Raunchy, raw rippers with a primal howl, Residuels sweat rock ‘n’ roll. Celebrating their latest EP Love Songs via Suicide Bong Tapes, before heading off on a West Coast tour with the Buzzcocks, the power trio unearths an unbending energetic stomp that never goes away because it hits the core. That unfiltered take-it-as-it-is expression tears through all types of terrain – quickly, nastily and unflinchingly. The searching, heady post-punk of Throbbing Chakra helps set the table, stirring up the floating aspects of one’s mind, while the sticky dark synth of Remote Control gets things started. Bourbon & Branch, 705 N. 2nd St., 9pm, $10, 21+ – Michael Colavita
Nashville
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Ferdinand’s “Proud Honey” is a dreamy sound collage
Proud Honey is something akin to a rush of cars driving by. There isn’t much to latch on to other than the constant flow itself and all the colors and makes and models and faces subconsciously blend together into a patchwork slipstream. You lose track of the individual pieces and forget that the entire process is a very inorganic, man-made thing as it fades into something as natural as a school of fish. The pieces here are even more abstract—new wave, post-punk, goth, surf—and the result is an EP that passes by all too quickly and demands another listen or two. –Austin Phy
NYC
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Three NYC bands playing NYC Popfest in May: Lake Ruth, The Hairs, and Big Quiet
We are always curious to see what local bands make it into the yearly NYC Popfest – a festival that deserves credit for scouting talented emerging pop acts and keeping things on a medium to small scale, which is what The Deli is all about. This year’s edition will see three NYC based acts involved, and we are very intrigued in particular by Lake Ruth (pictured), a band that evokes aural specters of early Belle & Sebastian led by Trish Keenan of Broadcast. The trio is really, reall new, but its members have played in established acts like Enon and Holy Fuck, although they sound like a development of NYC’s guitarist Hewson Chen’s psych-pop project The New Lines – with a different singer. They have dropped two digital releases so far, for a total of three tracks, debuting in February 2016 with two stylish and mellow songs in ‘The Inconsolable Jean-Claude’ EP, followed just two months later by the more uptempo and summery ‘Through The Lychgates,’ streaming below. Singer Allison Brice’s soprano is honey for the ears, and the band knows how to let it flow.
The other two local acts playing this year’s popfest are garage pop trio Big Quiet, which we booked at one of our latest CMJ shows, and self-defined "freak-pop" band The Hairs, brainchild of Brooklyn songwriter Kevin Alvir, who are about to drop their first release since 2013, a n LP entitled ‘While, I Hated Life, Barbarian.’ Check out preview single ‘Fave Shit 15.’
NYC
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Caught live: Kennan Moving Company
Led by singer songwriter Oliver Kennan, Kennan Moving Company is a NYC based quartet that plays loungy pop-rock with vintage overtones – we caught them live this past Sunday at a "Feel The Bern" event at Black Bear Bar. Their music is soulful and refined, with Kennan’s crisp and youthful voice juxtaposed to jazzy arrangements, for a modern throwback sound. Released earlier in 2016, their debut EP "New Colors" features tracks like ‘Easy Coast‘ that are relaxing but upbeat, and smooth opening single ‘Charades’ (streaming below) which conjures up images of romantic flicks and their sentimental narratives. – Amanda McCall
Philadelphia
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New Track: “EVERYTHING” (Feat. Miranda Taylor) – Psychic Teens
Psychic Teens just shared the second single off their forthcoming album, NERVE, called "EVERYTHING". The track features guest vocals from Black Wine’s Miranda Taylor, and the record will be officially released on May 13 via SRA Records. The band is set to hold its hometown record release show at Johnny Brenda’s on Saturday, May 28; however, if you can’t wait that long for your live Psychic Teens fix, the horror trio will be opening for Youth Code at The Foundry on Sunday, May 1, along with Void Vision.
San Francisco
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Foxtails Brigade Release New Album
Foxtails Brigade has released their new self-titled album, out today, April 8th on OIM Records. Produced in the Bay Area by Jeff Saltzman (Blondie, The Killers), this record marks the Oakland-based band’s third full-length LP, but serves as a cohesive statement of who they are and the direction they’re headed. Baeble stated that the record “propels itself forward on the airy but piercing voice of Laura Weinbach, soaring almost vaudeville-esque strings, and a sound that combines Sondheim-esque theatrics with contemporary pop intimacy.” The band recently celebrated with a record release show at Swedish American Hall in San Francisco and are now on the road in the midst of a month-long April tour.
