Tag Archives: Alternative Rock Music

meija Shares the Official Video for “Time For Us”

Los Angeles artist and producer meija shares the official video for his new single, “Time For Us.” The introspective indie rock number, which dropped over the holidays, was placed on Spotify’s covetable New Music Friday playlist and on All New Indie. He explains, “I wrote this song after deconstructing a religion I grew up with. I was in a place of wanting to reject the ‘spiritual’ and embrace the ‘rational.’ I was visiting a dormant volcano in the desert, and on the hike back was writing these lyrics. I was suddenly faced with this otherworldly landscape and was feeling mystified by it, but I was trying to rationalize the feeling. The song is an internal conversation about trying to balance the feeling that nothing matters with the realization that some things just can’t be explained.”

When asked about the video meija adds, “I wanted the video for ‘Time For Us’ to really focus on the lyrics. Something about this traveling songwriter idea (inspired by Inside Llewyn Davis and Bob Dylan) felt like it put the focus on the song. The song’s all about accepting the fact that you can’t control everything. And sometimes you have to let things happen and just go from there, for better for worse.”

“Time For Us” is the latest offering from his upcoming debut album, Do Ya?, out March 3, 2023, via Nettwerk. Twenty-nine-year-old musical prodigy Jamie Sierota purposefully titled Do Ya? a question because the album digs into the gray area that comes with looking deeper into traditions, relationships, parenthood, religion, and even death. Jamie explains, “It’s about looking at life, at death, and just sort of sitting with it, but also, you’re not really okay with it. It’s like push and pull.”  

Having launched his career at age 15 in the hit pop band Echosmith, Sierota had to start over again in his early twenties when he stepped away from the sibling band to get married and start his own family in Los Angeles. He then spent the better part of the last decade establishing himself as a writer and producer, eventually working with artists like Adam Lambert, Aly & AJ, JAWNY, and Quinn XCII. Do Ya? was recorded after being inspired by The Beatles’ documentary and digging into his vinyl collection. He decided he wanted to relearn how to write and record in a completely analog fashion and, for the first time in his career, was able to make exactly the record that he wanted to make without any exterior influences.

Under the guise of meija, LA based producer and songwriter Jamie Sierota makes music for our collective inner child. His synth-drenched, indie pop adjacent brand of rock mines the simple moments we tend to ignore, those that tend to mean far more than we’d like to admit. With the release of his 2019 debut EP, So Long Kid, and the 2021 follow-up EP, Premonition, he has explored themes of nostalgia and naive love and what that all means in a messy and sometimes chaotic world. It has gained him a loyal fan following with over 15 million streams worldwide and praise from outlets like Flood, Earmilk, Complex, Ladygunn, KCRW, and more. The upcoming album follows the cheeky EP Side A and includes the synth-drenched, hazy alt-rock singles, “How You Like,” “Matter Over Mind,”  “Pull Me To Pieces,” “No More Excuses” and “Not Sure How This Ends.”

Fencer Announce Self-Titled Debut Album & Release

“Joseph Courtney” Single Out Now Via Blood Blast Distribution

The Los Angeles based rock trio, Fencer, have today announced their long awaited self-titled debut album, set to drop on February 3rd, 2023 via Blood Blast Distribution. This marks the band’s first self-produced release, composed of 10-tracks and what is considered to be their most authentic work yet. Fans can pre-save the album here.

The album announcement is accompanied by the release of their latest single “Joseph Courtney.” You can stream “Joseph Courtney” here. You can also watch “Joseph Courtney” LIVE at Jam In The Van at the link below.

Speaking on today’s album announcement, vocalist Field Cate shares:

“We are excited to announce our self-titled debut album, “Fencer”. This was entirely produced, written, and performed by the three of us. Every sound, every decision, every minute detail. It was all Cameron, Scott, and I. It’s Fencer through and through and this is the record we wanted to make. Heavy, soft, silly, sad, raw, emotional. Very blue. We will forever be proud of this project and these songs because it’s just us. And it’s been all ours for so long, the idea of release something so intimate is really weird. But I’m glad people will be able to hear what we spent those countless hours doing all alone in our little lockout. I hope it invokes some kind of feelign in you when you hear it, whatever that is. It’s important to feel.

Speaking on the brand new track,“Joseph Courtney,”, vocalist Field Cate continues:

“Oh, well hello! Meet Joseph Courtney. He’s angry, sexy, and utterly intense. Able to control a crowd and thrive off the attention. He’s a star. Someone and something I aspire to be. A concept that cures my insecurities and allows me to lose a bit of sanity. I like that. He’s my alter ego. Why deal with cards I’ve been dealt when I can just pretend to be someone else? He’s perfect. He’s Joseph Courtney. You love him.

