Music in Motion Columbus - 2020 Complete Article List (Updated 12/31)

All of our work can be found at the Music in Motion - Columbus website.



These are my contributions.
From the archives... 

2017 articles

2018 articles 

2019 articles




January


 The Intrigue of Mystical Indie Pop Rock from Faye
The first article of the year, profiling up-and-coming singer/songwriter Faye and her new material. She has a ton of potential and is definitely someone to keep an eye on in 2020.


 SoHi Set the Tone on Debut EP
I met up with an old musical friend of mine, Steve Abele, and was able to do a review of his new group's newest effort. Even after all these years, Steve is still cranking out catchy headbangers.


 ALBUM REVIEW – Hello Emerson – How to Cook Everything
Perhaps the coolest thing to happen to me in 2020 - we got an e-mail from Hello Emerson's PR agency about covering their new record. Featured in their material were quotes from the review I did for them a few years ago. Obviously, I jumped at the opportunity to do another piece with them.


 label me lecter Embraces the Madness Within
I like an interview with a good story - I met up with the guys from lml during the NFC playoff game between the Saints and Vikings, and so our interview was half that, half us talking about music. It was a great time. These are two great dudes.


February

The Triumphant Return of label me lecter 
 So, of course, I had to do a show review with them. lml packed the house and really had the crowd feeding off of their energy. I'm kind of disappointed that the global pandemic has put a damper on bands like this playing out, because they had really hit their stride.


March

New Age Connect (with Atimera) Fosters Connections and Networking Relationships at First Group Event 
I went to this show specifically just to enjoy a night out and see what New Age Connect was all about. I was blown away at the level of dedication they have for the music scene in Ohio, and am super excited to help them build that brand.


The Raquels Premiere New Single and Talk About Plans for New Record
Right before everything was shut down due to COVID-19, I was able to meet up with my old friends, The Raquels, to talk about the new music they're making and what they hope to achieve this year.


Sifting Through The Musical Mind of Mudbrain
A friend of mine referred me to Mudbrain, and I was caught off guard by the humility and love for music that their lead singer has. It was an instant mesh, and this is another one where I'm stoked to see where the band goes.

April

Getting Level with Cleveland’s Lilieae
As usual, I was browsing through PromoWest's Local Discover Spotify list and found the badass sound of Lilieae. I had been wanting to dig deeper into the Cleveland scene, and their openness to chatting made it quite easy.


Ghost Train Rolls Through Ohio
Usually when I reach out to bands about Q+A sessions, I get smaller responses than what Ghost Train afforded me.  It made for a longer read, but you can tell these dudes are serious about their craft as well as their stories.


TRVSS Finding Ways To Reach Fans During Current Quarantine
From one Cleveland act to another, TRVSS actually reached out to me after my Lilieae article. As it turns out, they're also good friends with Grumpy Plum. Circle of life, right? I'm glad Cleveland has just as many badass artists as I hoped they would.

Don Drapery Promises Hope With New Single “Incredible Creatures”
Don Drapery is the solo project of Jason Turner from Fashion Week. This song is beautiful, and I'm glad I had the chance to review it.


May

New Age Connect Doing Their Part To Help Save Local Venues
NAC had just hit its roll when the stay-at-home was signed. Multiple shows were cancelled, but they are doing their best to help venues and bands survive in these trying times.


Corduroy Brown Brightens Your Day with “To My Younger Self”
This one was exceptionally cool to do. Corduroy Brown started out as just a musician whose music intrigued me, but in meeting the man I found so much more than meets the ear.  I definitely hope to be doing more with this guy in the future.

June

The Villaintinos Pack Fifty Pounds of Rock Into Ten Pound Sack on Debut Album
Although you don't hear it much on the radio anymore, the punk side of Columbus never ceases. Nevermind the cheesy title, just check out the music!


Thomas and the Work-Men Bring Sunshine To Your Summer
Thomas and the Work-Men were a band referred to me quite some time ago by my friends in The Broken Relics, so I relished the opportunity to be able to do an interview with them. Great dudes! Another one I can't wait to see live once everything passes.


July

Then Falls The Sky – Evolving From Unconventional Origins
Then Falls The Sky were one I picked up on through Atimera and New Age Connect. It feels nice to get back into metal after being somewhat platooned in alt-rock.

Ohyoholos ~ Funny Name or Serious Music? We Search For The Answer…
Another church link-up - seeing as how I can't actually see any of these people in person, it was really nice to do an itnerview with someone I actually KNEW! lol this one also featured one of my favourite quotes from banjoist Ben Stepp about "the Lindsay machine".

Taking A Look Inside The Manatee Room
The six degrees of separation chain link just keeps rolling. I found Grumpy Plum at a Broken Relics show, and they brought me Lilieae, who got me to TRVSS, who told me I had to check out The Manatee Room. We legitimately laughed through this entire conversation - one of my favourite interviews for the year.


