Tag: Shoegaze

Mood Music — Brian Perrone Unearths Dark Emotions on “Bend Until It Breaks” EP

Brian Perrone tackles change and closure on “Bend Until It Breaks.” Courtesy photo.

Brian Perrone isn’t afraid to get dark and moody on Bend Until It Breaks.

The singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist delves into complex emotions, ranging from confusion to heartbreak to frustration, on his latest EP.

“In today’s world, these emotions will find you at some point,” said Perrone, who’s based in Livonia, Michigan. “I find it fascinating how people, including myself, deal with them in different ways.”

He also unearths the mental health struggles people face when they’re coping with change and searching for closure.

“Directly or indirectly, experiences from our past help us to cope,” Perrone said. “Finding a resolution in times of trouble is an interesting topic to me that I felt was worth exploring.”

Perrone’s baritone vocals evoke feelings of anticipation and longing in fans as they process their experiences while listening to Bend Until It Breaks. The EP’s five tracks feature contemplative lyrics, haunting instrumentation, and elements of indie rock, alt rock, shoegaze, and post-rock.

To learn more, I spoke with Perrone about the EP ahead of a November 15 show at the Ghost Light in Hamtramck.

Continue reading “Mood Music — Brian Perrone Unearths Dark Emotions on “Bend Until It Breaks” EP” →

Assembling “Disassemble” — Marty Gray’s Shoegaze Album Was Inspired by the Struggles of Family and Friends

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Marty Gray features a guitar-driven rock and shoegaze sound on “Disassemble.” Photo courtesy of Marty Gray.

Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared on the Ann Arbor District Library’s Pulp blog.

Marty Gray empathizes with loved ones battling dementia, depression, and other personal challenges on his latest album, Disassemble.

“The whole album is autobiographical, it’s just about the people around me,” said the Ann Arbor singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer. “It’s rare that there is a song about me, but I’m telling you how I feel about these people throughout the whole record.”

Gray explores that fragility and the observations of a concerned bystander on Disassemble. The album’s poetic lyrics, ethereal vocals, and cinematic instrumentation convey the emotions he encounters while witnessing family and friends decline.

“There are some songs about my friends and the things that they’re going through,” said Gray, who studied opera at the University of Michigan. “There are friends in my life that are losing the battle with depression. I have a couple of songs about my grandparents; I have one about my opa and one about my [late] oma … and my oma’s dementia and seeing what happened with her brain, her mind, and her life.”

Gray ventures into new sonic territory on his fourth album, too, trading his previous pop sound for guitar-driven rock and shoegaze.

“Part of this story is me falling in love with guitar,” Gray said. “And I’ve never been a fabulously talented guitar player. With shoegaze, you don’t have to be a ripper. If the story calls for it and if the story wants it to be big shoegaze with lots of reverb, lots of distortion, lots of everything … [then] let’s go for it.”

To learn more, I spoke with Gray about Disassemble ahead of a January 8 show at The Blind Pig.

Continue reading “Assembling “Disassemble” — Marty Gray’s Shoegaze Album Was Inspired by the Struggles of Family and Friends” →

Doomgaze into the Abyss — VAZUM Explores the Darker Side of Life on “Western Violence”

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Zach Pliska and Emily Sturm of VAZUM. Photo courtesy of VAZUM

Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared on the Ann Arbor District Library’s Pulp blog.

VAZUM didn’t expect a Western film to inspire the title of its latest album.

The Jackson duo of Zach Pliska (vocals, guitars, drums) and Emily Sturm (vocals, bass) stumbled upon the phrase “Western violence” while watching The Quick and the Dead.

“We had some of the songs fleshed out and usually we go with a ‘V’ in the name for our albums. We were watching [the 1995 film] by Sam Raimi and the rating was ‘R,’ and it said two words: ‘Western violence,’” said Sturm about the duo’s doomgaze album, Western Violence.

“We said, ‘Oh my god, that’s what we’re writing about,’ and it just summed it up. And then we said, ‘That’s what we’re living in … This is how our society expresses itself now.’”

On Western Violence, VAZUM reflects on the disintegration and disillusionment of our country and provides a social commentary on the personal, cultural, and political events that impact it.

The album’s dozen tracks explore topics ranging from the opioid epidemic to gun violence to a dystopian future to toxic relationships. It also takes inspiration from VAZUM’s past tours through the southern U.S., the U.K., and France.

“We were driving through Georgia and we went through some areas with houses falling apart,” said Pliska, who’s a University of Michigan alum.

“To see the extent of the poverty and those places you’re driving through, it’s still shocking. Our tours in the U.K. and France were eye-opening with just seeing how different the countries are.”

As part of that perspective, VAZUM brings Western Violence’s themes to life through vigilant lyrics, ethereal vocals, and spellbinding instrumentation filled with goth-rock, post-punk, and shoegaze elements.

To learn more, I spoke with the duo about the album ahead of an August 10 set at Ogma Brewing Co.’s Art Pop ‘24 festival in Jackson.

