NYC post-rock and prankster duo Shake the Baby Till the Love Comes Out are taking their musical exploration of textures and timbre to Alphaville tonight (March 27) and listeners shouldn’t expect them to hold anything back. The duo consisting of Fiona Gurney (guitar) and Niko Wood (drums) dangles, contorts, and tears away at the fabric of traditional rock in each track of their latest record in a pretty suit. The drastic shifts in tempo and the irresistibly mathy guitar licks that alternate between distorted and clean clearly puts them on the footsteps bands like Tortoise and Cul de Sac who drove the American post-rock movement forward. Shake the Baby Till the Love Comes Out is sure to make a lot of noise, of the right kind. – Rene Cobar

Tim Bluhm (of The Mother Hips) is set to release his new solo project, Sorta Surviving on the 29th of March. The album was recorded and mixed at the forty year old Cash Cabin in Hendersonville, TN and was produced by Widespread Panic bassist & founding member, Dave Schools. The single “Where I Parked My Mind” is a solid, warm country introduction to the album: that two-step baseline, the steel guitar, lovely harmonizing and some familiar country themes: working hard, feeling tired, loving and losing. You can feel the production quality in the song’s bones and the richness and purity in Bluhm’s vocals. Sorta Surviving introduces some new songs and reimagines some classics.

The video for the song is interesting: it’s old country meets social media, where a bunch of young ladies phone-film themselves dancing around Bluhm, who is leaning on a liquor store strumming his guitar with a Jeff Bridges vibe (bless you both). Come on down this Friday to The Chapel for this record release show. –Michelle Kicherer, Associate Editor

Power pop’s deliciousness derives from its embracing of catchy tunes, bold personalities, and playful theatricality. But it’s kind of like an ice cream sundae: take an ingredient out, and it kinda sucks. Astoria’s The Hell Yeah Babies are able to serve this genre with a cherry on top through their blend of garage, glam, and Costellesque vocal melodies, taking us on a musical ride that flashes rich harmonies, intrepid guitar solos, and enough showmanship to make Broadway’s musicals blush. The Hell Yeah Babies’ 2018 record All The Things That You Believe is evidence that this group is working hard and aiming high. See them live at The Footlight Bar on March 29 in Queens, NY. – Rene Cobar

Since the fall of CBGB in 2006, punk rock (and its sibiling garage rock) lost its footing in NYC, and punk bands have been roaming around the concrete jungle for years now, playing obscure venues while disguising themselves as something else. Punk is dead, right? Not if you ask Animal Show who is the epitome of a bygone era of music with their hard pounding drumbeats, charged power chords, and fabulous fashion sense. Animal show delivers punk rock the way it was meant to be heard, no tricks or gimmicks, and it’s currently in a New York groove, having just returned from a tour that included stops through SXSW and New Orleans. Their next stop, which is not to be missed, is here at home at Baby’s All Right on March 29. Check out their new record titled simply EP, out now. – Rene Cobar

It’s refreshing to find a band so hard to describe. Hello Yello’s debut EP, Love Wins, is rock n roll and it’s punk; it’s hip hop and it’s soul; it’s touched with pop and straight punk rock. Track “Without Me” starts with distorted, Hendrix-esq guitar work that pans trippily across your speakers then opens into emo-rock and surprisingly into thrashing punk. “Feel That Again” mixes poppy hip hop with a pure, emo vibe (even purer is the music video). 

They’ve got a touch of the Lenny Kravitz (ever heard his B sides?), are like a cooler version of Evanescence, and to be blunt: they just have something really likeable about them. They’re young, talentful, creative, and they’ve got heart. Hello Yello is Dylan (22, vocals and guitar), his younger brother Jaden (20, bass) and their friend Martin (20, drums). Come see them at The New Parish on April 11th. – Michelle Kicherer, Associate Editor

Photo credit Julian Burgueno  

Hollis Brown has been releasing music since 2013 and is about as conscientious and hardworking as a band can get. The Queens, NY group recently announced they are set to release their latest album Ozone Park on June 7 via Mascot Label Group, the first single off the record “Do Me Right” is out now. You probably have heard Hollis Brown’s all-American rock ‘n’ roll before without even knowing it; their blend of Americana, soul, and hard rock has been featured on major television shows, motion picture trailers, designer fashion shows, and more. The group is happy to pave their way toward national recognition with their sound which pays homage to the rock heroes of the past without compromising its contemporary feel. Folk, country, blues, this band juggles these styles with grace and when necessary blends them powerfully. Check out their new video for “Do Me Right” below. – Rene Cobar

