Philadelphia

Weekend Warrior – August 30 – September 1

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Hopefully you have Monday off to recover from this week’s Weekend Warrior pick. SRA Records will be hosting its 10th Anniversary Bash this Sunday at PhilaMOCA. The local indie label is never shy about bringing us some of the heaviest, hardest-hitting acts to come out of Philly. The celebration’s stacked lineup will consist of SRA family & friends – Chronic Anxiety, Psychic Teens, The HIRS Collective, Soul Glo, Solarized, Exmaid, FOD, and Gene London Calling. Get there early for the matinee hours and beyond! And if you happen to be one of the unfortunate ones who don’t have Labor Day off, then just quit already because they obviously don’t appreciate you. – Alexis V.

Other places where you can spend your Labor Day weekend…

PhilaMOCA (531 N. 12th St.) SUN SRA Records 10th Anniversary Bash: HIRS, Soul Glo, Psychic Teens, FOD, Solarized, Exmaid, Gene London Calling, Chronic Anxiety

Johnny Brenda’s (1201 N. Frankford Ave.) FRI YellPunk Fest: The Droopies, Gaz, SAT Dania Hallak 

Boot & Saddle (1131 S. Broad St.) FRI Sleep Tactics (Record Release), Savage Dads, Timelost 

Kung Fu Necktie (1250 N. Front St.) FRI Possum Kingdom, The Agoraphobix / DJs Paul T and Sean Hearn, SAT Witching, SUN Necrosexual, Basilysk, Atomic Cretins

Underground Arts (1200 Callowhill St.) FRI Rebel Foster, DJ Dommis, Mike Voss, Ill Dill Tha Vill, PRLM CHLD, Boob Mile$, Patrick Feliciano, SAT DJ Richard Reich, DJ Elijah Arms

TLA (334 South St.) FRI Petty Levels & Saucy Sev

World Café Live (3025 Walnut St.) FRI Grunge-A-Palooza:The Elysiums, White Limo, Superunknown, Purple to the Core/Urban Guerilla Orchestra, Al Chestnut

The Fire (412 W. Girard Ave.) SAT Put Children First Charity Event: Dead Robins, Tortuga, The 1940s

MilkBoy Philly (1100 Chestnut St.) FRI Bazmati Vice, Ariel Skye, SAT Chalk & The Beige Americans, Dirty Soap, Kelsey Cork & The Swigs, Jesse Gimbel

Ortlieb’s Lounge (847 N. 3rd St.) FRI Adventure Lost, Det Cart Sid, SAT Body Spray, Nowhere, SUN Soft Idiot

Bourbon & Branch (705 N. 2nd St.) FRI A Benefit for Tina Quigley: Reward, Nonfiction, Brandish, SAT Michael Wavves, Trent Thomas,Alex Catrambone, Sami Rahman 

Silk City (435 Spring Garden St.) SAT DJ Deejay

Fergie’s (1214 Sansom St.) FRI Live Band Karaoke, SAT Live Band Karaoke, SUN Rusty Cadillac 

Century (1350 S 29th St.) FRI Douse, Doused, SAT No Gods, Polemicist

Connie’s Ric Rac (1132 S. 9th St.) FRI Scarlet and the Degenerates, DRACO, The Russells, Wormtooth, X88B88

Morgan’s Pier (221 N. Columbus Blvd.) SAT Kalicade, SUN Ear Me Now

The Grape Room (105 Grape St.) FRI This Temper SAT Packed Lunch, Moment To Capitalize, The Jumping Juvies

Ardmore Music Hall (23 E. Lancaster Ave.) SAT Splintered Sunlight, Jah People

Creep Records (1050 N. Hancock St.) FRI Flesh Tomb, Schotzi, SAT Fixation, The Grip, SUN Moment To Capitalize

Warehouse on Watts (923 N. Watts St.) FRI  Grace Vonderkuhn, Miss Cantaloupe, SAT DJ Lean Wit It 

Couchtown (Please contact one of the acts or venue for more info.) FRI City Dressed, Rasan In The Heyday (Solo)

Free Candy (Please contact one of the acts or venue for more info.) FRI Moral Crayfish

Hubris House (Please contact one of the acts or venue for more info.) SAT Telyscopes, Vague Advice, Samryebread

TRUCK (Please contact one of the acts or venue for more info.) SUN Puppy Angst

Made In America (Ben Franklin Pkwy.)SAT Pink Sweat$, SUN Lil Uzi Vert, Tierra Whack, Kur

L.A.

On “Bess’s Dance,” Itasca goes on a creative retreat

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It’d been three years since Kayla Cohen (a.k.a Itasca) released 2016’s Open to Chance, a sublime offering where the singer-songwriter sought to connect with the nature, and beings, that surrounds her with finger-picked acoustic melodies and lilting country ballads. There was a good reason for her absence—wanting to escape the hustle and bustle of L.A., Cohen went on a six-month creative retreat to rural New Mexico in hopes of finding something new and meaningful. One of her findings is documented on her new single, "Bess’s Dance," a gentle jazz-folk fusion that conjures images of her days living in an old adobe house. 

