Category Archives: Publicists

Albums, Kataklizmic Design, Reviews

REVIEW: The Messenger Birds Doom-pocalypse Debut — Everything Has to Fall Apart Eventually

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Album To Be Played In Its Entirety Live From Rustbelt Studios at 8pm EST This Friday, October 9 on Band’s Youtube Channel

When approaching any new band, it’s best to avoid assumptions to keep from pigeonholing them as this or that instead of just themselves, Still though, it would be understandable that The Messenger Birds, a Detroit two-piece rock band made up of members Parker Bengry and Chris Williams, whose debut album is being pressed at Jack White’s Third Man Press, might cause people to assume they are a band in the same vein as another great Detroit band: The White Stripes. If that was anyone’s assumption going in, Bengry and Williams quickly dispel it with extreme prejudice just moments into their debut full-length Everything Has to Fall Apart Eventually. 

What’s instantly shocking about the album is that it was, according to the band, written in 2018 and recorded mostly in 2019, because the music feels immediate, like the band is bunkered down somewhere, inundated by the relentlessly bleak news of the day, and cranking out these songs to express their frustration and rage. Make no mistake: Everything Has to Fall Apart Eventually is not just a great rock record – it’s an emotional journey. 

The Messenger Birds | Photography: Koda Hult

The opening track, “Play Dead (Just For Tonight)” opens with a somberness of a funeral dirge, with a slow-building guitar, picking up more and more momentum with each note. Lyrically, some connections are made because of what we, the listener, are feeling inside at the moment. But one can’t help but feel the line “Keep your mask up on the nearest shelf,” even if its meaning is about the need to escape into another persona to get away from everything that feels horrible. The further references to “another day for the Holocaust” – a shooting at a synagogue, pipe bombs, and false-flag conspiracies – lay open the song’s ominous tone of fear and paranoia, like it’s anticipating an oncoming apocalypse, complimented by the creeping feeling of dread of the music that eventually explodes into chaos of drums and guitar with the song title repeated as a refrain “Just play dead for tonight,” like needed advice to survive these times. 

“Play Dead (For Tonight)” is just an opening salvo. “The Phantom Limb,” which has hit 5 million plays since it debuted on Spotify in 2018, is where the record really kicks into high gear. It’s the kind of fist-pumping, all-out rocker that’s been missing from our recent music landscape. It’s a song that forces you to remind yourself that it’s being played by two guys on two instruments, and is the best that dynamic has produced since The White Stripes. One of the many things that stand out about Everything Has to Fall Apart Eventually is how much Bengry and Williams are able to pull off with each song, reaching sonic landscapes that seem impossible for a two-piece band. 

If the release’s ominous, paranoid tone is merely hinted at in the first two tracks, the one-two punch of “What You Want to Hear” and “Self Destruct” releases it like a primal scream. The Messenger Birds clearly didn’t set out to write songs about how we are inundated every day with bleak news brought to us by society’s most heinous monsters – these songs are merely a byproduct of what it’s like living in these times. 

Even a cursory glance of a news feed or comment thread sees people desperately clinging to a vision of our society that is far from reality, and “What You Want to Hear” is the ballad of confirmation bias: a song directed at everyone who wants to live in an insular bubble and shut out any challenges to their flawed beliefs. “Self Destruct” is where we’re headed as our country seems to be handed off more and more to hate groups that have been emboldened in the past few years. “My tv’s like a time machine/Takes me back… 1943/Tiki torch, marching up the street/Flying flags of a dead dream” is a lyric that is clearly inspired by the events in Charlottesville just three years ago, but sadly are still too relevant in light of The Proud Boys and other supremacist groups trying to bully and intimidate those who push back against their messages of hate.  

The first single and true emotional centerpiece is the title track “Everything Has to Fall Apart Eventually.” As hopelessness seems pervasive and the walls start closing in, we’re too often left with our own thoughts screaming inside our heads. While we all hope for the best, we fear the worst, and the narrator of the song knows this better than anyone. It’s the anthem for fighting back when fighting back feels pointless, and for when loss and tragedy feel too inevitable to resist anymore. As the song closes with the repeated “Hope we make it through,” we can all close our eyes, nod for a moment, and mouth “I hope so, too.” 

