Cedar Avenue Crew has return with a new compilation that includes tracks from Opposites, Louis Armstrong Band, Beef, The Inebriati, and Squince. This months theme is "Mustaches".
NYC
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Fuzz-Pop Brooklynites Jackpot, Tiger release sophomore self-titled album
Unlike the group’s near-spontaneous efforts on debut record ‘Chemistry Night,’ (created in a matter of days back in 2011) Jackpot, Tiger‘s self-titled follow-up took the band three years to finalize, but it was well worth the wait. While the LP’s extremely catchy opener ‘Caught in Love’ (streaming) should work well for anyone looking for butter on their popcorn, we recommend a deeper look at the album as a whole to hear how much ground the fuzz-pop quartet manages to cover.
Tackling a range of issues here: from the ups and downs of desire in ‘Caught in Love,’ to the irresistible ‘Alone With You,’ to the Beach Boys-inspired waves of haunting closer ‘Float Away,’ Jackpot, Tiger confronts pop music head-on: revealing inner demons the best way to exorcise evil spirits: through the power of sugary hooks. Check out ‘Caught in Love’ below, and when you find you can’t get the song out of your head, see the band for their album release party at Mercury Lounge on May 12th at 7:30pm. Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)
NYC
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Brooklyn’ newer fun flavor: The Graveyard Kids’ “II”
It’s a pretty fun thing when a band can weave in and out of genres over the course of their career, but a really uniquely fun thing when a band can do it during a single song, let alone every song on an album (at the risk of becoming unrecognizable). Brooklyn sextet The Graveyard Kids released their second full-length, “II,” last November, and the sextet is only growing more promising with time, traversing the outer limits of rock-n-roll, and incorporating everything you know they’ve listened to a thousand times over from surf rock to reggae-pop to du-wop to punk and metal to bluesy dream-pop. The sounds and styles flow or jolt, meld or deflect, all keeping you on your toes and jostling your ears’ emotions in the best way possible. How often does one hear 90’s sludge guitar playing rhythm for a surf rock hook? Check them out on Mama Coco’s Funky Kitchen’s new compilation, along with a ton of other great bands, here! – JP Basileo
Philadelphia
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No Longer a Solo World for Heat Thunder at WCL May 13
We were first introduced to Joe Montone, a.k.a. Heat Thunder, through his debut EP Melody, Love & Soul, a medley of tracks that eventually inspired a collaboration with New York-based filmmaker Evan Cohen. The short film captures the spacious sounds of the record, which was heavily-influenced by the wooded landscapes of Montone’s hometown, Doylestown, a place that The Deli is quite familiar with, having birthed favorites like Aderbat, Night Panther and many others. Since then, the project has grown into a full band that consists of William Chamuris (Commonwealth Choir) on drums, Luming Hao (Our Griffins) on guitar and vocals, and bassist Matthew Philips, who also produced Heat Thunder’s single, "Solo World" (below), their first recording effort as a group. They’ll be headlining the upstairs room at World Cafe Live this evening supported by pals Delco Pacers and The Naked Sun. World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St., 9pm, $8, All Ages – H.M. Kauffman
Philadelphia
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New Track: “Hidden Characters” – Telequanta
Telequanta, a.k.a. J. Termini, just shared his new track "Hidden Characters." The laidback, interstellar minimal house groove is the latest single off his debut album Metaverse. The record will be available as a limited edition run of plantable hand-made album art cards (100 copies), scheduled for release next week on May 20 via Philly electronic label Data Garden, but you can pre-order it HERE.
L.A.
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Guy Blakeslee Announces Solo LP, ‘Ophelia Slowly’
Recorded with Chris Coady (Beach House, Future Islands), in New York, The Entrance Band’s frontman has decidedly deviated from his usual west coast psychedelic sound for his upcoming solo LP, ‘Ophelia Slowly.’ You can almost hear the rain beating down on the city sidewalks, everything tinted in black and white, (and you actually do hear the rain on closing track, "City in the Rain"). Loneliness, heartache, and the dark struggles inside his soul, seem to be the major themes. Sparse and stark, the arrangements feature electronic beats, jangly guitars and Blakeslee’s voice front and center. There’s an earnest desperation driving each song forward; his internal entanglements wrestling each other as he sings through the pain. "Kneel and Pray" is a definite standout. Filled with spiritual references, this album certainly feels like a personal exorcism of sorts. Guy Blakeslee is currently touring in support of Linda Perhacs and Robert Francis, with an album release date of June 10 on Everloving Records. – Jacqueline Caruso
L.A.
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Stream: Jhené Aiko, “My Afternoon Dream”
Indie R&B artist, Jhené Aiko, made a big splash at Coachella this year. Especially when she brought both Drake and Childish Gambino on stage with her. The buzz around her has been getting louder and while most of her songs on the ‘Sail Out’ EP live in a more traditional, mainstream world, the new tune she shared recently, "Afternoon Dream," has us swooning. With minimalist production and a more personal one, this song is laid back and hazy. Less focused on heartbreak and cliches, "Afternoon Dream," has us less focused on her hype and more on her smooth vocal abilities. – Jacqueline Caruso
NYC
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NYC Electronic band gone viral: The Landing releases debut EP on 05.22 at Littlefield
Remember when, in the early ‘augths, all major magazines and newspapers published articles saying how the internet and mp3 revolutions would have allowed emerging artists to reach a wider audience without the need of a record deal etc. etc.? Well, that is certainly true today, but one of the things that nobody expected is that smallish blogs like ours can actually have a significant impact on the promotion of a track. Catchy and well produced synthpop single ‘Anxieties’ (streaming, the video) by NYC’s The Landing got a staggering 180k+ plays in just a few weeks thanks to the magic algorythms of Hypem.com, which picked up a post we did in December about it. This of course is great, although it has to be said that this kind of success doesn’t automatically translate into the real world – which is the band’s next challenge. The first step in this direction is a (real) record: the release of debut EP ‘We Are‘ will be celebrated on May 22 at Littlefield. Hopefully there’s a way for The Landing to reach at least part of the 180k+ music fans who gave them some virtual love.
