His Name Is Alive - Are We Still Married

 #His Name is Alive #experimental rock #dream pop #avant garde #alternative rock #indie rock #neo-psychedelia #art rock #Quay Brothers #animated music video #stop-motion

This was the first music video that the Quay Brothers were entirely responsible for, having previously contributed animated sequences to Peter Gabriel's 'Sledgehammer' (d. Stephen R. Johnson) in 1986. They had previously been approached by Warren Defever, the Michigan-based founder of the musical project His Name Is Alive (alongside vocalist Karen Oliver and drummer Damian Lang), who wanted to licence extracts from Street of Crocodiles (1986) for use in one of their music videos. The Quays refused permission, but were sufficiently intrigued by Defever's work to agree to shoot a music video for him from scratch.
'Are We Still Married?' was originally released in 1991 as a track on His Name Is Alive's second album Home Is In Your Head. This is very typical of the band's work, and indeed many other releases on the 4AD label, creating a dreamlike ambience through selective distortion of instrumentation and vocals, to the point where it's often hard to make out specific lyrics. Naturally, this approach suited the Quays down to the ground, and they duly ignored the song's textual content in favour of a typically oblique evocation of childhood.
The most immediately striking image is of a young girl, whose head is barely visible, but whose ankles expand and contract in a rhythmic motion. This looks as though it was computer-enhanced, but the effect was in fact entirely mechanical - the Quays' regular technical collaborator Ian Nicholas built a hinge mechanism in the girl's ankles. Around her, a somewhat moth-eaten white rabbit plays a manic solo game of ping-pong.
The video was initially inspired by an image by an anonymous photographer of a girl standing in front of a door holding a paddle. There was also a white doorknob in the picture, which the Quays initially mistook for a ping-ping ball. Although the Quays claimed not to have read Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, there are unmistakable echoes, from the general theme of little girls growing and shrinking before one's eyes, mysterious bottles of unidentified substances and doorknobs that turn into ping-pong balls.  From: http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/1222875/index.html

His Name is Alive are a rather eccentric experimental rock project from Livonia, Michigan, currently based in Detroit. Founded in 1990 by guitarist, composer, and sole constant member Warren Defever, the band is fond of Genre Roulette, having recorded songs ranging from Dream Pop, alternative rock, funk, prog rock, and Baroque Pop to experimental noise and gothic ambient compositions. The band was originally signed to 4AD Records, under whom they released a string of critically acclaimed records throughout The '90s, but were dropped by the label in the early 2000's after failing to meet sales expectations. After this, the band went defunct until 2006, when Defever revived the project with a new lineup. Since then, the band has steadily released new records and shows no signs of slowing down.  From: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Music/HisNameIsAlive

Let's Eat Grandma - Rapunzel

 #Let's Eat Grandma #art rock #pop rock #dream pop #experimental #avant-pop #electronic

The project of lifelong friends Rosa Walton and Jenny Hollingworth, Let's Eat Grandma's boundary-breaking pop stems from their intuitive creative connection. Featuring songs they wrote in their early teens, their 2016 debut album, I, Gemini, felt equally inspired by chart-topping acts, Grimm's fairy tales, and the likes of Björk and Kate Bush. The luminous synth pop of 2018's acclaimed I'm All Ears, which found Let's Eat Grandma collaborating with cutting-edge producer Sophie, was more sophisticated but no less exuberant, while the heartfelt songwriting on 2022's Two Ribbons reflected the changes and losses that reshaped - but didn't break - Hollingworth and Walton's bond. Similarly, the duo's work on the score to the Netflix series Half Bad: The Bastard Son & the Devil Himself expressed Let's Eat Grandma's continued creative growth with its eerie fusion of electronic and traditional instrumentation.
Growing up in Norwich, U.K., Hollingworth and Walton became best friends at age four, when they bonded during a kindergarten art class. From there, they embarked on creative projects that ranged from building tree houses to making short films and, eventually, music. They made their first song at age ten, and by the time they were 13, they were writing in a rehearsal space in Walton's home. Taking their name from a joke from the humorous punctuation book Eats, Shoots & Leaves, Let's Eat Grandma began recording songs for their album at the local music college when Hollingworth and Walton were 14 and began playing shows soon after. Around this time, they caught the attention of Manchester singer/songwriter Kiran Leonard, who saw their name on a poster for the 2014 Norwich Sound & Vision Festival. The pair soon shared management with Leonard and signed to Transgressive Records, which released a trio of singles - "Deep Six Textbook," "Eat Shiitake Mushrooms," and "Rapunzel" - in early 2016. Featuring the duo on every instrument, Let's Eat Grandma's first full-length, I, Gemini, arrived that June consisting of songs Hollingworth and Walton wrote several years earlier and earning critical acclaim for its clever songwriting and whimsical instrumentation.  From: https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lets-eat-grandma-mn0003481701/biography

