Ireland natives (but Brooklyn-based) Von Shakes come at you with a burst of energy, compelling melodies and an alt rock edge that will get you rocking. The band – that has accumulated a fan base that spans the Western emisphere since their inception in 2008 – is set to take the stage for the album launch show at NYC’s Arlene’s Grocery with STRNGRS on 11/16. Listen to the piercing guitars and captivating vocals of track three from the upcoming album, titled “My Side” below. – Michael Haskoor (@Tweetskoor)
Philadelphia
Posted on:
Weekend Warrior, November 15 – 17
If the collective music of Wooden Shjips, Bardo Pond and Creepoid are any indication, tonight’s show at Underground Arts stands to make the contents of Hunter S. Thompson’s head look like an episode of Happy Days, in what promises to be a thoroughly psychedelic, post-modern experience. First, opener Creepoid lives up to their name with a relatively somber take on the genre, mixing laidback rhythms and distant, echoing lyrics. Bardo Pond is a relative change of pace, in that the music is comparable to listening to a classic rock album through a mushroom cloud. The band pushes the boundaries of how furious a guitar line can be whilst still being considered ambient. Headliner Wooden Shjips, the band that built their name on sounding like a trippier Velvet Underground, have spent the last six years perfecting the balance between head and groove, overwhelming your hips as much as your senses. It’s going to be a good one, folks! Underground Arts, 1200 Callowhill St., 8pm, $12, 21+ – Daniel Ludwig
Other things to help you enjoy this weekend…
Johnny Brenda’s (1201 N. Frankford Ave.) FRI Bleeding Rainbow, Batty, SAT Cloud Minder, Metroplex, The Downtown Club, Ape!, SUN Psalmships, Kettle Pot Black, TJ Kong
Kung Fu Necktie (1250 N. Front St.) FRI Cauldron, SAT Cult Choir
PhilaMOCA (531 N. 12th St. Philadelphia) SAT Blayer Pointdujour & The Rockers Galore
Union Transfer (1026 Spring Garden St.) SAT Conspirator
The Boot & Saddle (1131 S. Broad St.) SAT Crash Course In Science, The Bad Doctors, Void Vision, SUN Plague Dogs
The Barbary (951 N Frankford Ave.) SUN Good Graces
North Star Bar (2639 Poplar St.) FRI Sleep In, Sheep and The Shears, SAT Commonwealth, Sleepers Lie, Stereo Coma
The Fire (412 W. Girard Ave.) FRI Schooly D, Cee Knowledge, Radio Ghost, Cookie Rabinowitz, SAT Adlib, Reef the Lost Cauze, Nico The Beast, J.O. and Ghetto MC of The Uncanny, SUN Rolling Stone Tribute Night w/The Jesse Lundy Band, Nicos Gun, Heat Run, Fleeting Ends, Satellite Hearts, Black Stars
Silk City (435 Spring Garden St.) SUN Realysm, Alisa Joe, Just Greg
MilkBoy Philly (1100 Chestnut St.) FRI Commonwealth Choir, SAT Zach Feingold
Ortlieb’s Lounge (847 N. 3rd St.) FRI Light Heat, Myrrias, SAT Mo Lowda and the Humble, Maitland, Air Is Human
The Trocadero (1004 Arch St.) SUN Lör
TLA (334 South St.) SUN Wild Rompit
The Rotunda (4014 Walnut St.) FRI Chris Forsyth & the Solar Motel Band
World Café Live (3025 Walnut St.) SAT The Snails, SUN Res, Natural Selection
Tin Angel (20 S. 2nd St.) FRI Elizabeth Pugh
Connie’s Ric Rac (1132 S. 9th St.) FRI Thee Idea Men, Rasputin’s Secret Police, Combine, Pyramid Minds, SAT James Hearne
The Legendary Dobbs (304 South St.) FRI La Capitana, Superfive, The Donuts, SAT Paige Albrittion Record Release
JR’s Bar (2327 S. Croskey St.) SAT The Howling Fantoids, Retreevers, The Charlie Few
The Grape Room (105 Grape St.) FRI Matt Gauss Band
Highwire Gallery (2040 Frankford Ave.) SUN Fursaxa
Eris Temple Arts (602 S. 52nd St.) SAT Dental Dames, Horsey, Oral $ex $uicide
LAVA Space (Please contact one of the acts or venue for more info.) FRI Repellers, Coffin Dust
Chicago
Posted on:
Angel Olsen New Album
Angel Olsen and Jagjaguwar announced the details on Olsen’s next album this week. The new full-length will be called Bury Your Fire For No Witness and will be released on Feb. 18th. You can preorder the album now.
Olsen also released a video for the new track "Forgiven/Forgotten" which appears on the forthcoming album.
Chicago
Posted on:
Está Vivo “How Strange”
Está Vivo is back with a new EP called "How Strange" which will be released next week via Mush Records.
The freak-folk sounds of Está Vivo began as the bedroom project of Ryan McMahon. This new ep is pleasant step forward in McMahon’s sound and also finds him working with Steffaloo on the EP’s title track.
