New Music, Emerging from your Local Scene
NYC quartet Descender makes sure the flames of early post-hardcore are burning strong on their eponymous six-track introduction to the world. Creating music that is well versed in the tradition of NYC underground heaviness, this unit does a solid job in projecting a relentless sense of immediacy with enough lung-ripping refrains that stick in your head for days while implementing the kind of Sick of it All-esque moments of infectious melody that call for immediate pile-ons (“Crooked Teeth”). Fusing the indomitable spirit of DIY hardcore with a jagged blend of modern hardcore punk brutality and indie rock dexterity, Descender has developed a specific strand of blunt heaviness that doles out qualities you can still feel ok about throwing elbows to with rounds of stellar musicianship that transcend the throwback tag. www.descendernyc.com –Mike SOS
Day 5 of Burlington’s Other Music Festival looks to be the cream of the crop for Burlington’s ambient/noise outfits and artists. Burlington’s godfather to the scene, if you will, Greg Davis, will be making his festival appearance as well as other veterans of the area A Snake in the Garden, Toby Aronson, and Lawrence Welks & Our Bear to Cross. Another exciting collabartion with Ashley Paul and percussionist Eli Keszler is set to grace the stage. Other performers include Katarina Miljovic, Stencil/Magic, and Ensemble V. Looks like there will also be some sort of open improv session, which is sure to birth some interesting sounds. Everything is happening at 8pm at North End Studios.
–The Deli Staff
Lusica, the title track off Left Hand Does‘ new EP, is a dreamy but heavy tune influenced by 80’s rock such as Crowded House, Tears for Fears and The Pixies. I heard Left Hand Does play Lusica at the Lizard Lounge open mic a while back and loved it immediately. Left Hand Does is fronted by brother and sister Luke and Jean Sullivan, who are awesomely musically dynamic. Check out the video above, and check them out IRL at the EP release party at O’Brien’s Pub in Allston on June 30th.
–The Deli Staff
We recently mentioned The Strokes in our printed issue, saying that the band seemed to be confined into some sort of self-exile mode. Well, we hear that on Wednesday 06.09.2010 the 5 Manhattanites played their first live show since 2006 in a very intimate setting in London. The show apparently didn’t include any new material. The band will play UK festival gigs over the weekend and Lollapalooza in Chicago in August. No news about new records on the horizon, nor about shows in NYC at this stage.
25-year-old singer songwriter, pianist and, primarily, guitarist Anna Rose has release her debut full album "Nomad" on June 8. Produced by Anna with Billy Sullivan and legendary producer Bruce Botnick’s supervision, Nomad was recorded in New York and California and makes a singular impression of a female singer-songwriter imagining with fresh new verve the great rock and roll tradition of high craft and liberated spirit. Anna Rose will be performing in support of the release at R Bar on June 11 and at The Canal Room on July 9.
White Lights return home to play the Roxy this Saturday at 8pm after pimping their Ponzi Scheme video to the indie heads in NYC. Congrats to the locals as the video won H&M’s Battle of the Bands. They open for the Danish Kashmir and The Memorials which comprises members of The Mars Volta.
Helen Stellar is back tonight! They are making their headlining return to Spaceland in Silverlake after they ended their residency back in April. They promise an extra long set filled with their new work and some old favorites. Doors at 8:30pm with Pink Noise and 22-20’s
Looking forward to the tail end of summer is a sentiment that is not shared by most. However, with Funeral Party‘s new album "Golden Age of Nowhere" releasing on August 30th, I have a feeling that quite a few of us will be counting down the days.
Justin Bieber has joined the local band Kid, You’ll Move Mountains! Ok, not really, but the band has launched a fun campaign to try and get Mr. Bieber to appear on stage with them at Summerfest this year on June 27th. KYMM plays the Cascio Interstate Music/WMSE/Shepherd Express Stage @ 9pm and Bieber plays Marcus Amphitheater @ 7pm, so it makes sense that he would want to stop by a rock out with the local favorites, right?
If you support this theory join the band’s facebook group and let them know.
Chicago multi-instumentalist Darren Garvey keeps busy playing in the Andreas Kapsalis Trio, Cameron McGill & What Army, Cory Chisel and The Wandering Sons, and Like Pioneers (ex-Bound Stems) to name a few. You can usually find him behind a drum set or some form of percussion set up… But, this year Garvey took it upon himself to record a solo record; writing 13 songs, singing for the first time, and playing all of the instruments. How does it sound? Well, it’s as eclectic as all of the bands that Garvey holds down the rhythm for. ‘On Standby’ is a latin tune with some guest horns (ok, he didn’t play all of the instruments). Technically he wasn’t able to sing the female background vocals either… You can hear more of Darren’s debut Under A Common Ceiling at his website.
While most indie rock bands tend to rush into releasing their first debut album, others – probably more wisely – wait for things to slowly fall into place before they put out what is undeniably a major creative effort for any artist. Suckers‘ popularity has been growing slowly but steadily for at least 3-4 years, and finally, with the help of Frenchkiss Records, they have released their debut full length Wild Smile, available for streaming here. At a first listen, the album confirms the band’s strength in producing hypnotizing, slow paced, textured, trippy tunes, with a fascination for chanting and soulful harmonizations. The strongest track seems to belong to their older repertoire ("It Gets Your Body Moving") some sort of choral, timeless psychedelic lullaby, slowly building in intensity and power, that was already present in their debut EP. The band has also announced a fall tour with Menomena. See them live at The Music Hall of Williamsburg on June 18.