Will Loomis - Typhoon - Mind Monogram - Vern Matz - Spirit In The Room
Will Loomis - US Of RX.Background - Will Loomis spent his formative years in NYC, picking up guitar at age 7 after being inspired by the anthropomorphic rooster in the animated film “Rock-a-Doodle.” Loomis naturally gravitated to other dazzling musical personalities as he reached his teens. Lou Reed, Iggy Pop and Kurt Cobain charmed his imagination and Will eventually began trying to place himself in that lineage; a pioneer in the art of raw, handcrafted rock.
He formed the band Loomis and the Lust in 2008, releasing the catchy single “Bright Red Chords” which immediately got noticed by major labels and landed substantial syncs in commercials, TV and feature films. They won a $25,000 prize at the "Artist on the Verge" contest, gaining them a feature in Billboard Magazine and consecutive features on MTV Iggy. “Bright Red Chords” was eventually embroiled in an ongoing copyright infringement lawsuit between Loomis and Universal Music Group after Dr. Luke, a serial appropriator, cannibalized Loomis’ original into the number 1 UK pop single “Domino” by Jessie J. Loomis has since become an outspoken critic of Dr. Luke.
The fallout from the lawsuit left Will in an odd state, as Loomis and Lust had created such a buzz that his bandmates began getting poached – his guitar player was taken on tour with Katy Perry while his bassist got an offer to play a bass player on the TV show Glee. As Will tried to prioritize his next move, he retreated into the private world of his music, creating a wealth of unreleased material, a back catalog of B-Sides and other rarities like an exceptional Spaghetti Western soundtrack. He added to his massive collection of guitars and amps, which he modified in exquisite ways to curate the evolving ‘Loomis’ sound – falling somewhere between The Doors, The Stooges and The Magnetic Fields.
Eventually he connected with producer/engineer Norm Block who reflected Will’s purist mentality. They both fetishized and sound of old amps, tape and vintage gear and began work at Happy Ending Studios on Loomis’ new album Clean (due out January 15th). The album finds Loomis in a feisty mood, raging about the hypocrisy of celebrity, religion and big business, even name-checking the pharmaceutical industry in the take-no-prisoner’s rocker “US of RX”. But above all, Clean is largely an expose on popular music. “Everything on the radio sounds to clean and robotic” Loomis concedes, noting that even the most futuristic production techniques will eventually feel dated if they are not imbued with soul. “I really challenged myself to create an album you can listen to thirty years on.” FACEBOOK.
I am fairly certain that we featured Loomis and The Lust a good few years back and it's a pleasure to share 'US Of RX' from Will Loomis now. A powerful rocker, the songs lyrics cut to the chase, delivered with determination whilst the guitar grinds out some potent grooves.
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Background - Typhoon have released another single from their new album Offerings which will be released January 12th via Roll Call Records. The track "Darker" is the second single to be taken from the new album, following "Rorschach."
In October, the band released Floodplains, the first movement from the album featuring the songs "Wake", "Rorschach", "Empiricist", and "Algernon".
The 70-minute album for Roll Call Records, which is the Portland, Oregon indie rock band's fourth studio album, centers on a fictional man who is losing his memory, and in turn, his sense of self. "I've always been preoccupied with memory, losing memory, and trying to recapture memory. I wanted to explore the questions: What does a person become if they don't know where they came from? What is the essential quality of the person if you strip away all memory?" explains singer/songwriter Kyle Morton.t. FACEBOOK, WEBSITE.
Typhoon has also announced their list of upcoming tour dates for 2018 in North America and Europe, with UK dates as follows:
Feb 27: London, UK @ Lexington (2nd date added)
Feb 28: Manchester, UK @ Deaf Institute
Mar 01: Glasgow, UK @ Broadcast
Mar 02: London, UK @ Lexington (Sold Out).
We featured the first movement from Typhoon's forthcoming album (Offerings) a couple of weeks back and the bands second single 'Darker' has now been shared. The bands imaginative material continues, this time their is a bleakness conveyed through the vocals whilst the musical arrangement is a little solemn however occasionally builds into a more powerful emphatic piece.
