Holy Matrimony, the new, highly-anticipated album from Philly trio Lizdelise, is out now. There’s an elegant yet explosive, experimental dynamic at play. Those graceful, refreshing vocals serve as a calming, emotive force. With the ability to lyrically process while navigating personal circumstances, there’s a raw but refined element in these recordings – one that is precisely prepared and seasoned yet seems simultaneously spontaneous.

Paloma Gil and Louise Hayat-Camard, a.k.a. The Dove & The Wolf, will be self-releasing their first full-length album, Conversations, on May 3. The LP was produced by the duo and Dave Hartley (of Nightlands/The War On Drugs). It also features Japanese Breakfast‘s Craig Hendrix on drums and The War On Drugs’s Charlie Hall on percussion. Check out "Television," the latest single from the band’s forthcoming record, below!

 

Krust Toons: "The Super Bowl Halftime Show Next Year" 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.

No Swimming is the new EP from Precious Little Life. Its closing track, “Scarlet,” matriculates on an acoustic strumming pattern. Vocalizing an internal monologue, a warmth and sensitivity earnestly emerges. A mixture of nostalgic memories, while moving forward in the present, the song feels like a step toward closure.

In stark contrast to the frigid force that currently occupies the outdoors, the garage-surf quartet of Blushed creates an inviting, somewhat humid, melodic atmosphere – one that sinks into your skin like the breeze off the water as the temperature rises. There’s a tranquilizing yet combustible nature, reminding you that the mesmerizing glow of the candlelight is capable of causing serious damage at any moment. Tonight at the Music Ward, they’ll be joined by the garage-psych torrent of Line Leader. Welding emotively-laced lyrics and also exhibiting a carefree side, Canine 10 is enthusiastically engaging, while the tumultuous, jangly-emotive, surf-rock haze of Asbury Park trio Dentist completes this lineup. (Photo by BigHitzz Enetertainment) – Michael Colavita 

Other places where you can wait out the polar vortex this weekend…

The Music Ward (Please contact one of the acts or venue for more info.) FRI Blushed, Line Leader, Canine 10, SAT Native Maze

Johnny Brenda’s (1201 N. Frankford Ave.) SUN DJ Baby Berlin

Boot & Saddle (1131 S. Broad St.) SAT Thin Lips, Grace Vonderkuhn, Trash Boy

Kung Fu Necktie (1250 N. Front St.) FRI Big Stall, Effusion 35/DJ Deejay, SAT RunHideFight, The Improbables/DJs Mike Shaffer & Skeleton Lipstick, SUN Cancer Priest

Union Transfer (1026 Spring Garden St.) FRI FRI Subtronics

The Trocadero (1003 Arch St.) FRI Pig Iron Theatre’s Annual Benefit Cabaret, SAT Sixteen Jackies, Petunia 

The Fillmore Philadelphia (1100 Canal St.) SAT G. Love & Special Sauce

World Café Live (3025 Walnut St.) FRI (Upstairs) Conjunto Philadelphia/(Downstairs) Osler Circle Presents a Benefit for Children’s Hospital, SAT (Upstairs) Max Swain

The Fire (412 W. Girard Ave.) FRI Presidential Top Knot, Overcoming Gravity, Delmont, Andrew Loper & the Only Memories, SAT Absinthe Father, Snowhore, No Stranger/Hashgrinder, Fucksake

MilkBoy Philly (1100 Chestnut St.) FRI Joe Jordan Benefit Concert: Rockers Galore, Boy Wonder, Lamont Caldwell, SAT Ill Fated Natives, Local Smokes

Ortlieb’s Lounge (847 N. 3^rd St.) SAT The Bigness, The Nielsen Family Band, Wax Wav

The Barbary (951 Frankford Ave.) FRI Rebel Foster, DJ Emynd, Bo Bliz, SAT Making Time

Bourbon & Branch (705 N. 2^nd St.) FRI Taylor Kelly, Dot.gov

Silk City (435 Spring Garden St.) SUN Osagie, Alex Burkat, Billa, Paul Jones

Fergie’s (1214 Sansom St.) SAT Joe Kenney, SUN Rusty Cadillac 

Connie’s Ric Rac (1132 S. 9^th St.) FRI Sonny Knockout, Whiskey Effect, SAT Endless Taile, 7th Victim, The Plibmen, SUN Voss, 610 Smoke, Dell-P

Voltage Lounge (421 N. 7^th St.) SUN Johnny Action Figure, Here/Now

Frankie Bradley’s (1320 Chancellor St.)  FRI DJ Chris Urban, SAT Ed Christof

The Tusk (430 South St.) FRI Jukebox Zeros, The Justines, SAT Decontrol, The Tone Bandits, Under 95

Century (1350 S. 29^th St.) FRI Hivelords, SAT Backwoods Payback, Decap Attak, Buzzherd, Dour

The Grape Room (105 Grape St.) FRI Somarai, American Dinosaur, Mission of Mind, Angus Road, SAT Naps Past Noon, Hootsie, No Mere Machine, Blackjack Rose