If the title track is the emotional apex, then the acoustic “When You’ve Had Enough,” gives us a moment to scale it all back for a breather and some introspection before gearing up again. It’s a song that seems perfectly placed at the end of the record that has been an intense rollercoaster of emotion, like the moment when the ride hits a long stretch of gentle hills and you feel for a moment a cool breeze on your face and gain a sense of peace. It’s providing comfort through the reminder that we are not alone in this, even if, like the song intones, “Most days I’m only getting by,” which we all have felt in these past 10 months. 

The world we are living in is a constant rollercoaster that never seems to end, and the album closes with “Start Again” to remind us of that. The lyrics reference the Greek myth of Sisyphus (“I feel like Sisyphus just got it started again…”) who angered the gods by putting Death in chains so no one else had to die. As punishment, he is forced to push a heavy boulder up a hill only for it to roll back to the bottom again, forcing him to start again. I’ve always loved the myth of Sisyphus because it is a tale that defines determination, even in the face of that which is unavoidable. French philosopher Albert Camus wrote an essay about Sisyphus’s pursuit of getting the boulder to the top without rolling back down again, even though he knew it would. Camus tells the reader that it is important to picture Sisyphus as happy. If we can picture Sisyphus as happy, then we too can be happy and believe in our collective potential to survive all of this horribleness. Even as the song descends once more into a chaos of screeching guitars and drums, The Messenger Birds seem to want us to do the same. 

Everything Has to Fall Apart Eventually is one of the most self-assured debut records I’ve heard in recent memory and one that feels the rafters begin to shake as the foundation of our reality cracks underneath and knows it’s all caving in on us. Even if the lyrics warn us that we are at the forefront of an apocalypse, it implores us to stand together against every wretched monster carrying tiki torches and trying to shout us down with hate. We will fight back and reclaim our world and our sanity and do it together, pushing back those who are only concerned with power. 

Let’s hope for that return soon, because with our world being on pause for the moment, live shows won’t be happening for a while. This is a shame because this album is an album that demands – cries out – to be heard live. In the meantime, blast it from your speakers and let it pulsate through your body and reverberate through your soul. The Messenger Birds are a band for this moment and could define a third phase of Detroit born-and-bred rock ‘n’ roll. The Messenger Birds Everything Has to Fall Apart Eventually was released October 7th through Earshot Media. You can order the record, buy some merch, watch videos, and get the latest news on the band on their website.

(Burning Hot Events earns from qualifying purchases.)

The Messenger Birds will continue to celebrate the new release with fans as direct support for Steel Panther’s upcoming socially-distanced ‘Fast Cars and Loud Guitars- Live at The Drive-In’ show taking place on October 16 at Pontiac, MI’s Crofoot Festival Grounds. Tickets for the event are now available here.

Website | Facebook | Instagram
| Twitter
| YouTube | Spotify | Bandcamp

Adrenaline PR, Albums & EPs, Music Videos, News, Tracks

Classically Infused Metal Collective Lost Symphony Reveals “A Murder of Crows”

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Lost Symphony, the classical-metal ensemble headed up by multi-instrumentalist and producer Benny Goodman with a host of accomplish guest musicians, has released the third single from their upcoming Chapter II album – a track entitled “A Murder of Crows,” was inspired by the memory of late guitarist Oli Herbert, who was an early contributor to Lost Symphony.

During the funeral for the All That Remains guitarist nearly two years ago, a group of crows were said to have collective above the gathering. “It was often thought that a large group of crows decided the outcome of other birds,” Goodman says. “A large gathering is called a murder of crows and was often an omen of bad things to come.”

Watch the video for “A Murder of Crows” here:

“A Murder of Crows” features guest appearances by guitarist Jon Donais (Anthrax, Shadows Fall) and Jimi Bell (Autograph, House of Lords).

“Working with Lost Symphony was such a blast for me,” says Donais, “It’s an honor to play on a project with some of the best heavy metal and rock guitarists out there. This is a must for anyone who loves shred guitar!”

