New Music, Emerging from your Local Scene
Impulsive Hearts released a new single, “Fool”, last week. The song has really evolved since the demo version they released back in 2016, and is their first release since that collection of demos and live recordings.
Impulsive Hearts is the work of Danielle Sines, Dan Julian, Jess remaster, and Doug Hoyer.
You can catch Impulsive Hearts at Empty Bottle on July 26th (tomorrow!) with Mutts and Jesse W. Johnson as part of a benefit concert for Traffick Free.
Swearin’ is back, with their forthcoming album, Fall Into The Sun, scheduled for release on October 5 via Merge. Its first single, “Grow into a Ghost,” gradually opens amid the buzz of power chords. While the smattering thump of backend, a cleaner guitar riff forges a path for Allison Crutchfield to step forward, leaving remnants of the past behind. A composed confidence is apparent as the rough edges push on the perimeter, giving way to a sense of clarity. You can catch Swearin’ at the First Unitarian Church on Wednesday, October 10, with Empath, who will be joining them on a week-long run.
Having just released her long-awaited debut album Both, Okay Kaya shows no sign of slowing down for the rest of the summer. The Norwegian, NYC based singer-songwriter has shared the music video for "Habitual Love", a slow jam which follows the album’s theme of dual identity, trauma, depression, and love as a physical embodiment. Kaya took to the Rubber House retreat near New Paltz to film the video, in which she shows off her talent as a dancer and hides a secret love affair with a faceless, featureless mannequin from herself. The artistic clip matches the song’s dark vibes, which Kaya will present live on her upcoming tour. Beginning in mid-August, Kaya will take to the Northwest and make her way back east; then in October, she’ll fly overseas to play a few European shows before returning to Brooklyn for a homecoming show at Music Hall of Williamsburg. – Will Sisskind
“Sounds like Joe Strummer and Nick Cave in a knife fight at Johnny Cash’s house” is how Christian & the Sinners describe themselves. The dark, brooding vocal styles of Cave are very apparent in their latest single “Blood on the Frozen Sand”. With guitars sounding like the Brian Jonestown Massacre, that’s a pretty stellar combo. This single available on their bandcamp page ahead of their October 1st release of “The Perversion of Something Good” EP. – Kris Gies
Legendary Avant-Noise band ONO will be releasing a new tape on August 25th via local label American Damage called Your Future Is Metal. The tape was recorded live at The Hideout and contains five tracks of deranged Gospel, noise, rock, and chaos. ONO for this recording was P Michael Grego, Travis, Connor Tomaka, Dawi Wang, Ben Billngton, and Jordan Reyes (founder of American Damage).
Tracklist:
1. Your Future Is Metal
2. Travis Wax Madonna
3. Albino
4. Outerlude
5. Punks
Ahead of its July 27th release via Lame-O Records, Chosen Family, the new album from Thin Lips, is now available for streaming HERE. Introspective and reflective honesty resounds in Chrissy Tashjian’s words and vocals. Forging that personal connection and then fortifying it with memorable hooks and super-charged riffs, the album is another thoughtful chapter that will memorably sit with listeners. Thin Lips are supporting Japandroids this evening at Boot & Saddle, the opening night of the Canadian outfit’s sold-out run, before heading out on tour for the rest of the summer with Hop Along and Slaughter Beach, Dog.
Special Death recently released their debut 7”, “I Saw The Inside of Your Room”, last month via Rat King Records. Below is the video for the b-side “Night With A Friend”. Special Death is the work of Kyle Lang, Julia Steiner, Drew Erickson, and Brendan Smyth.
You can catch Special Death on July 26th at Sleeping Village with Mother Evergreen and Really From.
