San Francisco

Album Review: The Spiral Electric: Upon Your Shore EP

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The San Francisco based neo psych revivalist band, The Spiral Electric has recently released their debut EP entitled, Upon Your Shore EP. The album opens with a heavy washed out stream of sound that creates waves of low end that includes a bass line dancing around a droney intro before morphing into a new movement of music that resembles the melody style of The Small Faces and The Dandy Warhols. The album meanders into the third track, Take the Drop which draws from a Latin psych style and moves away from highlighting the lead vocals of Clay Andrews, and showcases the band’s instrumental psych rock compositional skills. Never Forget is a classic Spiral Electric song that has been played live a number of times. The slow ballad is sure to bring comfort and nostalgia to the band’s loyal music community and fans.

The album’s final song, Envy takes on the classic Paisley Underground sound mixed with Spiral Electric’s subtle flare and their uncanny Brian Jonestown Massacre influence. Upon Your Shore EP is a great debut release that opens a lot of doors for the band to build upon what is already a strong and focused musical foundation.

Toronto

DAVIDS- “Right On” ***Video Release***

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DAVIDS latest video release “Right On” is a strong current of electronic pop. We are never going into the woods again!!! “Right On”  video is something spooky, but we can’t stop dancing! Heavy synth beats thrash you back and forth to a raw invigorating vocal. Did we mention…we can’t stop dancing! DAVIDS like to be off screen so they got front men, Apocryphal Avulsion, to give it their all with that scary sexy lady in the back. Stay tuned on FB for DAVIDS latest EP.

 

NYC

Hiss Golden Messenger release EP “Southern Grammar”

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Following their 2014 record, “Lateness of Dancers”, Hiss Golden Messenger released an EP entitled “Southern Grammar” this past February. The band began in 2007 as southern duo of North Carolina transplant M.C. Taylor and New Yorker Scott Hirsch, but has taken many incarnations over the years, often pulling in friends/indie folk beloveds from Mountain Man, Bon Iver, Small Pond, and Megafaun. Their influences span mostly across the Southern/Western genre board including elements of country, jazz, bluegrass, gospel, blues, and our personal favorite: swamp pop. During this collection of songs our narrator shakes a divine hand, names “the rules” before a choir, meets with some smooth saxophone lines, and discusses the southern grammar of family. Check out below "Brother, Do You Know the Road?" – third and last song in the EP. – Leora Mandel

Philadelphia

New Music Video: “Know It All” – Mike Bell & The Movies

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Here is a new music video from Mike Bell & The Movies for the track "Know It All." The song is off their recent split 7" with Lizard Police, entitled Philadelphia/Tulsa (Major Bear Records/Messy Life Records/Songs From the Road Records), and features Mimi Gallagher (of NONA) on vocals. The video was directed by Craig Scheihing, and stars band member Peter Helmis’ best friend, Mr. Wendal. "On a cool winter day in March three videographers led by esteemed adventure, Mr. Wendal embarked on an excursion to find the answer to life, the universe, and everything. What they discovered may shock you… the following video is not for the faint of heart." (Photo by Scott Troyan)

NYC

NYC Folk duo Beau announces debut album, plays Baby’s All Right on April 27th

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We can’t find much info on the internet about NYC based folk duo Beau, formed by two very young ladies named Heather Boo and Emma Rose. But we can find a lot of info about their label which is about to release their self-titled debut: it appears to be to be a (French) fashion brand on a mission to support the creative efforts of musicians – it also released Buscabulla’s debut EP, recently NYC record of the month on this same blog. The involvement of fashion related companies in the record industry cannot be unwelcome, considering the scarcity of funds afflicting the latter. Preview single "One Wing" and this other song "Karma" are reminiscent of a folkier, sparser and less pretentious Lana Del Rey – we are curious to hear the rest of the record to form a more complete opinion. Beau will be performing live at Baby’s All Right on April 27th with Buscabulla and Mothxr.

NYC

Ava Luna celebrate release of 4th album “Infinite House” with two shows on 04.17 and 18

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Active since the late aughts, avant-soul collective Ava Luna has been coherently following a peculiar musical path that largely predated NYC’s soul revival of the mid ’10s, while embedding itself in the Brooklyn scene through that hub of creativity that is Bushwick’s DIY institution Silent Barn, a space they help running which hosts live shows, art installations, a barber, and also a recording studio. That’s where Ava Luna mostly self-produced their fourth album "Infinite House" which is released today on Western Vynil, and showcases a band at the peak of their creativity and maturity. Its eleven tracks are a homage to variety and experimentation, where beautiful melodies are juxtaposed to thunderous – but still soulful – sonic exposions, and doo wop harmonies learn to coexist with atonal guitars vaguely reminiscent of Arto Lindsey from the Modern Lovers years. Occasional hints of Bossanova, Funk, Noise Rock, Folk and Lounge music contribute to make this musical puzzle so mesmerizingly unconceivable that it borders on sublime. Check out single "Billz" below, and don’t miss the band’s release parties at Baby’s All Right on April 17 and Silent Barn the following day.