Just months after Lost Symphony raised the bar on classical-infused metal with their debut, Chapter I, the ensemble has returned with a new single, “Conflagration,” from the upcoming Chapter II (set for release on October 16).

Chapter II pre-orders are available here.

Primarily composed before, yet eerily perfect for the age of the Pandemic, the eight-track opus of Chapter II strains beauty through aural apocalypse. The collective founded by multi-instrumentalist and producer Benny Goodman and comprising his brother Brian (compositions, arrangement), Cory Paza (bass, guitar), Kelly Kereliuk (guitar), Paul Lourenco (drums), and Siobhán Cronin (violin, viola, electric violin) has once again welcomed a revolving cast of virtuosos to join them for the next phase. This installment includes Marty Friedman, David Ellefson, Jeff Loomis and many more.

The album’s first two singles, “Conflagration” and “No Exit,” feature performances by Oli Herbert, Matt LePierre and Conrad Simon, and David Ellefson, Jeff Loomis and Marty Friedman, respectively.

Listen to “Conflagration“

Watch “No Exit“

Lost Symphony was set in motion when Benny Goodman invited guitarists Kereliuk and Simon to add another dimension to the classical demo he had composed. An early recording of “Leave Well Enough Alone,” which appears on Chapter II, made its way to All That Remains co-founder and guitar hero Oli Herbert, who quickly jumped aboard as a chief collaborator. Upon arrival, Chapter I immediately received widespread critical acclaim. Metal Insider described it as “the great collision between metal and classical music,” and BraveWords claimed it has “taken the scene by storm.”

Lost Symphony Online:

Website | Facebook | Instagram
| YouTube | Twitter


Featured photo (top) by Eric Snyder



News, Speakeasy PR, Statements

System Of A Down Statement on Artsakh

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System Of A Down have issued a collective band statement and call to action on all their social platforms regarding a current crisis occurring in their cultural homeland of Armenia and Artsakh. In the early morning hours of Sunday, September 27, forces in Azerbaijan began a large scale pre-meditated offensive attack on Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabagh), an independent and autonomous country that borders Armenia, populated with a vast majority of ethnic Armenians. International peace keeping powers are doing very little to dissuade Azerbaijan’s advances and the people of Artaskh are doing everything they can to defend their lives and homeland, where they have lived for thousands of years. For them, this a matter of survival, and nothing more as Azeri forces are trying to do little less than eradicate the 150,000 people that these lands are home to.

Artsakh gained independence in the early 1990’s from Azerbaijan after years of war and conflict beginning soon after the 1988 collapse of the Soviet Union, of which both countries were a part of. After gaining its own independence from the Soviet Union, Armenia has been a guarantor of Artsakh’s security. A cease-fire was agreed to between the countries in 1994, but over the past 2 decades, Azerbaijan has frequently broken this pact via mostly minor to moderate advancements and skirmishes along the line of contact.

This time, Azerbaijan with the aid of Turkey’s Recep Erdogan regime and military forces, launched a large scale offensive attack along the full eastern border of Artsakh and has launched attacks within the borders of Armenia as well. International calls for a stop to Azeri advances have gone ignored, and the leader of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev is attacking with impunity.

All four members of System Of A Down are of Armenian heritage, and since the band’s inception have brought awareness to many human rights issues, none more prevalent than that of the Armenian Genocide at the hands of the Turkish leadership of the Ottoman Empire during WWI, when more than 1.5 million Armenians perished in the first genocide of the 20th century. To the band members and other Armenians all around the world, the war being waged on the people of Artsakh now is a continuation of the Armenian Genocide as the Turkic Azeris along with the support of Recep Erdogan’s Turkey are trying to eradicate the Armenians of Artsakh and claim these lands for themselves.

Their statement posted on their socials is below. It includes various calls to action and online petition links to raise awareness and a call on world leaders to insist Azerbaijan and Turkey stop the attacks immediately.

System Of A Down Statement:

The world turned a blind eye during:

  • the Armenian Genocide in 1915
  • the mass killings and pogroms of the 1980s and ‘90s
  • Azerbaijan’s invasion of Armenia in 2016

Now the world is turning a blind eye to 150,000 landlocked civilians under attack by Azerbaijan and Turkey.

