Listening to the Ryan Hemsworth’s remix of Nothing’s “Nineteen Ninety Heaven” shifts one’s perspective. While the original, found on Tired of Tomorrow (Relapse Records), finds a delicately somber balance of orchestration and vocals, the remix creates an awakening lilt, glimmering in a youthful manner, ramped up by an escalating beat, transforming the tempo and tonal implications. Come join Nothing for their hometown record release celebration on Friday, July 8 at Union Transfer with Citizen, Culture Abuse, and Mary Lattimore & Jeff Zeigler!
NYC
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Sports. to take nuanced emo-punk to O’Brien’s Pub on 7/2
While some bands of the emo-punk variety have the unfortunate tendency to let emotional expression get in the way of the quality of their music, this is not the case for Bostonian three-piece sports. This isn’t to say their music lacks feeling, but, rather, their tight sound lets the emotional qualities of their music shine, rather than being distracted or muddled by it. One key to this is that the instruments and vocals feed off of one another. As the guitar and drums transition to heavier sections, the lead singer is able to match them by going from mumbling to shout-singing whenever the music calls for it, or vice versa. Their latest release is a three-way split EP with Lions and Perspective and a Lovely Hand to Hold. they’ll play O’Brien’s Pub on 7/2. —Henry Solotaroff-Webber
Portland
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Mood Music: Altadore – “Capable Wolf”
Summer’s only officially been here for a few days but don’t you already wish it was raining again? We do, and the perfect song to fit our rain ridden mood of longing happens to be the newest track from Altadore, titled "Capable Wolf."
Coming off his upcoming August release Opal, Luna, and Hymn on Randm Records, "Capable Wolf" tells of the heartache of an ending relationship. You can hear the sincerity of pain in David Katz’s voice as he sings "I’m a wolf, I’m wolf/I don’t know what I’m capable of/Just howling away most days." Featuring Patti King from Rad City on violin, her sister Kyleen King on viola and Jeff Bond on drums, Katz’s vocal tones set over this Portland pro-played orchestral indie pop illcits shivers.
We’ll just be wolves, howling away these hot ass days until we can brood without sweating. To put yourself in the mood, give "Capable Wolf" a listen below.
Philadelphia
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Remote Control Unite in Haunting Harmony at KFN June 29
A sinister murkiness compounded by the lure of percussive immediacy frame the dark wave of Remote Control, the latest project from Nicky Kulp (Far-Out Fangtooth, Creepoid). Male and female vocals hypnotically bounce off each other before ultimately uniting in haunting harmony. The trio brings their foreboding, night-crawling sound to Kung Fu Necktie tonight. A pair of Funeral Party Records labelmates in Nashville’s Western Medication, who bring a spring-loaded, daydreaming air with a heart-pounding push, and with a freshly released self-titled EP in hand, Australian outfit Death Bells create a steamy dream-pop landscape. The seductive, sinking-in, shoegaze-noise combination of Dulls gets things started. Kung Fu Necktie, 1250 N. Front St., 8pm, $7, 21+ – Michael Colavita
Philadelphia
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New Music Video: “Hail Storm” – The Lawsuits
Bob Sweeney provides a candid look in The Lawsuits’ new music video for “Hail Storm,” featured on their latest album Moon Son, which is available via Randm Records. The footage documents the quintet as they embrace the simple rejuvenating joys of fresh cuts. They’ll be performing next in Philly on Friday, September 23 at Boot & Saddle with Nemes & Jeremiah Tall.
NYC
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Letters to Nepal brings newly refurbished sound to Rockwood Music Hall on 6/30
Throughout their more than decennial career as a band, Letters to Nepal have continuously redefined their sound, and they show no signs of settling. On past projects, the New Yorkers by way of Siberia have showed ambient post-rock inclinations, building atmoshperic arrangements to emphasize Evgeniya Kuznetsova’s mellow but vivid voice. Their latest track, "TRICKY," shifts towards a sound that’s more electronic, with trip hop overtones (hence the title?). Kuznetsova’s vocals are pushed more to the forefront than ever before, her poetic lyrics meshing nicely with the tranquil electronic production. "TRICKY" is a promising new-new beginning for Letters to Nepal. See them live at Rockwood Music Hall on 6/30. —Henry Solotaroff-Webber
NYC
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West Coast Tour for The Unending Thread, Split to Come
In July The Unending Thread brings Southland twinklecore up the coast during the summer tour circuit, and are slated to release a split with Berkeley Emo quartet Forget It. through Old Press Recordings. From July 7 to 18th, The Unending Thread will trek up the 5-Interstate to Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington before coming back down for two more shows in San Francisco. The US-based, self-proclaimed "mediocre [tape] label" (with amazing bands) made the announcement on June 27 following a relocation to Utah from Maryland.
