Portland

PREMIERE: Wonka Vision – “Application”

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Back in April of last year, the eclectic and commanding jazz heads of Echo Pearl Varsity won our Artist of the Month poll, a designation given to those local acts that sit high and esteemed in the hearts of local music appreciators. The jazz-fusion post-rock hybrid group is led by principle songwriter Sam Luna, who has momentarily shifted his focus onto his solo endeavors, recorded under the moniker Wonka Vision. Presently, much won’t be found online, but that’s why we’re pleased to share the premiere song and video from Wonka Vision’s debut solo album, titled "Application."

Luna directed, edited and starred in the sci-fi Netflix series Black Mirror-inspired video, based on the overuse of internet and cellphones, and how digital technology is essentially numbing society. "[Cellphones are] disrupting our daily lives, taking up useful hours and all together just rotting our brains," says Luna. "Through the digital world we refrain from human experiences, which cause us to be less social, more self-conscious and more depressed."

The ending of the video goes further to display this point, with one of characters caring more about her online persona than reality, which is how Luna feels most people are in the current age. He even titled the whole DIY album, which is due out February 23, as White Mirror.

Numb out to "Application" below and be on the lookout for the White Mirror drop later this month.

Philadelphia

New The Whips LP Available for Streaming & Purchase

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A plethora of shot & beer pairings continuously flow especially in celebration of the Eagles ascension to the top of the NFL mountain. While you’re sipping in celebration, another City Wide Special recently became available. The Whips‘ new album exhibits that sweaty, dirt-under-the-fingernails, riff-riding infectiousness that we’ve grown to expect. Stewing in time-traveling retro-rock, these songs feel like they were always there. Yopu can catch them at Ortlieb’s on Tuesday, February 13, where they’ll be supported by Madalean Gauze and The Othermen.

NYC

The Undercover Dream Lovers play Brooklyn Bazaar 03.01 to release 2nd EP

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After a busy and positive 2017, Matt Koenig’s kept things moving in the first months of 2018 as he prepares for The Undercover Dream Lovers‘ sophomore EP release. Koenig’s solo project — which also features Galen Gatzke and Sarah Galdes on the live end — will play Brooklyn Bazaar on March 1st to support In Real Time, a collection of six new songs featuring Koenig’s masterful electropop hooks and funky beats. Fans of Tame Impala and Portugal. The Man will dig the new tracks as well as the old. Joining The Undercover Dream Lovers are Future Generations and Wilder Maker. Tickets are on sale now for the March 1st show; for now, stream the newest release from In Real Time, called "Stop & Listen". – Will Sisskind

Philadelphia

New Track: “Summer Rain” – Gender Work & Murayama

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Hovering on the threshold of a refreshing, meditative state and the sadness brought on by internal/external crisis, “Summer Rain,” the collaborative single from Gender Work & Murayama, hits complex notes. There’s a sense of destruction, which attaches itself to the intense storm of drums, while the flute, synth, and vocals softly unite in the cleansing opportunity for a fresh start. Gender Work will be performing this evening at Kung Fu Necktie, with Ships In The Night, Overwinter, and Ethan Lipscomb. (Photo by Yassine Boundouq)

NYC

Olden Yolk Debuts Video “Vital Sign,” Plays Union Pool 02.24

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Olden Yolk’s music bursts into paisley waves of freak folk splendor. Their upcoming self-titled LP focuses their aesthetic through a fish-eye lens, shaping a more mature sound that fully utilizes Caity Shaffer’s dark, velvety vocals (her band-mate Shane Butler also sings in the album). Shaffer’s voice mesmerizes best in Olden Yolk’s newly released video for “Vital Sign,” an homage that evokes Nico, Twiggy, and technicolor visions of the ‘60s. Sink into Olden Yolk’s wonderland with 02.23’s LP premiere and a performance at Union Pool on 02.24. — Amanda Ogea

Toronto

Dizzy – “Stars and Moons” Single

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Straight outta Oshawa, Dizzy will be representing the GTA at SXSW in a couple months. They recently released a new tune “Stars and Moons”. It’s a very relaxed, synth based tune. Deep bass mixed with the soft female vocals carry the tune for the most part. The guitar lays in the weeds until a nice solo jumps in for the climax of the song. I hear some Coldplay influences in there. It seems as though Dizzy has made some quick work through the scene and are on their way to something big. Good luck to them in Austin! See the in Hamilton on February 9th at Twelveighty Bar & Grill along with The Kents, Post Romance and Emma Vandyk. – Kris Gies

