Starting from a place of pastel-soft fantasy, moving at times to hard-bitten reality, chanteuse Alexa Wilding paints an evocative and haunting self-portrait on new record ‘Coral Dust.’ Striking notes familiar to fans of Feist, songs ‘Fire’ and ‘Movie’ provide a churning momentum pulled over a whirlwind of detail supplied by producer Tim Foljahn’s deft slide guitar and keyboard outlines. Check out her new video for first single ‘Painter’ below, where the singer play with balloons and swings in a loveseat in a world painted pink, and see her when she plays Rockwood Music Hall Stage 2 on Monday, October 1st. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

Here’s to the start of a sweet day for The Denzels; on this September 11th they’re taking part in the first steps of a new Brooklyn-based record label, Admirable Traits, whose first release will be their second EP ‘Easy Tiger‘. Revealed in January, the five track-set of fuzzy garage-pop romance floats quite casually between surfing harmonies and noise, working its best moves right at the heart of this gap, where young love tales stay away from cheese, and dramatic synth lines can come glistening through without any of it feeling too nostalgic or too.. gleeful. Taking the release celebrations to the stage, they’ll be opening for The Vaccines this evening at The Music Hall of Williamsburg.

Brooklyn based trio The Gypsy West will be tearing up the stage once more at the Bowery Electric along with Jody Porter (guitarist from Fountains of Wayne) & The Black Swans and Baby Wolves. Known for their wildly energetic live performances and complicated instrumentals, the psychedelic/ grunge rock group has been picking up steam with a successful show at Bowery Electric last August and an impressive performance at the Northside Festival in June already under their belt. Break out your war paint this Saturday, September 15th for what’s sure to be a raucous time!! Get your tickets here. – Chelsea Eriksen

Things are getting sexy in the world of The Peach Kings, whose debut EP Trip-Wop was sure sensual but not half as spicy as the mix of their ‘Handsome Moves’, which they dropped as they were beginning a short series of NYC shows. On these six tracks, we get to hear Page McClain’s sultry soul voice wrap around doo-wop, dragged-out blues lines, hip-shaking percussions, some of that smoking indie rock a la Kills, etc. There’s just enough tease and attitude to keep things interesting the whole way through. Heading back to the West Coast, the duo will be playing The Roxy on September 26th.

Photo Source: Police Teeth

Police Teeth are at the top of the bill for a show at The Black Lodge on Saturday, September 22nd. Special Explosion and Animal Lover are set to play too.

Their forthcoming full-length is due out next month on Latest Flame Records. The eponymously titled Police Teeth has one song up on their bandcamp; it is an indication of the grit and grime to come.

"Bellingham Media Blackout" churns with one hell of a riff, its surges of electricity pumping like a current ready to blow and overthrow your brain’s synapses. They lay the buzz on thick, but the song is invariably an anthemic piece of punk. The lyrics echo a message of disaster with simple clarity.

You can hear a tinge of Ian Mackaye’s earnestness in the gung-ho choruses. The guitar riffage makes a passing glance at Death From Above 1979’s thunderous ways, but Police Teeth’s cues are more likely to inspire sing and shout-alongs.

Check the band out at The Black Lodge on the 22nd of September starting at 9:30pm. You can listen to "Bellingham Media Blackout" below; the whole record will be available on October 16th. Check out Police Teeth’s bandcamp page to stream prior releases as well.

– Cameron LaFlam

Commando, streaming below, is the recent music video by Brooklyn’s hard-hitting trio EndAnd, first off their ‘Adventures of Fi In Space‘ album. In line with the spirit of the record’s artwork, it sends you on a trip into a loud-as-f* rock and roll fantasy filled with a solid riffs and guitar solos shooting ’round every corner, ‘Maximus Rockous’ on a mission in space. Fuelling their engine with a rather refined blend of grunge-noise-alt-rock influences and disturbing emotional intensity, they released Hi-Fi & Lo-Fi In Space – the two EPs that form the album – in June; now headed towards a second full-length ‘Mechanics and Energetics of Stilt-Running‘ – for which they’re raising funds – EndAnd will be playing a show at Brooklyn’s Union Pool on September 29th. 

