Eight years is just drop of pig’s blood in the bucket, and this September is prom night for Sound and Shape. The band’s fourth album, “Bad Actors” will be released the 23rd of this month, and signifies a band weathering several years to hit their stride. They’ve teamed up with accomplished prodcers Matthew MCauley and Casey Wood to create something with such abnormally high levels of prog that it would be a disaster in less accomplished hands. Luckily the band’s tendency to temper some of the heavier thrashing with a sense of urgency and a very rock’n’roll bird-flip to tradition makes it very easy to listen through an album and reach for the next. There’s little doubt that "Bad Actors" will be more of the same. Artistdirect premiered their video for single “Venus” this Tuesday, and while we would have loved to see vocalist Ryan Caudle’s vision for a “three-part space opera” executed, watching the misadventures of a fallen angel was still pretty entertaining. The Sound & Shape’s next Nashville show will be at The End Sept. 26th. -Terra James-Jura

It seems that the theme of the week is major label expats.  Chase Coy parted ways with Universal about two years ago, and his search for a more authentic creative endeavor landed him in Nashville and brought about the creation of Sun Culture. This project is much more beach-and-club influenced than the acoustic teenage ambles that catapulted Coy into the hearts of the Myspace generation. Sun Culture’s debut album was release this past March, every bit the perfect soundtrack to living out the summer on Nashville’s nonexistent coast. The band is already back in the studio, and recently put out this single, "Young Blood." It comes from the same youthful and sun-soaked place as the debut album, though there is some added heft when one takes into account the sea change that has occured between 18-year-old Coy and the present day. That takes some major balls to realize a greater artistic goal, especially when it would be so much more comfortable to remain static. -Terra James-Jura

www.suncultureband.com

The Forty-Eight started in Nashville in the spring of 2013, as an outlet for solo artist and record deal refugee Alissa Beyer. She sought out a group project to counter the isolation felt as an island with a bad contract, and ended up which a high energy pop-punk project that offered her a much higher return on personal fulfillment.  Their debut album, "Radio Symmetry," was released last year, but just recently they’ve been allowing new material to trickle out on their website and Soundcloud (We’re partial to "They Call It Love." Why wasn’t it around when we were in high school?) The Forty-Eight are playing The Five-Spot for an early show at 6pm this Thursday with Andy Weathers and Brent Engel & The Upper East Side. Anyone with $5 and a secret yen for Paramore is strongly advised to attend. -Terra James-Jura

 http://theforty-eight.com/

This Wednesday is going to be dedicated to anyone that’s looked through a tangle of upraised arms holding glowing screens aloft and thought to themselves, "The end of the world is going to be Instagrammed…"

Of course East Nashville Underground would be the ones to put together a completely analog remedy to this epidemic. "Let’s Have a Show With No Phones Show" is going to be 100% phone-free, save for two 20-minute "phone breaks" (bless their hearts.) The night starts at 8pm, and the cover is seven fully-refundable dollars should a guest make it to the other side without checking his or her device. While no one is going to be slapping a phone from your hand, consider this an opportunity to reconnect with the way things were done long before you were a twinkle in your daddy’s eye.  Your pop’s might have said that music was better in his day, but there’s a good possibility that he was just paying more attention.

At the very least, this is a risk-free way to have three amazing bands in front of you for your complete and unadulterated listening pleasure: Machines are People Too, Penicillin Baby, and Diamond Carter. While we just raved about Penicillin Baby, we are one of many, and Diamond Carter has been receiving love on all sides, especially from our No Country for New Nashville brothers. However, we’re tickled pink by this recent development from the Machines are People Too camp. MAPT have remixed "Middle of the Night," a song by their friends Vinyl Thief that might be recognized from our current album of the month. That sort of synth4synth love, along with with this event’s entire concept, are perfect examples of the deep appreciation of music that makes this scene so great. -Terra James-Jura

Field Division released this single, "Faultlines" on September 2nd, in anticipation of the October 28th release of their debut EP "Reverie State." The track it spectral and gorgeous, and all but grabs a listener’s hand and pulls them through the misty soundscape they’ve built from piano whisps and shuffling, distant drums. The Des Moines natives Evelyn Taylor and Nicholas Frampton have settled here in Nashville, where they’ve been working with Night Beds and Kopecky Family Band producers Konrad Snyder and Benjamin Kaufman.  They’ve dubbed their richly layered sound "folkwave," so this EP is going to be setting the precedent for the many that will be following in their footsteps. -Terra James-Jura

