A direct reflection of the heavy times

A new single and video were produced for the new Wild Wild Wets track “Say So,” from their upcoming first album in four years, Love Always. The video was created using vintage 1980s video switchers to emulate videotape feedback, and old CRT monitors to create the banding and scan-lines. According to co-frontman Mike Turi, “Our good friend and producer JeanCarlo Mendez not only made the album happen, he has gone out of his mind putting together this wild visual video for ‘Say So’ using old-school analog video techniques from the ‘80s. His style and sensibility is obviously very much our vibe, and he and his teammate Brandon Mosquera nailed the edit on this project.” The album will be available on 180 gram “Heart String Pink” vinyl, with a limited edition of hand-numbered copies pressed on 180 gram iridescent “Starberry Jelly” vinyl.

Due May 27, Love Always was recorded at local Singing Serpent Studios by Grammy-nominated engineer Matt Van Allen (Anoushka Shankar) with Emmy-winning video director JeanCarlo Mendez, and mastered by Howie Weinberg (Nirvana, Gorillaz, Pixies), with guest vocalist Shelbi Bennett (Baby Bushka, Midnight Pine, Havenauts). Turi’s first self-animated video will debut shortly for “The Seer.” The album release party happens May 21 at the Casbah; Turi says “We cannot wait to get lost in the liquid lights with our wild-wildlings.”

Formed in 2012 by bandleader Tim Felten, The Sure Fire Soul Ensemble specializes in what they call “heavy cinematic soul, spiritual jazz-funk, upbeat Afro-funk, and deeply introspective rare-groove cuts.” Featuring anywhere from five to eight or more players for concert performances, the group won Best Blues Album at the 2015 San Diego Music Awards and Best Recording at the 2017 SDMAs. A video is streaming online for the title track of their fourth full-length, Step Down, which dropped April 1. According to the band, “Step Down is a direct reflection of the heavy times they were written and recorded in: Covid-19, two Presidential impeachment trials, the George Floyd murder, and resulting social unrest, along with a seditious attempt to subvert the democratic process at the Capitol.” The album includes post-millennial pandemic-inspired song titles such as “Time To Rebuild,” “High Times,” “Love Age,” and “In Common.”

Funky soul rockers Greyboy Allstars debuted in 1993 at the Green Circle Bar, where DJ Greyboy was spinning records and contemplating forming a band. The current lineup features Rolling Stones tour saxophonist Karl Denson (who also plays flute), Elgin Park (guitars), Aaron Redfield (drums), Chris Stillwell (bass), and Robert Walter (keys). Their sixth studio album, Get a Job: Music from the Original Broadcast Series Soul Dream, dropped on April 1 via the band’s own Knowledge Room Recordings label. A video is streaming online for the album’s second single “Got To Get Me A Job,” a reinvention of Ann Alford’s 1971 soul-funk hit taken from the initial 2021 Greyboy Allstars Soul Dream livestream series that led to the collection. The album was recorded live in the studio during the broadcasts, spotlighting ten never-released covers that they’ve been honing over three decades of live performances without ever having recorded, including songs by Gil Scott-Heron, Gene Ammons, The Beatles, Gary Bartz, and Burt Bacharach.

The new release from rising singer-songwriter Tamar Berk, “Tragic Endings,” is the second single off her upcoming sophomore album Start at the End, due April 22. The accompanying video features Berk performing the song outdoors on a rooftop, along with footage of her riding an oceanfront rollercoaster. Her earlier single “Your Permission” comes with two different videos, one a full production with her playing the song on piano as ghostly figures of herself display various personality types, while the lyric video unfolds a similar morphing presentation, confined to a closeup of her multitude of character faces.

Tamar Berk appears at Humphreys on Tuesday, April 19, at the San Diego Music Awards (her debut The Restless Dreams of Youth is nominated for Best Pop Album and Album of the Year). The bill includes fellow nominees Mrs. Henry (also competing for Album of the Year, along with Best Rock Album and Best Video), Thee Sacred Souls and the Sully Band (both up for Best R&B, Funk or Soul Song), Slack Key Ohana (vying for Best New Artist and Best World Music Album), Riston Diggs (Best Hip-Hop/Rap Album, Best Hip-Hop/Rap Artist, and Album of the Year), and the Ira Liss Big Band Jazz Machine (Best Jazz or Blues Album).

The surf-skate punks of Wanted Noise have a new video for their track “Get After It.” The tune comes from their recent 13-song full-length, Next Generation, produced and recorded by Defiant Robot Records owner Wade Morris. According to singer-guitarist Suri Sherman, “‘Get After It’ is a hype song about persistence and chasing your passions. To express that sentiment, the lyrics going into the bridge exclaim ‘We know, we don’t know our chances, and we’re still gettin’ after it.’ We shot the video around Sunset Cliffs and Pacific Beach. Our homie Jacob Frazer filmed, directed, and edited the video. Frazer filmed with various older media including Super 8 and VHS, and used experimental editing techniques to create a spontaneous MTV-style vibe for our video.” Similarly old-school music videos were also recently produced for the album track “More Sunrises,” featuring the band skateboarding around San Diego in search of beer, and for “Clench.”