I almost feel like every single venue should have residencies – our life would be so much easier, because no promoters would commit to give a band 3-4 shows in a month if they weren’t confident about the band’s quality, live show and drawing ability. Indie pop Brooklynites Fishdoctor just landed a July residency at Pianos and we can see why. Their May release "The Swell" is crammed with catchy and energetic songs which have the potential to entertain all kind of crowds. First show of the residency is on July 16 at 9pm.

The peeps in Pop. 1280 must like paradoxes, since their music isn’t poppy at all – dark, brooding, borderline evil rather. But maybe that dot means that "pop" stands for something else? Popsicle maybe? Popcorn? Oh, wait! It’s from a novel by Nick Corey, and "Pop." stands for "population."

Signed to Brooklyn’s Sacred Bones, these guys released a full length in January entitled "The Horror" (that’s more like it) which snatched a 7.5 from Pitchfork. I always say that I like tension and release in music, but… boy! Tense throughout, this stuff won’t let you off the hook, challenging most hears with truly edgy, clangy, and cacophonous sonic attacks, in perfect industrial/goth style – imagine an angrier version of Nick Cave’s Birthday Party. Pop. 1280 will be touring the US in September, but we can see in the band’s future an obvious destination, Germany and Northern Europe, true homes of angular and dark rock sounds. If this band was a painter it would be Edvard Munch. Check out their recent video of the song "Bodie in the Dunes" here.

Photo Source: Chastity Belt

Chastity Belt are going to play the venue Chop Suey a week from today on Tuesday, July 17th. The Space Needles and REDBOOK are booked to perform as well.

Originially hailing from Walla Walla, WA – (like the previously spotlighted group Dude York) – this foursome dig on some punk and rock ‘n roll mojo. Despite their claim that "Chastity Belt is the worst band to ever exist," the group’s EP effort Fuck Chastity Belt immediately undermines that statement with charm and musicality.

Opening track "God Damn" begins with Julia Shapiro (guitarist/vocalist) shouting those words with conviction before the instruments jump in. Pay attention as the song peels into a new section where the line "He’s gold" is repeated; it maintains a great, captivating melody throughout.

Lyrically, the thematic center(s) to their material seem to be sex and violence – but these motifs come off as intriguing and sincere, soaked in their fusion of pop melodies, grainy riffs and off-kilter drums. Listen to "A Bloody Spiral of Unyielding Fury" to get an idea of what these girls are capable of.

Fuck Chasity Belt came out in May of this year and features four songs in total. Stream the leading track "God Damn" below. You can follow the link to their bandcamp to hear and download the whole thing. Make sure to check them out live at Chop Suey on the 17th of July. The show is 100% free!

– Cameron LaFlam

I can’t even imagine the Lower East Side without The Cake Shop, which has been going through some financial hardships as of late. The loss of this venue would mean that the more noisy, experimental, and DIY side of the NYC scene would have abandoned Manhattan once and for all. And noisy, experimental and DIY music is a huge and seminal component of what this scene has expressed since the 60s. Ya man, it all happened in Manhattan – nobody gave a crap about the Brooklyn scene until the aughts! This is why we should all make an effort to visit The Cake Shop more often, in particular this Saturday July 14th, when 4 great local bands and legendary DJ Dan Selzer (of NY Happenings Yahoo Group fame) will entertain hopefully a packed house in support of the Ludlow Street rowdiest venue. Hilarious drunk punks Wild Yaks willheadline, bringing the usual dose of unruly fun on stage, preceded by Shilpa Ray‘s charismatic and imaginative freak folk (one of her songs streaming below). The opening bands will be soul-rock quartet The Immaculates and ungooglable garage-blues band DON’T. There will be also a photo exhibit by local photographer Ebru Yildiz.

This past weekend, CBGB Festival extended the 4th of July celebration and extra four days. A music, film, and spirits conference, the first CBGB fest in NYC featured a spectrum of artists throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn. I was able to catch a handful of the performances, starting Thursday night with edgy, dark and punky quartet, Black Wing Halo at Trash Bar. Southern rockers from NY, Hollis Brown (pictured and streaming below) rocked The Living Room on Friday, July 6. The quintet hit the stage twice in one night, at 9pm and 12am, showcasing tracks off their recent EP, “Nothing & the Famous No One,” and summer single, “Cold City,” which are both available for free download. Not too far away, Bowery Electric hosted the highly anticipated come back of The Virgins, who have only recently returned to the scene to play shows in conjunction with the release of “Venus in Chains.” Saturday afternoon was a scorcher, but that did not stop a record number of passersby from taking advantage of the music in the center of Times Square. Two stages alternated acts, as the audience hustled back and forth. Kicking off the lineup, GLINT, an electro-rock project comprised of its one and only official member, Jase Blankfort, joined forces with orchestral back up to mesmerize with contrasting styles and impassioned vocals. A few blocks up, the other stage erupted with Big Apple veterans, The Hold Steady’s playful heartland rock which was followed by quirky indie synth-pop, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. –Meijin Bruttomesso