The sweltering Texas heat had just barely subsided when it was time for the bands to take the stage at the Mohawk on a Saturday night. An open-air venue, like the Mohawk, is a godsend for all parties involved since it offers an alternative hard to the sauna-like hotbox that is most Austin indoor venues. Deafheaven, a band that has been vilified by metal purists for their genre-bending, decided to incorporate an even more atypical opening act for their tour in Drab Majesty, a retro-wave Los Angeles duo. While both band’s music can be considered dark, morbid, and alternative, there is very little else that connects their sound, yet despite this, the show ended up being highly entertaining.
Drab Majesty has a tragic and disaffected aura that is framed with synth-heavy hooks and new wave beats. The futuristic-looking L.A. duo mix their alien aesthetic with beautiful soundscapes that tantalize the ears and eyes. While Drab majesty seemed to entrance the audience at times, their music was a fairly stark contrast to the shoegaze metal of Deafheaven.
After Drab Majesty left the stage, the San Francisco headliners assumed the stage in their classic style of humble pageantry. Lead singer, George Clark, is a hero to legions of fans who relate to his fiery masculine passion, which is ribboned with a relatable streak of self-doubt. Like Deafheaven’s music, which shirks the unrelenting testosterone of typical heavy metal for a more introspective slow burn, it’s fan base is also a bit more layered than your typical headbanger.
There aren’t many bands that can cover an hour and a half with only eight songs, but that is exactly what Deafheaven accomplished. An obvious focus on their latest record, Ordinary Corrupt Human Love, netted half of the songs on their set. However it was the tracks off of their first album, Sunbather, that gauged the most visceral reaction. While the venue was already packed to a suffocating maximum, “Sunbather” got a rabid response from the pit and every echelon.
While the songs off the new album got head nods and recognition, the venue literally began to tremble during the encore performance of “Dream House”. At some point, watching Deafheaven becomes less of a concert and more of a therapy session, as George’s screams are met with hundreds of others, and the expulsion of energy propels the energy in the building to unheralded levels. An intense night at Mohawk passed like a thunderstorm, going from tense and riotous until it finally dissipated into a serene calm.
The quintet of Blubird recently shared Notes, a new EP that was produced by Kyle Pulley at The Headroom. A burning, emotive core is contrasted by the fresh breeze of melody. These recordings offer a sense of personal insight – bubbly and ready to burst at the seams. Blubird are currently on tour with Americanadian in support of their latest release, and they’ll be coming home to Philly on Friday, August 3 at Yum Yum Kitchen, where they will also be joined by Family Volleyball and Lunar Vacation. (Photo by Jacob Zaoutis)
Matt Muse released his second album, Nappy Talk, last week. The album tackles issues of appearance and confidence, and should be a source inspiration and pride to anyone within earshot. Matt recently took the time to answer a few of our questions, and you can read the full interview here.
National Sawdust’s monthly premiere of emerging local artists called The Revolution is set for its 29th iteration on Saturday, July 28 with a variety of new bands. The three local acts juxtapose each other in genre and songwriting, yet their sounds are engaging in their own distinctive way. Bonomo’s laid-back, silky jazz compositions are wonderfully playful and find grooves that slither around without becoming monotonous, and his somewhat subtle music contrasts his two contemporaries. Cape Francis brings subdued indie folk that transforms murmuring guitars into a roar of organic energy, whereas Hannah Sumner’s ethereal walls of synth pop wrestle with her restrained yet impassioned voice in a combination of natural and synthetic energies. These artists offer wildly different appeals and styles, doubling down on The Revolution’s commitment to diversity in sonic palettes. The show begins at 10 p.m. and you can listen to The Deli’s playlist featuring these acts below. -Tucker Pennington
Idgy Dean will bring her spirited performance to BAZA Studios on July 26. Combining indie rock, DIY, and psych qualities, songs like “Inauguration” and “Indian Squirrel Dance” possess a very edgy, rough, early 2000’s indie rock vibe with an added primal edge introduced by tribal sounding tom toms, performed and sampled live, on stage, by this multi-talented and multi-tasking solo artist. – Pearse Devlin
