Brooklyn’s Lorely Rodriguez (a.k.a. Empress Of) describes her augustan moniker as “a project of sight and sound,” which, last year took the form of 13 one-minute bursts of exhilarating pop uploaded to her YouTube account. Dubbed “colorminutes,” these arresting nuggets of colour-filled background music set the stage for Empress Of’s first single, “Don’t Tell Me,” an aching electro ballad that recently played on The Fader’s “Yours Truly” online TV show. Think Portishead meets Sinead O’Connor at her most breathless and you’ll get the idea. – Brian Chidester
NYC
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Brooklyn Band on the Rise: Happy Lives
Oh the power and glory of over-driven drums. There’s really nothing quite like it when you’re looking for that crunch to get you out of bed. For Happy Lives, the band seems to broadcast an especially large sound using the barest of materials. From thrown-together harmonies that somehow reach their mark, to sideways guitar shredding, funky drum machines and yes.. destructively large drum samples, this is a band goes as far as they can towards a messy good time, before falling back into the catchiest groove you can imagine in tracks like ‘Brutus’ and my fave ‘Slacks and Slippers’ from their self-titled EP. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)
NYC
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Brooklyn Experimental Garage: Young Boys
The debut single "Love Hits" by Brooklyn’s Young Boys begins with a bass line that finds the centerpoint between The Sisters of Mercy’s "Lucretia, My Reflection" and "A Forest" by The Cure. A wall of guitar fuzz is then introduced in tandem with vocals that additionally evoke Andrew Eldrich’s peak era Sisters recordings. Unique keyboard elements emerge, pulling the track up from its 90’s era beginnings to more current sonics. So much so that the central instrumental keyboard segment creates the sensation of some future alien landscape. It’s a beautifully executed transition that culminates in otherworldly textures reminiscent of the work of David Bowie’s more experimental pop tracks. – Dave Cromwell
Philadelphia
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Leather Debuting New Material at KFN Jan. 25
Leather is currently working on a new full-length record that will feature artwork from Philly photographer Matthew Gallagher, whose work you may have come across through releases from the band Nothing. The hardcore four-piece will be debuting material from their forthcoming album tonight at Kung Fu Necktie, and they’ll also be hosting rising Cali rapper and former Leather bandmate Antwon. Opening the evening will be Heathen Reign, which is fronted by Creepoid’s Pat Troxell. Kung Fu Necktie, 1250 N. Front St., 10pm, $10, 21+ – Alexis V.
Nashville
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Weekend Rundown: The Deli Nashville’s Recommendations
Photo by Lauren Napier Photography
This weekend stands to be fairly quiet here in Music City, but if you’d like to hang with us, we’ve found perhaps the two best parties in town, hosted at one venue, for your convenience.
Tonight, the Alanna Royale Bless Her Heart EP release show is happening at The Basement. Along with Golden Spurs, Maureen Murphy, and one of our favorites, the always incredible Daniel Ellsworth & the Great Lakes, the Nasvhille-united seven piece will bring their fantastic and self-described "dirty pop/raunchy soul" to the stage to officially unveil their heavily-anticipated EP. Alanna Royale has been getting the full hype treatment from the Nashville music community lately and the buzz is well-deserved. Alanna’s voice establishes the line between "sweet" and "strong" and dances all over it effortlessly. You can spend the day learning every word to the Bless Her Heart EP over at Bandcamp and then come dance and sweat with us to this fantastic lineup at The Basement.
Details for the event can be found here.
On Saturday night, we’re back at the Basement for our first Photo Ops experience. The solo project of Terry Price, Photo Ops’ prismatic and mesmerizing February release, How To Say Goodbye, makes showing up for this one a no-brainer. Price manned each of the instruments on the record, but for this set, he’ll be backed by a full band. Joining Photo Ops on the bill will be Westbound Rangers and Fox Bear Snake.
Details for this one can be found here.
Pick one or both nights to come out to The Basement and say hi and watch some fantastic music with us!
Austin
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Release and Catch
Release 1 – Creationists are having a full-on coming out party for their latest release, Ἁγία Σοφία, this Saturday, 1/26/13, at Trailer Space Records. To be escorted by Dikes of Holland, Coma in Algiers, and Kingdom of Suicide Lovers. Need more details?? Go here
Release 2 – David Thomas Jones is throwing down a release party for "Comfort Creatures" (which we called "…arguably, the best indie alt rock record of 2012.") at Holy Mountain next Thursday, 1/31/13. To be accompanied by the three bands he performs with, Watch Out For Rockets, Les Rav, and Scan Hopper, with End Wave ending the soiree. And as an added treat, the Austin Chapter of Dudeism will be abiding at a priest ordainment booth. Or not. More details here.
