Dissonance in rock music is not infrequent, but we’d be hard pressed to find it in pop – except… we just did! Brooklyn’s Painted Zeros are not afraid to use discordant chords within their otherwise perfectly dream-pop tunes. The effect is rather interesting: that dreaminess becomes somewhat weird, and the concept itself of ‘dream’ assumes a deeper, more troubled meaning, reminiscent of the strident juxtaposition of good and awful dreams in David Lynch’s masterpiece Mulholland Drive. The band’s recent video for single "Too Drunk" (streaming) seem to reflect this ambivalence, portraying intoxicated fans in some kind of air-french-kissing competition – which is at once awesome and fucked up. The band will be playing at Union Pool on June 4th opening for Austin’s The Zoltars.
New +HIRS+ LP Available for Streaming & Purchase
Prolific Philly trans queer grindcore group +HIRS+ has a new album for us somewhat aptly titled HIRS – 2nd 100 Songs. You can purchase the actually 101-song LP on white vinyl via SRA Records. Also, take a listen to an in-depth recorded audio interview with +HIRS+’s Jenna Pup HERE, which was documented for Loud! Fast! Philly! by Joseph A. Gervasi.
Sandcastle Co-headline w/Mystic Braves at JB’s May 13
Creeping up on Philly this evening is psych-pop/rock quartet Sandcastle, who will be co-headlining Johnny Brenda’s. The group released The Deli Philly’s April Record of the Month, Skull Cauldron, which you should definitely take a listen to below. In fact, they’ve been making some eerily captivating albums for years now. I highly suggest taking Wild Legend for a spin, if you haven’t already. Reps from the LA psych community will be in the house tonight with the polished, throwback sounds of co-headliner, Mystic Braves, and The Blank Tapes. Smoke ’em if ya got ’em, folks! Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 9pm, $12, 21+ – H.M. Kauffman
NJ Songwriter on the rise: Bitter’s Kiss
Under the apt moniker Bitter’s Kiss, New Jersey-based singer/songwriter Chloe Baker shares sweetly serious pop songs with her March-released eponymous debut record. With her gentle voice, the teenaged musician tells stories of longing and pain but also sheer joy in tracks that smoothly blend drum clasps and slightly fuzzy guitars. Although all of the eight songs are both pleasant and provocative, album highlight “No One Will” (streaming below) particularly intrigues with its ambiguous nature; is the yearning here hurtful or somehow helpful? The answer doesn’t really matter; Baker’s wisely ambiguous songwriting lets the listener interpret freely. – Zach Weg
We added Bitter’s Kiss single "Waste of it All" to The Deli’s playlist of Best songs by emerging NYC songwriters and folk artists – check it out!
New Track: “Submission” – NAH
In American music history, the formerly underground genres of hip hop and punk/new wave found themselves as unlikely bedfellows, heavily influencing each other’s cultures in the late 70s and early 80s in NYC, as reggae and punk/new wave did in England. Now, with hip hop already embedded into the mainstream and punk’s resurgence noticeably changing the landscape of our society, it’s certainly not peculiar to find former 1994! drummer Mike Kuhn, a.k.a. NAH, impressively melding the genres together once again. Check out one of his newest tracks, "Submission," below!
Texas King @ Drake Hotel
Pop enough to sing-a-long to, rock enough to jump around to, and just enough groove to soothe your soul to. Texas King, hailing from London Ontario, got the crowd enlivened during the CMW showcase at the Gladstone last week. With lush, sizzling guitar tones, raspy vocals, and an on point rhythm combo, these guys became an energetic delicacy to see perform live. With their catchy lyrics the crowd sings-a-long alone to, “Come Find Me". They’re tight, greasy, and there’s – without question – no shortage of dance moves. Head on out to The Drake Hotel @ 05/17 and see on hell of a show!-Courtney Chalapenko
Free rock outfit Media Jeweler releasing debut single in June
It’s difficult to contemplate music absent of pop structure or influences in the age of genre-revivalism and commercialized indie. Difficult, but not impossible. Just ask Media Jeweler.
Formed in 2013 from three members of the now-defunct Moon Pearl, an “8+ piece tidal wave of uncomfortable party music” based in Irvine, the avant garde Media Jeweler has ties to Irvine’s DIY arm Acrobatics Everyday, and two of the members simultaneously create musical/sexual tension as part of Santa Ana post-hardcore band Windy. Self-described as free rock, i.e. "not grunge, not punk, not alt, not anything," Media Jeweler have confused listeners (in a good way) playing convention-defying music across California venues with freaky local acts like So Many Wizards, Roman Candles, and most recently Girlpool. In time these musical entrepreneurs hope to establish a travel agency, produce a cooking show, and create a Media Jeweler smartphone app with the end-goal of making millions by playing popular rock music. Fingers crossed.
Media Jeweler’s debut album $99 R/T Hawaii will "come out" sometime this summer. Expect to see their 7” debut single “Looking Back” in June, a song about “the feeling of thinking about the stuff you did before the moment that you are in at that moment. It has no words but that is the sort of feeling you are supposed to feel when you listen to the song.”
