Slothrust is the perfect soundtrack for brooding on a gloomy day and would be a good way to psych yourself into finally telling your boss to go fuck himself (please exercise caution for the latter).  Melding clean, bluesy guitar riffs with lo fi, scratchy vocals, the trio from Bronxville is strangely reminiscent of Morphine… only not really.  Listening to their music can actually be a little confusing, sometimes feeling so familiar that drawing a comparison becomes irresistible, though nothing really fits.  Maybe trying to compare them to someone else is a pointless exercise.  Maybe trying to compare any artist to another is a pointless exercise.  My god!  All the time I’ve wasted!

Dumb philosophical rhetoric aside, this band is really good.  So good, in fact, we just had to ask them several conveniently band related questions, which they were kind enough to answer!  Perhaps you’d care to read it, if you aren’t too busy?  Of course you would!  Why else are you here?

Click here to read the interview by Charles Murphy.

Boston-based quartet RIBS are setting off on tour this week, taking their Failure-meets-My Bloody Valentine dreamscape down the East Coast for the first time. The tour currently has 9 scheduled stops, starting on May 5th in Boston and ending on May 14th in Athens, GA.

RIBS has built a reputation across New England for the creativity and clockwork of their light-flooded live shows, making them a go-to choice for local support on national tours including Helmet and Circa Survive.

Reviews described their latest release, the double A-side Locrian Singles as a "double-knockout" – comprised of two "futuristic, star-screaming" singles – showing an evolution from the sneaking post-gaze of the band’s debut EP, British Brains, released last June. RIBS rose to prominence after British Brains became one of Reddit’s top music posts of all time.

The RIBS East Coast Tour will include the following stops:
05.05 – Boston, MA – Great Scott
05.06 – Danbury, CT – Heirloom Arts Theatre

05.07 – Albany, NY – Hudson River Coffee House

05.08 – Brooklyn, NY – The Charleston
05.09 – Baltimore, MD – Sidebar Tavern
05.10 – Richmond, VA – Strange Matter

05.11 – Greensboro, NC – Pin Ups
05.12 – Asheville, NC – The LAB
05.13 – Atlanta, GA – The Music Room
05.14 – Athens, GA – Rye Bar

–Chrissy Prisco

Island Nine and Desert Race Boston present: The New England Bicycle Expo (NEBE) at Arts at the Armory in Somerville, MA on May 7th and 8th. The NEBE will be host to 40+ regional bicycle companies and organizations. There will be two days of exhibits, presentations, discussions, classes, bike rides and live music. Tickets are $6 and children under 10 are free.

The live music schedule is as follows:
Saturday 5/7:
Noon – The Grownup Noise
1:15 – Slowdim
2:30 – Fortune Teller
4:00 – The Michael J. Epstein Memorial Library

Sunday 5/8:
Noon – Justin Francos
1:00 – Creek River String Band
2:30 – Acousticana
4:00 – Kristen Ford Band

May 7 & 8, 9 am – 5 pm
Arts at the Armory
191 Highland Avenue Somerville, MA 02143

–Chrissy Prisco

Sodium Lights
Album: Transtulit
Released: January 2011
From: Connecticut
Think Nine Inch Nails’ Pretty Hate Machine with a soulful club diva singing vocals. An unexpected but entertaining juxtaposition. Track two, Tunnel, combines Lady Ga Ga-like song-craft with techno beats. The confusing part is that Sodium Lights’ blend of glitchy techno and Top 40 pop hooks has one foot planted firmly in both worlds but doesn’t quite belong in either. I’m not sure if they belong in a dark basement club or on Kiss 108 radio. Whichever of these two worlds wins out, Transtulit is an entertaining listen.

Custardpaws & Mr. Freezy
Album: The Buffalo
Released: March 2011
From: Portland, ME
I almost wrote this record off without a listen because of the band’s incredibly dumb name. That would have been a mistake. The Buffalo is a thoroughly entertaining album. Mixed in with the kookiness of their schizophrenic song cycle is the serious musicianship of Blair Wells & Jeff Badger. It’s a strange combination of influences—the rhythms of the Talking Heads mixed with the indie-easy-listening of Cake and, oddest of all, a snarky sarcasm and vocal delivery that’s reminiscent of Jello Biafra of the Dead Kennedys minus the hardcore punk delivery. And, as if to validate that hint of punk in their veins, smack in the middle of the album they drop a 15 second blast of straight-up hardcore, "I’m Not Doing Shit Today Except For Writing This Song (And I Hope It Doesn’t Take Too Long)" which, in true punk rock fashion, takes much longer for me to type than it does for them to play.

Kick! Kick!
Album: Rising Damp
Released: March 2011
From: North Hampton, MA
Good old garage rock that would be right at home in the seventies dosed with hints of the revivalist, angular instrumentations of The Killers and Interpol. Vocals bounce from Iggy Pop-like croons to Adam Lambert-like super-high shrieks. If their live shows have half the energy of this 6-song EP, they’re a band to head out and see.

Sugar Snow
Album: Sugar Snow
Released: January 2011
From: Boston, MA
Sugar Snow brings dreamy indie-pop that owes much to the psychedelic sixties. Driving rhythms overlaid with trippy guitar solos and the breathy vocals of Simone Berk. Their nine-track self-titled album moves at an ethereal pace as though floating through the fogs of their own dream-state. Listen closely and tell me if Simone’s vocals don’t occasionally make you picture Kurt from Glee fronting a shoe-gaze band.

