Strange Names official site | Strange Names on Facebook | Strange Names on YouTube | Strange Names on Twitter | Strange Names on Instagram | Strange Names on Soundcloud

Strange Names is the New York-based new wave trio of Liam Benzvi, Francis Ximenez, and F. Pontus Aleckson. Their pop is a polished breed: a surging euphoria of funk guitar-work, synthesizers, and righteous vocal hooks that bring to mind INXS and The B-52’s. In 2015, they toured with Azealia Banks in support of their first full length album, Use Your Time Wisely. They have since spent time writing and self producing their anticipated sophomore effort, out in early 2018 on Frenchkiss Records (The Drums, Bloc Party).

Photo Credit: George Koelle

FRAME official site | FRAME on Facebook | FRAME on Twitter | FRAME on Soundcloud

State of Mind is the debut album from Brooklyn alt-pop artist FRAME, aka Caitlin Frame. The record encapsulates the last few years of an 8-year relationship and marriage, focusing on the breaking points; polyamory, jealousy, new love, and the gray area at the end of a relationship.

Caitlin is a multidisciplinary musician, composer, engineer, and producer who recorded much of her debut album in various bedrooms and studios herself–performing much of the instrumentation while sculpting and shaping the sonic landscape of the record. Her approach harkens back to the celebrated (for both its glamour and experimentation) era of late 70s and early 80s recording when digital technology was considered controversial and the stuff of pioneers–not the status quo. Outside the studio, Caitlin is strongly connected to the LGBTQ and feminist art and music scenes in her hometown of New York and is a sought after bassist and vocalist for a diverse array of other projects. Her own band, the eponymous FRAME, in all its anthemic, emotive, fury merges the post-punk and pop-loving heydays of Factory Records and Sub Pop. FRAME will begin touring the US late 2017 and into 2018 in support of State Of Mind.

FRAME began as a way for Caitlin to write under a moniker that felt more androgynous. As a classically trained percussionist, piano player and vocalist, she routinely played many of the instruments while engineering and producing State of Mind herself. Her biggest ally in the studio was an instrument she was the least versed in — the bass — which helped her utilize her love of polyrhythm and melodic interplay to create the sound and vibe of her debut.

On the disco-inspired, compelling lead-single “State of Mind” Caitlin conveys “I’m sorry for my state of mind / I wish that I / Could tell you it was just for the moment” – knowing that she’s not sorry for the way she feels, and that she’s ultimately happy about it. Asked to describe the following line “Forever, forever in my eyes / Forever in this moment / Never asking why / Never asking” she said she looked into the eyes of her ex-wife and in an instant knew they would always be linked together, and she didn’t need to question their relationship. In the ballad-like “One of a Kind” we hear a more delicate and introspective side of FRAME – “One of a kind / Is that what we really are / Or just two lovers / Taking it too far”.

Tmboy on Facebook | Tmboy on Instagram

Tmboy, the combined forces of Sarah Aument and Will Shore, creates dark, mysterious, and melodic electronic music. Aument’s honest and exposed lyrics fall into melodies, igniting small moments of bliss among a whirlwind of propulsive rhythms and organic textures created by Shore’s amplified vibraphone and marimba. Juxtaposing vocals over heavy-hitting production, Tmboy is both experimental and pop, heavy and delicate, masculine and feminine. The duo released its first EP in the spring of 2015 and currently have an unreleased full length.

Photo Credit: Andrew McIntyre