SOAD has always stood for justice and peace. This notion comes from the suffering and injustice done to our people over centuries. Erdogan’s denialist Turkey is continuing the work of its genocidal ancestors, and allied with petro-corrupt Azerbaijan, are firing American made F-16 missiles into Artsakh and parts of Armenia killing soldiers as well as civilians. The world seems too busy with Covid and politics to care, but we HAVE to do something as this is an existential threat for our people and the first Christian Nation.

Since it seems difficult for the media, international organizations, and world powers to call out Azerbaijan on its war mongering, ethnic cleansing, and killing of innocent civilians, let’s help them. We are calling on everyone to join our efforts. Here is how…

Donate:

Armenia Fund

Armenian Wounded Heroes Fund

1000plusam

Armenian American Medical Society

Aid Beyond Borders

Sign Petitions:

Armenian Rights Watch –
Stop Against Azerbaijan and Turkey’s War Crimes

ANCA – Cut Off Military Aid to Baku

ANCA – Strengthen US-Armenia Ties

WhiteHouse.gov – Condemn Azeri and Turkish Aggression

Emails, Interviews, Kataklizmic Design

INTERVIEW: Dave Hause Reflects on Continuing As a Musician and Father Throughout the Pandemic

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Dave Hause’s music is a punk-infused take on the classic singer-songwriter that is equal parts righteous anger and soulful introspection. Since going solo from The Loved Ones, he’s released four stellar records: 2011’s Resolutions, 2013’s Devour, 2017’s Bury Me in Philly, and last year’s Kick. Between his often clever lyrics and shifts from ballads to all-out rockers, he is, arguably, the Elvis Costello of this generation.

A constant presence on the road in a different time in our world, he was a magnetic live performer, who managed to be just as entertaining when bantering with the crowd as he was playing music. In fact, when we first tried this interview, he was in the middle of a tour. When the world shut down, the questions originally asked no longer made sense, so I rewrote my questions to reflect this new world reality, and he was generous enough with his time to answer them for me.

Interview with Dave Hause

Q & A with music journalist Ryan Novak

RYAN: Dave, first off, thank you for taking the time to do this. As I think I’ve told you, I’m not a full-time music journalist and am just a school teacher who does this in my spare time for fun. When the woman who created and runs our website asked me if I ever wanted to do an interview, you were the first name I mentioned just because I’ve talked to you a few times after shows over the years, and you’ve always been such a friendly guy every time that I knew you’d be a great interview.

Since your tour was cut short by COVID, you’ve transitioned to doing online shows, which have been a lot of fun and have had the same atmosphere as your solo shows. Was it difficult for you to start doing the online shows and how has preparing for them been different than preparing for an in-person live show?

DAVE: It is difficult. My neighbor works for a big software company and was struggling with having to work entirely via Zoom, and we shared some of the same challenges. Social cues are different (or non existent), there is a lag time, and you’re simultaneously trying to focus on performing AND considering the audio, software glitches and wifi speed. Just like anything though, you do your best and hope for the best, and keep your true north at delivering the song the best way you can in the moment.

RYAN: One of the things I’ve always loved about watching you play live is the spontaneity of your live shows and that they’ve always felt fun and loose. A big part of that stems from how you interact with your audience.

Have you found that doing the live shows allows you to maintain the same atmosphere of your in-person shows, maybe through reacting to fan feedback as you’re playing?

DAVE: No, I have to build that into the live streams, which is why I add covers and old songs, it’s to keep the tightrope taut, so I can attempt the magic trick of walking over it. Interacting with fans online is tough because it is harder for the rest of the “crowd” to relate the way they would if they were all in the same room.

RYAN: Throughout this, you’ve played online shows with some of your friends, such as Brian Fallon, and it’s reminded me a lot of Chuck Ragan’s Revival Tours, a couple of which you’ve been a part of.

How has it been working with other artists remotely, and do you see this as something you’ll continue to do, maybe even on a growing lineup of artists with many of you playing together or trading off songs?