–George Dow

Rough Francis hails from Burlington, Vermont and are well known across the country and have been positively reviewed by Seven Days to the New York Times. Inspired by the power and magnitude of their father’s (members of the ledgendary punk band, Death) recordings, Rough Francis reincarnated their fathers’ music with a more catchy, new wave accents. Check out their track "Hangin’ On" here:

Hangin’ On-Rough Francis 

This show will take place on 4.29 at Precinct at 70 Union Square Somerville, Ma — Doors at 8pm — Nervous 9pm — The Darker Hues 10pm — Rough Francis at 11pm — 21+ — 7 dollar cover charge. Presented by Desert Race Boston.

Girls, Girls—no need to fight! There are plenty of The Mallett Brothers Band to go around. What do you get when you mix bourbon, country music, and six talented musicians together? The Mallet Brother’s Band. After spending the night dancing my heart out at Portland’s Port City Music Hall to the sweet jams of these fellas, I found it necessary to share the electrifying vibe I felt, and a little bit about these gents, with you all.

Click here to read the rest of Jillian Hilton’s profile of The Mallett Brothers Band.

Tonight, go to Zuzu and check out a crazy, amazing psychedelic pop show.

Local iconic psych pop legend Bobb Trimble, will be playing with Bobb Trimble’s Flying Spiders. It will be his only area show until his record release party in July.

Also on the bill are the psych band Fedavees — Jhnystvns project, along with Tommy Allen (Drug Rug) on drums, and Noah Bond (Doomstar!) on bass.

The show is FREE, begins at 10pm, and is 21+. Zuzu is located at 474 Mass. Ave, Cambridge (Central Sq.).

–Chrissy Prisco

If you miss the sound of the hair bands from the 80’s and early 90’s, but really can’t and won’t go back to that lifestyle, not only do I not blame you, but I’m going to help you out. Primetime, the latest release from The Lights Out, has all the qualities of hard rock classics from the pre-grunge era without all the vapid lyrics, drug problems, and VD. That isn’t to say that it sounds outdated, however.

Utilizing the talents of Benny Grotto at Mad Oak Studios in Allston, the production blends familiar guitar squeals and monster snare punches with smaller reverberation times and less gated everything to suit our modern sensibilities. Especially appealing is that they’ve managed to capture the fun and energy of a The Lights Out live performance, which you might keep in mind if you are planning a kegger or bat mitzvah, supposing your sister-in-law can stop being a bitch for two minutes and realize what a great fucking idea it is.

The whole affair moves at a pretty brisk pace with a couple of exceptions, the most notable of which being the album close, Having It All, which actually reminds me of Soundgarden. Other tracks you should look out for are Enilyse, a jaunty tune about not being a very good person, and Primetime which I’ve been too busy dancing to to care what it’s about. Be sure to stop in to one of their shows (May 14th at Brighton Music Hall, perhaps?) and pick up a copy! Oh, and if you do, tell ’em Murphy sent you. I’ve always wanted that to happen.

–Charles Murphy

Check out The Milkman’s Union tonight, April 25, at TT’s. These guys won the deli band of the month poll a couple months ago and are just winding up a week-long New England tour, this is a show not to be missed. Oh, and it’s 18+!

The line-up is as follows:
10:40 pm — Milagres [Brooklyn, NY + Kill Rock Stars Records]
9:45 pm — The Milkman’s Union [Portland, ME]
8:50 pm — Husband & Wife [Bloomington, IN + Crossroads of America Records]

Thick Shakes make me happy like girls in bobby socks and poodle skirts. Their most recent release, a 7” titled Why Buy the Cow (Aurora 7 Records) is just more of their Farfisa-soaked rave-up jams.

I had the pleasure of attending the release party at TT’s on April 20, which saw them share a stage with Barreracudas and punk rock funny men, Personal & the Pizzas. As one would expect, they focused their set on the 3 tracks on the disc. They played all three beautifully, but the stand-out to me is the high voltage Banned from the Laundromat which is both silly confessional and get down and do the twist music. The chorus in Go Back to New York  deserves a full sing along and the bouncing of that floor tom during the verses definitely makes head bobbing mandatory. Neighbor’s Goods has such a Nancy Sinatra-meets-Coachwhips quality that’s fantastic as well. It’s a lovely little collection of smartly written rockin’ dance tunes and is available at Aurora 7 Records or is available digitally for download via the Thick Shakes’ bandcamp.

–Chris Saenz

Jade Sylvan has a lot of good friends in the Boston music scene. With their help and encouragement, she learned to play the guitar while writing and recording one of the better albums I’ve heard all year, making a seemingly easy transition from acclaimed poet to singer-songwriter. The production on this record, done primarily in the attic of Lee Wizda (Red Car Records), in their spare time, is stunning. Cellos, violins, farfisa, vocal choruses and various percussive elements are wrapped around Sylvan’s charming guitar lines and often delicate voice.

Lyrically, Jade runs through a variety of subjects with a cynic’s wit and a penchant for word play, which is to say you’ll either love it or hate it. Or, maybe, you’ll mildly disapprove. Look, I’m not a mindreader. My favorite tracks are Carbon to Carbon and Turning, and are therefore the ones you should sample while deciding on whether to purchase the album. I’m kidding, of course! You should just buy it outright.

The single, If I Knew Now, featuring the most playful subject matter, has an accompanying hand drawn stop motion animation video, currently available for viewing enjoyment on her website. The entire LP can be previewed and downloaded via her BandCamp page, which you should go to as soon as is possible, but in an orderly fashion. Always orderly.

–Charles Murphy

The New Highway Hymnal are a great group of youngins from Haverhill, MA and by that, I mean whoa boy, are they young. And young means energy, which these kids have by the handfuls. You know what else they have a handful of? Drink tickets they can’t use. Only front man Hadden Stemp meets the drinking age.  They don’t seem to mind though because “drunk people always like music,” but they still play a set reminiscent of hot Death Valley asphalt, blistering in the sun with temperature rising.

To read the rest of the review by Chris Saenz, click HERE.