NYC

Brooklyn songwriter Sam Himself releases raw single “Out of Love”

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It is rare to come across a voice that has the ability to grasp deep inside as much as the one of Brooklyn-based Sam Himself, whose whispered baritone and simple ballads revives memories of early Leonard Cohen. Uncomplicated yet effortlessly dynamic, the Switzerland born artist’s folky new release, “Out of Love” is an honest and raw expression of how we are willing to do anything out of love. His voice is complimented by the tenderness of the female harmonies of Denitia Odigie, giving heart to two sides of a relationship.  Stay tuned for future releases, as this is a voice that is hard to forget. – Madeleine Grossman, photo by Daryl Oh

Philadelphia

The 55th Annual Philadelphia Folk Festival

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The 55th Annual Philadelphia Folk Festival will be taking over Old Pool Farm in Schwenksville, PA, starting today, and a lot of hot, sweaty folkies will be camping out there, having a good ole time through the weekend. Now, this time of year is always bittersweet for me as it unfortunately has become a reminder of the passing of my old friend, insane percussionionist, helluva good dude and surprisingly decent rapper, Dante Bucci; however, I can’t help but feel joy about something that he loved so very much continuing on.

We featured a young up-and-comer in our previous post Dena Miller, who goes by the moniker Deer Scout. If you are already planning the early trek out to the farm tonight to catch Quiet Life, whose new album was produced by Dr. Dog‘s Scott McMicken, then you’ll be missing her bill this evening with Kississippi at PhilaMOCA; however, early risers can find Miller strumming away tomorrow morning at the Front Porch Stage. She’ll be joined in the "NEXT GEN FOLK" slot by Jason McCue. His oddball take on the world and lyrics produces songs that just might shake things up at the relatively mellow weekend. The End of America, Jeremiah Tall, Hurricane Hoss, and Heart Harbor are also other local area artists that you might want to catch. And by now, we hope that you’ve received the memo that The Lone Bellow are not to be missed. You can check out the rest of the Philly Folk Fest schedule HERE. Old Pool Farm (Schwenksville, PA), 1323 Salford Station Rd., Various Times & Prices, All Ages – H.M. Kauffman

Chicago

Lando Chill

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Lando Chill (aka Lance Alan) released his debut LP, For Mark, Your Son, last week via Mello Music Group. The talented emcee was born and raised in Chicago, but is now based in Tucson. Below is the video for the album’s lead single, "Save Me".

NYC

Sludgy noise-rockers bbigpigg serve up “Din-Din” and play Aviv 8/19

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Exploding out of the Brooklyn scene with the force of a too ripe pustule, noise rockers bbigpigg bring you Din-Din, a four track EP with more than enough greasy goodness to sink your teeth into. Kicking off with "Chowtime," the EP delivers fat, tasty basslines coupled with manic vocals that seem to edge toward gut-wrenching howls. The result is deliciously anarchic weirdo rock. While a growling bass belches leads and drives the songs forward, guitars rip through Din-Din with the squealing of wounded animals, freed to hunt out vociferous tones. Any way you carve it up, bbigpigg is septic sewer punk guaranteed to leave you feeling grimy. Check out Din-Din here, listen to the track below and catch them live in all their maw-chomping majesty at Aviv on 8/19 with Multicult, Couch Slut, Human Shapes and Dead Tenants.-Olivia Sisinni

Chicago

Bubbles Brown

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Bubbles Brown is preparing to release their debut full-length album, MT Gilead, on August 29th. The album was recorded live at Farm Fresh Studios in Bloomington, IN to maintain the busking feel the duo’s music.

You can catch Bubbles Brown at Schubas on Sept. 16th.

Philadelphia

Deer Scout Opening for Kississippi at PhilaMOCA Aug. 18

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Deer Scout celebrates the tape release of Customs (Fox Food Records) with a show this evening at PhilaMOCA. Dena Miller’s bedroom-folk narratives are depicted through a keenly observational perspective. Those unencumbered recollections place one inside personal memories. At times, she appears to be addressing the listener, while at others, she’s recalling and exploring internal contemplations, flipping the microscope on herself. Enthralling literary lyricism meets the strength and sincerity of vocal delivery, navigating on closely knit intrepid daydream-folk instrumentation, Kississippi grabs one’s attention, refusing to let go. The instantly invigorating power-pop of Brooklyn’s Fits and the synth-infused bedroom-pop of Boosegumps round out this lineup. PhilaMOCA, 531 N. 12th St., 8pm, $10, All Ages – Michael Colavita

San Francisco

Abbot Kinney Shares Bill with Panic Is Perfect Dangermaker and Vacances at GAMH – 8/20

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San Francisco based musician, Abbot Kinney will be playing Great American Music Hall with Panic is Perfect, Dangermaker, and Vacances on August 20th!

Abbot Kinney is a rock band that thrives on big vocal hooks, a heavy, intricate rhythm section and an ambitiously grand scope, and while lead singer-songwriter Jared Swanson was certainly influenced by the “alternative” label of yesterday, his music wholly belongs to the 21st century. The group’s new EP The Night not only challenges the listener’s conception of what an indie rock song can sound like in a scaled-down, irony-charged modern music scene; it also represents a sonic evolutionary step forward.

Philadelphia

New Music Video: “Deep End” – Whaler

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Whether they’re playfully performing beside or behind the house whilst consuming pizza or awkwardly dancing on the porch after a few brewskis, Whaler’s video for for their single, “Deep End,” captures a day fun in what looks to be West Philly. Weaving in bits of animation, director Jess Hock emphasizes the dance-generating, ebb & flow of the friendly-feeling rocker. You can take in the joyous sounds of the four-piece tomorrow night at Creep Records with The Mellowells, Ganou, and Dirty Jim.

Deep End by Whaler from Jess Hock

NYC

Alt-folk duo NewBalance releases debut album, performs at The Smell

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“…Quiet songs with minimal arrangements.”

Jeremy Leasure describes the aim of his tandem debut with Brittany Beppu, Thoughts on Future Hindsight, concisely. As NewBalance, the duo draws something different from Leasure’s older project, Canyons, of which Beppu occasionally contributes to. They’re more influenced by songwriters like Scott Walker and Townes Van Zandt, Judy Garland and Audrey Hepburn. Poignant and noble.

Beppu’s voice stands out in the album’s tape scratch “Shirley Temple”. At first the lyrics are cryptic, but the songs emerge as individual character sketches, says Leasure—an attempt "…to understand how we cope when things don’t go the way we imagined they would." He hopes that the songs provide the same comfort to his audience as they did for him. NewBalance’s next performance on the 19th at The Smell with Tone in Georgia, Hannah and minimall. Listen to the opener "Cartoon Captions" off Thoughts on Future Hindsight, out now. – Kaitlyn Tang

NYC

Brooklyn’s Tender Glue premieres ‘Goodbye Bushwick’ and plays The City Reliquary on 8/26

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Today, we are premiering Brooklyn indie-folk act Tender Glue latest single “Goodbye Bushwick” (streaming below) off forthcoming new album ‘Steady Light.’ Sounding out curling atmospherics that recall Kurt Vile’s great 2011 release ‘Smoke Ring from My Halo” from a few years back, the guitar-based track is also, impressively, a poetic paean of days gone by in the tradition of none other than Dylan or Cohen. This seems to be one of only a few songs from the new musician but a sign of promise, to say the least. Tender Glue will celebrate the release of ‘Steady Light’ at The City Reliquary on 8/26. In the meantime, keep posted with the musician on his Facebook page. – Zach Weg