Crepuscule of the Shameless

By RingMaster Review on October 6, 2023 • ( 0 )

With keen fingers and ears we dip again into the exploration of our great friend Shauna and the new collection of tracks she has gathered in her search for new and compelling sounds. As one half of the band Ummagma and head of Shameless Promotion PR, she has the feel for imagination and emotion stoking sounds, the following quartet we zoomed in on thick evidence…

With their debut EP imminent, San Francisco’s OCTAVIAN WINTERS recently provided another rich reason to explore its unveiling with new single Surreal. It is an evocative adventure into the band’s atmospheric post punk realms, a song which haunted as it seduced as it enveloped the senses in a trespass of shadows.

October 13^th sees The Line or Curve EP released via Stratis Capta Records, an encounter produced by the band and William Faith (THE BELLWETHER SYNDICATE, FAITH AND THE MUSE, CHRISTIAN DEATH, THE MARCH VIOLETS) which Surreal and before it, lead singles Undertow and Ondine, firmly suggests will be an enthralling web of light and darkness.

Formed in 2022 and consisting of Stephan Salit (guitar), Randy Gzebb (drums), Jay Denton (bass) and Ria Aursjoen (vocals, keyboards), OCTAVIAN WINTERS weave a sound which draws on the evocative essences of darkwave, gothic rock and post punk but as the new single alone reveals, it is an experience of enterprise as atmospheric and ambience casting as it is shadows walking.

Surreal calmly comes forth on a rhythmic stroll but with an air and implication which is drawn from the darker depths. There is a BAUHAUS lilt to the entrance and subsequent climate of the song yet swiftly the band evoke their own individuality with Ria’s magnetic tones floating and soaring across the tenebrific landscape. Equally, the track has an ethereal resonance and reassuring glow in its creative and emotive dusk, its melancholic beauty as alluring and threatening as the song’s sonic swells.

Hauntingly beautiful and magnetically unsettling, Surreal is an echo of its title and the most compelling reason to delve deeper into the crepuscular climes of OCTAVIAN WINTERS.

Providing another potent teaser for his own forthcoming new EP, Outlaw The Dead, San Francisco’s E.G. PHILLIPS recently presented the single I Am The One Who Ghosts, a slice of jazzy pop with a sultry air and seductive intimacy cast through the captivation loaded tones of guest vocalist Mar Vilaseca.

The song is the third taste of the upcoming Chris McGrew produced EP and features Christopher Fortier, Kevin Seal and as we said Barcelona hailing vocalist, composer and multi-instrumentalist Mar Vilaseca. It is a track which also expands the eclectic nature of E.G. PHILLIPS’S song writing and music with an individuality which in itself, as I Am The One Who Ghosts proves, is becoming keenly familiar yet always with an inclination for surprise by the song.

Keys and vocals cast an arm around ears straightaway, a sweltering serenade of provocative ambience cast sound resonating above as Mar Vilaseca’s absorbing words and presence shine a light on shadows and a dispute with the world.

I Am The One Who Ghosts is an absorbing proposition from start to finish, a song which invites and involves thoughts and emotions as firmly as ears and a swaying body; the song easily proving our favourite moment with E.G. PHILLIPS.

With the album, It Felt Like The End of the World, recently unveiled via Little Cloud Records, PETE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT wags a keen finger at curiosity with new single Sea of Eyes. It is a sumptuous yet unimposing piece of psychedelically and sonically experimental exploration which we soon found our imaginations eager to explore.

PETE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT is the creative project of Peter G. Holmström (DANDY WARHOLS) and It Felt Like the End of the World its third album which sees Peter again uniting with long-time collaborator/producer Jeremy Sherrer. The album also embraces members of band such as CHEAP TRICK, DARK HORSES, OMNISCURO, SUN ATOMS, GUIDING LIGHT, MODEST MOUSE and HOPEWELL across its body with Sea of Eyes featuring the lyrical and vocal prowess of Alexander Hackett from PANG ATTACK.

The single rises in the distance but soon strolls into the psyche of possibilities and the listener with rhythmic manipulation and atmospheric coaxing. Similarly and just as quickly, Alexander’s vocals prove a magnet and evocative spark for thoughts to mtch the space and senses enveloping sounds around him.

In some ways, the song is like drifting into the unknown, its mercurial landscape of seduction and atypical adventure of enterprise as fascinating as it is unpredictable with every moment pulling aside psych rock cast veils for another compelling exploration.

With a nagging drone like captivation to its thick breath, Sea of Eyes proved a richly absorbing encounter, all the while urging a hunger to hear more.

A band currently recording their new album with legendary producer Martin Bisi, it a follow-up to their acclaimed self–titled full-length of 2022, Toronto-NYC power trio ON more than whet the appetite of future anticipation with new single Gator. It is a track actually taken from that last full-length but one rich in the hungry and bold enterprise which the band uncages each and every time and is sure to fuel their forthcoming release. It is also a song to celebrate the threesome’s tour this October across the US and Canada.

It has been a fruitful year since the release of that last album, the threesome of vocalist/bassist Lucy Di Santo, drummer Dan Cornelius and guitarist Steve Fall, who between them have been part of 90’s Sire Records band ACID TEST and Toronto bands DANKO JONES and DELIUSS, building on the impressive impact of their album, singles and live presence. Gator epitomises the power pop/punk prowess of the band and a sound which has drawn comparisons to the likes of SONIC YOUTH, THE BREEDERS, NIRVANA, THE PIXIES, and THROWING MUSES but firmly stamps down real individuality.

Gator calmly moves in, almost stalking ears as it rhythmically prowls. Lucy’s beguiling bassline swiftly escalates the initial pull as equally her magnetic tones with Steve weaving a growing grooved web of hooks. There is an irresistible swing to both sound and voice, seductive hues which prove as addictive whether the song continues to saunter or erupt in a fiery blaze.

One of those tracks which almost hunts you down as it burrows under the skin to addictiveness, Gator is a superb slice of grunge punk, and alone reason to get excited for ON’s adventures to come.

ON TOUR DATES

Wed 10/11 Joiliet, IL @ Drunken Donut (with Snailmate)

Thurs 10/12 Port Huron, MI @ Schwonk Stead Sound (with Snailmate)

Sun 10/15 Toronto @ Bovine Sex Club (with Snailmate, Second Wife)

Tues 10 /17 Ithaca, NY @ Deep Dive (with Snailmate)

Wed 10/18 Buffalo, NY @ The Lounge at Revolution Gallery (with Snailmate & Daisy Chain)

Thurs 10/19 Kingston, ON @ The Toucan (with Snailmate)

Sat 10/21 NYC, NY @ Bar Frida (with Snailmate)

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