New Music, Emerging from your Local Scene
It’s rare that find a duo as perfectly matched as Elysia Hang-Fu and Alena Ratner when they come together as Shuteye. Elysia is a talented singer/songwriter and Alena is a veteran producer and accomplished DJ. Together they make something all their own, but well grounded in electro-pop. Recently the duo was one of five winners in the Monster Diesel Vektr Headphones contest.
You can catch Shuteye at Cobra Lounge on June 6th, and as part of the big Chicago in Paris show at Metro on July 6th.
Portland has had a long and fabled romance with the increasingly borderless genre of folk and in many ways it’s this love affair that is intrisically responsible for that rising intedeminance. Whether it’s the classic Americana of outfits like the Watertower Bucket Boys; or the macabre energy of the Builders and the Butchers; or the subtle introspection of Holcombe Waller — the folk scene in this city has, for better or worse, perpetuated a blanket term for a wide array of contemporary acoustic music. Nominally speaking, you might have already suspected Strangled Darlings sound leans towards the Builders and the Butchers more afflicted end of the spectrum. Self-described as literary doom pop, the duo of George Veech and Jessica Anderly juxatpose boisterous instrumentation with exacting sociopolitical lyricism in ways that fashionably blur the lines of blues and bluegrass, which are typically adjacent to folk. The result is something that recalls the days when Tom Waits spent less time on movie sets and more time on the back fourty. The new video for "Snake and the Girl" certainly confirms the group’s darker tendencies with writhing bathtub scenes and shamanistic beach rituals. There also may or may not be a giant snake.
Strangled Darlings just released their latest full-length, Red Yellow & Blue, on May 15th. You can catch the release show and pick up your own copy at Secret Society Ballroom this Saturday, May 19th.
Since moving to NYC from L.A. in ‘99, the flurry of local bands I’ve fallen for has been dizzying. But none in recent memory has gripped me quite like new garage soul outfit Clear Plastic Masks, fronted by Detroit-bred Andrew Katz (ex-New York Howl). Powerful sh*t emanates from this man who, at 6’6”, casts an imposing shadow, yet you’ll never meet a warmer guy. The band’s sound dynamics are what’s most striking. One minute Katz’s everyman poet is casually whispering in your ear like an old friend telling you a joke and putting you at ease. The next Matt Menold (guitars, keys) is pummeling you with ocean size Hendrix licks and Stax Hammond organ drones. But a deep soulfulness permeates every note, and the Cuban and Dominican roots of rhythm section Eddy DuQuesne (bass) and Charlie Garmendia (drums) ensure asses are kept shakin’ and the funk is kept stankin’. It adds up to a powerful elixir that could only be brewed in this great city of ours, and it’s undeniably rock n’ roll. In the last month the Masks recorded their forthcoming debut LP with producer Andrija Tokic (Alabama Shakes; Jay Reatard) in Nashville, and filmed this video with director Joshua Shoemaker in Alabama. Catch them headlining the Knitting Factory on Friday 05.25 and be left reeling. – Ryan Henriquez
Brooklyn based boy/girl duo The Henry Millers just released the video for their single "Diamonds," streaming below. The guys played Brooklyn Bowl on May 8 and are definitely one of the new bands to watch in the NYC area.Inspired by the tale of Bonnie and Clyde, the video was produced by Land of Nod Inc.
This Saturday 5/19, head down to the Rock & Roll Hotel to check out DC electro pop genius Outputmessage (opening for NY’s Class Actress and Penguin Prison.) Outputmessage is Bernard Farley, who worked on his master’s degree in Mathematics while killing it as an IDM producer. His first release came out on Ghostly International (one of the earliest artists on their label), and all other albums such as 2010’s Autonomous, the remixed version Autonmix, and 2011’s Game Over EP were released through his own record label Output Noise Records. Math nerds produce the best beats, the proof is below.
Rock & Roll Hotel, 5/19, Doors @8:30 $15
This Friday 5/18 at the Black Cat, new DC based duo Astra Via (featuring Olivia Mancini and Jarrett Nicolay of Virginia Coalition) will be releasing their debut EP. Check out the first single "Be Where You Are" from the EP, below.
Get to the Cat in time to catch more local support via DC folk group Vandaveer, and DC Americana rockers Beanstalk Library.
Black Cat, 5/18, Doors @9 PM, $12.
Check out another rad new music video from The Spinto Band for the track “The Living Things,” which recently premiered via NPR’s All Songs Considered. It was created by animator Phil Davis, and is “a combination of hand drawn animation and pixilation (stop-motion animation of humans). All of the roughly 2,000 drawings in the animation were created frame-by-frame by Davis over the course of 20 months.” Enjoy!
Be careful about popping on Island Twins’ latest two releases. You may find yourself singing along to lyrics you wouldn’t otherwise feel comfortable belting – the band has a knack for turning stark phrases like ‘Lying in State’ into gleeful chants of bouncy pop fun.
It’s this kind of playfulness that Sebadoh used to infuse into otherwise heavy subjects that comes through in this three piece. The other release up right now is ‘The Wolfs Lair,’ which confirms the bouncing tendencies. Despite the best efforts of the group to surround its ominous sentiment with noisy theatrics, the tunes comes through loud and clear. For Island Twins, there’s is a warm conversation happening between old friends, and thats what makes their strong doses of deprecating humor go down easy. DYI show lovers may see them at Suburbia on 330 Melrose St. this Saturday May 19 with other locals Shapes, Au Revoir and Stamps. The band has an album release scheduled for June. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)
The 12th Annual Non-COMMvention begins today and will be going on through Saturday. The AAA Music Convention is hosting a sold out show tonight at World Café Live featuring Philly’s Grateful Dead-lovin’ favorite sons The War on Drugs who are sharing a bill with Polica, Beth Orton and Father John Misty (the solo project from former Fleet Foxes drummer Josh Tillman). You can check out the rest of the schedule for the music haps at Non-COMM HERE. World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St., 8pm, Sold Out, All Ages (Photo by Maryanne Louise) – H.M. Kauffman
R5 Productions host a SERIOUS RAGER at Union Transfer today when legendary 70’s London punks Cock Sparrer play their first Philly show in 40 years. And they’ll be joined by Mike McColgan’s first post-Dropkick Murphy’s project Street Dogs. But if that’s not enough craziness, they’ll also be joined by one of Philly’s own premiere hardcore bands Paint it Black, who will be playing their first hometown show since they tearing shit up at the First Unitarian Church with Screaming Females last year. (Wow – that’s a lot of firsts in just a few sentences!) Having an impressive tenure with Lifetime and Kid Dynamite on his resume, Dan Yemin has been an impactful presence in the local punk scene for the past 15 years. And since Paint It Black closed out their 2011 by working on some rough demos for new songs, I am hoping that there will be more contributions to come from the beloved band that doesn’t perform out nearly enough. Union Transfer, 1026 Spring Garden St., 8pm, $30, All Ages (Photo by Shane McCauley) – Bill McThrill
