So tonight there is a serious lineup full of media darlings at Johnny Brenda’s. Now, Sun Airway’s Nocturne of Exploded Crystal Chandelier makes a great argument for why “bedroom”/basement recordings should keep on coming. The album just simply makes me feel good inside, and I know once the masses get a hold of it that these fellas will be filling the airwaves. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone is trying to figure out which track they should use for their TV show, commercial and/or movie right now. Well, below is a taste of how’d it look by KLIP Kollective’s Ricardo Rivera. Oh, those wonderful Philly evenings riding home full of all that American Apparel indifference and passing out to a brilliant light show after trashing the room a bit. I love those nights. Well, tonight is your chance to experience one of them too! Sun Airway will be opening the evening so get there early. Joining them will be buzz-heavy Brooklyn outfits Twin Shadow, whose debut album Forget was produced by Grizzly Bear’s Chris Taylor and was released on his label Terrible Records, and Bear in Heaven, whose album Beast Rest Forth Mouth found its way on plenty of 2009 “best of” lists. [Also check out our interview with Sun Airway’s Jon Barthmus for The Deli’s Where Is My Mind? section here as well as Adam G.’s review (to the right or here) for our November CD of the Month selection]. Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 9pm, $10 adv/$12 door, 21+ – Q.D. Tran

Woah! While we found the PO PO bros returning armed with laptops, sequencers, a change in musical direction, and one less band member (drummer Hassan Ali left and started Sunny Ali & the Kid, which kicks arse) earlier this summer with apathetic dance track “Summer Bummer”, the evolution continues with the release of autumnal, synth-heavy “Let’s Get Away”, which premiered on Stereogum yesterday. PO PO will be releasing a new album next year via Mad Decent. Their latest track was assisted by “Diplo on the control end, but mostly this new album is self-produced and essentially completed”. Enjoy! Or listen with no expression at all. – The Deli Staff

Weathervane Music is back with their November edition of Shaking Through. It features noise-pop rockers Party Photographers, and is the final installation of this season which was curated by local blogger Mark Schoneveld (YVYNYL) and had included local favorites Reading Rainbow and Strong Island’s Twin Sister. Below is a glimpse into the Party Photographers’ world as they lay down the recording for their new track “21”, which happens to be the 21st song written by the young band. Enjoy! (Photo by Peter English) – The Deli Staff 

Grimace Federation’s On Velvet has an appropriate name. There is a certain smoothness to the EP, both in the delicately churning atmospherics it offers, as well as the way each track seems only a logical next step after the one preceding it. But you’d be hard pressed to find anyone that would call this Muzak, at least not with a straight face. While you can definitely put the EP on and relegate it to the background if you choose, the ambiguity of the mood it produces will most likely challenge you to give it a closer listen. On the surface, it’s fairly lighthearted stuff. But wrapped around the contours of even the brightest brass arrangement is a pervading sense of mystery, and slight rumblings of darkness.

 

Trying to file the record into some preset genre would be a little unfair. “Post-rock” seems the closest match for these guys, considering the highly textured arrangements and math-y rhythm section. But even that proves misleading, partly because the sonic palette of Grimace Federation is fuller than what most people expect when they hear that term. The spaced-out guitars are there, but so are various keyboards, tinkling bells, horns, and the band’s trademark vibraphone (ok, ala post-rockers Tortoise). But instead of Explosions in the Sky or Mogwai, we have something different altogether. The tracks also spare the listener from the tired “build-build-crescendo-dissolve” formula that characterizes a lot of similar acts, instead opting for upbeat openings followed by playful, more contemplative bits towards the middle.

 

Opener Bosico might be the best microcosm of the record as a whole.  It sounds almost krautrock with its steadily propulsive rhythm. The EP’s centerpiece, “Black Mesa” starts with a heavy guitar intro, then shifts through a variety of textures all based around a vaguely Latin beat, replete with horns and desolate, delayed guitar and keyboard. Fans might be surprised at the almost complete lack of electronic sheen that permeated their previous releases. But the changes aren’t drastic by any means, as the record is still warm and jazzy, sprawling and involved. While this album may seem outdated compared to their current live sound which is leaning more to the darker side of metal, this snapshot of music history may have to tide you over until the next album. Keep your fingers crossed that it won’t take a few years again.

