After burning bright on Philly's indie scene for two solid years, local popsters Post Post fizzled out somewhere around late 2010/early 2011. Thankfully, that band's jangley guitars and uplifting melodies continue in a post-Post Post project, Little Big League . Singer-guitarist Michelle Zauner and bassist Kevin O'Halloran carry the torch, teaming up with friends from Titus Andronicus (Ian Dykstra on drums) and Strand Of Oaks (Deven Craige on guitar). To date their only release has been the single "Tokyo Drift", today's Philly Local Phile that you can grab a free download of below. You definitely hear Zauner's songwriting stylings [...]
When we last checked in with Everyone Everywhere bassist Matt Scottoline, he had just released a set of free music by what we thought was a one-off side project, Hurry . The lofty Slowdive-esque fuzz and whimsical arrangements of the EP instantly hooked us, and apparently, they had the same effect on Scottoline. Some sporadic demos and samplers later, Hurry is now streaming its debut full-length on Bandcamp and making its live debut opening for Slow Club at Johnny Brenda's . Give the set a listen below, and catch the show this Wed. Feb. 15; Hurry [...]
Breaking up is hard to do. Everyone is doing it. Russell Brand and Katy Perry. A famous professional athlete and a woman millions of other men would like to get to know intimately. Will and Jada. Ike and Tina Turner. Unfortunately for my tender heart, many Seattle bands are breaking up as well. Spurm is not the only one who [...]
Alex Yaker is one of those way-busy Philadelphia musicians. Most recently, you've probably seen him rock his bass-playing swagger in Summer Fiction. In the past he's performed with Grammar Debate, The Yaker Bros and done a bit of production with Surreal Sound Studios. With everything going on, it's not unsurprising that his own project, Roomtone , only makes periodic appearances, but whenever it emerges, it's worth the wait. This weekend, the band Yaker also refers to as "The Official Indie BossaNova Goosebump Machine" plays its first show in over a year and a half at Johnny Brenda's, [...]
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10th The members of Dum Dum Girls have always dressed to impress. Since hitting the scene with its debut album, I Will Be , last year, the '60s-inspired quartet is almost always found clad in matching black nylons, red lipstick, and heavy eye makeup, hiding behind a veil of thick, glossy bangs. Though the ladies have always looked quite mature, their second album, Only In Dreams , carries a sound that has finally caught up with the group's aesthetic. Though still creating a nice balance between beachy grooves and low-fi subtleties, the group's latest batch [...]
Big Wu bassist Andy Miller.This year marks the 20 year anniversary of Minneapolis band The Big Wu's formation at St. Olaf College. Bassist Andy Miller lovingly refers to the band's aesthetic as "Whit
If you haven't heard of the party-rocking mashup art-form known as Girl Talk , your life is about to change forever. Once a biomedical engineer, Philadelphia native Greg Gillis decided one day that he wanted to take songs and bash them together until they stuck. For over ten years, Gillis has been releasing music under the Girl Talk monicker. In 2006, with his release Night Ripper , Gillis moved away from the glitch-mash sound that he had been working with to try and create full-album sets of mashups that people could dance to. Taking top 40 hits from [...]
Vulgarity can make for interesting (if not exactly radio-friendly) music, as long as you know how to pull off "trashy, yet flashy." According to the Cape Town-native hip-hop trio Die Antwoord (which means "The Answer" in Afrikaans), the band's outrageous approach is remnant of Zef, a South-African style that emanates many things glitzy and glamorous yet simultaneously hard and raunchy. Die Antwoord specializes in odd, catchy hooks and is far from afraid to douse its music videos with racy scenes and creepy visuals. Band members Ninja, Yo-Landi Vi$$er, and DJ Hi-Tek might seem a bit scary with their in-your-face, outlandish appearances [...]
There are plenty of sappy, romantic things to do in the Twin Cities over the weekend before Valentine's Day, but more than likely there isn't anything as interesting and decidedly off-the-wall happ
Eleanor Friedberger is playing at the Crocodile Thursday night, February 9. If you haven't heard "My Mistakes", the lead single off of her debut solo LP Last Summer , listen to it above, and I'll probably see you on Thursday. You may know the Friedberger name from The Fiery Furnaces , Eleanor's band with her brother Matt. The Fiery Furnaces have received plenty of critical acclaim over their history, but in the last two years, the Furnaces are taking a break so that Matt and Eleanor can work on some solo material. Last Summer [...]