The San Fernando trio perform next at The Hi Hat on July 2nd with Youtube controllerist R!OT to support nu-jazz duo KNOWER‘s homecoming. Post good boba tea houses to hit up in the comments. – illustration: Renzon Sanchez
NYC
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Following Lease Termination, Pehrspace Crowdfunds to Relocate
Art gallery by day and music venue by night, Pehrspace was known in the southland as one of the better DIY spaces that exhibited local underground indie music. With the rare admission of all-ages for most shows and affordable admission fees, Pehrspace was regionally known as a small, accessible place to enjoy good music with good people. Notable acts include Vice Cooler, HEALTH, No Age, Dan Deacon and Moses Campbell, as well as the highly praised Sean Carnage who regularly DJ’d and hosted Monday nights. Unfortunately, after a 10-year lease in Westlake since their opening in 2006, Pehrspace was handed a 60-day notice to close by a new landlord.
Pehrspace is currently crowdfunding to find a new space with via GoFundMe. – Kaitlyn Tang
NYC
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Watch Meishi Smile’s New Music Video for …Belong
Digital punk/experimental pop artist Meishi Smile‘s recently released a music video for the title track to 2015’s pico-noise LP …Belong. Directed by Japanese animator Yuka Maeda, the video subverts the Music Anime Douga aesthetic with 3-D model manipulation and references to cult horror films, psychological drama narratives and video games.
If the feeling is still ripe, watch Meishi Smile play a DJ set with live visuals by DJ Saiato (Glitch City LA) at the 21+ Fakku Panel on July 3rd—Anime Expo pass holders get in free.
Meishi will also perform with Zoom Lens labelmate oh my muu, Kraftmatik & Olek Mular collab YEAR of the OX, and Project Blowed alumnus dumbfoundead at a free concert hosted by Japanese American National Museum on August 18th. You can also listen to May Yim’s newest album "(reclamation)" on the Zoom Lens Bandcamp. – photo by Brian Vu
L.A.
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Chatrooms release debut EP “Negative Tension”, play at the Echoplex on 7/5
We regularly hear about new bands that balance the early days of emo with post-hardcore coming from either the Northeast or the Midwest. There’s always the odd exception of course, like Torrance’s very own Joyce Manor, but there’s still a general lack of representation coming from the West Coast. Consider Chatrooms as that next promising act to bring some meaning into the current emo revival: they’re the type of band that defies categorization, sporting a guitar-driven sound that is spiked with vexed, passionate vocals, sure, but they also experiment with more steady rhythms that are plaited together with lush atmospheric touches. The title track off of their debut EP, "Negative Tension", is an urgent, melodic rocker that places emphasis on yearning chord changes with drifting guitar passages.
Chatrooms are playing at the Echoplex’s monthly emo night, Taking Back Tuesday, on Tuesday, July 5. – Juan Rodríguez
Nashville
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Rain Drop Garden is a bright-eyed collection from The Esskays
After a weeklong, sickness-induced break, I thought I’d come back with a handful of music for y’all. What I didn’t expect is that so many of my picks would come from the family of "psych rock." And like many real families, where your sister can be a lawyer while you’re up at 3am in a haze concocting recipes out of stale saltine crackers and various chip dips (the only ingredients you have in the house), the apples may not fall far from the tree but they can sure end up a ways off from one another. Rain Drop Garden from the Esskays is out there and verby, seemingly the only pre-reqs for being "psych," but it’s flowers all the way down. Jangly and poppy, never too demanding (but not boring by any means either), it’s an all-seasons offering of catchy numbers that wander but never lose sight of the path. Either way, take a shovel out to Rain Drop Garden and get to digging. -Austin Phy
Nashville
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There’s no fooling around on Fool’s self-titled debut
Fool. That’s a band name I can get behind. It’s simple, not too ornate…it just seems like it would look good on a poster, you know? But maybe I’m fixating on the wrong thing, because it turns out these guys are every bit as good at making music as they are naming bands. Fool’s debut is psychedelic in a way that said descriptor isn’t used all too often now. It isn’t grimy, it isn’t fuzzy, it isn’t a bit salty from all the surf that frequently gets mixed in, but is instead more akin to The Zombies, Love, or—take note, as this is the one-in-a-hundred time I use this comparison as a good thing—The Grateful Dead. Whatever it is, really, it’s one of the more unique releases from Nashville in a while. –Austin Phy