Makeup and Vanity Set has been busy lately providing the score for the latest seasons of the podcasts Up and Vanished and Monster, as well as multiple subscriber exclusive releases to his Bandcamp fans. Somehow, on top of all that, he has released the original soundtrack to the short film Mather.

The film is unique as it was created by a deaf director, using a deaf crew, a largely deaf cast and largely contains a lack of dialogue. Makeup and Vanity Set provides some insight as to how the director was able to review the music and iterate on it:

“chase would explain that he could ‘listen’ to my music by feeling it physically. i spent time studying two incredible Deaf musicians, evelyn glennie and christine sun kim. i also spent time studying methods like demonstrating rhythm and music through ASL (American Sign Language), how words can be similar but are defined and distinguished by handshape, location, movement, orientation and facial expression; that so much information is contained in simple hand motions and movements and that together they form intense and emotional contexts.

the result was a score written with basic sources- with sine waves and human voices and strings. chase’s work is deeply personal…”

The work itself invokes some of the same ominous feelings that MAVS has perfected over the years but the style of execution is completely different. Songs are slower, drawn out and creating suspense through the ambience. It’s not entirely different for him but it’s close. All and all, it’s a sign that MAVS is willing to stretch and explore his sound, which results in both an enjoyable score and an alluring promise for future releases.

*repeat repeat has announced that they’ll be releasing their brand new album Glazed via Dangerbird Records on May 31st. Following along on that good news, they went ahead and released the first single, “Hi, I’m Waiting” and then piled on with an official music video for the track.

The video is a blend of high-energy performance (with album producer Patrick Carney on drums) and Michel Gondry style DIY set pieces. It’s colorful, engaging and sometimes a bit weird (how many times have you received an orange in the mail?). It’s a quirky and cute tale of unrequited love, which fits in nicely with the fun big riffs backing the whole thing.

The newest video from pop aficionado Dara could be seen as somewhat of a risky move. The premise of the video has her on a bare bones set with a colorful backdrop and a faux steering wheel, performing the infectiously upbeat song with no accompaniment. The simplicity of it all forces the viewer to really pay attention to the performance; which is where the risky part comes in. Many other artists may not be able to pull of nearly 4 minutes of compelling storytelling with just their face but you’d be damned to convince me if Dara doesn’t pull it off perfectly.

The deceptively simple setup works not only works wonders for the song, which should immediately be placed on your Songs For Summer playlist, but as a showcase for establishing an artist that understands the entertainment side of performance. She switches between contemplative, goofy and enjoyable sincere without ever letting the viewer get bored. This sounds like grandstanding but it’s honestly impressive.

The prior single, “Don’t Wanna Cry“, was a much more sombre number, so it’s nice to hear some upbeat, joyful noise from Dara.