Philadelphia

New Track: “Pretty” – Family Volleyball

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Keys bring up the lights, initiating “Pretty,” the second single from Family Volleyball’s forthcoming album. Sun-speckled, jangly dream pop follows. A carefree, crisp melody flows wistfully over the listener as an apologetic message is offered. Doom Saloon will be playing host to Family Volleyball on Friday, February 16, along with Wyoming, and Annie Flame. (Drawing by Molly Dwyer)

Philadelphia

New Track: “Staying In” – Cold Fronts

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Philly’s Cold Fronts has been building moment again as the band gets ready to release its sophomore album, Fantasy du Jour, on the beloved stoner holiday 4/20. Below is the group’s latest nugget of slackerdom, called "Staying In," which recently premiered over at Noisey. Frontman Craig Almquist shared a bit of insight about Cold Fronts’ new single. "I felt so refreshed when I wrote this song because it was so simple and it had nothing to do with being sad or being in love or feeling like the world is gonna end. It was just nice to sing about something else for a change. It’s one of our more knucklehead songs." You can find Almquist and the gang at Boot & Saddle tomorrow night, where they will be opening for Chicago’s Post Animal and local pals Suburban Living.

NYC

The Rizzos host garage rock Senior Prom at Gutter Bar 02.09

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The story goes that The Rizzos‘ Megan Mancini skipped senior prom and got drunk with her mom instead, at least that’s how it’s told on “Prom Mom,” the lead single from the band’s 2017 EP “No Parents, No Rules 2: Beneath the Planet of No Rules.” While the exact storyline may or may not be true, it speaks to a nostalgia for the teenage years, or at least a nostalgia for escaping the pains of teenage years. This year, The Rizzos host their own Senior Prom, leaning heavy on all things glam and garage rock with sets by Plaid Dracula, The Royal They, and Ghost Funk Orchestra. The show takes place February 9th at Gutter Bar. – Cameron Carr

New England

Premiere: Deli’s Artist of the Month Modern Painters share new video for “Whaler”

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The results are in: Jamaica Plain indie rockers Modern Painters have won the Deli Magazine Artist of the Month poll for January 2018! The Painters gained the the Deli’s attention after releasing their lush eponymous debut album in December 2017, warranting a write up and a subsequent nomination for Artist of the Month. From our December write up: “In the case of Jamaica Plains’ folk-indie group Modern Painters, the confidence, sincerity, and precision in their self-titled debut is not unlike a veteran band with several good albums under their belt.”

To celebrate their victory, Modern Painters and Deli Magazine have decided to exclusively premiere their newest music video for “Whaler”, a breezy, jazz guitar laden track from their debut album. “Whaler” falls into the unique category of loungey, New England-intellectual indie music, recalling songs like Jonathan Richman’s “That Summer Feeling”, and Galaxie 500’s “Blue Thunder”.

The summer-y “Whaler” video couldn’t come at a better time, as New Englanders spend the mid-winter lull dreaming of lake-days under the hot summer sun. The video features singers Gabe Goodman and Nike Brannstrom half-dancing and crooning on Goodman’s 13’ 1969 Boston Whaler in his hometown of Scituate in the South Shore. Clad in a black dress and a casual black and white suit, Brannstrom and Goodman emote the delicious warm haze of lazy summer days, capturing the freedom and youthful vigor of harbor towns and mid day boat rides.

