Armies is a pop/rock duet and band hailing from Portland, Maine, led by songwriter, producer, guitarist and vocalist Dave Gutter and vocalist/songwriter Anna Lombard. Armies’ debut album was ranked as one of Rolling Stone Magazine’s “Top 15 Great Albums You Didn’t Hear in 2015” last December, just three months following its release. Fusing pop, rock, blues, and electronic music with intricate and spell-binding male/female duet vocals, Armies’ live show is a high energy mix of club beats, poignant songwriting with nuances of the blues.
Gutter’s genre-bending songwriting style has led to collaborations with David Bowie, Gramatik, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Eric Krasno, Aaron Neville, Griz, Carlos Santana, OHX, Soul Rebels, Res, Naughty by Nature, Funkmaster Flex, Imogen Heap, Spose, The Eels and Black Violin. Gutter’s song “Torture” as performed by Gramatik and Eric Krasno was used in the trailer for the award-winning Netflix Original series “Narcos” and in the Summit/ Lionsgate feature “Step it up: All in.”
SOURCE: Official Bio
LINKS:
http://wearearmies.com
https://www.facebook.com/armiesmusic
https://twitter.com/armiesmusic
https://www.instagram.com/wearearmies
https://soundcloud.com/armiesmusic
https://open.spotify.com/artist/6uenGiQw5fVInI2vHSd6cj
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Pls Pls Me – Water Torture
Pls Pls Me has today premiered their new video for the single titled ‘Water Torture’. When I first heard Pls Pls Me last year I fell in love with their style and originality. And, when I interviewed them, I fell in love with their personalities and drive. Jimi Fish and Jessie Torrisi are two artists who could easily have brilliant solo careers but, when brought together, become this original thing that demands a listen and commands an audience.
With ‘Water Torture’, this is proven a solid fact. This video has that slow burn feel that captivates you with that first look and keeps you for a second. The song gives a sonic resilience to the recently disenfranchised and isolated with the assurance that we are not alone yet we can survive isolated. ‘Water Torture’ is a song of strength. And, almost like an anthem, it drives that point to the end and makes that end of the song a new beginning. Take a listen. Take a look. Take the message.
Check out our other features with Pls Pls Me HERE.
Featured image by Jason Leavy.
About ‘Water Torture’
‘Water Torture’ is Pls Pls Me’s send-off to Donald Trump. It is a description of how the duo felt the last 4 years, just hearing his voice. “For anyone who cares about racial justice, or the rising number of COVID deaths, or who wants this country to stand for more than celebrity or ego – it felt like he was taunting us,” Jessie says. Trump’s tweets, history of sexual harassment, his claim of being a super successful businessman while declaring bankruptcy 6 times, all find their way into this song.
Though they’ve been known to inject their politics into their music before, Pls Pls Me didn’t set out to write a song about Trump. One day, Jimi heard a sound clip by Brooklyn producer Noams on instagram. Instantly lyrics popped into his hand, so he reached out to Noams, who had never intended to make a song from the instrumental, and they struck a deal. Soon after, musicians from NYC to Austin TX lent their voices for the chorus; it turns out quite a few people felt bruised ‘n battered by 4 years of a Trump presidency.
The vision further came together when their New York photographer friend Jason Leavy flew out to California and they did a shoot at Hayes Mansion, San Jose, taking pictures masked up by the eery yet entrancing light of the swimming pool at night.
“For me, this song is a purge,” Jimi says. “I love our campiness and our ability to bring queerness to such a serious topic. Right now, America feels split in so many ways. While unity would be great, there will be none until we get the negativity out.”
Music, after all, is catharsis. And we could all use some of that after 2020.
About Pls Pls Me
Pls Pls Me is a Brooklyn-based queer electro pop duo who came together on a grey New Year’s Day in 2016. While launching QUEER MF, a local showcase and party for queer music, singer/multi-instrumentalists Jimi Fish and Jessie Torrisi bonded over writing songs about sex, longing, and surviving the age of Trump.
Their love of eclectic, hip hop-inflected production and otherworldly harmonies crystalized with last year’s long-awaited debut EP, Too Late. Jammerzine called them “a slow melodic burn… that hits in all the right places.” Analogue Trash calls their modern dream-pop “very doomy, but a lot of fun.” And OVRLD says Pls Pls Me are a cross of “early XX and Everything But the Girl.” Their latest track Water Torture, which is a send-off for Trump, is a departure from their summer love anthems.
