The nearly nine minute sonic assault that The Psychic Paramount unleashes on “DDB” (streaming below) is a veritable tour-de-force of ferociously thrashed guitars, rumbling bass, frantic clattering drums and hammered cymbals. No vocals are provided, since this exploratory expedition to the center of your psyched out mind is all that’s necessary. The similarly titled initials only “RW” further showcases the bands chops via sophisticated percussive beats, while guitars alternate between minimal open space tensions to all out bombastic thrash. “N6” presents waves of furiously strummed guitars and rolling snares that echoes bits of black metal while avoiding the pointless caterwauling of that genre. Their groove is far more fluid and natural, while sacrificing none of the power and force this music delivers. Real psych rock fans shouldn’t miss these guys when they play Cameo with Tunde Adebimpe’s Stabbing Eastward and Guardian Alien on July 8. – Dave Cromwell

Black Light Dinner Party is dance music for people who don’t just want to dance. Whatever else you’d like to experience while listening to the band is, of course, up to you. But for sure… when you listen to a song like ‘Older Together,’ you really can’t help but move your head right along with your body – while hearing the group discussing their intimate details in tracks like the revealing ‘Older Together.’

This kind of intimacy has come closer to the cultural surface these days. Groups like The Weeknd and Destroyer have equally pulled their life’s messes inside the disco. But BLDP approaches this with an equal eye toward sonic retroness that lights up tracks like ‘Gold Chain’ like a breath of fresh air. It’s an approach I haven’t heard before, and it suits the group well.

Like the thinking man’s Passion Pit, (and the young person’s LCD Soundsystem), this is a group unafraid to add a lyrical weight to the dance floor, from a band as interested in the morning after as they are staying up all night.

Download their newest single ‘Leave it All’ (streaming below), and see them when they play Cameo live June 15th with St. Lucia and Slowdance. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

With riffs that would make Jack White proud, Prospector, with their latest EP "Between 0 &1," is proudly bringing the rock attitude back to a city that pretty much invented it. The band formerly known as Doppelgänger comes at their instruments like a jackhammer in tracks like the banging ‘HeartBreakin Man’ and ‘The Money Shot.’ With so many shoegazers around Brooklyn, here’s a band that looks you square in the face, with songs that won’t take no for an answer. – Mike Levine – This record was submitted for consideration here.

Casey Shea, Matt Singer and Paul Basile are among the 12 NYC artists performing on the second night of the four-night-long 6th Annual LC Fest, organized by independent music community Local Correspondents at Bar4 in Park Slope, Brooklyn (444 7th Ave.).

Casey Shea’s genuine, hook-filled rock ‘n’ roll calls to mind The Beatles, Kings of Leon, and Tom Petty, while (pictured and streaming below) Matt Singer’s goofy charm and surprising sincerity are reminiscent of Paul Simon or The Magnetic Fields. Matt’s latest album, The Build, was released in April, 2012 on Family Records. Paul Basile is the lead singer of the indie-folk band Great Elk. The band’s debut full-length album, Autogeography, was released in May, 2012, and draws comparisons to Band of Horses and My Morning Jacket. Shows are free, doors open at 6 p.m., and performances begin at 8 p.m. For a complete schedule of all four nights (from June 6 through June 9), go here.

This is hard for an Italian to admit, but, even though French wines and cheeses are obviously inferior to ours (he he), I have to concede that French musical influences are way, way, way more "usable" in an indie context than Italian ones. Led by French singer Quay Quinn-Settel, Slowdance is one of the newest bands belonging to the rather copious battalion of francophile and francophone artists produced by the NYC scene in the past decade (La Laque, CoCoRosie, Die Romantik, and Elodie O are some of the other notable ones). Their new single "Boyfriend" (out as a 7" on White Iris Records), end even more so side B "Airports," revisit the simple, charming melodies of 60s French pop and baptize them in a dream pop musical backdrop. This "French-girl-dream" formula is rather pleasing and conspires images of desperately needed motorcycle trips through Provence’s spectacular countryside. That is a good sign. But since you obvioulsy can’t afford that, you should probably go see Slowdance live at the next opportunity, which is on June 15 at Cameo, and dream about it. – PDG

The Jackpot, Lawrence, 9 pm, 21+, $10

Two area bands are featured at The Jackpot in Lawrence tonight: The Roseline, a pure, melodious country group from Lawrence, whose sound will mesh with the soulful, rootsy rock of the Ozarks group Ha Ha Tonka. Ha Ha Tonka has been touring with well-known singer-songwriter Langhorne Slim and continues to make a name for itself around the country. 

Check out the latest video from the boys, "Lonely Fortunes," off their acclaimed 2011 album Death of A Decade.

