US / THEM: November 2024

Wednesday, November 27, 2024

Chicago DIY goth/gloomgaze trio STARING PROBLEM share "The Void" video/single from forthcoming album on Modern Tapes

"There is a gloomy kind of warmth to these songs that draws you in. They have created a world all their own here, and it’s a fascinating one to take a trip through." -- Maximum RockandRoll

"Draws heavily from 80s goth and postpunk, though their deft melodies give even their coldest songs a therapeutic warmth—and they sometimes break from the genre’s obvious reference points with infusions of classic girl-group sweetness." -- Chicago Reader

"With a haunting melody reminiscent of Wise-era Cure and an echoing, distant-yet-powerful vocal performance from Owen, this is post-punk that harkens back to the greats of the genre while still putting a stamp of Staring Problem’s distinctive personality on it.” — New Noise Magazine

Chicago DIY gloomgaze band Staring Problem share the official video and first single from their forthcoming album today via New Noise Magazine. Watch/share "The Void" HERE (Direct YouTube.) Hear/share the single on all DSPs HERE and Bandcamp.

The idea for Staring Problem was simple: a post-punk, no-wave project. For over 15 years, the band has existed in one form or another as an amalgamation of ethereal pop and goth with a dash of noise sprinkled throughout.

The current lineup is Lauren Owen, Michael Erickson and Andrew Jarosh. With the exception of “Don’t Tell A Soul” — an old song that was never properly released — all material on Equinox is new and collaboratively written by Owen, Erickson and Jarosh. Lyrics were penned by Owen and Erickson alongside two close friends of the band, Robert Komen and Jessica Beaty, the subjects touching on shifts in awareness for mental health, sociopolitical issues, environmental concerns and technology. The album was recorded in 2023 by Matt Russell at Altered States Studio in Chicago.

Equinox will follow in the footsteps of prior Staring Problem records and release via Modern Tapes on December 20th, 2024. The album is a full-circle moment for Staring Problem: giving way to the band’s strongest lineup and output to date, the past and present joining hands to create an Equinox. Pre-orders are available HERE.

Artist: Staring Problem

Album: Equinox

Record Label: Modern Tapes

Release Date: December 20, 2024

01. Fortitude

02. The Void

03. Don't Tell a Soul

04. Branches II

05. Neon

06. Programmed

07. Waves

moderntapes.com

linktr.ee/staringproblem

instagram.com/mdrntps

Gloomgaze band BABEL MAP share "Nosebleed" video via CvltNation, Kurt Ballou produced album 'Teeth' out now

“Teeth is a Grade-A gothgaze chiller.” – Bandcamp Daily

“Tick-tocking, searing post-rock anthems.” — Echoes & Dust

"Babel Map, a band we've commended for over four years, continues to evolve with bold ambition… A truly remarkable step forward." -- Destroy//Exist

“A band that I can’t put into a box, and it’s because they’re layering influences that come through clearly but also equally, with no one sound overpowering another. It feels human and of the flesh, but also otherworldly and cybersonic at the same time.” — CvltNation

Harrisburg, PA gloomgaze band Babel Map share the official video for "Nosebleed" from their new album Teeth today via CvltNation. Watch/share "Nosebleed" HERE. (Direct YouTube.)

Bandcamp Daily recently featured Teeth in their Essential Releases column HERE. Hear/share Teeth album on all DSPs HERE and Bandcamp.

Side-Line recently launched the very Halloween/David Lynch appropriate official video for "Pazuzu" HERE. (Direct YouTube.)

Teeth: the structure of enamel coated bone used for survival and defense in life, yet left intact, telling identification in the afterlife.

Teeth, Babel Map’s forthcoming 3rd album was recorded by Kurt Ballou (God City Studio, Converge) mastered by Magnus Lindberg (Cult of Luna) in the spring of 2024. Prior to beginning the writing of Teeth, the group describes this chapter as an evolutionary time for them as a change in lineup allowed for a progressive increase in experimentation with song structure.

Past albums were written and recorded mostly from playing songs in a live setting. Falling into a sound that they had never explored before, the quartet came together with blank ideas, pressed record and just built a song.

Once the album was complete, the band then began practicing live as a four piece to prepare for recording and now live performance. Babel Map explains the symbolism behind the title, as it is both about “showing your teeth,” but also “leaving a permanent piece of yourself behind for the world to reflect on.”

