I can’t even imagine the Lower East Side without The Cake Shop, which has been going through some financial hardships as of late. The loss of this venue would mean that the more noisy, experimental, and DIY side of the NYC scene would have abandoned Manhattan once and for all. And noisy, experimental and DIY music is a huge and seminal component of what this scene has expressed since the 60s. Ya man, it all happened in Manhattan – nobody gave a crap about the Brooklyn scene until the aughts! This is why we should all make an effort to visit The Cake Shop more often, in particular this Saturday July 14th, when 4 great local bands and legendary DJ Dan Selzer (of NY Happenings Yahoo Group fame) will entertain hopefully a packed house in support of the Ludlow Street rowdiest venue. Hilarious drunk punks Wild Yaks willheadline, bringing the usual dose of unruly fun on stage, preceded by Shilpa Ray‘s charismatic and imaginative freak folk (one of her songs streaming below). The opening bands will be soul-rock quartet The Immaculates and ungooglable garage-blues band DON’T. There will be also a photo exhibit by local photographer Ebru Yildiz.

This past weekend, CBGB Festival extended the 4th of July celebration and extra four days. A music, film, and spirits conference, the first CBGB fest in NYC featured a spectrum of artists throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn. I was able to catch a handful of the performances, starting Thursday night with edgy, dark and punky quartet, Black Wing Halo at Trash Bar. Southern rockers from NY, Hollis Brown (pictured and streaming below) rocked The Living Room on Friday, July 6. The quintet hit the stage twice in one night, at 9pm and 12am, showcasing tracks off their recent EP, “Nothing & the Famous No One,” and summer single, “Cold City,” which are both available for free download. Not too far away, Bowery Electric hosted the highly anticipated come back of The Virgins, who have only recently returned to the scene to play shows in conjunction with the release of “Venus in Chains.” Saturday afternoon was a scorcher, but that did not stop a record number of passersby from taking advantage of the music in the center of Times Square. Two stages alternated acts, as the audience hustled back and forth. Kicking off the lineup, GLINT, an electro-rock project comprised of its one and only official member, Jase Blankfort, joined forces with orchestral back up to mesmerize with contrasting styles and impassioned vocals. A few blocks up, the other stage erupted with Big Apple veterans, The Hold Steady’s playful heartland rock which was followed by quirky indie synth-pop, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. –Meijin Bruttomesso

Forget everything the last decade taught you about the so-called aesthetics of punk, and welcome back to the days of angry fist-in-the-air pissed-up antics. Hating on hipsters since 2009, Foster Care released last month their debut LP ‘Bad City Vibes’ (Jackshack), a furious set of 13 fast tracks bursting with pure antagonism. I’ll refrain from the critical urge to give them credit for the lyrics (not as thick as one may think) or even the noise (tighter than it sounds) to get straight to the point: these guys are Brooklyn’s straightest answer to an oh-so-docile scene, furiously sticking it up to… Gee, the list is long. As a target of choice, NYC posers beware: they will be down at Legion on Wednesday (7/11), dishing out some rabid hardcore punk to a crowd that may make you swallow your tote bag. – Tracy Mamoun

New York based indie darling Janet LaBelle has released a series of two live videos revealing her brand new single “Just a Little Rain” and a performance of her song “Goodbye, Baby.” Drawing from her pop tinged roots and 1960’s influences, the video series follows her release of the “Blossom & Blue” EP. While this latest EP demonstrates an exploration of styles channeling her main influences from Diana Ross to Tom Waits, from Astrud Gilberto to Fleetwood Mac, LaBelle’s voice emerges as one of its own. Check out the official live video of “Just a Little Rain” (filmed by Chris Carlone at Studio 201) here, and listen to our favorite single "Losing all the Way", streaming below. You can catch Janet with her band at the Mercury Lounge on Thursday 7/12 at 6:30pm. – (as posted in The Deli’s Open Blog – post your band’s entries, videos, and Mp3s here). The Deli’s NYC Open Blog is powered by The Music Building.

Kid Mountain is an up and coming Boston indie band. Though hard to classify the exact genre of what they play, they like to call it Shoe-Pop. It has the ambience and reverby guitar and vocals of shoe gaze yet much more up beat with an acoustic guitar that fills everything out and gives everything a unique sound. They have an EP that came out in January called, Visitor’s Center and they are currently making their debut album due at the end of the summer. Though just a baby band this quartet has already played with the likes of Reptar, The Wandas, and many more bands that are currently big on the indie scene, so keep your eye on them! – (as posted in The Deli New England’s Open Blog – post your band’s entries, videos, and Mp3s here).

Photo Source: Haunted Horses

Haunted Horses are getting to ready to play Capitol Hill Block Party on Sunday, July 22nd. For those who cannot wait until then, drive north to Vancouver, BC where they are playing the Zoo Zhop this Friday, July 13th. 

The band, composed of members Colin Dawson and Myke Pelly, forge an unholy alliance between rhythm and noise. Dark noise is a more apt descriptor; the mood that pervades their music is one of sinister intensity and confusion. The possible comparisons to noise rock duo Lightning Bolt do not hold much weight because Haunted Horses trajectory appears fundamentally different: one of raising, praising and agitating spirits from the next realm with a calmness in their chaos, rather than all-out dance shreddage and ceaseless throttling of the drums.

