Spencer Radcliffe (Blithe Field) has a new solo project called California Furniture. His debut ep is called You’ll Live and will be released by the local label Naked Ally Records on July 26th.
Philadelphia
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New Track: “Pretty Pretty” – The City and Horses
Brooklyn transplants The City and Horses recently dropped their third album Strange Range via Paper Garden Records. Below is a pleasingly, syrupy sweet tune called "Pretty Pretty" that may send you to the dentist this morning.
New England
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Bunny’s a Swine, Fax Holiday, Shepherdess, Pile Play Great Scott — Show Wrap-Up
After recently releasing their latest album, Calling Out, Bunny’s A Swine set out to promote their tunes, and if the show on Thursday, June 28 sponsored by Eye Design at Great Scott was any indication, their record will have to be placed on back-order pretty soon. By the time the band took the stage, a sizeable crowd had gathered–apparently the fact that Bunny’s A Swine plays kickass rock n’ roll is not a secret to the people of Allston. From the first distorted chord to the last lyric, it was evident the band really enjoys being on stage and can really take over with their on-stage presence. While Calling Out is slightly more reserved, their live performance is anything but that. Drummer Dustin Cote was perhaps the most animated member of the band, flailing his arms and smashing drums in a blur of wooden sticks and cymbal crashes. The band played a lot of stuff from the new record, including “Lasalle” (the song highlighted in my preview of this show). “Lasalle” seemed to take on a new life when performed live–louder, more rowdy–with a great PIxies feel to the vocal combo of lead singer Emerson Stevens and guitarist Candace Clement. In addition to the impeccable performance by Bunny’s A Swine, I was also impressed by the rest of the line-up that night. The opening band, Fax Holiday, brought this great brand of grunge/stoner rock that was really incredible hear. Two things really stood out to me from their performance: their use of a guitar dropped several steps instead of a bass, and the fact that they used an electric auto-harp. Yes, that’s right: electric auto-harp. In case you’ve never heard one before, it sounds freakin’ cool. I’d highly recommend checking out some of Fax Holiday’s material–specifically the track “Lots of Glass”. The lead singer kept reiterating during the course of their set that a new record was in the works, but apparently there are no immediate plans for a release date. Jamaica Plain all-girl punk rockers Shepherdess lit up the stage with some gnarly punk riffs. Several times throughout their set, their lead singer got so into the songs, she knocked over the mic stand and would just move around the stage screaming her face off–rock n’ roll. Closing out the night was Boston-based Pile. These guys played some loud, dark and heavy stuff. They kind of sounded like a nascent QOTSA. A lofty comparison, I know, but check out one of their shows and tell me I’m wrong. The entire night was full of great rock n’ roll, restoring my faith in the Boston music scene that it isn’t all full of trendy shoe-graze, synth-pop junk. Thank God for that. -Dan McMahon (@dmcmhn)
NYC
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Yella Jesus’ Latest Video
Earlier this month, Baltimore based rapper Yella Jesus released a video for his song “TDFYN,” produced by Tom Delay Beats of Brake Fast records. The video features Yella Jesus walking through the streets of Baltimore. Between the gritty lyrics, fabulously shot video (directed by Frky Felony) and well focused production of the beat, it makes this song something that is more than worth your time to check out. –Karl Dobias
Philadelphia
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The Deli Philly’s July Album of the Month: Golden Age – Grandchildren
Golden Age, Grandchildren’s follow-up to the band’s 2010 debut LP Everlasting, is the type of album that immediately grabs your attention. As the electro-acoustic outfit systematically builds layers of instrumentation, the six-piece adeptly finds a balance between their chant-like harmonies and groove-generating percussive nature.
Co-produced by Man Man drummer Chris Powell and Bill Moriarty (Man Man, Dr. Dog, Hoots & Hellmouth, etc.) and released via Ernest Jennings Record Co., Golden Age creates an uplifting, wakeful state with the record’s opener – appropriately titled “Sunrise,” while its title track “Golden Age” follows nicely as once again the groove is masterfully woven into an orchestrated sound that highlights the members’ surreal ability to approach complexity with a listener-friendly mentality. Album standout “No Way Out” begins with a darker key-created tone before falling into a deep bass/percussion groove. Aleks Martray’s acoustic guitar adds texture before multi-instrumentalist Tristan Palazzolo’s brass work blasts through and comfortably finds its place. Grandchildren lulls the listener into a Hawaiian, tropical dream-like state with the intro to “Where’s the Knife” before transforming what seems to be a rather sinister line on paper into a charmingly beautiful chorus. “Forward” is one of those songs that seems to sneak up on you with its artillery marching style percussion, serving as a catalyst while opening the doors to the band’s instrumental playground with bright horns, spacey synths and slick guitars – all fitted into a tight, organic package without feeling heavy or overly crowded.
