It’s starting to feel like a week of comebacks. Here’s a new track called "Queen Flea," which you can stream and download for free below, from Bucks County’s Illinois ( who are probably best known for providing the soundtrack to Weeds‘ infamous "Brick Dance" with their fan favorite "Nosebleed"). The single will appear on their upcoming album that has yet to receive a title or release date.
Philadelphia
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Siltbreeze Showcase w/Far-Out Fangtooth & Watery Love at ICA May 14
“Scavenged from the wreckage of distortion, this celebration allows Siltbreeze‘s records to be understood in the best way imaginable – through sounds. Lots of them.” The beloved local boundary-pushing record label has invited the mesmerizing psych-goth of Far-Out Fangtooth and former Clockcleaner Richie Charles’ garage-punk outfit Watery Love to display some contemporary art of their own at the ICA this evening. Inspired by the exhibitions “Image Scavengers” (1982) and “Investigations 28: Martin Kippenberger” (1989), the music showcase will coexist with “Conjuring Kippenberger,” a talk that “touches on Kippenberger’s flirtation with No Wave music and design” by designer Mark Owens. Come out, and discover where the lines of music and design are blurred! Institute of Contemporary Art, 118 S. 36th St., 6:30pm, Free, All Ages – Alexis V.
New England
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Skinny Bones are pleasantly weird on “Noise Floor”
Upon opening Skinny Bones’ Bandcamp page, one is greeted by “Sleep In,” a track that is understated and yet sparkles with unique production tics. A ghastly pitch-shifted backing vocal supports the primary melody from below, an inexplicable crackle comes in and out during the chorus – and at 3:25, it all swells before disappearing like an apparition into a wonky bass line. The song is just one from their latest album, Noise Floor, a nine-track collection unleashed on May 6. Later on the set is “Jamaica Plain,” a delightfully odd tribute to the Boston neighborhood with a simple repeated hook: “Oh my J-J-JP.” Grab Noise Floor for a price of your choosing (yes, that includes free) and catch the band at T.T. the Bear’s Place in Cambridge, MA, this Friday. – Jake Reed, @jakejreed
Photo by Hannah Cohen
New England
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Jake McKelvie & the Countertops will have you dancing on, well, the countertops
New Hampshire’s Jake McKelvie & the Countertops have a sound as weird as their name, and after seeing them play in an Amherst, MA, garage last month, I can say that they put on a good (but weird) live show as well. After promising their latest full-length first in March and later for an April release, Solid Chunks of Energy finally hit Bandcamp last week. The album kicks off in high gear with the energetic punch of “Mini Monster,” on which McKelvie’s distinguishably lackadaisical vocal delivery quickly grabs attention. “So Long, the Scrubber” benefits from the same energy, aided by an envelope-filtered bass guitar that dazzles from the backdrop. Like any solid album, the collection slows down with “Woke Awake” and “Aside From Your Hair,” but the Countertops are best when commanding a mosh pit. If you’re ready to join the pit, catch them tonight at Anchors Up in Haverhill, MA, or June 28 at West Street Parking Lot in Gardner. – Jake Reed, @jakejreed
NYC
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Shall we call it Ind-Hip Hop? From Brooklyn, via Memphis: Cities Aviv
From Tes1’s X2 in 2003 to Kanye West’s Yeesus last year, electro-clash post-hip-hop is known for alternative deliveries and cacophonous sonics. Recent Memphis transplant Cities Aviv, has brought to NYC a brash and formidable album with ‘Come to Life.’ It’s something about his innovative cutting of lo-fi samples and the hard street style raps drenched in reverb; it’s 50 cent with Morrissey, Dilla with Kool Keith, Boards of Canada with Biggie, and yet something completely different. That in itself is an accomplishment in a genre where biting style is as endemic as claiming to have engendered it. Cities Aviv is letting the music speak for itself, and if you can sort through the jittering percussion and psychedelic vocal-processing, you might find yourself chanting along.
We added this song to The Deli’s playlist of Best Hip Hop songs by emerging NYC artists – check it out!
