New Music, Emerging from your Local Scene
LuieGo is a breath of fresh air to Western Massachusetts’s dense scene of DIY bands and singer songwriters. “All you rappers suck!” he yells on “I Run the A,” a track that details his dominance over Amherst’s rap scene and bites so hard that some might think the “A” stands for Atlanta at first listen. Following May’s "Fuck Daht," “I Run the A” is the latest preview of the rapper’s upcoming Authentic Thoughts mixtape, which he says we should be hearing soon. – Jake Reed (@jakejreed)
The Oakland based psych rock, hip hop band, Astronauts, etc. will be releasing a new EP entitled, Sadie. This unique and gravitating release is due out in September, and next week, we’ll be sharing their new single, Fuss with you for your listening pleasure. Until then, get your ears wet on the band’s cover of Odessa by Caribou!
San Diego singer-songwriter GUNAKADEIT’s latest video for the track "South" is handled with an imaginative creativeness and abstruce bend of reality, and it molds around her unique style. Filmed around the non-absent artist, a beautiful red head is an actress that slowly drowns in the world around her. The song speaks loudly with hints of social distractions and insecurities, almost as if gazing at a piece from an art show, engagingly directed with detailed cinematography with the help of Liz Nistico of HOLYCHILD. Nistico’s style was made for an artist like GUNAKADEIT; HOLYCHILD has a nag for taking down social stigmas" in their videos, like in their song ‘Playboy Girl’, which mocks gender expectations. Nistico brought a view of social situations becoming too much for someone and eventually breaks them, which evidently plays into the lyrics of "South". – Kayla Hay
Well this is weird, wacky even. But the more you listen, the more wonderful the pulsating, twisted single from The New Tarot becomes. "Chain of Command," the first track from this band is a turbulent song, yet strangely slick. The song’s concept is unsettling yet familiar; lead vocalist, Monika Walker laments that it’s "Getting harder to be human," in a cyber age where everything exists below the surface. From the warped beats to the buzzing synths, wharops and whoops give way to a breathy pat at the end. Glowing alluringly, the song is like an enchanting red light. The Brooklyn sisters Karen (keys) and Monika (vox) Walker have roped in Jeffrey (drums) Keyanna (guitar) and Dave (bass) to, as they put it, ‘follow them down the rabbit hole.’ That’s pretty much how it feels. –Francesca Baker
Josh is a KC native that loves anything meat- or tube-driven related. He also plays guitar for Leering Heathens and Sharp Weapons.
The first two songs on The Brooklyn What’s latest EP, Minor Problems, clock in at a little over two minutes each, but combined they carry the full force of the bands deeply imbedded “punk” DNA. And though this is The Brooklyn What’s starting point, the band has brought something fresh to this now almost staid genre. The closing track, “Too Much Worry,” is an eight-minute long, scuzzy manifesto, which hangs off Jamie Frey’s anxiety-laced howls until the band disassembles into an extraordinary pile of wailing guitar and drums. It’s something you don’t want to miss live. The EP is a heady mixture, not just raucous noise (though it is in good measure), but also prescient and self-effacing. Make sure to catch the Brooklyn What at The Mercury Lounge on 7/18, opening for Lee Bains III and The Glory Fires. –Emilio Herce
Space Is The Place Records, self described as "botique electronic music", is throwing a show at Metro Gallery in Baltimore on Friday, July 18th. "It’s going to be my third time playing Baltimore. I’m really excited to do something with my homies from Space Is The Place," says performer Cakes Da Killa. "I started rapping in high school- I started recording music during my sophomore year in college though. I used to make videos of me rapping over instrumentals I found on YouTube as a joke and people seemed to like them. When I got a chance to hit the studio, I took it," he continues. When asked if he faced any challenges as a gay rapper, he replied that "When you’re focusing on grinding you don’t really have time to get caught up in drama like that. If something comes up, it gets addressed and I move on. That’s life." The rapper wanted to tell the world to "drink more water and get a therapist," and that he thanks his mother, all of his mothers, supporters and long island iced teas for supporting his career.
You can find Cakes Da Killa on Twitter @cakesdakilla, and keep up with all his events on http://mussymayhem.com. Meet him and many other talented performers at the 21+ show tomorrow. Links to the ticketfly and facebook information are right here.
There’s something for everyone in glam rocker Black Sugar Transmission’s music. An artist connecting the dots between the glam of Roxy Music, the sex funk of Prince, and just a hint of Marilyn Manson’s angst, his latest record, The Glamour Pantomine, finds the artist dealing with all his pet peeves at once, from the annoying ‘Loud Girls on the L Train,’ to people who mis-use synths in ‘Synthesizer License,’ to his hatred of all things auto-tuned. This record may be Brooklyn-based frontman Andee Blacksugar’s bitch-fest, but it couldn’t be more dance-ready. Andee knows when to take things seriously, and when to let go and have fun instead. Check out the pop-tastic ‘Love is Theatre’ below and get moving. Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)
This band submitted their music for coverage here.
We have another ticket giveaway for a rad locals-only show this Saturday with Spank Rock, Prowler and Mumblr at Underground Arts. To enter for a chance to win a pair of tix, just send us an email to thedelimagazinephiladelphia@gmail.com with the subject line “Spank Me!" Please also include your cell number in the body of the message (in case of an emergency). Good luck!
I was invited to a show a couple weeks ago by a band member from The I Want You. I like Boston-area nightlife, I like music and I like beer–all of which were coincidentally at TT’s the Bear’s in Cambridge that night–so I figured I’d go check it out. The band played an eclectic mix of pop tunes peppered with multi-part harmonies and keyboard melodies. I could vaguely detect hints of an R.E.M. influence (meant as a compliment, though I’m not sure how the band will take it). The highlight of their set for me was their song "Drifting". Full of energy and well-timed backing vocals, it was my favorite song of the evening by far.
For more info about The I Want You, check out their Bandcamp page.
-Dan McMahon (@dmcmhn)
Show Me the Body is a band that’s generally hard to categorize. Operating mostly under a punk DiY ethic, they cross territories; something hard to miss during their live sets. Last night I caught the trio at Baby’s All Right at the 1:30 AM slot, where naturally most of the club had moved on to whatever it was that people do at 1:30 on a Wednesday night. Although the venue may not have been preferred to their usual basement/loft space, the incredible presence that Show Me the Body never fails to bring mustered up the remaining twenty people to an exciting energy. By the middle of their set everyone was dancing. After their last song people were hugging and handing out daps, unified by the performance that we had just witnessed. Although one could certainly say that Show Me the Body is a sinister and dark punk band, the trio never fails to invite audiences into their darkness, sharing an experience that always comes out as a satisfyingly stress-relieving. These boys love and embody their music, and people can feel that, creating a space where preoccupations of where we are, who we are with, and how many people are in the audience go out the window. You can stream their EP, Yellow Kidney, here. And stream the excellent and self-produced new video for their song, "Steep Rock", below. -Jake Saunders
