A little over a year after releasing his album Road-Dog’s Teeth, New Orleans and Brooklyn based bluesman Johnny Azari returns with the double LP ‘God Damn Blues (The Newest Testament).’ As heard on the slide guitar-based, dusty single “God Damn Blues” (video streaming below), the Shiraz-born singer/multi-instrumentalist impressively conveys real-life hurt through his devilishly charming voice, effectively creating a portrait of a luckless man just trying to survive. It’s a seemingly classic blues story that Azari tells with obvious charisma and artful songwriting. – Zach Weg

One may say that producers are like the chefs of the creative process (the studio being their kitchen), so it’s hard to conceive how a band like NYC’s WIN WIN – comprised of three electronic producers – can actually function without major and recurrent conflicts of ego. The secret is probably – as with most successful musical project involving more than one person – in the trust and bond built during a collaboration that’s now more than a decade long. WIN WIN’s music is as edgy as you would expect, which gives us the opportunity for a very interesting Q&A about gear and the creative process – you can read it in our sister blog about gear and recording Delicious Audio – link below. Check out the band’s latest single ‘Air" streaming below.

WIN WIN TALK ABOUT GEAR AND THE CREATIVE PROCESS

An autodidact by way of KRS-One with a punk spirit blessed by Bane and the DIY patron saint Beats Antique, Lawrence Lindell is nothing short of a multi-genre musician. And with glitched out nods to Aphex Twin and Squarepusher, Lindell’s penchant for percussion takes IDM to the ground-level, serving up sounds of indiscriminate densities on a bed of beats.

Lindell began his electronic trek in 2009, taking on different identities (most recently as LAw) before settling down with himself and the home-grown label Noise Met Sound in 2013. With it, Lindell joined up with like-minded musicians like ambient noise artist Gypsy Eyes and experimental chamber group Inner Ecstasy. From empty backyard pools to the dA Center and the LA Fort, Lindell has been unapologetic in his art and vision. And slowly but surely, people are beginning to notice.

"The philosophy I stick with is "Never apologize for being who you are." Do things your own way and forget about what everyone else thinks or has to say about it. DIY is the basis of everything we do. If we can’t find someone to distribute for us or book us for shows, we do it ourselves."

Lawrence Lindell recently released two albums, Magic Megaphone and Cinema of Soul, which will be out as a two-disk set in June. Listen to "Ego Death" below, and stay tuned for more news on live shows. – Ryan Mo

With their new single "Calm Punk" (streaming), from upcoming sophomore LP, Brooklyn’s Dead Stars convincingly rides the nu-grunge wave that’s been sweeping Brooklyn in the past two years. Against what’s considered as "booking common sense," the band is going to push the new release through a series of local shows very close to each other (five in ten days!?!). But hey, rock’n’roll hates common sense, so we invite you to support the guys, who have a great live show and shared last year’s 4Knots stage with Dinosaur Jr., Mac DeMarco and Speedy Ortiz among others. Find your most convenient date here.

Scam Avenue is a very new synth pop trio out of Brooklyn. They just released their debut single/video entitled "Mercury" (streaming) and announced their debut EP, to be released on June 23rd. From the single, the band’s approach to the genre seems rather minimalistic, but not immune from the occasional tension building through noisier sections. However, Devery Doleman and Tara Chacón’s clean melodies always return things to a chilled and controlled sonic place. Kudos to band member Lawrence Kim for directing this stylish video. The band will be playing a free show at Passenger Bar on June 3rd, while the release party is scheduled for 06.20 at Cameo Gallery.

Mercury from Scam Avenue on Vimeo.