New Music, Emerging from your Local Scene
M A L O released her debut EP, “Born In A Bad Way”, last year and is now preparing to drop a full-length album called No Martyrs’.
She blends Jazz, Soul, Funk, and Rock in a way that sets her apart in every way. Her vocals are impressively powerful and in the mold of Amy Winehouse, but somehow grittier.
You can catch M A L O at Foundation Room at House of Blues on July 24th as part of Uncorked and Unplugged. She will also be performing on August 30th at Green Grocer Chicago.
The latest single from Boston’s Motel Black progresses quickly and intoxicates with velocity: “Master of Reality Revisited” keeps a steady punk rhythm going as a slick bassline hypnotizes. The vocal delivery is assertive as it leads the listener toward furious build-ups punctuated by dynamic guitar solos. Motel Black embraces the gritty alternative rock that New England produces, the group flashes the best parts of it without a doubt. The band has a gig at Jungle Community Music Club in Somerville, MA on July 27th. We are streaming “Master of Reality Revisited” below to get your alt-rock engine going for the show. – Rene Cobar
Fans of Brooklyn’s garage rock quartet Big Cheese have something to look forward to this year: Wild to Be Born, a brand new record, has been announced by the group for a September 13th release. The band’s new single “Filthy Rich” is a dramatic sonic strut back into the busy Brooklyn music scene, a swagger-filled track with an opening guitar riff too cool to forget. The band’s last album Supersonic Nothing was making the rounds in 2016, spreading its Sonic Youth-influenced tunes and making a name for Big Cheese’s noisy brand of garage rock. Three years later the band has refined its sound, filtering out some of the noise, but not abandoning it – it bubbles up more subtly in the brand new track which also flashes enough grunge to excite ’90s rock lovers. The band appears to have a big end of the year in store, but for now, it is business as usual as a performance at Art at the Footlight in Queens awaits on July 25th. We are premiering “Filthy Rich” for you below. – Rene Cobar
Sans Lorenzo has released their latest album, Lombard, which features the lead single, “Licia Park”, which we shared back in May.
This is the blistering Post-Punk of Dan Couture (Guitar, Vocals), Kevin Graf (Lead Drums), and Nate Brown (Bass).
“The Weight of Water” is featured on Mother Moses‘s new EP Bowling Shoes, which is available via Before the World Ends Tapes. The song strolls along in a folk familiarity as Sadurn bandmates Jon Cox and Genevieve DeGroot share vocal duties, curating innately intimate harmonies. The song taps into the isolating escape of creating a personal facade while pointing out its shortcomings. The cabin-esque feel is amplified by the fire-kindling warmth of Pete Gill’s (Friendship, Hour) pedal steel playing.
One of the top bands in Toronto’s booming garage scene has been on a roll lately releasing a new album and touring all across Canada. Wine Lips are on fire and have just released a video for their latest single “Fly Swatter”. The video features the band rockin’ out at a wild basement party all while being very disappointed in their friends high jump skills. This track comes from their album “Stressor” which was released earlier this year. You can see Wine Lips perform a highly anticipated set this weekend at the Crystal Lake Festival and they’ll be back here in Toronto opening for Shonen Knife on September 25th at Hard Luck Bar. – Kris Gies
The music of Boston’s Pretty Saro has a shimmer to it, a softness that soothes the listener while eliciting from the same a smile or two. It is the storytelling in each song that makes this folk group so intriguing: stories of love found and lost out west and of towns long disremembered all come to life among the myriad of string instrument harmonies and fine vocal melodies. Racing Back to You is the band’s latest record, perfectly encapsulating the spirit of New England folk music. Each track offers a story seemingly unconnected that finds a way to weave itself into a larger tale throughout the record. The themes of friendship, love, and home longing all help to make Racing Back to You a relatable album that deserves a good listen. Pretty Saro is celebrating the release of the record with a performance at Club Passim in Cambridge on July 23rd. We are streaming “Hindsight” for you below. – Rene Cobar
Hippo Campus opened the show for The Head and the Heart at ACL Live on Wednesday night. Their charisma and emotive performance stirred the crowd into dance, readying them for the headlining act. The penultimate song of their set, South, is inspired by Texas, they said. A great set, great presence; visiting from St.Paul, Minnesota, the band brought electric energy for the Austin crowd.
