The ’60s psychedelic throwback Secret Colours took a big step forward in 2013 with the release of their full-length sophomore album, Peach. Of the all the tremendous tracks on the album, "Blackbird (Only One)" has to be the best.
Philadelphia
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Free Download: Live at Tres Pecos – The Notekillers
Philly’s storied avant-surf-punk-jazz vets The Notkillers had a chance to perform at Todd P’s new legal Bushwick music venue Tres Pecos (which once housed beloved DIY space The Silent Barn) on November 5, 2013. They were part of a showcase curated by Brooklyn indie label Northern Spy Records, and their set was recorded by music archivist NYC Taper, which you can download in its entirety for free HERE. You can also stream their live performance of "Eyelash," off the band’s 2011 album We’re Here To Help, below.
Nashville
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Weekend Itinerary
Here are a few standout picks for live music this weekend, including a way to spend not a dime on Sunday:
Friday: “Dog-inspired” Sad Baxter is playing at the Stone Fox with Beech Benders and the Reneaus. The show starts at 9pm and cover is 5 bones (rimshot!) There’s definitely some Corgi influence on this number:
Deli favorites Guthrie Brown and The Smoking Flowers play with Rales and Nava Hotel at The High Watt starting at 9pm.
Saturday: Comedian and booking mogul Benji Brown is celebrating three decades on this mortal coil at Exit/In with this stellar lineup: The Nearly Deads, Hot Mess Loves You, The Finale, Foreverandnever and The Daily Howl. The show starts at 7pm and costs $10.
Don’t want to cross the river? Wheathouse and Wooly Mamas at the East Room. Listen below to the grungy rock Wooly Mamas are dished out on their brand new EP:
Sunday: Just stay planted in the vicinity of 1604 8th Avenue South. Everything you need for the day is there. Grimey’s is hosting Sharon Jone’s Soul Brunch at 1pm, when you can get a sneak preview of Sharon Jone’s new album “Give the People What They Want” and access to free mimosas and a freakin’ biscuit bar. Spend a few hours record shopping/browsing, until 8pm, when Nick D’ and the Believers, The Calvary and Canyon Riders play a no-cover show at the Basement. If you’re feeling like a high roller, drop $2 on a draft.
Austin
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Open Submissions Featured Artist #2 – Emily Wolfe
Emily Wolfe came in second in our Open Submissions portion of the Year End Poll. With crisp harmonies and a chill indie rock flair, this songwriter had another thing coming when she thought her first album would be her last. Listen to her latest sounds below and don’t forget to vote for your favorite band in the final stage of our Year End Poll! -Written by Charise Sowells
New England
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Rich People Food kick the year off with Drake cover video
For its latest release, Rich People Food takes on one of the biggest rap songs of 2013, recently named Pitchfork’s top track of the year: “Hold On, We’re Going Home” by Drake and Majid Jordan. The cover takes the song from sensual R&B ballad to dance-floor ready jam, aided by a sax-heavy bridge and vocalist Brian Bernhard’s rock radio croon. Synths glitter and gleam, giving the song a new sound stripped of any shred of R&B (save for the snap percussion in its first 20 seconds). Check out the video below – Jake Reed
NYC
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Interview with The Mellish: DC Deli’s Band of the Month (December)
2013 ends with the Virginia based funk punk band The Mellish as our Band of the Month! Their unique blend of a plethora of genres captures the creative complexity that can only be found in our region, right up there with go-go and Dischord hardcore. We wanted to find out more about these guys that are sure to be heard more in the new year, so we got a hold of Rev. Eugene Sickles (keys/vocals,) General Longstreet (guitar/vocals,) Justin Price (bass,) and Markus Gerhard (drums.) Here they tell us about memories at Memories, influences, and keeping the story behind their name a mystery. Now onto the interview…
Catch the Mellish live this Saturday 1/4/14 at Memories Bar in Walfdorf, MD.
NYC
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From The Deli NYC’s submissions: Vows
Industrial dance duo Vows may hide beneath a veneer of unsentimental cold-wave machinery, with the robotic-like hooks of ‘Symbol System’ and ‘Councillor’s’ dizzying array of drum machines. But as they say: ‘I’m thought of as a cool unemotional dancer, but inside I am not.’ Though I’d recommend seeing them live first before being too sure about that.
The band’s new, self-titled EP is all this and more. One minute their low growls are making us more than a little on edge, and the next… they sound like the anthemic soundtrack to every teen-vamp movie we’ve ever seen. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)
This band submitted their music for coverage here. We added this song to The Deli’s playlist of Best Electronic songs by emerging NYC artists – check it out!
