New Music, Emerging from your Local Scene
Whitney announced this week that their next album, Forever Turned Around, will be released on August 30th via Secretly Canadian. They also released the first single, “Giving Up”, for that forthcoming album.
You can catch Whitney at Pitchfork Music Festival on July 21st.
Brooklyn-based quartet Damn Tall Buildings is getting ready to release their new album Don’t Look Down on June 7th, the final single “I’ll Be Getting By” is a whole lot of fun. The band is fully committed to the high energy and storytelling of bluegrass music; this is evident in the new single’s bright choruses and swift pace. Each string instrument alternates between playing melody and accompaniment for a layered sound that keeps the listener engaged from start to finish. Damn Tall Buildings’ faithful approach to bluegrass follows in the footsteps of groups like Punch Brothers, which have done a fantastic job of leading the genre’s resurgence, with their compositions that bring out the history of American Music’s roots. Damn Tall Buildings will be playing the Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival up north in Oak Hill, NY on July 18th. “I’ll Be Getting By” is streaming below. – Rene Cobar
Jeff Ruby shows his versatile songwriting chops on his new record Spiral, which came out on May 31st. The fifth album from the Indiana-born songwriter, Spiral takes sounds from Ruby’s influences — grunge legends like Nirvana and Soundgarden, and classic bands like The Beatles and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers — and gives back songs that go soft like a ballad ("Dream State 24") and hard like a grunge anthem ("Doomsday"). Ruby is currently on tour supporting Spiral; at most of his performances on the road, he’ll go solo, channeling all of the full-band energy of the tracks on the album through his voice and guitar. Take a listen to the energetic "Doomsday" below. – Will Sisskind
Post-Punk quartet French Police released an EP this week called “Pedaleo Nocturno”. This follows their self-titled debut LP, which was just released back in January. The EP contain tracks in both Spanish and English and is filled with a nostalgic New Wave/Post-Punk sound that will quickly take back to the early ’80’s.
French Police is the work of Brian Flores, Jesse Flores, Jose Vega, and Kevin Peralta.
You can catch French Police on June 9th for a FREE show at Emporium Chicago with The Limbos.
Boys by Girls is the new EP from Phily’s own Instupendo, a.k.a. Aidan Peterson. Absorb the ethereal, electro, dream-pop ambiance. Those minimalistic beats, balanced by lyrical emotives, creates a weightless yet alluring collection of recordings. Instupendo will be performing next in Philly on Saturday, July 6 at Kung Fu Necktie, along with NYC’s Glassio and Brisbane, Australia’s Golden Vessel.
Toronto is under the national spotlight with Drake and his beloved Raptors in the NBA finals and consequently all over our television screens – yet some of Toronto’s chosen children slipped into Austin, under the radar, with a show at Barracuda on Saturday. Dilly Dally has a signature serrated grunge sound with idiosyncratic vocal affectations that coalesce into a table saw of vicious melodies and chord progression bliss.
Lead singer, Katie Monks, has all the attitude and humility that you can handle from a Canadian rocker, and then some, but while the crowd wasn’t the largest i’ve seen them play for – they still went about eviscerating mediocrity with wanton abandon. Hits from their debut album, Sore, are still as magnetizing as they were when they arrived in the national consciousness four years ago. “Desire” and “Candy Mountain” are anthemic in a way that makes pop and rock music writers green with envy.
The Canadian quartet would cover Drake’s “Know Yourself” in calamitous and thundering fashion, while also making their way through hits from their 2018 album, Heaven. A gem that fell out of the pocket of 90’s grunge band influences and rolled into the late 2010’s with unrelenting ferocity, Dilly Dally is showing that the fire that burned in rock audiences twenty years ago is roaring back to life with uncompromising sound and authentic attitude.
Among The Acres aren’t your typical New England folk band, they boast an impressive pop/rock magnetism that sets them apart from the flock. The group’s debut record Looking In is evidence that this quartet from Hartford, CT focuses on layering their already passionate folk compositions with elements of rock and pop for added attraction. Songs like "Moon on Fire" (streaming) make full use of gorgeous string instrument harmonies that accompanied by a throbbing kick drum and a low but intense vocal melody explode into emotional choruses. Among The Acres add killer electric guitar riffs and shimmering piano notes to many of the album’s tracks, which keep the listener pleasantly surprised, and solidify the group’s place among folk-rock bands of the moment such as The Lumineers. You can catch Among The Acres playing a hometown show this evening at The Half Door with support from Old Fox. – Rene Cobar
Bryan Away has released the first single, “Birthday Song”, from his forthcoming EP. The new EP will be called “Give In” and will be officially released on June 14th.
You can catch Bryan Away at the Hideout on June 13th with Max Subar.
If Brooklyn-based Manager’s 2017 self-titled debut EP is chunky peanut butter, then this year’s follow-up Landline is creamy smooth. The band layers beautifully in songs like “Steven Tipton” (streaming) whose guitars create a surfy, relaxed vibe that slightly warps in the choruses. “Hybrid” has an upbeat drum pattern you cannot help but move to and distorted guitars that highlight the rock aspect of this group’s indie-rock vibe. The entire EP is decked with rich harmonies and jaunty melodies that, along with the music’s breezy ambiance, produce a suaver version of the sound that bands like Wavves offer. Manager has played at Pianos NYC on more than one occasion, and with the release of this EP, they are gearing up for a busy summer. – Rene Cobar
Cheerleader has returned with a new single “Bang, Bang”. Directed by Evan Henderson, the group’s animated video intriguingly peels away layers, revealing playfully bizarre imagery. Luminous, dreamy psych-pop is on full display. You can catch Cheerleader performing this evening at Ortlieb’s, supported by Buddie and Kirby Sybert.
April’s release of ANONYMOUS FRIENDS START A BAND by Somerville’s Anonymous Friends announced beyond just their debut that this group’s music punches with some powerful hands. Reverb-heavy vocals are at the center of "Bury The Bones" a sonic vortex that pulls you in with its pounding drums, extended chords, incessant riffs, and thumping bass. Anonymous Friends take the pace of The Jesus Lizard, the experimental style of Polvo, and the darkness of Bauhaus to create an ominous brand of post-punk. The group recently played at O’Brien’s in Allston and is gearing up for what is sure to be a busy summer for them. We got "Bury The Bones" for you below. – Rene Cobar
EXNATIONS is a trio out of Brooklyn with a devilish knack for creating some moody synth-pop. The group goes against the grain of the genre’s typical upbeat style to create something a bit more broody, but that still pays respects to the sugary synth-pop ethos. The band’s latest single “Tether” is driven by a speedy drum beat, stylish guitar riffs, and the vocal delivery of lead singer Sal Mastrocola, whose verses have that seemingly effortless color to them à la Alex Turner. “Tether” is the lead single of the group’s upcoming EP Pink Haze, set for release June 28th. The group’s current live schedule has stops in Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, but the release party will be at Gold Sounds in Brooklyn July 13th. Check out “Tether” below. – Rene Cobar