The Head and the Heart have toured through Austin numerous times earning them a warm reception. They opened the show with “All We Ever Knew,” and immediately hooked the room with the hit song from their 2016 album, Signs of Light. The band played a balanced mix of tunes from their old and new albums; their newest album, Living Mirage, released earlier this year. The all-ages crowd indiscriminately bopped to the acoustic chords from their earlier music and the synthy sounds from on the newest record.
Admittedly, the most cheesy moment of the performance was when the lead singer, Josiah Johnson, paused in the middle of the beloved “Let’s Be Still,” with a call for flashlights: “Everyone, take out your phone flashlights and let’s fill this room with fireflies.” Somehow it seems less romantic when the musician makes this request, compared to the days past of music loving audiences spontaneously breaking out their lighters.
Although their sound is evolving, they’ve maintained a deep sense of lyricism. The album’s single, “Honeybee,” sings of a relationship sticking it out through hard times, and is not at all about bees: “Such a fool, I took your love and I bent all the rules…stuck around to let me know, built a family of our own.” Frontwoman and violinist, Charity Thielen explains that “‘Honeybee’ really captures the idea of realizing you may have been living a life complacent with the familiar. Maybe even taking the person closest to you for granted and regretting not expressing your love towards them until it’s too late.”
They closed the evening with the song everyone was waiting for, Rivers and Roads, reminding us of why we fell in love with them in the first place. Released in 2011, the song’s sentiments grow more relatable each year contributing to it being a timeless favorite in the neo-folk canon. They sing, “a year from now we’ll all be gone, all our friends will move away.” Imagine now all the change you’ve experienced in the last 8 years. Do you relate? Does this song resonate? Do Charity’s haunting vocals still move you like the first time you heard it?
-Melissa Green
Taiwan Housing Project have released another lethal LP Sub-Language Trustees, which is now available via ever/never records. The band generates a jarring intensity, shaking up the status quo. Kilynn Lunsford’s vocals demand one’s attention, in a mesmerizing fashion as the experimental instrumentation swirls in a chaotic, post-apocalyptic fashion. Unlikely combinations create unsettling sonic surroundings in the aftermath. Thrown into a cacophony of chaos that rumbles and roars, the band leads you through the fiery force of the unknown. This Saturday night, Cousin Danny’s will be hosting the Taiwan Housing Project’s record release celebration, with support from The Doilies and Eat (who were just added to the bill due to Chronic Anxiety’s Mitch Esparza being injured during a strong-arm robbery – we are certainly wishing him well and hoping for a speedy recovery). Stay cool & hydrated out there! (Photo by Rich Wexler) – Michael Colavita
Other places where you can hit this weekend before global warming really ends it all…
Cousin Danny’s (Please contact one of the acts or venue for more info.) SAT Taiwan Housing Project (Record Release), Eat
Johnny Brenda’s (1201 N. Frankford Ave.) FRI Call To ACCTion (Dance Party to Benefit ACCT Philly): John D, Elijvh Vrms, Baby Berlin, SAT Goodnight Lights, Spelling Reform, La Palma, SUN I Think Like Midnight
Boot & Saddle (1131 S. Broad St.) SAT Cheerleader
Kung Fu Necktie (1250 N. Front St.) FRI Botis/DJ Deejay, SAT DJSC, SUN Seismic
PhilaMOCA (531 N. 12th St.) SAT Blushed, Trash Boy, Dear Forbidden, SUN Curtis Cooper
Underground Arts (1200 Callowhill St.) SAT Moros
TLA (334 South St.) SAT Tailgunner, Looks That Kill
World Café Live (3025 Walnut St.) FRI (Upstairs) Beta Hi-Fi Emerging Artist Festival/(Downstairs) C.R.E.W Love Showcase, SAT (Upstairs) Dukes of Destiny, Deb Callahan, SUN Brewhouse Rock
The Fire (412 W. Girard Ave.) FRI Irv The Villain (EP Release), Spazz Black, The Hailstones, SAT The Fall of Chernobyl, Duress, Infinity/The Philly DJ: A Tribute to Scratching & the Art of Turntablism