DAVE: One of the positive things about this pandemic and having to stay home is that I’m co-writing more with friends; we’ll see what comes of that. I think you’re referring to the short period where I did a bunch of things online to stay busy when the initial quarantine happened, but I’ve intentionally haven’t done much online since May. I feel like there’s so much going on and I need more quiet. I want to spend more time with my kids, and the online shows prompt a ton of anxiety in me, so there’s that part of it. I also have been recording songs like crazy. More news on that soon.

RYAN:

Has this time at home and off the road allowed you to start working on new material, and will a new album come out of this?

DAVE: It has allowed me to start writing, yes, and it will lead to the 5th solo record. I think I even already have the title, which is a first; I usually don’t find a title for an album til towards the end.

RYAN:

If so, since the pandemic prevents the opportunity to get everyone together to record in a studio, how will you handle the recording of new material? Will everyone work together remotely, or will it perhaps be a more intimate recorded-at-home solo record, a la Springsteen’s Nebraska?

DAVE: I’m not that far along yet; we are still working on the songs themselves. We’ll figure out how to record them later. Meantime, the stuff I am recording now is definitely born of the “I-can’t-tour-on-this-anyway” mentality, so it’s really fun to just create without any of that in mind. I’m so excited about what we are putting out in October.

RYAN: You’re not a guy who shies away from his feelings on a lot of issues. When you last played Phoenix, opening for Bad Religion, you asked the audience to hold up a finger towards Washington, before playing “Dirty Fucker” off of Buy Me in Philly, which drew a mostly positive crowd reaction, save for one person who seemed annoyed — which I thought you handled well.

Do you feel in a way that it’s your duty, especially with your platform, to speak out and let your music hopefully at least get people to think more about what’s going in the world, especially right now?

DAVE: I do feel compelled to; not sure if it’s a duty or not. I think we are in one of the bleakest times in our country’s short history, and I want to be crystal clear about how I feel about it. Should we see the administration change in November/January, I’ll be as outspoken as I feel compelled to be when they’re running the ship too. I never trust the people in charge.

Dave Hause Phoenix 10-9-19
Dave Hause opening for Bad Religion at Marquee Theatre in Tempe, AZ
Photography: Rodrigo Izquierdo © All Rights Reserved

RYAN:

I purchased “Your Ghost” from Bandcamp, and it’s such a heartbreakingly gorgeous song. Using the death of George Floyd and his final words as a refrain throughout the song really hit me as I listened to it. Was this a difficult song for you to write, or was it one that almost poured out of you?

DAVE: It was difficult. Tim and I labored over it more than many other songs, because I think it is a loaded thing for a privileged white rock and roll singer to sing “I Can’t Breathe”. I’m glad we put the extra time in, and I’m thankful to various friends and colleagues who helped to make sure we got the tone right.

RYAN:

One of the things that really stands out about “Your Ghost” is the backing vocals by Kam Franklin of the great band The Suffers, which felt almost like a ghost in pain haunting the song. How did she come to be involved in the song, and what was the collaboration with her like?

DAVE: That was suggested to me by my agent, Alex Fang, after he heard the song. I was familiar with both and totally blown away that they agreed to do it, and then did such an incredible job with it.

RYAN: As I was listening to it, I remembered your song “Seasons Greetings from Ferguson,” which you released during the Ferguson protests in the wake of Michael Brown’s murder. In fact, “Your Ghost” and “Seasons Greetings” feel like they could be the A and B side of a 7”. It’s sad that the two songs were recorded nearly six years apart and yet nothing has changed.

Were you thinking of the writing and recording of “Seasons Greetings” as you were working on “Your Ghost,” and how would you say the two songs differ, perhaps in tone or approach to the topic?

DAVE: Yes, they’re meant to sound related. The delivery, the chord choices, and the tone are similar. My intention after “Seasons Greetings” was to continue a sort of a singles series of socially related songs, maybe 1-2 a year, but I didn’t finish a bunch of them and got sidetracked in 2015 and 2016. When Kick came around, we wanted to put a bunch of those kinds of songs on that record, so we went with the traditional full album release. The experience with “Your Ghost” sort of reignited that desire to get some topical singles out quickly as we move forward. We’ll see.

