New Music, Emerging from your Local Scene
The Central Standard have launched an IndieGoGo campaign to help fund the recording of their debut album. They are hoping to be able to record with producer Sean O’Keefe.
You can catch The Central Standard at Lincoln Hall on Jan. 3rd with Kelroy, Steady Echo, and Jarryd Stymer.
It’s Thursday, meaning that Palaver Records has its weekly showcase at fooBar too. We’ve come to trust in the label’s consistent ability to curate an entertaining lineup of local and touring acts week after week to the point that we will scope out the bands even if we can’t make it to the show. This has lead our attention to Nashville quartet Ambrose Way. A listen to the track "She Walks Alone" shows a keen handle on vocal harmonies rivaling The Beach Boys. Their style is wrought with acoustic guitars, their introspective meanderings puncuated by ocassional banjo or piano. Think The Shins or Dodos goofing off and channeling Simon and Garfunkel. We’re keeping these guys on deck for when the winter weather gets gnarly and we need to hear something that reminds us of spring. -Terra James-Jura
The first time I saw Boston’s excellent Bugs and Rats, Nick from How They Light Cigarettes in Prison told me they sound like Nirvana. I’d never have thought of it, but In Utero is a pretty close comparison.
Providence’s In Heat is screaming angry metal with enough power to make even the old people in the pit move (don’t confuse them with the In Heat who have a Facebook page, though). Tour starts tonight at OE BNB in Providence, with Boston’s Abominable Skimask.
What happens when an unstoppable force hits immovable object? A Controversy. Laura Vall, andThomas Hjorth are the unique and talented duo that make up The Controversy, an electro pop band with psychedelic elements with influences that range from Bjork and Beck to Portishead and Massive Attack. Their newest single, "Two Voices", holds nothing back. “Two Voices is about the insecurities we all battle with everyday,” Vall says, “the doubts that we face and how these can hold you back, even if they are just in your head.” Growing up is inevitable; we begin to realize as adults that the only thing truly stopping us is ourselves. But hard work pays off, and in 2012 the band won Artist of the Year (Artists In Music Awards) and Best Alternative Song (Hollywood Music In Media Awards), but that didn’t make the room smaller for this group. “It was great validation and a pat on the back for us but we know that we need to keep pushing forward and keep fighting. We know that there is still a long way to go and this is just the beginning.”
Varying in analog and digital synths, electronic beats, and even sampling inanimate objects to create a unique sound, The Controversy stops at nothing to keep their audience captivated on their sound. Nothing is out of the question – pencils hitting a glass, bumping pots and pans together and even pieces of wood are used to create that illuminating sound that is unlike anything we hear on the radio. After not playing a live show for over a year, Vall has plans for 2015 that include an exciting light show, a full experience and a strive for greatness. The Controversy is both the immovable and the unstoppable. As Vall suggests, “Just let go and free yourself from all these demons, you’ll enjoy life more and feel better about yourself." – Kayla Hay
Destination Moon, a curated concert series and collective, started out as a couple of house shows based in Crown Heights. Since then their events have taken more of a cosmic bent, in more ways than one. Most of their shows are solar powered and all of them incorporate both music and visual art. The collective’s next event, SCREEN/SOUNDS, takes place this Friday (12/5) at new venue Lot 45, and is billed as "multi-disciplinary" and featuring collaborations between musicians and film-makers. The night begins with shorts performed with original, live scores by Carson Moody (of Tigue) & Anthony Vine, and Star Rover followed by sets from local avant rockers Modern Rivals and lounge popper Legs (a band we kind of missed so far, check out their video below), both awash in the projections of Jesse Mann. Recommended for all A/V kids who like to dance. – Emilio Herce
From Japan-to-Brooklyn, girl rock band Hard Nips are not only known for their catchy, anthemic party rock, but also for their quirky live performances that will keep you coming back for more. They recently released a new EP titled ‘Uncommon Animal’ which packs some heavy riffage but is also fun and light hearted, just like them. They’ve been playing music since 2009, after they all had just met and decided to form a band, picking up their respective instruments for the very first time – now that’s punk attitude! They also have a kick-ass website might we add.
See them live at Glasslands on 12.06 and read Michael Haskoor interview with Hard Nips.
Brooklyn rockers Blue & Gold deliver an impressive first single in advance of their debut album with the heavy mid tempo “In My Head.” Combining driving guitars with soulful, bluesy vocals, their sound has the instant appeal of an updated version of blues rock. Solid thunderclap drums and a precise distorted bass lock the track down while well-placed power chords and rippin’ lead guitar solos point to the era when Leslie West’s band Mountain triggered the evolution of the electrified blues-rock hybrid. On the second chorus, girl/boy tandem vocals give way to alternating single lines: “Ain’t got no time” becomes the throw-down vocal hook statement, when “I want you” is followed by “why don’t you want me too?” The band will celebrate the release of their album at Mercury Lounge on January 10. – Dave Cromwell
Kangaroo Knife Fight’s new self-titled EP is a soul-searching romp through deep caverns of reverbed out guitars, gospelesque vocals, and flowing melodies reminiscent of Sly and the Family Stone and Kings of Leon. The opening track, “Hold On” is an airy build into a delightful chant-worthy chorus. With the vocals screaming “I don’t think anybody wants to lose,” it’s hard not to sing along the second time around. The song illustrates difficulties everyone struggles with and the sweaty grip people have while trying to hold everything together in life. The challenging nature of the overwhelming instrumentation leaves you asking, how will they make this bigger? KKF doesn’t disappoint with giant swelling vocals and expanding guitars.
Daytrotter just posted a new session with indie-pop five-piece Cheerleader. You can take a listen and download it for free HERE (w/membership). The session was recorded with vintage gear to tape. They are currently on tour, and will be performing next in Philly on Saturday, December 20 at Johnny Brenda’s.
This record is like nothing I’ve ever heard, and I’ve heard at least four albums in my life. Pucker Up conjures Hunter S. Thompson in the desert at 3 AM, tripping on mescaline, eating dusty spiders. The electric guitar sometimes sounds like a buzzsaw and usually like a string is about to break, the standup bass rocks harder than The Jesus Lizard, the drums sound like flattened cardboard boxes, and the unpretentious, distorted vocals sing bizarre tales of loneliness and going to sleep crying to Michael Hurley. This might be the best record of the year.
