New Music, Emerging from your Local Scene
Fauvely is the work of Sophie Leigh (Videotape, Astrobrite). She is preparing to release her debut solo EP, Watch Me Overcomplicate This, on March 24th. Below is the EP’s title track and lead single.
You can catch Fauvely with Dollys on March 7th at The Burlington.
The Deli readers have spoken, choosing Connecticut songwriter Frank Viele as the best emerging New England folk/soul artist of 2016. A cocktail of classic soul/RnB, alt-rock, and a dash of country twang, Viele earns a place alongside artists like Ray Lamontagne and The Black Crowes, keeping the roots alive and well. Check out the dates for Frank’s current US tour here and stay tuned for more poll results! -Brian Varneke
Toronto band CRAZY BONES will be releasing a new EP next week and have dropped the first music video from the album. "Melting" begins with a dreamy guitar lick drenched in reverb before getting cranked up starting with a thumping bass guitar. The guitar shreds and the drums are hittin’ hard. They return to the groovy-ness heard earlier for the chorus but without losing all the fuzz. It almost feels like the song is gonna end until they wail on an almost doom-like instrumental with some added trippy synth. This tune keeps your ears fresh and it still has a catchy enough chorus to still feel like a real song. If you’re into fuzzy garage like Ty Segall then you’ll have to give this video a peep. Their EP release party is on March 2nd at the Bovine Sex Club along with Brenda, Jean Daddy and Milhouse. 10 bucks to get in, 5 buck for a tape. – Kris Gies
The music of fr eg e lies somewhere along the crossroads of electro-soul and pop, but to rope them squarely into any set genre would likely be doing the band a disservice. Brooklyn-based by way of Mexico City, fr eg e melds smart pop-writing sensibilities with fickle rhythms and time signature shifts–crafting a dynamic sound that reflects the fractured spelling in the band’s moniker. The oftentimes near virtuosic playing, of course, alludes to the band’s jazz background, but what really make fr eg e stand out amidst seas of incredibly talented, technical players is the electro-flourishes that garnish their recordings. Their latest single, "Golden Ale Showers," is no exception to this formula, pitting angular instrumentals against buttery vocals to craft something uniquely striking, but also immediately accessible. You can catch fr eg e live at their next show on 3/7 at Drexler’s, but in the meantime, get your fr eg e fix by streaming their new single below.-Olivia Sisinni
photo credit: Elise Swain
Cut Worms is the nom de plume of singer/songwriter/one-man-band Max Clarke, whose spate of releases between 2015 and 2016 transform the lead of past genres into new gold. See him (and his make-shift band) tonight at the Bowery Ballroom, where Cut Worms opens for critical darlings the Lemon Twigs. Back to the recordings: at first, the influences seem easy enough to pin down, as in the case of recent single "Don’t Want to Say Goodbye" (streaming). If it’s all Clarke in the studio, he should proceed to make a video of himself playing every member of Gerry and the Pacemakers on stage at the "Ed Sullivan Show," as musically and vocally he faithfully recreates the sound of like minded bands from that era. B-side "Like Going Down Sideways" is less melodic overall, but infinitely more complex. It starts out like an early seventies acoustic ballad (think Lobo or Rodriguez), then veers into a variety of directions—a sprinkling of Gram Parsons, a dash of the Everly Brothers—which suggest a rather deep knowledge of pop history, and an uncommon ability to write retro pop songs. Then there are the "Soft Boiled Demos, Pt. 1-8," an MP3 offering from mid-2016, which falls somewhere between a set of lost Buddy Holly demos and the more showy retroism of Ryan Adams. Single "Mad About You" is pure allegory: a walk down Broadway, with the wind in his hair, evinces the hidden order of the cosmos. We’ll have to wait and see what ultimately becomes of Cut Worms but for now, we can certainly enjoy his tracks, and let them transport us back to a time when pop songwriting was governed by different laws. – Brian Chidester
Cayetana make their dreams come to reality in the new music video for their single "Mesa". Directed by Adam Peditto, Augusta Koch, Allegra Anka, and Kelly Olsen walk through an Alice in Wonderland-type door, transporting the ladies into a vibrantly colorful, beautiful scene that simply jumps off the screen. (Serious props go out to the video’s set designer!) "Mesa" originally appeared on the group’s split release with Melbourne’s Camp Cope, and the track will also find a home on their upcoming album, New Kind of Normal, due out May 5 via the band’s own label Plum Records. Cayetana are currently on the road supporting Lemuria during their 10th Anniversary celebration tour of Get Better.
