Brooklyn-based Cinema Cinema, featuring cousins Ev Gold (vocals/guitar) and Paul Claro (drums), cut together raucous, fast-paced, muscular punk with noise and math rock influences. The two-piece released their sophomore full-length record “Manic Children and Slow Aggression” on July 10. Between ever changing tempos, attacking drum beats, aggressive guitar shredding and pervading feedback, Gold and Claro’s explosive music never seems to take a breath. The duo dances with a penchant for punk and pushes through the thirteen tracks with fervor and intensity. Cinema Cinema will be honoring their new release at St. Vitus in Brooklyn on July 13 before undertaking East Coast dates with legendary Black Flag founder/guitarist Greg Ginn. – Meijin Bruttomesso

This Saturday, Kansas City favorites American Catastrophe will be playing their final show at recordBar. The band has been going strong for about 11 years, with an impressive resume. Its first and only album Excerpts from the Broken Bone Choir received positive reviews from reputable sources like Pitchfork and Paste, and the album debuted on the CMJ charts. The band’s signature dark Americana sound summons acts like Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Tom Waits, Bauhaus, and Swans, with a tinge of hard-hitting folk. Saturday’s show promises to be an exciting one, featuring songs from the band’s entire catalog.

American Catastrophe will be joined by The Latenight Callers and Omaha’s drakes hotel. This show will likely sell out, so get your tickets at the link here.

$7 cover
9:00 p.m. Doors
10:00 p.m. drakes hotel
10:45 p.m. The Latenight Callers
11:30 p.m. American Catastrophe

 

I almost feel like every single venue should have residencies – our life would be so much easier, because no promoters would commit to give a band 3-4 shows in a month if they weren’t confident about the band’s quality, live show and drawing ability. Indie pop Brooklynites Fishdoctor just landed a July residency at Pianos and we can see why. Their May release "The Swell" is crammed with catchy and energetic songs which have the potential to entertain all kind of crowds. First show of the residency is on July 16 at 9pm.

The peeps in Pop. 1280 must like paradoxes, since their music isn’t poppy at all – dark, brooding, borderline evil rather. But maybe that dot means that "pop" stands for something else? Popsicle maybe? Popcorn? Oh, wait! It’s from a novel by Nick Corey, and "Pop." stands for "population."

Signed to Brooklyn’s Sacred Bones, these guys released a full length in January entitled "The Horror" (that’s more like it) which snatched a 7.5 from Pitchfork. I always say that I like tension and release in music, but… boy! Tense throughout, this stuff won’t let you off the hook, challenging most hears with truly edgy, clangy, and cacophonous sonic attacks, in perfect industrial/goth style – imagine an angrier version of Nick Cave’s Birthday Party. Pop. 1280 will be touring the US in September, but we can see in the band’s future an obvious destination, Germany and Northern Europe, true homes of angular and dark rock sounds. If this band was a painter it would be Edvard Munch. Check out their recent video of the song "Bodie in the Dunes" here.

Photo Source: Chastity Belt

Chastity Belt are going to play the venue Chop Suey a week from today on Tuesday, July 17th. The Space Needles and REDBOOK are booked to perform as well.

Originially hailing from Walla Walla, WA – (like the previously spotlighted group Dude York) – this foursome dig on some punk and rock ‘n roll mojo. Despite their claim that "Chastity Belt is the worst band to ever exist," the group’s EP effort Fuck Chastity Belt immediately undermines that statement with charm and musicality.

Opening track "God Damn" begins with Julia Shapiro (guitarist/vocalist) shouting those words with conviction before the instruments jump in. Pay attention as the song peels into a new section where the line "He’s gold" is repeated; it maintains a great, captivating melody throughout.

Lyrically, the thematic center(s) to their material seem to be sex and violence – but these motifs come off as intriguing and sincere, soaked in their fusion of pop melodies, grainy riffs and off-kilter drums. Listen to "A Bloody Spiral of Unyielding Fury" to get an idea of what these girls are capable of.

Fuck Chasity Belt came out in May of this year and features four songs in total. Stream the leading track "God Damn" below. You can follow the link to their bandcamp to hear and download the whole thing. Make sure to check them out live at Chop Suey on the 17th of July. The show is 100% free!

– Cameron LaFlam

I can’t even imagine the Lower East Side without The Cake Shop, which has been going through some financial hardships as of late. The loss of this venue would mean that the more noisy, experimental, and DIY side of the NYC scene would have abandoned Manhattan once and for all. And noisy, experimental and DIY music is a huge and seminal component of what this scene has expressed since the 60s. Ya man, it all happened in Manhattan – nobody gave a crap about the Brooklyn scene until the aughts! This is why we should all make an effort to visit The Cake Shop more often, in particular this Saturday July 14th, when 4 great local bands and legendary DJ Dan Selzer (of NY Happenings Yahoo Group fame) will entertain hopefully a packed house in support of the Ludlow Street rowdiest venue. Hilarious drunk punks Wild Yaks willheadline, bringing the usual dose of unruly fun on stage, preceded by Shilpa Ray‘s charismatic and imaginative freak folk (one of her songs streaming below). The opening bands will be soul-rock quartet The Immaculates and ungooglable garage-blues band DON’T. There will be also a photo exhibit by local photographer Ebru Yildiz.