Hump Day Hot Ticket: Luna “Friends”

Photo credit: Luz Gallardo

Yes, I am writing again about another band I have recently reviewed! Considering that I am beginning to think no one really reads this blog anyway, does it really matter? And if someone is reading, you are probably wondering: why even write if I don't think anyone is reading it anyway? Well, because I like to write, and even if no one is reading this, I will keep on writing, so I may as well write about whatever I want!

Now that I've gotten that out of the way, I can talk about the new video from Luna. The second video from their covers album A Sentimental Education, Luna pays tribute to The Velvet Underground, and the timeless theme of unrequited love.

Where the previous video was filmed in black-and-white, this one is done in vibrant color. A conceptual video set in a high school, we follow a young boy as he attempts to win the heart of the girl he loves. We see that his crush is a couple of years older than he is, so clearly the girl sees him only as a friend, as she goes off with other boys closer to her own age. In the hallways, a band plays: they all look like younger versions of Luna! It is cute to see how they must have looked in high school.

As the video progresses, we watch the boy's various tactics to get the girl to notice him. He has a knack for making cute flip books, starring a dog character, whom we see in stuffed animal form. These little books entertain her, but clearly the cute older boy has her full interest. At first, it appears that the two boys do not like each other (or that the elder is wary of the younger), but the girl comes along, encouraging them to join her as they go out to the school football field, where the band is playing and everyone is having a good time. The stuffed animal makes an appearance too, but I can't spoil the ending, can I?

For more information on Luna, visit their official website.

Femme-Metal Friday: Exit Eden “A Question of Time”

Band photo

It has been a while since the last time I wrote about the femme-metal vocal supergroup Exit Eden, but they have been doing a lot since then! They have released a bunch of videos for their album Rhapsodies in Black; so much that I have not been able to keep up with them until now. If I was going to review any video for any song off the album, this was the one I most hoped would have a video release, and the one I most wanted to review. Good things come to those who wait!

If you read my review of the Rhapsodies in Black album, then you know that my favorite songs on this album of covers were the ’80s tunes: the soundtrack of childhood with a fresh, new sound. Of all the ’80s covers, however, my favorite was the album's opening track, Exit Eden's take on the Depeche Mode classic “A Question of Time”. So naturally, when the band started releasing several videos for the album, I hoped that eventually, this song would get a video treatment as well.

Thematically, the Exit Eden videos appear to share a similar thread, which leads one to wonder if the videos are connected, or if the order of their release somehow paints a larger picture (somewhat like the Guns ’n Roses “video trilogy” of the early ’90s, where three seemingly random songs from the album tied together to tell a bigger story on-screen). The videos all show the same imagery: alternating between the group performing in a room with some sunlight coming through the windows of an old house, and the women individually either walking through the house or shown in rooms lit with candles. The women are seen walking through the halls, each one carrying a different item: Marina LaTorraca has a rose, Anna Brunner holds a pendant of some kind, Clémentine Delauney holds a small golden box, and Amanda Somerville holds and onyx ring. As the video ends, we see quick shots of the band performing onstage, alternating between shots of what rests in the women's hands: the rose, the box, the pendant, and the ring.

For more information on Exit Eden, visit their official website.

Hump Day Hot Ticket: Kingfisher Sky “Winter”

Band photo

Over the last several months since I started this feature, I have discovered a lot of great new music, and I have also had the chance to review the latest material from bands I already like, which is the case this week. However, without going back into my archives and checking for sure, I do not believe I have yet reviewed a cover song. Surely if I am wrong, someone will be happy to correct me in the comments section!

This week's video comes to us from the Dutch band Kingfisher Sky, whose combination of symphonic and progressive musical influences make way for gorgeous melodies steeped in classical, new-age sensibility. The way they bring all these sounds together, it then perhaps comes as no surprise that their choice of a cover song is by another artist also known for fusing together genres so seamlessly: Tori Amos, whose brand of piano-based alternative rock has garnered her massive success and a loyal following to this day.

Musically, Kingfisher Sky is far closer to the spectrum of an artist like Tori Amos than they are to their symphonic metal counterparts, so their attempt at tackling one of Tori's songs does not seem too unlikely a fit for them. Vocally, frontwoman Judith Rijnveld has a similar tone and style to Tori, so I could very easily imagine her doing a very good job on a track that I consider to be one of my favorite Tori Amos songs: the gentle ballad “Winter”, from her landmark debut album Little Earthquakes, released nearly 25 years ago.

