MS MR headlined a packed Santos Party House on Wednesday with support from punk rockers Beast Make Bomb.

Brooklyn’s Beast Make Bomb backed up some catchy tunes with undeniable stage presence. Lead singer Ceci G radiated swagger as she led the four-piece band through a fast, loud, and downright fun set. The highlight of BMB’s performance was a song that sounded like the punk rock cousin of “Kashmir.”

MS Mr’s sound was an entirely different animal, but the four-piece band was just as entertaining as it’s opener. All of the focus was on the gorgeous vocals of their lead singer, the eponymous MS. Her powerful voice combined with the indie-pop sensibilities of her band resulted in what I imagine Adele would sound like on Matador Records. MS MR ended its set with the buzzy single “Hurricane,” which received the biggest reaction from the crowd.

Beast Make Bomb will play NYC again on July 13th at the Bushwick Walkabout Fest and on July 30th at the Studio at Webster Hall. MS MR won’t be back until August when they play with Marina & the Diamonds on the 16th and 18th. – Joshua S. Johnson.

Though she was probably still touring around her home turf of Twin lakes-area Minnesota at the time, singer/songwriter Nina Yasmineh harkens back to NYC’s anti-folk scene from the early aughts. Like other artists hailing from that background (Regina Spector, Elizabeth Devlin), Yasmineh delivers satisfied pop that sounds like she’s just gotten up in the morning and made her mind up about something important. Tracks like ‘Hollow’ and ‘Bitterwsweet’ from latest record ‘Strange,’ dramatize this sense of resolution as weighty indictments thrown at lovers past and future. It’s an interesting journey for the artist, and instantly relatable.

Though her touring schedule seems to be giving a lot of love to Minnesota this summer, join her when she flies back to her NYC home this Fall. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets) – This artist submit her music for review here.

Dude York are issuing Escape from Dude York on July 10th courtesy of UK label The Sound of Sweet Nothing. This release will be followed up shortly thereafter with an appearance at Capitol Hill Block Party on July 22nd.

The band – a rowdy three piece that writes self-proclaimed teenpop jams – is comprised of Alex Cassidy, Andrew Hall, and Peter Richards. Together, they created the material for Escape from Dude York, a five song document which reveals their predilection for the two minute long song.

The brevity of these pieces works in their favor; they ramp up the energy quickly in the track "And Andrew Too" with a Fugazi-like riff and thumping drum beat before tearing into more straightfowardly garage ‘n’ roll territory. The vocals are mature and emphatic, drawing comparisons to Jail Weddings and The Black Lips.

Your bones are going to bounce to the beat instinctively, so be prepared for the head-bobbing and dancing their music induces. Their song "Fuck City" becomes an irresistible anthem by the time it is halfway through its two minute, twenty three second running time.

Dude York will be performing on The Vera stage at 8:20pm on Sunday, July 22nd at the Capitol Hill Block Party. You can stream three of the five tunes off Dude York’s upcoming 7 inch on their bandcamp. Make sure to visit the page for The Sound of Sweet Nothing to order Escape from Dude York digitally or on vinyl.

– Cameron LaFlam

Eytan Oren could probably be accused of many things, but unmotivated would not be one of them. After winning one of our studio giveaways last year, Eytan and his band The Embassy used the occasion to record song ‘Everything Changes’ at Stratosphere Sound, showcasing a fantastic band in the process.

In the video for the song, (which has received 420,000 views in just one week), Eytan and The Embassy express an appeal to adaptation, set to music that vaguely references ‘Cruel to be Kind.’ The video goes through a startling 18 costume changes with no editing, and this achievement has been noticed by Record Setter who gave Eytan an award for the most costume changes in a one-take music video.

As one insightful Youtube poster remarked: “Damn you got such a distinctive face, but still manage to show off so many different personalities!.” Indeed. Eytan wears a lot of hats in this band, both musically and literally. His new record ‘The Perfect Breakup,’ finds the Brooklyn singer constantly reinventing himself. From the consoling dance fever of opener ‘No Reason to Cry,’ to the mid-tempo ‘Good Morning Marilyn,’ Eytan has a knack for reclaiming classic rock styles as his own.

See Eytan and the Embassy when they play the CBGB fest at Central Park’s Summerstage on July 6th with The Pains, and check out his head jarring new video below.

Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

The Future of What is a new project featuring Brooklyn singer songwriter Blair, whose previous band was just know as… "Blair," and toured with Neon Indian and Say Hi amongst others. Their music could be considered as the perfect archetype of the bedroom-pop genre, which is becoming a staple of the NYC scene (think Friends, Ms Mr, Oberhofer). The simple, mostly electronic arrangements betray hours spent creating on a laptop at home rather than in a rehearsal or recording studio, while the "mid-‘fi" approach to recording is often due to a combination of artistic choice, budget limitations, and limited equipment; Blair’s delicate, borderline shy vocal delivery is another recurring trait of this genre, and likely to be due to the fact that not many people want to be heard by neighbors while they are cutting a vocal track.

But as we often mention, notwithstanding our obvious obsession with genres and categorizations, it’s always the songwriting that matters the most, and Future of What offers personal, ethereal and enjoyable pop tunes, which – considering their front lady’s touring past – can also be exported successfully in a live show environment.Check out the video for "Back to the City" here.

New York indie folk quartet Swear and Shake played the Hillstock fest last week, and will cement their status with a CD release party at Mercury Lounge on Friday July 6 with These Animals and Tall Tall Trees.

The moniker itself captures a certain quality to the group’s vibe, evoking the rhythmic and fitful, but most distinctly their togetherness – as if these four, somewhere on a playground long ago, entered into a pact of musical dimensions. Undoubtedly there is a spirit of play to the music, resulting in songs that toss between childlike vulnerability and wonder, and resounding harmonies that beautifully elevate the stuff of good old indie-folk – The vocals alone, shared between Kari Spieler and Adam McHeffey, are fodder for obsession.

Yet don’t be fooled. If we are to start on the playground, “Maple Ridge” maps the art of growing up. That is, despite its homespun feel, the album achieves definite sophistication. From the first track, the delightfully singsong “Marbles” (streaming below), the band looks to the future with all the tenderness of youthful promise: “I swear I’ll clean up good/I bought us a piano so our kids would grow up smart”. “White Walls”, on the other hand, displays an early world-weariness- an acknowledgment that relationships seem to impact our personal growth more than we’d like. Still, the wistful “Wrecking Ball” addresses our craving for such (literal) impact. The group freely admits another reality of adulthood: that sometimes, though we’ve sworn a person off, we ultimately can’t shake them. – Kristina Tortoriello

The poppy 5-piece Hidden Pictures has been signed to Kansas City’s Golden Sound Records, just announced in anticipation of their upcoming full-length release Rainbow Records. The crisp, melodic, polite vocal combination of Richard Gintowt and Michelle Sanders mixed with bright retro pop sounds is a perfect fit for Golden Sound, whose current artist roster includes the ’50s-style rockabilly group The Empty Spaces, folk outfit Oriole Post, and ambient noise rockers Everyday/Everynight.

Rainbow Records will be available on July 17 in print/digital formats. The CD release show will be July 20 at The Brick with labelmates Fullbloods. 

In addition, Golden Sound Records is hosting the Crossroads Summer Block Party next Friday, July 6. Food, festivities, and music from bands on the label, as well as bands on The Record Machine.

–Michelle Bacon