We are proud to be able to premiere the new video from The Locals for their new single “Eyes Wide Open”. The track is taken from their forthcoming album, Minutes, Seconds, Degrees, which was recorded by Steven Gillis at Transient Sound and will be released this September.
The Locals are the work of Yvonne Doll (vocals, guitar), Joe Bates (bass), Aaron Coleman (drums), and this new single is first new music we have had from them since 2014.
“Contact,” the latest from San Francisco-based alt hip hop artist Morsifire, is a painful song about loss and coping. Raised with a mother suffering from addiction and in a household full of trauma, the artist wrote “Contact” as an emotional reaction to the loss of his sister. He says, "This song is about the immediate aftermath of my sister’s death and everything that came with it. By the end of the song I’m actually addressing her, wherever she is. It’s a raw song, an open wound…"
The track features indie pop singer Emily Afton, who helps infuse and soften the song with her spellbinding voice. "Contact" reminds us of that Eminem track with Dido, and accomplishes a similar feat: a wounded rapper’s anger and pain softened by powerful female vocals. Stay tuned for Morsifire’s live shows in San Francisco and beyond.
New York / Philadelphia band Field Mouse evoke internal conflict on their new single “Heart of Gold,” basking in lukewarm nostalgia against massive pop punk riffs and a breakneck percussive pace. With lyrics detailing dreams of car crashes and meeting one’s “evil self,” lead singer Rachel Browne’s vocal performance is rife with anxiety and a lingering sense of dread. Despite this apprehension, Browne still expresses a cautious confidence, stating she “still has a heart of gold,” which offset against melodic, explosive guitar work embeds the track with an enduring sense of optimism. Stream it below, and catch Field Mouse at Elsewhere’s Zone One on August 17th. -Connor Beckett McInerney
The duo of Kate Hall and Chris Bishop, a.k.a. Love? said the Commander, recently released their debut EP A Million Miles Away, which was produced by Dave Downham at Gradwell House Studio. Hall’s vocals have an authoritative, graceful presence, and when combined with guitar, violin, etc., they illuminate a detailed path. A singer-songwriter tone, with a sense of friction and force that expands in fiery, focused instrumental runs, the EP leaves a cathartic imprint. The pair will be holding their EP release show tomorrow night at Ortlieb’s, supported by The Naked Sun and Rah Blow.
Alt Rock trio The Injured Parties recently released the lead single, “Should’ve”, from their forthcoming sophomore album, Product Placement, which is due out August 30th via Zenith Beast.
This is the trio lead by Poet and Journalist Larry O. Dean along with Jimmy De Lauriea and Mike Ebersohl.
Joanna Sternberg stands tall as a person of many artistic talents; beyond songwriting and playing multiple instruments, including paints and drawings, often used for the album covers. As Joanna’s visual art contributes to genre-defying — almost spiritual — music, the opposite is the same, as these songs create paintings that appear before your eyes as you listen to them. Sternberg just released debut record Then I Try Some More on Team Love Records last month, and set off on tour with Conor Oberst. Sternberg’s bringing the show back home for a bit, with the next performance at Alphaville on August 18th with Miwi La Lupa and Allegra Krieger. Take a listen to the leading track from Then I Try Some More, "This Is Not Who I Want To Be", below. – Will Sisskind
Whitney has released a new single/video called “Used To Be Lonely”. The track is taken from the group’s forthcoming album, Forever Turned Around, which will be released via Secretly Canadian on August 30th.
Whitney will be touring the country and the world for the majority of the rest of 2019. They will be returning home for four shows at Thalia Hall, December 5th, 6th (sold out), 7th (sold out), and 8th.
Hailing from Providence, Rhode Island, Oceans of the Moon is the kind of group that demands your full attention. Take the band’s music video for its single “Blowing My Mind” as a solid example of its experimental music’s ability to entrance. The footage flashes various objects set to a commercial all-white background as the synths and guitars simmer. The vocals, seemingly on a loop, melt into the mind as the carousel of objects lures you deeper into the video, before you know it, you are hitting that “Replay” button. It is the combination of ominous sounds, fierce vocals, and a deceptively groovy beat that keeps the listener swirling in the band’s electronic vortex. The group’s self-titled debut record is out now, with a performance set for the Sinclair on October 16th. We are streaming the music video for “Blowing My Mind” in celebration. – Rene Cobar
Pulgas, the duo of Simon Martinez and Zane Shields, have announced their new effort, titled Or Best Offer, which releases on September 13 via Astro Nautico. Back in 2017, the group shared its self-titled debut on Boiled Records, a world of lo-fi sorcery, filled with dastardly grooves that provided the footing for a stunningly agile and colorful, melodic accompaniment with vocals that were lolled out – smooth and saccharine. Martinez and Shields recently shared the first single from their forthcoming EP. “Largemarj” is a soulful track that swings in a soft shuffle, an impassioned sense of decadence with a touch of melancholy. – Josh Kelly
Six-Piece Black Metal group Meth. are preparing to release their latest album, Mother of Red Light, on August 23rd via Prosthetic Records. The band has released two singles, "Child of God" and "Her Womb Lays Still", that can be streamed below.
This is band’s debut for Prosthetic and first release since 2018’s self-released EP “I Love You”.
You can catch Meth. on August 23rd with Closet Witch and Payasa at Beat Kitchen.
Boy Scouts just released their latest video for "Hate Ya 2" and it’s a captivating animated creation. What an amazing blend of visual mediums that pairs so nicely with the sad and lovely tune. Shout out to that fly, the balloon, all of it. Boy Scouts’ new album Free Company is out September 30 on Anti Records. Fall tour dates (with Jay Som!) start September 11.
Says Vicks, "”Hate Ya 2” is about trying to grapple with conflicting feelings. When you still have love for someone who can also make you feel undervalued and hurt, and how confusing that experience can be. The process of recording this song felt very cathartic. Stephen [Steinbrink] and I drove out to my parent’s house with my friend Rose Droll to have her record piano on a few songs from the record, and when she played along to this one we tracked a few takes of her improvising. It added such a beautiful melancholic element, in true Rose Droll fashion.”
When we asked Boy Scouts’ front person Taylor Vicks why their music has a "golden retriever" classification on Bandcamp, they said, simply, "I really like golden retrievers." A fine, fine reason. Well, we really like you. Give this tune a listen and be damned if you don’t listen to the rest of the album, too.
The Scissors released their first album in seven years, Eulogize, today, August 14th. This is the Guitar Rock of Darren Vorel (of TLB) and David Schneider. The duo released the album’s lead single, “Jet Black” back in June with the accompanying lyric video below.
The is available digitally here, but can also be purchased on limited vinyl here.
