Change is one of the secrets of inspirations. That’s definitely something Brooklyn band (via eastern Europe) The Clox knows, considering how different and how inspired their newest single "Lullaby" sounds. While their previous releases offered a sound landing somewhere between alt rock and new wave, "Lullaby" welcomes music influences that sound Arabic to us (we are not expert in the field), and absorbs them in a western electronic rock setting. You can see the trio live at Rough Trade on Saturday April 25th.

Marrying ethereal vocal arrangements with classical and ambient influences, and relying on a drumless soundscape where the only rhythm is created by vocal loops and the occasional piano chord, Brooklyn artist GABI has created with "Sympathy"  a record of rare intensity and beauty. The album release will be celebrated tonight (04.22) with a show at the Le Poisson Rouge.

Brooklyn’s dance lovers scene should be ecstatic to have Lazer Cake among its ranks. The band offers some extremely catchy, shakable themes reminiscent of the 70’s, but with the added freshness of modern synth, drummed up with creative vision by a pretty cognoscente… drummer: his name is Robby Sinclair  and he is also the band’s lead singer. Their songs vary in lyrical and effectual melody, using retro falsetto and soft croons and an assortment of key tones, but they all institute a fun, sometimes gorgeous, and ever beat-friendly environment. The result is an exact fulfillment of a mission statement: to get people moving, while exerting a very natural and wholesome chemistry, both in live and studio settings.

Read JP Basileo’s Q&A with Lazer Cake.

We added this song to The Deli’s playlist of Best electronic songs by emerging NYC artists – check it out!

Holy Sons, brainchild of psychedelic songwriter Emil Amos, doesn’t play music that will brighten your day. Emil uses this project as an outlet for dealing with his own ghosts, and his dark, thoughtful, haunted songs don’t do anything to conceal that: the process obviously represents a rather effective form of self medication, considering he’s released eleven records since 2000 (two of them in 2014). Emil recently moved to NYC (from Portland), recruited musicians to re-form his band, and has been playing several gigs in and around Brooklyn. You can catch him at the upcoming Brain Cave Festival on April 25 at Baby’s All Right.

In the best punk tradition, with their upcoming EP "Another Bad Year" (scheduled for a May 12 release) Brooklyn noise makers Vomitface show us that they are not quite ready to look at the bright side of things just yet. Preview single "Never Make It" (whose title, together with the EP’s one, brings a much needed ray of… dispair to our oh so accomplished lives – thanks guys!), adds to their grungy noise rock sound an industrial-funk component, reminiscent of Gang of Four or even a version of Primus without Les Claypool (if that’s even conceivable). The semi-dissonant chorus straightens things up rythmically, only to reaffirm, once and for all, the band’s not so optimistic tendencies: "I guess I will never get it, never make it / I could try to suck it up and smile and fake it / what I need is just a shallow hole to crawl in." All the kids who were subject to overly positive parenting may find here some help in letting out their repressed negativity, through the cathartic power of rock’n’roll.

Vomitface will tour the west coast in April and return to Brooklyn on May 7th at Shea Stadium.

Yesterday (April 19) the lo-fi jangly mastermind behind the project Catwalk kicked off his return with a record release party at the Echo: singer/songwriter Nic Hessler performed songs from his newest album ‘Soft Connections.’ Hessler originally started Catwalk when he was 14, when he released ‘Shiny Girl’ in 2006, a surfy indie rock EP that led to 2008’s follow-up EP ‘Past Afar.’ Nic’s continued success led to his induction into Captured Tracks’ roster at age 18: under that label he revealed the fruits of his labor with the singles "(Please) Don’t Break Me" and "One By Words," before being struck by a sudden sickness that put him out of commission and prevented the release of debut LP: ‘Guillain Barré Syndrome.’ Four years later, Nic returns to complete ‘Soft Connections,’ an album bridging new wave textures of past and soulful indie grit of present. Nic was joined by two fast-rising LA acts: The Echo’s resident band Winter and indie babes Cre-Scen-Do, who also have an upcoming album.

