Haunting shoegaze-y electro-rock trio The Downtown Club continue to impress with their latest track "Victoria." You can also check them out live tonight at Underground Arts as part of Young Robots’ Philadelphia Maneto lineup, which also includes Pink Skull, DJ Apt One, Superprince, Billy W and NITEWAX.

Psyched out metal and punk collide at Kung Fu Necktie during an early show tonight as Brooklyn heavy psych rockers Naam and Missouri punk rockers Radkey bring the noise. And twisted stoner alt rockers Ruby The Hatchet will be in their element when they usher in the evening’s festivities. The riff heavy guitar shredding of John Scarperia and the sleek Valkyrie calls of singer Jillian Taylor combine for a mix that is equal parts sexy and sadistic. And ever since releasing OUROBOROS at the start of the year, they have been tearing through a barrage of pulse pounding shows just like this one. Kung Fu Necktie, 1250 N. Front St., 6pm, $10, 21+ – Bill McThrill

After releasing his sophomore album Me Moan (Sub Pop) earlier this summer, Daughn Gibson (a.k.a. Josh Martin) is set to hit the stage tonight at Johnny Brenda’s. The Carlisle, PA native takes a unique path in building his musical identity. Gibson’s unmistakably deep baritone vocals provide an ideal platform for the twangy country/folk that he produces. However, the surprising off-the-beaten-path element that takes his sound into rare territory is the meshing of traditional compositions with electronic layering, especially drumbeats and sampling. The combination takes a few moments to adjust to, but the results are easy to digest. Gibson has one foot planted in the past, and the other pointed toward the future as he straddles the present. Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 9pm., $12, 21+ – Michael Colavita

Philly’s beloved Psychic Teens, who self-identify as “regular adults… that sound like that time you spotted your creepy metalhead brother at [an] 80s night,” have conjured a formidably impressive amount of buzz in response to their sophomore release COME (SRA Records). Plausibly picking up where TEEN left off, the band’s latest is a gloomier sequel to the moody anthems fans first heard in 2011.

“NO,” COME’s opener, unfolds with droning bass and screeching riffs, preceding eerie vocals that articulate “the sadness of expectation” and “decay.” Somewhere between King Dude and Peter Murphy, Larry Ragone’s distinctive diction grows melodically darker as the song endures, tying together nearly instrumental interludes with a harmonious chorus that crashes into buzzing chords and oscillating cymbals by the track’s end. With what feels like a swirling vision, “NO” fosters an audible landscape comprised of melancholic melodies reminiscent of My Bloody Valentine’s “When You Sleep” but darker and without the romance. The song’s outro reverberates, buzzing in listeners’ ears like the emotive residue of a bad dream. Awakening an appropriate sense of anxiety with “NO,” “RIP” continues the uneasy gloom of COME. With a similarly disorienting intro, “RIP” and its rapidity intensifies alongside the steady and subtly sardonic tone of Ragone’s vocals. As if channeling Ian Curtis’ ghost, the rhythm of this chant befittingly echoes Warsaw’s demos with a subdued energy. “H#TE” is sinister yet melodic with relatable lyricism that hums of depressive frustration. A mesh of post-punk, shoegaze, and the quintessential characteristics definitive of metal, “H#TE” is effectively poignant and perfectly placed before “LUST” which picks up soon after its prior’s abrupt end. Repetitive yet hypnotic riffs reverberate for the first half-minute and expand as the song endures. Feeling much like a trance, “LUST” audibly resembles the frustrated hunger of its namesake, playing out like a familiar dialogue between the self and its object of affection (or obsession). The album’s title track “COME” starts off with sparse instrumentation and vocals that sound out as if heard from another room. The distance between the track’s cyclical guitar lines and pulsating percussion gradually dissipates towards the climax of the song, during which Ragone’s recitation of “at the end of the world” serves as the preface to a tidal crash of guitar riffs and persistent cymbals. An appropriate title track, “COME” is a monolith, central to the album’s contextual and emotive structure. “LESS” is substantial with frenetic fretwork and plays out nearly orchestral. Its gradual buildup attributes a tangible velocity as the Psychic Teens approach full throttle towards its latter notes. Executed with delectable dread, “BUG” hums with a vigor that juxtaposes flawlessly with “VEIL” and its subsequent mellowed-out malaise.

Ending as dark as it started, COME’s final track marries the sinister croons of Danzig with the emotional excess and the poise of riffage reminiscent of “Degausser” (yeah, it’s okay, admit it… we all listened to Brand New at some point). Its final forty-five seconds serves as a perfected finale to Psychic Teens’ latest vision. As the cosmos spin around us, we can only predict that an equally monumental follow-up is yet to come. 

Fast-paced, stereophonic beats with plenty of soul are what Nicos Gun does best. The group’s 2011 album PLUSH is the ideal soundtrack for an end-of-summer block party. They’re a band that knows the value of great production. However, what really shines is the music’s unrelenting energy. Nicos Gun has made it clear in interviews that their sound is all about musically expressing their hometown and having fun doing so. That passion translates into infectiously funky grooves that sometimes lean towards psychedelics. Also on the night’s roster is freestyle master, Mic Stewart. Crowned 2012’s Red Bull EmSee National Freestyle Champion, Stewart really does have that flow. His lyrics are rife with references to his hometown. That emotional connectivity is the driving point of his music. Both acts lead up to the New York-based, Kilo Kish, a relatively young face on the scene who’s recent mixtape, K+, saw her working with big names in the hip-hop community. Combining casual freestyle over steely vocals, Kish allows her lyrics to expand and fill the spaces left by her minimalist, and oft experimental, instrumental tracks. Each performer represents their own, very unique, sound, but all three have the same, unrelenting passion driving their music. The Blockley, 3801 Chesnut St., 9pm, $3 – $10, 18+ (Nicos Gun Photo by Dan King) – Shaylin O’Connell 

Below is new music video from politically charged, female-fronted, thrash-hop outfit The Mighty Paradocs for their track "Nada." It was shot/edited/directed by Bryan Green, and filmed on color double 8mm. The band will be performing this evening at PhilaMOCA opening for Japan’s The Akabane Vulgars on Strong Bypass and garage punk legends M.O.T.O. (Masters of the Obvious).

The Mighty Paradocs "Nada" from Bryan Green 

The 52nd Annual Philadelphia Folk Festival is getting ready to kick things off this evening. Though there aren’t any local acts slated on the bill tonight, the event’s diehard fans shouldn’t miss Nashville’s Luella & the Sun, an act that should be performing on plenty of big stages someday if the rock gods are just. Some acts that will be representing our beloved music community you should be looking out for this weekend are The Lawsuits (whose upcoming album sounds like it will be their best recordings yet), Toy Soldiers (getting warmed up for their album release party in September), Ursula Rucker, Todd Rundgren, Marc Silver and The Stonethrowers, Reverend TJ McGlinchey, and Dani Mari – plus many more. You can view the full schedule for the fest HERE. And if you’re planning to camp out, remember to bring some warm clothing (according to reports, last night was chilly). Old Pool Farm (Shwenksville, PA), 1323 Salford Station Rd., Various Times & Prices, All Ages – H.M. Kauffman