I know you’ve been waiting to shake your tail feather all winter long… well, you’ve got the perfect opportunity coming up with Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds. With a horn section that would be the envy of any Nola street corner, coupled with the theatrical melisma of singer Arleigh Kincheloe ‘s antics, you will find it impossible to stand in one place.

This is a 9-piece powerhouse of funk and blues with a solid penchant for taking these forms and churning them up into a volcanic stew that’s erupted across the states, as the band’s just returned from their first national tour. The band’s latest LP, ‘Pound of Dirt,’ contains all the funk/ska/bluesy trademarks they’ve made their own, and adds in some new flavor in barn burners like ‘Millie Mae’ and ‘Make it Rain.’ I suggest not listening over headphones… its just not loud enough.

Catch Sister Sparrow when they play the CBGB Festival this July, and see the video for "Make it Rain" below. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

Public Assembly will host a showcase night with four emerging NYC bands on May 16th. Ranging from edgy pop songs to all out exploratory sonic jams, the performers present different yet complimentary styles. Although Esque is a band that’s not afraid to reference a HUGE spectrum of influences, the keyboard driven groove on their single “Double Blind” pays proper homage to synth pioneers like Heaven 17 and Ultravox, but with personal touches like the addition of a dixieland band coda. Check out the track "Bones to Be" (streaming below) for another slice of their genre-encompassing, dark and imaginative world music.

Full on psych rockers Our Mountain stomp along thudding lead footed grooves while twisted, pitch-bended and feedback laced guitars dance over top. The tempos change at times to quicker paced, lighter touch rhythms, allowing a Jim Morrison style storytelling to emerge. The guitars are ever present though, providing texture and counterpoint. Epic mescaline-in-the-desert trip "Pink Elephant" evokes multiple touch points, from the quieter passages of "Pink Floyd" to the all out scratch n’ squall of "Sonic Youth."

There’s a distinct "Raveonettes" feel to Bad Girlfriend and their latest track “Feelings.” Emphasizing deep guitar twang, all female vocals playfully set a mood where simply stated lyrics provide a less is more scenario.

Openers The Beach Arabs‘ appropriately titled song “On The Beach” presents an angular approach both in rhythmic structure and guitar melody, while “Drifters” further reinforces these stylistic traits allowing vocal bursts to make the lyrical point. – Dave Cromwell

You may have thought you’d figured out Chappo during their previous incarnation as alien-fighting, acid-eating, hard-rocking cowboys (the ‘Plastique Universe’ EP)… but as it turns out, this was only the first stop on their intergalactic tour. For those of you confused by this last statement, you’ve got some catching up to do, and now is a good time to do it.

The band’s debut LP ‘Moonwater’ makes their mission abundantly clear: these guys are here to deliver a serious rock record, for people who desperately need one. And it’s not just that they can handle the psych freakout forms usually associated with this town in album openers ‘What are You Kids On?’ and ‘Explode" (or of course, the Apple commercial-worthy ‘Come Home’).’ Fun as those songs are… they can also pull off a fairly convincing stompin’ ritual track on ‘Native Savage,’ which boldly pairs foot stomps with cold-blooded whistlin…’ not an easy thing to do.

It’s all a testament to how bold singer Alex Chappo’s voice is… this guy can hold on to you like Morrison, then break into screaming Omar Rodrigeuz-Lopez chants at breakneck pace. Chappo may have returned to our galaxy… but it doesn’t look like it’ll be the same again.

See the band when they celebrate the record release at Dominion on May 15. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

The words "Brooklyn" and "DIY" bring to mind images of young, intoxicated hipsters partying late in a Bushwick basement, to the notes of punky live music, while – a few floors upstairs – musicians record grating lo-fi music in their bedrooms. But the DIY modus operandi is by no means a prerogative of that scene. Self-defined "urban geek" multi-instrumentalist Michael Hearst (also in South Brooklyn’s own One Ring Zero) has also been recording his own unique orchestral music since the early aughts with admirable prolificacy. Definitely not part of "that" DIY scene, Hearst has slowly but surely fostered his career in DIY ways, networking with other musicians through collaborations which helped promote his talent as a composer and performer. This brought him as far as touring with The Magnetic Fields and performing one of his songs with Kronos Quartet at Carnegie Hall this past February.

After releasing the hugely acclaimed lit-rock gem "As Smart As We Are" with One Ring Zero, the man has developed a knack for concept albums, and he’s about to release his latest – entitled "Songs for Unusual Creatures" – as a solo effort. Inspired by such beastly oddities as the aye-aye, the magnapinna squid, the blobfish, the elephant shrew, and the blue-footed booby, this instrumental record celebrates some of the most bizarre animals on the planet, as well as some of the most bizarre musical instruments. Check out the very DIY video for Chinese Giant Salamander here.

Quite appropriately, the record release party will be held at the Brooklyn Zoo in Prospect Park on Saturday May 12 at 2 pm.