But this band has a sonic range. More than anything, Pls Pls Me is the story of a deep friendship formed over late nights at the piano while pondering the power dynamics of love and the art of being queer. Their follow-up EP, produced by indie songstress Sarah Jaffe, is due out in Summer 2021.
LINKS:
https://plsplsme.nyc
https://www.facebook.com/PlsPlsMeNYC
https://open.spotify.com/artist/2GFPThWEgRKDMICtF5Nb85?si=JMN8DTqgQOKENVw2O1tY1g
https://www.instagram.com/plspls.me
https://www.twitter.com/PlsPlsMeNYC
https://www.soundcloud.com/plsplsme
https://www.youtube.com/user/YouPleasePleaseMe -
Vandebilt – Dream In Colour
Vandebilt {ˈvændəbɪlt, pronounced in three syllables ‘Van’, ‘Duh’ & ‘built’} is a four piece dance-floor inspired indie disco band from Sunderland, in the North-East of England.
Taking their name from the Paul McCartney song “Mrs. Vandebilt”, the band are not one for gimmicks or Instagram inspired fads or the rush of the industry and take inspiration from the song of their name – don’t worry, no need to rush. Their music is honest, positive and centered around the band’s experiences of love, lust, and loss as well as frequent experiences of north-east working clubs.
LINKS:
https://tippingpoint.lnk.to/vandebilt-dreamincolour
https://www.facebook.com/vandebiltmusic
https://www.instagram.com/vandebiltmusic
https://twitter.com/Vandebiltmusic -
of1000faces – Anaira
of1000faces has premiered the new video for the track titled ‘Anaira’ on Jammerzine. of1000faces, aka Matt Walker, has that wonderfully atmospheric beat-driven sound that announces his music even to the most unfamiliar listener.
The video is a lush mix of retro-sci-fi that compliments the music and gives it that soundtrack quality paying homage to that genre in its first heyday circa the late 1950s. On many levels, it works. It gives you that nostalgic sense while looking forward to hopefully better days. This is what it’s all about.
‘The Infinity LIne’ LP is out now digitally across online stores such as Apple Music and streaming platforms such as Spotify and Bandcamp. The ‘Astronomica’ album is also out on all the same sites, previewed by this sampler video spanning the full album.
ABOUT OF1000FACES
of1000faces is the solo project of Matt Walker, a renowned drummer, and producer who has worked with some of alternative music’s most iconic artists. For 25 years, he has toured and recorded with Morrissey, Smashing Pumpkins, Garbage and Filter, all the while dedicating himself to myriad side projects, independent bands, and film/tv work.
Known for his obsessive writing and recording while on tour, Walker eventually decided to pursue a more singular and personal endeavor. Thus was born of1000faces, the moniker reflecting the project’s inherent premise and, at the same time, a nod to Joseph Campbell’s ‘Hero of 1000 faces’.
“ANAIRA is inspired in part by an epic science-fiction poem called ‘Aniara’ by Harry Martinson, which is about humans turning to space for refuge from a ravaged Earth. The piece is meant to convey a sense of determination and tenuous hope,” says Matt Walker.
“The video is a collage of Soviet Era science fiction films, edited into a series of space-age vignettes. Though the retro-futuristic look of these films is a great match for the music, I think the video’s real message is the vision and tenacity of these pioneering filmmakers.”
Following his ‘Astronomica’ album and video for lead track ‘Astronomica’, ‘The Infinity Line’ is the second long-play in his expansive instrumental ‘Monomyyth’ trilogy. An eclectic instrumental album with ambient DNA, it is less passive than its predecessor, the dynamic scope widened, and the general mood darker and more evocative.
CREDITS
Music by Matt Walker
Album cover artwork by: Gregor Huber
Photos by Derick Smith / Treatment by Brian Doherty
‘The Infinity Line’video by Patrick Buhr
‘Astronomica’ video by Matt Walker
‘ANAIRA’ video by Chris Zabriskie and Matt WalkerLINKS:
https://www.facebook.com/of1000facesofficial
https://of1000faces.bandcamp.com
https://www.instagram.com/of1000faces
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCElZpAW9ogHNEctHNAtQvjg
https://open.spotify.com/artist/4TeOaeln68u2IRu2Ps9Rlz
https://music.apple.com/us/artist/of1000faces/598669309