Suburban Living stopped by Out Of Town Films HQ at Berks Warehouse for a live session. Check out the first release "I Don’t Fit In" below! It’s off the 2012 EP Cooper’s Dream. Keep a look out for more clips from the session. They’ll be performing tomorrow night at Ortlieb’s alongside Teen Men and Infinity Girl. (Photo by Colin Kerrigan)
Philadelphia
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Debut Eight EP Available for Streaming & Download
The trio of Eight is scheduled to open Saturday’s show at the First Unitarian Church, which also includes Frankie Cosmos and All Dogs. The fledgling outfit is fronted by Mimi Gallagher (Year Of Glad, ex-Nona) and Cat Park (Amanda X, Bandname), and just shared its self-titled debut EP. The album offers a ripping glimpse at this new configuration, oozing with attitude and armed with a heavy bite, while constantly in motion.
Chicago
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Pink Frost
Pink Frost has released the first single, "Striking Violet", from their upcoming sophomore album Gargoyle Days. The album is scheduled to be released via Smart Like Virus Records on December 4th.
NYC
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Porches unveil video for “Hour” + announce LP “Pool”
Porches, the recording project of New York-based Aaron Maine featured on the coer of our Best of NYC issue 2015, announced today the release of new and fifth album, entitled "Pool," and set for release on February 5, 2016, via Domino. Written and recorded in his Manhattan apartment (ugh! no Brooklyn?), Pool confirms the distancing of the band from the guitar centric sound of the previous releases in favor of synthesizers, a trend initiated last year with the popular single "Forgive." Porches today shares a video for the current single "Hour", which was released digitally on October 8. Directed by Alan Del Rio Ortiz (Blood Orange, Danny Brown, St. Vincent, Petite Noir), the video stars Maine and band mate Kline (Frankie Cosmos) as star-crossed lovers on a night excursion.
Philadelphia
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HiSoft Emerges at Boot & Saddle Nov. 19
HiSoft delivered the melodic goods on 2006 debut Amateur, uniting bass-thumping grooves and rich harmonies that wash over your ears in a floating, casual, psych-folk-focused manner. In a flash, just like the dreamy state the music induced, it was gone. Then, toward the backend of the summer, a new song “State Police” appeared, and the fire was rekindled. But for how long? Tonight, HiSoft, led by Gerhardt Koerner (ex-Lilys, ex-The Sound of Kaleidoscope), emerges to headline Boot & Saddle. In support, Quentin Stoltzfus’s Light Heat continues to produce new material, recently dropping the EP The Silver Light of the Late Night before their highly anticipated show with Lillys. The ever present Don Devore is working double-duty, kicking the show off. Boot & Saddle, 1131 S. Broad St., 8pm, $10, 21+ – Michael Colavita
NYC
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Folk-pop duo Bitterheart premieres ‘Know It All’ off forthcoming EP “Wish I Was Wrong”
After releasing its eponymous EP in 2014, Brooklyn folk-pop duo Bitterheart today premieres the piano-lined song "Know It All" (streaming below) off its forthcoming EP ‘Wish I Was Wrong.’ Created by the band in order, as they explain via e-mail, to convey "feelings that come with learning, growing and discovering your truth," the second single from the new album refreshingly expresses an uplifting message with genuineness, the sunny harmonies of singers Trevor Rue and Sam Roche sounding like the pure words of siblings in times of duress. ‘Wish I Was Wrong,’ which was written by Bitterheart and produced with Simone Felice (The Felice Brothers, The Lumineers) and David Baron (Meghan Trainor), is set for release in January 2016. In the meantime, Bitterheart plays at Gypsy Den in Anaheim, CA tomorrow (11.20) and at Fox Coffeehouse in Long Beach, CA on Saturday (11.21). – Zach Weg
NYC
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Old timey buskers Coyote & Crow play Halyards tonight (11.19)
If you frequent Washington Square Park in the bearable months, you’ve probably heard the duo Coyote & Crow. Self described “Old Time Rock & Soul,” the married couple livies in the city and busks every chance they get. They have a similar instrumentation to Brown Bird, but most similarities stop there. Their music is much more danceable, with simple back beats played by Thomas Kopie’s feet on suitcase and tambourine, and some more levity in the sound, counterbalanced by Kopie’s growly tenor, reminiscent of Tom Waits at his most cavernous. They’re playing a show tonight 11/19 at Halyards in Gowanus with The Northern Orchard (Brooklyn Via Central MA), Tuxis Giant (Boston), and David Moss (NYC). Check out the event here.
Philadelphia
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New Music Video: “Ashtray” (Feat. Rone) – Dewey Decibel
Wake ‘n’ bake, y’all! Below is a new music video from emcee/producer/artist Dewey Decibel for the track "Ashtray," featuring fellow Philly cohort Rone. It’s the first single from his upcoming EP Sub Cult, which is due out November 27. The footage was shot and edited by fPat Murray.
