The Afterglows, the musical union of Sam Cook-Parrott (Radiator Hospital) and Michael Cantor (The Goodbye Party), recently shared their self-titled debut full-length album. The home-recordings capture the innate ability of the duo to turn heartache into melody, with Cook-Parrott’s acoustic strums and Cantor’s layered electric tones as backdrops. It’s an intimate look into the late-night, open, honest dialogue between the two housemates. You can stream and download the album below, which is also available on vinyl via Salinas Records.
San Francisco
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Lotus Thief Releases New Song – The Book of the Dead
LOTUS THIEF is a San Francisco band that merges post-black metal, space rock and ambient music, seamlessly blending the genres into a unique and greater musical whole. Originated by two members of celebrated “green metal” group BOTANIST – drummer Otrebor and multi-instrumentalist / composer Bezaelith — LOTUS THIEF is its own entity; a project with a stated purpose of “lauding knowledge and illuminating ancient words and art through song”. The group will release its new album, Gramarye, on September 16 via Prophecy Productions.
“The Book of the Dead is a beautiful text of its time, a sort of instruction manual for the afterlife compiled over about a thousand years and often inscribed on sarcophagi or tomb walls, hence the title “coffin spells,” comments Bezaelith. "For us, the song needed to be as vast and colorful as possible to approach the text, jumping from wild passages of harsh vocals to building solos, to calm ideological eyes of the storm from one moment to the next.”
San Francisco
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Great Apes to Release New Album + Play Oakland Metro House – 9/17
Bay Area based band Great Apes are gearing up to release a new album, California Heart.The record was recorded over four days this past spring by Jack Shirley at The Atomic Garden. Asian Man Records is releasing the material on 12” LP and in digital format in October.
California Heart is the second full length and sixth release from San Francisco’s Great Apes. The record, akin to much of the band’s earlier material, is thematic. With California Heart, the concept is a fictional one, revolving around an alienated adolescent residing in Fresno, CA. Each song is written in first person and tackles a myriad of subjects including mental illness, suburban doldrums, creativity, nature as a sanctuary, social isolation, perceptions of adulthood, cliques, bullying, drugs, suicide, and an ever-crystallizing and often cynical view of the world. In its entirety, the record is intended to be a portrait of navigating coming of age as an outcast, in a stagnant and less-than-nurturing environment. Although the writing is founded in fiction, it’s undoubtedly inspired by personal experiences, and anyone who grew up feeling weird, anxious, down, and/or angst-ridden in a place they wanted out of should have no problem finding points of relation.
Live Show:
Saturday, September 17th This is my Fest – Oakland, CA @ Oakland Metro House
Philadelphia
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Blood Sound Opening for Suburban Living at KFN Aug. 24
An evening of saturated dreams, fueled by a soundtrack of guitar/synth-driven nostalgia rock. Layers of dark and provocative melodies with haunted lyrics, supported by well-crafted songs with heart, this is not just one band, but a truly explosive lineup of artists. Philly’s own Blood Sound captures the pop sensibilities of 80’s UK rock, fusing well-orchestrated drum programming with shadowy guitars and vocal melodies. They’ll be opening for Suburban Living, the brainchild of Virginia transplant Wesley Bunch, which weaves a lattice of reverberant longing, ensnaring the listener to join them on their sonic quest. Manchester has much to be jealous about these days. Hailing from Brooklyn, Surf Rock is Dead have a defibrillator and a heroic dose of mushrooms for the genre, while Monograms is balls out rock that isn’t afraid to have insidiously catchy vocal melodies. Prepare your headspace accordingly. Kung Fu Necktie, 1250 N. Front St., 8pm, $6, 21+ – Keith Kelley
NYC
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Video Daughters bring their powerful Noise-Garage to Shea Stadium 8/30
Melodic cacophony is one of those grinding paradoxes that I’m hesitant to even entertain, but it’s the most apt description we found when trying to put into words Brooklyn-based band, Video Daughter‘s music. Throughout their eponymous titled EP, the self-proclaimed "avant-garage" rockers deliver a new-york-punk sensibility engulfed by an inferno of noise. Despite the bludgeoning force that comes out of the album, the band never ceases to forge a strong melodic presence, even when their songs are lead by march-like percussion ("La Petite Mort"), or border on manic ("Nunu"). If you’re interested in listening to tunes with a fierce sonic bite, check out the link below and see Video Daughters play Shea Stadium on 8/30 with the Yin Yangs and Rathaus. – Olivia Sisinni
NYC
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Oh Malô bring their soulful and dreamy sound to Great Scott on 8/26
A book review of one of Murukami’s novels once said his work was influenced by so many writers it ended up being incredibly original. There’s some truth to that description, and it might just apply to Boston band Oh Malô as well. They have sound that’s very difficult to pin the tail on, but perhaps taking an index of the components and parts would help. On their latest LP, As We Were their guitars are deeply atmospheric with a light psych feel. The vocals are deeply soulful, and wouldn’t feel out of place on any RnB track. The rhythm section, though, is downright muscular, emboldening the sound with an alt or even prog-rock flavor. The easiest comparison to make would be to Local Natives, but that doesn’t help much either, considering they to deftly evade most categorization also. Suffice to say, Oh Malô make quality music that sounds familiar and fresh all at once. You can see them live at Great Scott on 8/26. — Henry Solotaroff-Webber
We added this song to The Deli’s playlist of Best songs by emerging New England artists – check it out!
