Portland

Touchy Feely Records – Label Launch Party 10.3

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Starting up a record label is a pretty big endeavor – it’s as stressful as it is time-consuming, and in the age of self-publishing and rapid media consumption, it seems like a pretty thankless job. Fortunately, those reasons keep the half-hearted folks away, assuring that the labels that do exist are truly run by music lovers who are dedicated to supporting their community (be it local, national, global, what have you). And since these folks are dedicated to their community, it only makes sense that you can return the favor and support them, right? You don’t have anything better to do this Friday night anyway.

The latest independent record label to enter the Portland fold is Touchy Feely Records. Their current roster consists of three acts Grandhorse, Dedere, and Sleep School, and more acts will surely follow in the coming months. This Friday, October 3rd, they’ll be throwing a gigantic launch party in North Portland over at the Kenton Club. There will be free tarot readings, silent auctions, raffles, and of course, music.

It’s a packed bill that night, featuring six bands, the center piece of which is Sleep School, releasing their first EP, White Girl Wasted. Other bands who will be performing include Grandhorse, Dedere, Bubble Cats, tigerface, and Hart & Hare. The festivities kick-off at 7pm with a price tag of $5 to get in. And before you decide, “It’s not a free show, so I’m not going,” take a minute to a) think of how ridiculously entitled your attitude is and b) consider that you get a raffle ticket upon entry, meaning you could possibly win back way more than those five bucks you spent to get in.

This should be a seriously fun event, so come on down to the Kenton Club on Friday, October 3rd, and check it out! Find out more and RSVP over on Facebook at the event page, and while you’re at it, give a like to Touchy Feely Records.

– Alexei Shishkin

Philadelphia

Communion Philadelphia w/Weekender, Birdie Busch and the Greatest Night, Marian Hill & More at Underground Arts Oct. 2

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Tonight, the monthly installment of Communion Philadelphia occurs at Underground Arts; bringing with it, a lineup oozing with talent and a rotating two-stage setup aimed at keep the music perpetually rolling. As they work on the follow-up to Spanish Peaks, Weekender remains an intriguing group. Piling layers of clouds on to a crisp pop-rock base, thus adding an air of unpredictability, Weekender finds a smooth landing place between the straightforward and the overtly spaced-out. The bill will also include Birdie Busch and the Greatest Night, whose penetrating music is a take on Americana/folk, filled with lyrics that loop through your mind and instrumentation that constantly shifts the setting. The seductive smooth electro-R&B vocal groove combination of Samantha Gongol and Jeremy Lloyd, a.k.a. Marian Hill, wraps up the local element of the bill, which also features Field Report and Quiet Life. Underground Arts, 1200 Callowhill St., 8pm, $15, 21+ – Michael Colavita

NYC

Weekly Features: The Morning Sea plays CBGB and CMJ Fests

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Adam Cohen had been performing solo long before forming The Morning Sea, a group he founded with college friend and producer Tony Long, intent in revisiting and often updating the various aspects of traditional American music. In their seven song EP ‘Strange Captive,’ the band offers songs that are often fast paced, but never lose the intensity of the best folk music, nor shy away from occasionally pushing the rootsy envelop in interesting new direction. Take "Talk Yourself Down" for example (streaming): its country-ish sound is only an appearance: the song itself has nothing traditional to it, it could have been written by Radiohead during the ‘OK Computer’ years. ‘Bit My Tongue‘ is a similar experiment, but flirting with desert rock and spaghetti western aesthetics.

LINK: read Rebecca Blandon interview with The Morning Sea.

Philadelphia

New Hurry LP Available for Streaming

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For many reasons, we kind imagine hanging out with Hurry‘s Matt Scottoline would be the equivalent of taking an adventure with An Idiot Abroad‘s Karl Pilkington, which is definitely a compliment meant with the highest regard. On his sophmore album Everything/Nothing, it’s not surprising to find Scottoline with his heart on his sleeve strumming away and providing us with some truly charming, very self-aware fuzz-pop. He is backed by a rhythm section of cousins and seasoned players in Rob DeCarolis (ex-Univox) and Joe DeCarolis (Psychic Teens), who match his experience with Everyone Everywhere. You can take a listen to their new record below, and they’ll be officially releasing it on October 7 via Hot Green Records. Pre-ordering for vinyl is currently available, and a bonus limited-edition cassette of demos will come along with it, while supplies last.

Portland

The Quick & Easy Boys Release Fourth Album “Follow Us Overboard”

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The fourth album has cometh. This was the name of The Quick & Easy Boys Kickstarter campaign that began early last spring, and after a long wait, the CD release show at the Wonder Ballroom is only a few days away.

