The latest single from the Capital Region songstress Girl Blue, “Heaven” was released today, the second single off her uupcoming full length album, slated for release in Fall 2021. The warm, uplifting single is well timed for spring, with a late 80’s indie-pop feel, and follows “Just a Dream,” the first single, released in February.
“Heaven” was written and produced by Girl Blue and recorded at White Lake Studios in Albany. Girl Blue is joined on the track by Albany’s Dark Honey – Jimi Woodul (electric guitar), Dan Dekalb (piano), Ben Woodul (bass) and Josh Morris (acoustic drums).
The light, grooving, harmony-drenched pop track is juxtaposed by lyrics that are dark, introspective and sometimes scathing about cellphone addiction. Making a statement about how our relationship with technology has come to replace our deep connection with spirituality, other people, the earth, and ourselves, the song will have you singing along and bobbing your head with ease.
Arielle O’Keefe (Girl Blue) satirically celebrates the fact that “No one can stop me from hating myself, nothing can make me forget it,” and deems herself “the queen of my cellphone” in an angelic, serene tone of voice that only hints ever so slightly at the loneliness inherent in those statements.
It has been four years since the members of Melt came together as a band. Co-founders Veronica Stewart-Frommer (Vocals) and Eric Gabriel (Vocals, Keys) both NYC natives, started playing music together in High School. They and some of their friends entered a local battle of the bands competition and won. They took the prize money from that competition and used it to produce the band’s first song“Sour Candy” which was released as a single in 2017.
Melt is a septet, which is comprised of an additional five members: Marlo Shankweiler (Guitar), Josh Greenzeig (Drums), Coulou (Trumpet), Lucas Saur (Bass), and Nick Sare (Saxophone). Melt’s successful debut single propelled the band into the limelight with the strategic utilization of social media and substantial exposure on various internet streaming services. “Sour Candy” holds the distinction of having over 5 million streams on Spotify since it’s initial release. Between this heavy exposure and the band’s high energy live performances, Melt has been successful in establishing themselves securely in the rough and tumble NYC music scene.
Melt has a reached another important milestone with the February release of their Debut EP West Side Highway, which includes six tracks of previously unreleased music. Recorded at the Bunker Studio in Brooklyn, West Side Highway reflects a new level of maturity that Melt has been successful in developing as a band. “Coming into the studio with the goal of creating a longer work, we thought more intently on how each track worked with one another and used the opportunity to weave together the wide set of influences helping to shape a seven-person band,” said Josh Greenzeig (Drums).
“We used the EP format to create a snapshot of what that moment in time was for us, cementing elements of our sound that we love and finding new ones worth exploring.”
West Side Highway starts out with opening track “Don’t Want Me,” a moody number that details a love affair that has gone bad and is still painfully lingering in it’s final death throes. The masterful guitar instrumentation by Shankweiler and the melancholic vocal by Stewart-Frommer both work in concert to create a setting of sad desperation with a longing to be released. It was a great way to start the record and one that was interesting in it’s selection. It set the meditative tone of the EP which is soothing, comforting, and introspective in it’s entirety. This on going theme is again illustrated with third track, the EP’s title track, “West Side Highway,” which can be considered a love letter to pandemic ravaged NYC. This thought evoking number features a wonderfully muted trumpet solo by Coulou that is enhanced with Gabriel’s creative keyboard playing. his type of musical craftmanship results in another gem of a track on the record.
We were able to get some time with Melt co-founders Veronica Stewart-Frommer (Vocals) and Eric Gabriel (Vocals, Keys) in order to discuss the band and it’s debute EP – West Side Highway.
Tim Bopp: How did the band Melt form and what were the circumstances that caused the genesis of the band.
Eric Gabriel: Veronica and I went to High School together and towards the end of high school we had some more time to kind of start playing with people around the city and that was really the first iteration.
Veronica Stewart-Frommer: The first call we made was Marlo who is our guitar player.
TB: How did you come up with the band name Melt?
VS-F: The funny thing about that is that we actually had the song even before we had the name for the band. Suddenly we were sitting with this single and we were like, “Alright and we kind of want to put this out there but we don’t have a name.” So we went down this very long list of random names. The night before we were going to release “Sour Candy” we actually made a Facebook page called Big Deli Chain. We were like, “That is it! That is the name! We are going to be Big Deli Chain (laughing).” At some point between 2AM and 4AM that night I was just like this band can’t be named Big Deli Chain and we changed it to Melt. It was so random.
TB: How has the Pandemic Affected the band and the new EP West Side Highway?
VS-F: The EP really is a product of the Pandemic. In a lot of ways, it feels like an entirely new Melt. This was such a unique time for us. Something that is interesting about us is that during the year we are all either doing our day jobs or even in school. A lot of us are still in college. So we do this kind of funky long distance band thing where we unite for these crazy weekend shows and then go our separate ways. In a lot of ways due to the Pandemic, if we wanted to work, we had to live together for multiple weeks in order to justify moving anywhere. It was kind of the first time since four years ago when the band started that we were able to settle down and really be together for weeks on end and write and hang out. We are such a live band that our songs are usually tested over months and years at live shows and they are based on what the audience reacts to and how we are feeling at the show but there was none of that this time.
EG: We have mostly been thought of as a live band. On most of our singles we typically try to document that energy that we all love about playing together at a live show. This EP we kind of wanted to go into a different direction. I think it is much more chilled out and doesn’t really have as much of that live band sound. The individual tracks we kind of wanted to take a different approach in the crafting of the songs.
TB: What are some of your musical influences?
VS-F: Part of what makes up the Melt sound is that we are seven people and some of us went to school for Jazz music and some of us studied political science and were raised on the Beatles and Bob Dylan. A lot of us have been into the Jam scene. That is actually how I met Marlo, through Phish and the Grateful Dead. I think we are kind of all over the map on that. Obviously as a singer I really adore a lot of artists like Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Otis Redding. That is where I fell in love with that genre and that type of singing. We are really all over the place. Right now a lot of us are into Phoebe Bridgers and the more Indie scene. I think that comes through on this EP.
EG: I grew up with a ton of Bruce Springsteen. More recently I listen to more folk music like Adrianne Lenker and also bands like the National. That kind of music.
TB: So, are you two the predominant the songwriters for Melt?
VS-F: Typically, that is how it has been. In the past, Eric and I usually write the lyrics to the songs that we sing, but we edit with each other and with other members of the band. Usually, it will either be one of the two of us will start a song and then bring it to the band. It evolves into a completely different direction from there. For this EP, since we were all together and couldn’t perform live, we wound up focusing a lot more on the production side of things as a band. Our bass player Lucas is really skilled at recording and in engineering production. He played a huge role in creating the foundation for the songs on the EP. We experimented a lot on this record this time around.
EG: This time around we started with Josh the drummer literally laying down songs, sometime just on his own. Then we would add the bass track and then that leads us into the guitar and usually vocals at the end. We really just build it up.
VS-F: We don’t know which way we like better. Maybe in the future we will go back in and play everything as if we are playing live. I think part of the beauty of Melt is that we are so young, so we don’t feel tied to any of our ways and we like to try out new things and see how it goes.
TB: How long did it take a band like Melt to complete the West Side Highway EP?
VS-F: Start to finish it was like two months. We were really lucky to be able to record the EP at the Bunker Studios in Brooklyn. We had a really wonderful producer and engineer named Aaron Nevezie who mixed some of the tracks as well.
EG: Some songs were written earlier, like Hours I wrote about a year ago.
TB: What does the future have in store for Melt?
Eric: We cannot wait to start playing shows again. We are really looking forward to playing out. The last real show Melt played was at the Sinclair in Cambridge last February. It felt like that at that show we all came together and we were fully on it. Our trumpet player Aaron even stage dived at the end of the “Sour Candy” solo that night.
VS-F: That show was awesome. It wasn’t the biggest room we have played, but just the layout of the place was great. It went straight back so you could see everyone and there was great energy that night. I also think the Knitting Factory show we played in Brooklyn. That was the first time we played “Waves.” Before a show we are always saying to the band don’t go too fast let’s keep the energy contained. Once we get out there it is just like an explosion and we are always playing at 100%. We don’t have many moments during a set where we just drop back and take a moment to breathe. In the bridge in “Waves” there is a moment where everyone drops out and it is just me and Eric. That was really a special moment. I always think about that moment when I picture live music coming back. It was the first time that we had ever played the song and I think the audience was psyched to hear a new song and it was kind of a sentimental little moment. It was really cool.
Key Tracks: Don’t Want Me, West Side Highway, Waves
Spaghetti Eastern Music returns with the maxi-single, “Blues for a Lost Cosmonaut.” The solo project of NYC and Hudson Valley-based musician Sal Cataldi, Spaghetti Eastern’s latest releases have ventured into ambient music. The sprawling new track occupies almost ten minutes of time and space, taking the listener on a peaceful star trek through the galaxy.
Despite lacking lyrics and hooks, “Blues for a Lost Cosmonaut” still makes room for a narrative and recurring themes. While an overall peaceful auditory experience, suspense and uncertainty creep up on the listener between stretches of serenity. In its most tense moments, “Blues” evokes the eerie prog-pop bookends of Gary Wright’s 1975 “Dream Weaver,” but this time the dissonance is in the middle. If Walt Disney World’s Space Mountain had a secret chill detour, this would be the soundtrack.
The inspiration came from watching some old videos of the early Soviet space program, especially the first space walk by Alexei Leonov. It was about recreating the contrasting moods and feelings that the film of this moment imparts. There’s peace, wonder and weightlessness combined with the realization that this could spin out of control at any moment, as it did for some early Soviet space explorers.
Sal Cataldi
Another clear inspiration is Fripp & Eno, an ambient side project consisting of Brian Eno and Robert Fripp. “Blues” is the third offering in a trilogy of similar pieces: in 2020, Cataldi released “Her Lemon Peel Raincoat” and “Peace Within.”
It’s just a fun exercise in soundscapes, in impulsive sound painting recorded in the wee small hours during the lonely moments of the COVID quarantine.
Sal Cataldi
Cataldi released his first album under Spaghetti Eastern Music in 2015, titled Sketches of Spam. He recorded “Blues for a Lost Cosmonaut” on his houseboat in Port Washington, Long Island, Houseboat Garlic Knot Studios, as well as at Sonic Garden in West Saugerties, New York. “Blues for a Lost Cosmonaut” is available for download and streaming on Bandcamp, CD Baby, iTunes, Spotify and elsewhere.
Each Sunday evening from 7-9pm you’ll find EQXposure on WEQX, featuring two hours of local music from up and coming artists. Tune into WEQX.com this Sunday night to hear new music from Architrave, AliT, Annie Scherer and many more.
WEQX has long been the preeminent independent station in the Capital Region of New York, broadcasting from Southern VT to an ever-expanding listening audience. NYS Music brings you a preview of artists to discover each week, just a taste of the talent waiting to be discovered by fans like you.
Kicking off the night is Architrave with their cover of True Widow’s “O.O.T.P.V.” A dark and cool jam, the track is brooding with a huge, electrifying sound. After discussion with members of True Widow, Architrave agreed all proceeds from the sale of the track would be donated to Feed the People Dallas Mutual Aid.
WEQX will also be matching that donation with a donation to something more local to us, the Free Food Fridge of Albany, a cool project that sets up fridges stocked with food staples, to help tackle food insecurity in the area.
Next up is AliT with “Sitting Pretty,” featuring a bright pop sound, drum machines, a huge boundless voice, and an all-heart sensibility. AliT is a true singer-songwriter and instrumentalist making pop music with a touch of grit, soul, and emo harmony. Tune in for AliT’s weekly set live on her Facebook page every Friday at 7:30 pm.
In the vein of Lana Del Ray comes Annie Scherer, a modern pop cinematic journey with images of longing and desire. Open minded listeners will hear the voice of a songwriter opening up her soul, crawling up the walls to find a new plane of existence. “Take Me Places” is a cool tune that transcends the idiom and is treated delicately with plenty of space for the listener to attach their own images to and yet want to listen again to bring those feelings back.
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard are back with another new album, LW. The band’s 17th studio album is the follow up to 2020’s KG and also the third installment in their series of microtonal explorations (which also includes 2017’s Flying Microtonal Banana). The record comes right on the heels of the recently released live-studio music video “Pleura,” directed by John Angus Stewart.
King Gizzard intended LW to be a seamless continuation of 2020’s KG as all of the songs were recorded together with the same stylistic and experimental tendencies. The double album is bookended by separate but similarly titled tracks “KGLW.” The first, being the opening track on KG, is a one-and-a-half-minute melody reminiscent of medieval minstrel music while the second version of “KGLW,” the closing track on LW, is a slow burning thrash metal epic. Even the noisy outro of KG closing track “The Hungry Wolf of Fate” extends into the opening minute of LW opener “If Not Now, Then When?” before abruptly switching into a slinky funk jam.
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On LW, King Gizzard continue their dive into “microtonal tunings,” a unique musical style that comes from using instrumentation designed to give distinct tones between those found on western, indexed instruments. Frontman Stu Mackenzie described the effort by saying “we wanted to make new music that was somehow more colorful this time around, and which maybe reflected the many new things that we have learned along the way.” The band relies heavily on the bağlama, a Turkish stringed instrument, to create layers of psychedelic and mystical microtonal passages that transports the listener right to the deserts of the Far East. Mixed with Stu’s unique metal-tinged vocals and garage rock guitar structure, the band delivers a truly innovative experience on LW.
King Gizzard at Central Park Summerstage, 8/28/2019 – Photo by Buscar Photo
However, King Gizzard do not just stick to one sound here. In fact, the band fine tune many of the different stylistic directions from their back catalog in the theme of Eastern microtonal tuning. On both KG and LW there are tracks with a disco/funk rhythm, heavy thrash metal tracks that could fit right on Infest the Rats’ Nest, and prog-folk odysseys. The Melbourne based band have dedicated entire albums to these influences over their career, but on KG and LW they all come together in a whole new way. The result is as if you threw 70s era prog and folk rock, Revolver era Beatles, and early Black Sabbath into the Gizzard song machine.
King Gizzard at Central Park Summerstage, 8/28/2019 – Photo by Buscar Photo
Standout tracks include the lead single “Pleura,” a driving garage rock song with a stringy folk passage in the back half, “Static Electricity” which features layers of swirling woodwinds and acoustic guitar arpeggios, and closing track “KGLW” which is a sprawling 8-minute thrash metal banger with a creepy “K-G-L-W” vocal mantra buried into the mix. You can find both albums to download right on King Gizzard’s own site (HERE) where $1 from every download of LW is being donated to Greenfleet, a charity aimed at replanting biodiverse forests in Australia and New Zealand.
If one thing is certain, given the extra time from not being able to tour, this is only the beginning of another rabid burst of musical output from King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard.
Check out more photos from King Gizzard’s headline show at Central Park Summerstage back in August 2019 below.
The indie band of brothers, Council, has announced their upcoming EP It Runs In The Blood. On May 28, their third EP of will be released on all platforms.
Council consists of three brothers: Pat, Doug, and Andy Reeves. As the trio grew up just outside Syracuse in Baldwinsville, NY, they’ve committed to trading a life of farming for their true passion; music. From working in the fields during the day to perfecting their craft in their family barn at night.
The debut single off of the new EP, “Faded Purple White Trash Royal”, was recently released. The track is available on major platforms and provides listeners a sneak peek of the anthemic tone expected on It Runs In The Blood.
Listen to Council’s Debut Single Here
Council‘s new EP contains singles, “I See Sparks,” “Still We Rise,” “Faded Purple White Trash Royal,” and the title track, “It Runs In The Blood.” Apart from the title track, the entire EP was written and produced by Council. The track “It Runs In The Blood” was co-produced and co-written by Kevin Andreas. Andreas is known for engineering A$AP Rocky’s hit, “Peso.”
Cover Artwork for EP
Council has begun to build a name for themselves. They have worked with countless household names and appeared on popular programs. The brothers’ band has played shows at mainstays in NYC. Also, they have opened for bands such as The Strumbellas, The All American Rejects, and The Kooks. The musicians have even had their music played throughout the 2018 Winter Olympics, FIFA World Cup, American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance, and the Premier League, to name a few.
As this band has begun to establish themselves in the music scene with their unique sound, they are definitely a group to watch out for. It Runs In The Blood will undoubtedly only add to Council’s growing success. Although this EP’s release isn’t for a few months, make sure to check out the band’s previous EP, Haunts Me.
L’FREAQ has returned after a two-year absence to share her newest single, “Make Me Move.” Described as having a “sexy, neo-goth, synth pop sound,” the track features an intimate look into the hardships of a long distance relationship in the midst of quarantine. The artist sets aside vulnerability to express an experience that most, if not all of us, can relate to, after a year since the quarantine began.
Photo Credit: Kelly Cappelli
More commonly known under the alias L’FREAQ, Brooklyn and LA-based singer/songwriter Lea Cappelli has caught the eye of many with her gothic and soulful presence, alongside an impressive vocal range and a talent for writing lyrics that strike a chord, attracting an inclusive and diverse audience.
I wrote this song before quarantine about deep yearning for my long-distance partner. It was my challenge to strip everything away to primal instincts. When quarantine hit, it forbid us from seeing each other and the relationship ended, causing a spiral into craving and a deep dive into intimate voicemails that have been sampled on the song.