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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Morning Ritual // Rio Grands // Mojave Bird // 5.13
A common theme running through the lineup at Holocene Wednesday night is piano folk, but there will be a lot variety within this niche. Opening the show is Mojave Bird with her beautiful and hauntingly ambient songs. In the middle of the bill are Rio Grands. Their almost Latin influence on soft driven tunes relies on smooth rhythms and a dynamic vocalist that somehow comes across as soulful surf rock. Headlining the evening is Morning Ritual. Featuring the Shook Twins on vocals, they are rooted in folk, but have lately introduced a soft, electronic R&B element to their lively sound. These three groups would make for excellent nights of music on their own, but will be joining forces for a songwriter’s showcase Wednesday night. The show starts at 8:30 and there is an $8 cover.
– Colin Hudson
San Francisco
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Music Video Premiere: Luke Sweeney – Miss Me?
San Francisco based garage pop musician, Luke Sweeney has released a brand new music video for his single, Miss Me? The video is a very funny tongue and cheek, vignette style short film featuring some of the Bay Area’s best and brightest bands in the local music scene.
Appearances from Social Studies, Warm Soda, Vandella, The Aerosols, Midtown Social, and members of Two Gallants and Trainwreck Riders shows that Sweeney is not only a talented musician in his own right, but has a great connection with music community that surrounds him.
Miss Me?’s satirical look at the challenges of auditioning for rock bands will surely make you break out into laughter. Sweeney’s fictitious accounts of rejection and social turmoil are almost as accurate as they are hilarious. He also did a great job in adopting the talent of videographer, Emily Sevin and editor Neal Jonas as his vision (Sweeney wrote and directed the video) is brought to life, while exhibiting seamless transitions and high definition quality.
Congrats to the band for making a super adorable and bright video!
You can catch Luke and his band (which includes members of Girls, Stone Foxes and Plum) live on May 30th at Starry Plough in Berkeley, CA. –je
NYC
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Defying The Pixies: NoPop Releases Debut EP “See Pretty” tomorrow (05.13)
The Pixies are back together – and it’s not the same. The indie guitar rock of the 90s is back in fashion too, but bands picking up influences from the mind blowing Bostonian quartet’s early records are nowhere to be heard… until you hit ‘play’ on Brooklyn’s NoPop‘s latest single ‘O, TV’ (streaming). Skillfully recreating – and taking to extreme levels – the famous "Loud/Quiet/Loud" production philosophy, the track is ridden with light dissonance, disjointed, crunchy riffs, and thick bass, and all is injected with the at-once anesthetized and horror-show-like vocals of Oscar Rodriguez and Rachel Housle. The adoption of odd tempos dear to Mr. Black Francis, and simple but tasteful background vocals reminiscent of Ms Kim Deal seal the deal as far as influences. With this tune, NoPop pretty much gave us what fans of The Pixies have been hoping to get since the ‘Doolittle’ years: music that’s at once unpretentious, unpredictable, wildly explosive and absolutely memorable.
We are sure the guys will feel belittled by this comment, but they shouldn’t: they are a young band and they have time to develop this sound in a more personal direction – what they accomplished with this song is not easy, and shows talent and promise. We are looking forward to the band’s debut EP "See Pretty," to be released tomorrow 05.13.
We added this song to The Deli’s playlist of Best Punk/Guitar Rock songs by emerging NYC artists – check it out!
New England
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Magic Man Ready to Take on Boston Calling
As the city of Boston prepares for the next installment of the increasingly-popular Boston Calling music festival series, fans may be surprised to see locals Magic Man listed alongside the likes of Modest Mouse, Death Cab for Cutie and Built to Spill. The 5-piece group, started by long-time friends Alex Caplow and Sam Lee, produce artfully-crafted synth-pop, with a unique energy and enormous sound that is seldom found in local acts. While Magic Man have quickly moved up the ranks of the pop music ladder (playing alongside bands such as MS MR and Walk the Moon), they are very aware of the steps it took them to reach where they are today. “Playing in basements and living rooms was how we started as a band,” says Caplow, “and it’s that same energy that we try to bring to shows like Boston Calling.”
With record crowds anticipated to descend on City Hall Plaza in only a few short weeks, Magic Man will be quite comfortable on such a large stage, though it took them awhile to have such composure. “I remember one show in Columbus, OH with Walk the Moon. We hadn’t done our research on the venue and from backstage we could hear the place filling up, [but weren’t expecting a huge crowd],” recalls Caplow. “We came out and there were thousands of screaming teens–we were in entire shock.” Since then, the band have played many large-capacity venues and are scheduled for even more this summer (including a set at Firefly in Delaware, MD and a string of dates on the West Coast). For more updates about the band, check out their website. More information about Boston Calling (as well as info about Tigerman, WOAH!–the second local act to be featured at this spring’s concert) can be found here.
-Dan McMahon (@dmcmhn)
Photo Credit: Gavin Thomas