New Music, Emerging from your Local Scene
Sofar Sounds Chicago recently posted their session with Gorilla Social. For this live performance the group performed their 2018 single “Mr. Literal”.
Their latest single is called “Clockwise” and was released back in April.
You can catch Gorilla Social at Burlington Bar on Sept. 21st with Oakmen and Slow Haste.
“Hereditary Trauma Dream Sprinting (Oxford Circle)” is the lead single from MARANASATI 19111, the forthcoming debut full-length from Nina Keith. The LP is slated to arrive on August 30 via Grind Select. From its bird-chirping opening through the elegant expansive piano and flourishes of flute, etc., Keith creates a vivid, sonic landscape that also includes vocal assistance from Becki Freiberg. A graceful, weightless atmosphere thrives within an inherently complex, classical setting. It feels as though all your senses have been finely tuned to fully appreciate the nuanced layers. (Photo by Madeleine Bishop)
Courtney Swain, the ever-active lead singer of the Boston-based group Bent Knee, released a solo record back in May and it takes a bite out of the New England music scene. Between Blood and Ocean is existential therapy via ethereal songs like “Snowflakes” and hard-charging alternative tracks like “I’d Kill.” Bleeding out the avant-indie influences that have helped shape Bent Knee, Swain deploys gritty guitar riffs, syncopated drum patterns, crushing electronic percussion, and tender piano melodies for a sound unlike anything else in music today. The songs were written during Swain’s stay in Martha’s Vineyard for a residency awarded by the Turkey Land Cove Foundation. The singer/songwriter thanks Asher Kurtz, Jed Lingat, Kyle Harris, and Tim Doherty for helping bring the album to life. Swain, the Providence local, has further stoked the fires of curiosity, intrigued, and innovated with this new entry. We are streaming the worldly-sounding “Sweet Snow” below. – Rene Cobar
Folk trio Discoverer, Tariq Shihadah, Laura Shihadah, and Jon Reeg, released their debut album, I Am in Love, back in 2016. They blend gentle, peaceful ambient music with more traditional elements for Folk to create a sound that is beautifully meditative.
You can catch Discoverer at Uncommon Ground Edgewater on July 31st with Bittersweet Drive and Kasondra Drive.
Attia Taylor & Corey Duncan, a.k.a. Strange Parts, have shared a new video for “Weathersby”. The track is featured on the duo’s 2018 album, Oh God, What A Beautiful Time I Spent In The Wild, which was recently reissued via This & That Tapes. Shot in black & white with bright bursts of pinkish-purple fireworks, the video ties into the summer season. The pair naturally sway to the hypnotic groove. There’s a fantasy-inspiring, daydreaming aesthetic at play.
Verluna is the earnest and intense sounds of Alex Katsaropoulos. He released his latest single “The Narrow Road to Oku” back in February, but last month dropped a beautifully filmed live performance video for the track. Much of Verluna’s music is inspired by the Japanese poet Bashō, and revolves around his meticulous guitar work and haunting vocals.
You can catch Verluna opening for Eldren at Martyrs’ on August 3rd.
Feel It, the debut EP of Brooklyn post-hardcore quintet Nice Knife, is the musical equivalent of a lightning strike—here for a hot, visceral moment, then gone before you can render what the hell just happened. This isn’t so much a dig at the run time of their first effort (an exhilarating five minutes), but more so a testament to the focused energy of Feel It’s three tracks; from the whirlwind, guttural vocal performance on opener “High Knees” to the melodic coursing of “Knew It,” Nice Knife are able to incorporate numerous, if subtle, post-punk and thrash motifs into their work. It’s a thrilling, compelling ride that promises a barn burning performance at The Broadway on July 25th, where Nice Knife will play alongside Haute Tension and Big Spirit. Listen below. -Connor Beckett McInerney
Twin Peaks have released a bloody video for the first single, “Dance Through It:, from their forthcoming album, Lookout Low, which is due out on September 13th via Grand Jury. Below is the tracklist for the band’s first full-length studio release since 2016.
LOOKOUT LOW TRACKLIST:
1. Casey’s Groove
2. Laid in Gold
3. Better Than Stoned
4. Unfamiliar Sun
5. Dance Through It
6. Lookout Low
7. Ferry Song
8. Under A Smile
9. Oh Mama
10. Sunken II
You can catch Twin Peaks at The Riv on November 29th.
We were celebrating America on July 4th — drinking heavily and lamenting the injustices carried out by the nation’s rich and powerful, that is — so we slept a bit on Cave Mode Shake releasing their driving new single "This Is It". But now we share this indie jam with you; these five rockin’ boys go ham on this track which sounds like an homage to LCD Soundsystem’s latest work, what with the reverb on Joe Gladstone’s vocals and Dennis Pickett and Ben Merlotti going absolutely bonkers with the guitars. "This Is It" is a good pump up tune for a night out this summer; maybe you’re looking in the mirror getting your makeup on or driving up to the club with your friends, and you need a track that’s going to speed up your heartbeat a little bit. Cave Mode Shake are happy to deliver. Take a listen to "This Is It" below. – Will Sisskind
Power Pop veterans The Lilacs are preparing to release their first new music, The Lilacs Endure, in over 25 years via Pravda Records on August 16th.
The group, fronted by guitarist and vocalist Ken Kunson, got their start in the early ’90’s, but unlike contemporaries like Material Issue, Smashing Pumpkins, Urge Overkill, Fig Dish, Certain Distant Suns, etc., they were mistakenly overlooked in the Capitol Records signing hast.
Along with Kunson, original band member Dave Levinsky (guitar/vocals ) is back, and wrote two of the groups four new songs. These two are joined by John Valley, founding member of Green, on drums and Nashville’s Steve Poulton on bass.
As we prepare for this exciting new album, we find ourselves diving down youtube wormholes and below is a gem from The Lilacs’ 1992 full-length debut album, The Lilacs Rise Above The Filth, called “Very Last Time”.
Portrait in Silver is the forthcoming album from Night Sins, the solo project of Nothing‘s Kyle Kimball. The release is set to arrive on September 6 via Funeral Party. A video for its lead single, “Annihilator,” is out now. The footage, which was directed by Cassandra Nguyen, captures a couple of goths getting down and possibly finding love/lust in a synth-fueled, bondage-friendly club scenario. Images of the perfect day, enhanced by nicotine and a stroll through a graveyard, are intermittently shuffled, causing you to question the line between fantasy and reality. Night Sins will be holding its record release show on Wednesday, September 4 at Johnny Brenda’s.
Claude has released a beautiful new single called ”Turn”. This is the first new music from Dream Pop musician Claudia Ferme her debut EP, “Enactor" back in May of 2018.
The track was recorded and engineered by Michael MacDonald, who also plays Bass, and also features Sean Green on Drums.
photo by Kait O’Keefe
