NYC

Album review: The Electric Lungs – Don’t Be Ashamed of the Way You’re Made

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If you’re new to the Kansas City music scene, you need to know who The Electric Lungs are. This punk/synth rock band has been kicking it and rocking out since 2012, and still going strong. Following their 2013 full-length Simplified and Civilized, they are releasing their second full-length album Don’t Be Ashamed of the Way You Were Made. This album is basically the soundtrack of an awesome B-movie greaser film. The band incorporated rockabilly-influenced tunes that are infused with gritty distortion guitar chords and catchy piano melodies.
 
No two songs are alike. “Play it When You Need It” has a lot of attitude and angst, and this is reinforced by dirty punk chords with the innocence of a clean upright piano. This is a song that my teenage self can relate to while the band releases their frustration through the song. Then you have “Time, Whiskey and the Lord,” a positive, hopeful song about moving on that can be backed up by a New Orleans marching band. This features a breakdown bass solo that is unreal (respect!).
 
One of my favorite tracks, “Surgical Malfunction,” has been on repeat on my iPhone for a couple of days. The song starts up with a harsh strumming of a banjo that is later backed up by an organ that makes this song eerie and dark. After lead singer Tripp Kirby sings “I am the shadow that covers the sun,” there is silence for 3 seconds then the yelling of “I DON’T KNOW WHY!!!”, showing frustration of the character in the song. It is followed by a ‘30s ragtime piano solo then progressed later on in the song with an incredible rock organ solo that’s followed by an incredible drum solo breakdown. This hair-raising sinister song shows a lot of personality in 5 minutes that makes you crave more.
 
Compared to the last album, this one does not hold back. This album shows The Lungs’ true nature on how they play live on stage. This band is not afraid to be different with their unique repertoire of songs. Every track on this album is enjoyable, none of which you would want to skip.
 
 
—Mica Elgin-Vi
 
The Electric Lungs are throwing a CD release party tomorrow night in support of Don’t Be Ashamed You Were Made. Check them out at Davey’s Uptown Rambler’s Club with Haunted Creepys, Kodascope, and Bone Spur. Facebook event page. 
Chicago

12th

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12th is the work of Aaron Viland and friends. He recently released his latest full-length album The Stone, The Blood, and Other Twelfth-Told Tales. 12th has expanded beyond bedroom recordings and creates complex psych-pop will an intimate feel.

You can catch 12th at The House Cafe in Dekalb with Night Witch, Jackie Islands, and Oliver Kiss on November 28th.

Philadelphia

New Marge & Gunk Release Available for Streaming

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Marge and Gunk have issued a collective release, which you can stream below. Appropriately titled garge munk, the 11-minute run of music bookends a pair of gritty yet calm Marge tracks, while Gunk takes a fuzzy bass/percussions rolling approach, balancing the heady vibes with a jarring bite. These sonic puzzle pieces fit together noisey crunchiness with a smooth finish. Marge will be performing tomorrow night at Everybody Hits with Sun Organ, Cigarette, and Beth Israel.

NYC

Sunflower Beans unveil “Wall Watcher” single + announce release of LP “Human Ceremony”

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After gracing the cover of our 2014 Fall/CMJ issue, Sunflower Bean went on to become one of the most buzzworthy emerging NYC bands. Their solid live show helped them land opening slots for the likes of DIIV, Best Coast, and Wolf Alice among others (they’ll be tourin gthe UK this month with The Vaccines and Palma Violets). The trio’s psych rock finds its main inspiration in the early, bluesy days of that genre, but with new single "Wall Watcher" (streaming), the band updates that sound through a more concise production, featuring guitar sounds and vocal melodies that transcend the ’60s. The band will celebrate the release of their debut LP "Human Ceremony" at Bowery Ballroom on February 25th, a few weeks before embarking for the SXSW festival. – Photo by Crista Simiriglia.

Philadelphia

Three Man Cannon Record Release Show at PhilaMOCA Nov. 12

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Three Man Cannon celebrates their freshly released record Will I Know You Then, via local indie label Lame-O Records, with a show this evening at PhilaMOCA. This record has a crispness with melody and lyrics that lasso you in; the four-piece continues to refine its sound. The songs exhibit an explosive capability while remaining reeled in until those moments arrive, letting the weight of the words breathe into your system, punctuated by a jagged edge of guitar riding a the tender sway. Tonight, labelmates Thin Lips offer support, wielding a meshing of intense, emotive vocals, smacking backend and heavy power riffs. Mimi Gallagher (Year Of Glad, ex-Nona) will be hitting the stage solo, while Augusta Koch (Cayetana) and Candice Martello (Hemming) will be performing a set together. It’s just another night at PhilaMOCA that you won’t want to miss. PhilaMOCA, 531 N. 12th St., 7pm, $8, All Ages – Michael Colavita

Philadelphia

New Music Video: “Passing Through Wales” – Vicky Speedboat

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Shotgun beers, shoot off fireworks and commit a little arson, smash a couple of TVs, and enjoy more youthfully deviant acts with Vicky Speedboat in their debut music video for "Passing Through Wales." Modern Baseball‘s Sean Huber and W.C. Lindsay‘s William Lindsay unleash some punk exuberance with the lead single from their new project. The track is off their forthcoming self-released EP Two Years No Basement, due out November 27.

