Philadelphia

The Head & The Hand Press Launch Party at JB’s Nov. 16

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Tonight at Johnny Brenda’s The Head & The Hand Press, a newly-formed publishing collective, will be celebrating its recently established writer’s workshop in the Fishtown community, which will serve as a collaborative and creative space for local writers as well as an operating home base to support their upcoming novel and almanac series. This was all made possible thanks to a successful Kickstarter campaign. Helping to welcome them to the neighborhood will be the comforting, rural sounds of The Great Unknown and the sensually-charged grooves of Johnny Showcase with tunes provided throughout the evening by DJ Slowpoke (a.k.a. Birdie Busch). Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 Frankford Ave., 8pm, $8, 21+ – H.M. Kauffman
 
Philadelphia

Point Breeze Flexing Some Muscle at The Bikery Nov. 16

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South Philly’s The Bikery plays host to four adept noise rockers tonight, leading off with Point Breeze. These newly-minted, South Philly-based gents build traditional-sounding punk songs on a jangly, taut foundation, laden with circular riffs. Last month saw the release of their first cassette tape, bringing three solid jams into the world: "Bed Bug," "Saul" and "Armchair Activist." The muscular sound of this sampling is an encouraging first outing for this young band. The rest of the evening contains the storming anthems of Sore Saints, thoroughly gritty hardcore punks Braille and the always impressive Ladder Devils. The Bikery, 508 S. 5th St., 7pm, $5, All Ages – Alyssa Greenberg

Chicago

The Welcome @ Beat Kitchen for Fall Formal

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It has been a pretty good year for The Welcome. Their latest ep Honey, Honey was released in March and quickly became one of the more lovable bands in the city. Over the summer they released a cute and quirky video for their track "Bear Trap", and now they are working on a new ep for 2013.

You can catch Gehring Miller, Sarah Johnson, & Jonah Kort at Beat Kitchen on Nov. 24th for the Fall Formal with State & Madison, Hidden Hospitals and Tall Animals.

Chicago

Speck Mountain “Slow So Long”

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Speck Mountain have released the first single from their forthcoming album Badwater. This new album finds the band taking their sound in new, more atmospheric direction. The sound is being called Gloom-pop and the album will be released on Jan. 22nd via Carrot Top.

You can catch Speck Mountain at The Whistler on December 2nd for free show with Radar Eyes.

San Francisco

Free Tickets: French Cassettes, Black Cobra Vipers, and Brolly at Elbo Room on November 28

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I’ve got some free tickets coming your way for a show at Elbo Room on Nov. 28 featuring French Cassettes, Black Cobra Vipers, and the SF debut of Brolly.

The lineup has something for everyone—Brolly cools you down with introspective melody-centric pop (think Coldplay and Death Cab); French Cassettes warms you up with impossibly infectious, sunny grooves; and Black Cobra Vipers shakes you around with swooning vocals, and art funk flavors.

The two pairs of tickets are courtesy of Bourgeois Productions and event sponsors Faultline Studios. If you want them, send me an email at thedelisf@gmail.com, and I’ll draw the winners at random. Hint: dates are expensive, and this is some prime, date-worthy real estate. 

NYC

Mainland streams single from upcoming full length

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Talented New York indie pop quartet Mainland has been on the blogosphere’s radar for a couple of years now (some of you may remember them under their previous moniker, Mainland Fever) but they started recording their full length debut just earlier this year. The single they are previewing from the upcoming album, "Wasted" (streaming below) is playful, full of plucky riffs, and grounded by rock n’ roll crooning of vocalist Jordan Topf. If “Wasted” signifies what’s to come, we can expect just the right amount of retrospective melancholy embedded in a web of pop warmth. If you want to hear more by this band, they have another new song streaming here. – We added "Wasted" to our SoundCloud playlist of the best songs by emerging NYC artists here. – Corinne Bagish

Philadelphia

New Video: “Early” (Live at Sway in the Morning) – Freeway

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Freeway swung by “Sway in the Morning” and premiered a new track called “Early,” which you can check out in the video below. It was produced by Just Blaze, and will appear on his upcoming album Diamond in the Ruff that will be dropping November 27 via Babygrande Records. His album release party, which was originally announced to be this past Monday at The Blockley, has been rescheduled to November 26 at the same venue, and in the footage, you’ll also get a rundown of artists who will be performing that evening like Young Gunz, Memphis Bleek and more.

NYC

Astoria’s psych rockers The Barrens play Arlene (11.21) and Bowery Electric (11.30)

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Casually flirting with the edges of psychedelic heritage and other glimpses of 70s memory, The Barrens abide, in a self-titled first album, by no rules but their own. Released a year ago, the record remains their latest to date, a timeless, yet cohesive effort  built upon a constant back and forth between revivalism & reinterpretation. The result: as varied an output as you could hope for, with its warm waves of tingling reverb-soaked psychedelia ("Claw Remains"), hand-clapping, glowing indie ("Bottom Of Well" – streaming below), good ol’ riff-based solo-fused hard rock-based jams ("Felt").. Best thing is, these are only the first three tracks, singled out of a seamless ride along the edges of indie rock. Check it out on their Bandcamp, and see them live at Arlene’s Grocery on 11.21 with ZZZ’s and/or at Bowery Electric on 11.30 with Generator Ohm. 

Philadelphia

Purling Hiss Corrupting Minds at JB’s Nov. 15

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It should be no surprise that I’m looking forward to Purling Hiss headlining Johnny Brenda’s tonight. The ear-bleeding, carefree trash rock of the power trio is certainly something that you want to experience live. And while catching them on bills supporting notable acts like Wilco, Dinosaur Jr. and Mission of Burma might be a tasty appetizer, it’s still no replacement for a full meal of gut-busting, sleazy rock ‘n’ roll that would scare the shit out of those red-state, flag-waving wannabe successors. Yeah, it’s music that will corrupt young minds with combustible guitar solos that will light their joints, and that’s just the way I like it! Look out for a new Hiss album scheduled for release this spring via Drag City. Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 9pm, $10, 21+ – Alexis V.

NYC

NYC Neo-Soul goodness: Rebecca Jordan plays Rockwood on 12.09

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If there was ever a mascot for NYC’s neo-soul scene, Rebecca Jordan is undoubtedly one of the top contenders. Rebecca is a young torch singer with an appreciation for the old, coupled with some serious plans for the future. From recording tracks on Alice Smith’s new record, to working with Citizen Cope, she’s got her hands all over our scene. In her new video ‘Eve,’ the singer flirts with a wide array of roles, from Ella Fitzgerald club entertainer to African princess, her net is cast about as wide as the ground the acoustic jam covers. Taken from her EP "Asphalt Heart," this is just one of many flavors to expect from Jordan’s latest release. Check out her new video below and see her live when she plays Dec 9 at Rockwood Music Hall. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)