Over the weekend, local outfits Tangiers and Straw Hats issued a split EP, Is This Split. Tangiers occupy the first half of the album the chilled-out groover "Home Invasion," the blistering "Hey Mama," and the casually intense "Marijuana USA," while Straw Hats grab the reins, weaving grunge grit with a fun twist on "Salmon," "Neighborhood Watch," and "Drones." It’s a mesh of light and heavy that meets somewhere in the middle.
Austin
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Preview Austin Slacker Force Hovvdy’s New Album with Single “Try Hard”
With Hovvdy’s newest release Taster, set to come out tomorrow April 15 through Merdurhaus and Sports Days Records, we think it’s safe to say that the current upsurge of on-point slacker rock in Austin has its figurehead act. So far we’ve only got three tracks from the album, but they are strong in the slack, as oxymoronic as that might sound.
Taster is Hovvdy building upon their recent work with last year’s Stay Warm split with Loafer (which we loved), adding to the already-present 90s slacker indie sound, a la Pavement and the like, a further depth to their work that puts us more in mind of the softer 2000s suburban indie pop of bands like Pinback. It’s good, introspective, happy-in-its-melancholy music, full of prettily muted vocals and quiet thoughts on relationships like good slack should be.
Personally, it makes me think of a time when the world you could reach out to was smaller, so you dicked around in the space available in your own town, very often listening to music with a feel just like this and thinking about how weird everything felt all the time. That there are bands making a sound that feels as much of that time as it does of now makes me happy, and thoughtful. Maybe we aren’t that far from that kind of life when the world we could interact with was smaller and so each of our relationships was more complex. Or maybe we just wish we were still there.
Whichever it is, Hovvdy is here to talk about it. Check out track “Try Hard” from Taster below, and be sure that we’ll be giving the full album a look here soon.
Philadelphia
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New Track: “My Mouth Is Skinned Like An Apple” – Thin Lips
The lady and gents of Thin Lips just shared their second offering from the band’s forthcoming LP Riff Hard. "My Mouth Is Skinned Like An Apple" is filled with natural pop vocal melodies, which have always seemed to come effortlessly to Chrissy Tashjian (Dangerous Ponies, The Bee Team); however, the track eventually gets to the business of staying true to the group’s album title. Riff Hard comes out May 20 via Lame-O Records, and Thin Lips will be celebrating its arrival that evening at Everybody Hits.
NYC
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Folk and Rock mingle tonight at O’Brien’s with All Talk and Babydriver
Rock and Folk mingle on stage tonight at O’brien’s Pub with Boston bands All Talk and Babydriver. All Talk, whose new album upstairs/downstairs is set to come out in May, sits at the bluesier folk end of the spectrum with a few songs here and there clearly influenced by heavier guitar rock. Their gem “Locomotive” (streaming below) off their album Juno is one of those songs. It’s a slow burner, searing longing and heartbreak carefully into our minds with every deliberate strum of the guitar, with every wistful stray chord. The song builds up until the end when the guitar erupts into a reverbed solo before fading off. Babydriver on the other hand is more upbeat, with songs shifting from heavier rock to frazzled pop pieces. “I Don’t Want To Be Your Dad” (streaming below) kicks off with franticly melodious guitars and rhythmic shakers in the background. Palmer’s vocals float effortlessly over the track, lending an air of nonchalance to it. It’s a song that would have fit in perfectly in any indie film soundtrack. Catch them tonight at O’Brien’s Pub alongside Painted Zeros and Izzy True. –Adriana S Ballester
NYC
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Queens rockers Hollis Brown lands Berlin residency
A warm folk-rock track that vividly details a rugged life, “Miracle” (streaming below) by Queens quintet Hollis Brown is intriguingly enigmatic. Portraying the intense struggles of a down-on-her-luck heroine, the guitar-curled song off the band’s forthcoming release ‘Cluster of Pearls’ impressively purveys both the forlorn literariness of Dylan’s “Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands” and the hopeful, country jive of such Gene Clark tracks as “No Other” while emitting its own rough splendor. ‘Cluster of Pearls’ will be released on Record Store Day (4/16) and Hollis Brown has an upcoming residency at downtown Manhattan venue Berlin in May, playing there every Wednesday. Full details can be found at the band’s Facebook page. – Zach Weg
Portland
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Rentz Leinbach is your new favorite musician
*photo by Calvin Chen
It’s always nice to switch up your musical routine and add some fresh talent to your aresenal. Rentz Leinbach is exactly who I’m talking about when I say this. The recent Deli Artist of the Month is multi-instrumentalist, inspired by greats like Guided by Voices, Hasil Adkins and Elvis Costello. He’s been a solo acoustic artist (under the names the Pink Leather Tats and Root Shocker) and part of a three-piece band (Neither v. Either), but his current incarnation is quite addiciting. Rentz has got a show coming up on the 18th with Moon By You and Dim Wit at the Liquor Store, and a cassette release show at Mother Foucault’s Bookshop on June 18th. He may only be one person, but he can put on one hell of a performance.
