Toronto

London Stone – New EP “Just How High” from “Modern Stoner Rock” Band

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Modern Stoner Rock is an excellent way to describe London Stone (I didn’t make it up). “Just How High” is the band’s second release working with Producer/Head Chef, Alex Gamble (Arkells, Pup, Broken Social Scene) and Mastering Engineer, Brock McFarlane (Carly Rae Jepsen, Marianas Trench, k-os) and recorded at Union Sound in downtown Toronto. The opening track “I Just Might” has some major Queens of the Stone Age influences on it. Hits hard with great sonic qualities. “Just How High” is available now on all major platforms. – Kris Gies

Austin

Jamila Woods Brings Soulful Healing to Barracuda

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 A sold out show: Jamila Woods and her amazing band brought authentic Chicago strength and soul to Barracuda playing her new album LEGACY! LEGACY! The instruments were dressed with bright colored scarves and a black obelisk donning Wood’s lyrics stood tall behind them on stage. 

Sipping warm tea between songs, Woods radiated humility and gratitude. With impeccable composure and insight, she introduced her songs sharing the inspiration and process behind them.

 

Woods dropped some facts about Frida Kahlo’s life and allowed her lyrics to explain the rest in FRIDA, a songstory about a difficult relationship seeking harmony through boundaries; “I like you better when you see me less…We could do it like Frida, we could build a bridge then I could come see ya.” Her thought-provoking lyrics and her melodic vocals cajole the listener to feel between the lines and awe at her command of figurative language.

 

Her positively-charged-proton presence fills the room. Her poetry amplifies the positivity as her lyrics serve to empower herself and the audience. Do not misunderstand this positivism to mean blind idealism or marxism, the positivity instead represents renewed optimism born from adversity. Her song, EARTHA, addresses the battle some may wage with self worth and self love. Before singing this one she asked us, “Has anyone ever been in a relationship that fucked you up?” Imagine how many people confirmed her question with hoots and hollers.

 

This song, EARTHA, became one of the anthems of the evening as Woods paused, demonstrating how to cast a self-love spell and inviting the audience to participate by joining her  to sing the chorus: “Who gonna share my love for me with me?” Everyone’s relationship with Self is unique to their own, but if you were waiting for permission to love yourSelf, here it is from Jamila Woods. Repeat this chorus as many times as necessary. Follow up with HOLY from her HEAVN album. The audience needed no invitation to sing along to this one, the penultimate song of the evening. The hypnotic hymn provides another powerful mantra and declaration: “Woke up this morning with my mind set on loving me.”

The album’s content and scope reaches deeper and farther than just positivity, but it is by this means that she delivers an end (not the end). OCTAVIA is a song of poetic justice and so, so meta. Woods sings, “it used to be a crime to write a line, our great great greats risked their lives to learn by fireside,” as a reverential nod to her ancestral past. She continues, “We are a precious creation, our black has no imitation.” Her lines can resonate with anyone of any background, but her love for her blood is healing and beautiful.

 

Woods’ words are incredible, but her articulation and delivery is what gives them life. ZORA, named after the author Zora Neale Hurston, catches the ear with how she dissects and “discomobs [our] mold” of understanding. With a touch of zen buddhism, the chorus repeats “you will never know everything, everything. I will never know everything, everything;” and with a sprinkle of peaceful protest the second verse is an embedded poem within the song: “My weaponry/ is my energy/ I tenderly/ fill my enemies/ with white light.”

 

Woods brought more than just good energy to the show on Tuesday night, she brought lasting ruminations, free affirmations, and peaceful incantations. The Chicago spirit of the band blessed this Austin crowd.

 

 

 

-Melissa Green

 

L.A.

Listen to Manuel the Band’s slick, intricate new single “Breathe,” play Basement Tavern on 6/29

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On their new single, "Breathe," Manuel the Band counterbalance their slick, indie-rock sound with tuneful, intricate glides. The Long Beach quintet let a mellow, bass-driven melody guide their groove, gradually intensifying into a big, horn-driven finish. Vocalist Manuel Grajeda sings with passionate fervor over a gentle background harmony, transformed by the intimacy of physical contact.   

"Breathe" is the latest single off Manuel the Band’s forthcoming debut full-length, Room for Complication. Catch them at Basement Tavern in Santa Monica on June 29, as well as in various venues surrounding the Long Beach area throughout July. – Juan Rodríguez

Chicago

the Hÿss @ Metal Monkey Brewing (6/28)

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Doom Metal group the Hÿss recently released their latest EP, “Hound”. This is the energetic metal fuel of Dave Fitzgerald (guitars/vocals), Pat Kennedy (guitars/mandolin/vocals), Matt McDonald (vocals), Mike Scales (drums), and Bill Sullivan (bass).

You can help the Hÿss celebrate the release of their new EP at Metal Monkey Brewing in Romeoville on June 28th with These Beasts.

