WHIMZ (Blackwater Holylight's Sunny Faris & Night Heron's Cam Spies) dark synth-doom debut album PM226 now streaming

“A bleak, synthy good time.” — Metal Injection

“Synth rock and doom metal aren’t often two things that go together, but damn if the peanut butter and chocolate don’t mix perfectly here… Hypnotically engaging.” – Loudwire

"A doomed dreamscape... The synth-driven doom-pop songs on PM226 are heavy and wistful, featuring vintage drum machines, thumping basslines and distorted synthesizer soundscapes." -- Metal Sucks

Portland, OR synth-doom duo WHIMZ are streaming their debut album PM226 today via New Noise Magazine. Hear and share PM226 HERE. (Direct Bandcamp.)

Sunny Faris (vocalist/bassist and founder of Blackwater Holylight) and Cam Spies (Night Heron) have been friends for years. Cam recorded the first BWHL record several years ago and they hadn’t had a chance to collaborate again, until 2021 when they decided to spend a day in the studio to see what emerged. The result was a seamless blending of their two projects: dark, synth heavy, austere doom-pop, with hauntingly beautiful vocal harmonies, and sexy bass lines. 

Sunny’s characteristic voice is immediately recognizable from opening track “AM1”. Although it may at first seem confusing to hear her singing over low-end rich, heavy synthesizer and vintage drum machines, it quickly becomes apparent how perfectly suited her voice is for these songs. While the music evokes the icy, consumer excess bliss of mid- to late-80s synth pop, Sunny’s melancholic voice permeates like the angelic harmonies of Julie Cruise and Cocteau Twins. 

The emotionally intense, melodically lush shoegazey doom of Blackwater Holylight’s widely hailed 2021 album Silence/Motion provides a good touchstone for WHIMZ, but Night Heron’s pawn shop deep collection of carefully curated retro synth instrumentation and Cam’s tasteful production also gives the album both its skeleton and a wealth of subtle and clever tones tucked neatly into each song. 

Upon completing the 5-song, 26-minute album they decided to release it on Portland label Literal Gold Records, and assembled a live band which includes members of YOB and Spoon Benders joining Faris and Spies. 

PM226 is available on LP, CD and download, released on October 28th, 2022 via Literal Gold Records. Pre-orders are available HERE. 

WHIMZ LIVE 2022:

Nov 10 - Portland - Doug Fir Lounge

Nov 12 - Seattle - Freakout Fest - Sunset Tavern 

Artist: WHIMZ

Album: PM226

Label: Literal Gold

Release Date: October 28th, 2022

01. AM1

02. AM2

03. I WANNA

04. PM1

05. PM2

instagram.com/whimzmusic

whimzmusic.bandcamp.com

www.literal.gold

N8NOFACE shares remix by ADULT. from upcoming EP, plays L.A. Palladium w/ Cypress Hill on 10/29

"Has the short and sweet hookiness of the Ramones or the Descendents, the rigid minimalism of Suicide, the playful, gooey synths of chiptune and a splash of hip-hop delivery in the vocals, which are deceptively catchy and full of character." -- Revolver Magazine

"Imagine if Atari Teenage Riot, Wu-Tang Clan, Devo, and Joy Division decided to create a group together the outcome might sound like N8NOFACE.” — CvltNation

“The futuristic and post-apocalyptic sound he’s refined over the last decade sonically encapsulates our increasingly dystopian present. N8 bolsters walls of buzzing, ominous synths with blistering drums he’s sampled from old punk records, chopping them for minimal parts and maximum dirt.” -- SPIN Magazine

"Pulling equally from hip hop, Suicide, and shouty post-punk, and fusing it all together seamlessly." -- Brooklyn Vegan

L.A. singer N8NOFACE shares the first single today from the forthcoming remix EP consisting of tracks from his recent album Bound To Let You Down, which will also be released on vinyl for the first time on November 4th via Eyeball Records. Hear and share "Spray (ADULT. remix)" HERE.

Vinyl pre-orders are available HERE.

