Los Angeles-based multifaceted producer, singer/songwriter, bassist, performer, restless performer and JOVM mainstay Sylvia Black has had a long-held reputation for being difficult to pin down. And since her first job singing and entertaining at a resort hotel in Northern Japan as a teen, music has been the JOVM mainstays lifeline. Throughout her career, Black has steadily gained momentum as a writer and producer, consistently creating music on her own times, while simultaneously cementing her place in the post-punk and goth-romantic renaissance and been restlessly creative. Her lengthy credits reflect her eclectic tastes and wide-ranging abilities. She was the frontperson of the New York-based trio KUDU with Deantoni Parks (drums, production) and Nicci Kasper (keys, production) in the early 00s. Black also has writing and recording credits with Grammy Award-winning pop act Black Eyed Peas, Daphne Guinness and more. Her lengthy resume includes collaborations with legends like Tony Visconti, Lydia Lunch and Moby, as well as The Knocks, Armand Van Helden and French electro pop duo Telepopmusik. And last, but definitely not lease, her sultry rendition of 'I Put A Spell On You" appeared on the hit Netflix series Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. As a bassist, Black has played with The Brand New Heavies' N'Dea Davenport, Living Colour's Muzz Skillings and with Maya Rudolph's Prince cover band Princess. The JOVM mainstay's newest album, the 11-song Shadowtime is slated for a January 16, 2026 release. The album sees Black continuing her long-held approach of songwriting from the bottom up. “I find a beat that I’m in love with and go forward," Black says. "The bass provides the floor, but as a singer, I’m also coming in with the roof. If you can write a beautiful song with just those two elements, bass notes and the voice, that’s a job well done.” Written, produced and performed primarily by the JOVM mainstay the album was crafted with support from longtime mix engineer and creative foil Ruddy Lee Cullers. The album's material will reportedly be a haunting exploration of nostalgia and futurism, that sees Black pushing her sound in new directions by weaving hypnotic rhythms, cinematic layers and raw, visceral emotion, while moving effortlessly from dance floor anthems to atmospheric meditations on love, loss and transcendence. “This album is about finding beauty in ruins,” Black says. “About letting the shadows speak through me. Returning to California brought out the memory and soul of my goth days gone by.”  Shadowtime's first single "Talking in Tongues" is a brooding blend of goth, New Wave and shoegaze that seemingly nods at Suicide, The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees and others, featuring a relentless motorik groove and industrial-like thump serving as an atmospheric bed for Black's sultry delivery. Black says, “It’s about one who has lost their agency by letting outward elements control them and deceive them. Or, a drunk bitch.”

Ridgewood, Queens-based indie band and JOVM mainstays S.C.A.B -- currently Sean Carmago (vocals, guitar), Cory Best (guitar, backing vocals), Alec Alabado (bass, backing vocals), Evan Eubanks (drums, percussion), Jordan Rich (synth, piano, production) and Sean Brennan (cello) -- will be releasing their third album, Somebody In New York Loves You! through Grind Select on November 21, 2025. The soon-to-be released third album reportedly sees the Ridgewood-based band simultaneously turning inward and stretching wide with the album's material leaning into vulnerability without retreating into abstraction, drawing from Carmago's psychedelic-fueled realizations, intimate journal entries and moments of raw emotional rupture. Much of the album's material was written in a creative sure following a psychic reading that left Carmago feeling oddly affirmed and fantastical. And as a result, a sense of magical realism and sepia-tinged nostalgia is at the core of the album. At times, the band sounds like huge, like an arena rock band and others, eerily close, like a voice memo you weren't meant to hear. With Somebody In New York Loves You!, the Ridgewood-based outfit makes space for contradictions: songs that are personal but big, naive but knowing, imaginative but grounded. After a stretch of false starts, rain-soaked gigs and artistic doubt, the band emerges sounding both clear-headed and ready -- while reminding the listener that yes, somebody here in this town does love you. "LOVE," Somebody In New York Loves You!'s third and latest single is a mid-tempo 120 Minutes-era MTV-like sigh of gratitude anchored around shimmering guitars, Carmago's expressive delivery and the band's unerring knack for big, shout along worthy hooks and choruses. It's arguably one of the more direct songs of the soon-to-be released album and of the band's growing catalog, expressing gratitude for the complicated and odd place New York is, to family -- whether biological or chosen, to being unafraid of finding a way to pick yourself up and start over. "This song is a reminder to myself to get clearer on what I would like to see," S.C.A.B.'s Sean Carmago says. "The roles we play. The illusion of truth. I had a tiny blue bird when I was young. You had a love, it hurt, now it’s done. Blood is your teacher now. Let go of duality." Directed by Sampson Dahl, the accompanying video was shot in his laundromat space on beta film and evokes a warm, nostalgia for Pee Wee's Playhouse and Gumby with the video being fantastical yet grounded in mundanity and handmade in a way in which you can see the stitching, seams and glue, but done so with a playful, knowing charm. The Ridgewood-based band will be playing a record release show at 94 Bogart next week.  

Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter and bassist Kevin Marksson has made a career out of wearing his heart on his sleeve, pouring years of diary entries into the music and lyrics of Endearments. On the project's most recent EP, 2023's self-released, Abe Seiferth-produced, It Can Be Like This, Marksson and his bandmates -- Anjali Nair (guitar) and Will Haywood Smith (drums) -- channel their frontman's introspections into lush, reverb-soaked pop that evoke 4AD Records' heyday and Roxy Music. The trio recently signed to Trash Casual, who released their latest single "Cannon." Continuing an ongoing collaboration with Abe Seiferh, "Cannon" showcases a cinematic sound that features glistening synth oscillations, propulsive drumming and bursts of angular guitar paired with a rousingly anthemic hook and chorus serving as a lush, brooding bed for Marksson's achingly yearning, melancholic delivery. The result is a song that simultaneously seems to nod at Simple Minds and Tears for Fears, as well as contemporaries like Nation of Language and others while anchored around deeply introspective, lived-in lyricism. Directed by Gabriel Stanley, the accompanying video for "Cannon" employs a simple, bare-boned concept: Marksson singing and dancing to the song in a spotlight filled studio and gradually soaked by rain. “‘Cannon’ is a song about apathy and addiction. It’s about living in a world where we see atrocities unfolding before our eyes, yet choose to willfully ignore or self-medicate because the pain we are witnessing is so overwhelming," Endearments' Kevin Marksson explains. "I knew we needed to keep the music video simple and focused on lyrics and movement. Even though I’m not a trained dancer, we worked with an amazing choreographer, Camilia Araque, who really helped me step out of my comfort zone and throw myself into the experience and emotion of the song.” The Brooklyn-based trio is currently working on their Abe Seiferth-produced full-length debut, slated for an early 2026 release.

JOVM's William Ruben Helms celebrates Booker T's 81st birthday.

JOVM's William Ruben Helms celebrates Neil Young's 80th birthday.

Wildly prolific, Israeli-born, Costa Rican-based singer/songwriter, musician and JOVM mainstay MAGON recently released his third album of this year and 13th -- yes, y'all, 13th! -- album overall Zoe Rainbow Days. Zoe Rainbow Days' latest single "All My Days Are Hanging" continues a run or mediative and introspective material that seemingly draws from psych folk, Sea Change-era Beck and others. And at its core, is a dreamy and lovingly detailed depiction of domesticity that feels nostalgic yet somehow punctuated with a realization of how fleeting everything is. The accompanying video features footage from Len Lye's 1936 short film, The Birth of the Robot. The footage is restored and re-imaged as a visual companion to the song.

JOVM's William Ruben Helms celebrates XTC founder and frontman Andy Partridge's 72nd birthday.

Venice-based indie outfit Glazyhaze -- Irene (vocal, guitar), Lorenzo (guitar), Francesco (drums, programming) and Vsevolod (bass, backing vocals) -- quickly established a sound that draws from shoegaze, dream pop and alternative rock with the release of their full-length debut, 2023's Just Fade Away. Since the release of Just Fade Away, the band has toured across Europe and the UK, opening for the likes of Trentemøller, Hater, Film School and a lengthy list of others. Building up on a growing profile across Europe and the UK, the band released their Paolo Canaglia-produced sophomore album SONIC earlier this year. Recorded between Northeast Italy and London, the Italian band's sophomore album thematically explores the complexities of love through a journey of self-discovery and emotional contrasts. Sonically, the album sees the quartet embracing shoegaze, bedroom pop, post-punk and art rock influences. The band supported the album opening for Soft Cult on their European tour as well as a handful of dates with The Raveonettes, Slow Crush, Lucy Kruger and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. And adding to a growing profile, the band has received airplay on KEXP, Rai Radio 2, FM4 and BBC Radio 6's Steve Lamacq. Clocking in at a 2:31, SONIC's latest single, "ROMEO" is a breakneck gallop of a tune anchored around swirling, reverb and distortion-drenched guitar textures, a propulsive rhythm section that seemingly channels 120 Minutes-era MTV-era alt rock. Much like the period that the song and the band channels, "ROMEO" is underpinned by subtle yet noticeable tension between anger, sweetness and nostalgia. The new single captures the powerlessness that often comes with loving someone who can't love themselves -- and are unwilling and/or incapable of change. As the band explains, "ROMEO" is a song for those who hide behind stubborn pride, who would be more willing to destroy everything rather than show vulnerability; for those who seemingly live with the appearance of control but burn inside and won't readily admit it. They add that the song is most importantly, a farewell to the illusion -- or delusion -- that you can save someone who doesn't want to be saved.