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Mind Monogram - Hedberg.Background - Los Angeles based band Mind Monogram started out in 2014 as the passion project of vocalist/guitarist Edgar A. Ruiz who wrote, recorded and self-released the band’s debut EP Moments in Time.
Ruiz’s project has now come into fruition as a full band with the addition of members Christian Caro (guitar), Bryan Mejia (drums), and Billy Azurdia (bass) and have since been playing regularly in Southern California. The band has been a featured performing act at The NAMM Show convention in Anaheim, CA and was top 3 in The Deli Magazine's list for Best Emerging LA Bands 2017.
The track features James Kennedy (keys/synth), Kael Caesare Sharp (trumpet), and is an ode to the late, great comedian Mitch Hedberg. The band says of the track, "We're fans of Mitch Hedberg & we relate to him in many different ways. His comedy has always been hit or miss for audiences, but when he locked in a crowd he would absolutely crush it and take you on a little trip inside the mind of Hedberg. This song is a nod to one of our favorite jokes of his: "you know, I'm sick of following my dreams, man. I'm just going to ask where they're going and hook up with 'em later." Here's to you Mitch, R.I.P. Man."
Their second single is "Hedberg" off their upcoming sophomore LP Ivory Hall out early Spring 2018. Catch Mind Monogram at Highwater Brewing L.A. on 12/20 & Indie Brewing Co. L.A. on 1/26. WEBSITE, FACEBOOK.
'Hedberg' is a melodic indie rock song where the vocals are notable as they soar beautifully above a richly layered soundtrack. The trumpet adds even more colour, this is very catchy music.
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Background - Indie rock trio Vern Matz shares the second track off their forthcoming self titled debut EP, due out January 2018.
Vern Matz is comprised of guitarist and singer Danny Belgrad, pianist Michael Lituchy, and drummer Noah Silvestry. Not only are they bandmates, they are also all students together at Yale University. Speaking on "Shelby Park," the band states, "With Shelby, we got to put on a lot of differents hats and play something vaguely aggressive, which was fun. There’s some focus on aging, and losing identities, but it’s not an overly serious song - there’s blue hearts, and martians moons, and dropped phone calls, and leaving Shelby. It’s a very childish piece in a lot of ways; we were sort of pretending to be 16 year-olds in a rock band from 1993.
The EP was born out of several road trips between New Haven and Philadelphia. In a lot of ways, the EP is about Vern Matz coming of age - as individuals and as a band. Faced with finding a place in the world, the EP is about fleeing from those decisions and trying to ground themselves. Vern Matz says of the record, "Much of the EP is an expression of a feeling of displacement and an attempt to restore a sense of wholeness. There's a lot of confusion and nervousness in the fact that you don't know what needs to be restored. We looked backwards a lot to resolve that uneasiness and got very swept up in nostalgia." The Vern Matz EP was recorded at Miner Street Recordings, produced and mixed by Matt Poirier, and mastered by Greg Calbi and Ryan Schwabe. FACEBOOK.
Vern Matz are back a month after we first featured the band and this time with 'Shelby Park'. I was very impressed last time and the new song doesn't disappoint. Melodic guitars, engaging vocals, and intriguing lyrics, the band remain full of promise.
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Background - LA based band Spirit In The Room released on December 11th a stand alone single called Affectionate Projectile. The track has a softer sound than a lot of their previous releases, but has a hypnotic melody, reminiscent to the last works by David Bowie.
Dennis Sanders is the frontman and creative force behind Spirit In The Room. Together with bassist Darren Howard and guitarist Kyle Nadeau, the band puts out a very particular blend of high energy, eclectic rock.
Noticeable influences include Nine Inch Nails, Depeche Mode and Black Sabbath, with a good dose of punk ethos thrown in for good measure.
Spirit In The Room will release their debut album Sunset Nightmare in 2018. FACEBOOK.
Yes there are echoes of latter day Bowie influences on 'Affectionate Projectile' that said it remains a unique and engaging song. With a slow beat, superb vocals and a little dark and distant feeling, this is a real grower.
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