We always look forward to 2nd Street Festival. Like we’ve mention before, it’s the closest feeling that we get in Philly to hanging out in the streets of Nawlins. While its pretty obvious this year’s headliner The Low Anthem will have a difficult time matching the energy of their predecessors tUnE-yArDs and Man Man, the recruitment of hometown favorites like Vacationer, On the Water, West Philadelphia Orchestra, The Bailey Hounds, Mohican, Weird Hot, Banned Books, Laser Background and many others will keep things plenty fun and interesting this Sunday. Check out the full schedule above, and we look forward to seeing you out and about this weekend. 2nd Street Festival, N. 2nd St. (between Green & Germantown Sts.), 12pm – 10pm, Free, All Ages – H.M. Kauffman

Beloved homegrown outfit Dr. Dog just became even more loveable with their appearance on the popular Nickelodeon kids’ show and indie music-friendly Yo Gabba Gabba. Check out their performance of a song called "When You’re a Gardener" below because we highly doubt that it will be making on their upcoming album B-Room due out October 1 via Anti-.

This year’s XPoNential Music Fest was one of the most crowded (if not the most crowded) ever, which is not surprising since it teamed up with Americanarama featuring the likes of heavy-hitters Bob Dylan, Wilco and My Morning Jacket. Unfortunately, the weather didn’t play in our favor with the skies pouring down biblical amounts of precipitation on its final day causing the non-Americanarama section of the weekend to get rained out during Justin Townes Earle’s set cancelling Dawes’ performance. While most ran for cover, others made the best of it by playing Slip n’ Slide on the muddy hills. Overall, the atmosphere was very peaceful with the exception of John Butler Trio dragging in the frat-boy-meets-’90’s-tribal-tattoo element. Philly’s own DRGN KING and The Fleeting Ends provided the more rockin’ sets of the weekend, while high schoolers The Districts continued to impress with a moving, emotional performance. You can check out some of our photos from last weekend HERE. (Photo by Brandi Lukas)

Orbit To Leslie’s latest EP, Preppy Spooky, delightfully veers off course from their previous work. Their former releases featured space-age, surf rock, but the band’s recent venture crash lands on the Moon’s lonesome reality where the group is stranded to piece together what’s left of their equipment to record some lo-fi tracks. The five-song album coats prior sounds in a gothic veneer, upbeat optimism maturing into wizened nostalgia. 

Setting the tone is opener, “Stop Drop And Roll”- casual ambience, a steadily tapping drum, and bluesy guitar riffs move through a dense fog of unrequited love. Rather than the typically cheerful yearning found in similar mid-century styling, doo-wop takes on the darker shade of “doom-wop” (a term coined by rock outfit Mister Heavenly). Just like the recovery stages of love lost, the track shifts from melancholy reminiscence to determined possibility. Using the all-instrumental “Ballad of Shortie Smalls,” Orbit To Leslie forces the pace, surging on heavy drums and a deep bass line. This sets the stage for the EP’s standout “KCKC” and its growling waves of surf rock. Both tunes pump blood into the band’s already impressive instrumentals; each individual piece folding into the whole with a slow simmer of raw aggression. The following track is the after-effects of emotions boiled over, a psychedelic daze aptly titled “Saturn Files.” Contrasting percussion accompanies stark strums on guitar and bass, all of which play out in off-kilter rhythms, cycling back into a doom-wop state on the final song, “Straight Thru The Night.” 

Despite its brevity in length, Preppy Spooky manages to take listeners through the full cycle of moving on and the honesty in regressing back to square one. Amongst the ups and downs, Orbit To Leslie’s acquired nonchalance stood constant: the album’s greatest asset. Personified in frontman Chris Woods’ echoing vocals, there isn’t an unconcern for the music but in its resulting emotional conveyance. The group performs their EP’s structured musical foundation without a ceiling, allowing the music to evolve organically as each song progresses. It’s this ability to let loose of their grip that adds volumes to the mere five tracks of Preppy Spooky. – Shaylin O’Connell