South Philly’s The Eeries are back from a winter tour in support of their full-length album Home Alone that was released via Evil Weevil Records and on cassette via Burger Records. The garage rock trio will be bringing their fine, homegrown vocal harmonies and endearing, melodic hooks to the DIY-esque upstairs space at Kung Fu Necktie. They’ll be part of a packed lineup that includes Philly’s own David Mitchell Esparaza, a.k.a. (((TACO))) from The Love Club, and visiting troops “bumpkin punks” Hellshovel, space punks Acid Baby Jesus, Southern rockers Niche, and shadowy Americana outfit Devil at My Side. Kung Fu Necktie, 1250 N. Front St., 8pm, 21+ – H.M. Kauffman 

Waxahatchee, the project from Katie Crutchfield now with the help of Swearin’s Keith Spencer and Kyle Gilbride, just premiered their new album Cerulean Salt on NPR Music‘s "First Listen," which is available for streaming in its entirety HERE. The record will be out March 5 via Don Giovanni Records, and they’ll be kicking off their tour down to SXSW with a show this Friday, March 1 at West Philly’s Golden Tea House.

Kids: it’s time for a short history lesson. Once upon a time, there existed a movement. Guys would tour the country in rundown passenger vans, from dive bars to basements to rock clubs, spreading their gospel of punk rock… or at least how they thought it to be. Similarly, they wore rundown converse, and their bad haircuts were considered badges of honor. In this long ago time, emo, as it was called, was a small respected slice of the punk rock pie. Today, the effigy that was once a fixture in alternative music is but a shell of its former self… tainted by chunky highlights and side-swoop bangs. But in the basements of Philadelphia, one can experience the same sincerity and thoughtfulness that existed back then. Philly-based Kite Party, willing and ready to lead the charge, deliver us from the era of contractual agreement with their own bastarded punk rock child. Drawing reminiscence of Jawbreaker, the playful wrestling of clean bass lines and complementary guitars build an admirable backdrop for Russell Edling’s oddly hypnotic muttering. Supporting New York’s Bridge and Tunnel, it’s home field advantage for these Guildsmen tonight at The Fire. Bring your older brothers and cool slightly-younger-than-your-dad uncles, as this set will appease any purist with a yearning to return to the Golden Age. The Fire, 412 W. Girard Ave., 7pm, $8, All Ages – Ed Newton

When we first discovered Kristen Sylvester, she was still in high school writing music under the moniker Spirit and Dust and performing out as a trio. That was toward the beginning days of The Deli Philly. Since then, her band has expanded to an eight-piece, and she’s finally releasing the follow-up to her debut LP Delight (a former Deli Album of the Month) entitled Shore to Shore, which is a concept album. Below are a few words from Sylvester about her latest record. 

“Shore to Shore is a story about two people who– in the heat of life– have fallen apart. The story is from the perspective of one individual who at first struggles to find solace but eventually is able to gain a perspective shift, realizing that when things get heavy, you have to make them lighter; a journey towards the other shore. Become a living anachronism as your journey takes you to fantastical new places!”

She’ll be celebrating the release of her new full-length tonight at the charming West Philly multipurpose space Studio 34, performing the LP in its entirety with casted parts and several original monologues and letters which will be incorporated into the performance. Spirit and Dust will be supported by Small Houses (a.k.a. Jeremy Quentin), who will also be releasing his new album Exactly Where You Wanted to Be, Sean Hoots (of Hoots & Hellmouth), and DJ Slowpoke (a.k.a. Birdie Busch) on the ones and twos. This evening is a Folkadelphia-presented event. Studio 34, 4522 Baltimore Ave., 8pm, $10, All Ages – H.M. Kauffman 

Back before Philly became the thriving indie music scene that it is today, Mazarin was one of the very few beloved bands on the verge of breaking out to a wider national audience. Unfortunately, the group disbanded the year after the release of their final album We’re Already There (2005). Frontman Quentin Stoltzfus disappeared from the limelight, but still continued privately writing and recording his own music and helping friends produce theirs while working as a professional mover. In 2012, to the surprise of most of us, new material began to surface from Stoltzfus, who is now recording under the moniker Light Heat, and earlier this week, the announcement came about an official release date (June 25) for the project’s new self-titled album, which will be available via Ribbon Music. This Saturday night, you’ll be able to preview songs from the forthcoming record at Johnny Brenda’s where he’ll be supported by psych-garage rock Deli faves Spacin’ and gifted John Fahey-influenced Brooklyn guitarist Steve Gunn. Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 9pm, $10, 21+ – Q.D. Tran    

Cousin Brian’s aptly named debut LP First had been floating around the internet for a while before Slutever’s Nicole Snyder had the brilliant idea to make it the inaugural release on her label Mallrat Records last year. A truly underrated album (which ranked quite high on my year end list of “Favorite Philly Releases of 2012”), First was filled with plenty of delightful tunes that eventually garnered a bit of praise from the local music community. However, some of our readers were a bit confused by our description of Cousin Brian as a “punk” band due to the unabashed amount of pop hooks and oohs and aahs found on their record. That was until I invited them to perform at one of my Tuesday Tune-Outs at PhilaMOCA, where they ferociously tore through their songs five-times as fast as what might be heard on the recordings while vocalist Sean Caruthers flailed around on and off the stage like he was having an epileptic seizure and physically assaulted their fans with his mic. After their volatile set, drummer Ben Harper proceeded to sit in the front row and heckle the next band throughout their performance. Ha…I think that the questions about Cousin Brian being a punk band were squashed that evening. – Q.D. Tran

The retro-rocking quintet of Adam & Dave’s Bloodline punctuate the release of their new EP 2×2 on Founding Fathers Records tonight at Johnny Brenda’s. With 2×2, the group is taking a slightly darker heavy psychedelic approach. The groove is still omnipresent, but the guitar work is more mercurial and effect-infused. The air appears to have thickened while the lights have dimmed. The band’s sound will mesh well with the hazy garage rock of St. James & the Apostles, balancing Jamie Mahon’s growling preacher vocals and raw guitar with the not so common injection of organ and artillery style drumming. Arrah and the Ferns round out an excellent evening playing what can best be described as a combination of folky-poppy country-blues along with Bloomington, Indiana’s Sleeping Bag. Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 9pm, $10, 21+ – Michael Colavita

Grande Marshall (a.k.a. Xavier Marshall-Booker) burst into the Philly and national spotlight in 2012 with his impressive debut mixtape 800, which is meant to tell his story about what is going on in Philly. Heavily influenced by his music-loving family, the North Philly emcee began laying down his own verses after hearing Nas’ “One Mic.” His laidback, stoner flow has received comparisons to current artists like A$AP Rocky. However, the brash young talent chooses to denounce such correlations because he feels that people tend to name more popular artists as touchstones to try and box in what he is doing – proudly claiming it as all his own. Grande recently signed to Fool’s Gold Records (founded by DJs A-Trak and Nick Catchdubs) where his music will no doubt reach more of the masses, which will surely further help to establish him as a new beacon for future artists in the Philly hip-hop community. (BTW: Check out the full list of emerging artists from our Best of 2012 Poll HERE!) – Q.D. Tran 

Katie Crutchfield recently moved to West Philly with her sister and former bandmate Allison Crutchfield, who now fronts Swearin’ (the rest of the band also lives in the same house). Well, Katie’s latest project Waxahatchee is preparing to release a new album titled Cerulean Salt on March 5 via Don Giovanni Records. We already shared with you the first single from the album called "Peace and Quiet," and now you can check out another new track "Coast To Coast" below. (Photo by Samantha Marble)