www.fielddivisionmusic.com

Sometimes it doesn’t take much for The Deli to dig a song.  Take, for instance, Tetherball’s brand-new single, "Bootss."  Yeah, it was interesting reading up on producer, musician, and major label expat Steve Voss’s overarching plans to eventually include film, print, and other media beneath the Tetherball umbrella (check out a music video teaser here.) Maybe learning that Philip K. Dick has a strong influence on some compositions had us fanning ourselves a little. But before this, we were already hooked by those first two gnarly chords in the beginning of "Bootss." The track beefs up around them as it goes on, and the resulting choppy, Daft-Punk-vs-Primus smackdown is so satisfying to listen to; Voss’ gift for weaving together discord had us eager to hear how he was going to make the next scrap fit. The band’s next show will be October 6th at The High Watt. Tetherball’s debut full-length, "Whimsy," will be released this October via Silver Point Records, and we can’t wait. –Terra James-Jura

Congratulations to The Ugly Kids Club for winning our Artist of the Month Poll. The duo has been winning Nashville hearts and minds with their method to electro-pop music: go back to the initial spark of the 1980’s and take flight from there. What results is bright, fun, and entirely organic. Their nomination is just a fraction of the flurry of attention they’ve been recieving since the release of their single "Good Love," which has only intensified after a stellar show at The High Watt last Tuesday with Field Day and Lylas. Keep up with them at: http://www.uglykidsclub.com/ -Terra James-Jura

Okay, at this point Diarrhea Planet is hanging on the "Emerged" side of the playground, but we couldn’t resist posting this music video that premiered on NYLON last Friday. It just feels so good to have some local riff-raff on a national stage. "Platinum Girls" will be on their upcoming EP "Aliens in the Outfield," due to be released November 18th.  While it’s shot at the original Pete and Pete house and features the Mr. Tastee of our dreams, our favorite part is the drummer’s GBV t-shirt.  Because the devil is in the details.  -Terra James-Jura

 diarrheaplanet.blogspot.com/

The October release of The Grayce’s full-length album "Westing" is drawing near.  We had the opportunity to get an advanced listen to it this spring, (read the full review here), and this prolonged awareness has only served to make time creep by. Granted, this is an album that makes perfect sense nestled in amongst goblins and all things Halloweenie, but damned if we don’t want the rest of Nashville to get the full run of their unapologetic grunge rock. Until then, The Grayces have been keeping their fanbase plied with a steady trickle of shows, videos, and singles, the latest of which it "Do It To Me." Take a listen only if you like it when things get a little wierd.  -Terra James-Jura

NIMA had its eighth-annual awards ceremony on August 24th at The Listening Room Cafe.  Wings of Apollo took home an award not only for "Best Rock Band," but also "Best Live Rock Performers." We wrote about the epic scope of their EP "By Force" earlier this summer, and we’re thrilled that the trio has received some of the recognition they deserve, though we understand that WOA recieved this award only because there was no "RAWK" category. Wings of Apollo understand that making it as a band is a many-fronted campaign, involving not only patience and persistence, but also many, many more backflips than one would ever anticipate.  Catch them in all their headdressed, moustached and shirtless glory at The Rutledge on Friday, September 12th.  -Terra James-Jura

Harrison B just released this video for single "Me." The track upholds his glam mashup of rock and soul, and allows his supersonic vocal ability takes front and center. The band’s groove tsunami is evocative of Lenny Kravitz, but their random sense of humor makes this video. Granted, there’s not too much of a differentiation between his battling representations of Ego and Consience aside from sunglasses and lighting (is there ever?), but it’s a fun ride with enough searing looks and flowing locks to fill a Harlequin paperback. This video coincides with the band’s return to the Lower 48 after a stint in Alaska, so keep eyes peeled for a local show at http://www.harrisonbmusic.com/. -Terra James-Jura

It’s been a minute since Penicillin Baby showed their psychedelic skin on a Nashville stage; as in, almost two months. This is not to say that slice of summer was not occupied with tours and studio time. In fact, this blitzkrieg of activity has been the status quo for the foursome since the release of their debut 7" in May.  The band managed work on a full-length album and put a few miles on their van playing to hipster masses from Kentucky to New York, who seem to have the same appetite for slightly skewed trip-pop as Nashville does.  Friday’s show at the 5-Spot is the start of a string of Tennessee shows, though not all dates can boast a lineup with the likes of Canadians-on-eternal-summer-holiday (do they call it ‘holiday’ up there?) Shark Week, slacker-rock-revivalists Sundonistas and Laurel Canyon mutts Bear in the Campsite.  The show starts at 9, and cover is $5.  Below is the video for their seasonally-appropriate ode to wasted time "Not Getting Any Younger." -Terra James-Jura

http://penicillinbaby.com/