Previewage: You're Jovian Returns With Sparkling Pop "Revelations," Tour Hits O'Brien's Pub June 6

From an outsider's perspective anyway, You're Jovian feels like an intermittent project, so it is cause for much rejoicing when the Virginia Beach, VA shoegaze four surfaces. Although the band led by fronter and guitarist Elliot Malvas seems to come and go, it makes up for its ephemeral nature by routinely recording incredible songs. Over the weekend the latest iteration of the quartet (which has been together since November) took to the airwaves of Norfolk, VA's WODU for a live session. There You're Jovian premiered new tunes "Ball And Chain," "Pieces" and "Endless Possibilities;" that latter tune echoes in a pleasant way the sound of early Lilys circa the bootleg The Station Tapes, for those of you keeping score at home. One new number you didn't hear was the uptempo and bright gem "Revelations," which is, well, revelatory, and available now as a digital single on Bandcamp courtesy of the good people of Funny/Not Funny Records. It rides a cycling 12-string lick supporting sentimental lyrics and tasteful backing "ooohs" and "las." The chorus has a massive but soft hook, and then, suddenly, the song ends -- all too soon. The cleaner, more "pop" production feels like a fresh path for You're Jovian, and perhaps nods to anglophile influences held dear by Mr. Malvas, who told WODU the band is working on writing more constructed music that a live ensemble can really get behind.

Sadly, based on other remarks during the radio session, the band isn't playing "Revelations" on this tour, but there is other new music to be heard, although the only way you can acquire it -- for now -- is to go to a show. Fortunately, a very rare tour kicks off tonight, and those able to see the band rock should be able to get their hands on a new show-only cassette titled Singles. You're Jovian performs at O'Brien's Pub in Boston's Allston Rock City neighborhood Monday (that's June 6) with The Guilloteenagers and Motto; you can buy tickets ahead right here. Fans not in Boston, or even fans in Boston, should try to be in New York the prior night, as You're Jovian is slated to perform there with with colossal Clicky Clicky faves Infinity Girl. In unrelated, Post-Tour But Still A Big Deal Show News, You're Jovian will open Kurt Vile & The Violators' July 25 show at The NorVA in Norfolk, VA. Hot, right? Stream "Revelations" via the embed below, and be ready to stream it several more times right after that: it's that good.

You're Jovian: Bandcamp | Facebook | Soundcloud



06.02 -- The Blind -- Virginia Beach, VA
06.03 -- Tea Bazaar -- Charlottesville, VA
06.04 -- Paradise Lost -- New Brunswick, NJ
06.05 -- Shea Stadium -- Brooklyn, NY
06.06 -- O'Briens Pub -- Boston, MA
06.07 -- Kung Fu Necktie -- Philadelphia, PA
06.08 -- TBA -- Washington, D.C.
06.09 -- Golden Pony -- Harrisonburg, VA
06.10 -- Charlie's American Cafe -- Norfolk, VA

Previously:
Today's Hotness: You're Jovian
Today's Hotness: You're Jovian

Today's Hotness: You're Jovian, My Psychoanalyst

>> It's been quite some time since we've heard new things from Virginia Beach-based dream-pop savant Elliot Malvas, who creates sublime music under the moniker You're Jovian. And so we were quite excited to receive an email last week with information about the new tune "Whalehead," which we are premiering here tonight and which you can stream via the Soundcloud embed below. The song is layered with guitars that shimmer and bend around Mr. Malvas' gentle vocals. Once "Whalehead" finds its rhythmic footing, after about a minute of atmospheric build-up, its measured strumming and understated singing call to mind the finest moments in the Swirlies catalog, or -- given its insistent rhythm -- perhaps even a heavily psychedelic take on the music of Versus. "Whalehead" turns on the tension between Malvas' opaque, tight strums and his spectral voocals; it's certainly a very listenable number and hopefully it is also a harbinger of increased activity from You're Jovian. Malvas tells us he will be out performing solo gigs this summer, but this will not be a guy-with-guitar thing. Instead, Malvas has recorded the bass and guitar parts of the songs in his set in single takes, and he plays those back on stage through bass and guitar amps respectively while playing the drums live and singing. Which sounds pretty damn compelling. If you can't get enough of that You're Jovian stuff, Fun/Not Fun records released this past spring a cassette and digital download imaginatively titled Demos. It appears the cassette was issued in an edition of 25 pieces, but there is nothing at the Fun/Not Fun page indicating the cassette is sold out, so perhaps you can still snag one right here (where you can also stream the fine tune "Share Yer Moon" via an embed). There is some talk of an east coast tour this fall for You're Jovian, so if you are good little girls and boys Malvas may come right to your town (especially if you book him, hint, hint). We previously wrote about the band in mid-2012 right here.



>> There's a span of years in one's life during which summer feels infinite. That feeling, of course, ceases, and that's among the bummers of real life (trust us, kids, one day you'll be old like your trusty executive editor...). But a new full-length from Derby, England's cinematic dream-gazers My Psychoanalyst practically bursts with that feeling. Which is somewhat amazing, as the sort of fertile optimism its presence here implies is something one would associate with a greener band. But My Psych, as fans are wont to call them, are a seasoned quartet a decade old. Its sparkling new and self-released collection Choreomania has been in the can for at least a year, and previously went by the decidedly un-optimistic name Don't Try (and, since you didn't ask, an equally appropriate yet Pavement-referencing title would be Watery, Majestic). Choreomania, seemingly so named for literal dance crazes that transpired in the middle ages, can be gentle ("So Much Stuff," which touts heavenly "ahhhhhhhs" and is like the second coming... of Chapterhouse), majestic ("Lobadibin," which faintly echoes The Fixx's classic "Stand Or Fall") and even aggressive ("Fist Of Herring IV"). Often it is all of these things at once, as is "Clump Soul," which was issued as a digital single a year ago. My Psychoanalyst's Choreomania takes a marked turn toward harder-edged sounds in its final third. This doesn't make the set disjointed, however; instead, it gives the proceedings a narrative feel, like it is heading toward something. Listeners, however, are never quite delivered to a final destination, as closer "Admission" stretches into the aforementioned infinity for a solid and beautiful eight minutes, perhaps returning listeners to the dream-state or fugue-state that enveloped My Psych in the four years between last year's digital single and 2009's Piecemeal & Envy. Whatever it does, "Admission" has become one of our favorite tracks of the year. Choreomania was released today and it is a tremendous record; calling it a return to form misses the mark, as we're fairly certain it is the band's best record to date. Stream the entire full-length via the embed below, and click through to download the release, which is priced at paywhutchyalike. We last wrote about My Psychoanalyst seven years ago, right here.