Field trip delves into the topic of loss in a way that seems to blur the line between experiencing personally and sharing it with others. His newest single “onethousand” starts off with a garbled transmission before settling into a melancholy haze. The layer of guitar effects and twinkling bells provides a backdrop similar in tone to those found on King Krule’s last album, yet the grooves on this single have a greater sway and the vocals are brighter. Lyrics like “what should I do, what do I do, look at you, look at me” brightly gleam before quickly shedding any sense of coolness and quickly become a call for help. Its a song that sounds lost in the neon smoke of city life, and its quiet attempts at human connection are deeply affecting, both working as a shared experience and something that needs to be listened privately. You can stream “onethousand” below and see field trip perform at Knitting Factory on June 30. –Tucker Pennington
Weekend Warrior, June 29 – July 1
Tonight, Everybody Hits hosts Weller celebrating their self-titled debut album, which is being re-issued today via Tiny Engines. Composed succinct melodies envelop in a relaxed revealing jangle. Holding a place of comfort by lyrically unlatching the inner-workings, there’s a continuous desire to find one’s footing and/or fit in the world at large. That ongoing existential search may never truly end, rather just morph, but the ongoing evaluation is one which can be viewed as a self-portrait that many others can see themselves in. Currently in the midst of a run of dates with Animal Flag and with a new album in the works, The Obsessives help fortify this lineup, which also includes the soothing, shoegazing darkness of So Totally and the intricately-woven, experimental folk of The Human Fly. – Michael Colavita
Other places where you can heat up or cool down this weekend…
Everybody Hits (529 W. Girard Ave.)FRI Weller (Record Release), The Obsessives, So Totally SAT Weekend Athlete
Johnny Brenda’s (1201 N. Frankford Ave.) SAT Lovelorn, Night Sins, Dreamswell
Boot & Saddle (1131 S. Broad St.) SAT Dark Blue, The Guests, Deep Red
Kung Fu Necktie (1250 N. Front St.) FRI Elison Jackson, Frogg/The Tough Shits, SAT Mcguires Mob, Wrong Planet, SUN Deathmonger/Slophouse, Dear Forbidden, Endless Taile
PhilaMOCA (531 N. 12th St.) FRI Fairy Godmother
Underground Arts (1200 Callowhill St.) FRI Black Urn
The Trocadero (1003 Arch St.) FRI Philly Soul Syndicate, SAT Filo’s Reunion
TLA (334 South St.) SAT Anthony Green, Good Old War
The Fillmore Philadelphia (1100 Canal St.) SAT Dirty South Joe, Magglezzz
The Foundry (1000 Frankford Ave.) FRI Steady Hands
World Café Live (3025 Walnut St.) FRI (Upstairs) John Vettese/Philly Gumbo/(Downstairs) John Byrne, No Irish Need Apply, SAT (Upstairs) The Dukes of Destiny/(Downstairs) Animus (Philadelphia’s Belly Dance Spectacular)
The Fire (412 W. Girard Ave.) FRI Moral Code, Duress
MilkBoy Philly (1100 Chestnut St.) FRI Looseleaf, SUN American Dinosaur
Ortlieb’s Lounge (847 N. 3rd St.) FRI Low Energy, Downtrodder, Readership, SAT Commonwealth Choir, SUN Don Babylon, C. M. Slenko, Tapes & Tubes
The Barbary (951 Frankford Ave.) FRI Boogieman Dela, Eli Capella/Matthew Law/Leo, SAT Familiar Things, Saver/Creem Circus, The Judex/Ian St. Laurent, John Redden
Bourbon & Branch (705 N. 2nd St.) FRI Andrew Montoya, Melissa Clampffer, Betty Iron Thumbs, SAT AGT, Darlingtyn, Mercury Retrograde
Century (1350 S. 29th St.) FRI Through Neighborhoods, Rally, Hen, SAT Baby Blitz, Flamingo Chicks, The OK OK’s
Silk City (435 Spring Garden St.) FRI DJ Rich Medina, SUN The Jawn
Fergie’s (1214 Sansom St.) SAT John Byrne, SUN Rusty Cadillac
Connie’s Ric Rac (1132 S. 9th St.) FRI Adventure Lost, Zymotic Flow, Rusty Blue, Poppy, SAT S.T.A.R.W.O.O.D. Mage Hand, Space Pizza
Voltage Lounge (421 N. 7th St.) SAT Stargazer, Left to Vanish, Varials, SUN Kaonashi, Last Minute Hero, Flowercrown, Hollow Visions
Frankie Bradley’s (1320 Chancellor St.) SUN Honeygasm
Morgan’s Pier (221 N. Columbus Blvd) FRI DJ Beatstreet
The Grape Room (105 Grape St.) FRI Stone Electrics, Joshua C. Miller, Jackson Howard, Vessna Scheff, SAT Static Flow, Apple Juice Jones
Ardmore Music Hall (23 E. Lancaster Ave.) SAT Aaron Parnell Brown
Creep Records (1050 N. Hancock St.) SAT Savage Dads, Cassettes
The Pharmacy (1300 S. 18th St.) FRI Sudo Williams, Andrew Milicia, ialive, SAT Maggie Mae, Gracie Martin and The So Beautifuls, Ntive Flora
JJ’s Diner (Please contact one of the acts or venue for more info.) SAT (Farewell Show) My Name Is Tom, Shy, Narra
Green Haus (Please contact one of the acts or venue for more info.) SAT Camp Candle, Elaine Rasnake, The Polychromatics, Whoopsydaisy
Goo Lagoon (Please contact one of the acts or venue for more info.) SAT Yowler, Sitcom, Dan Wriggins
Magic Pictures (Please contact one of the acts or venue for more info.) SAT Kate Ferencz (Tape Release)
Pyramid Scheme on Puddle Splashers
Puddle Splashers has released a new video of the Math Rock Pyramid Scheme performing a new track called “DJ Sloth; Live and Unplugged in Heaven” at Auxiliary Art Center. The trio made their debut last year by releasing a split EP with Monobody.
