The tandem of Stephen Burdick and Jeremiah Bertin, a.k.a. The Stone Eye, recently released a new EP Royal & Damned. Ferocious, fuzz-fueled, heavy grunge with deep, rippling rhythms and the crystallizing command of vocals are set ablaze by guitar riffs, which call to mind Alice in Chains. The acoustic “Colours In Vain” eases off the accelerator, offering a refreshing while still powerful sense of calm. The duo will be part of Fairly Local Fest this Saturday, May 13 at William Street Common.

Deep, ominous tones permeate in “Sun Drop,” the latest single from Vita and the Woolf. Featured on their forthcoming album Tunnels, which is set for release on June 16, the song lurks in the futuristic shadows as a percussive/bass/synth-harnessing sonic setting stirs up the pot, lighting the fuse for Jennifer Pague’s powerful, authoritative vocal display. Vita and the Woolf will be performing at Firefly next month.

Sheer Mag just announced that their highly-anticipated debut full-length album, Need To Feel Your Love, will be released on July 14 via Static Shock Records. Its debut single, “Just Can’t Get Enough,” combines soulfully, unabashed vocals with quick charges of weaving guitar. That precisely threaded juxtaposition of raw refinement is exactly what you need to get over this hump day. Sheer Mag will be headlining the First Unitarian Church this Saturday, May 13 with support from Marge, Weed, and Bugg.

Assuming the moniker of Everyone, Shane Hower (Pine Barons) has released an EP Spectral Calm. Recorded and produced by bandmate Keith Abrams (who also worked on The Districts‘ forthcoming album Popular Manipulations), the record cycles through a pleasant shape-shifting psych experience. That even-keeled appeal to oddity is close enough to easily approach but strange enough to stand out. (Photo by Caitlin McCann)

Singer-songwriter Shannen Moser is getting a vinyl release for her latest LP Oh, My Heart, due out June 16 via Lame-O Records. To get folks hyped about the upcoming release, she’ll be sharing a series of performance videos that will take place throughout Philly. Below is the first where we find Moser serenading cars with a vunerable, stripped-down version of "Yr Undertaker" as they whiz by on Columbus Ave. You can also catch her live (minus the passing traffic) at Union Transfer on Wednesday, June 14 with Sorority Noise, Fort Wanderers, and The Obsessives. 

Smokey, shadowy synths come with a submissive wrapped in cellophane; the recently unearthed video for “The Source” by Void Vision visualizes the mysterious, edgy momentum that Shari Vari creates. Found on her latest LP Sub Rosa (Mannequin Records), the song’s alluring yet creepy vibe comes to life via haunting keys, generating a hyperactive tumultuous tale. Capturing a sinister, spiritual splitting, the video confounds with its perplexing optics. You can catch Void Vision tomorrow night at Johnny Brenda’s with ADULT and Ritual Howls.

Rob Garcia (ex-Bleeding Rainbow, Telepathic) has released a new self-titled album under his solo moniker Product Placement. Navigating an acoustic, lo-fi spectrum, the album shifts between pleasant, jangly terrain and heavier psych exploits. Whether loosely exploring the wide-open or compacting the sound into combative grit, the songs are refreshingly unveiled. That balance of a focused, purposeful but relaxed jourey with continuous reevaluation hits the target.

In the aftermath of Marietta, Narra has emerged. The quintet’s self-titled debut, which was recorded and mixed by The Superweaks‘ Evan Bernard and Chris Baglivo, will be released on June 2. Its new single “Best Parts” is inherently enthusiastic while consciously emotive. Rolling out from a smooth one-way dialogue, the song gathers instrumental steam amid melody, before accelerating into overdrive.

Krust Toons: "Off the Road" by Tedd Hazard – please feel free to drop him a line at teddandthehazards@gmail.com if you dig or have any funny ideas. You can also check out more of his illustrations and animation shorts HERE.

UK psych-popsters Temples are on tour in support of their new album Volcano (Fat Possum/Heavenly), and they’ll be rolling through Underground Arts next Monday, May 15 with LA electropop outfit Lo Moon. Wanna join them? To enter for a chance to win a pair of tix, just send an email to thedelimagazinephiladelphia@gmail.com with the subject line "Strange or Be Forgotten". Please also include your cell number in the body of the message (in case of an emergency). Good luck!

Slomo Sapiens latch on and won’t let go with their latest single, "Fangs". Our ears definitely perked up to what the garage-psych power trio threw down. It’s a most excellent follow-up to their Fishtown Tapes EP. A true full-length release from Ceallaigh Corbishley, Greg Geiger, and Jon Pritchard is sounding very promising right now. Let’s hope to hear one from them sooner than later.

Psychic Teens orchestrate gloomy, ruminating, melodic post-punk with volatile noisy tendencies, magnifying the murky slow burn into a full-on, shoegazing spectacle. Tonight, the trio celebrates their latest album HEX (available via Hex Records) with a release show at Boot & Saddle, where they’ll explore the darkness via steel-cold, slicing guitars and booming, brooding, baritone vocals. They’ll be joined by the combative, grunge-punk quartet of Tiny Vices and the ferocious, fuzzed-out, psych instrumentations meets clairvoyant, catchy vocals of Dulls. And after releasing their sophomore album New Kind of Normal via their own label Plum Records earlier today, Augusta Koch, Allegra Anka and Kelly Olsen, a.k.a. Cayetana, welcome their introspective, honest, emotive rock release this evening with a show at First Unitarian Church, where they’ll be supported by Shannen Moser, Katie Ellen, and Aster More.  

A day after releasing their new LP Veblen Death Mask via Kill Rock Stars, the enchanting, eclectic experimentation of Taiwan Housing Project steps into Johnny Brenda’s, wielding their off-kilter, jigsaw-puzzle sound, meshing the hauntingly unexpected with the inherently gripping. They’ll be sharing the stage with the mind-warping psych-punk of Igneous Eyes and ESCAPE-Ism, the latest project from D.C. stalwart Ian Svenonius.  

The crowds head back to Boot & Saddle this Sunday for a March On Harrisburg Benefit, featuring the exuberant, melodic, psych-folk stretches of Pine Barons. They’ll be donating their time along with the get-loose, retro-fitted psych-pop of Ceramic Animal and harmony-harnessing trio of TIOGA. – Michael Colavita