New Music, Emerging from your Local Scene
Punk bank Uglybones released their sophomore record, Sunshine, today, August 15th, via Don’t Panic Records. The album focuses on a single day in someone’s life and the array of emotions and activities that may take place.
You can help the band celebrate the release on August 17th at Galaxie 2.0 (4437 N. Ravenswood) and on Sept. 8th at Cobra Lounge.
“Mean Spirit” is featured on Gold, Flour and Salt, the debut album from Missing Earth. Coming out from the menacing darkness, with a celestial tone, the track accelerates into the wide-open. There’s a strange familiarity that provides a lonely disconnect. It appears to move one further away, exploring one’s own mind, while severing ties in the process.
New Senses released their debut double EP, “The Future of Anything/Not Meant to Last”, back in May. Their music is invented resting somewhere between Psych Rock and Post Rock. The four piece group consists of Rob Piotrowski, Harish Vijayaganesh, J Akio Pinkl-Honda, and Nick Zbasnik.
They recently put together an ambitious European tour that will take them to Poland, Germany, and Czechia.
Earlier this month Psychobilly band 13 Angels released their latest EP, “Canaries In The Coal Mine”. This is the work of Shannon James Jahnke, Sean Luke, Chris Wolf, and F. Charles Urbaytis, and the band’s first release since 2016’s EP “Tiny Sinful Asides”.
NYC Rap group Blahsum has released a new track for each of the past 42 full moons. Only seventeen of them are videos, and their bandcamp isn’t maintained as well as it should be, but how much can you ask of some greasy underground rap moon worshippers? “She loves me not” is a brawlick meditation of the bones of a love unrequited. The video’s trippy visuals pair well with the verbal hallucinations likely barked into a distraught microphone in the basement of an LES squat. Blahsum is the bad moon arisen – see them at their self hosted Brooklyn event on 255 McKibbin St. on 08.18.
A sneak peak of Child of My Sorrow, the forthcoming album from The Chairman Dances, has emerged. Directed by Bob Sweeney, the video for "Acme Parking Garage” begins with the eerie emptiness of the garage, which eventually flourishes into the expanse of the store. Then, a warning for a wet floor sends things into a temporary, downward spiral, before a veiled sense of normalcy concludes. Child of My Sorrow is due out on September 7 via Black Rd Records, and you can catch the band’s record release show the following evening at Boot & Saddle, where the quartet will be supported by fellow locals Bird Watcher and Brother Martin. (Photo by Bob Sweeney)
Parrot Dream’s debut album Light Goes is full of emotionally wrought dream-pop that unfolds in small yet powerful moments. The crystalline guitars and subtle synthesizers offer up shimmering tunes that balance sobering reality with fully realized dreamscapes. The equilibrium they’ve struck between these ideals comes through fully realized with songs like “Ode To Octavia”, where the group isn’t afraid to add a little grit to their sparkling sound. The band will celebrate the album release on August 24 with a show at Union Pool. –Tucker Pennington
The Fox & The Hounds have released a new single called “House of Leaves”. This is the band’s first released since their 2015 EP, “Peachy Keen”. Below is the Katharin Mraz directed video for the single.
This is Kendel Lester fronted burlesque rock band that includes Katie Renshaw (Vocals, Keyboard), Kate Brassel (Vocals), Jared Leppert (Guitar), Jody Miller (Bass), Tony Panico (Drums), and Mike Sviokla (Guitar).
SELLER is New Haven’s new favorite grunge pop band, having hit the ground running fast with their debut LP Present & Pretending — a melodic medley of confessional lyrics, scuzzy grunge-influenced harmonies, and surreally pleasant guitar solos. One of many highlights on the seven-track project is “Backwards & Sideways” (streaming below), which matches the lyrical integrity of Moose Blood with the musicality of the jazz-psych-grunge outfit Fleece. The rest of the album follows suit, sometimes even channeling the pop sensibilities of (dare I say?) pop-rockers Neon Trees (see: "Coffee Stains.") Although their next show is in New York (at Brooklyn’s Wayward Social on August 15,) the four-piece is always gigging around Connecticut. They will be back in West Haven to play The Cave on August 28. – Lilly Milman
Matchess has a new track, “The Mystic Ship by Antonin Artaud" on the recently released Lillerne Tapes #100 compilation. Matches is the experimental synth pop of Whitney Johnson, and her latest album, Sacracorpa, was released on July 27th via Trouble In Mind.
Lillerne Tapes released this cassette, their 100th, last week and the compilation features bands and musicians that have helped shaped the local label over the last ten years. This includes contributions from Brett Naucke, Forest Management, Opheliaxz and many more.
Matchess will be participating in the improvised musical round robin event along with Makaya McCraven, Ben Lamar-Gay, Jeff Parker, Circuit Des Yuiz, and more at Thalia Hall on August 30th.
Photo by Maria Tzeka
It seems every summer the temperature becomes more and more unbearable. That’s why it’s so refreshing to hear the breezy and cool return of Phony Ppl. After three years without any new material, the group has returned with the vibrant “Before You Get A Boyfriend” video (streaming). Sun-kissed guitars and splashy keys make this the perfect song to mark the beginning of the end of summer. You can watch the video below. – Tucker Pennington
oeugons are real is primarily the math rock project from Tristian Zemtseff. He is preparing to release his debut full-length album, don’t hold anything, on September 7th.
Zemtseff has released the first two singles from the album, “a stone to cut the wings” and “watching”.
You can catch oeugons are real at The Store (2002 N. Halsted) on September 18th with Melazeen and Stutter. Proceeds from this benefit/album release be split between NAMI Chicago and The People’s Music.