Portland
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Carcrashlander Debuts New Track, “All My Light Begins To Dissipate”
Carcrashlander has just debuted the first single off of his upcoming LP, A Plan to Tell the Future titled, “All My Light Begins to Dissipate” through Impose Magazine. The solo project of musician and songwriter Cory Gray (who has collaborated with The Dodos, Laura Gibson, Graves, the Dandy Warhols and many more) was made as an outlet for a musically adventurous drive with no particular genre in mind as writing began. When talking about the record Cory states that, “I was trying to avoid conceptualizing any particular style, or entertaining thoughts about accessibility.” You can hear that kind of openness to experimentation in the new track as driving rhythms and unique instrumentation move between hypnotic verses and an explosive chorus. Listen to the new track below and be sure to be at Valentines on January 13th to celebrate the release of the new LP with Carcrashlander and Graves. – Benjamin Toledo
Nashville
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KOA Free Show Tonight at Exit/In
Thrifty types will find an incredible value tonight at Exit/In, where KOA is playing a free show with Broken Laces and Release the Hounds. The band is showcasing new material and a new member, and giving away free EPs. “Cool It Down” is the first track of said EP, released early in 2013. Take advantage of their generosity starting tonight at 9, and ride the wave of their mellow soul right into the weekend. –Terra James-Jura
Philadelphia
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The Deli Philly’s January Record of the Month: True Gold – True Gold
South Philly shoegazers True Gold turn up the fuzz with their debut self-titled LP. Opening with “Final Fantasies,” the album’s first is an atmospheric anthem amplified by subtle orchestration. Bringing to mind early cuts by Mogwai, the band’s buzzing riffs bend and echo with cinematic reverb as the track evolves, increasing its emotive weight and precision. A plausible yet refined throwback to acts like Pavement or Built to Spill, True Gold’s vocals in the track are equal parts brooding and earnest. Failing to feel rushed or forced, their opener cultivates catharsis in its listener while serving as a flawless start to their full-length album.
“Undulate” is initially subdued later sounding out with meticulous melody and percussion, prefaced by intentional repetition that expands as the song progresses. By the two-minute mark, it thrives with vocal harmonies that rest beneath the crest of crashing cymbals and driving riffs that rise and fall with finesse. The track’s instrumentation seems to possess diction of its own as “Undulate” slips into “Straight Cruising.” Catchy with a memorable bass line, “Straight Cruising” ignites at a brisker pace than prior tracks. Despite its quickened tempo, True Gold’s third song proves impressive, holding its listener captive by the hypnotic harmony of its latter riffs.
Like a psychedelic fever dream, “Poor Sentence 1” swirls from start to finish. Echoed vocals reverberate alongside trippy riffs and beats that accelerate into a plea of wanting, demanding “Do what you please, now.” Seamlessly easing into its heavier darker counterpart, “Poor Sentence 2,” the track fuzzes into a haunting aftermath. Vocally minimal, “Poor Sentence 2” showcases True Gold’s instrumental psych-rock chops, standing testament to their versatility and skill.
Before losing one’s self in the beautiful bittersweet chaos of “Poor Sentence 2,” “Slow and Bored” quietly unfolds, later booming into full throttle twenty seconds before its first minute. Marrying the most quintessential aesthetic aspects of shoegaze and psych, “Slow and Bored” is memorable and shaking. An epic in its own right, the album’s third to last track is quickly followed by “Honey Cat. ” Equally driving and audibly impressive, “Honey Cat” mesmerizes listeners with humming riffs followed by plucked chords that swell within a swirling soundscape that is simultaneously surreal and visceral. “Old Young,” comprised of jangly riffs and colossal melodies, is the perfect end to this astonishingly remarkable LP.
True Gold’s debut rings true to the outfit’s namesake from start to finish, leaving fans in anticipation of whatever comes next. – Dianca Potts
Philadelphia
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The Deli Philly’s Featured Artist(s) Poll Winner: Dylan Jane
Having been influenced by Cat Stevens from the womb, Dylan Jane (which is actually an anagram for her real name) began making songs with her elementary school classmates, using any musical toys laying around their play area. But when she picked up the guitar as a teenager, she found a lifelong companion. Now, you can find Dylan Jane enjoying performing out live on stage either solo or accompanied by her backing band The Turning Leaves, which is currently made up of a rotating cast of musicians. She recently won our Featured Artist(s) Poll in a heated race, and you can learn more about the “workaholic” local area singer-songwriter from our get-to-know-ya interview HERE.
NYC
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Quality NYC Rockabilly: The Bothers
We covered extensively the NYC folk and soul revivals in the past year or so, while – more recently – we couldn’t help but notice the massive resurgence of 90s inspired guitar rock… Will the 2010’s be remembered as the musical decade of revivals? If that’s the case, maybe bands like The Bothers, who’ve been playing their garage influenced rockabilly since 2011, may be seen as some kind of pioneers… In the vein of J. Roddy Walston and The Business, these lads play tunes that sound like if Nirvana was into Jerry Lee Lewis and Stray Cats – the Nirvana influence being mostly due to lead vocalist Sean McNally’s grungy tenor. The band played a super fun psychobilly New Year’s Eve party at Arlene’s Grocery with The Spastiks and Raw Dogs, check them out live when you can. – Paul Jordan Talbot