Forget everything the last decade taught you about the so-called aesthetics of punk, and welcome back to the days of angry fist-in-the-air pissed-up antics. Hating on hipsters since 2009, Foster Care released last month their debut LP ‘Bad City Vibes’ (Jackshack), a furious set of 13 fast tracks bursting with pure antagonism. I’ll refrain from the critical urge to give them credit for the lyrics (not as thick as one may think) or even the noise (tighter than it sounds) to get straight to the point: these guys are Brooklyn’s straightest answer to an oh-so-docile scene, furiously sticking it up to… Gee, the list is long. As a target of choice, NYC posers beware: they will be down at Legion on Wednesday (7/11), dishing out some rabid hardcore punk to a crowd that may make you swallow your tote bag. – Tracy Mamoun

New York based indie darling Janet LaBelle has released a series of two live videos revealing her brand new single “Just a Little Rain” and a performance of her song “Goodbye, Baby.” Drawing from her pop tinged roots and 1960’s influences, the video series follows her release of the “Blossom & Blue” EP. While this latest EP demonstrates an exploration of styles channeling her main influences from Diana Ross to Tom Waits, from Astrud Gilberto to Fleetwood Mac, LaBelle’s voice emerges as one of its own. Check out the official live video of “Just a Little Rain” (filmed by Chris Carlone at Studio 201) here, and listen to our favorite single "Losing all the Way", streaming below. You can catch Janet with her band at the Mercury Lounge on Thursday 7/12 at 6:30pm. – (as posted in The Deli’s Open Blog – post your band’s entries, videos, and Mp3s here). The Deli’s NYC Open Blog is powered by The Music Building.

Kid Mountain is an up and coming Boston indie band. Though hard to classify the exact genre of what they play, they like to call it Shoe-Pop. It has the ambience and reverby guitar and vocals of shoe gaze yet much more up beat with an acoustic guitar that fills everything out and gives everything a unique sound. They have an EP that came out in January called, Visitor’s Center and they are currently making their debut album due at the end of the summer. Though just a baby band this quartet has already played with the likes of Reptar, The Wandas, and many more bands that are currently big on the indie scene, so keep your eye on them! – (as posted in The Deli New England’s Open Blog – post your band’s entries, videos, and Mp3s here).

Photo Source: Haunted Horses

Haunted Horses are getting to ready to play Capitol Hill Block Party on Sunday, July 22nd. For those who cannot wait until then, drive north to Vancouver, BC where they are playing the Zoo Zhop this Friday, July 13th. 

The band, composed of members Colin Dawson and Myke Pelly, forge an unholy alliance between rhythm and noise. Dark noise is a more apt descriptor; the mood that pervades their music is one of sinister intensity and confusion. The possible comparisons to noise rock duo Lightning Bolt do not hold much weight because Haunted Horses trajectory appears fundamentally different: one of raising, praising and agitating spirits from the next realm with a calmness in their chaos, rather than all-out dance shreddage and ceaseless throttling of the drums.

Chanting moreso than shouting plays a role in the songs – such as in "The Veil," the closing track of their January release EP They Set Us Fevered Water. It is on the track "Pariah" that their signature concoction of tom-heavy rhythms melt together with wave upon wave of distorted guitar and shouts. 

The bandmates cite their influence as "a woman who died in 1976 after unsucessful attempts to perform an exorcism upon her with psychotropic drugs." Perhaps a fitting image for listeners to plant in their mind as they navigate the band’s challenging and curious material.

Haunted Horses play at 5:45pm on the 22nd of July on the Cha Cha Stage. Stream "Pariah" below for an idea of the aural explosion to come. You can listen to They Set Us Fevered Water on their bandcamp page; it is available for digital download or cassette purchase. It is the last in a series of three cassettes that band released.

– Cameron LaFlam

Cuddle Magic, a 10 piece avant-pop orchestra split between Philly and Brooklyn, is about to celebrate the release of their third album "Info Nympho", which is available for streaming here. The band offers an array of soothing instruments (including glockenspiels, toy piano, and various strings and winds) along with the more standard guitar, bass, and drums. At once playful and haunting, the record thrives on the dual male and female vocals spinning intricate counter-melodies. The rhythm section provides a steady but never banal backdrop, while the less conventional instruments are allowed to take the forefront and guide the listener through truly stellar compositions. The variety of sounds, textures, and arrangement ideas, and the quality of the material showcase a band in its full maturity, mastering an impressive musical vocabulary, ranging from classical counterpoint to math rock influences, without disdaining occasional jazz chords and electronic elements. From opener "Disgrace Note"’s semi-robotic mallets in six fourths, to "Jason" (streaming below) and "Hadwrit", with their beautiful melody and organic arrangements featuring almost any instrument you can imagine, this is a record that manages to be original, moving and memorable – what else can you ask? Catch Cuddle Magic in Bushwick on July 13th, at a new venue named Muchmore. – Bob Raymonda

Eric Gilstrap (vocals), Steve Spinella (guitar), Matt Revie (guitar), Max Goransson (bass), and Jim Wood (drums) unite under the name Clouder. The band has been quite prolific, releasing their EP, "Serious Business," last September and full-length record, "Freakin’ Out the Squares" in February. The Brooklyn-based quintet rustles up the sounds, auras and cover art inspirations of music’s decades past, saturating the already-spacey musical atmosphere with even more psychedelic effects, and injecting them with elements of surf and garage rock. Live, they are a force to be reckoned with – see them at The Grand Victory on July 14. – Read Meijin Bruttomesso’s interview with the band here.