Portland

The We Shared Milk Have a New Album. It’s Heavy.

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The We Shared Milk are said to be a little eclectic. They have a solid foundation of rock, but also a lilt and experimental accents. New album, Lame Sunset, expresses heavy, infirmed themes and weighty bass among tapping cymbals. Many songs, like the title track, fluctuate with an echoing guitar that finishes in accelerated swirling melodies. Boone Howard’s voice breaks in and out of clear skies and overcast distortion, incidentally sounding more 70’s than the Caleb Followil nature of previous album History of Voyager and Legend Tripper. "Joe" speaks of pulling away in isolation, and almost sounds as if it might break into The ‘Stones "Time is on Your Side". "Feeling Sick" is surprisingly uptempo. "Could This Be Real" is a little twisted, sometimes scraping and hoarse with huge drums pounding. The depression is cathartic, with the work as a whole seeking a kind of redemption from daily miseries in pretty, watery, ruminations.

We feel ya, guys. We feel ya.

Lame Sunset is available for a paywhat you want download and TWSM play their next venue show with A Happy Death and Boing at Kelly’s Olympian on 4/27.  – Brandy Crowe

New England

The Rare Occasions release “Applefork” EP

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The Rare Occasions sold me from the first guitar stroke of their “Applefork” EP which has the cadence of the Cranberries and the upbeat attitude of the Strokes. "Battin’ Lashes" has the chops with Brian Mclaughlin’s charming lead vocals that are seamlessly complimented by bright guitar licks. The rest of the EP shows an affinity for experimenting with rarely mixed genres. “Miss Mary Mack” combines baroque pop and garage with a bit of psych and prog mixed in. The EP came out a short 10 days ago and they’re playing at the Middle East next week for a show to benefit cancer research with a bunch of other local bands. RSVP below. – Hillary Anderson

4.26 – Backyard Block Party (benefit for cancer research) @ the Middle East Downstairs – RSVP

NYC

Merrily and the Poison Orchard plays Mercury on 04.21

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Brooklyn based (via Portland, OR) rootsy pop band Merrily and the Poison Orchard have a string of shows booked in NYC in the next few weeks, and will be playing for the first time at The Mercury Lounge this Sunday April 21. Led by Merrily Ruth Rosso confident and warm voice, the band supports the frontlady’s catchy melodies and gentle piano lines with arrangements steeped in American traditional music. Check out our favorite song "Tightrope Walker" streaming below. Merrily and co. are currently in the studio working on a follow up to 2011 debut album "Time and Hell."


NYC

The Flying Eyes Drop Two New Bsides + Local Tour Dates

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Baltimore’s premiere psych rock band, The Flying Eyes have released two B-sides from their upcoming album, Lowlands, which is due out later this year. The new B- sides, Raise Hell and Break You Down are foreshadows of what is to come in regards to the The Flying Eyes full-length effort.

These tracks are intricately produced, and convey a more mature aesthetic that persistently and respectably reaches towards professional standards. Both songs are less about love and loss as their work has reflected in their past albums, and brings forth a darker, more complex side of the band by strongly and unabashedly conveying their long time quip and distaste for God and religion in the lyrics of Raise Hell, and a more in depth expression of pain and isolation in Break You Down. The Flying Eyes’ instrumatation has also gone through a steady and noticable evolution without straying far from the band’s foundational sound.

You can catch The Flying Eyes live, as they are playing a string of shows in the Baltimore area this Spring. –je

Local Dates:

April 27, 2013 – Guido’s Speakeasy – Fredrick, MD
May 10, 2013 – Golden West Café – Baltimore, MD
June 22, 2013 – Wind Up Space – Baltimore, MD 

Links To The Flying Eye’s Latest B Sides:

The Flying Eyes – Raise Hell
The Flying Eyes – Break You Down

 

Philadelphia

Toy Soldiers Premiering Tour Documentary at JB’s April 19

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Local roots-rock faves Toy Soldiers are headlining Johnny Brenda’s tonight. You definitely want to get there early for the premiere screening of the band’s tour documentary The Maybe Trails, which was filmed and edited by Seth Klinger. It features footage from their month-long tour last March to Austin, TX for SXSW and back (kind of – some of you may remember that their van broke down along the way in Louisiana). Toy Soldiers also have a forthcoming full-length album The Maybe Boys, which was produced by Bill Moriarty (Dr. Dog, Man Man, etc.). They’ll be joined this evening by Greensboro, NC’s Holy Ghost Tent Revival. Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 8pm, $10, 21+ – H.M. Kauffman 

Philadelphia

Work Drugs Opening for Future Rock at UT April 19

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Work Drugs open an electrifying evening tonight at Union Transfer. The group produces sneakily seductive groove-generating pop music, and with the release of their new single “West Coast Slide” yesterday, the duo of Thomas Crystal and Benjamin Louisiana continues their trend of crafting silky songs that embrace a cool coasting in the evening vibe that saunters the threshold of the relaxed chill undercurrent of steady percussion, smooth horns and sleek guitar, while still churning out dance-inspiring grooves with sensual semi-whispered vocals. They’ll be sharing a bill this evening that includes Luke the Knife, the funky DJ moniker of Lotus member Luke Miller who will be joined by bandmate Mike Greenfield, and is headlined by Chicago-based electro-rock trio Future Rock. If you’re looking for a groove, UT should be your destination. Union Transfer, 1024 Spring Garden St., 8:30pm, $16, All Ages – Michael Colavita

NYC

Future Screens plays Glasslands on 04.29

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Brooklyn’s synthpop driven Future Screens are set to make an appearance at Glasslands on April 29th with Cru The Dynamic. Latching on to the so called glo-fi sound, the band executes it well with beaming upbeat instrumentals building up to catchy choruses, driven by frontman Rob Arbelo’s trancey vocals. The quartet (consisting of Arbelo, Sky Riggs, Sean Brennan and Don Lavis on drums) claims that their unique inspiration comes from “daytime television and discontinued snack brands of the Dan Quayle era.” Listen to their latest single “One Summer”below. – Michael Haskoor

We added this song to The Deli’s playlist of Electronic tracks by emerging NYC artists – check it out!

Chicago

Their / They’re / There

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There is a new supergroup in town, and they will be releasing their debut self-titled ep on Record Store Day, April 20th, via Polyvinyl Records. Their / They’re / There is the new project of Evan Weiss (Into It. Over it.), Mike Kinsella (Owen), and Matthew Frank (Loose Lips Sink Ships). Recently, Evan did a brief interview with Backstage Broadcast about the new project.

You can catch Their / They’re / There at Reckless Records (Wicker Park) on April 20th, and at Beat Kitchen on May 11th.

NYC

Black Light Dinner Party lands residency at Pianos + debuts videogame

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Sure, your favorite band has a couple good tracks, but do they have their own video game? NYC electro-pop band Black Light Dinner Party, not only they’ve created a fun jam perfect for your next late night bout of drinking (i.e. their new track ‘We Are Golden’ – streaming below), but they’ve also invented a fish-killing video game to match.

Play it yourself at their site, and see them next when they play at their continued residency at Pianos on Wednesday, April 24th. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

Chicago

Lore City “Unknown”

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Laura Mariposa & Eric Bessel met in Brooklyn and formed the duo Lore City back in 2011. They’ve since relocated to Chicago and have a new album, Absence & Time, via the local label Already Dead Tapes.