NYC

Plastic Picnic’s “After You” is a Nostalgic Wave, plays Market Hotel 7.18

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Much like the ebb and flow of the ocean informing its seemingly René Margritte-inspired album artwork, single “After You” gently washes over the listener, soaking them in the vintage atmospheric sound of New York synth pop outfit Plastic Picnic. The first single from their forthcoming sophomore EP Vistalite, “After You” makes no effort to deny its ’80s inspiration, but channels the timeless theme of fearing change into its delicate vocal line. Simultaneously, it never barrages you with a nostalgic sound, applying a modern perspective by scaling back instrumentation carefully over the course of four minutes, presenting a sonic output that is well-tempered and rich, but never overwhelming. It promises a dreamy performance at Market Hotel on July 18th for the band’s record release show, supported by Toldeo, Hypoluxo, and Pecas. Stream it below. -Connor Beckett McInerney

Chicago

Highest Low “Underdogs”

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Highest Low, the Hip Hop duo of Just Wise and Cruz Ocho, released their latest album, Underdogs, earlier this month. The album features production from Joe Tyse and contributions from Lil Bruja, Je$$e, Black Logic, and Tomcantsleep.

The duo manages to magnificently walk the like between old school and new school while touching on subject both fun and frivolous and grounded and serious.

Philadelphia

New Absinthe Father EP Available for Streaming & Download

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Haley Butters, a.k.a. Absinthe Father, recently shared a new EP, titled Soften. Hushed vocals and sparse guitar create an isolated sound. Emotively unpacking one’s thoughts and expressing vulnerability, these songs have a delicate but lasting impact. Absinthe Father are slated to perform at Hubris House on Saturday, July 27, as part of a lineup that also includes Brackish, COMPs, Noera, and Clavicle.

Chicago

Skul.Kid “Dove Songs”

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Skul.Kid (aka Chace Wall) released a new EP, “Dove Songs”, via Midwest Action last week. As with Wall’s previous solo work, this is beautifully intimate Lo-fi bedroom folk pop.

NYC

TANSU, The Side Project, and Miranda Joan play The Revolution #40 on 06.29

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In Volume #40 of the Revolution, a performance series involving emerging NYC artists curated by The National Sawdust, Harlem-based TANSU, NYC’s saxophone quartet The Side Project, and Brooklyn singer and songwriter Miranda Joan will be joining together to share Williamsburg venue’s stage on June 29th.

TANSU’s story includes studies at The Berklee College of Music, one of the few music schools able to develop well-roundied musical artists. Her voice has an impressive strength and vocal range, propelling her modern and sophisticated soul-pop style. Singer songwriter Miranda Joan, who has collaborated already with The Side Project, offers a more mellow and lush take on soul-pop, with electronic flourishes that don’t affect the genre’s signature relatability. The Side Project, a sax and voice ensemble dedicated to covers of pop hits and led by the saxophonist and producer Éyal Hai, boasts a roster of past shows at The Brooklyn Bowl and The Art Institute of NYC. They recently released their first album, ‘#ThisPartySax’ under the label Rabbit Rabbit Rabbit Records. Tickets for the June 29th show are on sale now here.

New England

Dan Webb and the Spiders celebrate ten years of activity with new record “Be Alright”

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Great garage rock can never die, not in ten years, not in a hundred, Boston’s Dan Webb and the Spiders are just one of the many examples of the genre’s lasting power. The four-piece band’s brand new record Be Alright continues the group’s sonic race, displaying along the way the dauntless guitar solos, reverb-soaked choruses, and enthusiastic drum beats that have characterized the band for the last ten years. Be Alright has both energy and variety with tracks like “Best Regret” displaying the remnants of pop punk’s influence on bands active during the end of the last decade. “Notice” is an unexpectedly slow track with delicate piano notes, a bit of reflection perhaps for the group. Dan Webb and the Spiders have got in their hands now a record that reflects their storied history and serves up their music more refined than ever before. Dan Webb and the Spiders’ music video for the title track is streaming below. – Rene Cobar

Chicago

Better Yet Podcast’s Wilco Tribute Album

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Better Yet is a tremendous local long form interview podcast, hosted by Tim Crisp, and primarily featuring local and traveling musicians. The podcast is preparing to release tribute album to Wilco’s classic Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, called “All of God’s Money”, on July 10th.

The tribute album will feature an array of local bands and musicians including Meat Wave, Slow Mass, and Ratboys. The albums first single is New York’s Laura Stevenson’s take on “Jesus Etc.”.

 

All proceeds from this project will be going to AIDS Foundation of Chicago.

Philadelphia

New Track: “Break Away” – The End of America

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“Break Away” is the latest single from The End of America (a fitting name for how things feel lately). Swirling acoustic guitar and keys form a path for lush, vocal harmonies. Hanging in the balance, the fantasy of escape unfolds. On Friday, August 23, you can catch the Philly trio as part of the 25th Anniversary celebration of Jeff Buckley’s Grace at World Cafe Live.