Nashville

Power-pop group Pacific play The High Watt on 01.10

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Folks, if you’re searching for New Year’s Eve plans, here’s a word of advice: Stay home. If you’ve ever gone out on the so-called NYE, you know the risks you take by exposing yourself to the masses. Save yourselves!

But: After you’ve avoided the drunken carousals and traffic nightmares, perhaps you’ll venture outside to see a show. And if you do, you should catch power-pop group Pacific play The High Watt on January 10th. The Nashville indie newcomers take their sound from the early 2000s; think All American Rejects or softer Blink-182. That kind of catchiness will get to you on their newest single "Crumble", a crunchy track with all the makings of an indie pop radio-ready hit. Pacific will play their January 10th single release show with openers RYLY and Chasing Ella; start your new year off right with some new tunes from all of those fine groups. Take a listen to "Crumble" below. – Will Sisskind

L.A.

Glacial Palms shares enigmatic new single, “Dreams Elusive”

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Glacial Palms look back as a way to look forward on "Dream Elusive." On their enigmatic new single, the sibling-formed six-piece further their intricate, wintry folk-rock in both sound and personnel, given that their new project is a reimagining of their previous band, Sikamor. There’s a renewed sense of energy in "Elusive," less so in expansion and more so in subtlely, as they carefully tailor brother and sister Rafael and Fiona Cansino’s classically-trained vocals over a soft blanket of descending arpeggios and ambient keys. Theirs is a careful reflection of how the dreams we hold have great significance, even if they’re not as tangible as we’d like them to be.

"Dreams Elusive" is the leadoff single off of Glacial Palms’ latest EP of the same name. You can listen to it now via their official Soundcloud page. Juan Rodríguez

 

Philadelphia

New Track: “Stag” – Goat Mumbles

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Rob Grote (of The Districts) recently shared a new single under the moniker of Goat Mumbles. “Stag” occupies a shadowy, synthwave spectrum. A progressive, percussive groove shimmers in the moonlight, creating a mysterious, lonely dance track. The song seems to be invitation to a prospective companion, as Grote’s vocals suggest a hypothetical future. The longing, semi-spoken deliver is contrasted by the warmth and brightness of his falsetto, introducing a different perspective of the artist’s musical talents. (Photo by Out Of Town Films)

Philadelphia

Debut Finders EP Available for Streaming & Download

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As though floating through a vast, ethereal dream with turbulent twists, Maroon 6, the debut EP from Finders, provides a pensive ambiance A discovery-oriented drive delicately pushes one forward. The instrumental atmosphere is compact, but offers room for vocals to breathe. However, as one foot is placed in the clouds, another is grounded in reality.

Nashville

Glam-rock The Blam Blams drop debut EP early for Christmas

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Greta Van Fleet may have nailed the Led Zeppelin impression despite their dismal showing on Pitchfork, but The Blam Blams have arrived to give you your dose of throwback glam rock goodness. The group, which convened through Craigslist communications in late 2017, just released their debut EP as a holiday offering; the disc includes three tracks from their upcoming full-length record Opening Night. The first track, "Roll On", smacks of Queen and David Bowie without getting too derivative; you can imagine lead vocalist Brad Owens strutting across the stage a la Freddie as he sings. Speaking of stage, if you want to make the drive up to Clarksville, The Blam Blams will play at Wicked Good Sandwiches on January 26th; the band will tour throughout next year to support the LP. Watch their socials for upcoming dates, and take a listen to their EP below. – Will Sisskind

NYC

Poetic Thrust celebrates EP release at Elsewhere on 01.12

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Hip hop collective Poetic Thrust, recent winner of our NYC Artist of the Month Poll, will be celebrating the release of their new EP at Elsewhere’s Zone One on 01.12. This group is among the few hip hop acts that play fully live, a genre normally relying on beats played through a turntable or an electronic device. You can listen to their 2018 single "Salty" below.

Chicago

Sophagus

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Sophagus has released two new singles, “Big Belly” and “Free Head”, this month and both blendHip Hop with a DIY Punk sound. This is the first new music from Sophagus since early 2017 and a very pleasant surprise.

Sophagus is the work of Matthew VonEisengervich and he has been involved in the scene for years as a musician, artists, and clothing designer.


Philadelphia

Weekend Warrior, December 21 – 23

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Composed, personal narratives with crisp instrumentation filling in the details, the songs of Truth In Comedy (Lame-O Records) from Steady Hands travel down the road in a revealing confidently cathartic manner. Blending emotive honesty with an enthusiastic and, at times, humorous, anthem-generating quality, it balances waves of good-natured punk that everyone at the bar can join in on. Yet, those themes/stories will resonate as you make your way home. This Saturday evening, Steady Hands will be headlining a Home Outgrown showcase at Everybody Hits. They’ll also be joined by the vulnerable, raw rock of Earth Telephone, the sincere songwriting of Major Pursuit, and the powerful, affecting folk of Julia Rainer to complete the billing. (Photo by Chelsea Christer) – Michael Colavita

Other places where you can let loose this holiday season…

Everybody Hits (529 W. Girard Ave.) FRI Caracara, SAT Steady Hands, Earth Telephone, Major Pursuit, Julia Rainer

