HELENOR - Artifact

Helenor is the musical moniker for Boston-based visual artist David DiAngelis. The debut LP something twice was written and produced at home over the greater part of 2017. Excellent drum tracks were provided by Seth Kasper (Mass Gothic, Christopher Owens, Hooray for Earth, Wild Light, Air Traffic Controller) who also co-produced the album. David studied at Massachusetts College of Art and Design with a concentration in Illustration. He is a working visual artist/designer whose approach to music is heavily influenced by visual narrative. David has played in several acts, including Philosophical Zombie - where he and Seth Kasper began to first collaborate.

This is a really nice track and video, with a spare, clean sound much helped by Kasper's excellent drum work. The "Artifact" song and video project is a fine accomplishment that somehow feels good, a sort of celebration of the opportunity of life. DiAngelis has a musical style here that is engaging in the way that Peter Bjorn and John's "Young Folks" was, though DiAngelis is the smoother vocalists among this comparative set. Cool stuff out of Boston.

Kerchief - Evil Parts

Kerchief is a Tennessee band and the vision of songwriter Britt Hill. Following the end of her previous band, Vanity Theft, Hill began Kerchief as a solo project with the self-produced Demonstrations EP in 2014. This was followed up by Kerchief’s 2015 debut LP Machines And Animals released via 825 Records. The full length alt-rock record was well received by several media outlets and showcased Hill’s talent for writing songs that are distinctly personal to the musician, while being down to earth and relatable to the listener. Hill next recruited a revolving cast of musicians to embark on regional tours and build a following. All the while staying prolific by releasing two self-produced EPs (Corner House in 2016, Rinse in 2018). Now in 2019, Kerchief is set to return with a sophomore LP, Fluke, on March 1st.

Hill added brothers Tommy and Trevor Nicholson (bass and drums) and turned Kerchief into a more collaborative affair, and the band sounds great. This particular track, "Evil Parts", is well done, beautifully choreographed and produced, though the song itself is not exactly campfire material, unless its a dark and scary night. Someone is out on the town and runs into another someone with whom they share an attraction, and a stalker narrative ensues, and it turns out the pursued is as twisted as the pursuer. Tennessee must be a dangerous place to find love.

SHOULDIES - Bed

Shouldies is an Atlanta synth punk trio consisting of singer Yancey Ballard, John Pierce (guitar and synth), and Daniel Eberlein (drum machine and synth). They have a Goth sensibility, or direction, and an antennae for social justice, or injustice, depending upon how far they venture outside of the safety bubble of Atlanta, and into the surrounding environs where homophobia and transphobia morphs into something more than just uncomfortable to be around. Ballard has explored this social dynamic in previous songs.

In truth, the best thing about this song and video is the girl in the video, who has wattage you don't often see in low-budget productions.

LISA PAPINEAU - Beautiful

One would be hard-pressed to think of a more quintessential go-to artisan for dynamic and progressive new music than Lisa Papineau. She began her performance career in experimental theatre and has since amassed a body of work that spans albums, film soundtracks, art installations, dance and theater productions, narration and producing, but is best known for her own mold-breaking voice – which Tori Amos once declared to have “...the power of Bon Scott and yet the lyricalness in the voice of a reed instrument.”

Simply put, Lisa Papineau has one of the most beautiful voices in contemporary music, and she has a songwriter sensitivity that is almost without equal. There is authenticity about her work that is found in few others.

OKEY DOKEY - Whose Heart

Okey Dokey is another act out of Nashville, but they aren't exactly country - not "exactly" because Aaron Martin and Johny Fisher do a kind quasi-New Wave synth pop that has many of the traits of country music. Their inclination seems to be to build melody lines and choruses that are accessible to the extent that they may remind listeners that abominations like I Heart Radio still exist to satisfy the needs of people who haven't realized that the musical center is depressing.

That said, Okey Dokey does what they do rather well and there is a better than even chance that a listener will like this track.

Bitch - "New Year" 

Here is what publicist Michelle King, of Noisy Ghost PR told me about this this Bitch's "New Year": "The song is all about letting go of things that don't serve you and claiming your power, especially as a woman. It's fun, it's catchy as hell, and it comes paired with a really rad video."

I would go with all of that, but just found myself unqualified to comment on what is essentially a feminist anthem. Throughout her career, Bitch has released three albums with her duo Bitch and Animal (including two on Ani DiFranco’s Righteous Babe Records), she put out a solo album via Kill Rock Stars, three on her own imprint (Short Story Records), and also starred as herself in Shortbus (the 2006 feature film from Hedwig and the Angry Inch’s John Cameron Mitchell). She is a powerhouse on the queercore scene, and has been for some time, a take no prisoners, in-your-face kind of cultural rebel, and her own brand of dynamite.

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