The video itself is also as simple and strong as the song itself: the band's new keyboardist, Erik van Ittersum, sits at a piano in an empty room (which appears to be a church or music hall) as the opening notes play, and the camera snakes around him until we catch sight of Judith, sitting alone in a row of chairs behind him, and her vocals begin. She enunciates the lyrics more clearly than Tori does, which is somewhat nice if you do not know all the lyrics! Her voice also lends more of a “Celtic” or folk-style feel to it, which I also like. As the song progresses, Judith gets up from her seat and makes her way to where Erik continues to play. The rest of the video just shows the two of them performing together, but this powerful rendition needs no extra accoutrements, and it was so good that I hope they will officially release this on a future album or single someday.

For more information on Kingfisher Sky, visit their official website.

Special thanks to Ivar de Graaf.

Hump Day Hot Ticket: Master Sword “Behind the Mirror (The Dark World)”

Master Sword band photo

For this week's Hump Day Hot Ticket, I'm featuring a band that I've written about here before and whose music I enjoy for various reasons: Baltimore-based Master Sword, whose music is an ongoing tribute to The Legend of Zelda video games. Whether they are melodies based on in-game music, or lyrics pertaining to the mythology of the series, Master Sword brings the world of Hyrule (and all its varying parallel universes) to life through music, surely as Link manipulates time and space with his trusty ocarina.

This video is the first single from their upcoming album, due for release in the next several months. It features a guest vocalist whom I have also written about before: Rob Bradley, formerly of Aries and currently of Thrillkiller, he has a set of pipes that are certainly a gift from the Golden Goddesses. In this video, the bandmembers (which includes Jesse Keen from A Sound of Thunder, yet another band I have written about in extensive detail) are shown jamming on their instruments while Rob is at the mic delivering his epic vocals. Master Sword's musicianship is as intricate as a Zelda dungeon puzzle, and as imaginative as a Hyrulean tale.

Now that the band has recruited vocalist Lily Taylor to the mix, it will be interesting to hear how the rest of the album unfolds. But for now, take a listen to “Behind the Mirror (The Dark World)”, a song based on a musical piece from the game The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. Enjoy!

Hump Day Hot Ticket: Britta Phillips “Drive”

Photo courtesy of Luz Gallardo

As the singing voice of Jem from the iconic ’80s cartoon Jem & The Holograms, Britta Phillips has had a unique advantage in that her audience has grown up with her as her musical journey continued to evolve. From her various projects such as Luna, Dean & Britta, and movie soundtrack work, Britta has come a long way since her “truly outrageous” days as the pink-haired superwoman that inspired young girls and boys alike to follow their dreams. But her fans are just as devoted to her now as adults as they were back when they were little kids parked in front of the TV, waiting every week to hear her voice and sing along to those catchy Jem tunes. Now Britta has released the very first solo album of her storied career: Luck or Magic, a balanced mix of original material coupled with cover tunes from the ’70s and ’80s that her Jem fanbase are sure to recognize.

Much as Britta has embraced her past and does not try to deny her Jem affiliation, it is also safe to say that, musically, she as is far removed from the synth-driven ’80s pop that was the signature sound of the fictional band she fronted. Her singing style is completely her own now, and sounds nothing at all like her “Jem voice”. But her unique vocal delivery is still very identifiable, and if Britta Phillips really was Jem, one could say that her music on Luck or Magic is exactly what Jem might actually be doing in the year 2016; as a grown-up, mature woman who knows herself, knows her musical message, and knows how to utilize those talents to the fullest. With her throwback covers of past hits combined with her own current music, Luck or Magic speaks to the heart of every ’80s kid who are at that age where we are still young enough to approach newer music with an open mind (even if not with the same enthusiasm as in our teens and ’20s), but also reaching the age where childhood nostalgia kicks in, and the music from our past becomes as important to us as it ever did.

So then, perhaps Britta's choices of cover tunes on this album couldn't be more perfect, especially the choice for the video I'm going to share with you now: a cover of the classic tune from The Cars, “Drive”. If you grew up in the ’80s, you know this song. Britta does a fantastic job of conveying the sad and tragic lyrics; the juxtaposition of her morose vocals heard over a retro-style video of seemingly happy home videos that belie the tension just beneath the surface. Between these images are clips of Britta in black-and-white, either singing or driving around in her car. The music is minimalistic, drawing attention to the lyrical content; making it more powerful of a delivery. The comments on Britta's YouTube channel compare this tune to Lana Del Rey, so for those of you younger readers who don't know anything about the ’80s or don't get the references I have made, then consider those comments and take it from there! It's a worthy cover tune of a timeless classic from a super-talented singer. Need I say more?

Luck or Magic is now available on Double Feature Records.