With a second album quite a stretch from the first, they’re a bit of a tough act to pin down. Based between New York and Boston, Win Win is a multimedia project which brings together producer XXX Change, DJ Chris Devlin and DJ/video artist Ghostdad; they introduced themselves last February with a self-titled trippy electronics album and are now previewing their new full-length ‘Double Vision‘ (to be released October 16th via Vice Records), on which they’re adding a cheerful touch of indie rock to the mix. Streaming below is Salt Days +, first single off ‘Double Vision’ , which reveals some of the of the good cards they had hidden in their sleeve, amongst which a surge of vocals and guitars – just enough to probably add quite a few heads to their followers. Building up to the release, you can catch them at Pianos every Thursday throughout the month of September. 

This Tuesday night (9.11), the Glasslands Gallery is certain to be transformed into a Factory (Records, that is) atmosphere. Brooklyn darkwavers Black Marble promise a brooding salad of chilly synths and warm melodies, introducing material from their new record, A Different Arrangement (some of which was debuted last week during a show at Ritual). The band has reconfigured their traditionally post-punk transmissions adding dreamy hooks and more prominent vocals, landing somewhere closer to art-centric New York Noise this time ’round. Opening sets by local new-new-romantics, Warm Ghost, and Vancouver indie-synth band, Cosmetics. 289 Kent Ave, Brooklyn. – Brian Chidester

Photo Source: You May Die In The Desert

You May Die In The Desert are poised to headline a performance at The Rat and The Raven tonight to officially release their new full-length. Imaginary Lines, The Belmont Whips, and Gerhardts are on the bill as well.

Their first original release of EP or LP content since 2008’s Bears in the Yukon, International Waters is a formidable document that marks the current zenith of their sonic ambitions. After all, at over fifty minutes of instrumental navigation, the sheer scope of the project leads listeners on a moving, wayfaring journey.

"Six Horses," for example, starts off with a melodic guitar riff and matching hi hat phrase, punching out pieces of the pattern with bass guitar and bass drum entwined. A thoroughly bright and affirming track, its dynamics really push and pull you as the intensity swells.

This band has usurped the alternative rock blueprint of loud/quiet/loud (or vice versa), replacing it with song progressions that are more multi-layered and more unpredictable. Their music lends an air of spontaniety despite the clear hardworking craft behind the compositions. Like the aquatic, flowing, borderless motifs of the project, the music itself embodies a freedom of transcendence and discovery. 

Other particularly distinguishing tracks include "International Waters" and "True North." Their genre cue of ‘visual’ is an apt descriptor; the ineffable edge of their wordless songs could very well spread your imagination’s eye all over the globe.

Be at The Rat and The Raven tonight – Saturday, September 8th – to see You May Die In The Desert and others. The show begins at 9pm and only costs $5. Stream the eponymous track "International Waters" below and check out the entirety of the album at their bandcamp. You may pick it up digitally for $9 or on CD for $10.

– Cameron LaFlam

Exciting news for The Vandelles! Having released a couple of weeks ago a new album, ‘Strange Girls Don’t Cry‘, the Brooklyn-based shoegazing surf-rock band just announced that it will be concluding its summer season by opening for The Jesus and Mary Chain over a series of six East Coast dates on its Glaswegian post-punk favourites’ extra shows. This being The JAMC’s first US tour in four years, chances are tickets will be selling out fast, but get on it quickly enough and you may be able to catch one of the NYC performances, scheduled for September 13th and 14th at Manhattan’s Irving Plaza. Find more info here. 

There’s a perfectly hummable sentiment somewhere in Friend Roulette’s “Sailing Song” that keeps working its way back to the surface, but only after first progressing through all manner of uneven meter changes, brass fanfare and incidental thematic adventure. At times stepping boldly into a space usually exclusive to the imagination of score composers like Danny Elfman, the group essentially writes baroque pop pieces for an imagined Brechtian musical, casting its talented singers/songwriters Julia Tepper and Matthew Meade as the show’s unlikely protagonists. They will be performing at Bushwick’s Delinquency next Friday (9.14). Meanwhile, read Mike Levine’s interview with the band here.

XNY have that rare kind of chemistry that must make other bands wonder what they’re doing wrong. It isn’t every day that you hear something so large and well thought out, channeled through such piecemeal instrumentation. On their new record ‘Through the Wall,’ the band’s production has increased in scope, but the songs maintain a deeply felt relationship between these old friends. Make no mistake. With just two members, XNY have managed to build a world larger than most ensembles plenty times their size. They’ll be headlining a show next Friday (9.14) at Bowery Electric. Read Mike Levine’s interview with the Brooklyn duo here.