"Bess’s Dance" is the first reveal off Itasca’s fourth LP, Spring, which is due out on November 1 via Paradise of Bachelors. Juan Rodríguez

NYC

Camp Saint Helene release haunting single “Protector”

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Sleepaway camp season has ended, but that won’t stop Camp Saint Helene from creating music that will give you memories of sunsets on the lake, sneaking out of your bunk at night, and holding eldritch rituals before a blazing fire. The group’s new track "Protector" inhabits the space between light and dark, hope and doom, life and destruction; it stems from the band spending most of their recording time in a studio on a Christian camp which became an arts colony. Liza Ibarra’s lyrics from the subconscious will intoxicate you like the shimmer of the lake or the twilight silence or the touch from a summer fling or the breath of darkness on the nape of your neck. Take a listen to "Protector" below; look out for Camp Saint Helene’s debut album Mother on September 27th. – Will Sisskind

Chicago

Suri “As I Am” Video

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Suri released her debut album, “As I Am”, back in 2017, but kicked off 2019 with the release of the album’s title track’s intensely beautiful video. We sadly just discovered both the video and album this week, and honestly felt this video deserves many more than 600 views.

Suri’s most recent single was released a year ago and is called “Need I Care For You”.

New England

Honey Cutt promises a thrilling full-length album with new single “Suburban Dream”

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Honey Cutt has been keeping busy since the release of its 2019 single “Suburban Dream,” an indie-pop delight with both retro and quite modern colorations. The band toured extensively through July, visiting cities like Indianapolis and Detroit along the way. Kaley Honeycutt, who leads the Boston-based trio, fuels the powerful lyrics of “Suburban Dream” with observations of her time in suburbia. The song may be “tongue in cheek,” according to the band, but it touches on that genuine feeling that anyone who has lived in one place for most of their life can relate to, a sense of wanting to break out. Breaking out is precisely what Honey Cutt is doing: having signed to independent label Kanine Records the band promises a full-length record is coming. The group recently performed at ONCE in Somerville and is sure to keep its momentum going this fall. We are streaming the vibrant single below. – Rene Cobar

Chicago

Matt Muse “Myself”

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Matt Muse has released a video for the track “Myself (Philautia II)” from his recently released EP, Love & Nappyness, that finds himself literally spending time with himself.

Here is how Matt approached the video for one of our favorite tracks from his EP. “The concept of the video is basically me taking the time with Myself to take care of Myself. The version of myself who appears in the beginning is the regular me who needs to take time to work on my insecurities. The second Matt (with the visor and polo) represents the embodiment of the positive traits and characteristics that I struggle to address/big up when I’m down and having low self-esteem. The second Matt is spending the video teaching the regular Matt how to take care of himself (Myself). I directed the video and it was shot by Interwine Productions. I wanted the video to be really funny and fun to watch.”

Chicago

Dozens “Don’t Look Away”

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Dozens have released a new single, “Don’t Look Away”, their first since 2016’s Rare Form LP. This is primarily the work of Kyle Mann, who did release a solo album called Surface last year.

The new single itself has elements ’70’s soft rock in the extremely catchy chorus but weaves its way through various era’s to arrive at a sound all its own.

Chicago

Vanity Contest “Coil (The Doomsday Disco)”

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Vanity Contest is the Electronic Post-Rock of Brady Matteson and May Skomsvold. The duo released their debut album, Breaking Distance, back in May, and are preparing to release a new EP called "Hospice For The Lonely” on October 30th.

Below is this first single, “Coil (The Doomsday Disco)”, from the new EP.

Philadelphia

New Track: “Glass House” – Eleby

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The "pro-bee" quartet of Eleby is back with a new single, called “Glass House”. Airy keys and an ominous bassline converge creating a delicate yet determined dynamic. Hushed vocal layers linger like remnants of a secret whispered. Softly sung, revealing lyrics inhabit an intimate space, before the band locks in for an extended groove to close things out.

NYC

TONIGHT: Fieldings release EP “It’s All You, Cookie” at Rubulad

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What better spot for Fieldings to debut a whole new EP of their wonderfully weird tunes than Rubulad, Brooklyn’s nomadic venue? The trio of soft indie rockers will drop It’s All You, Cookie tonight; its final track, "Soft Shell Crabs", has already seen release – we are streaming it below. It retains the same echoing dreamy goodness as their tracks from their previous album "Soft Tissue", but it sounds as polished as — if not more so than — anything the group has released in their six years of existence. Take a listen to "Soft Shell Crabs" below, and if you can make it to the show, RSVP to Rubulad for the address. – Will Sisskind