Philadelphia

Weekend Warrior, July 15 – 17

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From "This Isn’t a Good Night for Walking" to "It Won’t Take Long," Arches full-length debut concept LP, Wide Awake, is a reverb-soaked collection of soft ethereal pulses, wispy come-hither melodies, and abstract vocal echoes that swell into a swaying dream-like atmosphere. (You can check out our review of the album HERE.) And on Saturday, the local four-piece–founded by former college mates Tom Herman Jr. and Julien Rossow Greenberg (whose solo EP, You’re With Me, is out now and available HERE)–will compact that intrinsic sound on Johnny Brenda’s stage in honor of Wide Awake’s vinyl release. Also on the YVYNYL-presented bill is fellow hometowner Andrew Balasia, a.k.a Gracie, who’ll debut his eccentric electro-lounge pop for the first time on stage, as well as handpicked out-of-towners Brooklyn-based Holy Spirits and Richmond, VA’s Whit Laces. So, when you make your way to the show this Saturday night (and you will), you’re in for quite a treat. Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 8pm, $8, 21+
 
There should be some fine weather this weekend so here are some other fine things to do…
 
Kung Fu Necktie (1250 N. Front St.) FRI Empress Niko & Lion’s Paw and Stereo Cynics, SAT Psychic Teens, SUN Doomed to Obscurity
 
North Star Bar (2639 Poplar St.) FRI Baby Flamehead and Oldermost, SAT Paper Cat and The Revere
 
The Fire (412 W. Girard Ave.) FRI Kanu and The Mighty Flipside, SAT Prophets In Stereo and Venetian Aircraft
 
M Room (15 W. Girard Ave.) SAT Gang, Sgt Sass, Cy Trowbly, Robai
 
Tritone (1508 South St.) FRI G Calvin Weston w/Vernon Reid, SAT Levee Drivers, Ron Gallo, Cold Roses
 
The Trocadero (1003 Arch St.) FRI Razorblade Skijn, SAT (Early) Dirty Bird, Saturday (Late) – Pajama Party, Snakes Say Hisss
 
The Blockley (3801 Chestnut St.) SAT ILL BILL & Vinnie Paz are "Heavy Metal Kings"
 
Danger Danger Gallery (5013 Baltimore Ave.) SUN Magnetic Dog
 
World Café Live (3025 Walnut St.) SAT City Music Project, Lady, Swift Technique
 
Millcreek Tavern (4200 Chester Ave.) FRI With Our Teeth
 
Green Line Café (4426 Locust St.) FRI Lion Versus
 
The Rotunda (4014 Walnit St.) SUN a stick and a stone
 
The Legendary Dobbs (304 South St.) FRI Lamagier and Big Fat Marker, SAT La Violencia, Flux Capicator, The Parsnip Revolt, SUN My Parasites and The Divided
 
Triumph Brewery (117 Chestnut St.) SAT Dirk Quinn Band and Agent Moosehead
 
Bookspace (1113 Frankford Ave.) SAT City Rain, SUN Kickin Bear and West Philadelphia Orchestra
 
JR’s Bar (2327 S. Croskey St.) SAT Clamfight and Bitchslicer
 
First Unitarian Church (2125 Chestnut St.) FRI Gods and Queens
 
Connie’s Ric Rac (1132 S. 9th St.) FRI Live Music [All Bear Bands(?)], SAT The Absolute Zeros and The Sobriquets
 
The Station (1550 McKean St.) SAT The Laroquettes and Jukebox Zeros
 
Little Berlin (2430 Coral St.) SAT Meg Baird and Chris Forsyth’s Paranoid Cat Duo
 
The Olive Garden (Please contact one of the acts for details.) FRI Cousin Brian and Deergear
 
Hong Kong Garden (Please contact one of the acts for details.) FRI Leather and No Coffins
 
The Banana Stand (Please contact one of the acts for details.) SAT Black Coffee, Ceasefire, Heidigger
 
The Dream Oven (Please contact one of the acts for details.) SAT Void Vision and Hot Guts
 
The Philadelphia Orchard Project (POP) Music Festival (3rd Street between Poplar & Wildey Streets) SAT Faux Slang,Eric Carbonara & Jesse Sparhawk,Zillions & Blood Like Mine,The Old Fashioneds,Pile of Girls
 
Chicago

Magical, Beautiful Here Come The Wild Waves

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Recently Magical, Beautiful released a new full-length album called "Here Come The Wild Waves". This is the band’s first album in their current configuration, and it was four years in the making. Magical, Beautiful has long been the project of Tyson Torstensen, but on this fantastic, dub-psych album Tyson is joined by Nick Broste, Charlie Vinz, and Alance Ward.