Continue reading “Doomgaze into the Abyss — VAZUM Explores the Darker Side of Life on “Western Violence”” →

Wintry Enchantment – Michael Skib Chronicles a Spiritual Quest for Truth on ‘This Bewitching Season’ Album

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Michael Skib features the hypnotic sounds of progressive rock, heavy metal, and shoegaze on “This Bewitching Season.” Photo – Alex Hancock

Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared on the Ann Arbor District Library’s Pulp blog.

For Michael Skib, winter brings a sense of enchantment.

The Ann Arbor singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer feels most creative during the darkest and quietest time of the year.

“It’s the best time for reflection, introspection, and creation because I’m not going to be out and about,” said Skib, who’s also half of the electronic-experimental duo Mirror Monster.

“I do find myself wanting to try and capture the melancholy that I feel because snow and darkness are beautiful. Those are the reasons why I’m drawn toward this type of music.”

That beautiful melancholy is woven throughout Skib’s latest album, This Bewitching Season, which features the hypnotic sounds of progressive rock, heavy metal, and shoegaze.

“I’m a seasonal person in the sense that there are different types of music that I listen to in different types of seasons,” he said. “I’m very sensitive to the way my environment impacts [my writing].”

Alongside those seasonal influences, Skib chronicles a spiritual quest for truth, peace, redemption, and salvation across the album’s nine tracks. His candid lyrics, ethereal vocals, and fearless instrumentation entice listeners to vicariously accompany him on his journey.

“One of my goals with this album was to reconnect with myself … and honor the experiences and where I came from and how I became the person that I am today,” said Skib, who’s inspired by Opeth and Devin Townsend.

“I’ve done a lot of therapy, and one of the therapeutic practices that I found to be very helpful is to go back to your younger years and see situations you were put in.”

I recently spoke to Skib about his background, previous projects, the album’s religious themes, select tracks, his creative process for the album, and upcoming plans for new material.

Continue reading “Wintry Enchantment – Michael Skib Chronicles a Spiritual Quest for Truth on ‘This Bewitching Season’ Album” →

Chronological Order – The Blueflowers Process Pivotal Life Moments on ‘Time Didn’t Matter’ EP

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The Blueflowers examine past relationships, present circumstances and future possibilities on “Time Didn’t Matter.” Photo – Lisa Folcarelli Jansen

The Blueflowers thoughtfully follow their own timeline.

The Detroit indie-rock sextet of Kate Hinote (vocals, lyrics), Erin Williams (backing vocals, keys, lyrics), Tony Hamera (guitar, synths), David Johnson (guitar), Bryan Talaski (bass) and Jim Faulkner (drums) chronicles pivotal moments of growth, heartbreak and change on their latest cathartic EP, Time Didn’t Matter.

“I certainly hope that people can relate to it and have that feeling,” Hinote said. “Any time you’re making music, you hope that people can react to it in some way, and I am considering that when I’m writing, but I also gotta get stuff out.”

As an emotional outlet, Time Didn’t Matter carefully opens the floodgates of past relationships, present circumstances and future possibilities. Six passionate tracks flow alongside introspective lyrics, fiery goth-rock instrumentation and ethereal shoegaze sensibilities.

“That’s just what kind of comes out … I’ve always written that way and still try to write in a way that can be interpreted,” Hinote said. “It’s a little vague, so that it can be left open to interpretation, and there are certainly some specific relationships that are addressed on this EP.”

Continue reading “Chronological Order – The Blueflowers Process Pivotal Life Moments on ‘Time Didn’t Matter’ EP” →

Going Strong – ATMIG Demonstrates Musical Prowess, Honors Majesty Crush on ‘Avec Muscles’ EP

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ATMIG’s Drew Borowsky, David Jackowicz, Tobias Lipski and Dan Clark build a robust sound on “Avec Muscles.” Photo – Scott Millington

ATMIG strongly flexes a new creative muscle.

The Detroit indie-rock quartet of Tobias Lipski (vocals, guitar), Drew Borowsky (bass), Dan Clark (guitar) and David Jackowicz (drums) demonstrates their musical prowess with a fresh lineup and a new tenacious EP, Avec Muscles, which drops Saturday.

“A lot of that comes from the current crew. Dave can do the things on drums, Dan can do the things on guitar, and Drew can do the things on bass that I like to hear in the music that I listen to and that I sure as heck can’t do myself. We get each other’s vibe, so it can actually happen,” Lipski said.

Throughout Avec Muscles, ATMIG, or After The Money Is Gone, seamlessly builds a robust sonic system from several digestible, multi-genre “proteins,” including shoegaze, indie-folk, ambient, post-punk, dream-pop and indie-rock. Each “protein” evolves into a mighty, cohesive listen.

“For Avec Muscles, I think we still have variety, but overall, it’s a heavier album. It’s not just hard rock, it’s not just shoegaze, and it’s not just folk. It’s just us trying to put forth what the band and I do best,” said Lipski, who formed the band in 2006.