Chanting moreso than shouting plays a role in the songs – such as in "The Veil," the closing track of their January release EP They Set Us Fevered Water. It is on the track "Pariah" that their signature concoction of tom-heavy rhythms melt together with wave upon wave of distorted guitar and shouts. 

The bandmates cite their influence as "a woman who died in 1976 after unsucessful attempts to perform an exorcism upon her with psychotropic drugs." Perhaps a fitting image for listeners to plant in their mind as they navigate the band’s challenging and curious material.

Haunted Horses play at 5:45pm on the 22nd of July on the Cha Cha Stage. Stream "Pariah" below for an idea of the aural explosion to come. You can listen to They Set Us Fevered Water on their bandcamp page; it is available for digital download or cassette purchase. It is the last in a series of three cassettes that band released.

– Cameron LaFlam

Cuddle Magic, a 10 piece avant-pop orchestra split between Philly and Brooklyn, is about to celebrate the release of their third album "Info Nympho", which is available for streaming here. The band offers an array of soothing instruments (including glockenspiels, toy piano, and various strings and winds) along with the more standard guitar, bass, and drums. At once playful and haunting, the record thrives on the dual male and female vocals spinning intricate counter-melodies. The rhythm section provides a steady but never banal backdrop, while the less conventional instruments are allowed to take the forefront and guide the listener through truly stellar compositions. The variety of sounds, textures, and arrangement ideas, and the quality of the material showcase a band in its full maturity, mastering an impressive musical vocabulary, ranging from classical counterpoint to math rock influences, without disdaining occasional jazz chords and electronic elements. From opener "Disgrace Note"’s semi-robotic mallets in six fourths, to "Jason" (streaming below) and "Hadwrit", with their beautiful melody and organic arrangements featuring almost any instrument you can imagine, this is a record that manages to be original, moving and memorable – what else can you ask? Catch Cuddle Magic in Bushwick on July 13th, at a new venue named Muchmore. – Bob Raymonda

Eric Gilstrap (vocals), Steve Spinella (guitar), Matt Revie (guitar), Max Goransson (bass), and Jim Wood (drums) unite under the name Clouder. The band has been quite prolific, releasing their EP, "Serious Business," last September and full-length record, "Freakin’ Out the Squares" in February. The Brooklyn-based quintet rustles up the sounds, auras and cover art inspirations of music’s decades past, saturating the already-spacey musical atmosphere with even more psychedelic effects, and injecting them with elements of surf and garage rock. Live, they are a force to be reckoned with – see them at The Grand Victory on July 14. – Read Meijin Bruttomesso’s interview with the band here.

It seems kind of random that an Iowa gospel guy, a classically trained musician and a Manhattan hippy got together in a band that actually makes sense. The Ludlow Thieves have been playing in NYC for less than a year with a sound that is hard to pin down: Alt-Folk? Classic rock with a rustic Americana feel to it? Whatever you call it, all that matters is that it sounds good – and fun. Dan, the lead guitarist and composer, brings a classical foundation, weaving in string elements and some of the harder hitting stuff. Danny, lead singer, carries the heart of the band’s sound in his voice. And Walker, the drummer, brings a tribalism to the band that you can hear in almost every song. See them at The Mercury Lounge on July 12. – Read Keith Putnam-Delaney’ sinterview with the band here.

Photo Source: The Apollos

The Apollos are playing Chop Suey next Tuesday, July 10th; Parts and Conduct Party are also set to perform.

This rambunctious group brings a raw fervor to their music that jives with the energy of old time rock ‘n’ roll. Last year’s set of Portland Demos – recorded in less than 24 hours, no less – illustrates a band of cosmically-inspired psychedelic rockers.

"Tractor Beams from Mars" sets the stage with a few seconds of guitar feedback before breaking into a string of catchy wails and riffs. This uptempo garage ‘n’ roll cut fades away about two minutes in as the band ascends into space. In the remaining minutes, strange feedback and buzzing and warbling noises lead you through what feels like the galaxy’s silent catacombs; as if an alien from Mars is really trying to communicate with you.

In contrast, the song "Hold Me Tight" is a relatively more straightforward reincarnation of soul ‘n’ roll. The call and response between vocalists yelling "Hold Me Tight" is anything but trite though – you just want grab onto that someone in your life and dance around.

One looks forward to the day they bring new material to the fore. Until then, next Tuesday on the 10th of July is a great opportunity to see the band at Chop Suey. The price of the show is zilch, nada, nothing – go see them for free! Their exuberant collaboration of music-making is even better served live.

Listen to "Tractor Beams from Mars" below and continue onto to their bandcamp for the rest of their tunes.

– Cameron LaFlam

Here come House of Blondes. A groove-based synth trio, the band owes a heavy debt to ambient purveyor Brian Eno. Singer John Blonde especially sounds like the innovator from ‘Here Come the Warm Jets’ in the slow build of ‘Do It Yourself (Landscape).’

As I understand it, Eno’s ambient music works equally well when played in the background of a room as it does when closely payed attention to. This is the spirit behind tracks like ‘Come Running’and ‘Supermoon’ (streaming below). These are songs that exist in their own universe of synth-generated noise and persistent drum machines that take on a life of their own as they evolve and develop over the space of over 9 minutes in some cases (‘Love 2 B Looped’). A band that doesn’t fit in with conventional pop formats, the time it takes to discover their soaring soundscapes is well worth the wait. See the group play this Sunday at Spike Hill at 7:30 pm with Photoreal. – Mike Levine