When you talk about Sons of an Illustrious Father, you have to speak of the band in terms of eras. Their initial recordings were folky, even vaguely alt-country, as if exhumed, dusted off, and brought down from the mountain. The vocals on these songs are beautifully breathy and cigarette stretched, the drums play a lithe shuffle, and are accompanied by banjos and the echo of an electric guitar. The music the band produces in its current iteration retains many of these facets, but has also noticeably evolved. Their latest two singles, “Very Few Dancers" and "Strange Home,” carry influences as disparate as folk, psychedelic rock, and contemporary hip-hop, and rely heavily on electric instrumentation. Still present though is that singular voice, which hopefully the band never outgrows.

Read Emilio Herce’s interview with Sons of Illustrious Father
See the band live at The Deli’s CMJ Roots Stages at Rockwood on 10.22.

Girl powered synth pop/rock trio New Myths, a band we’ve been following (and booking) since its inception, is about to celebrate the release of their debut LP ‘Give Me Noise‘ with a show at Cameo Gallery on Friday October 17 – you can also catch them during CMJ at Union Hall on 10.21. At first listen, the new material in the album gives the impression of a more driven sound, where distorted guitars match in volume and presence the signature analog synths (like in "Howl" and "The End"). The record also features the noteworthy single "False Gold" from the 2012 self titled debut EP. We are streaming here our favorite new track, the atmospheric ‘Edge of the World.’

Music Bones‘ recently released EP The Scratch Tape ranges from DIY Punk to AniDifrancoesque (that’s a phrase now, I promise). "Tell Me Sweetly" opens the album with disonant guitar riffs that transform from rock to an almost twinkley sound and back. The song "Quarter Afternoon," my personal favorite, begins mid-album. It’s a simple song with bright guitar arpeggios, beautiful, full vocals, and a pleasantly sedating effect. You can catch Music Bones live, Sunday October 19th at Club K in Baltimore, Oct. 21 at The Black Squirrel in DC, and Oct. 25 at The Green Island in DC. –Hannah Brady

“Rolling Stone” magazine declared last year’s Joshua Light Show at NYU’s Skirball Center “the most psychedelic light show of all-time.” It doesn’t mean we necessarily trust their judgment. However, the three-day music and light fest returns to Skirball this October 23-25th, where you can judge for yourself.

LA electro chanteuse Glasser and midwest free-jazz trio Bad Plus play opening night, where the latter is slated to perform Ornette Coleman’s understated 1972 masterpiece “Science Fiction” in its entirety. Television, as well as J. Spaceman & Kid Millions, fill the Saturday night bill (10/25). But it’s the middle show that “The Deli” is most interested in, where NYC psych-folk duo Woods bring their latest song cycle — the appropriately titled “With Light and with Love” — to glow beneath the shimmering colors on Friday the 24th.

For those unaware, “With Light” is Woods’ eighth full-length since its inception in 2006. Mixing a steady diet of Grateful Dead-like jams with indie pop-vocals (think the Shins), the album spreads out into odd new directions this time around. From Bowie-like lyrical couplets to the occasional prog-rock trill, it is the band’s crystalline effort to date. One which is sure to require more than a duo for the stage performance.

As to the Joshua Light Show, its most famous residency came at Bill Graham’s Fillmore East rock club on “freaky Second Avenue,” where from March ’68 ’till it closed in June 1971, Joshua Light produced “Mondrianesque checkerboards, strawberry fields, orchards of lime, antique jewels, galaxies of light over a pure black void and, often, abstract, erotic, totally absorbing shapes and colors.” That’s what the “New York Times” saw, at least. Founder Joshua White came to NYC after graduating from film school at USC in 1965. (Classmate George Lucas stayed on the West Coast and ran experimental light shows at Frank Zappa’s Shrine Auditorium freak-outs of 1966-67.) White & co. re-emerged more recently as lighting designers for the 2008-11 Broadway revival of “Hair.” This latest fest showcases their ephemeral cinema with a well-deserved top-billing. – Brian Chidester