Catch – From the "You mighta missed this one" department – Perennial local favorites The Sour Notes went on tour last year, and all we got was this sweet mini-documentary. Check it out:
Then they re-issued "Last Looks" and made a new music video for the title track. Nice:
Philadelphia
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New Track: “Peace and Quiet” – Waxahatchee
Here’s a new track called “Peace and Quiet” from Waxahatchee, a project from recent Philly transplant Katie Crutchfield, who fronted disbanded pop-punk outfit P.S. Eliot where she performed alongside her twin sister Allison Crutchfield (Swearin’). The song premiered yesterday in an interview with Pitchfork. Katie’s follow-up to 2012’s American Weekend, Cerulean Salt, was recorded in the basement of the sibling’s West Philly home last October, and is scheduled to be release on March 5 via Don Giovanni Records.
L.A.
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Fol Chen announce new album The False Alarms
Electro-pop band Fol Chen approach IDM music with a playful execution, yet their tangled arrangements are intricately bound together with a cohesion that’s not as apparent from the outset. The first reveal off their upcoming release The False Alarms, entitled 200 Words, gives the impression of a symphony that’s about to start, except that it surprisingly shapeshifts into a chilly, spoken-word groove filled with rhythmic handclaps and shrill synths. Its meticulous attention to detail constantly keeps you guessing, and once it ends you’re immediately compelled to keep untangling its intertwined strands. The False Alarms will be released on March 19th via Asthmatic Kitty Records.
New England
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EXPLODING IN SOUND RELEASES EMPIRE OF FUZZ
Last week Exploding in Sound (a Boston-based record company that has bands like Pile and Speedy Ortiz) released their extremely good Empire of Fuzz compilation album, including twenty-six tracks from bands all over the country. The fuzz comes in different varieties: fuzziness from lo-fi recording, fuzz coming from the garage, fuzz from a Big-Muff-type pedal, fuzz from too much volume, fuzz from noise. The newest in punk and post-hardcore genres are well represented here. Check out the track list and download the album for free here. – Geoff Noble
NYC
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Up and Coming NYC Indie: Dear Comrade
Like the social protests of Arcade Fire and Hank Williams III, Dear Comrade aren’t content to air their grievances against acoustic instruments and sentimental conclusions. This is a band has serious stadium ambitions. A larger-than-life diatribe against injustice everywhere, this group will make you grab pitchforks and shout the message from the rooftops. Singers Sam Quartin and Arthur Kremer work out their issues in burners ‘Basketcase’ and ‘Wolf’ off their debut ‘All Wisdom is Gone.’ – Mike Levine @Goldnuggets
L.A.
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A House for Lions Find a Better Way to Crowdfund
Crowdfunding is becoming more and more commonplace, with everyone from former Dresden Doll, Amanda Palmer, to The Voice contestant, Lindsey Pavao utilizing the Kickstarter platform. Standing out in our crowded internet is no easy task, yet LA modern rock band, A House for Lions, found a way to sidestep the middle man and fund a successful campaign all on their own. With an impressive $13,354 raised to date with over 180 backers, this once unknown group formed by singer/songwriter Daniel Norman, is making headlines of its own. Creative rewards ranging from the band’s merch to surfing lessons, and a promise to donate a portion of the proceeds to charity, are proving that cutting out the middle man was a good decision. The campaign’s purpose is to raise funds for their first full length studio album, produced by Tom Biller, who previously worked with Silversun Pickups, Elliot Smith, and Fiona Apple, to name a few. The band manages to blend the sleeker side of angsty 90s rock with the laid-back instrumentation and heart-string pulling melodies you expect from an alt-country band. Hopefully we will get to hear some of the tunes they’ve been working on in the studio at their Monday Night February Residency at the Echoplex. For now, give a listen to “Let Back,” the single off their previous EP, I Want Us To Be Remembered. Unlike other fundraising platforms, their campaign is open-ended, so you can still donate if the music compels you. – Jacqueline Caruso
NYC
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Zula and Tony Castles Play Pianos Tonight 1.24
Experimental indie-pop band Zula (pictured above) will be playing/hosting a show tonight (1.24) at Pianos with avant-indie-pop band Tony Castles. Zula, a psychedelic-electro take on indie-pop, is currently working on a debut album to be released this spring. Tony Castles, a Brooklyn based trio with grooving melodies and diverse instrumentation, released their EP “Sharon Stone” this past October. The show will also include performances by Candide and Honey Octo. – Lucy Sherman