NYC
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Album review: Mikal Shapiro – The Musical
Singer-songwriter Mikal Shapiro’s perfectly titled latest release, The Musical, is a collection of not merely songs, but 10 short stories set to wonderful music. The album is a work—or multiple works—of art that are just as mysterious and intriguing as any paintings you will find in a gallery. Shapiro’s palette is splattered with the complete spectrum of colors. There are dreary gray tones and bright whimsical flashes, melding together to create a soundtrack to life—one that touches many musical genres, including rock, folk, jazz, old-school country, and even gospel.
The Musical’s opening act, “Nope,” is an airy, ethereal fantasy. Odd, evasive lyrics over a folk sound made jazzier by a muted trumpet give the listener a sense of drifting in and out of a dream on a rainy Sunday morning. Drums and crashing cymbals briefly end the slumber, until you are lulled back to sleep as the song comes to a close. Several tracks share this jazz feel, including “Out on the Town,” “Two String Blues,” and the wonderfully whimsical "Hot Cool." Shapiro’s vocals are poised and effortless on each of these.
“Here and Now” explores rediscovering love and a desire to forget (or never remember) the past. A dull snare beat blanketed by beautiful steel guitar rivals the purest of cry-in-your-beer country songs. Similarly, “This Way to Heaven” is country with an emphasis on gospel. It begins a cappella and, as the band joins in, becomes the loveliest song on the album. It is simultaneously serene and haunting.
Matching the mystery and irony found throughout the album, “Daniel,” the catchiest and most up-tempo tune, is also possibly the saddest. Daniel himself is an enigma. The storyteller, who acknowledges being a “friend” of Daniel’s, clearly knows little more about him than that he can “sings like a Christian” and “drink like a demon.” The song turns dark when the protagonist is found dead, presumably by suicide. “But on that Saturday, Daniel was down / They couldn’t say where he was found, or how he was found.” Brilliantly, the listener is left to decide how Daniel may have met his demise, and why.
Shapiro is fortunate to be backed by Chad Brothers (guitar and vocals), Johnny Hamil (electric and double bass), and Matt Richey (drums), along with a small army of additional local musicians. This adept team provides a canvas that Shapiro expertly fills. My interpretations of The Musical may differ from other listeners. As with any painting, the artist is not only revealing her emotions, but is also attempting to provoke a response—and Shapiro certainly does. My response may be lost in translation, as the peculiar, personal songs will pierce each listener differently.
—Brad Scott
Brad loves music, Boulevard beer, and his family. Not necessarily in that order.
Mikal Shapiro and her band will be playing The Musical tomorrow (Thursday) night at Harling’s Upstairs as well as releasing copies of the album on vinyl. Special guests Claire and the Crowded Stage and The Hardship Letters. Facebook event page.
San Francisco
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Niveles and The Spiral Electric Open for The Orange Revival at the Elbo Room – 11/24
The San Francisco based post rock duo, Niveles which features Andrew O’Neil, bassist of Mondo Drag on guitar will be performing at the Elbo Room in San Francisco on Tuesday, November 24th. The San Francisco based neo psych shoegaze band, The Spiral Electric will also be sharing the bill as both local bands will be opening for the the very special international guest performers from Sweden, The Orange Revival.
You´re in for a great show. If you are a neo psych music fan, do your best to make it out to see The Orange Revival. They are a great ensemble and a part of the international music collective that brings shoegaze and psych bands together from across the world. Don´t miss this show!
NYC
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Dre Babinski’s Altpop project Steady Holiday prefers “Your Version Of Me”
The two things you need to know about multi-instrumentalist Dre Babinski: she’s idiosyncratic and particular. Older fans might remember Dre as the violinist/vocalist of Dusty Rhodes and the River Band, or as one half of the folkpop project Miracle Days. As a working musician, Dre admits that her job distanced her from creativity, and hence the local scene.
"I’ve had a pretty insulated experience. It wasn’t til quite recently that I’ve felt the courage to lead a project and begin sharing my own work, and I’m quickly finding how nice it is to be a part of a community."
Her new solo project Steady Holiday digitally released "Your Version of Me", first single off the 2016 full-length Getting There. The looming progressions, cinematic strings, and lofty Spage Age vibes toy with a confession of (co)dependence. It might be a snapshot of Dre’s musical and personal growth, but that’s not up for discussion today.
"The only evolution I can speak on is a personal one, but we’ll save that for my Oprah tell-all next week."
We’re pumped all the same to hear Dre’s Getting There next year. Steady Holiday performs tomorrow at Club Bahia with the Hunter Hunted extended family: Justin Cornwall, Sympathetic Frequencies, and Air Life. Stream "Your Version of Me", available on Bandcamp, Soundcloud, and through Infinite Best. – Ryan Mo
NYC
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Insanity sometimes pays off: Yonatan Gat, ends tour at The Knit on 11.24
The message emerging musicians should get when hearing music from artists like Yonatan Gat – who is currently on an East Coast tour selling out small venues – is simple: it doesn’t really matter what kind of music you play: as long as it’s your own thing, and you are awfully good at it, and you keep at it, some people will respond to it. The NYC based musician hasn’t even chosen the most crowd pleasing of styles: a genre defying, mostly instrumental mixture of psychedelia, tribal rhythms and punk; but boy, the results are jaw dropping on record, and mind blowing live. By the way, is the band’s drummer human? Find that out yourself on November 24 at The Knitting Factory.