Philadelphia
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New Videos: “Mudmouth” & “Domingo” (Live – Out Of Town Films) – Mumblr
Mumblr recently spent some time with the folks from Out of Town Films at their Berks Warehouse HQ. The two resulting performance videos for “Mudmouth” and “Domingo” – both of which are featured on band’s latest release The Never Ending Get Down (Fleeting Youth Records) – display an alluring fragile yet volatile dynamic. “Mudmouth” gently wades in, before the gushing instrumental stream is opened, while “Domingo” immediately brews an ambiance of expansive, entrenching heaviness.
NYC
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Shana Falana prepares for release of sophomore album + talks about pedals on Delicious Audio
After perfecting their nuanced sound via touring and single releases, the shoegaze duo, Shana Falana, impressed critics with a 2015 debut LP titled Set Your Lightning Fire Free. Follow-up album, Here Comes the Wave is scheduled for a fall release later this year. The band’s sound hits all the right sensory marks dealing in positive wonderment and a sense of discovery. Vocals, as sung by singer/guitarist Shana, soar over chiming guitars and tom-tom drums, all of which keep pace with affected, drone-y guitars.
Read the Delicious Audio Interview with Shana Falana about her creative process.
We added this song to The Deli’s playlist of Best Psych songs by emerging NYC artists – check it out!
L.A.
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FYF Fest 2016 preview: local festival features some of LA’s top talent
A lot has changed since FYF started back in 2004. It’s safe to say that FYF now directly competes with some the country’s most popular festivals, and yet its carefully-picked lineups are second to none in terms of quality and fan appreciation. I can’t think of another festival that dares to put Grace Jones as one of the top headliners, and also manages to get Saves the Day to jam out to Stay What You Are so we can relive our teen years.
It also never fails to feature some of LA’s most sought-after artists. So even if there’s a shortage of lesser-known independent artists this time around (a need that’s more than satiated with festivals like Echo Park Rising and Eagle Rock Music Festival), the festival will still feature a good number of stellar artists who we’ve seen flourish from local favorites to notable international acts.
Below are some of our top local undercard picks for FYF 2016:
1. Chelsea Wolfe: Performing at an appropriately-timed 11pm slot on Saturday night, the darkly seductive singer-songwriter will provide her doom-laden folk anthems to anyone who likes that perfect symmetry of pitch-black ambiance and intense, feral passion. Having seen her evolution throughout the years has been a delight, especially last year’s Abyss, a breakthrough effort that is testament to her tireless work ethic and unrelenting talent.
2. Julia Holter: Julia Holter is a fiercely independent artist who continues to surprise with every new project. Last year’s Have you in a Wilderness was vastly celebrated, both in the States and abroad, another eye-opening creation that showcases her compositional prowess and nuanced intimacy.
3. Boogie: The Compton-based rapper has released two mixtapes, one of which included last year’s sleeper hit “Oh My”, and yet he still remains an enigmatic character. Having recently signed to Interscope Records, it’s safe to say that Anthony Dixsom’s last days as an under appreciated artist are numbered. Expect a rousing set at the newly-minted Club tent, which will serve as an appropriate training ground to test some of his new material.
4. Kelela: This is the second FYF appearance from the experimental singer-songwriter, who’s soulfully-tinged R&B remains unfairly overlooked behind artists like FKA Twigs and Banks. The fact that she’ll be performing in between artists like Ty Segall and Wolf Parade on Saturday night demonstrates her crossover appeal, coming from an artist who’s really come into her own performing her alluringly provocative songs on stage.
5. Ty Segall & the Muggers: We’ve seen Ty before, (many, many times, actually), but this year he’s bringing The Muggers along to perform this year’s wildly idiosyncratic release, Emotional Mugger. At FYF, some things will never change.
NYC
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Zero Disorder
Hailing from Haverhill, MA, Zero Disorder is the bedroom pop project of Joe Bastian. His album Swim was recorded in his bedroom during the cold months of January through March, and was released in April through Public Alley Records. The release puts Bastian’s songwriting abilities on display with interesting instrumentation and lyricism that wastes no time getting to the point. Similar to lo-fi contemporaries Alex G and Elvis Depressedly, Bastian’s vocals are moody, but remain upbeat when – in his songs – he asks movie stars if they feel lonely or sings about a morning cup of coffee. The tracks are dominated by Joe’s guitar and drumming, but unique background noises make subtle appearances throughout the record, like on “Not Myself”. – John Honan
NYC
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The Deli NYC Premieres NJ folk rockers Lowlight’s “Why Wander”
They say not all who wander are lost, but NJ-based alt-folk rockers, Lowlight, want to question why we even wander at all. Merging with ease the warmth of Western folk and an indie rock sensibility, the band’s latest release, "Why Wander" gallops along with the assistance of a steady, driving drumbeat, conjuring up images of wild, rust-colored stallions rumbling across the plains. The song, a meditation on those who wander and those who choose to stay put, is characterized by the precise intertwining of the electric instrumentation, and the vague fatalism of the lyrics, expressed by singer Renne Maskin with a slight twang. The combo makes for a warm folk rock song rooted in the American tradition – stream it below, exclusively on the Deli. – Olivia Sisinni
Philadelphia
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New Track: “Come True” – Suburban Living
A winding labyrinth of keys/synth twists before being broken threw by the steady percussive punch in the opening of Suburban Living’s new single “Come True”. The song will be featured on their upcoming album Almost Paradise, scheduled for release on October 7 via 6131 Records. “Come True” embraces a multidimensional approach, as the pleasant constant movement is countered by the somewhat secretively delivered vocals, sticking in a personal, pacifying manner. Don’t miss Suburban Living on a sweet bill tomorrow night at Kung Fu Necktie with Blood Sound, Surf Rock is Dead, and Monograms! (Photo by Emily Dubin)