His Name is Alive - Can't Go Wrong Without You

 #His Name is Alive #experimental rock #dream pop #avant garde #alternative rock #indie rock #neo-psychedelia #art rock #Quay Brothers #animated music video #stop-motion

The ever-changing project of multi-instrumentalist/producer Warren Defever, His Name Is Alive have explored a veritable record store's worth of music during their decades-spanning career. In the early 1990s, they helped define the sound of the arty indie label 4AD with the experimental dream pop of albums such as 1991's Home Is in Your Head and 1993's Mouth by Mouth. As time went on, their rotating lineup mirrored their shifting sounds. Defever and company surveyed sunny, Beach Boys-tinged pop on 1996's Stars on ESP just as deftly as they channeled gospel and R&B on 2001's Someday My Blues Will Cover the Earth. A few years later, they fused their dream pop roots with African and Asian elements on 2007's Xmmer. His Name Is Alive entered a particularly creative period in the 2010s, combining the ambitious and heavy sounds of prog and metal with ethereal vocals on the concept albums Tecuciztecatl (2014) and Patterns of Light (2016). Later in the decade and into the 2020s, Defever revisited early ambient recordings on collections such as 2019's All the Mirrors in the House (Early Recordings 1979-1986) and reworked them on mixtapes including 2020's Ghost Tape EXP.  From: https://www.allmusic.com/artist/his-name-is-alive-mn0000681402/biography

Starting from the late 70s, US born/England based duo of identical twins Stephen and Timothy Quay produced a whole number of stop-motion animations and their unique style, in turn, influenced a whole number of other animators. Much of their work is based on the writings of Franz Kafka and Bruno Schulz, features little to no dialogue, and relies heavily on musical scores/soundtracks. Their connection with musical world became more pronounced as they directed music videos for His Name Is Alive, Michael Penn and 16 Horsepower. Some  incorrectly assume that they are responsible for creating videos for the band Tool (undoubtedly, very similar in style to Quay’s work, but created mostly by the band’s guitarist Adam Jones).
The two videos that the Brothers Quay directed for His Name Is Alive are “Can’t Go Wrong Without You” and “Are We Still Married.”  From: https://ihrtn.net/brothers-quay-his-name-is-alive/ 

Dope Lemon - Honey Bones

 #Dope Lemon #Angus Stone #psychedelic rock #neo-psychedelia #pop rock #psychedelic pop  #psychedelic folk #dream pop #singer-songwriter #Australian #music video

Dope Lemon is the latest musical project from Angus Stone. After he was already established internationally as one-half of the sibling indie pop duo Angus & Julia Stone, the Australian singer/songwriter switched gears with his work under the pseudonym Dope Lemon, embracing more of a woozy, electric, '90s slacker rock sound than his other projects. Slick guitar playing, summery grooves, and dreamy-eyed vocal performances decorate Stone's highly stylized songwriting. From: https://www.allmusic.com/artist/dope-lemon-mn0003490717/biography

Angus Stone (sans sister Julia), and his good friends have dropped the debut album for their side project Dope Lemon, ‘Honey Bones’. Unlike what comes from when you and your friends get together to jam in a basement, ‘Honey Bones’ is a beautiful psychedelic-folk album that brings so many different ideas together seamlessly in one release. The album takes you on a psychedelic journey, working you through so many different effects and layers that at times it can be a struggle to be entirely sure what you’re hearing and how it was created. The album is best experienced with headphones on, as the mixing definitely plays with your perceptions as sounds move around your ears and you’re caught in the swirling maelstrom of effects.
Title track Honey Bones takes an exotic excursion, employing a tabla drum beat and constantly jangling sitar in the background to paint a meditative backdrop, which is only further layered by long, drawn out bass notes, and repeating guitar lines. Almost inaudible vocal harmonies add a psychedelic texture to this track in the chorus.
‘Honey Bones’ is at its best when it totally throws your expectations out of the door. Initially, you’re led to believe that it would be a throw back to one of the earlier Bob Dylan albums that first used electric guitar work. However, four songs in you’re taking a psychedelic journey thanks to unadulterated guitar effects and fun layering. At times it sounds like a young guitarist who has tried to apply every guitar effect in his arsenal, but with a beautiful polish and direction that comes with an experienced songwriter like Angus Stone.

