New Music, Emerging from your Local Scene
Casual Hex released their self-titled debut EP earlier this month via Midwest Action. This is the Psych Rock of Alice Kraynak (Guitar, vocals), Jimmy Stone (Guitar, vocals), Chace Wall (Bass, vocals), and Stephen Waller (Drums). Below is the Filip Kojic directed video for “When I Was With You”.
You can catch Casual Hex as part of the Midwest Action Showcase at Hideout on August 24th with Lever, Fauvely, and Baby money.
Produced by Joe Michelini (American Trappist), Maybe I’ll Feel Better When I’m Dead, the forthcoming album from The Vernes, is marked for release on September 28. A wistful nostalgia disperses on the record’s title track and lead single. There’s a certain rainy day sadness, as one sifts through memories. Places are the same; the person isn’t. That cathartic, melody-driven walk, even when your stuck in a rut, can be rewarding. You can find The Vernes supporting American Trappist this Saturday, August 25 at Boot & Saddle, along with Carroll.
Brooklyn’s via Omaha quartet Navy Gang is one of the best acts from the crop of NYC bands infatuated with the alt-pop sound of the ’90s, when bands like Dinosaur Jr. and Pavement were developing a musical vocabulary that shared Nirvana’s power trio sound, but replaced the tortured angst with a more thoughtful and fatalistic attitude – which earned them the "slacker rock" label. The 14 songs in their newly released debut album "Poach" are a reinterpretation of that sound that’s definitely worthy more than one listen, in particular when the band follows more personal sonic and songwriting paths, linke in single "Awkward Exchange" (streaming), featuring a wall of sound of pitch shifted distorted guitar and 8-bit synths. Navy Gang will be celebrating the release of Poach tonight (08.22) at Baby’s All Right.
The soulful Jack Red released his latest project, Holy Affair, back in December. The album was also represented visually in five cinematic videos. It turned the project into something close to a soundtrack. Below is the video for the album’s opening track, “ISO”.
You can catch Jack Red on August 25th at Reggie’s Chicago with Asia Monique and D’Zhari.
Toronto glam grungers The Effens have released a new EP “Burn Blush” on Lootbag Records. They also dropped a new music video for the single “Half”. This track has a dark, lazy opening that slowly escalates to the droning yet catchy chorus. This tune is a real 90’s throwback that’s like a creepier Stone Temple Pilots. The emotional intensity grows throughout the song ending with a very powerful chorus. “Burn Blush” EP available at their store. – Kris Gies
A new label, two years in the making, launches this weekend with a triple cassette release at Empty Bottle. The label is Fine Prints and is run by Robby Haynes and Ziyad Asrar. The two, accomplished musicians and producers in their own right, have hand selected three bands, Wage, Mayor Daley, and Desert Liminal, to kick off what promises to be an outstanding local label.
We recently had the opportunity to ask Robby and Ziyad a few questions about the label and the bands they have chosen to work with. You can read the full interview here.
The Fine Prints launch event, “Everything Is Fine”, takes place on August 26th at Empty Bottle and will feature performance from Wage, Mayor Daley, and Desert Liminal.
Revival rock’n’roll bands aren’t a rarity in NYC (or anywhere else in the US, for that matter), but it ain’t easy to find one that’s able to reinvent the genre without sounding irredeemably stuck in the past, while also tearing it on stage. Jeremy & The Harlequins pull off both feats with flair, alternating "purer" rocking tracks with others that introduce pop elements and more modern chord progressions, like "Remeber This," the titletrack and opening track of their new album. The band announced a two legged summer/fall tour – with the later dates as a support for Electric Six. You can catch them live at Brooklyn’s Littlefield on October 2nd.
Laser focused on booking the best emerging NYC artists from genres ranging from pop to soul to hip hop, The National Sawdust’s monthly Revolution series returns this coming Saturday (August 25th) with its 30th installment involving three talented soulful artists.
Latinx American singer, songwriter, and producer RAE ISLA writes stylish and passionate songs about love and our connection to the divine; African-American female neo-soul singer and songwriter from Long Island, Hadassah delivers experiential stories while fusing jazz, soul, and electronica on a minimalist backdrop; NYC-based psych-soul quintet Madam West seek to find, through their songs, the sunlight that remains—even in a cold-shouldered city, during what often seems like the darkest of times.
Listen to a playlist of their songs below, and don’t miss them live on Saturday at Revolution #30!
We are very excited for the return of local freak-folk legends Espers to a Philly stage. This Friday, August 24, we’d like to send you and your favorite concert partner to Union Transfer, where they’ll also be joined by Andy Cabic’s Vetiver and guitar wunderkind Ryley Walker. Now, that’s certainly a stacked lineup for indie-folk fans! To enter for a chance to win a pair of tix, just send an email to thedelimagazinephiladelphia@gmail.com with the subject line "Let’s Get Freaky". Please also include your cell number in the body of the message (in case of an emergency). Good luck!
Tasha has released the first single, “Kind Of Love”, from her forthcoming debut LP, Alone At Last, which is due out October 26th via Father/Daughter Records.
The album will be available in all formats, but the vinyl pressing is limited to 500 on Baby Blue colored wax. Each vinyl purchased will come with a poetry zine with contributions from Tasha, Imani Jackson, Keisa Reynolds, Kara Jackson, Jamila Woods, and Stella Binion. Also, a dollar from each LP sold will be donated to No Cop Academy.
You can catch Tasha at Lincoln Hall on Sept. 21st with Illuminati Hotties and Diet Cig.
Photo by Grace Coudal
Suicide Bong Tapes recently issued So Far…, the new release from punk outfit Trash Knife. An unrelenting energy races ahead in an ongoing stream of consciousness commentary. Bursts of unfiltered honesty rumble past and sweep you up in their contagious, rambunctious fits and starts. Before heading out on a European tour, you can catch the band’s sendoff on Sunday, September 9 at The Buffalo, supported by Kids, Los Gueys, and Episode.
Last week, a surprise [untitled] EP from mewithoutYou arrived via Run For Cover Records. Thoughtful, personal literature lingers in the air, bringing a sense tension and weight/importance. As one negotiates through a maze of thoughts. there seems to be a balancing act of the internal and external existence. mewithoutYou also announced that a new full-length album, [Untitled] (Run For Cover Record), is slated for release on October 5. The TLA will also be hosting the band on Wednesday, December 5. (Photo by Hayley Rippy)