Chicago
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Verbal Kent
Verbal Kent has teamed up producer !llMind to release a new album, Weight of You World, on Mellow Music Group. The album dropped today and is completely free on bandcamp. Kent also partnered with Jash and Homeless Cop to release a video for the track "Roll With Me".
NYC
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Mellow NJ shogazer trio Overlake plays Mercury on 04.24
Based in Jersey City, Overlake is the moderately shoegaze trio born from the songwriting chemestry of Tom Barrett (guitar, vocals) and Lysa Opfer (bass, backing vocals). We say "moderately" because the band’s sound steers clear of the insanely effected guitar tones that characterize some of the classic of the genre (see My Blood Valentine, who still influenced the band in the melodic department). The mellower sound, which seems to blend in a good amount of clean guitars, suits Barret’s whispered tenor and Opfer ethereal harmonies, resulting in a mix of shoegazer and dream pop. The band released two albums since 2012 and single ‘Travelogue’ (streaming below) in October 2015. You can see them live at The Mercury Lounge on April 23rd.
Portland
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Rest in Purple, Prince Rogers Nelson
Facing the actual reality that one of the most influential beings to ever walk this planet has now since left it, is a big pill to swallow. I, just like the rest of you, woke up to a series of posts all around the internet proclaiming the death of the Purple One himself, Prince. It just can’t be true and there is a great deal of us (myself included) who will continue to not accept this as reality.
But it seems that as it’s presently known, Prince passed away earlier this morning, found in his Paisley Park compound in Minnesota. It is reported that Prince had been dealing with complications from the flu, which is believed to have been the cause of his really f**king untimely passing.
Prince was numerically aged at 57, but essentially immortally timeless. Trying to adjust to a world without Bowie and Lemmy was hard enough, but Prince…that’s where we’ve got to drawn the line.
Rest in Purple, Prince.
Portland
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the Gritty Birds Podcast is back with a new X-Ray show
The lovely Ms. Jeni Wren Stottrup is bringing her top rated music and industry podcast (a "Top 5 Music Podcast" by the Willamette Week) back for all our ears to enjoy once again. Starting TODAY at 1pm, Stottrup brings the Gritty Birds Podcast to KXRY XRay FM with half hour spurts of intimate discussions involving those in the music scene, profiling newer bands and getting better acquainted with some of the older ones.
Kicking off the revived podcast right, the first episode features former Portlanders YACHT, who aside from being one of the most enjoyed performances at last month’s Treefort Music Festival, also have two sold out shows coming up at the Roseland Theater on April 25th and 26th with M83.
Speaking of Treefort, Gritty Birds will also launch a Treefort series, featuring artists who performed the fest like Burger Records’ Sarah Bethe Nelson, our own beloved Radiation City and raw rockers Diarrhea Planet, among others. Film photos of the artists, shot by Ingrid Renan, will accompany the series.
Tune in today at 1pm, and follow the show every Thursday. Episodes will be available on iTunes the following Mondays.
Gritty Birds
Thursdays 1-1:30
107.1 fm /// 91.1 fm /// KXRY /// PORTLAND /// HOTLINE: 503-233-XRAY
Philadelphia
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Tunji Ige Coolly Delivers at Underground Arts April 21
As part of tonight’s Red Bull Sound Select/JUMP Philly-curated billing at Underground Arts, local talent Tunji Ige is slated to hit the stage. With his recently released EP Missed Calls, Ige continues to impress. While smooth-sounding vocal augmentations and futuristic beats are front and center, dictating the energetic jams that are flex-fitting to one’s ears and body, there’s a smooth electro-dance sensation that’s backed by concise storytelling. It’s silky, tightly-compacted musicality that coolly delivers the message. Tunji Ige will also be joined by Moosh & Twist, Loaf Muzik, and Michael Christmas. Underground Arts, 1200 Callowhill St., 8pm, $10/$3 (w/RSVP), 21+ – Michael Colavita
Philadelphia
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Free Download: “Speak” – LOUDS
After releasing their debut EP If More People Bought Art More People Would Buy Art, which became The Deli Philly’s August 2015 Record of the Month, LOUDS spent the last year building out their studio in Port Richmond and refining their recording and production skills. Below is the group’s first sampling, "Speak," which is avaialable for free download and will appear on their forthcoming full-length album CHARM UP!. You’ll probably notice a shift from electro-pop to a more organic 60’s/70’s rock-tinged sound, a result of brothers Charlie & Petie Brooks working with a full band this time around. You can catch the gang live on Friday, April 29 at Boot & Saddle with The Dove & The Wolf and Myrrias.