RYAN: You’ve had several big life changes in the past couple of years, including moving and marriage, but anyone that follows you on social media has seen that not only are you a father to twin boys, but that you’ve embraced fatherhood with a lot of joy. (I especially enjoyed the video of you vacuuming the house with both boys strapped to you).

How has fatherhood changed how you approach life in general and your music specifically, especially now that the pandemic means you aren’t leaving for tours and are just getting to be home with your family?

DAVE: This could be the topic for a whole book. Ultimately, I’m trying to make life all about them instead of all about me. That’s a challenge, but an incredibly rewarding one. It’s been the greatest thing that’s happened to me in my life.

RYAN: Again, I appreciate it and hope all is well with you and your family. I look forward to this all being over to whatever degree it can be over and getting to see you back out on the road again.

DAVE: Thanks man!

You can like Dave Hause on Facebook or follow him on Twitter, or on Instagram. For more information on his music or to buy merchandise, go to DaveHause.com or RiseRecords.com.

Dave Hause Online:

Featured photo (top) by Rodrigo Izquierdo

News, Tracks, Unleashed Music

Jane N’ The Jungle Announce Upcoming New Single “Lucky 7”

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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.

Watch their previous single, “Animal” Here

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).

Stream their album Concrete Jungle Here

Jane N’ The Jungle Online:

Website | Facebook | Twitter
Instagram | YouTube


Live Nation, News, Performances, Tours

Next Round of ‘Live From the Drive-in’ Concert Series Announced, with Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Blackberry Smoke, Indigo Girls, Yacht Rock Revue

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Today, Live Nation announced the return of the Live From The Drive-in concert series, the fan favorite live music tailgating experience. Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit, Blackberry Smoke, Indigo Girls, and Yacht Rock Revue will headline the shows live on stage each night across two weekends, October 16-17 & October 23-24, in Alpharetta, GA at Lot A at Ameris Bank Amphitheatre.

Tickets will go on sale to the general public beginning this Friday, September 11th at 10am local time here. Tickets will be available to purchase as car passes. Fans will only need to purchase one ticket per car, with a maximum of four (4) people permitted in each car.

Live Nation is reimagining the live music experience during a time of social distancing by allowing fans to enjoy concerts in a one-of-a-kind drive-in setting from their own private individual tailgating zones next to their cars. This exclusive outdoor concert series gives attendees the chance to enjoy live music performances from some of their favorite artists while partying in the lot, socially distanced. Guests are allowed to bring chairs, food and drinks to party in their zone and truly make the experience theirs and unique to them. More details including event guidelines can be found via Live Nation here.

Citi is the official presale credit card of Live From The Drive-In. As such, Citi cardmembers will have access to purchase presale tickets beginning Tuesday, September 8th at 12pm local time until Thursday, September 10th at 10pm local time through Citi Entertainment®. For complete presale details go here.

“We are thrilled to have live music returning safely to the Atlanta area for a great weekend of Live From The Drive-In. We’ve seen such a great demand from fans to get back to concerts in a safe manner and from artists to get back on the stage to perform again,” said Peter Conlon, President of Live Nation Atlanta. “It’s also really great to be bringing live event jobs back to some local crew and workers who have been out of work since March. We can’t wait to see everyone come out!”

Each event will comply with all health and safety standards per local jurisdictions and state regulations in order to protect fans, artists, crews and staff. This includes thorough sanitation throughout the event and hand-sanitizing stations will be available, along with a number of other preventive measures.

For more information on the health and safety precautions we are taking, event guidelines and FAQs, visit here.

Live From The Drive-in Upcoming Dates:

Alpharetta, GA @ Ameris Bank Amphitheatre

  • Friday, October 16 – Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit
  • Saturday, October 17 – Blackberry Smoke
  • Friday, October 23 – Indigo Girls
  • Saturday, October 24 – Yacht Rock Revue
News, Nightfall PR, Tracks

Ingridi Verardo Joined By Daniela Serafim On “Read Between The Lines” Single

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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.

Listen to “Read Between The Lines” here.

https://youtu.be/iIBKmqTR6kg

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.”

Ingridi Verardo

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.”