N8NOFACE also plays L.A. at The Palladium's "Haunted Hill" show with Cypress Hill and Fishbone this week on 10/29. Please see all current dates below. 

Bound To Let You Down (The Remixes) EP is a collection of tracks built from N8NOFACE’s debut Eyeball Records 2021 release Bound To Let You Down, featuring the synth-punk anthems “Spray,” “Y So Serio” and “Already Hate Your Next BF”. This new digital-only 8-song collection features tracks inspired from Bound, being reworked, retwisted, and in some cases, wholly reimagined by some of N8’s closest creative partners, including Eyedress, ADULT., Peanut Butter Wolf, Brian Spencer, Trouble Andrew and Yung F150. Bound To Let You Down (The Remixes) hits all DSPs on November 4, 2022, to shine a brighter light on the long-awaited vinyl release of the original Bound To Let You Down LP, hitting stores everywhere on the same day.

N8NOFACE's sound can be uniquely classified as the past, present and future heartbeat of the real L.A. A dirty melding of 80s/90s nostalgic synth-punk combined with the amalgamation of chaos heard in grimy Soundcloud rap tapes. Lyrically, his sometimes romantic, oftentimes violent storytelling tunes lean toward Narcocorrido, the bloody ballads of Mexican drug cartels. It sounds dark on the surface, but really N8NOFACE’s music is a lot of fun, and as exciting as the birth of punk rock and hiphop. 

He’s been making and posting glitchy synthpunk since the days of MySpace, when he first gained attention in chiptune duo Crimekillz. Even before the demise of that band, however, N8NOFACE was disseminating his dadaist lo-fi rants online, recording them on the cheap on his home computer setup. 

N8NOFACE has to date released 5 proper albums — Homicide (2022), Bound To Let You Down (2021), Just Here To Die (2020), Synth Up The Punks (2019) and True Story (2018) — and a slew of singles, mixtapes and collaborations, many of them with sprawling double-digit track listings. Before relocating to Long Beach, CA around a decade ago, he owned a graffiti & record store in his hometown of Tucson, AZ. It was here that he developed his vast musical taste from grimy hiphop beats to seminal aggressive synth punks The Screamers. 

Eyeball Records: Started in a small NYC apartment in 1995, Eyeball is best known for its history supporting genre-defining artists from the New York/New Jersey punk/hardcore scene. It was the original home for artists such as My Chemical Romance, Thursday, Number Twelve Looks Like You, H20, Murder By Death and The Casualties. Currently, the label pairs with artists who are reinventing the underground today -- artists like N8NOFACE, blackwinterwells, 3I3d3p, Carpetgarden, and BBY Goyard. 

N8NOFACE LIVE 2022:

10/29 Los Angeles, CA - The Palladium (w/ Cypress Hill)

11/19 Oakland, CA - Eli's Mile High Club

Artist: N8NOFACE

Album: Bound To Let You Down (The Remixes)

Record Label: Eyeball Records

Release Date: November 4th, 2022

01. Dead is Dead (Brian Spencer Remix)

02. Can't Take No More (Eyedress Remix)

03. Can't Take No More (N8NOFACE Remix)

04. Felt You (Yung F150 x Trouble Andrew Remix)

05. Already Hate Your Next BF (N8NOFACE Remix)

06. Boy Boy (N8NOFACE Remix)

07. Someday Maybe (Peanut Butter Wolf Remix)

08. Spray (ADULT. Remix)

On The Web:

linktr.ee/n8noface

n8noface.bandcamp.com

eyeballrecords.org

The Living Pins (w/Sixteen Deluxe's Carrie Clark) share video for Austin radio hit "Chateau"

“The Living Pins filter 60s psychedelic grooves through the more straightforward sensibilities of 90s alt-rock,

a combination that's both accessible and impossibly cool. Hearing Clark and Peltz harmonize over the garage-rock strut of opener ‘Raven,’ or the sweet pop-rock hooks of ‘Jaguar,’ you can see why Kim Deal of The Breeders counts herself as a fan.” — The Onion AV Club

"Channels classic pop rock sounds, brimming with assuredness and melodic hooks." -- Austin Town Hall

"A lively union of post-grunge guitar psychedelia and Stonesy chug, as if the nation's Nineties soundtrack evolved out of seminal garage rock comp Nuggets instead of the Velvet Underground." -- Austin Chronicle

Austin, TX band The Living Pins share the video for "Chateau" from their recent 2-song EP today via Austin Town Hall. Watch and share video HERE. (Direct YouTube.)

