Indie Rock

Weekend Warrior, April 1 - 3

Michelle Zuaner (Little Big League, Post Post) is celebrating the debut label release, Pychopomp (Yellow K Records), from her solo project Japanese Breakfast at Ortlieb’s tonight. The new venture shows a radically contrasting side to Zauner as a songwriter through its use of experimental textures, pads, and loops. Compared to the dynamic energy of the guitar-driven Little Big League, Japanese Breakfast is airy and subdued with sonic nuances. The synth work brings to mind bands like Small Black or Brothertiger, but the songs have more of the carefree charm of The Sundays or Saint Etienne. Joining Japanese Breakfast this evening will be Littler, the fuzzy, poppy, punky band that sounds like the projected approximation of Veruca Salt in the universe where they subsequently became a twee band. Myrrias will also be also performing, bringing a psychedelic slant to the bill, with dark atmospherics and droning, interweaving melodies. Ortlieb’s, 847 N. 3rd St., 8pm, $10, 21+ - Bryce Woodcock
 
More places to chill out this weekend…
 
Ortlieb’s Lounge (847 N. 3rd St.) SAT St. James and The Apostles, Thee Minks
 
Johnny Brenda’s (1201 N. Frankford Ave.) SUN Heart Harbor
 
Boot & Saddle (1131 S. Broad St.) FRI Kalob Griffin, SAT Address
 
Kung Fu Necktie (1250 N. Front St.) FRI Corpse Hoarder/Vincent Remember, Camp Candle/DJ Deejay, SAT Coffin Dust, Castle Freak, Fisthammer/Welter, Riverside Odds, 66 Stitches/Ecstatic Vision, Ancient Creatures, Harsh Vibes, SUN Supine, Brain Candle, Pigment/Cherry (EP Release), Sun Organ, Lowercase Roses, Cave People
 
PhilaMOCA (531 N. 12th St.) SAT Ivy Sole
 
World Café Live (3025 Walnut St.) FRI (Upstairs) Blacksalt, E. Joseph and the Sparrows
 
The Fire (412 W. Girard Ave.) FRI The Space Cats, SAT Zymotic Flow, Paul Kurrey, The Good Mess, Bright Future, SUN Instant Bingo, Vinnie Paolizzi, Bright Future
 
MilkBoy Philly (1100 Chestnut St.) FRI The Falcon, SAT Ceramic Animal
 
Silk City (435 Spring Garden St.) SUN Radioactive Sandwich, Sex Black Female
 
Fergie’s (1214 Sansom St.) SAT Tyler Fantini Band, SUN Rusty Cadillac
 
Tin Angel (20 S. 2nd St.) FRI Cynthia Mason
 
Connie’s Ric Rac (1132 S. 9th St.) FRI Hartline, The Bad Tequila Experience, Imankita, Wetbrain, SAT Duffy's Cut, Dive In The Box, Legion 76, The Up Up Ups, SUN This Way to the Egress, The White Cheddar Boys (Record Release)
 
Voltage Lounge (421 N. 7th St.) SUN Young Graves
 
Frankie Bradley’s (1320 Chancellor St.) FRI Franky’s Foxes, Chris Urban, SAT Ed Christof
 
The Grape Room (105 Grape St.) FRI Spicy Meatball, Matt Gauss Band, White Limo, Sweet Eureka, Andrew Jude, SAT Gavilan, Borrowed Equipment, Brianna Lee, SUN Matt Roach, Hayden
 
Bourbon & Branch (705 N. 2nd St.) FRI Ross Bellenoit, Dirty Holiday (EP Release), The Parsnip Revolt, SAT Aphra, Power Animal, Baby Brains, SUN Josh Nussbaum, James Dukenfield
 
Millcreek Tavern (4200 Chester Ave.) FRI Crazy Bull
 
Ardmore Music Hall (23 E. Lancaster Ave.) SAT Broken Arrow, The Newspaper Taxis, Su Teears, SUN Jefferson Berry & the Urban Acoustic Coalition, Stu and The Gurus, Brandywine Ridge, The Hoppin Boxcar's
 
Chhaya Cafe (1819 E. Passyunk Ave.) SAT Twin Ghost
 
The Pharmacy (1300/02 S. 18th St.) SAT Exploding Head Scene, Jewel Eye, Trish Keenan Duo
 
Everybody Hits (529 W. Girard Ave.) FRI Snow Caps, Hallowed Bells, SAT Slingshot Dakota (Record Release), Petal, Hurry, Mercury Girls
 
Girard Hall (Please contact one of the acts or venue for more info.) FRI Line Leader, Cabbage, SAT Neolibz, What Nerve, SCC
 
Lower Level (Please contact one of the acts or venue for more info.) SAT Caffeine, Disappearances
 
2300 Arena (Please contact one of the acts or venue for more info.) SAT Uphevil, Destruct Device, The Charley Few, Ali Wadsworth & A Fistful of Tights
 
TranCo (Please contact one of the acts or venue for more info.) SAT Wolf, Dot.Gov, Satellite Hearts, Behind the Grandstand
 
Lavender Town (Please contact one of the acts or venue for more info.) FRI Roof Doctor (EP Release), Fake Boyfriend, Pet, Pauline, Yes Yes A Thousand Times Yes
April 01, 2016    

Velcro & the Slow Children harness some weird energy for "Enough to Die While Sleeping"

Enough to Die While Sleeping, the fruits of a collaboration between Syd Shanshala and Chandler Mills Brown, is the apex of bedroom music. That's "bedroom music" as an aesthetic more than a description of technique—the cough syrup weirdness is here in full force, but the production values and planning are a step above what's typically associated with outsider art. Every move is intentional, and each track and transition lands with its feet on the ground and its eight hands in the air.

 As far as we can tell, this is the first release on Mesoamerica Records, a budding label/art collective founded by Brown. If this album, a freak-flags-high triumphant march heralding an evolution in outsider art, is any indication of what we'll be seeing from them in the future, consider us psyched. -Austin Phy

April 01, 2016    

The Deli Philly's April Record of the Month: Ugly Laugh - The Original Crooks and Nannies

The Original Crooks and Nannies’ follow-up to 2015’s Soup For My Girlfriend begins with the sputtering staccato of “Call It Good.” The track’s rhythmic pulse collides flawlessly with Madeline Rafter’s vocals and buzzing synth, supported by a backbeat tailor-made for the dance floor. The album’s opener prepares its listener with ease for the pulsating energy of “Carry Me,” a heartfelt melody that brings to mind the romantics of Matt and Kim or the twee-drenched lyricism of Mates of State. The track’s sentiments are earnest, amplified simultaneously by urgent diction and humming chords. “Carry Me” is a living testament to The Original Crooks and Nannies’ ability to craft love songs so cathartic that it hurts.
 
Similarly, the unabashed desperation of “Throw Out” followed by the electro-hum of “Television” suitably precedes the tangibly raw frustration of “Dates.” For Rafter and her bandmate, Sam Huntington, drinking poison and having smashed teeth proves to be a more desirable fate than going on a date. Even in its state of exaggeration, the track is a potential artifact of our contemporary moment, depicting romance in the age of Tinder and the banality of #netflixandchill. It’s a critique with a memorable hook.
 
“Ghost” is suitably haunting with lines like “I can make you feel/I can make you feel much better” and crashing riffs and cymbals. The narrative of the song, like its namesake, will linger in your mind long after its heartfelt and nearly ethereal end. The intimacy of “Ghost” is transformed into a cinematic nostalgia in “Shake Hands.” Breathing to life an account of suburban antics and shared memories, Rafter and Huntington’s duet-esque ballad is irresistibly sweet, even for the most jaded listener, preparing its audience for the forthright emotives equally fervent in “Crying at the Dog Park.”
 
The woozy start of “Central Heating” and the narrative blends effortlessly into Ugly Laugh’s final track “Holy Wreck.” The album’s closer is an intimate confession paying homage to failures, flaws, and limitations. It’s a veneration of vulnerability and the beauty that can be found between fractures. “Holy Wreck,” much like the songs that precede it, is introspective, a melodic mirror reflecting the complexities of emotion and the adjacent irony of love, making Ugly Laugh the quintessential album that you didn’t know you were waiting for. It begs to be replayed again and again. - Dianca London

April 01, 2016    

New Music Video: "Talking Quietly Of Anything With You" - Free Cake For Every Creature

It's an early Friday morning, and the hushed vocals of Katie Bennett, a.k.a. Free Cake For Every Creature, is here to ease you into your day because we know that no loud noises and human interaction before your first cup of coffee is essential. Below is Bennett's new video for the title track from her forthcoming album Talking Quietly Of Anything With You, due out April 15 via Double Double Whammy. The dreamy black & white footage was directed by Craig Scheihing.

April 01, 2016    

Vundabar takes on Great Scott on 4.30

Vundabar serves as a breath of fresh air out of the tidal waves of folk and hardcore rock that swamp Boston’s music scene. With indie rock at the core of its DNA, Vundabar infuses pop melodies and jangly guitar riffs to create their infectiously energetic sound. Often times switching up the tempo and rhythm mid-way through a song, these sudden changes of direction give their songs a welcomed air of unpredictability and a sharp edge to dance along on. What Vundabar manages to do wonderfully is probably how they take quiet moments in their songs and blow it up with bursts of jagged electric guitars and ragged vocals seamlessly, shocking you with currents of effervescence. The only thing that rivals their sound is their live performances, so catch them at Great Scott on April 30 and take listen below. - Adriana S Ballester

 

March 31, 2016