Ardmore Music Hall (23 E. Lancaster Ave.) FRI Jah People, Big Mind, Solomonic Sound, Jah T Junior, SAT Maximus Animae Musicae

Everybody Hits (529 W. Girard Ave.) SAT Coping Skills, Everywhen, Corey Flood

The Pharmacy (1300 S. 18^th St.) FRI Sad Sinderella, Fox Memorial, Blame Jakob

No Face Studios (5213 Grays Ave.) SAT Pinwheel, Glassleaf

Horrorland (Please contact one of the acts or venue for more info.) SAT My Name Is Tom, COMPs

As January jogged towards its bitter cold conclusion, Out of the Ether, the sophomore album from the duo of Kevin Nickles (Ecstatic Vision, Taiwan Housing Project) and Daniel Provenzano (Purling Hiss, Spacin’), a.k.a. Writhing Squares, was released via Chicago’s Trouble In Mind Records.

As if announcing their arrival by knocking on the door, “Dirt In My Mind’s Eye” percussively taps and thuds, giving way to a backend pulse that expands to a rugged, spacey riff, accentuated with time-traveling keys, cut through by a saxophone run, pathing the way to the existential question: “You ask why I’m here.” Thumping bass continuously closes in on the destination. However, while the distant seemingly shrinks, there’s an infinite perspective as the points of perspective alter.

“Steely Eyed Missile Man” jumps in at full sprint; with a warping, halo effect, the saxophone and bass weave in and out, creating an offset relationship. The bass races forward, and then the horn reacts, building a dynamic that appears to synch into place at times, yet independently explore at others. The vocals seem to clear a way, amid the full-speed-ahead chaos. Shreds of sax propelled by the adrenaline of bass hypnotically blast, engraving the atmosphere, before the reverberating rattle and groove of “Bloodborne Hate and Black Book Mass” sets the stage for the high octane slap. The vocals stream in as if from a distance – high above in the sky. When those words match the rhythmic push, a hypnotic heaviness – one that presents in waves, whose haze lifts as the saxophone tears away temporarily, seeking its own lane. 

With “I Turned to the Mirror,” a muscular funk line walks in as percussion and bass breathe and stomp. Philosophical lyrics rain down in bewitching prophecy as the marching backend etches a line that the flute starts down and then veers off, counterbalancing the established thrust with a lighter air. It’s as if an alluring cauldron illuminates the darkness, and one’s reflection emerges.

The EP concludes with the epic, heart-racing sojourn of “A Whole New Jupiter,” one which gradually rockets into focus as you safely harness yourself in for the long haul. The horn tangentially plays off the endless motor. Next, the bass takes the lead, ping-ponging off interior walls in a distorted-echo transmission, before stepping back as the saxophone tags in, blazing a trail with the rhythms hot on its heels, screaming into the endless void. The celestial train relentlessly chugs towards its final destination, navigating unforeseen obstacles in a free-jazz meets psych-rock form. – Michael Colavita

“She’s a Gun,” the new single from Godcaster, plants itself in a funky-glam space. The ticking of keys creates an anticipatory feel. However, it sits back in a groove, momentarily lapsing in a chase before falling back into its casual surroundings; then gets wild again. It has an eccentric, experimental aesthetic, meshing the strange with a shake-your-hips sentiment. Within a single lyrical line, a lot of territory is traversed.

Yours, Mookie recently shared a series of singles. A stripped-down, bedroom-folk intimacy adorns “All The Way Home”. The warmth of twilight and a comfortable closeness creates a revealing perspective, aided by the heartfelt aspects of harmony and an apologetic, loving circumstance. It feels candidly vulnerable.

Philadelphia-based electronic project Sinister R recently self-released its debut EP Fear of Future. The recordings present subdued dance music, in the vein of UK garage and jungle. The tracks’ rhythms are more two-step than four-on-the-floor, occupying a sonic space whose samples and synths are interwoven gracefully throughout. Processed clips run through distortion and decay, airing out a positive repurposing of loss into something with direction and character. – Josh Kelly

Both Ways is the debut LP from electro-rock trio Thrills, which is led by Vacationer‘s Michael Mullin, and is scheduled to arrive on February 26. Cloaked in a smoky air of mystery, the performance-based video for its title track was filmed by David D’alba and Trey Shields at South Kensington’s Hi5 Studio. Between the vocals and the locked in backend groove, a fluid, mystical vibe is achieved. However, amid those murky sonics, an escalating ripper results.

Cycles, the new EP from Church Girls, was recently released via Chatterbot Records. Instrumentally spring-loaded personal narratives travel through the details, finding a balance between the composed, melodic pacing and the spirited bursts. There’s a momentous self-evaluating clarity that blends with abrasive undertones, expelling energy. Church Girls are currently on an extensive national tour, and you can catch them next in Philly on Saturday, March 9 at Johnny Brenda’s, with Blushed and Field Mouse.

Reinstate the Guillotine is the second album from heavy-psych power trio Skirt. Chock full of riffs, the band delivers songs that surge and sear in a ragged, rippin’ fashion. Oozing with an unrelenting intensity, there’s an immediacy to the messages, which leave a lasting impact. It’s heavy not merely in its sound, but also in the themes it explores.