London-based singer/songwriter Elanor Moss grew up in a very creative, devoutly Catholic family -- and she can trace the origins of her career to playing music at church events. Homeschooled through early youth, her parents put an emphasis on nature, reading and music. Eventually leaving the faith, Moss started writing her own original songs in York, where she studied English Literature and played open mics around the city. During her studies, she discovered Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan and The Beatles. Shortly, after graduation, Moss met producer Oli Deakin, who offered to record her debut EP, 2022's Citrus. Her work with Deakin took her to NYC, where she began forging a sense of community. Between the release of Citrus EP and her sophomore EP, 2023's Cosmic, Moss toured with Christian Lee Huston, Benjamin Francis Leftwich and LYR, and played one-off shoes with Cassandra Jenkins, CMAT and Sam Amidon. And adding to a growing profile, she played sets at Pitchfork London, Green Man Festival, Mosley Folk and a list of others. The rising London-based artist recently signed to Merge Records, who recently released "Again, My Love," the first bit of new material from Moss since 2023's Cosmic EP -- and it's a preview of more new music in 2026. Featuring a gorgeous, autumnal arrangement of strummed acoustic guitar and muted horns, accompanied by Moss' haunting delivery, "Again, My Love" finds the London-based artist contemplating life's transitions and the heartache of loss while allowing room for growth, understanding and transformation. “It’s a song that reflects on change, the nature of change being something that requires you to lose things, and that's okay, and actually really good. I wrote it when I was really having a rough time," Moss says. "I was living a troubadour existence for the past couple of years, flitting between different places, and the uncertainty of that way of living was really getting to me. I think that one is a song for me, that I was trying to make a bit more universal."

JOVM's William Ruben Helms celebrates Warren G's 55th birthday.

JOVM's William Ruben Helms belatedly celebrates Bonnie Raitt's 76th birthday.

Deriving their name from the Gaelic word for "heartache," "vexation of spirit," County Cork-based duo Crá Croí -- RG (songwriting, production, mixing and mastering) and CD (vocals and visuals) -- have employed a fiercely DIY ethos while establishing a sound that meshes elements of 1980s New Wave, post-punk and goth, featuring melancholic synths, dark melodies, angular guitars and sharp, hook-driven vocals. The Irish duo's work explores themes of nihilism, love and destruction, dystopian collapsed and nuclear annihilation, often wrapped in irony and paired with post-apocalyptic metaphors. The County Cork-based duo intend to release a handful of singles with an album and select live shows played over the next year or two. According to the band gigs happen only when the setting is right, because for the duo "art comes first" and their integrity matters more than exposure for the sake of exposure. Their latest single, the brooding "Radiation Romance" seemingly channels She Wants Revenge and Interpol: swirling and angular power chords are paired with eerie atmospheric synths, a relentless, motorik-like groove and rousingly anthemic hook and chorus that serves as a stormy bed for CD's punchy, yet Paul Banks-like vocal. Thematically, the song focuses is a tongue in check take on the nuclear annihilation that would make Vincent Price proud.

JOVM's William Ruben Helms celebrates Eric B's 62nd birthday.

JOVM's William Ruben Helms celebrates Scarface's 55th birthday.

JOVM's William Ruben Helms celebrates Pepa's 56th birthday.

Zohran Mamdani at St. Pat's For All in Arab Center Washington, DC.

My photo of Mayor-elect Mamdani at Pride appeared in "Advocate."

Sri Lanka is a Philadelphia-based band that originally formed back in 1986. The band quickly established a sound that draws from goth and post-punk, as well as elements of alternative rock and psych rock. They saw extraordinary popularity in the Philadelphia and New York underground music scenes of the late 1980s and 1990s before going through a series of tumultuous lineup changes following the departure of founding member and the tragic death of frontman Brett Turner Suffering from depression, Turner took his own life back in 1989, when he was 20. The band went on to try out several vocalists before landing on Jose Maldonado. And with Maldonado, the Philadelphia-based post punk went on to record and release 1992's Shadow and Ivy EP and 1993's Here. Friction between band members Erb and Maldonado started early on and ultimately led to the band splitting down the middle shortly after the release of Here with Erb and Chairs going in one direction, Maldonado and Stein going in another. Rob Studt retired from music altogether. Erb went on to rejoin his original founding partner Lee Daniels and formed the band [needle] in 1995. Back in October 2020, the band announced the forthcoming release of Leviathan on their Facebook Fan page, after a 25 year hiatus. And that November, they released the album's title track "Leviathan." They also released two live recordings from Christmas 1998 at Philadelphia's Club Memphis and February 1989 at Philadelphia's Revival. Leviathan's latest single "Solstice" is a driving bit of goth-tinged post punk featuring shoegazer guitar textures and industrial thump that seemingly channels Cocteau Twins and contemporaries like ACTORS, while showcasing the band's ability to craft a driving and rousingly anthemic, catchy hook and chorus. The band explains that "Solstice" was a previously unrecorded song written back in 1991 that may arguably one of the best songs they've ever written.

