*photo by Dustin Mills

It’s only been a little over a month since Toothbone released their self titled full-length follow up to 2016’s Wake Up, and they’ve already played 10 shows in four states (including some unofficial SXSW showcases) in support of it. After a pretty extensive and damn grueling tour, they’re back in Oregon for the last little leg of their tour, and there’s a chance to see them tonight.

Toothbone’s new record is solid from start to finish, where album opener "Homescreen" kicks things off with a mellow, jangly riff and echoed coos that quickly turn into a grooving riff accented by syncopated cymbals. Toothbone strike several chords throughout the rest of the record as well, from the early 90s alternative rock sounds of "Stay With Me Always" to mellowed garage melodies of leading track "Shy Joker," to the prog leads of "How I Feel." There isn’t one point of this self-titled release that doesn’t please, making it fitting for many moods and numerous listens.

Now that Toothbone are back home, come watch them play the record in its entirety tonight at The Liquor Store with Delia Haunt and Friskies or on 3.29 at the Turn Turn Turn with Jake William Capistran and Lili St Anne.

 Not many of us keep on the path we stepped foot on in middle school, but SeaTac’s Huey P. definitely did, and it’s worked out for him greatly so far. At such a young age he learned that hip-hop and rap can and should be used for the greater good, and that’s something Huey P. has always tried to do.

Since his debut album Did You Get the Message came out in 2016, Huey P. has been using his rhymes to try and spread positivity, particularly around those he interacts with in his neighborhood and the local music community. Although he was encouraged to leave the Pacific Northwest in pursuit of bigger cities like Los Angeles and New York because of his talents, his allegiance to his city and the people in it are real. "Having someone from the more urban culture in a positive manner, in the right light. It hasn’t been done yet,” he told Bellingham-based What’s Up Magazine. 

Huey P. devotion, and flair, aren’t going unnoticed. 

 *photo by Eric Luck

Of the numerous subsects of punk music, art and dance punk have got to be some of the more fun and fashionably viable for those that choose dapperness over chaos. And though dance punk had a much bigger moment in time earlier in the 2000s, The Gods Themselves rock the genre like nobody’s business. Their incredibly catchy tunes and pristine glam style have landed them on more than just the musical stage, but on tv screens as well. 

Their show with Cindy Wilson of The B-52’s wasn’t that long ago, they’ve also been featured on Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown, showing off their utter charm as individuals and their chemistry as a unit. 

Get into one of their latest tracks "Marilyn Monroe" below, and be sure to catch their next show on 3.02 with Motopony and Hotels at the Tractor Tavern.

Celebrating blackness is something that should happen year round and for those of us that fall under that racial designation, it does. But as far as the rest of society is concerned, February is the one month to give the most recognition. For Mic Capes, this is part of his identity, but in the spirit of Black History Month he’s dropped a new video for his track "Black Pearls."

"Black Pearls" comes off Mic Capes’ debut LP, summer 2016’s Concrete Dreams. It starts out with a spoken word feature from Lauren Steele, before breaking into grooves permeated with R&B as Capes and singer Aaron O’Brian Smith play lyrically and vocally. The actual video itself doesn’t feature Lauren Steele, but subs in visuals of model Teresa Patterson mouthing lines from the poem while surrounded by a waterfalls, rocks and gorgeous greenery. Other shots include a black mother feeding her children, an appreciation of different black hair and fashion styles, a little girl blowing bubbles and a variety of black women smiling, giving the video an overall jovial air toward black culture.

Though Black History Month is coming to its close, our celebration never stops. Watch the video for "Black Pearls" below, and catch Mic Capes perform next at a Soul’d Out Festival-hosted show at the Wonder Ballroom with JID, EarthGang and Brown Calculus in late April. 

Stephen Mykal is the artist you’ve likely heard before and didn’t even know it. This is his second year playing SXSW, yes, but the young producer, singer and lyricist has had the fortune of doing some else just as resume building and definitive of his talent – working with Teyana Taylor.

Anyone up on pop culture and the black community knows who Teyana Taylor is. The dancer, choreographer, actress, model and singer is huge in the rap game, which is why Mykal’s feature on her fitness video platform Fade 2 Fit was so important. Mykal produced the music and provided some vocals for the platform late in 2016, showing that his ear for production and his creative capacity are definitely getting the recognition they deserve.

On top of this, Mykal’s soulful performances are an experience to take in. Though much of his output is heavily hip hop based, he possesses the fervor of an emotion-driven r&b singer, bringing an intimacy to him sets that isn’t like many others around.

It’s no wonder SX brought him back for a second year, and hopefully he’ll be back for many more.

 We live in an era now where the rap game is even more about how you look and not as much about the actual quality of your rhymes. To those that consider themselves rap enthusiasts, like Jarv Dee, surely find this reality saddening. Rap and hip hop aren’t currently living up to the educating, thought provoking standards its forefathers tried to set in place, and that’s something Jarv is trying to change.

"People need to understand what is really going on," Jarv Dee told local alt-weekly The Stranger. "The new generation of rappers classifies the old hiphop as corny, but old hip-hop had all the knowledge. All they talk about is how fucked up they getting, but everyone’s forgetting real life. They just make everything a party."

Even though Jarv does enjoy a party (and you can definitely still do so to his music), the Moor Gang founding member is trying to do a bit more with his tunes than provide an inebriated soundtrack. "All I do is teach my truths," Jarv says. "I can’t tell anybody anything besides what I went through. I’m not a preachy person. I’ll give game, but I don’t like to force game."

