A month ago we told you SF’s City Tribe were one to watch with their vocal harmonies and mountain jams, and on Sunday you can watch them live at the unique venue space, Viracocha in the mission. City Tribes will be celebrating their EP release with local folksy groups Warbler and Brother Pacific also on hand for the shindig. The night of three stellar up-and-comers will be brought to you by Lone Wolves. For all the details, RSVP over at the Facebook event page.

The first Tuesday night of every month at Brick and Mortar Music Hall has become the place to see and be seen as of late, thanks to Wood Shoppe. Next Tuesday, September 4th, the free music series welcomes a new entourage of acts along with drink specials and a great vibe. For this showcase they’ve “gone country,” though “gone country-ish” might be more apt. SF rock trio The Ferocious Few, Oakland soulful group Tumbleweed Wanderers, Seattle-based country act Brent Amaker & The Rodeo and local (((folkYEAH!))) DJ Britt Govea will be spinning, rocking and countrifying Brick & Mortar.

Show starts at 9 PM. $3 Trumer Pils and $5 Sailor Jerry cocktails all night. For more info check out Wood Shoppe on Facebook, Tumblr, or Twitter.

If you’ve been paying attention to music and San Francisco happenings, you probably caught Wildlife Control’s video for “Analog or Digital” that they filmed on Ocean Beach a few months back.

Though usually split between Brooklyn and SF, the brother duo behind Wildlife Control, Neil and Sumul Shah, will be together on the best coast to play at Bottom of The Hill for this Friday. They’ll be celebrating the release of their eponymous indie pop album debut and will be joined by Mercies and East Bay lads, The Dandelion War. Get a preview of what to expect with the full stream of Wildlife Control below.

Download the Soft Moon’s new track "Die Life" from upcoming album Zeros, out Oct. 30. The Soft Moon is a dark noise experiment from San Francisco’s Luis Vasquez. He’ll be touring in the U.S. and Europe in support of the new record, the follow up to last year’s Total Decay EP.

–Whitney Phaneuf

Bay Area based indie hip-hop band Le Vice classifies itself as Urban-Indie-Rock- Electro-Funk-Hip Hop-Pop, but we just call it good music.

It is easy to fall into the pit-trap of trying to pin down their sound. Le Vice could be described in a myriad of different ways from hip-hop curators to playful grunge revivalist and nothing would sit out of place with its music. They’ve been steadily making music since 2010.

The band’s latest release, Neverland (download here), oscillates between insightful musing on city life and coy jabs at popular culture; the title is in reference to the famous Neverland of Peter Pan. Singer Alex Lee’s lyricism is a straightforward slap in the face. Leedoesn’t miss a chance to flip phrases or slip in a name drop. A stand out moment during one of their more electro-funk songs "Pho Q (We Just Wanna Dance)" is when a line from the bridge "life is too short" becomes a shout out to the rapper Too Short by adding a refrain on the end reminiscent of the rappers favorite word.

To know and love Le Vice is to see the band live. Local tour dates are listed below and on the band’s website.

–Dario Slavazza

09.07.12 | The Independent with Los Rakas | San Francisco, CA
09.22.12 | Luigi’s Fun Garden | Sacramento, CA
10.27.12 | The New Parish | Oakland, CA

San Francisco has Brooklyn, NY to thank for Big Tree. After a few successful cross-country tours, winning the Deli’s Artist of the Month poll, and two Daytrotter sessions, the band said goodbye to New York City and drove its vegetable oil powered van 3,000 miles our neck of the redwoods.

Inspired by the beauty of Northern California, Big Tree shot its new video for "Augury" in the Marin headlands and Easter Island. Watch it below or here. "Augury" is a track from Big Tree’s latest full length release, This New Year, and you can download the song here.

–Whitney Phaneuf

If you asked me the last song worthy of another remix, I’d say Adele’s "Rolling In The Deep." Yet, San Francisco’s moody, trip-hop-gazer Blackbird Blackbird pulls it off. Listen and download here.

