Nashville

East Nashville Underground Announces Full Summer Lineup

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East Nashville’s quarterly underground music festival is getting bigger with each season and the summer lineup has been announced. Beginning August 17th and running through the weekend, East Nashville Underground will feature performances from 18 bands, including The Joy Of Painting, Chancellor Warhol, and Sam Lewis, as well as Oh No No‘s farewell show.

Wristbands are $12 per night or $20 for the weekend and cover your beer tab for the duration of your night/weekend. The festival was recently sponsored by Fat Bottom Brewing, which means you can consume a lot of good beer (and a lot of good music) on a PBR budget.

All other details about the event can be found here. RIP, Oh No No. –Brianne Turner

NYC

Blues in the city: Anna Rose annouces sophomore album

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Those who (like me) spend their life going through press releases and music submissions tend to develop often misleading snap judgment tendencies. When I read NYC songstress Anna Rose‘s name in my Inbox I expected your typical, a little generic, slightly boring singer songwriter – maybe because her name is a little… effortless? But the lady’s music proved me wrong. Admittedly, Anna doesn’t play the most outrageously innovative of genres – modern blues – but she does it with style. She recently got a good amount of press because of this video of a cover of "My Body is a Cage" by Arcade Fire, which she reinterpreted with a delicate, sparse and sober touch reminiscent of The Cowboy Junkies. Now she’s releasing another video, for the the title track of her forthcoming album "Behold a Pale Horse," due out later this year.

Philadelphia

New Track: “Trap Door” – Strand of Oaks

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Below is a new track from Strand of Oaks called “Trap Door.” It will appear on his new full-length album Dark Shores, which will be released on July 24. If you pre-order the LP HERE, you’ll get an instant download of “Trap Door” as well as the 6-song Alma EP (named after his grandma) that was recorded in the winter of 2005 and were the beginnings of what would eventually be Leave Ruin. Oaks will be performing next in Philly on July 30 at Union Transfer when he opens for The Tallest Man On Earth, and he’ll also be playing at this year’s Philadelphia Folk Festival.
 

NYC

When the orchestra gets weird: Birthmark plays Pianos on 08.17

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There’s something touching about the quiet voice of concern that Birthmark gives to the people he meets. Like the intimate chamber/electronic music of Destroyer or Jeremy Enigk, singer/songwriter Nate Kinsella uses random materials (whether these be drum machines or pizzicato violins) to pull something deeply personal out of otherwise far-flung genres. Whether the towering tribute of ‘Big Man’ or the mysterious source of inspiration in ‘You lighten me up,’ his latest LP ‘Antibodies’ digs deeply into the human condition. Birthmark pulls inspiration from unlikely places, repeating this sentiment over either baroque oboes and after-hours electronics alike.

In a desperate world filled with all manner of overlapping human and musical families, Birthmark designs a universe where both of these can live together. Handling his subjects in a delicate manner, one story at a time. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

Philadelphia

Grimace Federation’s Biweekly Residency “Popular Science” Kicks Off at KFN July 18

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It seems that Grimace Federation has a flair for adventure. The Jaga Jazzist-esque combination of prog-jazz and post-rock from their 2010 release On Velvet reminds me of the original Rainbow Road. The wonder and grandness of the music recalls a vast expanse of stars, a black sky that stretches on forever juxtaposed against a dreamy splash of color. Since On Velvet, they’ve paired down to a trio with Chris Wood still leaving his drums bruised and battered, Jim Calvarese holding down the low-end, and Wes Schwartz tinkering with his laptop and electronic toys over his electric guitar, moving them further into the realm of grandiose electronica. New songs like “Auroville” and “LIGHTSABERTEETH” sound like they could be scoring modern two dimensional adventure games like Braid and Fez. This video-game parallel I’m drawing may seem a little out-there, but the way Grimace Federation’s music engrosses reminds me of the way a good video game engrosses: It conjures an alternative realm filled with wonder and adventure.

That adventure begins tonight at Kung Fu Necktie, where the band and their “Popular Science” series have taken up a biweekly residency. With a slew of different openers scheduled to accompany them each evening and Grimace Federation’s exciting new sound, the show ought to be reminiscent Daft Punk’s Discovery and Tron: Legacy, equal parts danceable and thoughtful. Get out there and save the princess, heroes. Kung Fu Necktie,1250 N. Front St., 8 PM, $8, 21+ – Adam Downer  

Philadelphia

The Spinto Band Opening for Here We Go Magic at JB’s July 18

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The Spinto Band will be sharing the good vibes tonight at Johnny Brenda’s when they open for Luke Temple’s Here We Go Magic. In May, the five-piece released their latest album Shy Pursuit on the band’s own label Spintonic. The group brings a simplified approach that combines vocally-lead tunes which harness narrative-based songwriting while incorporating the rich twang of country-influenced, finger-picking guitar with a progressive percussion which changes shape adapting to the mode of the individual track. On a track like “Keep Them Alive,” the serious subject of the lyrics is balanced by an upbeat and even playful music composition with steady drumming laying the base, which further highlights the extremely clean vocals. Their music is user-friendly engaging the listener from the onset with its catchiness, which stirs the memory and doesn’t feel repackaged, producing songs that are enjoyable from the beginning and only get better as they’re broken down. Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 8pm, $12, 21+ – Michael Colavita

NYC

The new, grown up sound of The Mommyheads

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Its official: NYC and SF scenes staples The Mommyheads have grown up. I guess that should be expected from a band fast approaching the 15 year mark, I just never thought I’d hear such an introspective sound from the kings of the hard indie groove. Not that they’ve lost any of the power and special weirdness that makes Adam Cohen and company such an iconic indie institution.

For the band’s just-released full-length ‘Vulnerable Boy’ (Dromedary Records), the band returns full of the quirks and charm that come from a group on par with Guided by Voices’s decibel levels. But you’ll find plenty more happening here on closer inspection that’s not quite as expected. In their latest single ‘Medicine Show,’ Mommyheads reveal a glow that swirls around their haunting ruminations on the limits of words. The song acts as much as a title track for the record as anything, and serves as a centerpiece of their new attitude. For a band that’s been around the block more than a couple of times, Mommyheads still have quite a few tricks up their sleeves. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

Free Mp3: The Mommyheads – "Medicine Show"
Free Mp3: The Mommyheads – "Science and Reason"