From: https://aaabackstage.com/album-review-dope-lemons-debut-album-honey-bones/

Belly - Gepetto

 #Belly #Tanya Donelly #alternative rock #dream pop #jangle pop #indie rock #1990s #music video #ex-Throwing Muses #ex-The Breeders

The year was 1993 and a boy said to me, “You know, you kinda look like Tanya Donelly.” I interpreted this as a pick-up line although it migh have been simply a (generous) observation, but at the time there was no higher compliment paid in my estimation. Even the boy from 1993 knew that Tanya Donelly was much more than just indie-rock cutie pie. As a founding member of Throwing Muses and the Breeders, she was rocking the cradle during the infancy of the alternative music movement. These collaborations resulted in a measured amount of critical success (particularly the Breeders’1990 LP Pod) but Donelly shifted focus in 1992 to form her own band, Belly.
Star, one of Belly’s only two albums, listens like the dangerous part of a fairy tale; tucked into bed at one turn only to be climbing out a midnight window at another. The first track, “Someone to Die For,” is a gentle, dreamy introduction to the album. On most releases, that crucial opening song is so often the pull of a ripcord but here, it’s the letting go of a balloon. The flotation ends quickly as the following two tracks, “Angel” and “Dusted” deliver a shot in the arm of swirling rhythm guitars and runaway beats. Donelly uses dynamics to emphasize her narrative, opening her throat wide and crescendoing as the drama gains momentum.
The pop triad of songs on Star – “Feed the Tree,” “Gepetto” and “Slow Dog” – saw frequent play on college radio and landed rotation in the that hallmark of alternative music credibility, MTV’s “120 Minutes.” Although “Feed the Tree” was Belly’s most commercially successful single, “Slow Dog” is the highlight of the album, a punchy little pop song that is anthemic in its simplicity. Similarly, “Witch,” the eerie lullaby of the collection, offers up the flip side of “Slow Dog”‘s emotional dissonance. The soothing introduction of major chord arpeggios on slide guitar is followed with Donelly’s breathy warning: “It’s not safe/ In this house/ In some witch’s bed/ You know the one/ She lies all lit up.” It’s this emotional juxtaposition of imagery and sound – nursery stories turned nightmare – that makes Donelly’s songwriting so compelling.
Star winds down with the lullaby sounds of “Untogether,” “Star” and “Stay,” interrupted only by “Sad Dress,” the most technically interesting effort of the album. Swinging in a 3/2 time signature, “Sad Dress” waltzes dizzily through heavy backbeats and bass riffs that are ratty like an unfinished hem. “Untogether,” an acoustic and bare offering, is the only track that features back-up vocals. Chick Graning, member of the short-lived alt-rock band Scarce, lends just an echo of a male voice in this elegy for an incompatible love.
Indeed, the beauty of Star is that Tanya Donelly’s voice and vision alone drive the album’s conceptual integrity. Her sound, luminous and evocative, was a departure from the disc(h)ord of the riot-grrrl bands that were building steam and fan bases in the mid-90’s. This is not to say that her pipes have no power. Airy and feminine for sure, Donelly can just as quickly tower a hundred stories high when the songwriting insists on it. She plays with notions of vulnerability and invincibility in her vocals, using inflection and even pronunciation to elicit emotional connections.
Donelly’s lyrics are peculiar and specific, conjuring images that are nature-oriented, childlike and vaguely occult. They are the remnants of your baby sister’s bad dream. One of the most memorable lines from “Angel” confesses, “I had bad dreams/ So bad I threw my pillow away.” The songs of Star are subliminal sense impressions, free associations in a way that intuitively clicks. When recalling snapshots of this album rapid fire, my list was “sister doll moon dress witch” – and yeah, that’s about right. Thematically, it’s somewhat of a curious bookend to Hole’s Live Through This. Where Courtney wails wounded about doll parts and witches’ heads, Tanya murmurs dream-like about beheaded dolls and witches’ beds. Both artists identify the trauma, artifice and stigmata that accompany a postmodern womanhood, reaching that place across very different access points. Courtney Love once remarked retrospectively, “I don’t think if I had been Tanya Donelly and put out Live Through This anybody would’ve cared” – and to be fair to Donelly, the reverse might also be true, insofar as only you can sing your own songs. Whether or not Love and Donelly viewed each other as feminist contemporaries, there are disarming lyrical parallels between the two works.
From:  https://spectrumculture.com/2010/06/21/revisit-belly-star/

