Brooklyn/Philly indie label Birdtapes recently shared a new track, "Go Home," from another local area find, Olive Drab, featuring members of Pirouette, Stable Boys, and Hightide Hotel. Blending blown-out guitars and confessional emo laments to bring us what they self-describe as "Philadelphia loser rock," it’s the lead single off their upcoming record entitled The Big Sleep, due out in early 2014. The album is the follow-up to the band’s 2012 EP Girl, which was released via Ranch Records.
Nashville
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Weekend Itinerary
Have you been checking your phone every time you pass the Salvation Army folks outside of Kroger? There are a few ways to redeem yourself this weekend…
Friday: Beatles vs. Stones Charity Bowl at the Basement. This is a two-day event with Beatles and Rolling Stones covered by Mayhem, Bill Lloyd, Howling Brothers, Blank Range, DeRobert & The Half Truths, Shut Up Natalie Prass and Daniel Ellsworth & The Great Lakes on Friday night, and Mayhem, Grimey’s Follies (w/Cory Chisel, Nikki Lane, Jenny O, and Chuck Mead), Sadler Vaden, Derek Hoke, The Danberrys, Langhorne Slim, Beech Benders and Grant Lee Phillips on Saturday night. The show starts at 8pm both nights, and $7 gets you in (proceeds benefit Second Harvest Food Bank).
Failing that (grinch), these are sure to be two excellent shows: Cory Branan at the High Watt (8pm, $10.)
Those Darlins with Churchyard and D. Watusi at the Stone Fox (9pm, $10.)
Saturday: Nashville Saves Christmas at the High Watt (8pm.) This is a ridiculous lineup of Nashville favorites playing 2 songs with a narrative tying them all together. Daily Howl, Lipstick, Fable Cry, Regdar and the Fighters, Blue Matches, Chris Davis and His K-Pop All Stars, Hurts to Laugh, Trigger Digit, Tall Dark Stranger, Kill City, Chris Dunnett, The MAN POWER, Chase Allan,, Fable Cry, Snake Vomit, Zasz & Lady E and the Black Light. Listen to the theme song by Lipstick below to get into the spirit. You $5 for admission will benefit Alive Monarchs, a hospice in Franklin, TN dedicated to caring for children with cancer.
Sunday: Wind down at 3rd and Lidsley with sweet soul from Andy Davis and reflect on your weekend of great music and giving a damn about your fellow man. –Terra James-Jura
NYC
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A blast from the past: Quitty and the Don’ts’ 60s pop revival
The ’60s never really died, they just came back with better haircuts and cooler names for their drummers (seriously, you’re not going to find a better name than Quitty Bastardo). Meet Quitty and the Don’ts, Northern Soul revivalists with fantastic suits to match. The Brooklyn five-piece is channeling Mod better than most bands from across the pond for their latest 45", ‘All of You / No Damage Done.’ It just goes to show: music that’s this much fun, belongs to every decade. Check out side B farfisa filled ‘No Damage Done’ below. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)
This band submitted their music for coverage here.
Chicago
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Ember Oceans @ Metro
Ember Oceans released their debut EP Chromatic earlier this month. The band claims to blend "classic rock and new-age alternative", but despite not knowning what new-age alternative would be, I would compare their sound to a young and bluesy Alice In Chains. Perhaps it is just me, but you should give it a listen for yourself. Below is my favorite track from the EP, "Baltimore".
You can catch Ember Oceans at Metro on December 27th with Blue Dream, Free Radical, Zoo, The Boxers.
Philadelphia
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Lip Talk shares a new track from upcoming Sparklehorse/Mark Linkous tribute album
Lip Talk (formerly Railbird) recorded a track for the upcoming Sparklehorse/Mark Linkous tribute album, Last Box of Sparklers, via Box of Stars, a Philly-based non-profit organization dedicated to promoting awareness of mental health issues. The compilation already has a fantastic lineup of contributors such as the Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev, Cowboy Junkies, Mark Lanegan, Phantogram, Portugal. the Man, Califone, The Joy Formidable, and many others. If you would like to help this release see the light of day, please go HERE for more info and to contribute. Below is Lip Talk’s lovely, airy rendition of "Comfort Me," off 2001’s It’s a Wonderful Life.
NYC
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Album review: David Burchfield and The Great Stop – Homesongs & Lullabies
Many songwriters (and other artists) say the process of creation is a sort of archaeological dig. They tend to describe it as exposing a shape that was already there—it’s more like sculpture, where the old joke is that you chip away everything that’s not a statue. Not so much like, say, ceramics, where everything is built up from scratch.
In any case, there’s an excitement to the process, and a song demo can be literally a demonstration of that excitement. Fluffed chords, a scratchy throat, even a cough in the middle of a section—none of those really matter. They’re little stumbles that happen while trying to catch lightning in a bottle. Some might say they’re the flaws that make it all real.
Jules Shear, a revered songwriter, if not all that well-known these days, may have been the first to play with this idea, in his 1985 album Demo-itis. It was a collection of song demos with a certain spark that the "actual" songs (some of them big hits) never quite regained.
The case in point here is a new collection of song demos, Homesongs and Lullabies, by David Burchfield. Some of the songs, mostly recorded alone late at night, are the original versions later fleshed out and released by his band The Great Stop. Others are reworked and rearranged versions of those songs, proving that the creative process isn’t necessarily over when the song has been released.
Of course, it takes a lot of nerve to do this. The emperor may have no clothes, but it’s quite another thing when he deliberately disrobes. As Burchfield explains on his website, "the recordings are uncut, unproduced, and messy…. [S]omething about that vulnerability sounds really good to me."