Philadelphia

Follow Mohican at Boot & Saddle April 14

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Instrumental soundscapes will be in full bloom this evening at Boot & Saddle. The trio of Mohican pushes their sonic tools; stretching over the long haul, that journey results in a crisp and at times heavy sound. The band works in and out of defined areas often changing tempo, slowing down, and allowing a pensive tone to ruminate or progressively build, gaining traction so that it can rain down upon reaching the summit. There is definitely an expansive vibe, but it’s delivered by precise hands. So, although it may be appear easy to get lost in the musical scenery, the group knows exactly where it’s going. The duo of Jeff Lucci & Josh Aptner, a.k.a. Air is Human, continues to explore the stratosphere with their latest EP EQ1, whose wandering ambient songs will be performed tonight – a captivating series of twists and turns that gravitationally draw one in allowing them to ever so briefly shed that earthly weight. Endor Endor allows your thoughts to marinate in the sonic ventures of Matt Weber (Young Statues/Bacio) and Tom Ryan (Young Statues/Atomic Square) to start things off. Boot & Saddle, 1131 S. Broad St., 8pm, $10, 21+ – Michael Colavita

Chicago

Weatherman

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Weatherman is the trio of Jason Toth, Annie Higgins, and Joshua Dumas. They are releasing their next single, "Night Games/Dopamine" via La Société Expéditionnaire on May 12th. This is the second of three single that will be combined into an EP this Fall.

"Night Games" finds Annie Higgins shining on both vocals and piano, while "Dopamine" is churning electronic instrumental track.

You can catch Weatherman at the CimmFest/Chicago Mixtape 4-Year Anniversary Party at the Hideout on Saturday, April 18 with Santah, Pet Lions and more.

NYC

LA’s shoegaze trio Nightmare Air working on sophomore album

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Drown in sound or dance in sound, take your pick – whichever way you fly, you can choose Nightmare Air. This LA trio was formed by ex-Film School guitarist Dave Dupuis and goth-folk bassist/singer Swaan Miller, later joined by Noise by Numbers drummer Jimmy Lucido. Together, they raise hell pairing self-oscillating feedback and driving rhythms with fuzz bass lines and dreamy vocal melodies. In 2010 the band released their debut EP and have embarked on transatlantic tours, opening for Lee Ranaldo (Sonic Youth), Ice Age, No Joy, Smashing Pumpkins, and The Jesus and Mary Chain. After sharing a stage with Ringo Deathstarr and Dead Leaf Echo at SXSW and finishing their 2015 Europe tour, Nightmare Air are finally home and working on a follow-up album to 2013’s "High In The Lasers." – Ryan Mo

Austin

Dr Bobby Banner MPC

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As another run of The Deli Austin’s Artist of the Month poll wraps up, we’re lookin’ at the only artist in the competition that we haven’t yet featured on The Deli- the versatile producer Dr Bobby Banner MPC. For those who aren’t electronic music producers (which, in Austin, is fewer people than you’d think), the MPC in Dr Bobby’s name refers to the Akai Music Production Center, a series of powerful and powerfully badass beat-making machines. Presumably, Dr Bobby Banner MPC makes the slick, dynamic hip-hop tracks he’s known for on such machines, and if you go from the artist’s social media pages, Dr Bobby might just actually be an MPC. Or at least, that might be his character, but who knows? In the days of hologram Japanese superstars and with music production tech where it’s at these days, the idea of a beat machine that makes its own music isn’t all that far fetched.

Regardless of who, or what, is making Dr Bobby Banner’s music, the recent output from this man/machine has been downright stellar. Particularly, Dr Bobby’s new album Musicology, released at the end of March, is a chance to hear one of Austin’s brightest beatmakers paired up with an absolute army of quality rappers. Lots of times we see purely instrumental albums come out of the beatmaking scene in Austin, so (as much as we dig those instrumental joints) it’s a welcome change-up to get a 12 tracker packed full of both beat and rhyme. That nod toward the traditional hip-hop song structure is about the only place this album is predictable though, as Musicology has Banner et al. letting their creativity and personal spins on hip-hop running free. For an example of the acrobatic musical forces at work here, take track "David Ruffin" below, whose herky-jerky sample-based beat serves as a playground for spitters Scuare and No1Important to let their words jump up and around and play all over. The rest of the album is equally good, and all available what for your listening pleasure over here. If this shit gets ya noddin’ like it does us, give the rest a listen, and vote to the right to make Dr Bobby Banner MPC our first human/machine hybrid Artist of the Month.