Not only was “Joseph Courtney” and the upcoming album self-produced, but it was mixed by Henry Lunetta (5 Seconds Of Summer, State Champs, Grayscale) and mastered by Zach Fisher (Weezer, Rancid, Bad Religion). Prior to today’s release, Fencer had previously dropped tracks “Junebug”, “Sanitarium”, and a cover of Morphine’s “Buena” which had racked up over 1.5 million listens across all streaming platforms.

Fencer

Track Listing:

  1. Come On, Keep Screaming
  2. Couch
  3. Buena
  4. Sleepcount
  5. Fishfriend
  6. Sanitarium
  7. Velvet Jetski
  8. Joseph Courtney
  9. You’re The Prey
  10. Bad Bet

ABOUT FENCER

Fencer, the self-defined garage opera band, is leading a new era of rock music with their own undeniably, dynamic sound. The Los Angeles-based trio consists of vocalist and guitarist Field Cate, bassist Scott Sauve, and drummer Cameron Sauve. Only two years after their inception, they became fan-favorite openers for notable acts such as Badflower, The Wrecks, and Dead Poet Society. Tackling the stigma surrounding mental health and its struggles, Field’s emotive and frenetic vulnerability resonates with listeners to further solidify the band’s electric presence. The trio have racked up an impressive 1.5 million listens across all streaming platforms, despite having not even released their debut album. Field’s synesthesia (seeing music in color), Scott’s vigorous bass-lines, and Cameron’s expertise in self-producing flow together to create an eccentric style that is certain to become rock’s newest novelty.

Weathers Announce Signing To Sumerian Records and Drop New Track & Video “Where Do I Sign?”

SoCal Alt-pop trio, WEATHERS have announced today that they have signed a new deal with world-renowned independent label, Sumerian Records. The band have also dropped their first new single out via their new label home, the aptly named “Where Do I Sign?“. Find the track on streaming platforms HERE and watch the official music video below.

Speaking on the release of the band’s new track, frontman Cameron Boyer shares

“We wanted to make a song as a kind of satire on things we’ve been feeling in the past year. We’ve been joking with each other saying “what’s it gonna take to get to the next level?” And we mentioned selling our souls is our best bet. So we thought we’d turn that into a song and talk about all the things we want in a kind of dark twisted way. It’s a lighthearted mind set with with a darker feel since selling your soul would actually be something very serious.”

On the subject of their new label deal announcement, Boyer adds

“We are stoked to be signing with Sumerian Records. It feels like the perfect fit and we are thrilled to be surrounded by such an excited and dedicated team that believes in our music and vision. We are both inspired and humbled to be a part of their roster alongside some amazing artists including a few that we’ve become friends with on past tours. Calling this a dream come true would be an understatement. We can’t wait for what the future holds.”

ABOUT WEATHERS

Prior to their new record deal with Sumerian, WEATHERS had huge runaway success with track “Happy Pills”. Released in 2016, the track was certified Gold earlier this year and to date has racked up 31 Million YouTube views and over 156 million streams on Spotify alone. They followed their debut release up with a series of self-released singles which lead into their most recent album release, ‘Pillows and Therapy‘ which came out in August of 2021. The lead single from the album, “Ces’t La Vie” peaked at #26 on the Alternative charts. The band have an impressive 280 million cross-platform career streams and over 65 million YouTube views. They have a digital following of 2.5 million across socials and streaming platforms.

WEATHERS have played shows with Cage the Elephant, Jimmy Eat World, Dreamers, Palaye Royale, Badflower, Echosmith and Catfish & The Bottlemen, and have appeared at globally renowned festivals such as Lollapalooza, Firefly and this year’s Riot Fest. The band are currently on tour across the UK and Europe supporting Set It Off.

LIVE REVIEW: SUM41 AND SIMPLE PLAN THE BLAME CANADA TOUR 2022

Canadians know how to rock – period! Sure, Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Sidney Crosby and all other Canadian hockey stars can “rock” the ice rink, but, damn, Canadian rockers can take down the house too. Sold out summer stage The Stone Pony at Asbury Park, NJ just barely survived full onslaught of variety of punk rock. And if anything, we Blame Canada. Canadian rockers SUM 41 and Simple Plan just wrapped up their co-headlined North American The Blame Canada Tour 2022. So we caught up with them on hot, steamy night by the famous Jersey shore in the famous Jersey rock venue to witness one of the last shows in the tour.