Below is "Silverado" from "Here Come The Wild Waves". You can purchase the album here and stream it and purchase it digitally here.

Portland

Grouper

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This spring, I was at a dinner party where the host played Grouper’s April 2011 two part Yellowelectric release, A I A: Dream Loss / A I A: Alien Observer, and prefaced it with, “the new Grouper record sounds like Enya.”

But yet, she was still playing it over dinner, for her friends, in her home. So, yeah, maybe – if Enya put her cool pants on and stopped singing about quelling passion and hues of indigo, and started radiating in sound from another galaxy. Maybe.

That’s just the kind of music Liz Harris makes – you’re not always totally comfortable liking it, but you do. You like it. And you play it. I guess some people might say that about Enya, say, my parents circa 1993, but forget about Enya.

Grouper’s rare balance of faraway reverberations and completely beached, steady good stuff, is something else. She creates a little anxiety, even, because you’re too damn young and hip to like music this mellow, but it’s not just mellow, ambient, sound porn; it’s like being stuck under green water and looking up to see the expanse of the universe above you. And you really don’t care that you’re trapped under water because there is so much damn perfect beauty to behold. It’s really like that. The aquarium and planetarium combined.

On the real, there’s something pretty radical about music that you can eat to, sleep to, swim and stargaze to. And, again, Liz Harris – so not Enya. I realize that this review is mostly comprised of thoughts on how Grouper is not Enya. But I think that’s particularly relevant here because unless Enya and Thurston Moore procreated in an aquaratarium, Grouper will forever have nothing to do with Enya.

Later this summer, there is much new Grouper to look forward to – a self released Inca Ore/ Grouper split (!!!); an A I A repress; and, a Ballroom Marfa released 7” from Marfa residency, titled Water People. Grouper also did a song, Cassiopeia, for this Thrill Jockey Comp benefiting Japan relief efforts.

And let this be a lesson to us all: trust your instincts and don’t ever be ashamed. What you’re listening to is nothing like Enya. – Morgan Brothers

Philadelphia

Old World Beauty w/Lion Versus at Green Line Café July 15

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There is a distressing artistry to Lion Versus’ latest album, Five Hearts. Released in April, the 7-track album from the local alt-folk outfit can take you on a maddened instrumental ride at a deranged carnival ("The Birds Still Sing"), through the overgrown bittersweet stalks of rustic, bereaved pastors ("I Am [The Springtime]"), and playing along with the bone-bare plucks of jubilant vulnerability ("Flood and Dew"). And this old world beauty will be brought to the intimate space of West Philly’s Green Line Cafe tonight, transporting you from the cracks and sirens of the city to the quiet and expansive stretches of the rural backwoods. Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Philadelphia anymore. Green Line Cafe, 4426 Locust St., 7pm, $5 – $10 donation, All Ages – Annamarya Scaccia
 

NYC

Weekly Feature: Only Son

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Only Son’s second and latest record is “Searchlight.” The band is just the latest chapter in Dishel’s rich artistic history that includes notoriety as a teenage underground graffiti celebrity, time spent as a guitarist for the Moldy Peaches, and success fronting a previous solo project, Stipplicon. Most recently, he’s ventured into standup comedy. These activities further emphasize the point that it’s impossible (and undesirable) to try and pin this songwriter down simply by listening to the music (at least not before you search MySpace for his hip-hop project, Jack Beats Bruno). Only Son’s music holds up beautifully on its own and the ever-growing collection of DIY music videos on the band’s website expands the picture with a healthy dose of humor, but the band is just one aspect of this highly creative artist. – Read Ben Krieger interview with Jack Dishel here.