August

Groove U Capstone Project 2020 – The C-BUS Sessions: Remixed and Live!
This was an interesting one that came to me - Groove U was actually where Forever Unknown got their big break, winning their Instaband contest. For this article I spoke with one of their seniors about their special project that they had put together for the year, and how they adapted it due to COVID.

Blend Get Introspective with Me, Myself & I
With the absence of concerts, this year has been heavy on music reviews and interviews. For this one I did a single review for a Columbus act who has slowly been building steam.

REVIEW – Digging Deep with Lisa Gain & the Rusty Silos Debut LP
Lisa Gain is one of my favourite Columbus singers, so I jumped at the opportunity to to an album review for her, having previously covered one of her solo singles for the site. It was pretty cool listening to this one, at it was a collection of songs she had written over the last 20 years and finally recorded.

The Perfect Summer Anthem Arrives on Thomas and the Work-Men’s New EP “Good Company”
The TWM boys were so impressed by my interview that they allowed me the opportunity to review their 3rd EP. With each album, their sound matures and they show why they were recently signed and will hopefully be moving up in the world.


September

Atimera Spread Their Wings With New Singer & New Single
In between the last show I covered in March and September, Atimera found a new single and I was there to help preview their newest single.

Playlists in the Time of Coronavirus, Volume 4: The Jester’s Local COVID Sonic Survival Guide
We had a meeting to try and pitch new ideas on what to do without show reviews, and it came up to do playlists that got us writers through the pandemic. This is my edition.

October

Former We Are The Movies Guitarist Mike O’Leary Set to Release Debut Single “Exhausted”
Although not the title I would have given this article, A Tiger Made of Lightning is the new project of O'Leary, and we had the chance to talk about mental health in 2020 and his newest musical effort.

Tuned Up’s Annual Steadfast Festival Adds Friends and Goes Virtual
COVID literally shut the city down 2 days before the actual Steadfast Festival, so T/U came up with the idea to do a fun virtual fest!

Making The Best Of A Bad Year With Meryl Creep
I reached out to Meryl Creep frontman Matthew Jones because, duh, the band is called Meryl Creep. What I found underneath was a deep individual with a passion for battling mental illness and making great music. Truly a fantastic find near the end of the year.

November

Breaking Through with Dayton’s Echobreak
Echobreak have a promising sound and are a super excited group of dudes looking to change the way music is done. Add them to the list of bands I'd definitely like to see in 2021.

December

Returning Home with Silver Cave
The last interview I did in 2020 was with a guy who was very passionate about his band and very willing to talk at length about them. It always makes my job easier when they are able to fill in the details for me!

Stay tuned, and as always... Support Local!  Ohio Rocks!

The 2020 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #1

 #1. Lilieae - Level

Once again, we have reached the top spot in our Countdown. As luck would have it this year, we have another local entry, this time being Cleveland's Lilieae. This would be the third time in four years that a female-fronted act has topped the chart, and the second time it was a local group, with Morning Theft winning it all in 2017. Lilieae is certainly unlike any other top entrant in the 12 year history of the Countdown, with a hearty pop-punk flair and in-your-face attitude. I actually found them through the Promowest Local Discover channel on Spotify, which used to be updated quite regularly before the pandemic happened. Unfortunately, I haven't had a chance to see the band live, but I did get to do an interview with them way back in April. The band put out their debut EP late last year, with four hard hitting songs capped by the title track. 

The band told me that they wanted to record an EP to introduce themselves to the world, and chose the 4 best songs they had written so far to do so.  It is definitely a solid list - from the emotion of "Drained, Drown" to the sheer aggression of "My Pretty Rainboots" and the full package of power in "Pound". Lead singer Lydia Puccini even told me that at the end of their set, she likes to go out into the crowd to mosh along. The band unfortunately hasn't been able to do a ton during the pandemic, but they said they have a full album worth of song that they've been tightening up, and I'm willing to bet it'll be out soon in 2021. After rocking out to this EP all of 2020, I know I'll be first in line to rock out with them live once they can play again.

"Level" is the opening track on the EP, and you're immediately greeted with Puccini's aggression and a jumping guitar riff that quickly re-arranges your eardrums. The song is about a difficult relationship and how the singer feels as though she has given more than the antagonist deserves, although she loves them just the same. The guitars drive the song through and through as Puccini continues her tale about wanting that difficult love. It's the type of song that I loved to listen to while out on a run, with speed and power coursing through my veins as I sang along. And sing did I ever! This song had the most scrobbles (via last.fm) of any other song on the Countdown, solidifying it's claim for the top spot. Not that I needed any further convincing; throughout most of the summer I was fairly sure this song would take the title. The battle between Purity Ring and White Reaper was strong, but there was one song that I just couldn't skip from the moment I found it until today.