A post-modern philosophy informs “Shapes & Colors,” the latest single by new wave duo Sailor Boyfriend. The product of Andy Waldron and Alex Mercuri’s joint effort to comprehend the absurdity of modern existence, “Shapes” finds the two Jersey City multi-instrumentalists channeling an existential angst into blissful dance-punk – reacting not with scorn, but with joyous celebration against the Meaningless Void. Waldron’s four-on-the-floor percussion weaves around Mercuri’s syncopated guitar work, delivering a solid four minute jam accentuated by gang vocals and references to Samuel Beckett. Overall, what makes “Shapes & Colors” such an enjoyable listen is the realism of Sailor Boyfriend’s worldview that, though our lives may seem a Sisyphisian struggle, there’s still space dance ourselves clean of fatalism, even if for one fleeting moment.

“Shapes & Colors” is the title track of Sailor Boyfriend’s forthcoming sophomore effort, out April 12th on Make Believe Records. Take a listen below. -Connor Beckett McInerney (@b_ck_tt), Photo via thesmallsoviet

You may remember NYC-based Electro-soul band MS MR, who conquered our ears and hearts in the early aughts with a couple of uber-catchy singles. The voice and half of the songwriting engine behind that project, Lizzie Plapinger, is back under the LPX moniker with a new EP entitled "Junk of the Heart," and time seems to have stopped. The sound is slightly punchier and guitar-based, but not widely dissimilar from the previous project, also because the lady’s (gorgeous) vocals and melodies are easily recognizable. Check out the EP below and read an interview with Lizzie about the new record here.

Finalizing a record can take a lot longer than expected, and, paradoxically, being good at making records can interfere with it. That’s the story of Jonathan Seale, the NYC based producer of Feist, Lucius, Fleet Foxes, Andrew Bird and more, who goes under the stage name os Son of Cloud. "When I started making records professionally at age 20, I decided that I wanted to focus on supporting the writing of other artists because I felt that I hadn’t lived enough life to make a meaningful contribution to the world as a songwriter" – he says – and what happened then, we guess, is that the recording business took over his life. It’s hard for busy producers to go back to the potentially zero-money-making entreprise that is the band biz after experiencing success in a different and still creative area of the music industry, so it is remarkable to see Seale’s commitment to finish this record and disclose to the world his thoughtful songwriting and incredibly deep and soulful tenor. In support of the upcoming album, Seale will perform his debut concert as Son of Cloud on March 23rd, 2019, at The Brooklyn Friends Meeting House, playing with a full band.

There’s a purity in The Fixins’ latest EP, Screens, Greens and Flying Machines. Tracks have a beachy folk rock feeling that are like a Jack Johnson-Neutral Milk Hotel hybrid but with more country feel-good vibes. Track “Dropping Bombs” has a sweet melody and lovely plucking for such a political song, which is perhaps why it’s effective. It’s not in your face–nor is the rest of the album. “Can’t Find a Reason” has a classic country baseline with a nice melody and some softer beach rock. The EP’s sweetest track is the last, “Same Old Story,” which closes out the EP with a quieter folk-pop lullaby and a guitar solo done nice n fine. Catch them at Neck of the Woods on April 6. –Michelle Kicherer, Associate Editor

Revolution, a local musical movement partnered with The Deli NYC that highlights artists from Brooklyn and Harlem is celebrating its third year on March 30. Vol. 37 at National Sawdust will be a celebration of community, change, and activism through music. Live performances from artists picked for previous volumes such as SKYES, Salomon Faye, Sonic, Phase One and Aberdeen will headline the bash. A special DJ set by DJL4 will also be featured. Founded, curated, and produced by NYC promoter Katie Jones, this project represents the core of independent pop culture and hopes to keep helping its growth, just like our publication! Get your tickets here. – Rene Cobar

Queens based group WIVES has been brewing in the borough for some time now, but at last, they are hot and ready to be served up to the masses. The four-piece band recently signed to City Slang Records and is gearing up for a spring tour through Europe that will kick off with a farewell show at Mercury Lounge on the third of April. The band’s grungy dark-wave style is in full display in their brand new video for their single “Waving Past Nirvana” as are the skills of director Milah Libin who has previously helmed videos for Princess Nokia and Beach Fossils. Check out the video below and be on the lookout for the 7” out May 24th. – Rene Cobar