NYC

I’m Turning Into debut album release show at Monster Island on July 15th

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Joyful Brooklyn lo-fi-ers I’m Turning Into are releasing their debut full length, ‘Parcels of Marbles’, on Friday, July 15. It can be downloaded for free on their Bandcamp profile between July 12-17th. The band is taking this opportunity to also re-release a remastered version of their 2009 EP "Theep". Release show for ‘Parcels of Marbles’ is this Friday, 7/15, at Monster Island Basement with Dinosaur Feathers, Shark?, Sweet Tooth. 11pm door, 12 show, $5 – sweet, fun bill!  – (as posted in The Deli’s Open Blog – post your band’s entries, videos, and Mp3s here). The Deli’s NYC Open Blog is powered by The Music Building.

Philadelphia

Union Transfer Tickets Go on Sale Tomorrow at Noon!

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Just wanted to give everyone a heads up that tickets go on sale tomorrow at noon for the very first set of shows at Union Transfer!  You can purchase them online via utphilly.com and r5productions.com. They are also available at the R5’s box office at AKA Music (27 N. 2nd St.) – no fees or surcharges for tickets purchased in person, however, CASH ONLY!
 
The first few shows include: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (9/21), Mogwai (9/28), Shellac (9/29), RJD2 (10/14), Wild Flag (10/19), Gillian Welch (10/20), CSS / Men (10/21), Dum Dum Girls (10/23), Friendly Fires (10/25), Boris / Asobi Seksu (10/28), We Were Promised Jetpacks (10/29), World Inferno Friendship Society (10/31), The Sea & Cake (11/9), Trampled By Turtles (11/19) and The Radio Department (11/21). – The Deli Staff
 
NYC

NYC Hip Hop: Deathrow Tull opens for Mad Conductor

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W.M.D. DuBois and Rude Humanist are the two MCs who helm raucous electro-funk outfit Deathrow Tull. Their combined energy onstage is rumored to cause blackouts at unprepared venues, and get oftren reluctant New Yorkers to get temporarily over their fear of dancing. It’s only later on that they realize that they may have said something awesome as well: “I got lost in the heart of a riot with a sling shot slanging rocks at Goliath. He’s a ticked-off minute man, sick of being small time, looking for God, but the mirror had him cross-eyed. Got promoted and he learned the boss lied. Earned his wings and turned into a fall guy.” For more of such rhymes and some fun hip hop time, don’t miss the show at South Paw on July 17th – the band will be opening for New Orleans’ own Mad Conductor.

L.A.

Music Video Premiere: Milo Greene “Autumn Tree”

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Los Angeles based pop-folk band, Milo Greene, transports us away from the looming Carmageddon to the melancholy thoughts of a lonely lover on some distant country side in “Autumn Tree", a follow-up to the band’s "1957" live video. College buddies Robbie Arnett, Andrew Heringer, and Marlana Sheetz showcase a lovely arrangement of multilayered, gospel-like harmonies coupled with good ole’ pop-folk melodies that leave you wondering if you should cry or hug somebody. Milo Greene will perform live this summer, on July 21st, with Grouplove at the Hammer Museum as part of the "Also I Like to Rock" summer concert series, presented by KCRW. They’ll also make an appearance at the Sunset Junction Street Fair on August 27th, the same day as the release of the 7” white vinyl pressing of "1957"/"Silent Way". – Nicole Dawley

 

L.A.

Album release: Tomorrow’s Tulips “Eternally Teenage”

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Tomorrow’s Tulips is one of those bands you swear you’ve heard before, but you can’t quite put your finger on it. Taking the lo-fi from garage rock and all the sweetness of other bands made up of a perfect couple, Alex Knost and Christina Keyes combine the two into a refreshing combination that is inescapable. The duo is releasing their hazy, yet edgy debut album "Eternally Teenage" via Galaxia records next Tuesday, July 19th. Pick that up and then catch them in the tail end of their southern California tour in Fullerton on July 16th, and then two shows in Los Angeles on the same day, July 17th. – Taylor Lampela 

Philadelphia

Free Download: “Come to the City” – The War on Drugs

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Secretly Canadian just posted another song “Come to the City” from The War on Drugs’ long-awaited upcoming LP Slave Ambient, which will finally be available August 16. You can check out the track and download it for free below. The album is now available for pre-order HERE with a limited edition ruby red vinyl version going to the first 75 orders, and there are also some nice War on Drugs bundle deals if you happen to be interested. Enjoy! – The Deli Staff
 

Come to the City by The War on Drugs