New Music, Emerging from your Local Scene
Experimental musician Kevin Drumm released a new 32 minute track this month called “May 18”. Drumm has been releasing a new recording every month for the last few years, and has built an excellent case for the bandcamp subscription model.
“May 18” is an ambient exploration of sound, space, and environment built on a ever-shifting foundation of drone.
Beauty School has released the second single, “Claimed To Be Cool”, from their forthcoming full-length debut, Pushover, which will be released on June 12th. This is the follow-up to their 2016 debut EP, "Ghost Beach". The LP’s first single was the poppy but agnst-filled track "Class Ring".
You can help Beauty School celebrate the release of their new album on June 12th at Steppenwolf Theatre with Speaks In Tongues.
New music seemingly arrives from Dani in Public monthly; the latest being Has It Has It Happened Yet. Revealing one’s emotive inner-workings with an even-keeled, smooth-talking precision, there’s an innate movement in these low-key, infectious electro-grooves. Seamlessly switching between spoken and sung lines, while stretching and synching with the beat, a soulful openness is unlocked.
The brainchild of accomplished DJs Gerald Watson and DJ 2-Tone Jones, Shaolin Jazz is a fresh look at the sounds of the Wu, mixing their signature flow with chill and jazzhop. Their latest release, Nancy from Shaolin, is a real treat. Starting off with a wonderful chillhop intro and title track, the album hits high points on “Special” and “My M.E.T.H.O.D”.
Aside from making great music, Shaolin Jazz seems committed to celebrating the aesthetics of the Wu, holding a unique film series screening classics like Shogun Assassin. The Next screening is May 29th, 6-10pm at Songbyrd. No cover.
Hoping for more releases, and for this group to put DC on the chillhop map.
-Mike Dranove
Pet Symmetry, the trio of Erik Czaja, Evan Weiss, Marcus Nuccio, released a surprise EP this morning called “Reflection”. It features a song originally recored for their 2017 LP, Vision, a new track called “Periodontal”, and a cover of The Ramones song “Pet Sematary”.
You can catch Pet Symmetry at Chop Shop on July 21st with Baggage, Reaganomics, and The Cell Phones.
The first time I heard Mary-Elaine Jenkins was at a Janis Joplin tribute show at The Way Station in Brooklyn. It was a small venue, an intimate atmosphere, and she had come alone with her guitar. When she took the stage, I felt like I knew her somehow, like she had always been a friend. A New Yorker for over five years now, Mary-Elaine is a 13th-generation South Carolinian, so it makes sense that her modest southern charm would so easily make the audience immediately comfortable with her. And then she started singing.
Jenkins’ voice is a mix of cloves, sage, ash, thorns, and honey. The music sets the mood of a sunrise on a brisk fall morning, wrapping a blanket around yourself in your pajamas and eating biscuits on a wooden rocking chair on a white front porch, only rolling hills in view for miles. Reminiscent of Jolie Holland, Lady Lamb, and yes, a piece of Janis Joplin, her lyrics and vocal style seem timeless and raw.
Jenkins’ music is the opposite of frenetic. She knows how to sink into a slow blues groove and lives there like it’s the new pace of your life now, an especially powerful feat in our bustling metropolis. And yet it feels easy to sink down with her into a hammock you never want to climb out of.
Recording at Good Child Music Studios, Jenkins collaborated with producer / engineer Thom Beemer, along with musicians Cat Popper (Ryan Adams), Lawson White (My Brightest Diamond, Tony Trischka), JJ Appleton, and Dave Hassell, to make an album as well traveled as it is rooted in the musical traditions of the Southern east coast.
Singles Fools Don’t Stay and The Rooster release today on Good Child Music and we are proud to premiere them below. They will be included in a debut LP scheduled for later in the year. You can catch Mary-Elaine Jenkins with band live at The Bitter End on Friday, June 22. – Meghan Rose, photo by Paul Storey.
Easy Habits released a great new single last week called “Perfect Lady”. This is actually a cover of a song written and recorded by a country musician named Hikory. The b-side, “Where Do We Go From Here”, also has a classic feel in the vein of ’60’s romantic pop.
This is the band’s first releases since their debut full-length, Greeting From…, was released back in January.
An assemblage of local artists unites on a new compilation benefitting FONE (Friends of Neighborhood Education). All the songs featured on Equal Loudness Vol.1 – Music to Benefit Philadelphia Public Schools were recorded at Miner Street Recordings, and released in collaboration with Weathervane Music. American Trappist, Cayetana, Square Peg Round Hole, Julia Rainer, and Bitter Bitter Weeks are among the cavalcade of contributors whom hope to raise awareness and funds for schools. This is an excellent example of musicianship paying it forward/back to the future by providing much-needed aid to education.
SLOWTRIP balance noise with beauty and rage on "Follow." The forthright alternative track, which makes a critique on the harmful effects of institutionalized faith, follows a pummeling form of tuneful rock music with a sludgy approach. But the four-piece don’t have any interest in telling anyone how to go about their business, and instead, want to openly share their personal belief that one shouldn’t conform to any societal norms. It’s a dense, textural rocker that’s thoughtful without becoming overly overbearing.
"Follow" is the latest single off of SLOWTRIP’s forthcoming EP, Blur, which came out on May 18. Catch them on June 2 at Dipiazza’s in Long Beach and June 13 at the Tiki Bar in Costa Mesa. Juan Rodríguez
Town Criers released their debut EP back in February. The EP was filled heavy hitting Psych Rock, and helped build a following for this young band. This week their Daytrotter session, which was recorded back in March, was released. This should give this Chicago gem much more national coverage this summer.
You can catch Town Criers at D.C. Torium (3026 W Armitage Ave) on May 26th with Ex Okays, The Hazy Seas & The Knees. They will also be performing at Burlington Bar on May 31st with Stoops and The Fonzie Scheme.
The lyric “Steppin’ on your toes I’m a big brown man” is just one way in which Sam Sundos conveys his personality through his solo project, Sabri. That declaration comes from his latest release, “FUCK IT MAN,” which, notwithstanding the harsh title, is a smooth, dreamy soul track built on a plodding, stretched hip hop beat. But don’t try to put this man in a box: the Brooklyn-based singer has proven his versatility through his first single “Oh, Honey,” a poppier, piano driven tune with a George Michael feel to it, and “Hot Tub,” probably his most mature track, featuring a timeless soul melody, and an arrangement enriched by brass and funky guitar and electric piano licks reminiscent of the glorious Motown years. Sabri’s ever-changing sound serves as a reflection on his identity through his work; he has described his music as “a celebration of identity and an embrace of modern culture and technology.” You can catch him live at Elsewhere on May 25th. – Lily Crandall
Grapetooth, Clay Frankel (Twin Peaks) and Chris Bailoni (Homesick), have released their second single “Violent”. The duo released their debut single, “Trouble”, last fall to critical acclaim, and this poppy, ’80’s New Order-esque follow-up does not disappoint.
You can catch Grapetooth at Lincoln Hall on July 21st with Rookie and James Swanberg. Tickets for this show go on sale Friday, May 25th.
