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Week16 |Tobi’s New Music Monster Picks

Writer: goldenstateservicesj
goldenstateservicesj
Oct 7, 2018
5 min read

A totally random, whatever came to mind first, selection of the latest additions to ourNew Music Monster

Music Reviews written by Tobi Davis

Tobi's new music monster

Artist:

Joyeur Track:“Pusher” Electro-Percussive cascade. Metronome on point. Bass dab blunt-tonal. LA based pop duo Joyeur drop their eagerly anticipated debut EP, Lifeeater and with it, opening track, “Pusher”. Russian-Israeli Producer Anna Feller and native Angeleno, singer-songwriter Joelle Corey hit the ground running in 2018 with their debut single, ‘Dig’ earning them a place amongst Deli Magazine’s ‘Best Emerging Artists in LA’; they followed up with a second single release, “Fast as You Can” (taken from their new EP). Describing their music as an always eccentric brand of pop that ‘..ventures into the worlds of funk, trap, and soul’; “Pusher” heralds the arrival of their five track EP, with a tightly arranged assortment of pop-tastic electronica; the elegantly stripped back intro is quickly contrasted by heavy drum hits, punching great craters of reverb into the 3 minute 50 second track’s sound design; choruses burst forward with fizzing bass energy; layers opening up, in expanding depths; overlapping musical element and backing vocal, providing a driving, surging build to the track, that borders on the animalistic. Joelle Corey’s voice, a hushed nonchalance and easy, uber cool swagger; the talented singer hitting her beats with well practised and hard earned effortlessness. Producer Anna Feller backs up with a deftly judged use of reverb and tasteful vocal processing. The classically trained pianist brings a quiet confidence to the accomplished and disciplined production; reminiscent of the great motown tracks, every aspect of the EP serving a specific musical purpose; the sheer economy of the tracks, a beauty and delight to behold. The track smacks and heaves of rhythmic idea; each movement fiercely and engagingly percussive. Joyeur strut with well founded self belief and a healthy dose of rock n roll attitude. The once great genre of Pop is much devalued by the current, ‘phoned in’, ‘water downed’, ‘safe bet’ offerings of many chart and Independent practitioner alike; a new generation of female music makers are a rising tide, set to wash the lazy offerings of a male dominated industry aside, with pop music that challenges as it entertains, rich in creation and with very much something to say.

Artist:

FOURS Track:“Even in My Dreams” ‘A song about f**kboys’; London based pop rock outfit FOURS, FB post new single, “Even in My Dreams”. Having already attracted the attention of the mighty Spotify playlists, with singles, “Fade to Love” and “Tell Me in the Morning” racking up nearly six million streams and 1 and a half million streams respectively, the self explanatory named four piece are very much the embodiment of the modern band; “Even in My Dreams” represents their eighth straight single, dating back to debut release, the super-tight 3 minute 3 second pop gem, “Painful to Watch”; the band opting to release a ‘search engine friendly’ steady stream of well worked, one off tracks, in preference to the more traditional LP/EP formats. Averaging just 2 – 3 tracks a year, each one carefully crafted into a playlist appropriate 150 – 210 second slice of tight pop rock noise, FOURS have smartly opted for creating music of the highest quality; rather than falling into the trap of rushing out hastily thrown together, auto-mastered demos, in the commonly held, but mistaken belief that more releases equates to more success. “Even in My Dreams”, rolls smoove with a polished, snapped to the grid feel; SSL-smacked snare, tucked in kick and kit, bassline sat back and on the point, drive the 2 minute 51 second track, clean down the middle; delayed shimmered guitar riffs, create percussive and melodic width and contrast; while deftly placed synth doubles and ambients, provide additional width and depth. Level 1 Barista and vocalist, Edith Violet snarls and exclaims with smokey soul and rusty, bluesy tones; her voice adding additional dimension and grit. Clever use of backing vocal and FX, further enhance the sonic experience ; well placed reverb, saturation and delay, subtly adding layers of shadow and echo. Reminiscent of the very best 80s pop productions, “Even in My Dreams” is yet another step up for a band that continues to go from strength to strength. Their direct, no nonsense production style is reflected in their name and their presentation. FOURS are here to get it done.

Artist:

Madison Track:“Work It” Independent Artist and record label owner, Madison drops a healthy slice of new noise with single, “Work It”. With self releases dating back to 2011 and her debut EP, The Noise Some People Make, the New York based music maker has been steadily grinding out a place for herself on both local scene and digital platform. Her fourth release of 2018, having already released single, the electro-funky, Baller, four track EP, ‘We’ve been Nothing’ and Touch Tone remix of 2017 release, “Hustle”, “Work It” arrives in uber confident style; spanking, swaggering synths erupt in grungy, fizzy surging waves of phat, chunky riffs; thump heavy kick lands deep into the track; snare and snap punctuate; sonic stutters burst, fuzzed guitar stut-teases in tight funk-rock phrase; vox sample/loops resonate in the ambient, distant, ethereal, saturated. Madison whispers with edge and hush, in short controlled melodic/percussive lines; evocative of Madonna’s more aggressive and provocative work, her voice ripping through the track with ear catching lyrics and pop hook; all delivered on a razor’s edge. Smart use of contrasting production, space and dynamic, moves through the 3 minute 4 second runtime at pace; heavily FX-ed vox sample resonate; drenched distant with saturation; driven warped, reformed; oblique flashes and stanzas in sound design, create a hyper-B-movie ambient of cyberpunk, dystopia and a brave new dawn. Drawing upon influences ranging from electro to pop, dance to rock, Madison successfully pulls together an eclectic array of musical idea and flavor, weaving them into an original sonic identity. In keeping with the best of New York Artists, Madison’s work carries an attitude, unique to work brewed in the East coast city. ‘There’s nothing wrong with pop music’, reads the subheading of Madison’s blog. No there’s not. Not when Madison is making the noise.

Week16 Music Monster Picks

About Tobi Davis (BRASH! Magazine/Blog Writer) ​Good producing is like good plumbing. If you do your job right, no one notices. Mix, Remix + Master. Run @monsterthread w/ Singer Songwriter Jon Magnusson. Host Thursday’s @musichouruk. Music Reviews for BRASH! Magazine. Promote. Occasional Lyricist. Love my beagle Enzo + fav bands Little Empire and Moxi. Check out Tobi Sonics – Mixes + Remixes!

About The Monster Thread The #MonsterThread is a community of Independent Musicians, Bands and Artists supporting each other in making and sharing Indie Music.

 
 
 

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