LOS ANGELES – It’s not often that a song can make you feel lucky, unless you’re Jane N’ The Jungle from Phoenix, AZ, who are back with their infectious new song “Lucky 7”, releasing October 2, 2020. It’s the follow-up to their killer track “Animal”, continuing to get attention.
Jane N’ The Jungle is Jordan White, leading the band with her powerhouse vocals, Brian Dellis flame throwing on guitar and “Big B” slaying on bass.
White says, “Lucky 7” was written about a night the band had while playing a show in Las Vegas and hanging out at Longhorn Casino in East Vegas. It’s a free-spirited song that captures one of the band’s favorite memories.”
“Lucky 7” was produced by Grammy Award winning Producer/Engineer Chuck Alkazian (Pop Evil, Soundgarden, Tantric) at legendary Pearl Sound Studios (Asking Alexandria, Eminem, Filter).
Ingridi Verardo just released her second single, entitled “Read Between The Lines“, which features the guest vocals by Daniela Serafim (Autopse, Monster Side Project). This track will be featured on Imperfection, her debut album which should released until the end of the year and will feature Samurai da Silva (As Do They Fall, Super Sonic Brewer) on guitars and bass, and Kelvin Salvetti (As Do They Fall, Black Adder) on drums.
About the single Ingridi said: “It has something much more personal than the previous song. As can be heard on ‘28 Days‘, I am proud of my scars but in this one, talking about a ‘relationship’ that existed and didn’t exist is much more difficult because I’m not used to share these stories with anyone. ‘Read‘ is a mix of good memories, but also recurring thoughts of how I wish that distance didn’t keep us that far from each other and it didn’t have a double life.”
Imperfection alludes to the fragility and experience of recording an album for the first time. In addition to the singles “28 Days” and “Read Between The Lines“, the album will have a total of eight tracks and will address personal themes from Ingridi’s life, with a sound inspired by her influences that include symphonic metal, anime tracks, opera and musicals.
The album is being produced by Roger Fingle (Blood Tears, Seduced By Suicide), who commented: “I am sure that in the beginning Ingridi didn’t have much of an idea of how hard it would be to record an album with this quality and how much I would push her. Despite that, unlike many other bands, no matter how emphatic I am, she doesn’t get offended with my criticism and she truly tries to understand what is wrong and she always comes back better for the next recording session.”
Philadelphia’s Model Prisoner recently released their politically-fueled debut EP Piss Universe, a mélange of metal, hardcore, and hip hop. In addition, Metal Injection unveiled the music video for their title track – a song about our society being a hot mess like a f*cked up beauty pageant where fake images and lies prevail, corruption rules, and it’s all just a game about money. Also, Model Prisoner’s bloodline includes influential bands such as Nowhere Roads, Swarm of Arrows, and Label the Traitor. Watch the “Piss Universe” video here.
Piss Universe was engineered, mixed, and mastered by rapidly rising producer Wyatt Oberholzer (Year of the Knife, No Option, Fixation, Struck Nerve) at The Knife Lair in Philadelphia, PA. Additional production and beats were provided by Jack Mickelson. The duo consisting of Keats Rickard and Jay “Lanky” Mallory tracked with Oberholzer in staggered sessions across a few months during quarantine. Influenced by the current state of our country, the result is explosive music with violent vocals and angry lyrics.
Their debut EP Piss Universe was released on August 28, 2020 and is available everywhere for streaming and download via Bandcamp with a vinyl release planned for the fall.
Milwaukee-based art-pop artist Valerie Lighthart is debuting a new self-directed music video for her latest single “Love & Money,” which includes a featured spot from queer Latinx pop artist Solana. The video was directed by Lighthart herself and also features a cameo by drag-queen Melee Mcqueen.
The “Love & Money” official music video, which premiered yesterday on Black Book, is now streaming here:
“Love & Money” is a pop-romp created to celebrate femininity and reclaim the ideals women and femme-identifying folks are vilified for -vanity, yearning for love, and self-interest. Valerie has created a safe space wherein femmes could express those traits euphorically, harkening back to the circles that witches danced around naked in the early American wilderness. Worshiping evil ideals, loving themselves wildly, and exuding power.