They’ll be playing a string of shows in San Diego, Orange County, and Los Angeles this week to support touring band Ava Luna and Young Lovers. Watch their album teaser below. – Ryan Mo
Artist to Watch: Losing End
There’s a loose, unhinged attitude about Losing End that’s easy to admire. The no-frills three piece play their hearts out with a freewheeling rock n’ roll spirit, gravitating towards careening, amped-up scorchers that are faintly softened with sharp hooks and rousing choruses. There’s noise involved, but played with a ragged-but-right melodic richness that entices one to listen to them over and over. Their debut EP Are We Still The Same makes its case in just about thirteen minutes with barely a second wasted – these are tight, biting punk songs played as pop, delivered with an unaffected candor that aligns well with their discerning changes in guitar dynamics. Just as it ought to be. – Juan Rodríguez
COSMS Releases EP “Arteria”
A while back yonder, we brought you some sweet preliminary sounds from Austin post-rock duo COSMS then-upcoming EP. That EP has done gone and come out, and we’ve got the whole thing for you here today! Arteria expands on the sound from pre-release, Asian-influenced instrumental track "Pagoda" with five total tracks of contemporary two-musician post-rock experimentation.
It’s a little weird to us who remember when Godspeed! You Black Emperor, Explosions in the Sky and the other post-rock of the 2000s was a wholly new sound, as now the genre is in a very different place. Most "indie" fans have moved to a pretty heavily psych-rock, indie-folk, synthy pop zone, and the massive underculture (does that even exist anymore?) attention has shifted away from genres like post-rock (you could include a lot of other genres like doom metal in there too). Personally, I think that’s a great thing for bands like COSMS, because it allows them space to do whatever they want, to work on subtle changes and enhancements to their genre and to really get the sound they want down on record. The result is lovely gems like Arteria, with its Shanghai-meets-American post-rock sound, and its ultra pared-down two musician format that allows for each piece of their songs to be prominent, allowing the listener to really see how each part contributes to the whole.
That’s an approach that is quite nice in post-rock, especially when you think back to those 20+ piece tracks that Godspeed used to drop. As awesome as those were, they were going for something very different, something rougher and louder and more urgent, almost desperately so. That was great for the time, but that COSMS has found a space to do something very different, and very lovely, in post-rock that’s shows that the genre has much still to offer.
In all these are some fresh-layered tracks with delightful complexity in the song structure from but two musicians, and you won’t find tighter instrumental music coming out of Austin. Listen to all of Arteria below y’all.
Prog-Rock Heavyweights at Barboza
Heatwarmer have found an incredible recipe that involves one part Canterbury scene, one part Thrill jockey Records, and two parts Christopher Cross; mixed together and then tossed into Bob James’ oven for a hot minute. The final product is this amazingly dense, multi tiered, and progressive cake that is as sweet as it is heavy. Your tastes buds might not even realize all of the tiny orchestrations, and calculated cadences that go into a cake like this, yet they will be pleased to consume it and probably won’t even think twice about what the ingredients are. But if you are the inquisitive type and choose to dive face first into this cake, then be prepared for a wild journey through jazz hominy, heavy cream, and soft cheeses, as you attempt to make sense out of disparate elements that should be enjoyed as a whole.
If Heatwarmer is cake, then Spyn Reset would definitely be the video game at your 8 year old birthday-party-sleepover. This Electro-prog-gamecore band breezes through groovy workouts in odd time signatures, conjuring the sounds of Medeski, Scofield, Martin and Wood as if fronted by Daft Punk, all while covering the Contra theme song. Though mostly instrumental the occasional vocoder chimes in to let you know that you’re about to enter the boss’ lair… But don’t worry! Armed with laser synthesizers, shredding guitars, and loaded drums, you are more than well equiped (even without using the cheat!) to face the Red Falcon at the end of the game and claim victory (and bragging rights) over all your friends.
Check out this prog-rock showdown at Barboza on May 21st featuring special guest Hildegard (feat. Cliff Hines) from NOLA.
Xiu Xiu Supports Timber Timbre at The Fillmore – 5/15
Xiu Xiu may be getting a little too big for the britches of The Deli Magazine San Francisco, but we’d like to give them a shout anyway. It is important for us to continue to highlight this local music duo because they are an emerging experimental art rock powerhouse who will probably never get the mainstream or even indie media coverage they deserve due to their highly off kilter and at times, grotesque art and music style.
This Friday (May 15th), Xiu Xiu will be supporting the soulful Canadian rock band, Timber Timbre at The Fillmore in San Francisco. Timber Timbre sounds like a nice blend of The Black Angels and The Black Keys. They sound good and they sound cool (like James Dean cool), so experiencing their live show after Xiu Xiu’s out of the box performance will allow you to let your hair down and dance and shuffle around a bit. Don’t miss this show!
Rocket & the Ghost releases new single + plays Highline Ballroom on 05.15
After releasing their self-titled debut EP in 2013, Brooklyn pop-rock group Rocket & the Ghost just shared a new two track single. Featuring anthemic mid tempo ballad ‘Albuquerque’ and driving single ‘Come In From the Outside’ (streaming) the record melds Arcade Fire-like kinetics and Muse-esque grandeur into its own uplifting yet somewhat ominous energy. The band will be performing at the Highline Ballroom on 05.15 with Polaris. – Zach Weg