Soft Rock
The Story Behind Air Supply’s “All Out of Love” as Told by Graham Russell
The guitarist chats about the band's rise and how the song became an international hit. The Story Behind Air Supply’s “All Out of Love” as Told by Graham Russell Consequence Staff
Zeal & Ardor’s Manuel Gagneux Launches Yacht Rock Side-Project Soft Captain, Shares “Too Long”: Stream
We didn’t see this coming: Zeal & Ardor mastermind Manuel Gagneux has unveiled a yacht rock side-project called Soft Captain. The group has offered up the vintage-looking video for the song “Too Long.” Heavy Consequence readers might be familiar with Gagneux from his work in Zeal & Ardor, who we’ve championed time and again on the site. Considering the heavy avant-metal nature of that project, it’s quite a surprise seeing Gagneux wearing a Jimmy Buffett-style sailor hat and singing soft rock. “I have also a Yacht Rock band now,” Gagneux commented in a social media announcement. “Make of that what you will.” Advertisement Related Video It’s a testament to his versatility as a vocalist — a central element to both Zeal & Ardor and Soft Captain. On “Too Long,” Gagneux provides...
Daryl Hall on Covering Todd Rundgren and Making a New Album with Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart
Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Amazon Podcasts | Stitcher | Pocket Casts | Radio Public | RSS Daryl Hall joins Kyle Meredith to talk about BeforeAfter, his first best-of collection that highlights his solo albums. Related Video In diving into the new collection, the Hall & Oates singer takes us back to making Sacred Songs with Robert Fripp (who compared Hall’s work to Bowie’s at the time), being on the forefront of streaming shows on the web a full decade ahead of everyone else, and covering “Here Comes the Rain Again” on this new set. Advertisement Hall also discusses the relevance of his ’80s song “What’s Gonna Happen to Us” with the latest war in Ukraine, his upcoming tour with Todd Rundgren, not being a...
Janis Ian on Her Complicated Friendship with Nina Simone and Resisting a Male-Dominated Industry
Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Pocket Casts | Radio Public | RSS Janis Ian sits down to talk with Kyle Meredith about The Light at the End of the Line, which has been announced to be her final studio album. Related Video The legendary folk songwriter tells us why she is choosing to close this chapter of her career, the public perception of artists after the spotlight has moved on, and leaving easter eggs within the new set that speak to some of her past classics. Ian goes on to discuss writing a song about Nina Simone and their complicated friendship, as well as writing “Resist” as an answer to a male-dominated industry and society. Advertisement Listen to Janis Ian discuss her final studio...
John Mayer Announces New Album Sob Rock
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-06-01T19:11:44+00:00“>June 1, 2021 | 3:11pm ET John Mayer has announced a new solo album entitled Sob Rock. Revealed via Twitter on Tuesday along with the effort’s cover art, the LP is due out July 16th. Marking Mayer’s eighth studio LP, Sob Rock is his first solo project since 2017’s The Search for Everything. Since then, he’s released a trio of standalone singles: 2018’s “New Light” (with hip-hop producer No I.D.), and 2019’s “I Guess I Just Feel Like” and “Carry Me Away”. No word yet on if any of those tracks will appear on Sob Rock. Since 2015, Mayer has been performing as part of the Grateful Dead supergroup Dead & Company. He’ll be returning to the road with the ...
R.I.P. Pelle Alsing, Roxette Drummer Dead at 60
Pelle Alsing, best known as the drummer for Swedish pop-rock band Roxette, has died at the age of 60. A cause of death hasn’t been revealed at this time. Roxette co-founder Per Gessle announced the news on the group’s social media on Sunday. “It is with indescribable sadness I have to inform you that our beloved Pelle Alsing has passed away. It’s almost impossible to grasp,” he wrote. “Pelle was not only an amazing and inventive drummer, helping us to create the Roxette sound since Day One, he was also the best friend you can imagine, a kind and generous human being with the biggest heart beating for everyone,” Gessle continued, adding: “He was always the funniest to be around, the one with the biggest smile on his face, the one who supported you the most when you were in doubt. He will be...