MilkBoy Philly (1100 Chestnut St.) FRI American Trappist, SAT The Good Mess (Album Release), Peace and the City Grease
Ortlieb’s Lounge (847 N. 3rd St) FRI Legion 76, Duffy’s Cut, SAT Yikes the Zero, Grand Mantis, Zilla Rocca, Teef, Flote, ialive, Grand Mantis
The Barbary (951 Frankford Ave.) Bad Habits Fest FRI Alright Junior, Cassettes, American Dinosaur, Jesse Gimbel/Naps Past Noon, Summer Scouts, Kennel Club, Sitting in Cars, SAT Jamie and the Guarded Heart, Local Smokes, The Tisburys/Andorra, Knightlife
Silk City (435 Spring Garden St.) FRI Bo Bliz, SAT DJ Deejay
Fergie’s (1214 Sansom St.) FRI Live Band Karaoke, SUN Rusty Cadillac
Bourbon & Branch (705 N. 2nd St.) SAT Doug Wartman (Record Release), Starterjacket, CaveWomen, SUN Don Casilono
Connie’s Ric Rac (1132 S. 9th St.) FRI Gibby Haynes with Paul Green Rock Academy, Gibbous Moon, Los Bambinos, SAT Gibby Haynes with Paul Green Rock Academy, YDI, 7th Victim
Voltage Lounge (421 N. 7th St.) FRI Korine
Morgan’s Pier (221 N. Columbus Blvd.) SAT DJ Pfeffer, SUN Frank Daly
Frankie Bradley’s (1320 Chancellor St.) FRI DJ Ben Aire, SAT Crabaret: an All-Cancer Sign Show/DJ Ed Cristof
Century (1350 S. 29th St.) FRI Atomic Cretins, Josh Alvarez, SAT Destroying Angel (Release Show), Kiss of the Whip
The Grape Room (105 Grape St.) FRI Civil Holdup, Nyla Fairway, Synergetix, SAT EDO
Ardmore Music Hall (23 E. Lancaster Ave.) FRI Steal Your Peach, SAT Marah, Pawnshop Roses
The Pharmacy (1300 S. 18th St.) FRI Primitive Heart, Panophonic, Under The Wire, SAT Countdown from Ten, Black Dirty, Palmlines, SUN Suburban Living, So Totally, Blood Sound
Creep Records (1050 N. Hancock St.) FRI Endless Taile, Line Leader
Warehouse on Watts (923 N. Watts St.) FRI Pink Party: Astro 8000/Elvin T, Shang, DJ Matpat
Planet Phitness (Please contact one of the acts or venue for more info.) FRI Dignity Act Benefit: Pinkwash, Greg Electric, Big Heet
Anthorna Gallery (Please contact one of the acts or venue for more info.) FRI Lenny Ranallo, Noera, Scyphozoan
The Tide Pool (Please contact one of the acts or venue for more info.) FRI goodnight/goodluck, Chill Dad
Weird noise plays opposite scorched guitars on Gross Dominance, the new EP from New Jersey’s Resounding No. Whether this noise adds to a dramatic, calamitous conclusion on opener “Hexed Pet” or adds a gritty depth of sound to vocals on tracks like “Hunter’s Moon,” Resounding No understands how to wield reverb and dissonance to their advantage. This, paired with the Garden State trio’s command of songwriting and precise percussive licks helps to deliver a tight extended play that rips from start to finish, providing a rust-laden, engaging listen for fans of melodic punk and garage rock. Get a good pair of earphones before you let Gross Dominance wash over you, and catch Resounding No at In the West on August 22nd alongside Didi and Magic Ghrelin. -Connor Beckett McInerney
Adam Melchor’s songs are stories about family—and how the experiences he’s acquired with time gain a deeper meaning as he grows up. On his latest single, "Joyride," the LA-via-New Jersey singer-songwriter writes about the challenge of letting go when it’s the best course of action to take, using his parents’ stolen childhood truck as a symbol that mirrors their eventual divorce—a lesson in perspective that taught him to value those valuable moments before they’re gone. The clamor of a trumpet only augments his reflection, an instrument that brings clarity of thought to his otherwise acoustic rumination.
"Joyride" follows the release of his sophomore EP, Plan on You, which was released earlier this year. Melchor will join Rodrigo and Gabriella on a string of tour dates, including a hometown show at the Greek Theater on July 23. Watch the accompanying video below. Juan Rodríguez
Sean Green dropped his latest single, “Driver”, last month, and now is planning to release the next single, “Thinking’ Bout U”, from his forthcoming EP, “Perfume Hill”, on July 28th.
Green performs a brand of music he has dubbed Millennial Jazz, but it lands somewhere on the Yacht Rock spectrum.
You can help Green celebrate the release of the new single on July 28th at The Whistler with Late Nite Laundry.