 The lineup for the first Lawrence Field Day Fest has been announced! The pre-party starts July 5 at The Jackpot with Stephen Egerton of The Descendents/ALL. See below for the full lineup:

Thursday, July 5: The Jackpot (Pre-Party)

• 10:00-10:45 Drag The River
• 11:00-11:45 Stephen Egerton
• 12:00-12:45 Stiff Middle Fingers

Friday, July 6: The Bottleneck

• 6:00-6:30    Soma
• 6:40-7:10    Busted Open
• 7:20-7:50    Jabberjosh
• 8:00-8:30    Field Day Jitters
• 8:40-9:10    Many Moods of Dad
• 9:20-9:50    Radar Defender
• 10:00-10:30 The Empty Spaces
• 10:40-11:25 Panda Circus
• 11:35-12:20 The ACBs
• 12:30-1:15   Mouthbreathers

Saturday, July 7: The Bottleneck

• 4:00-4:30    Sex Tapes
• 4:40-5:10    Black on Black
• 5:20-5:50    Awestrich
• 6:00-6:30    Dismantle The Virus
• 6:40-7:10    White
• 7:20-7:50    Melting Point of Bronze
• 8:00-8:30    Robocopter
• 8:40-9:10    Deco Auto
• 9:20-9:50    Dean Monkey
• 10:00-10:30 Doubleplus
• 10:40-11:25 Radkey
• 11:35-12:20 Major Games
• 12:30-1:00   Approach

Tickets go on sale this Friday, June 8. The festival is sponsored by New Belgium Brewing Co., KJHK 90.7 FM, and Midwest Music Foundation. 

Hannah Fairchild, Emily Mure and Jodi Shaw are among the 12 NYC artists performing on the first night of the four-night-long, Deli sponsored 6th Annual LC Fest, organized by independent music community Local Correspondents at Bar4 in Park Slope, Brooklyn  (444 7th Ave.).
 Hannah Fairchild is an energetic singer who fronts the punk cabaret band Hannah vs. The Many, while Emily Mure is a classically trained, smoky-voiced singer/songwriter currently recording her second album (pictured, check out hes song Joanne, streaming below). Jodi Shaw, whose new album, “In Waterland,” was just released on May 15, draws comparisons to Suzanne Vega, Fiona Apple, and The Beach Boys.

Shows are free, doors open at 6 p.m., and performances begin at 8 p.m. For a complete schedule of all four nights (from June 6 through June 9), go here.

Mp3: Emily Mure – Joanne

I have yet to hear someone discuss how they’d love to take my money as sympathetically as I have with Beautiful Small Machines’ joyously acoustic, recently released version of MIA’s ‘Paper Planes’ (streaming below). While some might dismiss the duo’s banjo/piano inventions here as mere novelty, there is something to be said about the loving time and care the band imparts to the tune that’s truly the attraction here. The band’s careful attention to details like this helps them to construct a world around their toys, building synth stabs that move to explosion in their last EP’s title track ‘Robots in Love,’ and the stomping B-52’s inspired ‘Superconducter.’

Their machines may be small, but their attention to aesthetic detail makes the efforts beautifully unique. No wonder Duran Duran’s Simon Le Bon accepted to work with them in their breakthrough track ‘Simple Joys.’ See the band when they play Piano’s this Friday evening. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

Having already opened for Smith Westerns, Chairlift, and Surfer Blood, the country and 90s-influenced Grand Rapids (the band, not the city in west Michigan) is doing quite well for a bunch of early 20-somethings. The group formed when childhood friends Dan Lardner and Peter Baumann, both on guitar, moved from New Jersey to the East Village, soon meeting up with the band’s female halves of Alex Niemetz and Clara Balzary, bass and drums, respectively. The quartet released a self-titled EP in 2011, combining Stephen Malkmus vocal hooks with garage rock guitars. The group has 3 upcoming shows in NYC, (see here), we recommend the show at Mercury Lounge on June 24 with NYC punk rockers Dirty Fences.

Austin based retro-pop combo Major Major Major will be entertaining the local crowds on June 9 at the 29th St. Ballroom, in occasion of the vinyl release of their latest self-titled EP. At times noisy and at times nostalgic, this is group’s songs are influenced by a wide range of genres, going from the early 60s pop music to the lo-fi wave of the early 00s.

Austin based rock trio Megafauna offer an interesting melange of rock’n’roll (drums, guitar solos), pop (Dani Nelf’s beautiful melodies and voice, at times reminiscent of Bjork) and psych rock (production and overall musical approach). It must be ssaid that Dani – originally from Brooklyn – also plays guitar with impressive dexterity. The band is prepping their full-length follow up to their 2010 debut album "Larger Than Human." and in the meantime they are releasing a digital 3 track "Love Project" EP (streaming below), which sounds very promising indeed, showcasing the diverse range of styles and influences that drive the band’s sound. Don’t miss these guys live!