“I yearned to create a gilded realm to escape inside. I sought and found safe spaces to unpack the difficult feelings I had about womanhood, femininity, sexuality, and autonomy. As a young teenager, a dance class I took with my older sister helped me begin to unravel the complicated web of internalized misogyny I learned. It taught me to connect to my body in a new way and learn to embrace my thoughts and desires in a group of supportive femmes. We would spin in circles, laughing and talking. We showered love on each other, and the tone of acceptance, body positivity, and optimism was freeing. Through this joyful space, I grew the stability of identity to unpack my ideas on femininity, and analyze the shame that had it in a stranglehold. Women and femmes don’t have a monopoly on shame, but I felt empowered to think about what I knew best: feminine performance in relation to a hyper-sexed and shame-based culture,” says Valerie.
Having designed the set and coordinated the costumes to harken back to the restrictive and debauched 18th century, Valerie’s music video opens up the stage to include femme folks who’s artistic flair, drive, force, and ownership of their autonomy she deeply admires.
“Whilst celebrating this ambition in “Love & Money“, I also explore why these materialistic and capitalist desires are even important, by creating this over-the-top alter-ego. I think it’s fun to ask questions from a first-person perspective, and through this song, I was able to do a bit of soul searching and exploration of the femme experience in our society, the roles we’re encouraged to assume, and the spectrum of desires and goals we have and why we have them. Ultimately this project is about shining light on multi-dimensionality as an intrinsic part of femme nature,“ says Solana.
About Valerie Lighthart:
“Surging eccentrically out of Milwaukee, WI is the glorious curiosity that goes by the name of Valerie Lighthart. At just 22 years of age, the cultural polymath has already dabbled in filmmaking, poetry, acting, modeling– and of course… her true raison d’être, making music. But with her new single, it might be said that she has also crossed over into feminist philosophy.” – Black Book
Imbibed with the different flavors of visual and sonic characterization, Valerie Lighthart is a pop songstress that tempers fun melodies with a sense of something a few shades darker -punctuations of melancholy and unique stories centered around folklore, empowerment, travel, or personal trials. In some tracks, she embraces her personal identity and in some she subverts it altogether, creating an entirely new character in which to enact her ideas. Yearning to create a larger-than-life feeling of mythology within her new work, she is diving fully into chamber pop-inspired dance songs and floating through soundscapes of ambient and longing folk croons.
Valerie Lighthart | Photography Ryan Yatso
“Love & Money” is the introduction to the “By Moonlight” series, a careful cultivation of the opposing worlds of pop and folk to tell a story about the historical positionings of women. Different elements held within the trio of EPs intend to empower, awaken, question, and introspect. Her vehicle is the shining moon, eternal in her orbit, the fluttering tulle skirts of femme goddesses shaking the leaves from the trees, the monsters braying past the moonbeams in the darkness, and the murky waters of outcry and confusion. The lyrics are feminist, subversive, analytical, romantic, and lofty. The “By Moonlight” series is a trio of EPs, each in a different sub-genre, intended to analyze a different facet of femme existence: empowerment, transformation, performativism, sexuality, oppression, and rage
The project, set to release in installments over the next year, is a collaboration with N43 Records, a Midwest-based independent label empowering diverse voices.
Today, Phoenix-based electronic music artist Raindust releases his powerful debut single “If Tomorrow Never Comes”. The song is the first of a series of three singles slated for release by Raindust. A downtempo dance track, it features bass-driven synths, overlapping melodies, and layers of vocal harmonies that lend themselves to an ambient connection to the song’s emotional theme. “If Tomorrow Never Comes” is available to order here.
“If Tomorrow Never Comes” Lyric Video
While many artists default to the cliche of love songs, Raindust wrote “If Tomorrow Never Comes” with the perspective of a father who, through divorce, loses his children. He struggles with grief, and the realization that his time with them had been taken for granted. He had been consumed with himself and his negative self-image, resulting in a deficiency of mental space for others — including his own kids.
Coming to terms with the fact that he had not given them the quality of relationship they deserved from their parent, and realizing that nothing could be gained from wallowing in self-pity, he dedicates himself to turning things around and taking advantage of the time he’s been given, ensuring that no matter what happens, his children will certainly know that he loves them.
