ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: The Girl

Bremen Cafe hosted live music on Friday night featuring Chicago bands Sin and Earth Radio as well as Milwaukee’s The Girl and The Mothman Cacaphony.

The Girl is a groovy indie rock band consisting of vocalist Eli Borg, guitarist Nate Ruvin, bassist Jay Randle, and drummer Colin Sure. Inspired by bands like Nirvana and The Strokes, the band’s name comes from when Borg was writing lyrics and realized he was using a girl in the song as an allegory to explore his own emotions.

“When I write songs, I feel like I’m talking to someone else,” Borg said. “It gets really flirtatious.”

On how they formed, Borg explained, “I started with playing the open mic here at Bremen before we had a band. I started working with Nate Ruvin a couple years ago and he mixes and masters the tracks, and he contributes to the production as well. I’ve never wanted to be a solo act but forming a band is hard; I’ve never been in one before this so thankfully there’s people here willing to play our music. We met Collin at a house show and we met Jay through Collin. Everyone is an equal part, for sure.”

The band’s latest single “What Not to Say” dropped in December. Borg said about the song, “All our songs are about sex and death. Not in like a raunchy or emo way, but I feel like sex is the most spiritual thing we can physically do on Earth. Death is like the unknown, and that’s exactly what the song is about. The riff makes me feel almost uncomfortable. I’ve always associated sex and death together which is really weird because sex is what gives life. “What Not to Say” was really fun to record; I’d been working on it for a long time.”

They have a new video out for their song “Teenage Witch.” Borg shared about it, “Me and Will Kaftan (WAK) worked so well together. It was inspired very much by those 2000’s Apple commercials and the intro for “Cowboy Bebop” which is one of my favorite animes, as well as “Teen Titans.” We took the pink, blue and green colors from “Power-Puff Girls.” We filmed it all in front of a greenscreen with this girl named Lucia; she was an incredible actress. We also had help from Uptilt Media, LokiTheHypeSoul, and Barry Quinnies.”

AUDIO: Nate Ruvin – “That Thing Called Love”

Singer/songwriter Nate Ruvin has his fifth album out, and he creates relentlessly catchy pop with “That Thing Called Love.” The project comprises of seven tracks, all of which try to capture the sensation that falling in love creates. It’s a feeling that is so multifaceted most have a hard time describing it, but Ruvin approaches the subject in a way that feels brilliantly universal. Songs like “Getcha Back” featuring Allesandro are hits in any era, and the contributions of Jordan Rehak give this album the atmosphere it so necessarily deserves. “That Thing Called Love” is a wonderful collection of material, and just one of many in Ruvin’s catalog. Check out the album here:

AUDIO: Nate Ruvin – “Blossom Dear”

Experimental pop composer Nate Ruvin has a new record out. With all eleven songs being collaborations, Ruvin pursues the “wall of sound” technique of recording here but with a modernized approach. Featuring the contributions of Nathan Roundhouse, Benny Koziol, Charlie Herrenbruck, Ace Parker, River Jordan, Bear in the Forest, Viceymoo, and RichieWitDaHitz, this body of work radiates with vigorous and cheerful energy. Some tunes take the soft and gentle road while others will make you want to run full-speed into water on the beach. With a psychedelic edge and neon-bright sonic colors, you couldn’t possibly walk away from this album in a bad mood. Ruvin has dedicated “Blossom Dear” to Phil Spector, creator of the wall of sound, who passed away last month.

AUDIO: Hanna Simone & Nate Ruvin – “Eleven, Eleven”

Soft rock duo Hanna Simone & Nate Ruvin are out with a new record. Fans of adult contemporary pop, jazz, R&B, and folk will all find something to connect with here as the duo experiments with their wall of sound. It’s a smooth listen for a romantic evening with your significant other, featuring tender tales of love and imagination. The instrumentation is vast from song to song, with various strings plus keyboards and vocal harmonies. It’s been a long and stressful week for many but this record is a solid unwind soundtrack. We look forward to what Hanna Simone & Nate Ruvin will do in the future.