Both songs have become local radio hits in Austin since their release, garnering heavy rotation and Top 20 listing on KUTX and other local stations, as well as praise and plays on Simon Le Bon's SiriusFM show and Rodney Bingenheimer's show. Hear/share the "Chateau" / "Oh Yeah" 2-song single via Bandcamp.

The Living Pins recently released their debut EP Freaky Little Monster Children in April 2021 to much critical fanfare, just 25 years since their first single in 1996. Hear and share Freaky Little Monster Children EP via Bandcamp.

The Living Pins are guitarists/vocalists Pam Peltz and Carrie Clark, joined by a rotating cast of players.

Carrie is an inductee into the Austin Music Hall of Fame as the frontwoman for Sixteen Deluxe (Trance Syndicate, Warner Bros. Records). Pam is a published photographer and the producer of two Daniel Johnston songs, “Ain’t No Woman Gonna Make a George Jones Outta Me” and “Casper” on Daniel’s Continued Story album.

The Living Pins originally formed in 1996 during the heyday of iconic Austin clubs such as Liberty Lunch, Electric Lounge, and The Hole In The Wall. Pam and Carrie met as co-workers at Wheatsville Food Co-op and continued in the tradition of employee bands including the likes of Ed Hall, Cherubs, Sixteen Deluxe, Pong, Palaxy Tracks, and Cotton Mather. The original Living Pins line-up included Kathy Ziegler (Morningwood) and Leslie Petit (Bunny Stockhausen) and this incarnation of the Pins appeared on the 1998 Wheatsville band compilation The Wheat Album, with their cover of the T. Rex song, “Spaceball Ricochet”, produced by John Croslin (Spoon, Guided by Voices).

The new single was recorded at The Bubble Studios in Austin, TX. Bubble Master Chris “Frenchie” Smith is Sixteen Deluxe-bandmate-forever with Carrie and it was a natural next step to enlist his skills. As The Living Pins were aiming to embody something like the dreamy crispness of 1970s FM radio, there is definitely the overlap that Pam and Carrie and Frenchie understand. It’s the aesthetic of being a little kid with a portable Realistic cassette recorder. You could sit next to the radio and then hit record and get your favorite ELO song or Badfinger song and just feel the vibe. 

The ROCK factor of the Bubble recordings is enhanced by Carrie and Pam’s most excellent company, the impeccable rhythm section of Claire Hamilton on bass and Rich Malley on drums. They are just two Austin legends. Austin has so many legends. Claire and Rich are two of them.   

Much was made of the fact that the FLMC was their first release in 25 years. So, Carrie and Pam figured, “Let’s have another release within a year. Keep the momentum going this time.” So, in the spirit of momentum and all that is fun, The Living Pins present two new singles, “Chateau” and “Oh Yeah’, to rock you on through 2022. 

Artist: The Living Pins

Album: "Chateau" b/w "Oh Yeah"

Record Label: self-released

Release Date: August 8, 2022

01. Chateau

02. Oh Yeah

On The Web:

livingpins.com

thelivingpins.bandcamp.com

instagram.com/livingpins

facebook.com/livingpins

 

N8NOFACE announces remix EP feat. Eyedress, ADULT., Peanut Butter Wolf, and first vinyl release for Bound To Let You Down album on Eyeball Records

 

"Has the short and sweet hookiness of the Ramones or the Descendents, the rigid minimalism of Suicide, the playful, gooey synths of chiptune and a splash of hip-hop delivery in the vocals, which are deceptively catchy and full of character." -- Revolver Magazine