“Instead of going, ‘If I’m going to die tomorrow,’” says Raindust, “I say, ‘If today is my last day, how can I make it better? Can I call them? Tell them I love them?’”
He continues, “I remember seeing a quote on social media that said “When children have a bad day, they don’t say, ‘Hey, can we talk?’ They say, ‘Hey, can you come play with me?’ When you ‘not right now’ them because you have too much going on… for all you know, they could be having as bad of a day as you’re having. No one really stops to think about it from the child’s perspective.”
Raindust’s musical arrangements surfaced after he had spent days locked away, outpouring his emotions, forming them into lyrics. Following the composition of the lines and the melody, the rest of the musical arrangement naturally flowed from him. Unlike many dance tunes, the song does not rely on speed or bass to ramp up the energy. Raindust spent years perfecting the instrumentals, arrangements, and production of the deeply personal, moving track. Heartache translates through the chords of the melody and vocals, making “If Tomorrow Never Comes” a riveting listen that tugs at the heartstrings.“
Raindust – the pseudonym of lyricist, multi-instrumentalist, and music producer Iain Greene – is an artist who flawlessly combines elements of pop and electronic music, along with highly personal themes, to promote positivity and global awareness.
Iain Greene, Raindust
Greene has a knack for extracting components from various genres and building upon them to create his own unique sounds. Inspired by artists such as Alan Walker, Lady Gaga, Demi Lovato, and Linkin Park, he composes compelling lyrics, creates “club music” while remaining in the shadows, and recruits captivating vocalists who add powerful, authentic emotion to the tracks. Being what might be referred to as an “empathetic musician”, he embraces being in the position to breed feelings within the listener and make a unifying impact in a divided world.
Raindust is the second solo project from Greene, its predecessor being music under his proper name. This gifted musician is able to pick up any instrument and instinctively play. The Arizona native has previously been a member of four local bands, ranging from pop rock to death metal. It was seeing Iron Maiden perform live that encouraged him to want to be amidst the energy and interact with others.
Quoting Hans Christian Anderson, Greene says “When words fail, music speaks” resonates with him. Raindust developed when he cathartically immersed himself in music while dealing with loss and hardship. Employing cinematic melodies and futuristic beats in musical compositions that combine darkness and light, Raindust reveals that through music, relief can be found in a seemingly desolate environment.
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Australia’s Victoria K is sharing their new official audio track “Mist Filled Sky” in support of the debut album Essentia – released on April 24, 2020 via Rockshots Records. Listen here.
In addition, Rockshots Records and Victoria K will replay the release live set stream on Twitch directly to your home on Friday 17th July, at 11p.m. CEST! The show will be streamed on the official Rockshots Records’ Twitch channel, check it out and subscribe here.
This is the only way to see new songs from Victoria K’s debut album Essentia live for the foreseeable future, so don’t miss out!
Essentia was produced by Lee Bradshaw and features special guest Michalina Malisz (Eluveitie).
Victoria K Is:
Victoria K – Vocals
Sheri Vengeance – Extreme Vocals (Black Like Vengeance, ex. Ne Obliviscaris)
Julia Mammone – Guitar (Enlight)
Martin Kawaler – Bass (Black Like Vengeance, ex Ten Thousand)
Theatrical metal band Raven Black has revealed a poignant new video for the song “Hear Me Cry,” from their upcoming third album, The Key. “Hear Me Cry” is making its debut today along with a full feature in UK heavy music bible Kerranghere:
“‘Hear Me Cry’ is about the chaotic and deeply disturbing thoughts when I once attempted suicide,” Raven explains. “The inner battle of wanting to give up and yet wanting to fight and change your own life. The personal psychosis and finally calling out for help, which ultimately saved my life. This song hopefully inspires those who struggle with suicidal thoughts to speak up and seek help. Someone is always ready to help. Suicide is not the answer. You can change your life and you can survive.”
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A lyric video for “Darkest Pit,” also from The Key, was recently released. Check it out here:
The Key, produced by Ulrich Wild (Static-X, White Zombie, Deftones), is scheduled for release this year via WurmGroup. Prior to its cancellation due to COVID-19, Raven Black was slated to perform on the nearly two-month-long The In-Between Tour with In This Moment, Black Veil Brides and DED this spring.