Johnny Brenda’s (1201 N. Frankford Ave.) SAT The Work Drugs 8th Annual Holiday Spectacle, The Yetis, Pilkington, SUN Good Old War

Kung Fu Necktie (1250 N. Front St.) FRI DJ Deejay, SAT Attic Tapes, SUN Miles Chancellor, Ish Williams, Sudan, DJ Shad , DJ Tati Mia, BRNDN Forever

Underground Arts (1200 Callowhill St.) SAT Mars Parker, Lucas Wolf, Cain Kerner, baby.com, Moses Mosima, Nogoodstepson, Mike Burns, Ash Shakur, KaneGang, Cousin Carl , Liv Means, DJ Muddy Taylor

TLA (334 South St.) FRI OT The Real, SAT HipHopSince1987 10 year Anniversary Holiday Festival

The Fillmore Philadelphia (1100 Canal St.) FRI DJ Dirty South Joe, Magglezzz, SUN State Property

World Café Live (3025 Walnut St.) FRI (Upstairs) The Brothers J.A., SAT (Upstairs) Ali Awan/(Downstairs) Peek-A-Boo Revue

The Fire (412 W. Girard Ave.) FRI TreyDay, CpTime, Roi Lush , Axe Limbert, Jesse Bertuco, Nazeer Art’aud, Timmy Jones, SAT Disoriental, World Breaker, Mr. Unloved

MilkBoy Philly (1100 Chestnut St.) FRI Aaron Parnell Brown

Ortlieb’s Lounge (847 N. 3rd St.) FRI Party Muscles, SAT Ten Ton Hammer, Bandit, Drowse, World Below, Raw Force, SUN Korine, Haunted Homes, Sad Actor

Silk City (435 Spring Garden St.) FRI Bo Bliz, SAT DJ Deejay

Bourbon & Branch (705 N. 2nd St.) FRI Stella Ruze, Black Horse Motel, Rob Tait, SUN Alec Stewart (Record Release), Alison Hoban, Lovers League 

Fergie’s (1214 Sansom St.) SAT Triage, SUN Rusty Cadillac 

Connie’s Ric Rac (1132 S. 9th St.) FRI The Paul Green Rock and Roll Holiday Extravaganza, SAT The Paul Green Rock and Roll Holiday Extravaganza/Reverend TJ McGlinchey

Voltage Lounge (421 N. 7th St.) FRI Year of the Knife, Kaonashi

Frankie Bradley’s (1320 Chancellor St.) FRI Ben Aire, SAT DJ Brian Toll

The Tusk (Please contact one of the acts or venue for more info.) SAT Hawk Tubley’s Holiday Hullaballoo

Century (1350 S 29th St.) SAT King Ani Mal, E.Grizzly, The Magnificent Shithawks of the Greater Northern Americas, The Hands Resist, The PLIBmen

The Tower Theater (S. 69th St. & Ludlow St.) FRI The War on Drugs

The Grape Room (105 Grape St.) FRI Bitchfork, Vitamin F, Peace & The City Grease, Jason McGovern, SAT Apple Juice Jones

The Locks at Sona (4417 Main St.) SAT Mutlu

Ardmore Music Hall (23 E. Lancaster Ave.) FRI Beru Revue, No Good Sister, SAT Let’s Danza, Double D, SUN Stolen Rhodes

NYC

It’s time to celebrate A Very Allston Christmas, vol. 4

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It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in Allston, and 23 of the area’s best bands have joined together to celebrate with a compilation. Now in its fourth run, A Very Allston Christmas is a perfect blend of classic and cool. Magic Magic, who have participated in every installment of the series, kick off volume four with a warm, lo-fi cover of "It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas." What they take away from the classic version in their stripped-down vocals and harmonies, they add in new 8-bit-adjacent sounds. Other highlights from the compilation include Holiday Music‘s "Family Tree," School Shoes‘ "In The Bleak Midwinter," and Eggy Benedict‘s "Christmas Always Makes Me Cry." The compilation is available for purchase on Bandcamp, and all of the proceeds will go towards Bridge Over Troubled Waters — a Boston-based organization devoted to providing necessary services to at-risk, homeless, and runaway youth. – Lilly Milman

Shake the rust off some tired old tracks and discover some new ones with A Very Allston Christmas Vol. 4 below. 

NYC

Wooing’s “The Clouds” is an otherworldly vision

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The Clouds, the newest single by New York’s Wooing, is a release that feels not of this time. Through frontwoman and multi-instrumentalist Rachel Trachtenburg’s haunting vocals, softly commanded against echoing pedal-laden guitar lines, the band crafts a soundscape that feels both vintage and otherworldly, as if Motown existed in a universe of David Lynch’s making. Even the opening lyrics on “Could Have Been” implore feelings of a disconnect, as Trachtenburg (previously in Supercute! and Prettiots) paints surrealist landscapes wherein she “went to the moon, [and] saw your head up in the clouds” as an eerie, theremin-like sound wanders behind her. Between “Could Have Been” and b-side “In Her Head,” Wooing have stumbled upon visions of the subconscious that could be either dreams or nightmares, but they are captivatingly engrossing nonetheless. – Connor Beckett McInerney (@b_ck_tt)