New York City's The Velvicks Release Hard-Hitting Track "Lockdown NYC"

By: Samantha Camp 

New York-based band The Velvicks recently released their single “LDNYC (Lockdown NYC)” amid the lockdowns that have swept the nation due to the COVID-19 pandemic over the past couple of months. The song is a hard-hitting, garage punk tribute to the heroes of the pandemic and to the band’s experience in lockdown. I chatted with Vick Nader, the bands lead singer, songwriter, and guitarist, about the song and its unique production. The band is made up of bassist Apoena, guitarist Vinny, and drummer ED.

The Velvicks originated in Brazil, but found themselves in the colorful Brooklyn music scene when they were scouted by a booking agent at a party and show they threw in their drummer ED’s basement. At the time, the band didn’t have any songs released, but that didn’t stop their impressive debut at the iconic Irving Plaza in New York City. After two years of playing gigs in New York City and a tour on the West Coast, the band found themselves in the studio recording hit singles, including “Hit Me Like Sugar” which has already amassed over 100k streams on Spotify; an impressive feat considering that the song was released in early March of this year. 

When talking about the song, Nader emphasized that the band never met in person during the jam and production of the track. With the band being in different places and in lockdown, you can imagine that jamming over Zoom might create a different atmosphere than jamming in person, but Nadar says that the band enjoyed being able to play together even when they were apart. 

The Velvicks.

The Velvicks.

“LDNYC” is a typical underground punk-style anthem, one with distorted effects on the guitar and vocals, and loud, crashing drums. The lyrics, “lockdown New York City” ring true in a song centered around the CORD-19 pandemic, where we’ve all been stuck inside due to mandatory lockdown. When asked about his favorite lyric, Nader chuckled and noted that he threw in a lyric about how spring hadn’t sprung because we were all in our houses and couldn’t enjoy the beautiful weather. 

The Velvicks are dropping their debut album RUN July 24th, and they are a band to have on your radar. With inspirations stemming from Pink Floyd, The Black Keys, and Radiohead, the band is rising fast and deserves to be in rotation on your playlists. 

Keep up with The Velvicks on Spotify and Apple Music and be sure to follow them on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. If you want to catch up with the band over social media, Nader hosts a weekly Instagram live Thursdays on the band’s Instagram page.  

All photos, videos, and embedded tracks per the artists featured and those credited. This feature was edited for brevity and clarity by BolderBeat. 

Review: Alex Dezen Strikes New Ground on ///

By: Brody Coronelli

Veteran songwriter formerly of The Damnwells takes influence from the ‘80s on his third album as a solo artist.

It’s been three years since The Damnwells— the Americana/rock band from New York City responsible for putting their frontman Alex Dezen in the spotlight—called it quits. Throughout their time, they released five studio albums and came within inches of major label success, but ultimately faded out. Since then, Dezen has been working diligently to build a solo career, and it fits him well. He’s evolved more as an artist over the last three years than he did in the 15 he spent making music with The Damnwells.

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Since 2015, Dezen has released three EPs, three self-titled solo albums, and a live album. It all started with the endearing, magnetic Bedhead EPs, and was followed with the stripped-down, memoir-esque I, the nostalgic and experimental II, the live album Alive in America, and now III. His solo material has managed to strike a strong balance between the personal and political, while also functioning as a tribute to the music that inspired him when he was young. III is no different in this regard, and it stands out as his most ambitious solo effort yet.

III (stylized as ///) is Dezen’s first solo album made in close creative proximity with his partner and collaborator, the actress/comedian Amber Bollinger. Bollinger’s backing vocals are at the center of these songs. Dezen’s third solo endeavor is a spacious, synth-driven romp through the vast, danceable, and hook-heavy songwriting of ‘80s rock. This influence is the most obvious on anthemic tracks like “Run Away From You,” a playful and shadowy duet that echoes emotional turmoil at every corner. The carnal and self-aware “Animal” moves at a similar velocity, utilizing bright synthesizers and slick, pop production. It’s one of the angriest songs Dezen has ever written, but it’s shining and infectious at the same time; two energies he’s able to bridge together masterfully. “From Your Knees” maintains the anger of “Animal,” and is also one of the most left-field yet memorable additions to III. With fuzzy, synth-heavy verses that drown his vocals in static, the song eventually makes a headfirst slide into a melodic chorus layered with vocal harmonies from Bollinger and a jagged guitar refrain.

Alex Dezen.

Alex Dezen.