The band originally began in 2011 as a trip hop/electric solo project of Jessica Drummer based out of Philadelphia, PA. She then relocated to Harrisburg, PA and began playing live in 2015 where she was able to begin networking and playing with others. After a few changes in lineup, Steph Werner (guitarist since 2018 and Michael Stipe (bassist since 2019) quickly became a collaborative band where the sound changed into a Shoegaze/post-metal trance.

They recorded their first album, Raw Tomato, My Heart (released 2020) with Ian Scheila at Headroom Studios Philadelphia while building their live show experiences until the shut down of Covid-19. During this time, CANCEL THIS! (Released 2022) was written, and quickly recorded right after the world rise from the pandemic.

Due to change of lineup, the band began to write Teeth with electronic drums (produced by Michael Stipe) in 2023 as a trio. Brian Doherty later joined and began writing and producing percussion for the album and continues to play live today.

Teeth is available on LP, CD and streaming on November, 1st, 2024 via Lost Future Records. Pre-order HERE.

BABEL MAP LIVE 2025:

01/11 Shermansdale, PA - Shermans Creek Inn

02/22 Enola, PA - The Champ

Artist: Babel Map

Album: Teeth

Record Label: Lost Future Records

Release Date: November 1st, 2024

01. Bubble Tape

02. Nosebleed

03. Pazuzu

04. Mister Man

05. Kevin’s Dead

06. How How Why

07. Teething

08. Idiot

09. Doctor

10. Not This Time

11. Anubis

babelmap.bandcamp.com

instagram.com/babelmapmusic

lostfuture.bandcamp.com

lostfuturerecords.com

Tuesday, November 26, 2024

37 Houses share "It's a Lie" video from debut album, add SF show in December

“Packed with bright, jangly guitars and powerful, resounding vocals.” — New Noise

“Moody ear-candy…Another great record from a local band in our midst proves pain begets the most vivid art.” – SF Bay Guardian / 48 Hills

"Moody... It builds and builds in intensity." -- TGEFM

"A candid exploration of love, regret, and personal growth wrapped in a melody that feels both relatable and raw." -- Static Multimedia

San Francisco duo 37 Houses share the official video for "It's a Lie" from their debut full length album today via Static Multimedia. Watch/share "It's a Lie" HERE (Direct YouTube.) Hear/share "It's a Lie" single on all DSPs.

About the video:

Shot over three days in the Mojave Desert and other areas surrounding Los Angeles. In simple yet symbolically rich scenes, this 5-minute video plays out the emptiness of distance and pains of escape—featuring silk nightgowns and newly abandoned Victorian houses, vintage cars and seedy hotels, windmills, and desert roads. Film by Mark Samsonovich—Co-Producer "A Mouthful of Air" starring Amanda Seyfried, Director of Animation for "We the Animals" (Available on Netflix).

New Noise Magazine recently shared the video "Jealous Love" HERE (Direct YouTube). Watch/share the video for "It Stays With Me" on YouTube.

Being quarantined together after 4 months of marriage isn't easy, and 37 Houses' debut self-titled album puts a soundtrack to that experience. Songwriter Jeremy Rosenblum put his most intense emotions to music and his wife, singer Erin Sydney put her soul into the emotional intensity of the vocal arrangements. Recorded entirely in their living room, this album is an expression of the tangles that manifest in even the best of relationships. The experience brought out emotionally charged and expressive post-punk reminiscent of Emma Ruth Rundle and Chelsea Wolfe, but with a decidedly more pop leaning sound of Built To Spill and Pulp. While the music is lithe and hummable, Erin’s powerhouse singing takes their sound into the stratosphere. This album is proof positive that pain can create immense beauty.

Started in San Francisco in 2021, 37 Houses is an indie pop project that functions as guitarist Jeremy Rosenblum's journal to process the feelings that come out of being an imperfect human married to another imperfect human. Singer Erin Sydney infuses powerful vocals into the poetically pedestrian lyrics and music written by her husband. In the way that all relationships are a blend of two peoples' souls for better or worse, 37 Houses is what that beautiful mess sounds like.

37 Houses is available on deluxe 2xLP and digital on November 15th, 2024. Vinyl orders are available HERE.

37 HOUSES LIVE 2024:

12/16 San Francisco, CA - Bottom of The Hill