The sound? Well, it’s not polished. These are probably boombox or recordings, mostly just a single guitar and voice, and "lullabies" is an apt description of the relentlessly down-tempo mood. But the thoughts and heartfelt melodies that come just before bedtime rarely make for a party scene.
There are some lovely moments here, particularly in the full band’s rehearsal take of "Rite Two," a song that appeared on the recentalbum Perseids. The demos of "Embers and Ash" and "By the Coast," in particular, struck me as perfectly viable in this stripped down form. Mostly, though, this collection is the sound of vulnerability, a soul laid bare.
Burchfield, in an email, said this release is mostly for the fans, to add another layer of meaning to songs they already know well. For anyone, though, it could be a welcome accompaniment to the winding down process at the end of the day. And who knows what dreams may come as a result?
You can stream and buy Homesongs and Lullabies at http://davidburchfieldmusic.com/store.
Burchfield returns to Kansas City for the holiday (he recently moved to Colorado) and will be performing with The Great Stop this Saturday, December 21 at The Brick, with special guests Attic Wolves and Devon Russell (of The Natural State/The Great Stop). Facebook event page.
—Pat Tomek
Pat currently plays drums for the Rainmakers, Howard Iceberg & the Titanics, and Deco Auto. He also records songwriters and bands at Largely Studios.
Philadelphia
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In the Indiestry: The Guild’s Nick Fanelli
DIY concert promoting collective The Guild has been working hard this past year bringing homegrown and out-of-town emerging acts together, while helping to foster the Philly music community. And as you’ll learn from our interview with Guild co-founder Nick Fanelli, there has been rarely any time for the group to let loose during the 100+ shows that they’ve put on this year. Well, with tonight’s Misfits Under Mistletoe: The Guild’s 2013 Holiday Party at The Fire, the guys will finally get a chance to relax and get “dumber” with the rest of their friends and family. The special event will feature Band From The Back Porch, who is made up of members from The Menzingers, Luther and Timeshares covering Saves the Day’s Stay What You Are in its entirety, Too Hectic: A Tribute To Operation Ivy, with members of Paint It Black, Armalite, Yo Man, Go! and NONA, and The Guild Family Goddamn Cover Band, who will be laying down the instrumentals for some serious karaoke. Yeah, you can bet that there will be a lot of like-minded, drunken folks in a big group sing-along, but before you go hoarse from this free evening of fun, please check out our interview with Fanelli and learn more about him and The Guild HERE.
New England
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Mals Totem plays with different styles on self-titled EP
On their self-titled EP, Boston natives Mals Totem are hard to pin down to one genre – "Gargantuan" calls to mind the sensible writing of Young the Giant, while “Grind Tune” is a bit more tense in its anxious guitar riffs and tempo changes. Lead vocalist Dave Vives sounds like a more technically skilled Gerard Way, standing out amongst the band’s complex riffs and mixed bag of styles. Download the EP on Bandcamp now and check out the live video for their song "Machine," released in November, below – Jake Reed
New England
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Maine’s Annikki Dawn releases “Chiefs of the Lost”
Although the band’s Bandcamp page states that it was recorded between 2009 and 2010, Annikki Dawn’s “Chiefs of the Lost” is just seeing the light of day. The album’s seven songs are dark, haunting and times sparse, yet beautiful. Driven by folk guitar and harmonized vocals by James and Kyla Quigley, “Chiefs of the Lost” is accented at times by fuzzed-out guitar chords, violin and other unorthodox textures. For instance, an angelic choir and wavering synth make “Winter Fishermen” one of the set’s creepiest songs – in the best way possible. The album is available to purchase through Bandcamp now – Jake Reed
Philadelphia
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The Deli Philly’s Featured Artist(s) Poll Winner: Mo Lowda & the Humble
High school pals Jordan Caiola, Shane Woods and Nate Matulis played their first show together after just a thirty-minute practice, and when they had some miscommunication during a phone call, they came up with a band name that stuck – Mo Lowda & the Humble. The guys started taking things more seriously when they found themselves in Philly attending the same college – Temple University, which is apparent with their recent victory in our Featured Artist(s) Poll. You can learn more about Mo Lowda & the Humble from our interview with the group HERE.
NYC
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New Indie Pop from Brooklyn: Dog Water plays Glasslands on 12.23
Despite starting with chimes of melodic summer wistfulness, once the deadbeat conversational lyrics of Dog Water’s debut single "Forget Your Life" hit us, it is clear we are descended into the underbelly of… the city, the life, the mind, all three and beyond, and the multiple dimensions that inhabits them. Multi-genre mash, the style is one of a collage of sepia Polaroids, incongruous on paper, awesome for audio: dreamy melodies, frantic power chords, loud-quiet-loud moments… it all sounds like C86 stretched to the new millennium. Catch them at Glasslands on the 23rd with Chimes, Exploded View, Bob and Martha for some alternative (and fuzzy) Christmas sparkle. – Francesca Baker
We added this song to The Deli’s playlist of Best songs by emerging NYC artists – check it out!
Philadelphia
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New Track: “Dreamt” – Worshyper & LP Available for Purchase
Experimental R&B/soul outfit Worshyper dropped a new twelve-song album today entitled Keeps via AMDISCS. They shared two tracks from the record – "Calm & Hunt," a previously released song that you probably already heard before if you frequent this site, and "Dreamt," which you can listen to below. We really enjoyed their performance when they opened for Pattern is Movement at Union Transfer. Keep a watch on these guys and gal!