DC favorite Drop Electric have just released a BSide Session at Baltimore’s Mobtown Studios. BSide Sessions are a unique way to connect bands to their fans. The band spends a day in the studio, recording two songs and a 10 minute video. Mobtown has provided both live tracks for download (featuring songs off Drop Electric‘s upcoming album) and the short documentary about the band. Check out the video below. –Natan Press

Megaphone Barons recently released the album here.us.now, available on iTunes and Spotify. Check out their live album on BandCamp, and read the interview where Hannah Brady asks them about their songwriting process, their appearance on the soundtrack of a bloody low-budget movie, and the schematics for the perfect sandwich. 

 Ian Svenonius (of legendary DC group Nation of Ulyses, amongst others, and author of Supernatural Strategies for making a Rock ‘n’ Roll Group), and his current band Chain & the Gang have debuted a new video, Devitalize, on the A.V. Club. Devitalize will appear on the new album, Minimum Rock & Roll, to be released on May 6th on Svenonius’ label Radical Elite (distributed by Dischord). The video is directed by James Schneider, who is also directing the Punk The Capital documentary.  Check it out below! –Natan Press

 DC’s The Raised By Wolves has released a new video for the single "Freddy Freaker" on PureVolume. "Freddy Freaker" is the lead single off their debut album, Sadie Hawkins, released in July last year. You can download the album on their Bandcamp site. Check out the video below. –Natan Press

Ahhhhh! Dot Dash is a last second addition to the Psychedelic Fur show at the State Theater, this Thursday (tomorrow, 4/3). I think tickets are still available. I hope tickets are still available. Dot Dash is the perfect opener for the Furs and I’m stoked they’re getting this kind of exposure. If you miss this show, because it sells out (which is the only legitimate reason), you can catch Dot Dash on April 26th, headlining the Black Cat mainstage (with Alarms & Controls, Regents and Highway Cross). –Natan Press

Avers morphs spacey guitar riffs and distant vocals into a surreal listening experience in their debut album Empty Light. The second half of the album continues the repetitive rock backbeat displayed in the beginning, continuing to add percussion to a more vocally centered, almost pop-like sound. Heavy guitar keeps Avers well within the rock range, as vivid overtones bring a mind-expanding taste to the heavily psychedelic album. You can get a copy of the album when you see them live at the Black Cat Backstage on April 23rd. –Hannah Brady

Norman Rockwell originally played a more organic progressive folk rock in their album Fare Thee Well, released in October of 2012. After their album, Norman Rockwell began to blend a variety of genres in order to reach its own unique sound. The band owned innumerable pedals, and knew how to use them. Their funky bass-lines combined with the psychedelic-rock influenced guitar riffs, as drums play below. Joshua Johnson’s gruff vocals felt suppressed, as if they were just waiting for the right moment to have an eruption of honesty and emotion. Norman Rockwell’s live performance was as fantastic as their recorded material. The members’ technical knowledge and natural talent had given them ability to create something unique to the DC scene. Unfortunately, their album title foreshadowed their Farewell show show on May 3rd (at Jammin Java). Fare thee well, Norman Rockwell. –Hannah Brady

It’s been a while since we’ve heard from DC’s The Very Small. Finally, after a long hiatus (surviving “real life” stuff like grad school and lineup chaos), The Very Small is back, with a new album to be released at a record release show at the Rock and Roll Hotel on April 4th. The new album, Zoomed Way Out, is unsurprisingly their most mature effort to date. It’s an ambitious take on melodic 90’s post-hardcore/indie sounds (bands that come to mind include Jets to Brazil, Piebald, Superchunk, Built to Spill, Archers of Loaf, The Get Up Kids, The Wedding Present, etc.), combining walls of guitar with skillfully layered vocals and mathy changes, into epic rollercoaster journeys around sound within tight songs. The entire thing is supremely entertaining and over far too soon. Hopefully, we won’t have to wait long for a follow up this time. Keep them busy; go to the show and pick up the album. –Natan Press

DC’s Exit Vehicles released their first EP this weekend, and you can find them on Spotify and iTunes. Recorded in famed Inner Ear Studio, it’s an exciting introduction to what will surely become a new favorite. Aggressive yet melodic, progressive yet tight, a solid post-punk rhythm section drives a clean alt/indie sound reminiscent of the best in the city’s history. They’re the kind of band you’ll be bragging about seeing when they were small. As of now you’ll have to wait until April 26th to catch them locally at Axum’s Lounge. Until then, the EP should be on regular rotation on your player of choice. –Natan Press

DC’s Cigarette is to indie what doom is to metal. They take the pretty guitar sounds and twee vocals and stretch them out into slow tendrils of reverb. Sweet indie lullaby music. If you haven’t picked up their experimental sound on vinyl from Dischord Records yet, you can catch them at Comet Ping Pong this Friday, 3/21 on a fascinating bill. They’ll be joined by DC’s Janel and Anthony, and incredible duo of guitar and cello, pushing their impressive musical talents to the limit in cascades of psychedelic imagery and imagination. Headlining the show is Yonatan Gat (once of the Israeli band Monotonix) who has apparently moved to New York to do a very exciting punk/world music thing. I’m sad about no more Monotonix, who put on some of the greatest shows I’ve ever seen, but I’m super excited about this new project. Don’t miss it! —Natan Press

Richmond’s The Southern Belles have been compared to Frank Zappa, The Grateful Dead, and even Phish due to their live jams which blend Roots Rock and Jazz in onslaughts of technical precision. But their solid, rocking songs, steeped in Americana and Soul, flavored with psychedelic sounds and funk (and that screaming organ) make me think The Band first and foremost. This isn’t just another jam band (but they’re sure touring like one). The Southern Belles have something for everyone, and you can catch them all over the area over the next three months (I count 25 shows, from PA to NC as of this posting). For starters, check them out at Cary St. Café in Richmond on 3/19, or Ned Devine’s in Herndon on 3/20. If you’re in DC and you don’t like to drive, you can see them at Bayou on 3/21. I could keep going. Just check the links for all the dates (and music), and listen to the new track Away We Go below. –Natan Press

DC’s The Deadmen are releasing their debut EP at Rock & Roll Hotel, on March 15th. It’s an Americana rocker, flavored by the varied tastes and talents of the three songrwriters (all DC music scene veterans) Justin Jones, Josh Read, and Justin Hoben, joined by John Hutchins and Miles Nasta on bass and drums. Fans of rootsy rock genres, from indie-folk to alt-country, will find plenty to love in each of the 5 tracks, filled with bright driving guitars and crisp harmonies. If you miss seeing The Deadmen release their record at the Rock & Roll Hotel, you can catch them at Gallery 788, in Baltimore, on March 16th. Check out the lead single "Let Your Fingers Rule" below. –Natan Press