life and music of Television’s Richard Lloyd.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Throwback: Happy 83rd Birthday, Joni Mitchell!

JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Joni Mitchell’s 83rd birthday.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: L’Eclair Returns with Slow Burning, Mind-bending “Dunes”

Bulgarian-born, Geneva-based brothers Stef (guitar, keys) and Yavor Lilov (drums) were shaped in a myriad of unseen ways by the centuries-old folk music that filtered through their daily lives. It helped mold their creative spirit and inspired them to make music together at a young age — and that unique and intuitive alchemy has been a foundation of their acclaimed, JOVM mainstay act L’Eclair, which they formed a decade ago.

Their newest EP, Echo was released today through Innovative Leisure. Self-produced by Stef and Yavor Lilov, Echo EP reportedly finds the acclaimed Swiss outfit once again pushing their endlessly elastic approach to rhythm, texture and groove while continuing to occupy their own peculiar corner of the dance floor. where hypnotic repetition gives way to unexpected detours, locked-in rhythms collide with warped electronics, and vintage textures meet a modern sense of space. The result is another playful, exploratory chapter from a band that has spent the better part of a decade proving that groove can be both a destination and a way of getting wonderfully, deliriously lost.

The EP also introduces some new additions to the studio lineup — James Iwa (bass), Panji Bharata (synth) and Eduardo Silva Fuentes (percussion).

Echo EP features the previously released “Excelsior,” a song that the band had been playing during live sets over the past year, and the album’s latest single “Dunes.” Subtly channelling some of their earlier efforts — i.e., 2018’s Polymood, 2019’s Sauropoda and 2020’s Noshtta — may be their most guitar-driven composition in a couple of years: Beginning with a gently droning tanpura-like sample woven around acoustic guitar, “Dunes” slowly unfolds into a mind-bending, psilocybin-fueled groove, anchored by a strutting five-song bass line paired with some laconic yet bluesy guitar solo. It’s a song that further cements their reputation for crafting material that’s simultaneously perfect for lazy afternoons and evenings at home — or for lifting off into the stratosphere.

L’Eclair explain, ““Dunes” marks our return to a more guitar-driven sound. It’s a thread that we explore throughout the entire Echo EP. The track highlights our ability to explore and blend genres, creating deep, mystical soundscapes equally suited for the dancefloor or a trip from the comfort of your couch.”

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstays Yoo Doo Right Share Patient, Shimmering “Tortue”

Montréal-based experiential rock outfit and JOVM mainstays Yoo Doo Right‘s fourth album, the Ky Brooks co-produced Build and Rest by the Shepherd’s Light was officially released today through Mothland.

Build and Rest by the Shepherd’s Light‘s material ranges from eardrum shatteringly loud forays into post-rock and krautrock, highly-tempered, effects-driven pieces seemingly drawing from ambient, noise, done and more. Eschewing genre strictures and boundaries, the album sees the band — currently Justin Cober (guitar, bass, VI, synthesizer, piano, tape recordings and vocals) and John Talbot (drums, percussion) — opting for a symbolic approach to creation, with each of its different pieces free to unfold in a myriad of ways upon each listen.

From its creators’ point of view, Build and Rest by the Shepherd’s Light chronicles the hardships of artistic resolve, acknowledging the daily grind required to keep the momentum while embracing the shared joy of the creative process. Throughout the album’s runtime, there’s an underlying tribute to the communities that foster art: “Industriestraße 9” pays homage to a defunct Luzerne squat where they used to play. Symbolism seeps through song titles like “Tortue,” “Sofort, Si fort,” and “To Be a Lambskin (Or to Be the Whole Flock)”, which offer enigmatic glimpses into creative vision. Co-producer Ky Brooks contributes a spoken word poem to album track “Neighbours Report Their Neighboours.” Timothy Aaron Brynan, who recently joined the duo on tour was invited to play bass on “Doldrums, Doldrums, Eviler Than the Devil,” a song that has quickly become a live set staple. Additionally Jessica Moss (violin) and Francis Leduc-Bélanger (trumpet, flugelhorn) make vital contributions to the album.

The Ky Brooks co-produced album was recorded at Montréal’s Hotel2Tango and Studio Error 403. Seth Manchester mixed the album at Providence’s Machine with Magnets. Amal Lal mixed the album at Oakland’s Macro Sound. The album’s cover art is a photo taken in Ovronanz, Switzerland by Julia Bender.

“There is a lot of joy and laughter in this album. For the first time in a while, we were feeling enriched and energized by what we were creating, the instruments we were using, and what was coming out,” the band says in a lengthy statement. “The record is us looking at our place in the world and deciding we were still committed to making music together. Boldly doing so with as much joy as we can drag out of the dried roots of modern day life. Rather than the anxiety-inducing white knuckle ‘when is it going to break’ energy we have worked with in the past, this record is optimistic but pensive. It holds onto the idea of transcendental musical themes and is deeply rooted in repetition and a clear momentum. A momentum we hope moves people, whether it is in thought or the physical.

“The title—Build and Rest by the Shepherd’s Light—highlights the main themes and motifs of the record as it stands. Rest and build, and rest and build, and rest and build… What else is there in our stories? Everyday is caring for ourselves and then doing everything in your power to care for those around us. A heroic journey is nothing but helping set camp up every night and making sure everyone is fed. A person’s ‘shepherd’ is defined by themselves, whether it’s music, their friends and families, their companion animals, or the very equipment they use to create! In each of our lives, we have the potential to draw strength and find rest in what is around us, build and rest by the shepherd’s light.

“Half the record came fully-formed, the other half was born of improvisational jamming. Originally made as pieces of music to help his partner sleep, Justin created ‘Industriestraße 9’ and ‘Neighbours Report Their Neighbours’ while isolated in a cabin over the Winter. ‘Doldrums, Doldrums, Eviler Than the Devil,’ ‘Tortue,’ and ‘Build and Rest by the Shepherd’s Light’ were us just having lots of fun in the studio, being excited by new ideas and sounds, challenging ourselves to dive deeply into new grooves and styles. The rest were either old ideas born anew or fully conceptualized pieces brought to life. While quite exploratory in its sonic landscape, we see the record as one cohesive story. A cinematic exercise that we hope people listen to in full.

We recorded with co-producer Ky Brooks. They are one of our favourite artists and a dear friend so the choice to have them hop on was an easy and exciting one. We booked studio time with no intention of finishing a record. The goal was to lay down some new ideas and get in the mindset of recording. Hotel2Tango is an incredibly warm and creatively conductive place for us. For four days straight, we put in 12-14 hour days and routinely got lost in the haze of creative fervor. Timothy joined us to record “Doldrums […]”. Jessica, Ezra, and Francis’ instruments, as well as Ky’s vocals, were recorded at Error 403. Having finished recording, we of course turned to Seth (mixing) at Machines with Magnets and Amar (mastering) at Macro Sound  to elevate the album.”

Over the past handful of months, I wrote about album tracks “Doldrums, Doldrums Eviler Than the Devil,” and “Sofort Si Fort.” The album’s latest single “Tortue” is a remarkably restrained yet expansive, shoegazer-like take on post-rock that sees the band patiently adding sonic layer upon sonic layer, beginning with droning modal harmonies, furtive melodic bursts and free-flowing percussion. And as the song progresses, a new element is introduced until the song reaches a gorgeous, dream-like coda featuring bass VI, guitar, shimmering synths and twinkling piano.

The accompanying video by visual artist Trevor Yardley-Jones is fittingly a painterly and downright trippy visual that layers the colors and increase with intensity.