Mat Shoare and his band, The Empty Spaces, owe a lot to Buddy Holly, Duane Eddy and The Ventures. On Party Line, the band’s second EP, though, Shoare delivers a little more rockabilly and Replacements with his pop (especially on the brief standout, "Jackie Says"). You gotta give it up to the band, however, for embracing all the slap delay, Ampex tape and Stratocasters of old, without sounding merely like a tribute band. Recording live, the band captures the energy of its live shows. And like any good EP or 45, Party Line gives fans an snapshot of the band, unadorned with studio chicanery.

The EP starts fittingly with the title track, “Party Line,” a good indication of where the band’s headed in the next 20 minutes. The strongest track, "The 1960s Divorce Rate Blues," benefits most from the live recording when it collapses from a rocking 4/4 into a doo-wop waltz. The closer, "B-52’s," pushes the rockabilly envelope farthest. With the rhythm section carrying the song, Shoare has fun with a spring reverb tail louder than his twangy guitar.

With occasional mistakes that seem intentionally left in, these recordings certainly feel live. They could also benefit from overdubbing. Some background vocals or an occasional second guitar part give the listener something to return to. That minor complaint aside, one thing’s for certain, listening to Party Line aptly prepares anyone for an Empty Spaces concert. In the age bands filling out their live sound with auxiliary band members and laptops, this can certainly be refreshing.

Listen to tracks from The Empty Spaces’ first EP Low Noise at their page on Golden Sound Records.

The Empty Spaces will be kicking off a short Midwestern tour to celebrate the release of Party Line on Thursday night at The Brick with Soft Reeds and The Caves. From there, they’ll be hitting St. Joseph (Cafe Acoustic on Friday), Omaha, Des Moines, Minneapolis, Chicago, St. Louis, and Lawrence (The Jackpot on August 4).

–Jonathon H. Smith

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As the clock ticks away, there’s a fragility to every existence that Brooklyn’s experimental quintet In One Wind has captured with an admirable dramatic intensity. Drifting from the aesthetic innovations of their debut towards something more conceptual, they developed for their first EP Lean six narratives built upon an unstable structure, where each voice, with a warm candor, struggles to find its place, and pace itself to the rhythm of the song. Some find a note, a glimpse of a hook on which to rest, if only for a second; some find a partner, and as a solo turns to duet, gain a strength that can settle a tempo, or turn acoustic melancholia into distorted noise-rock; only the poor Drunkard finds nothing, and until the end of his sad tale sways uncertain as a subtle cymbal going crescendo suggests the weight of his time rushing by. Despite nuances of folk, jazz and rock, Lean defines an expressionist world of its own, where the textures and arrangements hold as much narrative power as the words themselves, if not more.  – Tracy Mamoun

The evolution of Vivian Girls’ founding member Cassie Ramone’s other project known as The Babies takes another step forward with the release of the 7" "Moonlight Mile," presented as an appetizer for the band’s upcoming new album. Started as a very DIY psych-pop band, the group in the last year has morphed its sound towards a new, more defined direction, which finds inspiration in the American Roots Rock of the 80s filtered through Frank Black’s odd chord progressions and relentlessly tense pop anthems.

Lead vocals handled this time by writing partner (and Woods’ bassist) Kevin Morby, a cautionary tale is laid out about the perils traveling down an uncertain road. Cassie contributes significantly with the hook-laden background vocals, which at times almost sounds like a horn section. A piercing lead guitar riff emerges, echoing the train metaphor that culminates the song’s lyrical statement. The track can be streamed now and will be released as the first single by the Woodsist label on August 14. The full album titled "Our House On The Hill" will be released in the fall. The 7" release will feature an exclusive B-side and is limited to 1,000 copies. The band will be playing multiple shows in Brooklyn, beginning with Public Assembly on 7/25, Union Pool on 7/28, Secret Project Robot on 7/31, McCarren Park on 8/15 and Union Pool again that same night. – Dave Cromwell

The man behind Seaflower must have listened to at least a little Black Sabbath during his teenage years. Ozzy’s tradition of nightmare guitar riffs and psychotically warped vocals is continued with rare aggression by Jersey native Joseph Biondi’s dizzying brand of hard rock.

But if anything, the solo project of Joseph Biondi is much more to the point than many of his influences. It seems when Seaflower needs to make a point, he prefers the axe to the scalpel. ‘Opossum Dreams’ (streaming below) has a hook and enough dissonance to justifies any amount of blank, while ‘Fuck You, Steve‘ is about well…. maybe just listen to the song yourself. Biondi’s brand of hyper-intense passion is bound to scare off some, for those left behind… it may be exactly what you need after a long week at the office. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets) – This bandsubmitted their music for review here.