Pitching the Shameless

By RingMaster Review on January 19, 2023 • ( 0 )

The sound of that familiar tap on the door meant only one thing, another visit from our friend Shauna of sound weavers UMMAGMA and from Shameless Promotion PR and another dip into her exploration of the best imagination stoking sounds from around the globe. Of course it proved as fruitful for ears as ever starting with…

Finnish alt-rock outfit PENNIES BY THE POUND have a sound which across their striking debut album of last year, Heat Death of the Universe, proved a varied proposal of equally mixed styles and flavours. It was a progressive and psych rock embroiling alternative rock bred encounter which persistently surprised expectations. The Helsinki quartet’s new single The End Times continues that success but a song exposing the band’s creativity in another freshly unpredictable realm.

The End Times is the second single taken from the band’s upcoming LILITH LABEL released concept album, Nothingside, and the successor to its progressively woven lead track, Burning Wish, and sees the foursome of Johannes Susitaival, Vesa Ranta, Tomi Laaksonen and Alexander Meaney weave a synth pop infused venture, aligning eighties sourced keys with the alt rock jangle of their guitars.

Instantly the song hooked in ears and the imagination; its opening calm yet dramatic with an ethereally atmospheric gleam. In no time it reveals warm skies over keen rhythmic incitement, vocals just as eager to share its heart and emotive shadows in turbulent times.

Animated in hope and encouragement, the song hungrily manipulated our involvement while simultaneously stoking nostalgia and new invention too. Produced by Rauli ‘Rake’ Eskolin and mastered by RIDE front man Mark Gardener, The End Times alone gave us irresistible reason to eagerly explore Nothingside.

Another band with an alt rock base for their individual sound is Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, duo THE YETS but again their music embraces a far richer palette of flavours than that tagging suggests.

Consisting of vocalist-keyboardist Robin Wilson who has fronted bands such as goth-rock band BACHELORS OF ART (B.O.A.) and female alt-rockers SKIRT in her creative journey, and guitarist-producer Craig Anderson Snook. A few shorts weeks back the pair unveiled their self-titled debut EP through ROYAL TERNS RECORDS, a release potently teased by a trio of singles in the shape of Remember, Lesser Evil and in the past few days, Letter To A Boy.

Electronic pop and ethereal captivation makes up THE YETS’ sound as much as that rock nurtured prowess, Lesser Evil for example casting a crystalline glaze over emotive beauty and a rock bred roar. It is a song taking the listener into a realm of unpredictability and organic captivation, the vocals of Wilson just as dynamic in their alignment of power and beauty.

Similarly, the just released Letter To A Boy aligns strength and emotive calm to its exploration of that “special feeling a mother has for her son.” The duo has drawn references to COCTEAU TWINS with their sound and the latest single offers rich reason why whilst casting its own proof of true individuality. Sentiment and emotion radiate within a body of sound which carries its own drama amidst an almost volatile breath; it all making for a compelling proposition and with those earlier tracks thick reason to explore The Yets EP.

It is fair to say that Brooklyn alternative rock outfit A CLOUD OF RAVENS gripped ears and appetite with their recent single The Blackest Mantra and have done so again with its successor, Nature of Artifice. The song is another teaser for the band’s third full-length album, Lost Hymns, which is scheduled for release April 2023 via Berlin-based NEXILIS RECORDS and only adding greater reason to explore its forthcoming Jason Corbett (ACTORS) mastered proposal.

Formed in 2018 in Brooklyn by Matthew McIntosh (guitar and vocals) and Beth Narducci (bass guitar), A CLOUD OF RAVENS breed their sound in a fusion of alt rock and post punk, the rhythmic insistence and dark shadows of the latter the seeds for the earlier single. Similarly, they shape the rich persuasion of Nature of Artifice but it is a song embracing further melodic elements as it explores the choice and ease of burying “your head in the sand, rather than confronting glaring societal ills and moral injustices.”

The track coaxes ears with sonic resonance initially, a call to the imagination which synths soon escalate before rhythmic and vocal examinations join. There is soon an inherent catchiness to all aspects of the song even within its chilled elements and steely layers, a synth pop essence glazing the post punk heart of what was a quickly addictive and highly enjoyable slightly clamorous song; it too sharing inescapable motivation to get involved with Lost Hymns upon release.

Also available through Nexilis Records as well as SETT RECORDS and a track bred in post punk inclinations too is Beacons the new single from THE BELLWETHER SYNDICATE. It is the second track taken from the Chicago-based outfit’s upcoming new full-length, Vestige & Vigil, it too set for an April release and follows the album’s swiftly impressive and gripping lead track, Dystopian Mirror.

William Faith (vocals, guitars), Sarah Rose Faith (vocals, guitars), Philly Peroxide (keyboards, percussion), Stevyn Grey (drums) and Corey Gorey (guitars) make up the band. Faith is a former member of seminal goth acts CHRISTIAN DEATH, MEPHISTO WALZ and SHADOW PROJECT and also co-founder of FAITH & THE MUSE, forming THE BELLWETHER SYNDICATE with his wife, Sarah Rose a.k.a. Scary Lady Sarah. He has also produced Vestige & Vigil, an album said to have been six years in the making and time well spent if its two unveilings so far are evidence of the dark prowess within.

From its first breath Beacons is stomps through ears, a wiry hook sprung by the guitars centerfold as rhythms prowl. Straightaway there is an instinctive infectiousness soaking its wily temptations, one hinting at bands such as LEITMOTIV and CRISPY AMBULANCE at times, while its moments of glassy radiance and atmospheric intimation proved further intrigue for the imagination and captivation for ears.

The track is stunning, a tenebrific glory for personal tastes and instincts sure to resonate within a great many and lead them towards the promise and mysteries of Vestige & Vigil.