 

You can check out On Velvet’s opening track “Bosico” below as well as the video for the remix by Aesop Rock (that Grimace’s Xack Xweig mentioned in his interview for our Where Is My Mind? section here). – Joe Poteracki

 

The video below was dropped in our lap via The Deli’s Open Blog by the crew from Ground Up for the track “Got Damn” from their sixth FREE mixtape Girls Who Smoke Cigarettes which drops today and is available for download here. Wanna learn more about Ground Up? You can check out our interview with the gang here. Enjoy! – The Deli Staff

We are very excited to announce that The Deli Magazine will be co-presenting with our new friends from Drexel University’s WKDU 91.7 the EP Release Party for Arc in Round’s Diagonal Fields at Johnny Brenda’s on Thursday, December 2 w/Golden Ages and Post Post! Yes, we know. We hear a lot of buzzing in our ears too. And we are lovin’ it! We’re guessing by now that you know Arc in Round (formerly Relay) is the pet project of recording studio genius and one of our favorite producers Jeff Zeigler. He has finally found time out of his busy schedule to work on his own glorious vision, and he’d like to share a taste of it with all of us so consider yourselves invited to this very special occasion. Also expect a full length to follow this spring. If you’ve never heard of Golden Ages and Post Post, then you really need to get with the program, but we’re guessing these college students are down with some tutoring. Penn Cognitive Science major Francis Tseng has already garnered some serious media love from such outlets as Pitchfork, The Fader and XLR8R just to name a few with his mix of a more dance-y Animal Collective sound which definitely gets our hearts pumpin’ and our minds wanderin’. Bryn Mawr and Haverford College coeds Post Post have certainly been the recent toast of the town with their infectiously catchy tunes, but expect a little more noise coming from the rambuctious crew’s newer material. If you’ve been keeping up with The Deli, then you’ve already been rockin’ this shit for a while. Well, we look forward to rockin’ it with you on this fine, fine evening of great music (and plenty of drinks among other things)! – The Deli Staff

 

Below is a great video that is definitely worth checking out by Roots fan/filmmaker/writer Andrew Shapter posted by Okay Player yesterday for “Now or Never” from soon-to-be-a-classic How I Got Over. He had written an article about why The Roots might have the best album of the year for The Huffington Post a few months back and also created this sweet video to grab the attention of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. We hope that it works! – The Deli Staff

 

Ever since they came onto the scene in May, Born Pilot have been creating songs full of raw energy and charismatic simplicity. The power trio has been hard at work recording their debut 7”, Stay Vivid. And those efforts are finally about to culminate tonight at Johnny Brenda’s, when Born Pilot celebrate the album’s official release. Joining them are The National Rifle, who are still riding high on the coattails of their latest release, Vanity Press, as well as the recent video premiere for their track “In The Weeds”. Tonight will probably be their final Philly show of the year before they hit the road for a few scattered dates in Dec. and get ready to record a new LP. Also on the lineup is the ever ambitious psychedelic Brit-pop/folk rockers Cheers Elephant, who have been working on some new tunes in the studio for their sophomore EP, and they really could use your help to fund this project. You can donate to their “Spread the Cheer” pledge here. The New Connection will be rounding out this already fully stacked lineup. Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 9pm, $10, 21+ – Bill McThrill

 

 

More things to lie or not know about…

 

Johnny Brenda’s (1201 N. Frankford Ave.) FRI Buried Beds, SAT Born Pilot Album Release w/The National Rifle, Cheers Elephant, and The New Connection

 

Kung Fu Necktie (1250 N. Front St.) SAT Rosetta and Retorations, SUN Sinatrah

 

The Fire (412 W. Girard Ave.) FRI (Early) Phantasm, Adalie, The Sonic Insurgency, (Late) Mini Mammoth, Music Box Dynamo, Guys + Dolls, SAT Nobody Yet, Venice Sunlight, June Divided

 

M Room (15 W. Girard Ave.) FRI The Tragics, Filmstar, Leiana, SAT Jukebox Zeros, The Workhorse III

 

Tritone (1508 South St.) FRI The Jawnz, The Hand Me Downs, Love Gutter, SAT Covenant House Benefit w/Adam & Daves Bloodline, Broad St. Blues, The Improbables, Slo & Shakey, The Successful Failures

 

Millcreek Tavern (4200 Chester Ave.) FRI Wabi Sabi

 

The Trocadero (1003 Arch St.) SUN Julia Rainer

 

Highwire Gallery (2040 Frankford Ave.) FRI Bird. Fly. Yellow. and Feeler Gauge, SUN Petal Shield

 

JR’s Bar (2327 S. Croskey St.) FRI The Midnight Beat SAT Fuck Attack

 

The Blockley Pourhouse (3801 Chestnut St.) FRI Original Toy Soldiers Duo, The Tressels, Black River

 

Connie’s Ric Rac (1132 S. 9th St.) SAT Sunny Ali & The Kid

 

Danger Danger Gallery (5013 Baltimore Ave.) FRI Psalmships and The Spinning Leaves

 

Pterodactyl (3237 Amber St., 5th FL) SAT Clean Equations, Enter the Rooms, House and Homes

 

The Rotunda (4014 Walnut St.) SUN Reef the Lost Cause, Kuf Knotz