The Cranberries - Zombie

 #The Cranberries #Dolores O'Riordan #alternative rock #Irish folk rock #pop rock #post-punk #dream pop #jangle pop #Celtic rock #1990s #music video

Presaged by shimmering spin-off hits “Dreams” and “Linger,” The Cranberries’ landmark debut album, Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We?, suggested its creators had taken up the baton handed down by jangly indie-pop classicists The Smiths and The Sundays. However, that preconception was swiftly turned on its head by “Zombie,” the furious anti-terrorism lament with which the rising Irish stars trailed their second album, 1994’s No Need To Argue. “Zombie”‘s genesis is traceable to March 20, 1993, when two bombs, planted by the Irish Republican Army, exploded in the northern English town of Warrington. The blast from the second bomb injured dozens of people, but most cruelly claimed the lives of three-year-old Jonathan Ball and 12-year-old Tim Parry: a twin tragedy that shocked and appalled both the UK and Irish public.
“I remember at the time there were a lot of bombs going off in England and The Troubles were pretty bad,” singer Dolores O’ Riordan said in a 2017 interview. “I remember being on tour and in the UK at the time, and just being really sad about it.” Deeply affected by the tragedy, O’Riordan began working on a song that reflected upon the event. However, unlike many Cranberries tracks that sprang from group collaboration, the formative ‘Zombie’ was composed alone by O’ Riordan during downtime from her band’s punishing tour schedule.
“I wrote it initially on an acoustic guitar, late at night,” she said. “I remember being in my flat, coming up with the chorus, which was catchy and anthemic. I took it into rehearsals and picked up the electric guitar and kicked in distortion on the chorus. Even though it was written on an acoustic, it became a bit of a rocker. ‘Zombie’ was quite different to what we’d done before. It was the most aggressive song we’d written.” Recorded in Dublin, “Zombie” featured pounding drums and churning guitars, representing a radical departure from The Cranberries’ signature sound. However, as Dolores O’ Riordan later revealed, the song’s beefed-up alt-rock sound wasn’t an attempt to jump on the grunge bandwagon.
“It came organically, because we were using our live instruments – we were plugging in a lot and we started to mess around with feedback and distortion,” she said. In a 2012 interview, guitarist Noel Hogan explained that “the heavier sound was the right thing for the song. If it was soft, it wouldn’t have had that impact. It would stand out in the live set because of that.”
Released as No Need To Argue’s lead single in 1994, “Zombie” was promoted with a powerful video that also made a significant impact. Directed by Samuel Bayer, the video was filmed in Belfast during The Troubles, using real-life footage. Dolores O’Riordan memorably appeared covered in gold make-up in front of a cross, alongside a group of boys covered in silver make-up. Though banned by the BBC at the time, the clip has since become one of rock’s most-watched music videos on YouTube, clocking up one billion views in April 2020, making The Cranberries the first Irish band to have a song reach that landmark. At the time, O’Riordan received criticism for “Zombie”‘s hard-hitting lyrics, with some detractors suggesting she was taking sides in the Northern Irish conflict. However, as the singer pointedly observed in a 1994 interview, the song was written entirely from a humanitarian point of view. “I don’t care whether it’s Protestant or Catholic, I care about the fact that innocent people are being harmed,” she said. “That’s what provoked me to write the song. It doesn’t name terrorist groups or organizations. It doesn’t take sides. It’s a very human song.”  From: https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/the-cranberries-zombie-song/