Moon Ensemble have nestled between their sound and identity through a couple of years of experimentation, and now move confidently into the direction of redefining their existence with their track “Future Colors” via CupaDella Records. The Hacienda-Heights quartet ditch the psych-jangles to evolve into a fuller cosmic entity, led by progressive rock undertones, playful synth distortions, and an addictive guitar riff. Opening with sensual vocals, leading towards the band’s dream-state position, “Future Colors” manages to manipulate these elements through a creative composition while simultaneously pulsating through into the dance realm. Thriving through the duality of vocals and constant bursts of energy, Moon Ensemble make a welcoming statement through their sonic palette of new colors. – Janette Ayub
With artists like Chance the Rapper serving as living manifestations of Kanye West’s legacy, it’s hard not to evaluate contemporary rappers according to how to relate to and differ from West in terms of music, persona or both. A rapper that invites this kind of comparison is Mateo Akhi. The Jersey City rapper’s most recent LP, veyebes, features a potent mix of rootsy hip hop reminiscent of West’s earlier stuff and the distorted edgeof his later works. The key difference, however, lies in the vocals. While West is mostly known for his rapping, Akhi raps and sings all throughout the album, quite literally, finding his own voice. Tracks like ‘poplar trees‘ show Akhi at his best, with the stormy instrumental perfectly matching his intense vocals. You can catch him live at SOB’s on 2/22. —Henry Solotaroff-Weber
No Thank You, the fledgling project from Kaytee Della-Monica, teeters between reflective open spaces and rambuctious, revealing powerpop on her first label release, Jump Ship. It’s another gem of a discovery from Philly’s own Lame-O Records. The record officially comes out this Friday, February 24, but you can now stream Jump Ship in its entirety below. Clocking in at under twenty minutes, it might end much sooner than you’d like; however, a lasting impression remains long after the music has stopped. You can also join Della-Monica and friends on the evening of her release at Everybody Hits, before she heads out on tour this weekend with The Superweaks in support of her latest.
TGIF! Well, it’s not quite Friday yet, but if you need some music that will make it feel like the weekend, Surf Thugs will definitely spice things up. Their music screams “life of the party” with their upbeat, optimistic pop punk tunes. If that isn’t enough, these guys also sing about partying. They created their own abbreviation “RIP”, which doesn’t mean Rest in Peace in this case but Really into Partying. So, if you’re Really into Partying it’s time to listen to Surf Thugs as well as see them live when they play Arlene’s Grocery March 31st.-Jocelyn Huggler
Former Strathmore artist-in-residence Elijah Balbed will bring his all-star lineup of go-go players to the North Capitol neighborhood this Saturday for the 7DrumCity opening festival. The Jo-go Project‘s barn-burning solos and tight go-go beats are guaranteed to make the reopening of the community focused drum studio and rehearsal space into a real party.
Don’t miss The Jo-go Project at the 7DrumCity opening festival, 2-10pm, with DC bands Color Palette, Shining Blade Theory, and many more!
-Written by Michael Dranove
A collaborative effort from Banana Stand Media and the Portland Mercury, Sound + Vision is a monthly showcase that presents some of the best acts in town. Sound + Vision only began last month and with their second installment happening tonight, the showcases promises a solid duration of enjoyable artists.
In just a couple hours, the best flavor in Dorito pop comes from Cool American, who will be sharing the stage with the softly sad alternative of Boreen and the Malkmus-esque indie of Perfume V. It’s quite a steal when you think about it, seeing these three acts take to the Mississippi Studios stage for free. If Sound + Vision keeps it up, they’ll be seeing growing crowds with each one.
