NYC

Not your typical NYC band: Antigone Rising brings country pop to Rockwood Music Hall on 12.12

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With a band this catchy, it’s fairly remarkable that Antigone Rising aren’t already a household name. After all, no less than Rob Thomas of Matchbox 20 co-wrote the leading single (‘Don’t Look Back’) from their 2005 debut ‘From the Ground Up.’ The all-female country-rock quartet seems tailor-made to deliver their simple message of hard living, hot line-dancing, and very catchy crooning – is this really a NYC band?

See the ladies get themselves into a bit of trouble in the video to their latest single ‘That Was the Whiskey’ below, and watch them when they take the stage at Rockwood Music Hall next Thursday, December 12th for the ladies’ unique Christmas Twist Concert – check out their latest Christmas inspired single ‘Santa, You Owe Me’ here. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

L.A.

Artist to Watch: Las Brujas

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The psych-tinged blues of recent Deli LA poll winners Las Brujas infuses a smoggy, fuzzed-out sound that can take one on a leisured drift. The Echo Park foursome are strictly devoted to the tenets of rock n’ roll though, embodying a murky, vaporous mist that falls somewhere between the rustic hard rock of Screaming Trees and the frayed modern-blues of Califone when they were still known as Red Red Meat. Its coarse-grained guitar tones do give it a sludgy distortion that recalls grunge when it was going through a period of evolution and confusion, calibrated with a mildly apathetic and placid temper. But the band does have an ear for a powerful hook, so their sound does occasionally flirt with the kind of winding guitars that give power pop that lustrous sheen (even the hushed, front-and-center vocals of Brian Jarmon have the same pristine, harmonic quality of Matthew Sweet). It’s too early to say how Las Brujas will further their sound just yet, but their recently released self-titled EP proves their might as confident players ready to push their craft in unforseeable directions. Have a look at their latest video "Sweaty Windows" below, and make sure to catch them at TRiP in Santa Monica on January 10th. – Juan Rodríguez

New England

Cult Fluorescent gets dreamy on demos collection

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“Rare Elvis Demos,” released on November 14, finds Brad DeMatteo (aka Cult Fluorescent) singing ruefully over a collection of dreamy, minimal pop songs. At times, his voice is in the forefront, such as on kaleidoscopic standout “Honey Dripping.” At others, like on “Kicked/Killed,” it lies muffled beneath a dinky drum machine and noodling guitar riffs. “Rare Elvis Demos” can be downloaded for a cool $2 on Bandcamp now – Jake Reed

Chicago

Canadian Rifle

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The New Mexico punk label Dirt Cult Records has released the latest album from Canadian Rifle, Deep Ends. The band has been together for over ten years and this new release shows them at the top of their game.

The release event Deep Ends is on December 7th at Township.

Nashville

More Hazards More Heroes “Long Way Round”

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“Long Way Round” by More Hazards More Heroes is a tune about unrecognized love from their July release “Cabin Fever”. It starts mellow and builds bittersweet intensity, and the acoustic arpeggio being thumbed throughout caught my ear so hard, I sat cocking my head like the RCA dog. The duo is down sold with the description of “good honest folk,” as there is something undeniably funky to them. A folk band does not mention ‘cops, narcs, and snitches’ in the same song, nor employ a coronet in the bridge. More Hazards More Heroes is closer to tossing Andre 3000 a banjo. -Terra James-Jura

Philadelphia

Free Download: “In the City” (Vacationer Remix) – Caveman

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Check out the new remix from Vacationer of Caveman’s "In the City," which premiered today via The Fader! You can also download it for free. Vacationer will be performing at the NYC group’s first annual Cavemas Celebration being held at one of our favorite venues, Bowery Ballroom, tomorrow night. You can catch a live performance by the full band next in Philly on December 12 at Underground Arts opening for !!!.