Listen below to "Hearts, Repeating," the feature single from Soft Connections, out now on Captured Tracks. – Ryan Mo

Radiator King is the stage name of Brooklyn based singer songwriter Adam Silvestri, who released this past February his sophomore album "Document Untold," a collection of songs whose intent is to re-tell history from the perspective of those who normally aren’t asked tell history: the people at the bottom of the social ladder. This is a worthy effort in a period where raising income inequality seems to condemn the poor to permanent irrelevance and powerlessness. Several visual, literary, folk and rock artists have done this in the past, and while the Brooklyn musical output has been largely apolitical in the last few decades, comments like this one by NRA’ CEO Wayne LaPierre make us believe that maybe times are mature for a renewed focus on the weak and tragically under-represented layers of our society.

Tonight at 10PM, Hypnocraft’s The Hum, an ongoing (and free) residency featuring collaborations between NYC  musicians from desperate genres, will once again take over Manhattan Inn in Greenpoint. The artists bring to bear an expansive repertoire to their respective sets, which shimmer with that always exciting energy of that “new band smell.” I was lucky enough to catch the residency’s first iteration, which closed with a powerful duet between Shilpa Ray and Deva Mahal of Skylines, and this Monday’s offerings are no less impressive. The bill includes Teeny Liberson (TEEN), Zoe Brecher (Brainfreeze), Jen Goma (People Get Ready), Sarah Pedinotti (Lip Talk, streaming), Kalmia Traver (Rubblebucket), Kaila Mallady, Jordyn Blakely (Invisible Familiars), Alyse Lamb (Eula) and Alex Nelson (Oracle Room, also streaming). – Emilio Herce – In the picture,  an image from last’ week’s show by David Andrako. 

Drawing from influences as diverse (but intimately connected) as Throbbing Gristle, Butthole Surfers and early Ween, PC Worship is a musical entity that despises – rather than simply defying – categorizing. They are so hostile to crystallized descriptions that they brand themselves as ‘a band, solo project & collective of musicians […] aesthetically uncommitted and exploratory." And even though almost every band on the planet has delusions about being that free, PC Worship actually kind of pulls it off (although they are clearly committed to noise and dissonance – and to being unpredictable). You can see them live at Baby’s All Right on May 28. What to expect then? We are not sure about the number of musicians on stage, but music-wise: anything weird, although – luckily – not lacking some structure.

While we were checking out the listings at Rough Trade (see previous post) we stumbled upon Brooklyn’s revival pop trio Las Rosas. Their song will cast the listener to a vintage musical world where the cheeky melodies of the British pop bands of the ’60s (think Kinks) meet with the "beachy" psychedelic pop that invaded the west coast of the US during that same decade. The nasal lead vocals have a cool tone that works perfectly in the mix, and is balanced by well crafted falsetto harmonies. The band released a five song EP entitled "Flower in the Sun" in the spring of 2014, and then a two song single the following November including Ms. America (streaming below). You can catch them at Rough Trade on 04.23 opening for once NYC (and now Nashville) based Clear Plastic Masks.

If – right now – you feel the need to be charmed, just click on the play button of the song streaming below and let things happen. You will hear the never endingly titled song "Peggy Asked A Question & The Answer Is ‘Yes’ & ‘Let’s Keep Dancing." Relegated for some reason at the bottom of the tracklist, this is one of our favorite songs from Brooklyn pastoral-dream-pop collective Field Guides‘ debut album, released this past November, and entitled "Boo Forever." We highlighted the band in this blog for the first time a few months ago and it looks like things are moving in the right direction for them, since they’ve been booked to play the (rather large) Rough Trade stage on May 1st, opening for NYC indie staples Miracle of Modern Science and Emanuel & the Fear. If you live in South Brooklyn, you can catch them at The Rock Shop on April 23.

Do you love bands that bleed 80’s alt rock like Jesus and Mary Chain and The Cure? Are you in San Diego, or able to carpool out there next Sunday, April 19? Can you bring $5 cover to a 21+ event? Then head to the iconic Soda Bar to see The Chantepleures perform some new songs for their debut album. The four-piece beach natives exude romanticism with nods to Jim Reid’s breathy aesthetic and pastel guitar color, exemplified in their 2012 EP "Feels Like Heaven," and later in the 2013 single "All Our Days." Los Angeles post-rock group Young Lovers and San Diego 90’s psych/alt rockers Future Age will be supporting. Come out and dance like it’s Saturday night (even though it’s Sunday night). – Ryan Mo