New England

Dropkick Murphys Announce New Album: Signed and Sealed in Blood — Out January 8

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Boston-based band Dropkick Murphys have announced the  release of their forthcoming album, SIGNED and SEALED in BLOOD, due out January 8. The album is their second with producer Ted Hutt (Gaslight Anthem, Old Crow Medicine Show), which was recorded at Boston’s Q Division studios and mixed by Joe Chiccarelli (The White Stripes). "We had such a great time writing our last album, Going Out In Style, we were excited to get back into the studio right away," says bassist and co-lead singer Ken Casey. "Where Going Out in Style was a concept album-kind of intricate and difficult-this one is catchy, fun, and as sing-along as can be."

Next week, the band will be kicking off the second leg of their Fall tour. Dates are listed below.

Mon 10/29 – Grand Rapids, MI @ Orbit Room
Wed 10/31 – St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant
Thu 11/01 – Omaha, NE @ Sokol Auditorium
Fri 11/02 – Des Moines, IA @ Val Air Ballroom
Sat 11/03 – Fargo, ND @ The Venue
Mon 11/05 – Billings, MT @ Shrine Auditorium
Tue 11/06 – Missoula, MT @ The Wilma
Wed 11/07 – Spokane, WA @ Knitting Factory Concert House
Fri 11/09 – Eugene, OR @ McDonald Theatre
Sun 11/11 – Chico, CA @ Theater
Mon 11/12 – Santa Ana, CA @ The Observatory
Tue 11/13 – Flagstaff, AZ @ The Orpheum Theater
Thu 11/15 – Kansas City, MO @ Uptown Theatre
Fri 11/16 – Urbana, IL @ Canopy Club
Sat 11/17 – Hamilton, ONT @ Wentworth Room at The Hamilton Convention Centre 
Sat 11/18 – Montreal, QC @ Metropolis

NYC

Bridget and The Squares play Paper Box 11.9

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The boy/girl duo of Bridget and the Squares might not initially strike you as badass and full of rage, but trust me… this is a band out for blood. Their two latest EPs Kill and Destroy take you down a dusty road littered with broken people and failed relationships. Riding epic piano lines through the desert in tracks like ‘The Animal and ‘Nothing Right, Nothing Wrong,’ singers Laura Bridgett and Kyle Thompson chart the wreckage they find through the love and passion they bring to every subject excavated. Get on over to their bandcamp for more, and catch them on November 9th when they play Bushwick’s Paper Box – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

NYC

Making it in the city: ZZZ’s

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Dystopia’s probably the track that’ll best define their universe, with its menacing beat-heavy thick horror soundtrack crumbling around high pitched synth lines, and random alien-like hyper-distorted vocals cutting in. Spitefully charging through crunchy cold-blooded jams, the three ZZZ’s ladies re-appropriate dark dissonant no-wavey/industrial atmospheres to twist them into their own, using just about every trick in the book to avoid falling into routine. Originally from Japan, they formed the band in NYC in March 2012, playing some 50-odd gigs around the US, and more recently, a couple of shows during this CMJ; and seeing as, according to their Twitter, they’re leaving the city at the end of December -not sure how long for- we’re hoping to hear more dates announced soon. Meanwhile, check out their music below. – Tracy Mamoun 

Philadelphia

Kickstart Your Evening w/The Extraordinaires at JB’s Oct. 25

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Carnival-esque folk-pop outfit The Extraordinaires have been working in the studio with producer Kyle “Slick” Johnson so you can expect some new tunes tonight when they headline Johnny Brenda’s. The band recorded a new EP this year entitled Beware! The All-Seeing EYE! at Fancy Time Studio using their winnings from our studio time giveaway contest with Johnson last year. They also have another new EP from an independent feature film called The Space Jockey Pursuit that they were asked to write and record music for in 2010, and just launched a Kickstarter campaign in support of their 4th full-length album, which will be released on vinyl with their unique handcrafted packaging and a storybook. Check out their new promotional video below for the campaign, and go donate HERE! The Extraordinaires will also be joined this evening by locals The Spinning Leaves and Baltimore’s Hume. Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 9pm, $10, 21+ – H.M. Kauffman