With Golden Age, Grandchildren displays the power and strength that thoughtfully creative pop music can carry. It’s both an album that digs deep into their capable musical arsenal and still maintains a highly energetic cruising flow. – Michael Colavita
Philadelphia
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New Track: “Dark Matter” – Little Big League
Here’s a new track from Little Big League called "Dark Matter" off their forthcoming debut LP These Are Good People, which is due out on August 6 via Tiny Engines. You can pre-order the album and receive a 20% discount off your entire order HERE. Little Big League will be hitting the road this month, and they’ll performing next in Philly on July 25 at The Fire for their record release show.
Chicago
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Future Feats (tonight!) @ Beat Kitchen
If you are looking for an interesting line-up on this Monday night you should head to Beat Kitchen. Three very different local bands are opening for the headlining LA duo Hunted Hunted. We’ve talked about Moritat and Bestfriends on several occasions so let’s talk about newcomers Future Feats.
The unsigned Future Feats made their stage debut in May opening for The Colourist and Youngblood Hawke and they made a solid impression. The band is high energy and musically pulling comparisons to the more pop-filled elements of Passion Pit. The band is currently working with producer John Fields (P!nk, Cut Copy, The Presets) in Los Angeles and, based on the sample sounds on their soundcloud, could be one of the next big bands coming out of Chicago.
You should catch now on a small stage like Beat kitchen while you still can.
NYC
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A mysterious and dreamy band from The Bronx: Pigeons
It’s always slightly unsettling when – after dedicating almost a decade to the mission of informing the public about the best emerging/obscure NYC artists – we find out about a really interesting band that’s been active for what seems like an eternity – i.e the mid aughts. Bronx Soft-Psych band Pigeons plays uber blurred litanies with occasional both Eastern (see embedded track) and Western accents. The band released their debut album in 2006, and their latest in 2011. Admittedly the guys aren’t too interested in self promotion – you won’t find a band Facebook account, and to get a picture of the band we had to do some serious digging. Shots of them playing live are even rarer, which implies they don’t do it often. However we found out about them because Brooklyn DIY guru Todd P booked them to open for Major Stars last Friday night at Kent 285. It’s not clear from the info available online if Pigeons is working on new material, but we hope so, because we are really enjoying their tunes.
Chicago
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Cool Memories “Enter The Host”
The Brooklyn label Shatter Your Leaves is releasing the sophomore album from Cool Memories, Enter The Host. The first single from the new album is called "LA Tan" and you hear a live version of the track recorded over the weekend at Bowery Electric in NYC.
You can catch Cool Memories at Empty Bottle on July 9th with Eidolons and Filter Free Rodeo.
Philadelphia
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Rediscovered Video: “Downward Years To Come” (RIPNDIP Re-Edit Contest) – Nothing
Check out this rad video of skateboarder Blake Carpenter effortlessly pulling off some sick tricks to Nothing‘s "Downward Years To Come"! It was created for clothing line RIPNDIP’s "Re-Edit Contest." Nothing will be performing tonight at The Barbary opening San Francisco black metal post-rockers Deafheaven and LA’s Marriages. (BTW: Snatch up your tickets quick because this show is nearly sold out.) Enjoy!
Chicago
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Brother George “Sailor”
Brother George has released a beautifully shot epic video for their track "Sailor". The song comes from their latest album Big Piney and it is essentially a short film.
You can catch Brother George on July 2nd at City Winery with The End of America and Mark Rose. The band will also be appearing at Wasted Plains Fest on Aug. 17th.
San Francisco
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Growwler Releases Director’s Cut of New Music Video – Shooter’s Hill
The intense San Francisco based garage-folk rock band, Growwler has released an ambitious new music video for the title track of their 4-song album entitled, Shooter’s Hill. The music video is just as high energy as the track, making Shooter’s Hill an action packed effort that is hard to ignore.
Keep an eye out for Growwler for their music is unique because their creative heavy garage rock folk songs also exhibit pop undertones, making the band’s music accessable and addicting to listen to. The Shooter’s Hill music video is officially released today, and we’re excited to share it!