Philadelphia
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New Pill Friends EP Available for Streaming & Purchase
Through all their past unpolished, lo-fi recordings, we always knew that Pill Friends were holding plenty of potent songs among their collection of downer-pop. On their latest EP fade into nothing, the group headed into the studio this past August with Kyle Pulley at Headroom, fleshing out older favorites like "klonopin" and "promethazine," giving them a sheen that had not been seen/heard in any of the band’s previous releases. Opener and new track "samael" seems to glow like a beacon of light guiding us towards Pill Friends’ future sound. Maybe now more folks may finally start to realize how rad this project really is. (Photo by Michelle Rose)
Nashville
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The Suez Release Self-Titled Debut EP
After listening to a just a few seconds of The Suez‘ first song “Johnny Get Angry” off of their self- titled debut album released this May, I am in love. The Suez are a band out of Murfreesboro with a pretty cute back story. The four grew up together, grew apart, and reunited for a local fish fry. The band is a blend of older doo wop tunes and rock, pop, and punk. That mix is bound to be killer, and the outcome is pretty rad. I can’t pick out a favorite song; I try, and realize that they are all my favorites. The Suez are awesome, they are catchy, and I can see their charisma shining through in all of their kick ass songs. Their next show is at The Boro on May 30th, as part of Tennessee Scum’s record release party. -Amanda Aydelott
San Francisco
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WAG Curtin and Sea Knight Play the Hemlock Tavern TONIGHT
Tonight, the Hemlock Tavern is hosting a show featuring WAG, Curtin and Sea Knight.
Opening the show is Sea Knight, a band that seeks to combine dream pop, shoegaze and psych rock. The band recently came out with their debut EP, Where are you. Curtin is a Chicago-based band that consists of members of the Brooklyn based traditional folk band, Country Mice. If you’re into slow jams and psych infused music, this may be the band for you. Look out for their newest album, One for the Doghearted, this summer. WAG, a San Francisco based band influenced by grunge, surf rock and post punk, will be headlining the show. Their debut album, No Worries drops on May 31st. Listen to a single from the album called, Tin Crown below.
Do your best to make it out to this well curated psych folk show. – Erin Dage
NYC
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Show recap: The Clementines’ EP release show at VooDoo, 5.9.14
(Photos by Jodie Platz)
Last Friday, The Clementines celebrated the release of their EP Someday/Over (see our review), a follow-up to their self-titled debut album released last summer. This time, they threw a big party to commemorate the occasion at VooDoo Lounge, with special guests The B’Dinas and Katy Guillen & the Girls.
The B’Dinas kicked off the party with an exuberant set, bringing with them enough quirkiness to create a light, jubilant mood as the audience filtered in. Each member showed off his/her own individual talents throughout the set, often switching off instruments and lead vocal duties from song to song.
This is a band that rides on the strength of its musical prowess, maintaining an intricate prog rock/blues sound without sounding busy or overwhelming. At times, The B’Dinas boasted impressive four-part vocal harmonies. Toward the end of the set, when Peter Lawless switched over from bass to saxophone and took over lead vocal duties on “That’s Not What She Said,” the group unleashed a musical fury that filled the large room.
With gilded anticipation, The Clementines took to the stage with a confidence and performance that lived up to the quality of their new album. With a bevy of new material, the group played for about an hour to a receptive crowd.
Guest violinist Kristin Chow sat in on a few songs, adding another powerful dynamic to a band that is most noted for the strength and soul of Nicole Springer’s voice. But since adding drummer Aaron Derington to the mix last fall, The Clementines have brought new elements to their overall sound. Tim Jenkins mostly played electric guitar for Friday’s show and switched to mandolin for a few songs, contributing flourishes to Springer’s voice as well as a necessary bite to the music. Travis Earnshaw’s bass lines provided a foundation and a bounce to each song.
For one of their final tunes, “Your History,” the band’s former drummer [and Katy Guillen & the Girls’ current drummer] Stephanie Williams guest starred while Derington moved over to keys—reminding us that this band is a far cry from its beginnings as an acoustic duo of Springer and Jenkins, and is further testament to its growth as musicians and performers. “I felt [our performance] was very inspired by all of the support there and truly was a celebration of completing an EP that we’re super proud of,” mentioned Springer.