Written by Andris Jansons

Night started off with very colorful performance of American band Set It Off. I was able to witness the band wrapping up their set. Some very joyous music, as colorful as the bands members themselves, and setting off many positive vibes.

Simple Plan came on stage as sun started slowly setting. With no backdrop banners, some contrasting clouds and blue sky set the beautiful natural backdrop. For a Simple Plan this tour served as a way to commemorate 20th Anniversary of their debut album No Pads, No Helmets …. Just Balls, and the band opened their set with the song taken from that album called I’d Do Anything. Other songs from album that were played were Addicted, I’m Just A Kid, The Worst Day Ever and Perfect which served as a conclusion for their set.

Photo by Andris Jansons

Se full photo gallery for Simple Plan here.

Bands vocalist Pierre Bouvier kept constant contact with the crowd and made quite a few references of the previous times band played in New Jersey. He even let the fans play with his balls …. Ughh, the inflated beach balls that is. Why, what did you thought? One lucky fan even received signed by Pierre beach ball. Later during I’m Just A Kid song the bands drummer Chuck Comeau addressed the crowd about pandemic and tour postponements and decided to crowd surf, but not before putting on a yellow hazmat suit with hazmat facemask, and when fans “returned” him to the stage he got disinfected with some smoke guns. A little lighthearted step back from all the stress we suffered in the last two years.

SUM 41 barged on to the stage like a Nor easter winds from the Canada in the middle of January. We, Jersey people know that all too well. Fittingly, just before the band came on the AC/DC’s TNT blasted from the speakers, just to give way for SUM 41 to blast first three songs – Motivation, The Hell Song and Over My Head (Better Off Dead). All three songs felt like one, relentless onslaught of hard-hitting punk rock with Dave Baksh shredding like a true metaller and vocalist Deryck Whibley delivering aggressive vocals. Same goes for everyone else on the band. Everyone was fully immersed in the moment and performance.

Photo by Andris Jansons

See full photo gallery for SUM 41 here.

SUM 41 dedicated this tour to their 21st Anniversary of their debut album All Killer No Filler. And while they played four songs from that album, rest of the set was nicely filled with the material from most of their discography.

Band delivered a hard-hitting punch for the night as crowd was going off in the pit and crowd surfers came forward like ocean waves crashing the Jersey beach.

Both Canadian bands are now scheduled to travel to Europe for better part of September and October, and later SUM 41 will join Offspring for their Australian Tour.

SIMPLE PLAN Highly Anticipated New Album “Harder Than It Looks” out now

Harder Than It Looks, the highly anticipated new album from multi-million selling and streaming rock band Simple Plan is out now. Featuring recent singles, “Wake Me Up (When This Nightmare’s Over),” “The Antidote,” “Ruin My Life,” and “Congratulations,” Harder Than It Looks has garnered millions of streams across platforms and captured the attention of Billboard, SPIN, Teen Vogue, Audacy, and more. To stream or purchase Harder Than It Looks, please visit: https://orcd.co/harderthanitlooks.

The band shares: “We poured our hearts and souls into these new songs and we’re so proud of this record.

More than 20 years into our career, we love being in this band more than ever and still have the same passion for playing music and writing songs together that we’ve had since day one.

We made a classic, quintessential Simple Plan record that our fans will absolutely love and it was amazing to go back to our roots and unapologetically embrace what has made this band special to so many people: fun, catchy, honest and emotional songs that will make you feel less alone, put a smile on your face and give you hope.

Fans can look forward to hearing new music live as Simple Plan hits the road for the Blame Canada Tour with Sum 41. For a full list of dates, please see below or visit www.officialsimpleplan.com

Additionally, in light of the recent crisis in Ukraine,Simple Planhas been offering support to the people of Ukraine with their new single “Wake Me Up (When This Nightmare’s Over)”. The new music video was directed by Ukrainian filmmaker Jensen Noen and was filmed with a Ukrainian cast and crew. VFX and post-production work were also performed by Ukrainian artists. All money generated by Youtube views will go directly to Ukrainian relief efforts, through the UNICEF Ukraine Emergency Appeal. The group is also pledging to donate a portion of the proceeds from tickets sold throughout the current tour through The Simple Plan Foundation.

About Simple Plan:

From their new millennium rise to MTV superstardom through pop-punk’s modern resurgence that has introduced their iconic, multi-platinum sound to new audiences around the world, SIMPLE PLAN have been an indelible part of pop culture for more than two decades because they’ve never lost sight of what got them there in the first place: their fans.