L.A.
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Hotel for Strangers play at the HiHat tonight
Hotel for Strangers are a quintet that operate at the fringes of pop while maintaining a synth-driven sound that’s both intimate and spacious. With their soft falsetto choruses and metronomic drum sampling, which they execute with some idiosyncratic advantage, the outfit are poised to carry that momentum into their upcoming full-length coming out sometime in the Spring.
Listen to "Bat Face Girl" below, and catch them preview some new songs tonight at the Hi-Hat.
NYC
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The Unders bring mosh pit-inducing garage rock to The Gateway on 04.20
The brainchild of The Deli NYC’s art collaborator Michael Zadick, The Unders declare their intent in the first seconds of their debut LP‘s opening song, with a male voice proclaiming: "I just wanna rock!" The band’s surely meets that goal with their inventive garage-surf, while also oozing fun thanks to simple but never banal vocal hooks. The breakneck speed of most of their tracks make them an ideal group to witness live, in particular for those who enjoy mosh pits and hearing loss. The next party is at The Gateway on April 20th with Total Slacker.
Chicago
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Twin Talk
Twin Talk (Andrew Green, Katie Ernst, and Dustin Laurenzi) are releasing their sophomore album and self-titled album on April 29th via ears&eyes Records.
You can catch Twin Talk on April 29th at Logan Center for the Arts and on April 30th at Constellation (Record Release).
NYC
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George Clanton releases ‘100% Electronica’ LP + plays Alphaville on 4.22
Listening to 100% Electronica, George Clanton’s (aka Mirror Kisses) new release, is like walking in a hazy limbo somewhere between sleep and awake. Not quite a dream not quite reality. Lingering between the spacey drones and shimmering synths, Clanton’s 80’s styled crooning explores love, heartbreak, deception and frustration. You may call it chillwave or vaporwave, but the ’80s new wave’s imprint is still all over it, although it doesn’t stop there: Clanton keeps us teetering, never letting us settle into just one spot. He keeps us constantly moving. Immersing himself wholly into his performances, often abandoning his DJ set and rolling around on the floor, his live performances are always entertaining. You can catch him at Alphaville on April 22. – Adriana S Ballester
Philadelphia
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Surprise Creepoid Show for Pat Troxell’s Bday – BRING WEED at Ortlieb’s April 12
Creepoid just wrapped up a tour with Restorations, and the gang is back home to celebrate drummer Pat Troxell’s bday this evening with a surprise performance at Ortlieb’s. You have to know that the band will be tight, after clocking all those recent miles on the road. (Well, maybe a little looser since it is a party after all.) You’ll also be able to get your Taco Tuesday grub on. And the man of the hour requested that you bring weed so please don’t disappoint. Cheers, Pat! Ortlieb’s, 847 N. 3rd St., 10pm, $10, 21+ – Q.D. Tran
San Francisco
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MOSAICS to Release EP – Year of Valor
The San Francisco based band, MOSAICS is releasing a new EP entitled Year of Valor on May 20th!
Combining the songwriting strengths of Alt-J and the production agility of Four Tet and Apparat, MOSAICS are a San Francisco trio making music for the modern world in all its jittery, glittering glory. With unconventional guitar lines, overlapping samples, and intricate production, they marry artistry and accessibility to create a sound that comes across like an old friend after a long journey- transformed entirely, but warmly familiar.
The band was formed with the ambition to paint sonic canvases with the mediums of modern technology. By following this principle and folding in organic inspiration, they have crafted their own method of songwriting that, by fully embracing the limitations of “bedroom production,” brings the art form to bold new ground. Naming Michael Hedges, David Bowie, Yeasayer, Moderat, Nine Inch Nails, and Radiohead among their chief influences, Mosaics have an ear to the past, but make music for the here and now.