HAIM’s Este Haim on Teaming with Fender and Proving People Wrong
The central thesis of HAIM’s cheekily titled third record, Women in Music Pt. III, which came out this summer, appears on the track “Man from the Magazine”. After quoting a sexist interview question that came from a male journalist, the song’s second verse goes: “Man from the music shop, I drove too far/ For you to hand me that starter guitar/ ‘Hey, girl, why don’t you play a few bars?’/ Oh, what’s left to prove?” HAIM, a Los Angeles-based rock group of three multi-instrumentalist sisters that has been referred to as a “girl band” too many times to count, shouldn’t have to prove anything. But, if they did, a spot in a Fender campaign might seal the deal. “I guess the only thing that I can do is just keep proving people wrong,” says HAIM’s bass player Este Haim, who stars in Fender’s latest...
Song of the Week: Stevie Nicks Lends Her Voice to the Fight on “Show Them the Way”
Song of the Week breaks down and talks about the song we just can’t get out of our head each week. Find these songs and more on our Spotify New Sounds playlist. There are no shortage of voices being raised across America today. It’s a sign of the times. Politicians, activists, artists, and everyday people look around and sense that something is terribly wrong — and, more troubling yet, that it’s only going to get worse without an immediate change in course. Presidential candidate Joe Biden, as you’ve probably heard him tell it, came out of political retirement to run for office after he saw neo-Nazis and white supremacist groups marching and stirring up violence in Charlottesville, Virginia. We’ve seen children-turned-activists like Emma Gonzalez and Greta Thunberg sound the warning alarm ...
R.I.P. Benny Mardones, “Into the Night” Songwriter Dies at 73
Benny Mardones, the soft-rock songwriter known for the ’80s smash hit “Into the Night”, has died following a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. He passed away Monday (June 29th) in his home in Menifee, California, as confirmed by Billboard. He was 73 years old. Mardones, real name Ruben Armand Mardones, was born November 9th, 1946 in Cleveland, though he was raised in Savage, Maryland. After high school, he signed up for the US Navy and served during the Vietnam War. Following his discharge, Mardones decided to relocate to New York City to pursue a career in music. It was there in the Big Apple that Mardones composed multiple songs with help from writing partner Alan Miles. This period also birthed “Into the Night”, which he penned alongside fellow songwriter Bobby Tepper. The 198...
HAIM’s Women in Music Pt. III Brims with Nuance and a Smorgasbord of Sounds: Review
The Lowdown: Summertime milestones are shaping up to become a staple in HAIM’s career. Just about a week shy of the three-year anniversary of the release of their sophomore album, Something to Tell You, the trio — composed of sisters Danielle, Alana, and Este Haim — put their latest work, Women in Music Pt. III, out into the world. Like the adorable video of their parents opening their Women in Music Pt. III vinyl in matching “Go HAIM or Go Home” t-shirts (which, if it isn’t already, should definitely be added to all future merch tables) that the band posted on Instagram, the album contains a raw tenderness that drums up its own sense of quiet magic on each track. Equally cool and cozy, Women in Music Pt. III sees HAIM tackle incredibly vulnerable subject matter against a musical smorgasbo...
Justin Vernon Side-Project GAYNGS Return with New Song “Appeayl 2 U”: Stream
Right around the same time Justin Vernon began working on some Kanye West classics, the Bon Iver songwriter was also making ’80s soft rock as part of Midwestern supergroup GAYNGS. The band, which was also led by Poliça member Ryan Olson, put out just one album in 2010 before going on an extended hiatus. Now, Vernon, Olson & co. have returned with a comeback single called “Appeayl 2 U”. According to song credits listed on Bandcamp, the new song features Vernon on synths and guitar, while Olson provided production throughout. There are a few other returning GAYNGS members, such as keyboardist Jake Luck of Leisure Birds and Michael Lewis, saxophonist for Andrew Bird. Also appearing are Velvet Negroni, Naeem Juwan (aka Spank Rock), Minneapolis poet and songwriter Dua Saleh, and R&B art...
