Purling Hiss commemorates the release of its latest EP Something (which is available via Famous Class Records) with a late night show at Kung Fu Necktie. Mastermind Mike Polizze will be dealing up a solo set that will deliver a tenacious blend of scorching, fuzz-textured guitar work, tempered by chilled-out melodies. It’s part storm and calm raining down on your ear canals. Spacin’s Jason Killinger, a.k.a. Spacin’ Chillinger, will help lay the foundation with a rifftastic psych-punch that will undoubtedly send you into a sensory spiral, while Kiel Everett (Purling Hiss/Tin Horses) opens the proceedings. Kung Fu Necktie, 1250 N. Front St., 11pm, $5, 21+ (Photo by James Richards IV) – Michael Colavita
NYC
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Brooklyn soul pop songstress Lewis Lane plays Mercury Lounge on 4/16
A few months ago, Brooklyn indie pop artist Lewis Lane (previously known as Lewis) released the refreshingly soulful EP, ‘Take.’ Starting with the drum-thumped title track, which infuses the marital vow of accepting both health and sickness with almost sexual energy, and featuring “Low” (streaming below), an alternately downtrodden and upbeat piano song that boldly depicts raw vulnerability, the five-song effort vividly displays deep pain but allows the listener to bob to the beat. Lewis Lane plays at Mercury Lounge on 4/16. – Zach Weg
Philadelphia
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Free Download: “Permanent High” – Work Drugs
Opening the musical door with keys before rocketing off into a magnetic, balanced percussive groove, Work Drugs‘s new single, “Permanent High,” is an ideal catalyst for movement. The song, which will appear on the group’s forthcoming album (tentatively titled False Highs and Actual Lows) and will be released courtesy of Bobby Cahn Records, grabs as the steady stream of seductive vocals washes over the intense beat. Work Drugs will be hitting the stage at Boot & Saddle on Saturday, June 11 with Church Girls.
L.A.
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The Deli LA Artist to Watch: Sky Chefs
Just recently, and from what appears to be seemingly out of nowhere, I stumbled upon a musical collective called Sky Chefs. I don’t know anything about their backstory, or even bothered to ask (or at least just yet), but what I do know is that they write astute chamber pop songs that are as intriguing as they are spotlessly fully-formed. The band’s chiming, hook-driven songs are based on delectable chord structures (alongside twangy guitar chords and skronky horns) that are easy to love, and impossible to replicate, with joyous, self-deprecating lyrics and lovable choruses that would fit in smoothly on an indie pop mixtape sandwiched between Acid House Kings and Sambassadeur.
Sky Chefs are releasing their self-titled debut LP on April 19 via WhackArkRecords. Now, here’s hoping some local promoter immediately books them. – Juan Rodríguez
Photo credit: Devin O’ Brien
San Francisco
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Synthetic ID Gears Up to Release New Album
SF-based Synthetic ID, who are releasing a new album on Castle Face Records on April 22nd. It’s called ‘Impulses’ and the band recently debuted their first single, "Ciphers". We’re excited to share their new single, Ciphers and will keep you posted on the release of the full length album, ‘Impulses’!
"[Ciphers is] a song that started out with one bass note repeated over and over that developed into a post punk kaleidoscope of minimalist dystopian beach side tech babylon sounds," Synthetic ID’s Paul Lucich wrote to The FADER in an email. "Radiophonic music from a robot fashion show curated by D Boon and Brian Eno. A song that captures every emotion experienced by these courageous Bay Area musicians.”
Philadelphia
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New Track: “Coasting” – Sleepface
With a fragile reserve, “Coasting,” by Adrian Silva, a.k.a. Sleepface, is whimsical in its simplicity, twinkling in a mesh of saddening dawn. Representing a quarter of the Dreaming and Driving EP, which is set to arrive on June 3, the song appears to gradually blossom, led by percussion before a stimulating, nature-inspired, electronic conclusion. Its brittle beauty reaches beyond the surface.