Be sure to catch Modern Painters at the Midway Cafe on March 20th. Enjoy the video for “Whaler” below. -Charley Ruddell

 

Philadelphia

Weekend Warrior, February 2 – 4

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The clarity that often accompanies consuming, clean, cold air hangs in the isolated, fuzzy folk-pop of Matt Scheuermann, a.k.a. Lowercase Roses. His latest release, Surgical Pop, stitches together precise melodies within intimate lyrics. Delicate, revealing storylines are juxtaposed by the harsher instrumental friction of the outside world. Channeling the nostalgia of youth seen through the wisdom of experience, Cherry captures a universal memory, igniting a flashback fuse and (at times) simmering in a gentle sway. Performing solo this Saturday, Mimi Gallagher (Nona, Year Of Glad, Eight) will craft catchy, grungy, pop-punk. With their forthcoming album Reveries (due out February 23 via Egghunt Records), the brutal beauty of Delaware garage rock trio Grace Vonderkuhn rounds out this Everybody Hits lineup. (Photo by Scott Troyan) – Michael Colavita

Other places to be to beat this cold this weekend…

Everybody Hits (529 W. Girard Ave.) SAT Cherry, Grace Vonderkuhn, Eight, Lowercase Roses

Johnny Brenda’s (1201 N. Frankford Ave.) FRI TJ Kong and The Atomic Bomb, Squawk Brothers, SAT Summer Fiction, The Improbables, MidnightSingers

Boot & Saddle (1131 S. Broad St.) FRI Night Windows, Spelling Reform (EP Release), Joy Riding, Pilkington, SAT RFA, Robo Trippers

Kung Fu Necktie (1250 N. Front St.) FRI The Whips/DJ Deejay, SAT Swift River Still, George Engel Brooks/A Black Celebration: DJ Baby Berlin and Jem

PhilaMOCA (531 N. 12th St.) SAT Coward, Wicca Phase Springs Eternal, Lil Zubin, Fantasy Camp, SUN (3pm) Death Of Lovers

Underground Arts (1200 Callowhill St.) FRI Aime, Besphrenz, Mason, Ai-Que, Dj Dah-Freak, SAT DJ Aktive, JaE The Artist, Tray Verse

Union Transfer (1026 Spring Garden St,) FRI Joy Again

The Trocadero (1003 Arch St.) SAT Apex Predator

The Fillmore Philadelphia (1100 Canal St.) SAT G. Love & Special Sauce, Kuf Knotz

The Foundry (1000 Frankford Ave.) SAT Fame Lust: My Chemical Slow Dance (Emo Prom)

World Café Live (3025 Walnut St.) FRI (Upstairs) Conjunto Philadelphia, SAT (Upstairs) The GoAround

The Fire (412 W. Girard Ave.) FRI Syberia, Duress, SAT Icon Ebony Fierce, Ronnie Vega, Dialer, DJ Delish

MilkBoy Philly (1100 Chestnut St.) FRI Thee Idea Men, SAT Man About A Horse, The Hoppin’ Boxcars

Ortlieb’s Lounge (847 N. 3rd St.) SAT Ellen Siberian Tiger, Rosu Lup

Bourbon & Branch (705 N. 2nd St.) FRI Breathing, Will Brown and the Jamboree Band, Sexoffice, SAT Bayshore Drive, Scene Points

The Barbary (951 Frankford Ave.) FRI Femme Collective, SAT Trap Rabbit

Silk City (435 Spring Garden St.) Fr DJ Dav, Reed Streets, SAT DJ Deejay

Fergie’s (1214 Sansom St.) SAT Johnny Moskal, SUN Rusty Cadillac

Connie’s Ric Rac (1132 S. 9th St.) FRI Ty Asoudegan, SAT DAMN Benefit Show: Helle’s Belle and the Tit Pistols, Kelvin Cochrane, Fenris, Barry Dwier, Bern the Bastard, Monica Lynne Chase

Frankie Bradley’s (1320 Chancellor St.) SAT Tubular

The Grape Room (105 Grape St.) FRI Xpresidents, John Gilbride, Naps Past Noon, Fordune, OTG, SAT Socko, Mikey Potatos, This Kills Me

Ardmore Music Hall (23 E. Lancaster Ave.) SAT Rausch (Album Release)

First Unitarian Church (2125 Chestnut St.) SAT Wrong Answer, Agitator

The Tusk (Please contact one of the acts or venue for more info.) SAT Teenage Bigfoot, The Barren Marys (Split Release show), The Up Up Ups

Tralfamadore (Please contact one of the acts or venue for more info.) SAT Elison  Jackson

Hubris House (Please contact one of the acts or venue for more info.) SAT Violet Waves, Fan Dancer, Slow Reader, Midnight In Rome