Anticipatory fuzz and percussion set a suspenseful tone, before a brutal bassline leads the charge in “Bugbite,” featured on the self-titled LP from Philly’s Plot. There is a hefty industrial-noise component encircling its perimeter. Utilizing the flame-throwing guitar work of Mike Polizze (Birds of Maya, Purling Hiss), one enters a bombarding, cosmic dungeon of sorts. It’s a dark, twisted, trance-inspiring dose of heavy. Plot will be performing next in Philly at the June Cookout II on Saturday, June 9 at Century.

Get Better Fest 5 will be bringing the positive vibes to the basement of the First Unitarian Church. Benefitting Black & Pink, Morris Home, and Project SAFE, kind locals will be donating their time and talents, to raise money and awareness for these multitude of good, important causes. A beautiful bluntness bangs on the sonic doors when listening to Soul Glo. Unabashedly in your face and unwavering, their bombarding instrumentation pushes against the barriers at high velocity. Hovering between hushed and heavy tones, caught between the noise-induced blitz and relatively subdued melodies, there’s a cathartic intensity found in the music of Mannequin Pussy. Blank Spell stirs in the shadows, creeping out in quick bursts of menace. You’ll also come across the precise attack of Control Top’s punk/dance hybrid, while the noise-speckled glow of Empath rounds out this small sampling of the loaded, all-day lineup. – Michael Colavita

More local sounds for this weekend…

First Unitarian Church (2125 Chestnut St.) FRI The Obsessives, SAT Get Better Fest 5: Mannequin Pussy, Big Nothing, Soul Glo, Control Top, Kilamanzego, Blank Spell, Empath

LAVA Space (4134 Lancaster Ave.) FRI Get Better Fest 5: August Koch, Solarized, Strawberry Runners

Johnny Brenda’s (1201 N. Frankford Ave.) FRI Agent Zero, GoldenSpiral (Dual Album Release), Jackie & Jesse, Lotits, SUN Heavy Temple

Boot & Saddle (1131 S. Broad St.) FRI Marah

Kung Fu Necktie (1250 N. Front St.) FRI Bryan William Myers/DJ Deejay, SAT A Black Celebration: DJ Baby Berlin and Jem, SUN All This Huxley, Adventure Lost, Petty Vandal

The Trocadero (1003 Arch St.) SUN (Balcony) The 1940’s, Adam Travis & The Soul, Silver Autumn, Fauxtron

TLA (334 South St.) SAT The Parsnip Revolt

The Fillmore Philadelphia (1100 Canal St.) SAT Kur

World Café Live (3025 Walnut St.) FRI (Upstairs) John Vettese/Conjunto, SAT (Upstairs) Philadelphia School of Rock/Don McAvoy & the Great Whatever, Germany Hill/(Downstairs) Beyond The Bars Benefit Show: The Districts, Hardwork Movement, Ill Fated Natives

The Fire (412 W. Girard Ave.) FRI Malcolm Culleton (Album Release), Bern and the Bastards, Anna Dausman, SAT Anomie, Great Neck, Sunset Negative, Necrosexual

MilkBoy Philly (1100 Chestnut St.) FRI Hellings, SAT Ryan Tennis

Ortlieb’s Lounge (847 N. 3^rd St.) FRI Better Ducks, Cookie Rabinowitz, SAT Taiwan Housing Project, Dirt Queen, SUN Luminous Fins, The Justines

The Barbary (951 Frankford Ave.) SAT Darla

Bourbon & Branch (705 N. 2^nd St.) FRI Morning River Band, The Miners, Red Means Run, SAT De Tierra Caliente (CD Release)

Fergie’s (1214 Sansom St.) SAT James Pace Band, SUN Rusty Cadillac

Connie’s Ric Rac (1132 S. 9^th St.) FRI Drug Bust, 7^th Victim, Bunny Savage & The Plibmen, SAT Seeing Snakes, Atomic Cretins

Voltage Lounge (421 N. 7^th St.) SAT Murda P, SUN Atomic Cretins, Rubbish

Frankie Bradley’s (1320 Chancellor St.) FRI DJ Chris Urban, SAT Ed Christof

The Grape Room (105 Grape St.) FRI The Low Bottom Boys, Overcoming Gravity, This Kills Me, SAT Apple Juice Jones, Mercury Retrograde

Ardmore Music Hall (23 E. Lancaster Ave.) FRI Big Mind, On Wa, SAT Hezekiah Jones, Chestnut Grove, Black Horse Motel

The Pharmacy (1300 S. 18^th St.) FRI Mahatma X, Stoops, A Virgin, Pithair / Daniel Levine, Mochi Robinson, Brushstroke, SAT Randle Patrick McNuthing, SUN Starwood & David Fantasy & Adult Content

West Kensington Ministry (2140 N. Hancock St.) FRI Bardo Pond

Tralfamadore (Please contact one of the acts or venue for more info.) FRI Rebecca Zimmerman, Dominy

Planet Phitness (Please contact one of the acts or venue for more info.) SUN Boosegumps, Walte Young

The Sound Hole (Please contact one of the acts or venue for more info.) SAT Death’s Dynamic Shroud, Vincent Remember, Phteven Universe

Tundra Dome (Please contact one of the acts or venue for more info.) FRI Hermit Thrushes, Sour Spirit

Ecstatic Vision pay tribute to their musical table-setters on the group’s latest EP Under The Influence, which is now available via Heavy Psych Sounds. Enter into cosmic overdrive as this hypnotic brand of heavy takes command. Raunchy riffs and howling, demonic vocals blaze a trail that one will intuitively follow. The band will be holding its release celebration on Friday June 8 at Kung Fu Necktie, supported by Narcos Family Band and High Reeper.