A follow-up to 2019’s Wishes album, Avec Muscles also pays tribute to Majesty Crush, a highly regarded Detroit dream-pop/shoegaze quartet that formed in 1990. The band featured the late David Stroughter (vocals), Hobey Echlin (bass), Michael Segal (guitar) and Odell Nails (drums) as part of a regal lineup that released their final EP, Sans Muscles, before splitting in 1995.

“It’s supposed to be the reverse of the Majesty Crush EP, Sans Muscles, because ‘Muscles’ was Hobey’s nickname. That was the last EP they did knowing Hobey was leaving the band,” said Lipski, whose new EP, Avec Muscles, means “With Muscle.” (“Avec” is French for “With.”)

“The whole concept is that I’m a huge Majesty Crush fan, and maybe Hobey will play with us. And if he’s going to play with us, then why don’t we name the song and EP after him? Who knows? Maybe he’ll come out to the show and play some Majesty Crush songs with us.”

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The Alchemists – ATMIG Transforms Multi-genre Sounds into Priceless ‘Wishes’ Album

ATMIG’s Julia Hickling and Tobias Lipski. Photo by Amanda Matilla of Heart District

ATMIG sets the gold standard for rich multi-genre music in Detroit.

The duo of Tobias Lipski (guitar, vocals) and Julia Hickling (vocals) brilliantly alchemizes pieces of traditional folk, indie rock, shoegaze and rockabilly into a priceless sonic compound.

That compound includes valuable elements of inner reflections, deep motivations and life experiences throughout ATMIG’s vibrant full-length debut, “Wishes,” which dropped in 2019.

“The idea was to put the best songs that fit together, and the lyrics for the song ‘Wishes’ were not written yet, so it gave me an opportunity to narrate,” Lipski said. “‘Wishes’ is about time passing me by, and it has to do with being stuck at a desk nine to five and losing sight.”

With a dozen enlightening, introspective tracks, “Wishes” serves a crucial sonic reminder to take risks, abandon initial life plans and follow one’s intuition toward the right path. It’s also an internal wake-up call to rise from everyday apathy and reignite the true passions that bring a sense of purpose.

“Wishes” begins with an “Intro” laced with deep-tone guitars that descend into the narrator’s highly critical internal dialogue. Lipski’s heartfelt vocals beautifully set the struggle’s scene while crashing cymbals and vibrant guitars erupt with echoing harmonies.

ATMIG, aka After the Money is Gone, eloquently bobs, weaves and steers throughout the 10 “middle” tracks until the reprise of “Intro,” which is fittingly named “Outro,” beautifully links the entire album experience together. In fact, the album is best absorbed and digested on vinyl.

“When you listen to the first side of the album, you have mini-closure, and then you flip it over, and you have another side of the experience,” Lipski said. “‘Wishes’ is really about what’s important to you, and we were going to have this opportunity to actually do that.”

Continue reading “The Alchemists – ATMIG Transforms Multi-genre Sounds into Priceless ‘Wishes’ Album” →

‘Just Like the Sun’ – Indy’s From Elsewhere Make First Detroit Appearance Sunday Night, Release Brilliant Debut EP

Indy’s From Elsewhere released their debut EP, “Just Like the Sun,” on Friday.

 

Indianapolis’ From Elsewhere will bring their vibrant indie rock to the Motor City Sunday night.

The burgeoning trio will make their live Detroit debut at Nice Place, 70 Glynn Ct., starting at 6 p.m. with Merga, Anomaly and Carter Erickson. The show also will feature artwork from local visual artists.

“It’s going to be a mixed genre show with some hip hop,” said Nikhil Ramani, From Elsewhere’s vocalist and guitarist who originally hails from Chennai, India. “I’m really excited for Sunday because it’s going to be a good community of artists.”

Along with bandmates Travis Lee (bass) and Luke Duckworth (drums), Ramani will share tracks from their sparkling debut EP, “Just Like the Sun,” which dropped Friday.

The shimmering six-song EP features an eclectic mix of shoegaze and alternative rock – think Death Cab for Cutie, Smashing Pumpkins, Slowdive and Snail Mail rolled into one. The band recorded the EP over three days in late August, early September at Russian Recording in Bloomington, Ind., with Ben Lumsdaine.

With shiny guitar tones, solid bass lines and pulsating drumbeats, “Just Like the Sun” illuminates the dreariest Midwestern winter morning and creates a vivid, laid-back summer afternoon in the mind’s eye. From Elsewhere’s first two brilliant singles, “The Color Yellow” and “Collective Thoughts,” dropped earlier this fall.

“A lot of the EP is about finding yourself, your self-identity and a little bit of loneliness and sadness, just all human emotion basically,” said Ramani, who formed From Elsewhere with Lee and Duckworth in June. “Each song on the EP isn’t about strictly one particular theme or thing, it’s kind of a mix.”

Continue reading “‘Just Like the Sun’ – Indy’s From Elsewhere Make First Detroit Appearance Sunday Night, Release Brilliant Debut EP” →