In an effort to showcase New York City based musicians and filmmakers, Silver Sound brought to the Big Apple its first Music Video Film Festival + Band Battle at Public Assembly on August 12th, 2009. Out of hundreds of entries from five different countries, directors Chris Piazza and the Moonmen, and the band Dinosaur Feathers (pictured) were chosen as the Grand Prize Winners by popular audience vote. For their prize the winners were given creative reign on music videos to be produced by Festival founder, Erica Harsch – these videos will premiered on Tuesday June 29th, 2010 at Brooklyn Bowl. The auxiliary live performances include Lowry, The Casey Shea Band, and Dinosaur Feathers, with a special short opening set by the comedy band Man Cub.

Formed just about one year ago from the ashes of Noah Stitelman’s previous band Jacksonknife, Brooklyn’s Neighbors play interestingly bare synth pop that’s also deprived of any trendy buzzy analog sounds and beeps’n’blips. The band will celebrate the digital release of their debut EP with a live show at Coco66 in Greenpoint on July 3.

A good humored Orthodox Hasidic rabbi father of six who hangs out in Greenwich Village and plays original compositions on his guitar, Rav Shmuel does not see an inconsistency between these two identities. Rather, he thinks of Judaism and pop music as complementary and often coalescing tools and methods for communication. Rav, who has taught Jewish Philosophy and Talmud at various Universities, has also toured the country with Gefiltefish, his first band, playing sold-out parking lots before and after Phish shows. He does not play klezmer, although he does make the odd Maimonidean joke, and he thinks of himself as a Rock Star. Rav Shmuel will play the Marlin Room at Webster on July 28, during Lach’s monthly appointment with Anti-Folk music.

The Noise Rock genre seems to have three main branches: the unstructured, purely noisy one that finds inspiration in Lou Reed’s Metal Machine Music; the very structured, super poppy prong that likes to bury beautiful melodies under layers and layers of feedback and guitar noise – a la’ Jesus and Mary Chain’s Psycho Candy; and finally the still structured but inherently non-pop "thing" that Sonic Youth invented and then refined in their "mature" period, when they mastered the art of what can be called "dissonant songwriting": i.e. noise rock that works like pop music, but achieves that genre’s "liberating" effect through the interaction of dissonant elements, rather than melodic ones. Adult Themes is one of the few bands that’s developing that idea and making it their own. This band’s deranged melodies and dissonant instrumental deviations somehow make perfect musical sense. Their controlled cacophony raises musical tension exactly to the point of alarm rather than ear piercing, unbearable madness. The songs in their debut 7" – Young Bodies and Four Fires – are perfect examples of this and mark an obvious improvement from the band’s previous unreleased recorded material. Highly recommended.

Son Lux, brainchild of classically trained composer Ryan Lott, bravely explores and blends genres that our average NYC hipster won’t find too attractive – industrial, jungle, jazz, ambient, hip hop, and – of course – classical (no trace of surf music here). The result is an epic, almost schizofrenic carousel of sounds that picks up where Radiohead’s Kid A left off, but with an even eerier approach to existential rock. Landis Smither’s video of the single "Weapons VII" adds a sexy cinematic layer that’s appropriately part David Lynch (those red curtains!) and part Japanese horror movie. 

Air Waves‘ sweet, lighthearted sing-along-style folky songs, complete with delightful, echoed vocals, are the creation of Nicole Schneit. Her catchy melodies and falsetto vocals give the tunes a magical, upbeat quality that wouldn’t be expected of a lo-fi band. But the bouncy guitars and intimate lyrics are welcoming warm as they gently sink through the speakers. The best part is the unassuming aspect that Schneit’s vocals emit: Air Waves could be total strangers or your best friends, but the music would sound just as lovely. – Lauren Piper

The NYC Deli rarely covers bluegrass artists – maybe because there aren’t THAT many in this bustling city. But when we stumbled upon musicians of the caliber of Punch Brothers, we felt compelled to write about them. The rootsy combo just released their second full length album "Antifogmatic" – named after a type of 19th century alcoholic drink that was meant as a cure for the effects of fog and other inclement weather. Of choosing the title, singer Thile notes, “Antifogmatic is an old term for a bracing beverage, generally rum or whiskey, that a person would have before going out to work in rough weather to stave off any ill effects. This batch of tunes could be used in much the same way, and includes some characters who would probably benefit mightily, if temporarily, from a good antifogmatic.”