"Imagine if Atari Teenage Riot, Wu-Tang Clan, Devo, and Joy Division decided to create a group together the outcome might sound like N8NOFACE.” — CvltNation

“The futuristic and post-apocalyptic sound he’s refined over the last decade sonically encapsulates our increasingly dystopian present. N8 bolsters walls of buzzing, ominous synths with blistering drums he’s sampled from old punk records, chopping them for minimal parts and maximum dirt.” -- SPIN Magazine

"Pulling equally from hip hop, Suicide, and shouty post-punk, and fusing it all together seamlessly." -- Brooklyn Vegan

L.A. singer N8NOFACE announces a new remix EP consisting of tracks from his recent album Bound To Let You Down, which will also be released on vinyl for the first time on November 4th via Eyeball Records. Vinyl pre-orders are available HERE.

N8NOFACE also launches tour dates with OFF! later this month, as well as a performance in L.A. at The Palladium's "Haunted Hill" show with Cypress Hill and Fishbone. Please see all current dates below. 

Bound To Let You Down (The Remixes) EP is a collection of tracks built from N8NOFACE’s debut Eyeball Records 2021 release Bound To Let You Down, featuring the synth-punk anthems “Spray,” “Y So Serio” and “Already Hate Your Next BF”. This new digital-only 8-song collection features tracks inspired from Bound, being reworked, retwisted, and in some cases, wholly reimagined by some of N8’s closest creative partners, including Eyedress, ADULT., Peanut Butter Wolf, Brian Spencer, Trouble Andrew and Yung F150. Bound To Let You Down (The Remixes) hits all DSPs on November 4, 2022, to shine a brighter light on the long-awaited vinyl release of the original Bound To Let You Down LP, hitting stores everywhere on the same day.

N8NOFACE's sound can be uniquely classified as the past, present and future heartbeat of the real L.A. A dirty melding of 80s/90s nostalgic synth-punk combined with the amalgamation of chaos heard in grimy Soundcloud rap tapes. Lyrically, his sometimes romantic, oftentimes violent storytelling tunes lean toward Narcocorrido, the bloody ballads of Mexican drug cartels. It sounds dark on the surface, but really N8NOFACE’s music is a lot of fun, and as exciting as the birth of punk rock and hiphop. 

He’s been making and posting glitchy synthpunk since the days of MySpace, when he first gained attention in chiptune duo Crimekillz. Even before the demise of that band, however, N8NOFACE was disseminating his dadaist lo-fi rants online, recording them on the cheap on his home computer setup. 

N8NOFACE has to date released 5 proper albums — Homicide (2022), Bound To Let You Down (2021), Just Here To Die (2020), Synth Up The Punks (2019) and True Story (2018) — and a slew of singles, mixtapes and collaborations, many of them with sprawling double-digit track listings. Before relocating to Long Beach, CA around a decade ago, he owned a graffiti & record store in his hometown of Tucson, AZ. It was here that he developed his vast musical taste from grimy hiphop beats to seminal aggressive synth punks The Screamers. 

Eyeball Records: Started in a small NYC apartment in 1995, Eyeball is best known for its history supporting genre-defining artists from the New York/New Jersey punk/hardcore scene. It was the original home for artists such as My Chemical Romance, Thursday, Number Twelve Looks Like You, H20, Murder By Death and The Casualties. Currently, the label pairs with artists who are reinventing the underground today -- artists like N8NOFACE, blackwinterwells, 3I3d3p, Carpetgarden, and BBY Goyard. 

N8NOFACE LIVE 2022:

10/20 Los Angeles, CA - Permanent Records Roadhouse showcase

10/24 Phoenix, AZ - Valley Bar *

10/25 Tucson, AZ - 191 Toole *

10/26 Santa Fe, NM - Meow Wolf *

10/28 Dallas, TX - Deep Ellum Arts Co.*

10/29 Los Angeles, CA - The Palladium (w/ Cypress Hill)

10/31 Memphis, TN - Black Lodge *

11/19 Oakland, CA - Eli's Mile High Club

* w/ OFF!