Philadelphia
Posted on:
Free Chris Forsyth & the Solar Motel Band Record Release Show at The Rotunda Nov. 15
Chris Forsyth will be celebrating the release of his new LP Solar Motel with a free performance of the record in its entirety tonight at The Rotunda. He’ll be joined by the Solar Motel Band consisting of guitarist Paul Sukeena, bassist Peter Kerlin, and drummer Steven Urgo with keyboardist Shawn Edward Hansen, who was originally part of the studio band. They’ll also be accompanied by live video production throughout the piece from Maria Dumlao. Opening the evening with a rare Philly appearance will be Chicago’s Mind Over Mirror, the solo project of Forsyth’s Peeesseye bandmate Jaime Fennelly. All this is made possible with a grant from the Philadelphia Chapter of the American Composers Forum so take advantage of this wonderful freebie. The Rotunda, 4014 Walnut St., 8pm, FREE, All Ages – H.M. Kauffman
Portland
Posted on:
Damn Family Record Release at the Alleyway 11.16
Damn Family plays Saturday night at the Alleyway on Alberta and I highly encourage your attendance. The band features some of the most boisterous folk-pop-grass I have heard in a long while. Their sound provides an excellent bridge between the polarities of the frenetic folk (a la Trampled by Turtles) and the subdued strummers (like First Aid Kit) – a binary most folk acts seem compelled to adhere to these days. Damn Family’s varied collection of laid-back, loping tunes like “Banish” as well dust-ruckus romps like “Scratch” is sure to provide a dynamic show. Instrumental banjo, mando and guitar breaks weave throughout their latest record adding a welcomed layer of complexity to their seemingly traditional sounding tracks. The whole album was just recently put up to stream on their bandcamp page so give it a listen and check out their set on Saturday! – Ted Jamison
Philadelphia
Posted on:
Batty Opening for Bleeding Rainbow at JB’s Nov. 15
As Batty kicks off a rather intriguing evening at Johnny Brenda’s, the collective sound manifested by the trio is full of promise. There is a skuzzy-grimy garage/punk feel, the kind that drips sweat and oozes with an internal energy that pushes its way public through the performance. Setting the tone with raunchy jagged guitar work and solidifying it with the snap and pop backend and vocals that are a smooth, calm, guiding element, while remaining aggressive when the moment calls for it. This group finds a balance between expansive, stormy expression and jumpstarting quick-hitters that flash. They will be opening for Western Massachusetts all-girl post-punk outfit Potty Mouth, while the cosmic noise-pop of Bleeding Rainbow with their supreme blend of stacked industrial distortion and soothsaying vocals headline the show. Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 8pm, $10, 21+ (Bleeding Rainbow Photo by Chad Yanagisawa) – Michael Colavita
NYC
Posted on:
From The Deli NYC’s submissions: Anna Nordeen
Anna Nordeen‘s song ‘Tom Petty’ from her EP ‘You Know Where I Am’ makes us picture the kinds of sunny LA boulevards you might stumble upon when you stroll aimlessly around that city. The track shows off Nordeen’s smoky voice and country-tinged guitar lines. Sort of like what Sheryl Crow might have been, had she chosen a slighly less poptastic path and geared herself more towards some kind of dream-doo-wop. Forget about the weather, it’s time to wear a yellow hat and be your own sun. Check it out below. – (Mike Levine @Goldnuggets)
This artist submitted music for coverage here.
New England
Posted on:
Afraid Merges R&B And Psychedelia On “Pink Life”
Released last month by Afraid, “Pink Life” sounds like The Weeknd channeled through an Ouija board.
Impressively, the entire EP was recorded live on a single-track cassette using a Panasonic RR-830 cassette transcriber – ancient technology in a world where anybody can become a self-made musician with a microphone and a laptop. The album’s eerie vibe is completed with long, creeping guitar solos, muffled vocals and samples repeated over and over until they become hypnotic.
With its opening and closing tracks running near 9 minutes each, this EP is a long listen, so sit down, put it on and let “Pink Life” soundtrack one of your trippiest nights.
Philadelphia
Posted on:
Free Download: “Heart On My Sleeve” – STS
With all the controversy surrounding high-end department store Barneys regarding racial profiling, here’s a joint called "Heart On My Sleeve" from STS about his compulsive desire to shop (oniomania) and his issue with one of his favorite places to do it at. The single was produced by Khari Mateen. Boycott Barneys – retail is for suckas anyways!
NYC
Posted on:
NYC Hip Hop: Armand Hammer releases “Race Music”
Armand Hammer‘s new album "Race Music" is an epic exploration of rococo rhapsody from Bushwick indie label Backwoodz Studioz. Brooklyn vet MCs Billy Woods and Elucid incant their verses like Shakespearean witches ciphering over a cauldron. Dropping enough esoteric references to dizzy a Harvard Race and Ethnicity professor, they create a gallimaufry of street philosophy, beat cacophony, and cannabis cosmology. If audiences aren’t initially put off by their lyrical extravagance, they’ll catch clutches of clever wordplay. Elucid captures the theme and tone of the record on "Sunni’s Blues" intoning in his gravelly rasp, "Guns germs and steel / Scripture civilize these savages / One true gospel / Hazardous / Post radical / Plastic explosives level tabernacles." The electro-hop beats (from the smoldering labs of Willie Green and A.M. Breakups among others) tend to embark as simple loops, but evolve as they careen toward their crescendos, carrying the flows of the MCs like a crowd of robotic goblins. Though the hooks can leave something to be desired, lovers of the rhyme and evocative lyricism will fall under the spell of this standout album. – Broke MC
NYC
Posted on:
Lucius tours Europe + unveils video for ‘Tempest’ + sells out Bowery twice
Lucius – featured on the cover of The Deli’s Best of NYC 2011 issue – is currently on a mission to conquer Europe, and their gorgeously uplifting pop songs, combined with a truly amazing live show, will surely land resounding victories. The band also unvelied a new video for new single "Tempest" (streaming) from their much anticipated debut album "Wildewoman." By the way, we only use the word ‘anticipated’ when it’s really necessary here, fans have been waiting for this album for friggin’ EVA!!!
If you are planning on seeing Lucius in NYC, you are too late. Their two dates at Bowery on December 7-8 are sold out.