The band recorded a new album this Spring that they are planning to release at some point this summer.
A Deli Premiere: Wax Statues’ psychedelic single “Stranger”
Bay Area natives Wax Statues make music for sitting back, hanging out and not thinking too hard about it — that is, until you take about one second to listen to the lyrics. Their newest single “Stranger” off the forthcoming debut LP Exclusive / Reclusive begins with the eerie line “There’s something inside / crawling through our space.” The integration of psychedelic twinges into a jangle-rock foundation create a compelling, yet easy-listening experience — reminiscent of a West Coast reincarnation of Dr. Dog. – Lilly Milman
Listen to an exclusive premiere of “Stranger” below.
New GrandeMarshall EP Available for Streaming
Philly emcee GrandeMarshall recently added a new EP to the equation. Self-produced (excluding tracks “One Step Away” and “Buyer’s Remorse,” which were co-produced with Scanz), In Good Spirit maintains a lyric forward introspection. The beats roll with a smooth simplicity, affording concise flows room to run. It’s laidback, exuding a cool confidence. Feel free to give it a spin below. (Photo by Cones)
Squid Cult release video for new single “Baby Blue,” full-length LP out 8/3
Sometimes, a little generosity can come a long way. In Squid Cult’s latest video for "Baby Blue," it takes about 5,500 miles of separation to accomplish that mission. The indie rock foursome took an unconventional approach to bring some happiness to a transatlantic friendship, where the band members recreate a cheeky spy thriller with a lighthearted tone. The story unfolds like untying a knot, an adequate narrative for the song’s fluid time signature changes and smooth, yet intricate instrumental arrangements.
"Baby Blue" will be featured on Squid Cult’s forthcoming full-length record All Boys Leave Home Someday, which comes out on August 3rd via Septarian Records. Juan Rodríguez
Trey Hill’s “Fearless” is a downright beautiful performance
Umm, I need a second. Trey Hill’s voice just washed over me like warm milk and honey, and that’s not an easy feeling to recover from. The arrangement on "Fearless", mixing and all the performances on this song are downright breathtaking. Let’s take a second to appreciate that beautifully, fearlessly-played (no pun intended) drum part, the vocal harmonies, and the plucked guitar licks. Bravo to the instrumentalists and to Hill- a stunning piece of musicianship. –Geena Kloeppel
Empowering electro-pop to soothe your soul: MOLLĒ’s “11:59”
The intro of "11:59" instantly reminded me of something Adele, something Florence + the Machine. But alas, it is MOLLĒ, a woman with a voice full of strength, grit, and a side of sweetness. The arrangement is delightfully built- synth-y, but also heavily reliant on a guitar-like riff and layers of vocals. MOLLĒ is an artist shrouded by mystery and intrigue- I scoured her various social media pages for a first name and couldn’t find one. But what I can tell you is that "11:59" has a strange and unexpected depth to it. Whomever MOLLĒ is, we’re here to listen. –Geena Kloeppel
Why Bonnie Breaks Out With Nostalgic Dream Pop
The Austin-based quintet, Why Bonnie, brings together hazey dream pop with shoegazed vibes that are most reminiscent of Alvvays and Japanese Breakfast. Wistful lyrics coalesce with shimmering guitars to create a disassociative state where nostalgia washes over warm melodies. Blair Howerton fronts the band with a narrowed focus on quality songwriting and lyrics that are then fleshed out by dexterous instrumentation from the rest of the band. "Made of Paper" was released in February and their new EP, "Nightgown", was released June 20th and the band is currently on tour across America. Tap into the pop escapism of Why Bonnie by checking out their tour dates on the link here.
Steve Hauschildt
Last week electronic composer, Steve Hauschildt announced that his next album, Dissolvi, will be released on August 3rd via Ghostly International. This is his first full-length album on Ghostly and his most collaborative release to date.
Below is the album’s beautiful first single, “Saccade”, featuring Julianna Barwick.
Restroy @ Elastic Arts (7/26)
Last month the local labels 1980 Records and Milk Factory Productions teamed up to release the sophomore self-titled album from Restroy. This is a collection of very talented Jazz musicians lead by bassists and composer Chris Dammann and featuring Avreeayl Ra (Drums), Mabel Kwan (Piano, Keyboards), Paul Giallorenzo (Synths), James Davis (Trumpet), and Kevin Davis (Cello, Big Muff, RIng Modulator).
You can catch Restory in person on July 26th at Elastic Arts.
Sorner “We Don’t Talk”
Sorner is the solo project of musicians and audio engineer Ethan Rader. Yesterday he released his debut EP, “We Don’t Talk” and it is a collection of four well-crafted Emo songs that he calls “sad boi jams”.