Singer Jon Pierce is a showman through and through, and he’s a big reason why this band is so fun to see. He bleeds confidence and oozes congeniality. Plus, there is plenty of power in his pipes. Along with Pierce (who was in Elkland), The Drums other principal player is Pierce’s longtime BFF, Jacob Graham (also in Horse Shoes). But on stage, the songwriting buds come with a crew of four (not counting a couple of female backing singers) to make their pop sound more like POP. This band just knows how to write a song that shimmers and sparkles and jingles and jangles. – it sounds like every song they play is a potential summer hit. The Drums are definitely ’80s Britpop inspired, but also are into some strange activity called "surfing," so they rock a sound inspired by that obscure marine activity too. The band released their debut self titled full length CD digitally on June 8 2010 and is currently touring the world – ohmyrockness.com

Grooms merge dissonant guitar riffs, alternative percussion, Moog attacks and haunting vocal melodies into a whirlwind sound that challenges the listener at every turn. Although Sonic Youth comparisons can certainly be made, Grooms also channels Pavement, Chavez and countless other bands that pioneered the sonically-intense, broken-pop sound of 90’s indie rock—but with an attitude and approach uniquely its own. – Check Grooms out live on June 25 at Cameo or on June 27 at Silent Barn. Read Bill Dvorak interview with the band here.

Ernest Jenning Record Company from Ryan & Rob

Brooklyn label Ernest Jenning Record Company has released nearly six dozen albums since founders Pete D’Angelo & Gandhar Savur set up shop in 2002. Ernest is nowhere to be found, except perhaps in the label’s ethos which is pure and simple — get our favorite bands heard. That mission and great ears have allowed D’Angelo and Savur to grow Ernest Jenning into one of the nation’s premiere independent labels, with releases by homegrown talent (Takka Takka, La Strada, The Black Hollies – in the picture – and Blood Warrior) alongside national bands (San Francisco’s Still Flyin’) and international acts (Toronto’s Cuff the Duke). This year, Ernest Jenning also released the debut LP from Washington DC’s Title Tracks, the solo venture of former Q & Not U drummer and Georgie James frontman, John Davis. Davis’s former bands had recorded for Dischord & Saddle Creek, respectively, but for his solo project he chose Ernest Jenning. The Deli is proud to offer the worldwide premiere of this video, which was produced by the good folks at www.musicmovingimages.com.

The video finds D’Angelo revealing how it all got started, what makes an indie label tick, and features the Ernest Jenning bands who showcased at this year’s SXSW — including Wild Yaks, Title Tracks, Still Flyin’ — and La Strada, who headline Ernest Jenning’s showcase tonight at the Cameo Gallery. Check it out.

Class Actress’ debut EP “Journal of Ardency,” released on Grizzly Bear Chris Taylor’s Terrible Records, brilliantly honors ‘80s new wave but looks forward with a discerning eye. Elizabeth Harper, the heavenly voice behind Class Actress, Scott Rosenthal and producer Mark Richardson extrapolate the best elements from the past and carefully construct modern electropop masterpieces. From the sexy, slithering romp “Journal of Ardency” to the breezy, sweet serenade “Let Me Take You Out,” the band flexes its wide range of abilities. The songs maintain the perfect balance of alluring vibrancy and dark undertones, and this lethal combination forces listeners to play the EP on repeat. The beats will infiltrate listeners’ minds, Harpers’ voice will entrance them, and the sparkling synths will stay in their hearts. – Read Nancy Chow’s interview with Elizabeth Harper here. Read the older Deli interview from 2007 here.

I’m not sure what the percentage of indie bands that manage to stick together for long enough to put out 5 records is – but Woods‘ story shows that sometimes persistence pays off, even in a super tough field like the indie rock world. The band, that has been enjoying a few years of attention and constant touring and recording, has just released this video (probably their first? It’s hard to tell as the name Woods is pretty much "un-googable"), and will be performing at Music Hall of Williamsburg on 06.25.