Austin

The Echoes- “Night Like This”

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Put on your best pair of fingerless leather gloves and dark sunglasses and prepare to get your synth inspired groove on to song ‘Night Like This’ by Austin’s own The Echoes, a four-piece indie-electronica act composed of vocalist Lauren Mlady, Adam Ellis on guitars and synth, drummer Lacey Lewis, and John Thomas, who composes and takes care of the sampler and synths.

The Echoes have been together a little over a year now, and describe themselves as part EDM, part post-punk and part 80’s synthwave- basically a 2015 version of New Order except fronted by the deliciously unrefined but posh vocals of Mlady. For some reason the phrase “white girl rage” kept crossing my mind while listening to this song and I attribute this strange subconscious word association to Mlady’s post-prog punk vocal stylings that teeter on the edge of sexual agony. ‘Night Like This’ is an addictive electronic dalliance veiled in New Wave panache, and with any luck we’ll hear more music from the up and coming electronica band soon.

In the meantime, check out The Echoes ‘Night Like This’ below, and come back here for the latest on the group.

—

Tavon Perkins

@tavonperkins

NYC

Riotgaze TÜLIPS brings Doom & Bloom to Non Plus Ultra

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Some bands throw down their debut album a year into formation. Others go at it a little longer. For best friends Taleen Kali and Angie Bloom of TÜLIPS, it’s been a four-year wait, but well worth it. 

The dual guitarists/vocalists come from completely different musical backgrounds: Taleen’s the "Doom", all about dirtbox growl and migraine-inducing feedback, while Angie’s the "Bloom", slick with 50’s jangle and doo-wop spirit. They’re an unlikely pair, but continual back-and-forths with mixtapes have drawn these polar opposites together. And when glued down with drummer Travis Moore and bassist Miles Faster, TÜLIPS keep it classy, leaving local crowds reeling from tinnitus in pools of sweat. Don’t believe me? Just ask the bands that shared their bills, like LA FONT and Bür Gür.

Doom & Bloom releases Friday the 13th from Lollipop Records. TÜLIPS’ album release party will also include sets from Terminal A and BomBón, with a DJ set from L.A. Girlfriend. Listen to "Hotspur" below. – Ryan Mo, flyer art: Maritza Torres, Typeset: AJ Horton

NYC

Suspenseful rock from NYC: Lushes open for Kurt Vile + play Baranquilla on 11.15

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If, in the US, the music equivalent of horror movies was as popular as its visual counterpart, a band like Brooklyn’s Lushes would be very happy indeed – although, to stay in charachter, they would frown and stare at you lifelessly. For cultural reasons, middle Europe (who has always been ok with celebrating tragic despair) is a lot more open to strident atmospheres and dissonant sounds than America. No wonder then Lushes is currently traveling through places like Stockholm and Berlin (where they opened for Kurt Vile), finding audiences who appreciate the kind of dark enterteinment they can provide. The trio recently released their full lenght debut "Service Industry," which features a series of raw, understated tunes celebrating tension, dissonance and aural desolation. The record forges a rather unique identity for this band, that will be performing live at Brooklyn’s Baranquilla on Novbember 15.

San Francisco

Golden Void Performs at Bottom of the Hill 11/13

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The awesome San Francisco based neo psych rock band, Golden Void will be performing this weekend at Bottom on the Hill in San Francisco on Friday the 13th. This is going to be a great show! The San Francisco based heavy rock band, Hot Lunch will also be sharing the bill along with Portland based hard rock band, PUSHY and metal rock extraordinaire, DJ Rob Metal.

This is going to be a loud, heavy and sweaty event at Bottom of the Hill. We encourage you to head out and support local and touring bands!

Philadelphia

New Track: “Greyhound” – Kississippi

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With their new EP We Have No Future, We’re All Doomed scheduled for release on November 20 via Soft Speak Records, Kississippi has issued another sonic glimpse in “Greyhound,” which you can stream over at Noisey. The song blankets listeners in comforting, endearingly candid lyrics, delivered in delicately tender vocals further backed by airy “oohs.” The group is set to perform as part Work Drugs 5th Annual Holiday Spectacle, which also includes Kate Faust, on Saturday, December 12 at Johnny Brenda’s.