Artist: N8NOFACE

Album: Bound To Let You Down (The Remixes)

Record Label: Eyeball Records

Release Date: November 4th, 2022

01. Dead is Dead (Brian Spencer Remix)

02. Can't Take No More (Eyedress Remix)

03. Can't Take No More (N8NOFACE Remix)

04. Felt You (Yung F150 x Trouble Andrew Remix)

05. Already Hate Your Next BF (N8NOFACE Remix)

06. Boy Boy (N8NOFACE Remix)

07. Someday Maybe (Peanut Butter Wolf Remix)

08. Spray (ADULT. Remix)

On The Web:

linktr.ee/n8noface

n8noface.bandcamp.com

eyeballrecords.org

"It Came From Aquarius Records" documentary announces NYC screening & live show (Oneida, DJs Steve Shelley, Emil Amos) with Q&A after film

"An in-depth look at the heartbreak of shuttering the beloved store amid the Mission District's wave of gentrification and traces its long history of influencing music and culture in the city." -- CBS News SF

"It Came From Aquarius Records" the feature length documentary about the beloved, esoteric San Francisco record store announces upcoming screenings in New York City and St. George, Utah. The director, Kenneth Thomas and a panel of guests will hold a Q&A after the film in NYC. For more information, please see below. 

Watch/share the "Bittersweet Sex Pistols extravaganza" clip on YouTube. Watch the film trailer on YouTube.

"It Came From Aquarius Records" is a feature-length documentary about the SF-based independent record store, Aquarius Records. Having closed in 2016 after 47 years, this small apartment-sized store championed local, underground, independent, and challenging music to the masses - most memorably with their infamous bi-weekly, college essay-length, new-release lists.

This doc has interviews with the aQ owners dating back to 1970, other record store owners from around the world, musicians, label heads, music journalists, and INTENSE music collectors. Interviewees include Matt Groening (The Simpsons), Wayne Coyne (Flaming Lips), Bruce Ackley, John Darnielle (The Mountain Goats), Ty Segall, and Liz Harris (Grouper). About 65 (!!) total!

Aquarius Records influenced and enriched countless peoples’ musical tastes with their curated selections - but this film also shows the realities of an indie record store trying to survive in an increasingly difficult market of brick-and-mortar music shops, especially in the ever-changing and price-gouging Mission District of SF.

Six years in the making, the film has a very personal angle, with lots of behind-the-scenes footage (and drama) that shows both the joy and excruciating stress that comes with running — and closing — a store like this.

New York, NY premiere:

Location of film: Nitehawk Cinema, Williamsburg

Location of live music, after the film: Union Pool, Williamsburg (10 minute walk away)

Date and Time of film: Tuesday, November 1st, 7pm

Date and Time of music: Tuesday, November 1st, 9:30pm

Film Info:

Nitehawk Cinema, Williamsburg

7pm

$18

Screening of It Came from Aquarius Records, followed by Q+A discussion, moderated by Anna Lopez, of Temporary Residence, Ltd., and Union Pool

Panelists: director Kenneth Thomas, Brian Turner (The Brian Turner Show), Jon Fine (Bitch Magnet, Author of Your Band Sucks), Jeremy deVine (Temporary Residence, Ltd.), Emil Amos(Grails, Holy Sons).

Music Info:

Union Pool, Williamsburg.

9:30pm

$18 (film ticket-holders get $5 discount with proof of purchase)

Headliner - Oneida

Opener - DJ Set by Steve Shelley (Sonic Youth, Bush Tetras) and Emil Amos (Grails, Holy Sons)

Movie link, for tickets: nitehawkcinema.com/williamsburg/showtimes/it-came-from-aquarius-records

Live music link, for tickets: https://link.dice.fm/U9c89b17a919

St. George, UT premiere:

Doc Utah Film Festival, in St. George, Utah.

Screenings on Thursday, November 3, and Saturday, November 5. Info: docutah.com

LINKS:

Website: thescourge.com

FB: facebook.com/aqdoc

IG: instagram.com/aquariusdoc