Jarv’s got the rhymes and the rhythms to make people listen, so whether you’re tuning into him for fun or for thoughtful provocation, you’ll get from it exactly what you need.

 The Pacific Northwest may not be known as a hub for hip-hop, but by all means its residents know that through all of rain drops there are some great artists writing some great rhymes. Some of those rhymes come spunky lyricist Shubzilla, back by some funky production of her collaborator Bill Beats.

It’s been some years since Shubzilla and Bill Beats began working together, and over the course of the six years since The Campaign Mixtape came out their collective efforts have grown even more esteemed and enjoyable. Shubzilla prides herself in writing about whatever the hell she chooses to and somehow, Bill Beats always has the perfect measures to accommodate. Their performances are energetic, fun and enthralling and once they’re finished, you’ll leave feeling like you just partied with your friends.

Though SXSW is already one of the biggest parties of the year, consider stopping and checking Shubzilla and Bill Beats. They’ll be some of the most entertaining yet.

 For the longest time, rock and roll was a genre dominated by dick. Men have used their braggadocious sense of entitlement act like big guitars and big hair to try and rule the music world, but rock was never meant to be a male dominated arena. Quite the contrary, actually. Continuing to plant their feet in unwelcomed territory like all of the great ladies before them Thunderpussy have grabbed rock by its reins, and they’re not letting go anytime soon.

There are plenty of non-male acts in punk, garage and indie, but when it comes to the unapologetically barebones element of rock, there was a hole that Thunderpussy perfectly filled. They’re brash in a sexy way, unfettered by whatever "roles" society tells them they need to play. Instead, they play some of the most in-your-face, raw and fierce tunes around. Combined with the power they release onstage, Thunderpussy is the kind of force that you want to overcome you.

Catch Thunderpussy on their Pour Morals Tour starting in March (which includes four SXSW dates) and lend an ear to their newly released and amazingly named record Greatest Tits below.

*photo by Stephanie Severance 

In a place that doesn’t see a lot of sun, anything that’s recalls warm beaches, endless sunshine and running around outside is definitely appreciated. Naked Giants encompass this aesthetic in their sound, bringing the styles of a brighter region all the up to the romantically dreary Pacific Northwest. 

The trio, having popped up onto to scene not even that long ago, make fun and youthfully jaunty garage rock that no matter how old you are, make you feel like you’re in your early 20s again. Naked Giants have dropped a few collections of songs over the last three years of their new but bright career, but their upcoming full-length debut Sluff shows them at their most energetic and excited yet. Exactly what "sluff" is depends on who you’re talking to, but whether it stands for "South Lake Union Fuck Face" (which references the techies taking over Seattle) or the black sludge that comes off your shoes in the snow, the one thing that is for sure is spark is infectious, sluffy or not, and it’ll make you want to bounce around whenever you see them.

Ritual Veil have been pretty inescapable since they hit the scene, and for good reason. The post-punk/sex beat trio’s debut EP Wolf In The Night hasn’t lost momentum since its release in late summer of last year, likely due to its refreshing yet stylistically pure spin on old school goth and new wave. Ritual Veil’s beats, sensual synths and smooth croons are addicting and mesmerizing to watch.

There’s a chance to catch Ritual Veil doing an early set tonight at Green Noise Records. Sharing the stage with them is newer anarcho-deathwave quartet Over and the synthesized experimental sounds of Xibling. It’s free, all ages, and an intimate way to be enticed by these three acts in one setting. Space will be incredibly limited, so if you want to catch peeks it’s best to get there early. In the mean time, get lost in Ritual Veil’s video for "Wolf In The Night" below.

 *photo by Dusty Henry

SassyBlack is everything. The songstress and producer is well-educated and classically trained with roots in jazz and soul, though she is in no way confined to them elementally. Formally of the Seattle group THEEsatisfaction and having worked closely with experimental hip-hop duo Shabazz Palaces and traveled the world, SassyBlack (whose real name is Catherine Harris-White) has no shortage of experience to contribute to the psychedelic electronic r&b she makes.

Her voice smooth like soulfully funky butter, it’s reminiscent of Ella Fitzgerald, Janelle Monae, Erykah Badu and J*Davey with a Herbie Hancock twist to her production, adding a modern and intellectual spin to her performances. SassyBlack grew up with a family devoted to music, their time spent together having dance parties and playing music history trivia. She still engages her love for pop culture and music history, having recorded three volumes so far of her Pop (& R&B) Treasury cover EPs. 

Whether it’s an original track or a tribute to a deep cut, everything SassyBlack touches is gold, and worthy of numerous replays.

It’s been nearly a decade since dreamo (that’s dream-pop and emo, in case you were wondering) act Special Explosion erupted onto the scene, and we couldn’t be more happy to have them after all these years. They take out the whininess typically associated with emo music. Instead, they keep all of that emotion and channel it through tender indie rock with lucid atmospheres and textures.

Even during a time when the world around them, in a musical and real life sense, was unreliable and confusing, Special Explosion maintained their collective head, supported by their four pairs of shoulders. With many releases behind them, their late 2017 album To Infinity can be considered debut, as far as full-length records are concerned. It provides 10 tracks worth of their adept instrumentation, recalling earlier days of Death Cab for Cutie and Sufjan Stevens but always sounding like their own.

They’re the kind of band you see and fall in love with, over and over again, and that’s part of what makes them so special.