Ingridi Verardo Online:

Facebook | Instagram | SoundCloud
YouTube | Twitter

Featured photo (top) by Gean Ghellere


Albums & EPs, Music Videos, News, Night Owl PR, Tracks

Model Prisoner’s Debut EP Piss Universe Out Now

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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.

Model Prisoner Piss Universe EP Art

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.

Model Prisoner Is:

  • Jay “Lanky” Mallory (lead vocals, drums)
  • Keats Rickard (guitar, bass, samples, backing vocals)

Model Prisoner Online:

Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

Featured photo (top) by Lydia Peterson


Earshot Media, Music Videos, News, Tracks

Art-Pop Chameleon Valerie Lighthart Explores “Intrinsic Femme Nature” In New Single/Music Video “Love & Money”

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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:

Stream the track on digital platforms 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.

Valerie Lighthart Online:

Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
Spotify | Apple Music | Deezer

Featured photo (top) by Ryan Yatso

Albums & EPs, Music Videos, News, Speakeasy PR

The OBGMs Set Oct. 30 Release for The Ends; Debut “Fight Song” Video

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TORONTO – The OBGMs, the Canadian trio who “spit fire” (Punk News) and “boast classic punk vibes with contemporary garage rock” (Alternative Press), have set an Oct. 30 release date for The Ends (Black Box Music).

“This album is about death, wanting to die, and fighting for something to live for — it’s the end of all things. I feel this is the one of the most important cross-genre albums this century,” says the always quotable singer/guitar player Densil McFarlane. “We are Nirvana, we are The Beatles, and The Stones. We are really changing the dimensions of which the game is played like the Steph Curry of this rock shit. We all have feelings of doubt, uncertainty, and I used to live there. I’m trying not to die there. If I’m going out, I’m going out shooting.”

News of the album’s release arrives as the band debut a new single from the 10-song collection, sharing a video for the cathartically combative single “Fight Song”. Watch here.

McFarlane says of the motivation behind the track: “You ever sitting in your 9-5 and someone talking reckless and you really want to punch them in their head top? You ever get that passive aggressive email from that disrespectful person and you want to walk to their cubicle and tell them about their mom? I wrote this song so I wouldn’t have to hold my tongue. We want the smoke. All of it. You don’t like us, fight me, or get the hell out of the way. You can’t stop us, this is how we die.”

The OBGMs (that’s The oOoh Baby Gimme Mores) — rounded out by drummer Colanthony Humphrey and bass player Joseph Brosnan — aren’t your typical rock band. “This is a black-fronted punk band, and that’s really important,” McFarlane says. “Rock n’ roll is mostly white suburban kids—that’s what gets promoted. But we are Black and we out here. I was inspired to make rock music when I saw a Black guy on stage, and if someone sees that in us, I hope it will inspire a new generation to go after this.”

The Ends was produced by GRAMMY and Juno award winning Dave Schiffman (Rage Against The Machine/The Bronx/Pup) and recorded at Dream House Studios (Toronto). Album pre-orders, which include a 180g red/yellow splatter vinyl variant, are available now here.

“You can love us or hate us,” says McFarlane. “I’m aiming for that. We’d prefer the love — we’re full of love — but I’d rather you hate me than feel indifference.”  

The Ends Track List:

  1. Outsah
  2. Cash
  3. All My Friends
  4. Fight Song
  5. Not Again
  6. Triggered
  7. WTFRU
  8. Karen O’s
  9. To Death
  10. Move On

“Densil McFarlane delivers his self-deprecating lyrics with the sneer and bulldozing attitude of Keith Morris-era Black Flag, but his riffing and hooks could give even the Billie Joe Armstrongs of the world a run for their money. Keep these guys on your radar for sure.” – Guitar World

“The OBGMs barrel through hook-laden, guitar forward, tracks reminiscent of the early aughts garage rock revival. Underpinning that sound is feverish punk energy coupled with shout sing vocals. It’s something like The Hives by way of The Germs. Or the Strokes covering The Stooges.” – Vice

The OBGMs Is:

  • Densil McFarlane (vocals/guitar)
  • Joseph Brosnan (bass)
  • Colanthony Humphrey (drums)

The OBGMs Online:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Featured photo (top) by Amanda Fotes