The pop side of the ‘80s comes through at its most irresistible on the bracing, political “The End of America.” The song is romantic and fatalistic all at once, with tongue-in-cheek lines like “I am not your judging jury/I am your Judge Judy,” all wrapped up by one of the most masterful and infectious hooks Dezen has ever written. “Let me be your jester today/We can blow the heavens away/We can drive to the end of America,” he sings, maintaining a sense of youthful sentimentality while also acknowledging that it’s all going down in flames.

Despite the glitz and experimental flash of many of the songs on III, Dezen doesn’t hold back from stripping things down. The lead single “When You Need Me”is a vibrant, ambitious love song that uses ethereal and spacious production to make a sweeping declaration of infatuation. It runs at over six minutes and is bound together by a simple, two-note piano lead that remains the same, but feels brighter and brighter as the song progresses. The album closes with “Cool Places,” a piano-clad duet that uses youthful, simple language to portray a vibrant romance. “I wanna go to cool places with you/I wanna take you cool places tonight/I wanna go where nobody’s a fool/And no one says ‘Hey girl, need a light?’” The song is unconcerned with any lyrical or instrumental frills, and distills love down to its most forthright.

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Alex Dezen is a veteran songwriter who has grown increasingly more comfortable with himself and his artistic range, and III is one of his finest works yet. In many ways, these solo albums he’s diligently spent the last three years working on have served as a deconstruction of Dezen’s history as a songwriter; they’ve taken apart the musical conventions he abided by for so long and made something new from the disassembled parts. These songs are a long way from the Americana-laced balladeering of The Damnwells, but they’re not any less successful at leaving a lasting impression.

Keep up with Alex here.

-Brody

All photos, videos, and embedded tracks per the artists featured and those credited. This feature was edited for brevity and clarity by BolderBeat.

A Shadow Of Jaguar Release New Music Video "Don't Want to Die Here" In Anticipation Of Debut Record 'RAW'

By: Andrew Wright

The 60s and 70s were largely marked by civil unrest on multiple fronts, and when you compare those times to the events of today, it’s not hard to see similarities. Music artists are picking up on that reality, and bringing back not only the sound of that time, but the ideas and movements as well. A Shadow of Jaguar’s new music video “Don’t Want To Die Here” is one example of this kind of art. The music video features a woman dancing in white against a white screen with multiple apocalyptic images behind her, and at one point, the dancer even puts a small sunflower in her mouth before anything starts, beginning with a sort of symbolic silence that harkens back to “flower children” of the late 60s, an acid hit, and the anti-war protest of the 60s and 70s all at once.

The music itself here has crunchy distortion, a catchy rhythm, and a singer with a vintage-sounding voice (Brian Hubbert) singing about a dismal place, of smoking cities and other ghastly images. He sings the title of the track, “Don’t Want to Die Here” multiple times as a cry for life and safety. The more you listen to this song, the more you almost get a sense of a past voice crying out, but in something that is relevant today with current events, like the threats of nuclear war, civil unrest, and war that seems never ending and unwinnable at times.

A Shadow of Jaguar.

A Shadow of Jaguar.

If you care about music that has the soul of this era in sound and message, then listen to and watch the music video for “Don’t Want to Die Here” by A Shadow of Jaguar. Their debut album, RAW is coming fast, and drops this weekend on October 28th.

Keep up with A Shadow of Jaguar here.

-Andrew

All photos, videos, and embedded tracks per the artists featured and those credited. This feature was edited for brevity and clarity by BolderBeat.
 

Big Wild Really Might Just Be Invincible

By: Annie Kane

It’s been almost a year since we interviewed Big Wild prior to his set at Larimer Lounge in Denver, and we have to make a music snob move by saying: we called it. Over the course of the past year, Big Wild has arguably become one of the biggest rising stars in EDM. The Foreign Family Collective artist sold out Denver’s Gothic Theatre two nights in a row this year, and just last weekend, he brought the house down at his (of course) sold-out show at The Bowery Ballroom in New York City. Did we mention he’s also playing Red Rocks later this year?

Despite growing from intimate clubs to massive stages, Jackson Stell, the man behind Big Wild, still manages to have every audience member dancing their face off throughout his entire set. From entering with “I Just Wanna” from his new EP Invincible, to closing out with a collaborative performance with iDA HAWK on his title track hit “Invincible,” Jackson’s unrelenting energy kept the audience fueled well past midnight at Bowery last weekend, and buzzing right on into the early morning.

Listen to Big Wild’s Invincible EP:

Big Wild has a few shows left on his current tour before he hits the festival circuit for the summer, so make sure to snag yourself tickets here.

-Annie

All photos, videos, and embedded tracks per the artists featured and those credited. This feature was edited for brevity and clarity by BolderBeat.