The quartet of Blushed is scheduled to release a split EP, So Cool, with Secret Nudists Friends on June 22 via Good How Are You Records. Its first single, “Weak,” gradually wades outward. A persistent backend rumbles and pushes forward, as angst-anchored vocals softly swell within the surf sound. You can catch the band on Thursday, May 10 at Kobol, as part of the 3-day Good How Are You Fest.

Road Movie, the new EP from Dominic Angelella, is set to come out tomorrow via Lame-O Records, but you can stream and purchase it below now. An earnest ease is apparent in this latest batch of recordings. The sincerity in the singer-songwriter storytelling is a detailed map, highlighting Angelella’s personal journey. It’s the first of two albums that he’ll be releasing this year, with the help of Hop Along‘s Frances Quinlan and Joe Reinhart, Andrew Black (Nicos Gun), Ricardo Lagomasino (Many Arms, Deleted Scenes), and plethora of other Philly music pals.

“Cool Enough” is the latest single from synth-pop outfit Pool Radio. A hushed, internal dialogue sets the scene as a potential hookup tries to read into each other’s body language/actions. Low-key, danceable keys roll through as different perspectives within the same gathering play out. Caught in your own head, what’s the next move?

Superheaven‘s Taylor Madison is fronting a new project, which he has dubbed Webbed Wing. Its latest single, “Grew A Tail,” hints at a cosmic connection, before turning things wide-open. Mowing through the wilderness with its unrelenting, buzzsaw guitar, the beast is unleashed. The stampeding instrumentation eventually gives way to a heavy groove of reckoning, which was recorded, mixed and mastered by former Superheaven bandmate Jake Clarke.

Captivatingly calm vocals sail along synth waters when listening to “Hero,” which opens Life Raft, the new EP from Jesse Magenta, a.k.a. Charlie Catacalos. Thoughtfully peaceful while adrift, there’s an introspective tranquility at play. A brisk, wind-in-your-face spaciousness elicits movement, while expressing vulnerability. This is a musical vehicle that you should grab a hold of.

Honey Radar’s lo-fi poetics are mesmerizing, gritty, and blunt. Raspy drums, straightforward riffs, and Jason Henn’s steady diction make the melody of each track feel urgent, a characteristic that effortlessly stitch cuts like “Pinwheel” and “Pan Music” into the memory of listeners. Much like 2016’s Black Cartoon, Honey Badar’s recent 7-inch Psychic Cruise feels like a subtle psych homage to indie icons like Guided by Voices, infused with the contemplative reverie of The Brian Jonestown Massacre.

Opening with “Untitled Fox,” the EP’s first anthem is delectably retro without being blindsided by sheer nostalgia. Tambourine, guitar, and the swagger of Henn’s vocals foster a sense of latent awareness, intertwined with nonchalance. Brief yet notable, the track sets the tone for Psychic Cruise’s progression, ushering its audience deeper into the labyrinth of the songwriter’s kaleidoscopic yet audibly muted visions.

“Knocked Out” brings to mind Yellow Fever’s “Psychedelic” or a cleaner sharper foil to Spacin’s “Ego-go.” Its persistent chords and rhythm become the prelude to Henn’s subdued yet alluring croons. “Psychic Cruise,” the 7-inch’s titular anthem, is cinematic in a washed-out, dreamy way that brings to mind the garage-y thrill of Bleached’s “No Friend of Mind” or earworms like L.A. Witch’s “Get Lost.” The amalgamation of Henn’s voice and the hiss of snare result in a short yet vivid portrait of wanderlust as metaphor.

With equal concision, Honey Radar’s “Medium Mary Todd” unfolds without hesitation, allowing the swell of buzzing guitar to cast a spell of sorts, making the recording feel like a vision or a rock ‘n’ roll fever dream. The track channels the atmospheric mood of Far-Out Fangtooth and the frenetic energy of Jay Reatard’s softest interior. The perfect primer to Psychic Cruise’s final track, “Medium Mary Todd” keeps the tempo and mood of the 7-inch’s end palpably visceral. As “Moon Director” begins, fuzzy riffs and cymbals cultivate a layer of swirling sounds that force the audience to listen closer as a nearly instrumental end collides with clips of conversation and would-be transmissions. In its final moments “Moon Director” feels more like a commentary on communication than an homage to mankind’s achievements, perhaps suggesting that progress often times coincides with chaos.

Easy to consume in one sitting, yet difficult to dismiss, Psychic Cruise is a salve for the listless. These songs will reel you in. – Dianca London

The first glimpse into the next album from Jacob Sullenger, a.k.a. Johnny Utah, has emerged. “Folding Like Honey” is dipped in a deep, funk groove. Those sticky keys, with the hushed, soulful vocals, and the swirl of sirens in the background and chimes in the fore create a smooth, confessional love song. A tale of mixed signals and affection is unveiled.

Percussion and guitar push along the edges as bass cuts through the middle in “Lorraine”, one of the early offerings from Party Muscles‘s demo. Caught in the conflicted middle between parting ways and staying together, hearty, vocal harmonies bridge the divide. A power-pop wave of enthusiasm is apparent despite the lyrical indecision. This refined, musical polish serves as a promising precursor to future releases.

Krust Toons: "The Guitar Store" by Tedd Hazard – please feel free to drop him a line at teddandthehazards@gmail.com if you dig or have any funny ideas. You can also check out more of his illustrations and animation shorts HERE.