Kelly Cappuccio is an Italian electronic music producer, whose classical training as a child helped shaped her melodic sensibility and musical ear. Her discovery of electronic music unreleased a creative epiphany: Cappuccio quickly realized she could craft a sound that flows seamlessly between techno and tech house that bridges nostalgia and innovation.  Her latest single “Chiquilla” is an Ibiza and Miami-styled tech house banger that features Colombian Spanish vocals on a bed of hypnotic driving grooves and warm, analog production and the Italian producer’s unerring knack for euphoria-inducing hooks. The Italian producer explains that the track is made for the 2:00am peak when the dance floor is packed, the energy is high and you need track with both groove and soul that really stands out.  ______ The Joy of Violent Movement is a completely independent and completely D.I.Y. media outlet. Over the course of this site’s 15+ year history, I’ve used my fiercely independent stance to cover music with an eclectic and global perspective that a lot of other publications just don’t have — and will likely never have.  To that end, I could use your support to continue to keep bringing you my unique global perspective on music. There are a number of ways that you can support this work.  I’ve been told that some people would prefer to make a one-time donation because it’s easy and less of an obligation. So, if you’re able to make a one-time donation, there’s a donation box below. If you can give more regularly, please feel free to check out my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheJoyofViolentMovement.  Anything you can give is very much appreciated. It can and does make a real difference, y’all.  I know that a lot of folks are struggling to make ends meet in an uncertain and tumultuous economic climate. So there are other, non-financial ways in which you can support this work.  You can follow me on the following social platforms: X/Twitter: @yankee32879 and @joyofviolent  Instagram: @william_ruben_helms Threads: @william_ruben_helms Bluesky: @williamrubenhelms.bsky.social Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheJoyofViolentMovement As always, if there are posts that you dig, share them with your friends. The more eyeballs on my work, the better. 

Los Angeles-based Mexican/Colombian producer, singer/songwriter, rapper and multi-instrumentalist Dani Bojorges-Giraldo (they/them) is the creative mastermind behind the critically applauded recording project St. Panther. Bojorges-Giraldo’s previously released work was the soundtrack to the early part of this decade for many folks, but following their departure from the major label network, the Los Angeles-based artist took time to be among their peers, friends and loved ones.  Their highly-anticipated McClenney and Bojorges-Giraldo co-produced EP Strange World was officially released today through art label drink sum wtr. Strange World is Bojorges-Giraldo's first collection of recorded output since their breakout debut EP, 2020's These Days. The EP's material is a defiant, genre-transforming collection of soulful, modern pop songs that narrate and confront the wider climate of uncertainty and oblivion. Thematically, Strange World is as much about Bojorges-Giraldo’ and their world — their village, their people, themselves — but also, the very strange world we inhabit right now. Drawing from soul, R&B, jazz, hip-hop and alt-pop the EP’s material sets out to urge for a sense of purpose, security and love admits seemingly universal apathy and chaos.  “I took this long pause to really listen to my village, listen to the needs of my community, and the people around me,” the St. Panther creative mastermind says. “We’re all feeling the weight of the world on our shoulders a bit. We want hope for our listeners, we want people to feel heard and that there’s someone out there representing this feeling.” Regarding the EP, the Los Angeles-based artist continues: “It’s been highly impactful–to say the absolute least–to witness the world in the state in today. In so many lyrics and melodies, I’m using this set of songs as a method of putting certain messages into our ether, intentionally shouting certain things from the rooftops that a friend jokingly said ‘for world peace;’ but this music is meant to activate people in some way to meditate about our relationship to each other, which feels like a good use for music right now.” The EP features the previous released EP title track “Strange World,” the old-school Quiet Storm-meets D’Angelo-like "The Deal" and the EP's latest single "American Dreams." "American Dreams" is a strutting and soulful call-to-action against desensitization, doomscrolling, apathy and voluntary negligence that says to the listener "if every one of us does something small and local, we can change our world -- first locally and then globally. “Not to make an anthem about desensitization in 2025, but the intention was to start a conversation with several generations. It’s painful to witness 50% of us or more being non-responsive towards our fellow humans in need - whoever they may be," Bojorges-Giraldo says. "So I wrote about where this lack of a relationship with each other began: on a screen. I highlighted the act of scrolling and how consequential it is to become another cliche ‘American Dream’ because of it, if you ignore the rest of the world to achieve it.”  The accompanying video for "American Dreams" employs a relatively simple concept of pointing out that we can all connect with each other, without that stupid device in our hands. As the video ends, viewers are invited to scan a QR code that links to a few resources and fundraisers supporting Gazan families.