New Music, Emerging from your Local Scene
Piece of Cake released their self-titled LP earlier this month and recently released a video for the album’s second single "Crazy".
You can catch Piece of Cake at Water Street Studios in Batavia on May 27th with Hungry Mountain, Collar Bones, and Thighclops.
Featuring vocals and production as smooth as they are stirring, New York R&B outlet Lowhency Pierre has the potential to go places. Named after its vocalist and with a sole EP to their name, the R&B group demonstrates a musical and lyrical maturity rare for a group as young as they are. On each track the vocalist plays singer and poet alike, crooning profound messages about his experience as well as the human experience in general. Backing him up is impressive R&B production that pulls from a variety of influences including hip-hop, funk and neo-soul. Not afraid to flex this diversity, the band often switches up the beat multiple times within songs seamlessly. You can catch them at Pianos on 7/9. – Henry Solotaroff-Webber
Below is a lovely new single from Little Strike, a.k.a. Tamar Dart, called "Come Out Alright." "Back in the states after a year of work and travel in China, I received an email from a close friend revealing that he had been doing heroin, and that I was the only person that he chose to tell… The chorus is directly taken from the email I received. He’s better now, not fighting alone." Dart will be performing next in Philly on Saturday, June 4 as part of the Sundrop Music Fest.
This one slipped by my radar when it first came out, but Bandcamp’s search likes to make up its own rules sometimes. Occasionally, that causes a gem to surface, such as Father Tribe’s self-titled EP. All the hallmarks of summertime listening are there—the ‘verb, the lilting vocal sustains, the laid back tempo. Of course, these things can get a little one-dimensional. Fortunately it isn’t all sunshine and rainbows; it’s got that modern beach pop shimmer for sure, but it’s balanced out with the sense of urgency of 1980s synthpop. Give it a spin if you’re so inclined. We’d recommend it. –Austin Phy
Yoni Wolf and Chicago’s Serengeti have released a video for their song "Madeline". The track comes from their recently released album Testarossa which was released by Joyful Noise on May 6th.
Yoni & Geti will be performing at Lincoln Hall with Advance Base and Coins on June 1st.
Monte Carload is moniker of Tyler White under which he creates jangly-pop anthems. He recently released a new single called "Heart Attack".
*photo by Todd Young
Coming out onto the scene with a fervent drive to dominate the pop punk world with excitable power, The Toads have done a lot with themselves in their first year as a band. Since their formation early last year, they’ve recorded a full length, performed upwards of 60 shows and have a couple music videos to tout. Today, we’re presenting you with another one.
With shots filmed around the Pearl, "I’m a Toad" is a fun video showing the three toadies, guitarist Matt Kane, bassist Matt Dinaro and drummer Mitch Gonzales run somewhat of a muck through Saturday Market, donning all white a la Andrew W.K. Their color performance scenes were filmed at the Khao San restaurant, with the restaurant owner Bud funding the video and even making a guest appearance chauffeuring the trio around in a Tuk Tuk.
The Toads have got a show coming up on the 28th with Daisy Deaths and Lord Becky at the Turn Turn Turn. "I’m a Toad" is both the kind of song and video that makes you want to jump up, act crazy and freak a few people out. Give it a watch below.
Based on the mix of influences, nothing about Home Blitz’s Foremost and Fair
should work—except it does, and quite beautifully. At its core, this 2015 record is an emo pop-punk album with heavy slacker overtones – and a good one at that – but its the unique bells and whistles of the project that make it really intriguing. As the castle on the cover suggests, the record is filled with musical sequences that you would expect to find in a historical drama or a fantasy RPG, but definitely not a punk inspired LP. This makes for a ton of enjoyable WTF moments across the full length, none better than single "I’m That Key," boasting baroque keyboard parts reminiscent of The Stranglers, or opener "Seven Thirty," where a flute part subtly integrates the track’s catchy guitars. On "Betton Hill," and "Tell me There" these throwbacks get pushed to the forefront as oddly catchy, courtly piano sequences that make up a good chunk of the tracks’ melodies, along with the singer’s never too whiny vocals. Foremost and Fair then bows out with "Cutting the Cross," a catchy finale, where twangy guitars and upbeat keys mingle to send the album out on a very high-note, while still retaining the overall (extremely) vintage feel. Seamlessly integrating these archaic elements into a punk record seems like something that would require nothing short of magic, but Home Blitz pulled it off, and in the process innovated a genre that some may think had reached its limits. Don’t miss their live show at Union Pool on 05.24. – Henry Solotaroff Webber
We added "I’m That Key" song to The Deli’s playlist of Best punky songs by emerging NYC artists – check it out!
Krust Toons: "Plug What In?" by Teddy Hazard – please feel free to drop him a line at teddandthehazards@gmail.com if you dig or have any funny ideas. You can also check out more of his illustrations and animation shorts HERE.
Commonweather has released a new EP, Apparitions, with a ominous theme and tone.
You can catch Commonweather at Beat Kitchen on July 17th with California’s Seahaven.
While the term “singer/songwriter” may connote such masters as Sufjan Stevens, Brooklyn-via-Ohio’s Tangina Stone radiates the troubadour spirit in her girl-group poetry. Favorite quip: “Your love so bright you’re giving me a suntan.” Her EP The Fall highlights both the singer’s colloquial talent as well as her pipes, while her latest remix of single ‘Don’t’ (video streaming below) interestingly steers towards soulful, electronic hip hop. The Brooklyn-based singer will play for the first time music from her new album "Elevate" coming this summer on Monster/Empire. – Brian Chidester