Together since 2012, Raven Black has created a soundtrack to their own Dark Metal Carnival, releasing the 2016 EP Seven Sins and the 2018 album 13. The band has toured extensively, perfecting a creepy live show that unifies the visual and aural aspects of Raven Black.
Legendary NYC musician (Birdland, The Rattlers, etc) and acclaimed author (I Slept with Joey Ramone) Mickey Leigh is debuting “Two Kinds of Law” a powerful and timely new single with his band Mutated Music.
The track (inspired by a line in Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood and a quote from a Martin Luther King Jr. speech) and its newly-released music video are now streaming everywhere.
Written & Produced by Mickey Leigh Performed by Mickey Leigh’s Mutated Music: Vox/Guitar – Mickey Leigh • Drums – Pat Carpenter • Bass/Vox – Westley Crawford
Of the new single, Mickey tells Spin, “Music is magical in so many ways. Rock n roll is one form of it that, magically, can be purely fun, but, at the same time can be a way to spread a message. And, aside from having a lot of fun with it, me and my fellow Mutated musicians think both are equally important – as long as it’s an important message.
“The concept that there are “two kinds of law – one for the rich, and one for the poor,” is not exactly one that came about recently. I first heard those words many decades ago, in a book and film called “In Cold Blood”, and, though said in different words, in a speech by Martin Luther King Jr. I just, recently, felt compelled to write a song about it. Very compelled.
“The importance of “equality” and “justice for all” has come to the forefront of our lives like never before. and, it’s a message that needs to be repeated …repeatedly. There aren’t many ways to repeat a message repeatedly without boring people to tears, aside from immersing it in a catchy chorus and irresistible rhythm.”
With the release of a slew of singles with his band Mutated Music, Mickey Leigh is taking steps. A longtime figure in the influential downtown New York City music scene, Mickey is no longer content with being in the shadows. He’s stepping into the spotlight with punk-pop-country-jazz and blues-infused tracks that tell stories of colorful rock and roll lives. “These are ‘The Stories That Never Got Told’, so they never got old,” states one of the key tracks. Of the heroine in “Little Cristine,” Mickey says “No. She ain’t no ten. She’s a number one.” His modernized, “mutated” reworking of the classic civil rights/social-awakening song “If I Had A Hammer” boldly blares the powerful message calling for “justice, freedom and love between our brothers and our sisters” which is perfect for these troubled, frenetic and divisive times.
As he explained in his 2009 autobiographical family memoir I Slept With Joey Ramone, Mickey is inspired by his love of the music of the ’60s. His life-long fever for rock & roll has never dampened, remains pure, and continues to fuel his drive to create great music. Mickey Leigh’s Mutated Music is brimming with tracks that have been called: “…instantly memorable, lyrically compelling, deceptively simple, hard-ass, life-loving songs full of emotional depth that deliver a punch far more intense than anyone could or would have expected…written with passion, played with precision, produced with perfection.” Mickey has been credited with “…the power-pop instincts of a Tom Petty and the street smarts of a Jim Carroll…not to mention a bit of The Who, Dylan, Springsteen and…Elvis.”
Starting his first group at age 10 in 1965, hitting the stage of CBGB in 1977 with Birdland, the band he formed with literary legend/music journalist Lester Bangs, Mickey is accustomed to having a front-row seat at musical revolutions. Replacing Lester on vocals, Birdland morphed into the prototype pop/punk band The Rattlers. His next band, STOP, saw 5 songs from their 1996 album ‘Never’ in rotation on BBC Radio. Mickey has continually been the recipient of favorable media coverage, credited with being “…one of those people who influenced successful bands but remained relatively unheralded himself.”
Ska punk luminaries Less Than Jake will be launching their third creative installment ofLost At Home Sessions. Volume Three“The Sit Around” goes on sale today at 12pm EST over at Bandcamp.
“The Sit Around” Cover Art
“I was ‘sitting around’ watching the news one day,” describes saxophonist and vocalist JR Wasilewski. “I thought about how me and my group of friends used to joke when we were kids working summer jobs, how awesome it would be to just be able to sit around all day and do nothing besides play video games and go to the beach without a care in the world. But when presented with that situation, everybody quickly realized how incredibly impossible it seemed to actually just sit around.”