L’FREAQ describing the single, “Make Me Move”
Photo Credit: Kelly Cappelli
Some highlights of her career include a private performance for Muhammad Ali, sharing the stage with Jakob Dylan, and performing alongside Grammy-awarded artist India.Arie. Recently voted “NYC’s Favorite Emerging Artist” in a poll sponsored by The Deli Magazine, she pays homage to her Brooklyn roots. She cites her love of music as being nourished by her artistic mother from a young age, growing up in a music studio in the midst of the punk scene of NYC.
You can find where to stream her newest single, “Make Me Move,” on various platforms here, and keep an eye out for any new quarantine-inspired releases on her website.
Addressing past-heartbreaks during the midst of post-Valentine’s Day gloom, Sulene dropped a new indie-pop single off of her upcoming EP, he·don·ic, set to release on March 5.
Photo Credit: Spencer Kohn
I wrote it after I got a text from an ex that he was getting married. I guess I hadn’t thought about this relationship for a long time and it brought up all sorts of things. Sometimes the gift of time and growing up is being able to look back and sorta see things differently, more clearly. I found myself feeling angry. My friend group is really close with this person so I constantly hear about him, and I’d always act like it doesn’t bother me even though I felt hurt by the things that had happened surrounding our breakup. I wrote this song after that text and I guess I stopped pretending that I feel the same way all my friends feel and just said my truth.
Sulene, on “i still think you’re so fake”
The definition behind the EP’s title, he·don·ic, implies that the album as a whole relates to pleasant or unpleasant sensations, a theme that is present in the newest single. The topic of past heartbreak is never easy for an artist to revisit, and even harder to express through song. Sulene cites a painful and difficult process behind he·don·ic, but also a liberating aspect to exploring new music styles and providing closure. You can stream her newest single, “I still think you’re so fake” here on platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music.
boys cruise has released “Room for Reason” as their first single off of their upcoming self-titled sophomore album.
Their new jangly, poppy, but also garage-rock song is the first taste of boys cruise’s music since their acclaimed 2019 debut record Jerry. Mastered by Felix Davis, who worked with artists such as Lana Del Rey, HMLTD, and Swim Deep, added extra flair to boys cruise’s unique, playful sound. Their musical style combines several genres, creating a colorful blend that could make anybody want to dance. Zach Bloomstein produced their upcoming album.
Drummer and bassist Jack Parker spoke about the newest single: “Johnny Clarke (lead vocals/guitar) and myself, Jack Parker (bass/drums), wrote the main ideas before linking up with Sammy Josh (guitar) to really flesh everything out. I wrote Room for Reason over the span of a few days this past summer when I fell terribly ill with 102 degree fever.”
He continues that “the song is about how I felt trapped in my mind palace and how I was longing for rest. This past summer was a generally manic and confusing time for all of us in boys cruise, and the lyrics are just sort of a reflection of that confusion and some of the weirdness that was simultaneously going on in my personal relationships.
Based in Burlington, VT, boys cruise had its genesis in 2018 in the Northeast DIY scene. Their wild stage presence and riveting shows made them a notorious and beloved name in the northeast underground circuit. From cutting the lead singer’s hair mid-set to boxing matches between members on stage, they began selling out Vermont venues.
Their sound has evolved on their upcoming record in a new artful and noisy direction, compared to the poppier 2019 LP Jerry. boys cruise is Johnny Clarke (lead vocals/guitar), Jack Parker (vocals/bass/drums), and Sammy Josh (vocals/guitar).
Each Sunday evening from 7-9pm you’ll find EQXposure on WEQX, featuring two hours of local music from up and coming artists. Tune into WEQX.com this Sunday night to hear new music from Ferriday, Eion Noonan and many more.
WEQX has long been the preeminent independent station in the Capital Region of New York, broadcasting from Southern VT to an ever-expanding listening audience. NYS Music brings you a preview of artists to discover each week, just a taste of the talent waiting to be discovered by fans like you.
This week’s featured band is Albany’s Ferriday, where Pearson will be playing four in a row off of Everywhere You Go. Ferriday’s tunes are straight forward pure rock and roll indulgence with unique lyrical stories. They stand alone as individual singles yet also work cohesively flowing from one tune and vibe to the next. The playing from all the members is excellent, with note choices, song treatments, guitar tones, down to bass drum use, are very well put together for a well honed sound.
Also featured is Irish-born Vermont resident, Eoin Noonan, and his beautiful tune, “Lovin’.” Eoin continues to create original and inspiring music that alternates between indie rock, country and folk music.
Noonan has excellent song crafting and performance, with a great mood set forth in this piece of music. The march tempo and catchy lyrics, make “Lovin’” a creative single that inspires a desire to hear more from this Irish transplant now finding an artistic home in Vermont.
