New Music, Emerging from your Local Scene
Pink Avalanche has released a video for the first single, “Blood on Tile”, from their forthcoming LP, III. The album is due out on April 19th via Past/FuturesRecords & File 13 Records.
You can catch Pink Avalanche at Empty Bottle on April 18th with Anatomy of Habit and Djunah.
Australia-by-way-of-Brooklyn artist Gabbi Coenen (known professionally as RVBY MY DEAR) lays down a not-so-quiet storm of her new single, “Draw.” The product of stress-induced sleep paralysis, “Draw” finds its strength in Coenen’s economy of movement: her confidence, as a songwriter and vocalist, resonates during the track’s introductory sequence, where Coenen’s stillness and cold crooning weaves daftly between minimalist keys and reverb-heavy claps. This isn’t to say the entirety of Coenen’s performance is based around minimalism. Rather, the careful slow build of tension over the tune’s three and a half minutes has a tendency to wash over the listener in waves of increasing intensity – similar to how water mists, then finally drenches Coenen in its music video. This drama inherent to RVBY MY DEAR’s performance is engaging, never overwhelming, and overall a deeply satisfying experience. Catch the premiere of her new video below. -Connor Beckett McInerney (@b_ck_tt), Photo by Ebru Yildiz
YAWN returned to the stage last month for a surprise show free show at Empty Bottle, and earlier this month the trio released their first new music, a single called “Werewolf”, since 2015’s Day Trip EP.
The trio, lead by Adam Gil, have been in the studio working on new music and it is clear that this is just first of what is to come.
YAWN will be performing at Berlin NYC on April 3rd with The Gloomies, Spooky and The Bear, and Suncelebs.
Photo: Jim Jam Art and Photo
With Southern hip-hop artists like 21 Savage and Travis Scott reigning supreme across mainstream media, it is refreshing to see groups like Queens’ Oxymorrons take a different and bold approach to the genre. Oxymorrons soaks their bass-heavy hip-hop songs in elements of alternative rock, producing catchy hooks that complement their flowing verses, hence crystallizing the meaning of alternative hip-hop. The group is a perfect blend of everything that makes NYC a red-brick melting pot of genres: hard-charging licks, contagious beats, and rapid vocal deliveries form part of their performance. They are coming to Rough Trade on March 30. – Rene Cobar
Never failing to impress, Brooklyn native group Turkuaz has released a music video for their brand new single “Superstatic” which was shot in Brooklyn and directed by Dani Brandwein and Jocelyn Piece. Turkuaz’s lead singer and guitarist Dave Brandwein produced the video which encapsulate the colorful and creative nature of the band via green screen shots that have “an extra sprinkling of strangeness.” Everything was shot inside Brooklyn Bowl, which adds an extra touch of locality to the work. “Superstatic” is from the band’s 2018 release Life In The City, which once again puts Turkuaz’s excellent blend of funk and soul on full display and continues to cement the band’s status in “The Borough of Trees.” Turkuaz hits the road April 4 for a thirty-three date U.S. tour. – Rene Cobar
Primitive Teeth are preparing to release a self-titled EP on April 20th. The first single from the EP is called “Plastic”, and it can be streamed below. This is the first new music we have from the Post Punk band since their two song demo back in 2017.
You can catch Primitive Teeth on April 16th with Impulse (From Italy) at TCC Chicago.
An ominous stir paints outlines for the sonic setting of “Foundations,” which appears to be the title track for post-punk outfit Downtown Club‘s upcoming album. The drums chime in allowing the world to open up. April Harkanson’s vocals shine like a flashlight, illuminating small segments under the cover of darkness. Within a menacing, enigmatic space, a dance-inducing track results.
Dan Vapid & The Cheats recently released their third full-length album, Three, via Eccentric Pop Records. This is the Punk band’s first album in six years, but the group has not missed a beat.
This is the work of Dan "Vapid" Schafer (guitars/vocals), Simon Lamb (guitars/vocals), Dillon Dunnagan (bass/vocals) and Gabe Usery (Drums/Vocals).
You can catch Dan Vapid & The Cheats on June 29th at Chop Shop with The Kepi-rights, The Copyrights, and Kepi.
You might catch Sam Becht, a.k.a. Sam Bekt, at a show or on tour behind the skins with bands such as Epitaph Records’s Remo Drive and Long Island’s Oolong, who have helped to inspire him to want songs of his own. Thus, Selfie was created – a record of “stylish, homespun, pop melancholia”. It instantly captured our attention and a nomination for our Featured Artist(s) Poll, where Becht also recently emerged victorious. Take a moment, and find out more about the Philly renaissance man HERE.
Hannah Read—who goes by the stage name Lomelda—writes intimate songs that elicit big, tender-hearted emotions. Read’s latest album, M for Empathy, is designed in minute-long sketches that detail the pains of loneliness and fraught relationships. She fingerpicks with a classical guitar—a sole companion through this bittersweet 16-minute musical portrait—which embellishes her inward-looking thoughts.
M for Empathy is the follow-up to 2017’s breakthrough album Thx, out now via Double whammy Records. You can stream the album in its entirety on all streaming platforms. Catch her opening for Big Thief at The Irenic in San Diego on April 20. Juan Rodríguez
J. Graves is currently raising funds to get their record Marathon pressed. While supporting a queer, female-fronted band is always a good cause, J. Graves has the kind of talent and heart you can’t help but root for. Their recently released “A Cabin” is a powerful rock ballad, full of the highs and lows any good emotional rock song should deliver. Lead guitarist and vocalist Jessa Grave’s voice is weighted down with tension and vulnerability. However, she keeps up a high energy level as she blends her voice in with the more animated beat produced by the bass and drums. The song is full of the nuanced technical balance that can only result from great chemistry between the members. Together, they produce the sort of rock we want to see more of in the world.
You can find a link to the Kickstarter here, and you can see the band live April 18th at the Bit House Saloon. Childspeak and Foxtails Brigade will also be playing sets.
-By Avril Carrillo
NYC post-rock and prankster duo Shake the Baby Till the Love Comes Out are taking their musical exploration of textures and timbre to Alphaville tonight (March 27) and listeners shouldn’t expect them to hold anything back. The duo consisting of Fiona Gurney (guitar) and Niko Wood (drums) dangles, contorts, and tears away at the fabric of traditional rock in each track of their latest record in a pretty suit. The drastic shifts in tempo and the irresistibly mathy guitar licks that alternate between distorted and clean clearly puts them on the footsteps bands like Tortoise and Cul de Sac who drove the American post-rock movement forward. Shake the Baby Till the Love Comes Out is sure to make a lot of noise, of the right kind. – Rene Cobar