Mikey Maramag aka Blackbird Blackbird landed on every blog’s best list with his debut album Summer Heart. Just back from European tour, Blackbird Blackbird has signed to San Francisco label Lavish Habits, which will release his new EP Boracay Planet on October 16. Until then, his original mix "Happy With You" will keep you dancing.

–Whitney Phaneuf

We met Mr. Kind a month ago getting ready to self-release its EP OK. The month has past and now OK is here. The extended player is five tracks of Americana and blues-tinged rock worthy of 20 minutes of your time (well, 19 minutes to be exact). The EP has two parts: The first, with tracks “You’re Okay” and “Take Care,” is straightforward, radio-ready pop. The remaining cuts, “The Artist,” “Homeostasis” and “The Restless Release,” ring with less conventional patches of twangy guitar touches.

But you don’t need me to tell you how infectious Mr. Kind’s music is because the Oakland foursome won this month’s Bay Area artist of the month poll as voted by you! Since you like Mr. Kind so much, why not put your money where your mouth is by catching their EP release show at Hotel Utah Saloon this Friday, July 27 or picking up OK over at Bandcamp?

-Justine Fields

San Francisco-based singer/songwriter Hélène Renaut’s fragile and enchanting voice is reminiscent of a watercolor painting. Inspired by French pop and sixties and seventies folk, her soft yet complex acoustics are flawlessly mingled with a lively glockenspiel and gentle percussion. Renaut’s new video “The Deer Convention” illuminates her childlike spirit as she transforms a forest into her own stage. Created in Super 8 by Zach Von Joo, a local filmmaker who has worked on videos for Hanna Lew (of Grass Widow), it draws from aesthetics of the silent movie era. 

– Leah Roh

The Deer Convention from Zach Von Joo on Vimeo.

Nate Brenner is the bassist for experimental looping heroes tUnE-yArDs and Oakland jazz trio Beep! Now he’s giving a solo project, Naytronix, a whirl. Self-coined as an evil dance band, Naytronix recorded 20 songs before skimming the final cut to 11 for his debut LP, Dirty Glow.

Brenner said, "Over the last three years I’ve spent a lot of time in a van … so I think I just wanted to make a record that would sound good from beginning to end while cruising down a highway and hold the listener’s interest the whole time." I haven’t heard the whole record, so it’s yet to be determined if my undiagnosed A.D.D. will be able to self-control for the entirety of Dirty Glow, but I do like the video for the first single, “Robotix,” watch below. It features the Golden Gate Bridge, a Bart ride, a sailing adventure on the Bay… and a gorilla. Okay, I lied. With all of the Bay Area goodness and experimental dance mixing, I realllyyyy like it! Axelson, book this guy for a Popscene DJ set!

-Justine Fields

As reported by SF Weekly following Girls’ frontman Christopher Owens’s announcement on Twitter, one of SF’s best-loved bands is done. Owens is leaving to make his own music, calling his reasons "personal" and adding, "I need to do this in order to progress." Girls released two records, Album in 2009 and Father, Son, Holy Ghost in 2011.

Our contributor Justine Fields might be one of the few folks not weeping over a vinyl collection right now. Read her review here of the band’s performance last year at Great America Music Hall.

Watch the official video for "Honey Bunny," off Father, Son, Holy Ghost.

–Whitney Phaneuf

We know what you’re thinking: New music without a synthesizer? Absurd! The Blank Tapes, a San Francisco/Los Angeles band, proves that old school rock is never out-of-date. Singer-songwriter and The Blank Tapes’ frontman, Matt Adams, has produced nine albums across the country, though he currently resides in San Francisco.

Think The Black Keys or Guided By Voices, but a little more psychedelic. Adams’s nostalgic voice overlapped with a modern-sixties-like San Francisco sound will transcend you to familiarity though you may never have heard it before. Ever wonder what to play for the 8-hour drive along the scenic Hwy 1? Well this band should be added to that playlist.

Be sure to check out The Blank Tapes’ new album, I’m Back, out July 17 in advance of its live show at Amnesia in San Francisco on July 20. 

–Leah Roh