Oprhan Choir is a four piece grunge unit from Windsor, Ontario. The tunes from their "2011 Basement Demos" sound like they came straight from the 90s. The first tune "Red Channels" has element of the Melvins as they chug along with crunchy guitars and raspy vocals. "1983" is cut from the same sweaty cloth. Nice quick rock songs that aren't going to insult your intelligence. They might make you wanna bang your head though. Orphan Choir will be rocking the Horseshoe on Saturday May 23rd. Go enjoy the sludge rock.-Kris"Big City"Gies

Unabashed love of psychedelia so sincere they’re the 60’s in high fidelity. Blonde Elvis lay it down as it is, bouncy rhythms and reverb-soaked vocals taking you on a sight-seeing (or hearing) tour, stopping and taking in some Eno, Bowie, and Lou Reed all at once. “Slow Fall On Egypt” is a Brit-Pop, in-and-out, bite-sized bit of groovy rock n roll (bonus points for a flute solo). Topping out at just over 2 minutes, this song is catchy, poignant, and just a little coy in its delivery. One can only imagine the imagery flying through frontman’s Jesse James Laderoute head as he churned this one out. Currently on a border-crossing tour, you can catch them at home, with fellow mellow-rock act Twist, at Handlebar, Friday, May 22nd!

Taking a page from the lighter side of late 80’s alt rock, Twist flexes melody over muscle. One part Chan Marshall, one part Kim Gordon, presented delicately, but firmly. Beautifully layered guitars, light percussion, and distant, sultry vocals, “Albuquerque” is a gorgeous use of space and harmonics. The slow-burning intro, and the fantastic dynamics demand you pay attention to every chime and half-whispered syllable. The beauty and sadness of the track all combine to provide a perfect backdrop to escape whatever ails you, even if it’s only for a short time. The repeat button was abused quite viciously with this tune.

-Cody Wright

Oh yes, new Institute day is a good day. I've been wanting to post the heavy jangle, effects-lite punk shit that is Institute since I became editor of the Austin Deli, but their (no-holds-barred good) last EP Salt came out in October of 2014, which was just barely, annoyingly out of the range to be considered "news."

Today though, with a fist-shake of gritty happiness, I'm here to say that the wait is over. There is new Institute, and it's them at their fuckitall best. The new track from Sacred Bones Records is thoroughly appropriately titled "Cheerlessness," and as opposed to Salt, which often had Institute sounding like a band made up of people each about to fall apart at the seams in a really good and satisfying way, this new track is tighter and more determined.

The singing, or whatever you'd call that nicely out-of-it noise they're making, still seems like it's coming from a depressed drunk who stumbled upon a microphone just after getting hit in the head by a large human, but now he's in his third song and just doesn't even care enough to put energy into his shit until he just loses it at the end. There's true emotion of the kind the title espouses here, something you really get with the exasperated breath into the mic at the end, and that they layer that whole modern malaised man sound over a non-stop breackneck, clenched-asshole beat and wails from a guitar that sounds like it's dying is just damn good fuck the world punk. Listen below y'all, and get you a beer and a good brick wall alley slouch goin' to make it feel right. The rest of the album, called Catharsis is out June 9th, and you can get tour dates here.

Faiyaz and the Wasted Chances come from a dirty garage somewhere in Toronto. They play beautifully dirty garage rock. They're most recent single "Open" could have been invented anywhere in the 50s, 60s or 70s. Lucky for us it's brand new and that means there could be even more psychedelic pop rock still to come from these guys. The reverby guitars blend so well with the lazy vocals. It makes for a great track to zone out to on a hot day. Faiyaz and The Wasted Chances play The Horseshoe Tavern on Wednesday May 20. Don't waste your chance to see them!-Kris"Big City"Gies

This 4 piece punk rock band from Oakville has a lot to say and a short period of time to say it...or so it seems. Dead Broke play fast n loud. Just the way we like it. Go to their website and check their latest music video for the tune "Bullet". I got home from work and I just wanted to chill and take it easy tonight but then I listened to this tune....now I'm drunk and my ears are sore. Well...one of those is true. Dead Broke plays the Silver Dollar Room on Saturday Night at 10 for Canadian Music Week. After that they take off for a couple months so don't miss out. Party on!-Kris"Big City"Gies