Psych-rock specialists The Purrs will be headlining the Sunset Tavern on September 15th.  The Purrs, fronted by bassist Jima and celebrating their tenth year as a band, model their sound fairly closely to everything Dean Wareham’s been a part of, specifically Luna- which means high register vocals constantly threatening to be off key, cozy oohs and aahhs, and astral guitar riffs that seem to, in almost everyone composition, ascend into ethereal realms of reverb.  Basically, I think they’re awesome.  Sharing the bill with the Purrs will be Useless Keys and Hypatia Lake.  

The Purrs – Because I Want To by Jason Milne

Your average record reviewer would ideally always (and only) write about incredibly original, mind blowing bands whose music will change the course of rock history. Until a group like Widowspeak comes along to remind him a few things. The Brooklyn based trio isn’t putting on our musical table particularly mind blowing or esoteric ingredients: Mazzy Star’s dreamy folk, Cowboy Junkies’ spare, blue atmospheres, some good old Paysley Underground psychedelia, and the unmissable pop element. But they do it so darn well that we can’t help to remind ourselves (for the thousandth time) how uniqueness isn’t all that important when you have a bunch of great songs, spot on arrangements, and a voice that somehow hits you. Speaking of which… Molly Hamilton’s cheerless and child-like  soprano is adorable and engrossing at once, and her simple but always interesting melodies are a crucial element in what’s noteworthy about this band. Robert Thomas and Michael Stasiak – on guitar and drums – create the perfect balance of intriguing but not over-powering parts to support her talent.

Brooklyn’s Psychobuildings latest self-titled EP sounds like a sonically lush and somewhat bizarre reinterpretation of the sound of the 80s. While listening to this record our ear kept detecting a myriad of elements reminiscent of many of our favorite electronic bands from that decade, in particular Japan, Duran Duran, and early Simple Minds – vocalist Peter LaBier could be the new Jim-Kerry-before-he-went-mainstream (revisit the Scottish band’s first 4 albums if you don’t know what I’m talking about). Even though the band’s choice of sounds has strong ties with the "decade of the mullet", the final result is actually extremely original, their songs coming across like a weirdly "re-processed" version of something you are already very familiar with, but that’s not quite the same.

Mp3: Psychobuildings – No Man’s Land

CANT is a new super-collaboration between Grizzly Bear’s Chris Taylor and Twin Shadow – two bands that graced the cover of The Deli Magazine, 7 years apart (the Bears were on our very first issue’s cover in 2004, while Twin Shadow landed on our Spring 2011 issue’s glossy front page). CANT is about to release the debut album "Dreams Come True"on Taylor’s Terrible Records and Warp on September 13. You can listen to a couple of preview tracks from the record here.

Perpetually high fiving NYC guitar heroes Fang Island – featured on the cover of last year’s Deli’s first SXSW issue – are currently in the studio recording the followup to last year’s self-titled debut. Small hints of the recording process have been popping up on the band’s Twitter account. The band will take a short break from recording to hit the road in September for a series of East Coast shows, some of which will be with The Joy Formidable. Their next NYC show will be at Glasslands on October 5.

Attention all Washington, D.C. earthquake survivors! I know you’re all still in post traumatic stress disorder induced drunken stupors / hangovers at this point, but listen up! There is a remedy. You know as well as I do that the best possible cure for this madness is tables and tables full of delicious baked goods! And you, D.C., are in luck, rumor has it that a bake sale is brewing!

Oh, and, while you use this bake sale induced sugar high to cope with your unshakable (get it? earthquake? shakable? ahhh, forget it) fear of aftershocks, you can also feel awesome for helping send D.C. natives, the 1960s-esque indie poppers, Lightfoot on their inaugural European Tour.

The Bake Sale a la Fundraiser will be taking place this Thursday, August 25 at The Dunes in Columbia Heights from 8 – 11pm. There will be DJ’s, dance moves, cocktails, and the undoubtably sensual consumption of cupcakes for all to enjoy.

Come get down, get dirty, get your sugar-coma groove on, and support local music!

The Dunes is located at:

1402 Meridian Place NW
(Meridian Place entrance)
Washington, DC 20010

–Jarrett

Jonathan Wood Vincent lives in a world where you can do nothing but eat watermelon without threat of retaliation.  A world where businessmen hold meetings in glockenspiels. Consonance and dissonance collapse into a single point of miraculous possibility. Jonathan resides in an architectural landmark on Manhattan’s Upper West Side that maintains every idiosyncrasy, ideal, paperweight championed by its former occupants, who once sang opera for the Met.  This abode is aka Papacookie.  Want to see some Butoh?  Eat durian at a vegetarian potluck?  Sit on a 70 year old recliner and listen to the most radical sounds expounded in our current climate of experimental sound?  Go there.
Then there’s Jonathan at the piano, molting.  Spinning songs like faberge eggs.  Melodies are dissected, rerouted, segue paradoxically.  Listen to his songs and your eyes grow wide like new ears trying to grow where your eyes are.  His octaves translate a primal, guttural imperative to discover new terrain.  Here’s necessity.  Here’s the sensation of traveling by night. Technically, Jonathan plays the chords you least expect him to.  The top and bottom keys are redeemed.  Listening to him is deeply satisfying in a way that’s rare outside of honest reflection or marveling at Gothic Churches. Plus there’s an esteemed humor to it all.  See: his songs about CNN, Baltimore.  The mundane becomes extremely funny, there’s nothing ironic or defeatist about it. Listen carefully to what an artist who actively surprises themselves as well as the audience does to brainwaves, dream life, tomorrows’ commute… – Valerie Kuehne

Though they won’t actually be playing tonight, Heaven is tickled pink to be releasing their 7 inch at 200 Orchard – festivities begin around 9pm on August 23 (tonight). An emerging force in the dreamy New York psych/shoegazer scene (which appears to be getting hotter by the minute), Heaven is a group consisting of some of the local industry’s most influential heavyweights with Matt Sumrow (Dean and Britta), Mikey Jones (Swervedriver, The Big Sleep), Ryan Lee Dunlap (Fan-Tan) and Liz Lohse (ex-Runaway Suns). Crackling synth creates a hazy static against a steady rhythm and mellowing harmonies, in perfect Jesus & Mary Chain style. – Kristen Ferreira

Kevin Devine’s work is typically subdued and acoustic, but lately he’s been breaking through that trend with his newest record, "Between the Concrete and Clouds", featuring a full-band back-up, but not changing his characteristically observant lyrics on themes of human nature. Devine has opened for bands such as Bright Eyes and Manchester Orchestra, and he’s most known for his performances at Coachella and Bonnaroo last year. The new EP will be released on September 13. Until then, listen here. – Caitlin Clive