The quartet, formed in Montreal in 1999, enjoy the rare sort of artist-audience dynamic that’s never dulled over time–if anything, it’s only grown, as both the band and their fans have learned that life as outsiders is anything but lonely.

Free agents for the first time in their storied career, the band kept their circle tight during the recording process, enlisting longtime songwriting partners like We The Kings’ Travis Clark and producers Brian Howes and Jason Van Poederooyen (who worked on the band’s 2011’s album Get Your Heart On!) and Zakk Cervini (blink-182, Good Charlotte) to be part of the 2019 sessions. Bouvier himself even got in on the action, receiving producer credit for the first time after years of meticulously crafting the band’s demos.

In a time when artists are more in control of their careers than ever before (“No one is ever going to care more about the band than we do,” Comeau says proudly), the sense of freedom the quartet enjoyed while making the album let them follow their own convictions: No looming deadlines, no pressure from external forces to deliver anything other than the record they wanted to make. In doing so, they rekindled a spark they didn’t know was missing.

Throughout our career, it’s taken a while to be mature enough to understand that our sound is an asset, not a liability,” Bouvier says. “On this album we said: ‘Let’s just embrace who we are and not be afraid to do what we do best.’ Making a good Simple Plan record is just as hard as making something off the beaten path.”

Thus, HARDER THAN IT LOOKS: an album title that, true to form, elevates the adolescent joy hard-coded into Simple Plan’s DNA since day one while at the same time reinforcing a sense of self-awareness that’s guided them through a career full of ups and downs.

We feel so lucky to be a band with fans who love our old and new material,” Comeau says, noting 2022 marks the 20-year anniversary of their debut album No Pads, No Helmets…Just Balls. “We’re very proud of our past, but we’re even more excited about the future. We’re still ambitious, driven and curious to see what the next 20 years will bring. We truly always feel we’re 3 minutes away from the best or biggest song of our career.”

Simple Plan is:

Pierre Bouvier (vocals)

Chuck Comeau (drums)

Sebastien Lefebvre (lead guitar)

Jeff Stinco (rhythm guitar)

Pixies Share The New Single “Vault Of Heaven”

From The New Album ‘Doggerel’ Which Follows On September 30

The return of Pixies has been rapturously received, the alt-rock trailblazers reconnecting with long-term fans and introducing themselves to a fresh new audience. In recent weeks, they’ve headlined large outdoor venues across the UK, performed as special guests to Pearl Jam in Hyde Park, and played one of their most intimate shows in years at Manchester’s Band On The Wall. The shows come ahead of the release of their new album ‘Doggerel’ on September 30, which was previewed by its lead single ‘There’s A Moon On’, which was instantly A-listed at BBC Radio 6Music.

Pixies’ momentum continues as they today share the follow-up single ‘Vault of Heaven’. The track has just premiered on Steve Lamacq’s 6 Music show and was given its live debut at the Band On The Wall show.

Mixing dusky, Morricone-style desert noir atmospherics with a chiming, melodic guitar motif, ‘Vault of Heaven’ also takes a leftfield turn as flourishes of female backing vocals provide an almost hymnal touch. Black Francis’s lyrics combine elements that are both abstract and every day in a surrealist narrative, in which the protagonist aims for salvation but only ends up falling flat on his face.

‘Vault of Heaven’ is released alongside an official video which brings its absurdist tale to life. It begins with a semi-clothed Zorro-esque figure who is heading into Los Angeles on the back of a toy horse. He arrives at a 7-Eleven, where things get stranger still with the help of bizarre Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe lookalikes. The visual was directed by the filmmaker and musician Charles Derenne.   

As we’ve heard from both ‘Vault of Heaven’ and ‘There’s A Moon On’, ‘Doggerel’ is a mature yet visceral record of gruesome folk, ballroom pop and brutal rock. Its stories are haunted by the ghosts of affairs and indulgences, driven wild by cosmic forces and envisioning digital afterlives where no God has provided one. Pixies – completed by Joey Santiago (guitar), Paz Lanchantin (bass) and David Lovering (drums) – recorded the album with producer Tom Dalgety (Royal Blood, Ghost) in Vermont.

‘Doggerel’ is available to pre-order HERE. The band’s official store offers a range of physical product, merch and bundles as well as two exclusive formats: an orange vinyl and a red cassette. 

Pixies’ huge world tour rolls on through to the close of the year, taking in Europe, North America, South America, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. The final show of their summer tour comes when they headline the End of the Road festival on September 3rd. Please see their website for a full list of all international dates.