Cold Moon searches for meaning in new video for “Simpleton”
We've all probably felt like the main character in Cold Moon's new video at some point in our lives. Directed and filmed by Timmy Lodhi, "Simpleton" is the first single from the East Bay group's upcoming album What's the Rush and shows a man in the grips of a full-blown identity crisis. Your late 20s/early 30s can be awkward period, one defined by the pains and discomforts of outgrowing one's own identity from the inside out. We all have this unspoiled image of who we want to be, and achieving that identity can be one of the greatest thrills in [...]
Kayatta Patton drops new video with the “Sweetest of Ease”
Ever since she picked up a trumpet in third grade, North Bay rapper/producer/poet Kayatta has been making a name for herself as a soulful and engaging performer. Born in West Oakland, Kayatta Patton found inspiration in musicians like A Tribe Called Quest and Ms. Lauryn Hill, influences that resonate on her debut album Beautiful and Messy, which dropped over the summer of 2020. And while obviously there are social and political themes woven throughout Kayatta's verses, her newest video "Sweetest of Ease," filmed and directed by Anthony Jimenez, is an introspective look at her own personal journey. Check it out [...]
Video Premiere: Planet Booty flaunts finer things in “Connoisseur”
Photo: Rachel Radcliffe The Planet Booty bandmates have always been experts in funk, acceptance, and positivity, but in the video for their latest single “Connoisseur,” they show that taste is in the eye of the beholder. “The song on the face of it seems superficial, like a celebration of fine, fancy things and material items and being high class,” says frontman Dylan Charles Germick. “But it’s the exact opposite of that.” Set in the gloom of a post-apocalyptic world, the "Connoisseur" video, released today, reminds us that in times of distress, the little things can be the finer things that [...]
Video Premiere: Trebuchet dress up for new single “Failing Up”
You might say that 2020 has been a crazy year for Trebuchet. Since the dawn of the new decade, the North Bay indie rockers have welcomed a newborn into the world, endured career-threatening medical issues, witnessed a bold attempt to kill rock music, not to mention survived a worldwide pandemic that has left scorched earth where there once stood a music scene. And despite all of it, the band is dropping a new record this year. Entitled It's Fine, I'm Fine, the band's third LP continues where they left off with 2017's Volte-Face; weaving three-part vocal harmonies, intricate guitar hooks, and [...]
New music from Dylan Tidyman-Jones: “Polytherian”
Dylan Tidyman-Jones has played in all your favorite bands: Sonny & The Sunsets, FRONDS and the incomparable Mallard. Despite COVID and civil war, he has a new project called Polytherian. The debut record, Role Play, is coming out September 4th on Gold Robot Records. You really should preorder the vinyl right now, right here. While yer at it, dim the lights and check out this hot video debut for the title track! It was directed by Cold Beat's Luciano Talpini Aita and filmed in SF (pre-COVID)! Now, tell me why you wouldn't want to wear a mask? https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4drI0Eaf9pU Video set [...]
KnightressM1 debuts “Polarity Integrate”
Oakland-based trio KnightressM1 debuted their new video for single "Polarity Integrate" on July 10. The video offers a combination of disparate images alongside heavy instrumentals. Lead vocalist and violinist Emily Palen performs musical alchemy by transforming her violin into the sounds typical of a rock guitar with hints every once in a while of the true nature of the instrument. This isn't a gimmicky move on Palen's part: The sounds she produces are unique and don't fall squarely in the guitar or violin camps, which is also true of the arrangement of the song. The chorus has the typical build [...]
Baeilou, Nahuel Bronzini, Mani Draper release “Uneven”
Start your week with another striking work from Oakland's Baeilou. This time it's with help from producer Nahuel Bronzini and Mani Draper, recently featured on an Awkward Convos with Beejus podcast. "Uneven" centers around the homelessness crisis in the Bay Area — already a looming issue when the song was released a few weeks ago, now made even more urgent by the spread of coronavirus. Spanning styles like jazz, rock, and hip-hop, it's a great encapsulation of all the Bay Area music scene has to offer.
Time Fraud premieres EP and video for “Cry Me A Highway”
Time Fraud is the musical venture of Oakland-based illustrator, zine maker, and musician Nick Wortham. He describes his art as a way to channel his anxiety into both his visual and audio works. His style is a heavy dose of lo-fi synthpop, 8-bit sounds and drowsy vocals that paint a somber depiction of reality. Somehow, the organic combination produces an oddly upbeat and dazzling sound. Quintessentially Bay Area, Time Fraud's latest EP "Cry Me a Highway" was recorded in Wortham's pickup truck while parked alongside the Bay Bridge. The whole recording studio was jerry-rigged from the confines of his vehicle, creating [...]
Self Care come back to life with “Just a Ghost”
North Bay indie outfit Self Care has been delving into the more ethereal side of indie rock in the last few years. Their new album Just a Ghost drops today via Earth Libraries records, and like the title suggests, the record is ghosty as hell. The album portrays the birth, life, and death of a romantic relationship from the POV of vocalist and songwriter Ryan Keller. Engineered and mixed by Kyle Lindauer, the new record is full of whatever the music equivalent of lens flare is. The band's affinity for dense and shimmering instrumentation is balanced by some lo-fi production aesthetics, [...]
Thao + The Get Down Stay Down release Zoom music video for “Phenom”
Thao & The Get Down Stay Down (photo: Jon Ching) Earlier this month, Oakland-based indie band Thao & The Get Down Stay Down released the music video for their latest single "Phenom." Shot entirely in a single take via the digital conferencing app Zoom, the music video is a brilliant adaptation to our current socially isolated environments. It's full of energy and choreographed remarkably. Eight dancers swirl around lead singer Thao Nguyen as they defy gravity, pass around and pour glasses of water, and construct a hulky body through multiple screens. The end product is simply mesmerizing, and a testament to the [...]