So, here is the fun part. No video. Not even a Tunecore/Distrokid placeholder. I'm not even sure how you do that... so instead you get a Bandcamp player! And since I have the platform to say it, go out there and buy the single/EP! Support local music! If you want to stream on your chosen platform, you can click here as well.

And... that's it! The end! 20 up, 20 down. Another great year of music! I'll have a recap post up next week, and then at the beginning of the new we'll have our 2020 Year End Lists! Stay tuned!


Favorite Line: "I can't deal with inconsistency, I'm telling you it's killing me. I wanna reach the end of this, and all its fucked up specialness!"


 

 

Title: Level
Artist: Lilieae
Album: Level EP



Previous #1s
2019: VNV Nation - Only Satellites
2018: Florence + The Machine - Sky Full Of Song
2017: Morning Theft - Skeleton Twins
2016: DMA's - Lay Down
2015: Purity Ring - Heartsigh
2014: Cadets - A Drop In The Ocean
2013: Surfer Blood - Demon Dance
2012: Fun. - Some Nights
2011: Young The Giant - My Body
2010: Hockey - Song Away
2009: Morrissey - I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris

The 2020 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #2

 #2. Purity Ring - stardew

As usual, the top of the Countdown a battleground, where heavily streamed songs with potent hooks and choruses battle for supremacy. This year's #2 is a returning artist from 2015 in Purity Ring, who took the top spot with "Heartsigh" that year. The band almost cracked in 2017 with standalone single "Asido", and had I known of their existence in 2012 their song "Crawlersout" would've cracked the top 5 as well. They're essentially Countdown legends at this point, with a #1 and #2 under their belt.  In fact, of all the bands on this year's list, I'd say I've listened to PR more than any of the others combined in the last decade. Their debut album Shrines was one that I listened to almost daily after I found it, while their second disc "Another Eternity" catapulted them into the national spotlight, reaching #1 on the top US Dance/Electronic chart and #26 on the Billboard 200. While Womb was able to climb to the top of the Dance/Electronic charts again, the album only scraped in the Billboard 200, debuting at 195 before falling out.

I can understand the fall off with this record, however. I remember eagerly spinning the record the day it was released, only to find myself scratching my head at the new sound that the band was trying to capture. For the past 8 years they've swayed between sparkling synths and dance beats, never really establishing a true identity but still subscribing to a mostly DIY sound, despite the amount of polish placed on the final product. The band revolves around producer Corin Riddick's synths and Megan James' impossibly high-pitched tiny voice, and the two always worked in tandem with James' quirky lyrics. It almost felt like that with Womb, the band was trying too hard to layer and polish the synths and sprinkles on top, rather than letting James do her thing. It almost felt like they were forcing it, and I honestly could not find another song to latch on to, or even spend any time with. It just feels weird to have a song that I love so much, from a band I adore, on a record that I couldn't stand.

But, all things considered, the band was brilliant in their release tactics for the album. They created a click puzzle on their website in mid-February, where if you made it through the levels you'd find a new track, "Pink Lightning". A few days later, February 18th to be exact, "Stardew" was released and I listened to it 11 times in just one afternoon. Obsession is an amazing thing, and sure enough I told myself "here's another Purity Ring" song that's going to ascend to the top of the charts. The song has a soft piano opening that is followed by a jangly music box sound effect that leads into the synths and to James. The song has a cute little poppy "da-da, da da" on the chorus that catches you off guard, but otherwise it's a pretty simple synth track that doesn't burst at you like a lot of their previous works. It's just a solid, fun song that follows the old Purity Ring method of success. The video is... terrifying? How is it that a lot of the songs on this year's Countdown have utterly bizarre and creepy videos? I don't even know how to describe it, you'll just have to watch for yourself.

The song amassed just 4.6m streams on Spotify while the video added another 400k views to the hit list for the group. The group had planned a tour over the spring/summer months, and I had definitely considered going having seen their live performances before. I think a lot of Purity Ring's identity is tied into that live aesthetic, but like everyone else on the planet they were unable to tour. As for our Countdown, it was actually a pretty pitched battle between White Reaper, Purity Ring, and our #1 which will be revealed tomorrow! See you then!

 
 

Favorite Line: "I know it seems far, but just be where you are"









Title: stardew
Artist: Purity Ring
Album: WOMB


Previous #2s
2019: The Broken Relics - Where The Creatures Roam
2018: The War On Drugs - Pain
2017: Future Islands - Ran
2016: Broods - Free
2015: Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness - Cecilia and the Satellite
2014: Morning Parade - Alienation
2013: Aeon Zen - Warning
2012: Meshuggah - Do Not Look Down
2011: Owl City - Galaxies
2010: Periphery - Icarus Lives!
2009: August Burns Red - Rationalist