NYC
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NYC discovery of the month: Def.GRLS bring the party to Palisades on 3.27
Imagine if you took The Beatles sound and put it through a DIY blender, what would you get out of it? Brooklyn based Def.GRLS, that’s what. The lo-fi garage psych trio takes the battered remnants of a retro style and build it up with a sense of jovial abandon, molding their work into a slightly deformed but very bright and fun creature. The guitars shimmy with an ecstatic electric pulse as Martinson and Brickman’s vocals, slightly garbled as if slipping through a worn out PA system, float above the tracks. This band is all energy and glitter punches, a sonic wave coming at you with full speed and no intention of stopping. Jump on and ride this wave as they take the stage at Palisades on March 27. – Adriana S Ballester
Philadelphia
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Littler Record Release Show at Goldy’s March 24
With their debut album Of Wandering officially being released tomorrow via Birdtapes (but you can stream it now over at The Fader), Littler will be performing a celebratory record release show this evening at Goldy’s. The quartet trudges through the perplexing uncertainty of transitioning into adulthood, delving into the daily dilemmas with an open-book approach to narrative lyricism. The band finds a middle ground between steady-paced melodies and agitated release of aggression. Tonight, they’ll be joined by surging power-pop duo and tourmates Slow Animal, while garage-pop quartet Marge will also be in celebratory mode, marking their latest release. NYC grunge duo Giant Peach rounds this bill into form. Goldy’s, 723 Chestnut St. – 3FL, $5-$7, 7pm , All Ages – Michael Colavita
NYC
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Kevin Garrett plays Mercury Lounge tomorrow (03.25)
Kevin Garrett – who will be performing at Mercury Lounge tomorrow (03.25) – has emerged in 2015 as one of NYC’s most prominent young songwriters. Unapologetically moody, soulful at heart, incurably ballad-prone, Kevin’s songs have the aura of old time classics, but their production process is as modern as it gets, centered – as often the case these days – around the artists’ home studio. Our sister blog Delicious Audio asked Garrett a few questions about it and the creative process it triggers – see link below.
Delicious Audio: Interview with Kevin Garrett about Inspiration and Gear
NYC
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Manic Pixi releases ‘Iron Heart’ single + plays Rough Trade on 04.05
If pop punk with math influences is your thing, you may want to check out Brooklyn’s Manic Pixi at Rough Trade on April 5th. The band just unveiled single "Iron Heart" (streaming below), titletrack of their soon to be released sophomore album. Drummer Emmett Ceglia kinda steals the scene here, with precision and speed that are nothing short of mind blowing, supporting with explosive energy lead singer Kat Hamilton’s in your face vocals and the guitar and bass often intricate arrangements.
L.A.
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The Deli LA Premieres: stream “Ballads for Trying Times” by The Singer and the Songwriter
The Singer and the Songwriter may just be selling themselves short with their straight-laced moniker, so it’d be impossible for them to make any pretensions about their own cleverness. Behind the workmanlike descriptor there’s two songwriters, Rachel García and Thu Tran, a pair who’s been collaborating together for close to a decade after fate brought them together at an open mic night. The rest is, well, history.
The folk-driven duo write baroque lullabies that move along with an ease and fluidity that showcases their musical maturity and sensibility. García’s torchy vocals have a soft spoken tone that can surely alleviate the end of a busy shift, the kind that befits their knack for lilting bossa nova rhythms and lush jazz arrangements.
The Deli is proud to present an exclusive stream of The Singer and the Songwriter’s latest EP, Ballads for Trying Times, one that aptly soothes and gives hopeful tranquility to the never-ending noise of the everyday. And if you’re tempted to leave the house, which may be a bit of a challenge after an hour-long session to their music over a cup of tea, then make sure to catch their record release show tonight at Hotel Café. – Juan Rodríguez
Philadelphia
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New Track: “I Woke Up In Chicago” – Former Belle
The hushed vulnerability of Bruno Catrambone’s vocals is welded with the warm, soft touch of keys and acoustic guitar, developing an earnest sense of yearning reminiscent to Bright Eyes, in Former Belle‘s latest single, “I Woke Up In Chicago”. The song is featured on the band’s forthcoming EP Foreign Bed, which was composed in segments during his time off from CRUISR shows, and will be released on April 8 via Randm Records. Former Belle will be also be performing at The Foundry on Friday, April 29 with The Lawsuits and Foxtrot and the Get Down. (Photo by Carolyn Lederach)