The lyrics for “The Sit Around” were written by Wasilewski and it’s also the very first song that he sings the lead. “We’d been punting around the idea of me singing leads on a song for years,” Wasilewski explains. “To be frank, I always said no thanks. I felt (and still feel) Less Than Jake is most identifiable by those two voices (Chris and Roger). Adding a third voice beyond just a background vocal, to me, seems to mud up the waters. I like to sing, I just never saw myself as a lead vocalist.
“We talked about it for this song and I said I’d entertain the idea of a lead vocal, mostly because this Lost At Home project is allowing us to test the waters creatively. It’s not a proper album, just songs composed during a strange time in history. I figured if there was ever a time for me to sing, why not now?”
Those who purchase the song at the current price will automatically be entered to win a prize pack (pictured above) that includes an old and rare glow-in-the-dark bobblehead and some out of print vinyl. Contest entries close on July 24th.
Proceeds Benefit Bread of the Mighty
A portion of the proceeds will benefit Bread of the Mighty Food Bank, a North Florida-based food bank that has been serving the community for over 32 years. They collect, sort, store and distribute donated food and basic essentials to over 190 non-profit agency partners such as food pantries, churches, homeless shelters and other organizations who then distribute food in their communities to directly feed the hungry. For every dollar donated, they can provide up to ten meals.
Continuing to play over 150 dates a year while also writing and recording new material has kept the band fresh in a time when “ska” has become something of a four letter word. The list of acts they have supported is staggering (Bon Jovi, Linkin Park, Snoop Dogg), while the list of bands that have supported them makes even the most hardened music industry veteran do a double take (Fall Out Boy, Paramore, Yellowcard). All the while the band has held firm to its punk rock roots and have managed to live through many musical trends simply by just being Less Than Jake.
With well over 300 releases on various labels under their belt, most would think their legacy is already in tact, but the status quo has never interested Less Than Jake. They continue to write and perform new material and have no thoughts of letting up. With the energy and exuberance of a band half its age and the determination of savvy veterans, there is seemingly no end point to this enduring and entertaining band.
LOS ANGELES – Failure have released a newly recorded cover of the Depeche Mode classic, “Enjoy The Silence”. Listen here:
“We originally recorded a cover of ‘Enjoy The Silence’ for the 1998 Depeche Mode tribute, For The Masses,” says Ken Andrews. “That album has all but disappeared, no longer in print and not available via streaming platforms but we as a band are proud of our take on that song and had wanted to re-record it for some time. With the blessing of both Martin Gore and Depeche Mode, we re-addressed our version and came up with this new version for 2020.”
The digital single arrives at a time when Failure had been slated to perform a series of live residencies in Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York City. Those dates have since been cancelled due to COVID-19.
FAILURE 1992-1996 Preorder Available
FAILURE 1992–1996 Cover Art
The band is taking pre-orders here for FAILURE 1992-1996, a four-piece vinyl box set featuring the three ‘90s-era albums. With the original masters finally being unearthed, Comfort, Magnified, and Fantastic Planet have been meticulously restored, remixed, and remastered by Ken Andrews to a new level of sonic fidelity that eclipses all previous iterations of the band’s early work.
“Almost everything people have heard from these albums has been sourced from 16bit digital files made in the ‘90s, which was state of the art at the time,” explains Andrews. “But when we found out we were getting our hands on the original analog master tapes, and with all the confusion and lack of quality control on several of the previous iterations, we set out to create the definitive versions of Comfort, Magnified and Fantastic Planet. Everything has been sourced directly from first generation multitrack and stereo master tapes. This is us finally getting to present our early work the way we’ve always wanted to.”
In addition to all the originally released songs from the three albums, the band has discovered several unreleased songs which have also been restored and will be included in the box set.
“These new versions have all the magic from the originals, but now, instead of looking through a hazy pane of glass, the window has been completely opened and you can hear all the elements in their full glory,” explains drummer Kellii Scott.
“Listening to the b-sides and outtakes from that first year of being a band takes me right back to playing the tiny stage at Jabberjaw in Los Angeles,” adds bassist/guitarist Greg Edwards. “It’s always surprising to me how much of the expansiveness and atmosphere of the later records exist in embryonic form on those earliest stripped-down recordings.”
“Stuck On You” was recently remastered both visually and sonically, and can be viewed here: