NYC

Paperwhite’s electronic sophisti-pop revival goes viral

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Brooklyn’s Electro Pop brother and sister duo Paperwhite defines itself as a ‘dream-pop’ act in its Facebook bio, and although that’s not necessarily false, fans of the genre’s pioneers like Cocteau Twins and Mazzy Star will not find any of those references in their music. Paperwhite’s dancy tracks conjure up visions of breezy summer afternoons of the 80s, spent at the beach somewhere in Europe, and those dancy but thoughtful hits that accompanied them. Some critics gather those tunes under the ‘sophisti-pop’ label: think Pet Shop Boys, Prefab Sprout or Swing Out Sister, to name a few. The dreamy element is there, but camouflaged as a fuzzy memory of happy days that went by too fast – no wonder one of their singles is entitled ‘Take Me Back’ (streaming). The duo has three truly solid songs up on their Soundcloud profile, and each one of them got more than 100k plays, which is quite impressive. The next challenge for them is to translate this success to the stage.

We added this song to The Deli’s playlist of Best electronic songs by emerging NYC artists – check it out!

Philadelphia

Shape Breaker Opening for Watery Love & The Young at The Boot & Saddle Sept. 10

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Lo-fi outfit, Shape Breaker, released a split 7" last January, along with Dublin’s Fuck Mountain, and what came from it is the super rad, dark and twisted "Spellbound," a track that’s four and a half minutes of spacious, fuzzed drums, metal mentality guitar riffs, and reverby as fuck vocals. By cross-checking the group’s 2013 release, Wide Eyes, I notice length isn’t the typical concern that passes through the guys’ minds. Aside from the last track off of the eight-song album, their psych-punk power pushes typically stay under the four-minute mark. 
 
Why am I obsessing over the length of these songs, written by Philadelphians Pat Hickey (vox/guitar) and Piotr Szpunar (drums)? Because I could see them spilling out into crazy live jams, with no one in the audience willing to open their eyes to see it end. Yes stoners, this will be your kinda gig, and you can catch them tonight at The Boot & Saddle, alongside local punk outfit Watery Love (featuring ex-Clockcleaner Richie Charles) and Austin’s The Young. The Boot & Saddle, 1131 S. Broad St., 8pm, $10, 21+ – Nikki Volpicelli

San Francisco

Cool Ghouls Gear Up to Release New Album + Drop New Single

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The incredibly popular San Francisco based band, Cool Ghouls is gearing up to release their new album, A Swirling Fire Burning Through The Rye which is due out on November 11th on Empty Cellar Records.

You have the opportunity to hear a new single from the album below. The quintessential CG sound resonates through their new track, The Mile, which is catchy but sounds a bit more mature than their earlier work. Although they still grasp tones and styles from The Beatles, there is a bit more of a serious tone to the song that shows that the band has evolved, which hopefully invokes anticipation for their upcoming album. We are intrigued for sure.

Give The Mile a listen. It’s a great song.

Nashville

Sun Culture, “Young Blood”

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It seems that the theme of the week is major label expats.  Chase Coy parted ways with Universal about two years ago, and his search for a more authentic creative endeavor landed him in Nashville and brought about the creation of Sun Culture. This project is much more beach-and-club influenced than the acoustic teenage ambles that catapulted Coy into the hearts of the Myspace generation. Sun Culture’s debut album was release this past March, every bit the perfect soundtrack to living out the summer on Nashville’s nonexistent coast. The band is already back in the studio, and recently put out this single, "Young Blood." It comes from the same youthful and sun-soaked place as the debut album, though there is some added heft when one takes into account the sea change that has occured between 18-year-old Coy and the present day. That takes some major balls to realize a greater artistic goal, especially when it would be so much more comfortable to remain static. -Terra James-Jura

www.suncultureband.com

NYC

A brilliant, but slacking, Brooklyn band: The Yum Dee Days

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The Yum Dee Days is the latest Brooklyn band to catch us off guard with a record we entirely missed when it came out in July 2013 – although it must be said that the guys don’t seem too interested in promoting their music, since we have found no traces of their name in our inbox or digital submissions, and they’ve received very little coverage from other music blogs (they don’t even have a Facebook profile – the heresy!!!). They play live though, and are working with a really good booking agency, which means that they are actually hoping to go places, and rightly so, because their debut EP "It’s All Happening" is a small gem. This is one of those lazy records that entertain and charm in gentle ways, mostly through quality, original songwriting, and subtle influences as conflictual as Psych Rock (‘Everybody Knows Nobody Cares’ – streaming) and 60’s style crooning (‘The Future Is A Drag‘). Thinking about it, you can’t really expect a band with songs bearing this kind of titles (add to the list ‘Hangin Out for Days‘ and ‘King Slacker‘), to be even remotely interested in self promotion or taking press photos, right? Well, some say that relaxation is the secret of inspiration, so maybe that’s a good approach to a career in music – may a chill wave carry them far!

We added ‘Everyone’s Your Friend‘ to The Deli’s playlist of Best songs by emerging NYC artists – check it out!

 

Austin

The Mastersons release new video “Closer To You”

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Married duo The Mastersons recently returned to live in Austin after a stint as New Yorkers – and we are sure glad to have them back in town.  Members of Steve Earle’s band, they have miraculously found time in between tours to craft their own excellent brand of alternative-roots rock. Their latest album Good Luck Charm is now available via New West Records. Check out the video to their single, "Closer To You" below. – Jonathan Konya

Toronto

Supercrawl- The Dirty Nil, Lowell, The Beaches, The Dinner Bells

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Hamilton’s Supercrawl starts up 9/11-9/14 on James St. N, Hamilton. Catch bands like The Dirty Nil, Lowell, The Beaches and The Dinner Belles @ this showcase event. Check out The Dirty Nil’s latest track-Cinnamon, a youthful rock song with punk vocals ontop of distorted guitars. See them Friday 9/12 on the main stage. Go to Supercrawl website to see the full line up. See you guys there!

Portland

Wampire Premier New Single “The Amazing Heart Attack”

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Following their debut release of Curiosity last year, Wampire are gearing up to dose us with another full-length psychedelic trip titled, Bazaar, out October 7th on Polyvinyl Records. Fortunately, you don’t have till then to experiment with their new sounds, as the boys just premiered the album’s second single and opening track, "The Amazing Heart Attack." The song retains the spacy 70’s synth styling present on Curiosity, but amps up the progy riffage for a darker, heavier sound. By contrast, Bazaar‘s lead single "Wizard Staff" slows things down with a sexy little groove reminicent to something Bruce Springstein and David Bowie might have collaborated on. Catch Wampire in Salem September 12 at Level B or in Portland September 21 at the Hathorne Theater with English psych rippers, Temples. 

– Travis Leipzig