The band raised a good amount of money to put out an album with the help of the finest talent this city has to offer. They recorded with producer Steve Berlin (Los Lobos) at the private studio of Isaac Brock of Modest Mouse. And once again, Portland’s finest party makers have delivered a fine-tuned album with their signature funky blues style and progressive rock rhythms.

This album is quite a bit different than the first three, clearly because of the work and influence Steve Berlin put into it. I wouldn’t call it a new direction, rather an expansion on something they’ve been doing for many years. It’s not the raw DIY project they’ve been accustomed to. Follow Us Overboard contains more instruments and a lot more layers, which is appropriate because their live show sounds as if there are more than three people on stage.

The Quick & Easy Boys are known for hard hitting blues based rock and this album does just that – even though it starts off slow with “Breath.” Guitarist Jimmy Russell takes a slower approach to his blues twang on this song, but by the time the album reaches the third song “Die” you can hear his telecaster damn near blowing his amplifier to pieces with the opening riff. One thing that stands out is the voice of lead vocalist (and bassist) Sean Badders. He has one of the most dynamic rock voices in Portland and is given justice by the clarity of the production work on this album.

Towards the end of the album, we are blessed with the song “Rave Bird” which is the perfect mix of their elements and new found production. It’s a funky beat with bold echoes and phasing effects behind a piercing guitar solo that ends up sounding like something off of Led Zeppelin’s BBC tapes.

The Boys have been touring relentlessly for the past five years. Now with new drummer, Casey Anderson, they plan on continuing that trend and reaching new heights. After all they’ve always had the excellent musicianship and an ability to put on a breathtaking live show, and now they have the album to back that up.

The Quick and Easy Boys will release Follow Us Overboard this Saturday October 4th at The Wonder Ballroom with the accompaniment of blues rock extraordinaire, Tango Alpha Tango, and the folk harmonies of The Hill Dogs. Tickets are $12 and the doors open at 8. Get there early because beer lines will be long. Stream three tracks from Follow Us Overboard below.

– Words by Colin Hudson, Photo by Liz Devine

L.A.

The Tragic Thrills play Hotel Café + releases self-titled debut album

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It seems like forever since San Diego quintet The Tragic Thrills first released their jaunty anthem "Tears", and that’s because it’s been a staple in their body of work since it was first unveiled last year. The track rightfully opens their utterly celebratory self-titled full-length, which was just officially released this week via Washington Square Music. What follows are nine more amicable, head bobbing cuts with a snappy, early aughts pop rock feel that are ready for constant radio airplay. Make sure to make your day a little bit brighter by watching them play at Hotel Café on Wednesday, October 29th.

Chicago

B Forrest

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B Forrest is the work of Brendan Forest and a collection of talent musicians. He is releasing his debut album Back to Bodhi this month and one of the talented musicians helping him is Sam Trump as featured below on "Grown Child".

NYC

Beacon plays Terminal One + unveils ‘Fault Line single from upcoming ‘L1’ EP

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Brooklyn based, atmospheric electronic duo Beacon was already on our radar, but this new single from forthcoming EP ‘L1’ is emitting a signal whose strength we can’t ignore. We are digging pretty much everything about ‘Fault Lines,’ from the almost granular sounding, obsessive initial two note keyboard line, to the frantic but essential drum programming. The song builds slowly through a measured accumulation of layers, while an expanding line of arpeggiators drops unexpectedly at minute 3.11, and seems to reset everything. Beacon will play Terminal 5 in NYC tonight with Tycho and Christopher Willits, while ‘L1’ EP is scheduled for a December release.

 

We added this song to The Deli’s playlist of Best Electronic songs by emerging NYC artists – check it out!

 

Toronto

The Soupcans-10/3 @ This Ain’t Hollywood

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Don’t miss The Soupcans this Friday 10/3 @ This Ain’t Hollywood! Great line-up! See them with Teenanger & TV Freaks, Be there by 9pm! Listen below to their latest track ‘Crimes of the Future, pt 1’ off Incesticide II. It’s a avant punk-thrash track with exotic mixtures of psychodelic guitars, banging hard-core drums and AM raw vocals, that makes a badass listen! Check out their BC page for upcoming shows by you! See you Friday!

NYC

Experimenting with vocals: Gabi plays Baby’s All Right on 10.02

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Recently signed to Daniel Lopatin (aka Oneohtrix Point Never)’s record label Software, Bushwick’s Gabi belongs to a growing wave of artists (for unknown reason mostly female) who choose to rely almost exclusively on vocals for their songs’ arrangements, relying on the help of looping devices. Gabi’s single/video ‘Koo Koo’ (streaming) has an ascetic, almost new wave-ish quality to it. You can see how she pull this off live at Baby’s All Right on October 2nd.