Portland

Boy Eats Drum Machine Releases The Battle at Burnside Brewing Company 10.26

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John Ragel is a serial multitasker, enthusiastically orchestrating songs that are poly-genre and made up of improvised melodies and rhythms as Boy Eats Drum Machine. As a DJ he knows how to drop all kinds of percussion and experiments freely with his turntable and instruments. He is a one-man band, augmenting the tones further with his saxophone skills or guitar chord embellishments. Sometimes the colors of his sounds begin to bleed a bit into an artistic jazz scat break-down, but then something random will unexpectedly drop from above. Excerpts of laughter or cheers from his audience fall into the track perfectly and return it to its journey of beat-box/ pop-rock ear candy. He shifts light-heartedly on stage between electronics, instruments and vocals, and seems to purely enjoy playing music, having created six albums with additional compilations of bonus material to date. In his latest release, The Battle, the smooth pitch of Ragel’s voice cites religion, politics, and temptation but not without laser pews and Nintendo noises whirring overhead. Boy Eats Drum Machine will be celebrating the release of The Battle at Burnside Brewing Company’s Night of the Living Ales. Local electronic spook Purse Candy and the adorable musings of Oh, Darling will also be performing along with the added Halloween raucous of ghoulish go-go dancers and craft brews. Watch out for Ragel as Bowie. – Brandy Crowe

Philadelphia

Nightlands Slowly Building Sounds at PhilMOCA Oct. 25

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There is no doubt that bassist Dave Hartley ranks up there as being one of the most highly sought-after Philly musicians these days with his skills being recruited to back fine acts like The War on Drugs, Sondre Lerche, Sharon Van Etten and Buried Beds. However, he somehow still finds time to work on his very own project Nightlands, which has a new full-length album titled Oak Island scheduled for release on January 22 via Secretly Canadian. Hartley has also been doing some recruiting of his own pulling from the pool of talented local area musicians to bring his shimmering compositions to life, and you’ll have the opportunity to hear what he has been slowly building when Nightlands headlines tonight at PhilaMOCA. This evening’s bill will also feature Baltimore’s Soft Cat (Friends Records) and a solo set by Michael Johnson, a.k.a. Ape School (Hometapes). PhilaMOCA, 531 N. 12th St., 9pm, $7 – $10, All Ages – Q.D. Tran

NYC

White Coward Playing Last Show at the Black Lodge

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Photo Source: White Coward

White Coward are scheduled to play their finale show this Friday, October 26th with No Babies, Mtns, and Casy and Brian at the Black Lodge.

Their EP Relaxer dropped in April of this year, tagged with vague terms like "kids" and "shred." Upon listening to the record, the aforementioned words actually make a modicum of sense.

First of all, the song "Kids I’ve Had" grinds and purrs against your ears with a quality of great persistence. I wouldn’t mind "running around the neighborhood" (as a line goes) blasting this noisy track. Better yet, it could stand-in as the soundtrack to some demented carnival populated with bizzaro rides and carnees. A whopper of frenzied, disoriententing energy fuels this art punk anthem.

"Gal Pals" possesses a savory don’t-give-a-fuck flavor in the same vein as groups like Braniac, The Blood Brothers, and Raking Bombs. They differentiate their noise rock with a taunting snarl instead of slurred speech or venomous screams. The song’s locomotive-like grooves rip right through your comfort zone.

A prerequisite for absorbing Relaxer’s raw delivery is to listen to it really loudly. If your speakers can’t produce enough decibels to tickle your brain with feedback, then go see White Coward live on the 26th of October. Last chance! 9pm start time. Listen to "Gal Pals" below and visit their bandcamp to stream it all and pick your price.

– Cameron LaFlam

San Francisco

Artist of the Month Feature: Owl Paws

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 Don’t try to pin down Owl Paws’ sound. Please. You’re going to waste all thirty minutes of Carry On, their great new EP, playing the Manticore game (okay, let’s see, it’s got the harmonies of fleet foxes, the descending harmonic line of Radiohead, the vocal timbre of the Decemberists…). When the album’s through, you’ll pat yourself on the back for the sheer magnitude of good bands you know, and then decide Owl Paws really mostly sounds a lot like Owl Paws. That’s a really good thing. 