Though The Clementines were the evening’s celebrated act, Katy Guillen & the Girls headlined the show and kept the audience on the dance floor. They’ve added new material to their set as they prepare to release their debut full-length album in the fall. As always, Guillen’s guitar playing was simultaneously brutal and captivating, matched by Williams’ fierce and flashy but deliberate, on-point drumming (and a new kit to boot) and Claire Adams’ booming bass scales.
Since taking fourth place at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis in January, the trio has honed its performance into that of a band fit to play about any midsize/large venue in the country—a giant feat for a group still young in its career. This showed on Friday evening, as VooDoo provided the high-end production necessary to augment their roaring sound and a professional, flawless performance. KG & the Girls will be traveling in the coming months, playing the Montreal International Jazz Festival in June, Daytona Blues Fest in October, and taking a 10-day tour of Sweden in November.
The Clementines and The B’Dinas will be playing together again at The Brick on Friday, May 23. You can catch Katy & the Girls next at BB’s Lawnside BBQ on Saturday, May 31.
—Michelle Bacon
Michelle is the editor of The Deli KC and does rhythmic stuff in The Philistines, Drew Black & Dirty Electric, Dolls on Fire, and Lucky Graves. She also writes for Ink. The rest of the time, she is a hobo.
Jodie Platz is a concert photographer, and also doubles as the tour manager for Not A Planet.
NYC
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Seen Live: Mother
In February we blogged about mysterious new Brooklyn band, Mother. Their first addictive single "Easy," a dark, percussive alt-soul mid tempo gem, gained over 86k plays on Soundcloud in 10 days, followed in March 2014 by their second, even slower single "Victim", premiered via Stereogum (and streaming below). Shortly after the band played their first ever show to a sold out crowd at Pianos. Last Thursday Mother played the Neon Gold showcase at The Westway – which again sold out within days – and this time your favorite Deli writer managed to get in.
You never know what to expect from an electronic band that went viral on the web, simply because anybody these days can create great songs at home and be absolutely inept on stage. But this show exceeded our expectations. Front man Penn Badgley’s voice shone through the set with a captivating, soulful quality and the polished super-band behind him, featuring Jimmy Giannopoulos (Lolawolf, Reputante), Darren Will (Rathborne) and Simon Oscroft (No), proved their musical prowess as they perfectly captured and went above and beyond the distinctive, edgy sound of their first two singles. The set was packed with catchy, experimental, moody songs that bode well for a full length that should see the light at some point this year.
Mother will announce their summer tour schedule shortly, keep an eye out because tickets to these shows won’t last. – Brescia Mascheretti
Philadelphia
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New Track: “Gully” – Spank Rock
It’s been almost three years since we’ve heard new material from Spank Rock. Well, the wait is finally over with his latest track "Gully" that premiered earlier today over at Stereogum. It was produced by Boys Noize and Kid Kamillion, proving that the foul-mouthed Baltimore transplant can still get the party started with a club banger. The single officially comes out May 20 via his own label Bad Blood Records.
NYC
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A Deli Premiere: Throw Vision’s ‘Hippocampus’ video
Have you ever re-arranged your brain? Throw Vision asks this (not so) eternal question in their latest video for ‘Hippocampus.’ Combining the band’s penchant for throwing Jazz keys, funk basslines, haunting harmonies and rock into a giant and and extremely tasty gumbo, the song headlines what each member brings to the table, launching into unexpected directions where only this group dares to tread.
Taken from their LP ‘In I,’ the video of this haunting song – based on research in neuroscience that suggests memories can be edited – is a cinematic journey by the band through some bizarrely shifting forest landscapes. Warning: this feature may induce serious mental re-arrangements if watched too closely.
Thow Vision will be opening for Nat Baldwin (Dirty Projectors) in New Haven, CT on 6/6, and then performing at Crown Heights’ new live spot Friends and Lovers on 6/13 and curating the evening’s acts, including James Tillman. Look out for the release of a brand new EP in the coming months. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)