Via their label 100 Years of Solid Dudes, the DJ duo of Thomas Roland and James Weissinger, a.k.a. Zillas on Acid, has released its first EP of original material on vinyl. Back to the Beast. Genre-morphing, trance-inducing, percussively-propelled beats lead one onto the dance floor, demanding movement. Those acid-tinged takes warp around your mind, innately traveling down to your toes. The Making Time vets will help you shake off the gloom of this rainy start to your weekend. They’ll also be holding their 12" release celebration on Saturday, May 27 at The Dolphin, if you need some dancin’ company.

Jo Kusy keeps consistently releasing new material under the moniker(s) of his multiple projects. One of his latest examples, "Rock ‘N’ Roll Lady," occupies a contagious, psych-pop playground. Swaying into a riff-led, casual groove, the song veers into odd lyrical and instrumental twists before escaping the head trip. Kusy has also provided retro visuals to accompany us on this carefree journey into his mind. Press play, and momentarily visit that fantasy zone.

Spellbinding, noisy, experimental, unfiltered rock that resonates and lingers, Veblen Death Mask, the new album from Taiwan Housing Project, will be officially released tomorrow via Kill Rock Stars, but you can currently stream it in full over at Noisey. The album may feel chaotic at first; however, those non-traditional instrumental combinations create an engaging unpredictability, while still capturing pop sensibilities amid the heavy churning undertow. Catch Taiwan Housing Project’s record release show this Saturday, May 6 at Johnny Brenda’s with Igneous Eyes and ESCAPE-ISM!

The Philly quartet of Marissa D’Elia, Sean Hallock (Rozwell Kid), and Sorority Noise members Adam Ackerman and Cameron Boucher, a.k.a. Small Circle, originally released their debut EP Melatonin roughly one year ago. The band is set to reissue a remastered version on May 5 via Flower Girl Records. The updated album also includes an additional song called “Sameness.” The track floats in a pensively peaceful but melancholy daydream; it’s soothing but sensitively emotive.

Madalean Gauze will welcome her latest EP Cool and Fun with a release show at Johnny Brenda’s on Friday, July 21 that will also includes American Trappist and Haunted Homes. Its first single, “The Fire,” finds tumultuous guitar and the compound, rhythmic stomp, creating an eerie, impending sense of danger. Her haunting vocals with creepy keystrokes add to the ominous outlook. Shot at PhilaMOCA, the video by Philly’s own Bob Sweeney injects found elements amid dancing footage and nostalgic filters to lock in on that mysterious feeling of the strange.

Step into the kitchen with See, There’s Your Problem, the new EP from Kings of Freon. Playing off goofy exuberance from its radio advertisement opening, the songs that follow exude a melodic control but quick-paced smoothness. Then, “Plug It In,” hits with a yearning desperation, a departure from the tunneling rhythm that returns on “(Take Off Your) Fridge Door”. It’s solid indie-punk with lots of humor.

Inspired to make music by Philly’s robust DIY scene, the youthful band, Blubird, which is made of Alex Black Bessen (drums, vocals, guitar), Erez Potok-Holmes (vocals, guitar), Henry Wolgast (guitar, drums), and Jack Correll (bass), is our most recent Featured Artist(s) Poll Winner. The fellas are about to go their separate ways for college, but they still have plans to record/release more music and play a bunch of shows in and out of town. However, before all this goes down, you can learn more about the soon-to-be high school graduates and the band’s brief history HERE.

Lizdelise seems to have channeled St. Vincent in its latest single, “Tell Me”. Framed in the clean, percussive, drum-machine snap and rough around the edges guitar riffs, the contrasting, silky, vocal texture provides an adhesive sonic foil. It’s a cliff-hanging example that will keep our ears to the grindstone for future developments from the group’s new label, Odd Gift Records. You can catch Lizdelise at PhilaMOCA on Sunday, May 28, as part of a lineup that also includes Lady Parts, Adler Hall, and Carroll.

Philly singer-songwriter Harmony Woods, a.k.a. Sofia Verbilla, shook our foundation with her latest single "Renovations". Her debut full-length album, Nothing Special, is set to come out this Friday, May 5 via Honest Face Records, but you can stream the LP below in its entirety. It was recorded by Modern Baseball‘s Jake Ewald with bandmate Brendan Lukens accompanying on lead guitar. You can also join Verbilla and friends the evening of her release at JJ’s Diner, where she’ll be supported by Major Pursuit and Soft Idiot. (Photo by Emily Dubin)

Krust Toons: "Got Off Work" 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.

The DIY ladies of Cayetana came together and taught themselves how to play their instruments. And after the successful release of their debut LP Nervous Like Me (Tiny Engines), they have also bravely chosen to start their own label Plum Records – "rock and roll without compromise" – to release their forthcoming album, New Kind of Normal, due out May 5. "The record is about mental health…struggling with that and settling into a new kind of normal where you can finally recognize your own your destructive behaviors and accept love into your life." Cayetana just premiered New Kind of Normal over at Hype Machine, and you can stream it below now.

For their sophomore album, the quartet of Ecstatic Vision unleash Raw Rock Fury, available via Relapse. After a mood-establishing intro, the band quickly tears into the cosmos with the high-voltage, backend rhythmic stampede of “You Got It Or You Don’t,” which is elevated by the eccentric, powerful saxophone runs of Kevin Nickles and the primordial roaring command of Doug Sabolik.

Segmented in two, “The Electric Step” is first steeped in a hazy, haunting chant, reverberating in the distance, before the high-octane, steam engine hits the rails running. Mysterious keys loom, setting up the bluesy boogie of harmonica blows. Then, Sabolik issues an alluring order. “Let’s get away from the city and clear our heads”/“Take me away to the better days.” Stoking the white-hot, hard-rockin’, musical fire, the band continues to rev up in all-consuming, sweat-dripping trance, inducing fire-breathing, apocalyptic grooves.

However, Ecstatic Vision never burns themselves out; rather, “Keep It Loose” reaches back and reignites. Gathering pressure with the ticking percussion, the stargazing, guitar swirls tee up the fury of tenacious, unwavering vocals, blowing the top off the cooker with an all-out blitzkrieg. In its final act, the persistent, thumping bass and engulfing keys of “Twinkling Eye” cuts through the clouds in a gradual climb, setting the stage for a triumphant conclusion.

Raw Rock Fury pulls listeners into Ecstatic Vision’s vortex of psychedelia. It’s an album that victoriously captures the band’s live-performance energy and cohesive complexity, without masking their natural fervor. – Michael Colavita