New Music, Emerging from your Local Scene
Caveat Empire released their second full-length album, Glass Jar Specimens, earlier this month. This is an indie rock group lead by drummer and lead singer Alex Fisher. The group is rounded out by Jason Race (Guitar/Backing Vocals), Sam Lalk (Bass), Matt Benton (Hand Drums/Turn Tables), Alex Konarski (Live Visual engineer/Artist).
Below is the cool stop motion video for the album’s lead single “Army Men”.
While most acts take years to develop a mature sound and build a fan base, some stars seem to be born within a matter of weeks. This appears to be the case for Brooklyn born avant-soul-pop singer King Princess, who released her debut EP "1950" earlier in 2018 and is about to play two sold out shows at Elsewhere’s Rooftop tonight and tomorrow (June 25-26). The first artist signed to Mark Ronson’s label Zelig, King Princess is also a producer and multi-instrumentalist with a deep musical background, and, judging from her kinky videos, an inclination towards subtle provocation that can only generate intrigue among music fans.
Young Bugs‘ songs fall in between the cracks of post-punk, garage rock and indie rock. They’ve got moments where they brilliantly thrash together for a brief, fifteen second moment and then on the next track they’ll be reverting to angular riffs reminiscent of Gang of Four. Quite simply, Young Bugs have cherry picked the best ideas from a variety of sub-genres and melted them down to their purest form to create their newest album Room Damage, which succeeds on a multitude of levels. Opener “Fawn” features a galloping drum beat and a guitar riff that is equal part technical proficiency and equal part danceable groove. The album also avoids the somewhat dour tones that have plagued many post-punk albums of recent years due to its odd structures and upbeat tones. Even the lead single “Forget the Truth”, while on the surface appears to be a straightforward and jangly guitar driven song, uses subtle instrumental flourishes to keep things interesting. It is obvious that care was put into every song in Room Damage, and it shows in how much ground the band covers in 34 minutes. You can stream the video for “Forget the Truth” below and catch them live at Alphaville on July 3. -Tucker Pennington
Krust Toons: "You Illiterate Cur!" by Tedd Hazard – please feel free to drop him a line at teddandthehazards@gmail.com if you dig or have any funny ideas. You can also check out more of his illustrations and animation shorts HERE.
The O’My’s released a new single, “Starship”, on Friday, June 22nd. The single features Maceo Haymes’ silky smooth vocals over the band’s quiet storm-esque backing track.
This is the band’s first release since 2015’s “Keeping The Faith” Ep.
Sometimes a pleasant surprise is just the kind of lift one needs to shift the tides; the new album from garage-punk trio Bike Crash does just that. Joyful bursts of defiantly sung lyrics are coupled with a compact, casual, rumbling of noisy instrumentation. The band addresses pertinent, present-day, political problems, and infuses a playful dynamic in the process. Finding a balance addressing hard-hitting, societal issues and presenting that commentary in a fun, frenetic manner is no easy feat.
In many ways, the music of Cry Babe is based on a classic indie rock sound, but there’s a poignant melodic element to it that gives it a wrenching quality. Bassist Maddie Putney and drummer Rose Reinholz are in great sync, maintaining the ideal balance between punchy beats and soft melodies. As vocalist Anaïs Genevieve wails out the lyrics to “Picasso” the rich timbre of her voice adds a more romantic flair to the band’s warm instrumentals. Cry Babe also incorporates a generous use of cymbals and an omnichord, subtly adding elements of synth and pushing the band’s work into the dream-pop category. You can catch them next on July 15 at Turn Turn Turn with Mere Mention and Slutty Hearts.
By Avril Carrillo, Photo By Corbin Corbiin
Robinson has got the whole hook-thing down. Their new song "Souvenirs" has hooks galore- vocal hooks, guitar hooks, their verses are catchy, their choruses are even catchier… And on top of that, the song is tastefully produced, helped along by a lovely rhythm section and some ethereal, washed-out guitars. Be sure to check out the rest of their latest album, Another Life, which offers up more of the same easy-going, silky pop/rock. I’ll be humming "Souvenirs" all week, and that’s more than okay. –Geena Kloeppel
Ellen Angelico’s voice is an eyebrow raiser- it’s incredibly blunt, a little sarcastic, but mostly, Angelico is so self-assured that she’ll make you smile. "The Left Lane Is for Passing" is not only a country bop, but also features a choir, a jazzy upright bass line and this sly lyric: "The left lane’s for passing / the right lane is for asses like you." The whole song is really just a burn disguised as a country tune, and I’m here for it. Angelico’s full record Haven’t Changed Much is out tomorrow, 6/25. -Geena Kloeppel
A perpetual sunny disposition and bubblegum pop vibes that manifest positivity, Kady Rain’s music is a vitamin shot of glitter-pop designed to brighten your day. The Austin-based pop vocalist/songwriter has taken her personal life’s darkness, including surviving an abusive past, and rendered it into an inspiring and uplifiting expression of love through her music. Kady Rain’s new single, "It Wasn’t the Roses", features incisive lyrics that are confectioned with infectious electro-pop, leaving listeners entranced and curious for more. Kady Rain is 28 years old and has already demonstrated a fortuitous demeanor that will keep her momentum moving forward towards larger audiences, so lets enjoy watching the metamorphosis from beginning to end.
Ohmme has announced that their debut full-length album, Parts, will be released on August 24th via Joyful Noise Records. Ohmme is indie pop duo of Macie Stewart and Sima Cunningham. Below is the video for the first single “Icon”.
You can catch Ohmme at West Fest on July 8th and at Thalia Hall on August 25th.