They’re the winners of our ‘Artist of the Month’ poll, they’re about to go on tour for their new EP, and, well… I’ll just let you read the Q and A. Read More…

Catch ’em tomorrow, October 24 at Kitty Castle.

NYC

sami.the.great releases video for “Hear Me Now”

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Brooklyn’s reigning quirky-pop princess sami.the.great finds herself in the throes of an exuberant and incurable case of optimistim in latest video for "Hear Me Now." Part of her strong debut, ‘Hear Me Now’ is one of my favorites off the record. With so much druggy, after-hours dance music hitting the charts these days, it’s refreshing to hear the Brooklyn singer/songwriter use hard-knocking beats for what they’re there for: kicking shit down the road and celebrating how awesome you are. And with all these bright colors bouncing around the green screen for this production, you’ll be able to bottle some of Sami’s energy for yourself. The video is directed by psychedelic director Joel Fernando, and moves back and forth between trippy screensaver-esque visuals, and Sami herself conjuring various magic. Check it out below. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

Philadelphia

In the Indiestry: The Headroom’s Kyle Pulley & Joe Reinhart

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In the indie music scene – more and more these day – you’ll find artists wearing multiple hats. You may start off playing in a band, and then find yourself on the other side of the board in the producer/engineer role, which is often a tedious and less glamorous position but an equally important and intricate part of making a great album or song. We had a chance to discuss these roles and more with The Headroom’s Kyle Pulley (also in the band Dangerous Ponies) and Joe Reinhart (formerly of Algernon Cadwallader), and you can read the informative interview HERE.

Austin

EP Review- StumbleDrunk- “Southern Worship”

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"Southern Worship" marks the critical 3rd release for the Brothers Francis & Co of Stumbledrunk, and any follow-up to last year’s excellent "Collusion" had best cast a large shadow or be forever doomed as a musical misstep.  And the first glance isn’t all that promising – There are only four tracks to this release.  

So good thing the Wow factor is there.  Somebody congratulate StumbleDrunk on their successful marriage of punk to lofi grunge-ness.  No prenup required, this is a marriage made in… somewhere.  See what we mean –

First track in, "Psycho Billy", noisily crashes down the sonic barriers that surround the punk genre like… well, a horde of beer-buzzed, mohawked psychopaths.  Concatenating multiple guitar-slashing waves down into one fat crunchy-muffled thrust of manic aggression, Psycho Billy ain’t for the faint of heart. It starts with dissonance, the vox squatting almost too low in the mix, and it intermittently blunders into discordant intervals and other aural oddities. But at all times the track proudly projects the Billy in the title, edging towards us in a fear-inducing "he ain’t all there" shuffle.

The next track in, "Con Tajin", feels more like what we’re used to from our punk – the opening drop-dead bass riff and drum pattern are more easily discernable (compared to the psychotic ramblings of "Psycho Billy").  They eventually give way to some excellent fast-thrashing, presided over nicely with some near-metal lead guitar. 

"Paranoia, Tx", an excellently-bass-lead piece, rumbles up and caves into walls of crammed-down and punched-up guitars, occasionally swerving into a muddily-mixed mess of noise, then popping out again into some instant-classic jam.  

The last tune, "Shotgun Bible", comes at us straight from our rock roots, with the epic chords finished off with those lower-mixed vocals, giving an eerie edge to the take-away track.  Perfectly nasty.

Overall, yet another excellent release from Stumbledrunk; a collection that shows you were punk should have ended up, had there never been a PUNK bin in the CD racks at the Walmart Superstore.  The occasionally-muffled, lo-down and lo-mixed vox give the impression that they played these in the basement, but Mom recorded it upstairs at the kitchen table on one of those cassette tape boxes where the microphone is built into the case.  But don’t take that the wrong way – we’re blown away by the obviously natural progression it turned out to be. –Scott Osborn

Find out more about Stumbledrunk at home (http://wearestumbledrunk.com/) and on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/StumbleDrunk).