Having celebrated the official release of their sophomore album, Better Luck Next Life , with a show last night in their new hometown of Brooklyn, the members of Royal Baths come to Philadelphia tonight for the first show in a nearly month-long tour. Royal Baths' brooding, Velvet Underground-influenced garage/psych-rock should pair nicely with local openers Far-Out Fangtooth—a similarly gloomy garage-goth act whose debut LP, Pure And Disinterested , we highlighted last year (and who has a new 7-inch set for release in a few months). Royal Baths performs with Far-Out Fangtooth and Lantern (DJ set) at 8 p.m. [...]
Photo by Eric Schuman For this month's Key Studio Video Session, we profiled Arrah and the Ferns , the country-tinged four piece that self-released its latest EP, Soldier Ghost , in fall of 2011. In our interview, singer-guitarist Arrah Fisher talks about coming to Philadelphia from Muncie, Indiana; finding her voice as a songwriter; and the affinity for old country music she discovered after moving to a new city. Watch the video and download the Key Studio Session below, and catch the band in concert on March 2 when it plays Milkboy Philly [...]
photo by Dave Lichterman DFA dance-punk legends YACHT are playing a show this Wednesday, February 8, at the Crocodile. But if you go, be careful - you might join a cult. The band has been freaking us out for years now. Their newest album Shangri-La was a 10 track trial by fire through the wacky YACHT philosophy (if you are interested, they wrote a book on it). Their songs are so catchy and fun that oftentimes, you might disregard the lyrics, but know that YACHT is as deep [...]
December of 2010 was my first proper introduction to both Pickwick and Fly Moon Royalty, playing the same night at Columbia City Theater. Just a year on now, both bands are resizing their aspirations for bigger stages and with good reason. Both were announced for this year's Sasquatch!, so with blackout dates surrounding that and [...]
What has British glam-rock band The Darkness done for the music scene lately? The average person's response would probably fall within arm's reach of "nothing." However, with an appearance in the new Samsung commercial that aired during Sunday's Super Bowl, the public has suddenly been re-introduced to "I Believe In A Thing Called Love"—the hard-to-forget anthem, belted largely in falsetto, that inundated airwaves in 2003. Americans may have originally been caught off-guard by the oddities that The Darkness presented, what with its flamboyant fashion choices (patterned leather onesies and long, teased locks reminiscent of '80s hair-metal) and trippy [...]
Photo by Raoul Ortega Tycho FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3rd Scott Hansen is an artist with a vision. Before he debuted on the music scene as electronic composer Tycho , Hansen was known by his graphic design pseudonym, ISO50. As ISO50, Hansen produces intricate, often illusionary water color pieces—images that make an appealing first impression and grow more complex when scrutinized. His songs sound about the same. Hansen's 2002 EP, Science Of Patterns, and the 2004 album Sunrise Projector hinted at his musical ideas, but it wasn't until his 2011 [...]
Photo by Eric Ashleigh Snowmine Tonight at Johnny Brenda's, XPN Welcomes Philly bands Gracie and Tours (along with Snowmine from Brooklyn) for the Philadelphia Bandcamp Hunter music series. Snowmine was recently featured on Shaking Through , XPN's online video and audio collaboration with Weathervane Music. Chillwave act Gracie has an EP coming out next Tuesday on Small Plates Records called Treehouse . Below, you can watch the video for "Southern Place" from Gracie's EP, and download "Curfews" by Snowmine. Snowmine performs with Gracie and Tours at 9:15 p.m. [...]
You might know Philadelphia's Tours from "Dirty Dreams," the track they collaborated on to mark the first birthday of Key favorites Work Drugs . The music they make in their own right is also pretty sweet, as we hear in today's Philly Local Phile, "IJS," a song from their recent Stay EP. If you dig on these homegrown chillwave vibes, you've got two chances to check them out this weekend. Tonight, the band plays as part of the Philadelphia Bandcamp Hunter showcase at Johnny Brenda's and Saturday it plays Maxwell's on Main [...]
No matter how accustomed to Minnesota winters that you are, they eventually take their toll on everyone. The shortened days, the bitter cold, the treacherous roads all wear on all of us to varying
Add The Asteroids Galaxy Tour to your list of "worthwhile bands you didn't realize you already knew." The work of this jazzy psychedelic-pop duo has been featured in numerous television shows and commercial advertisements. Browsing through the selections on your iPod Touch might stir up memories of the 2008 Apple commercial that introduced The Asteroids Galaxy Tour's first single, "Around The Bend." Cracking open an icy Heineken, meanwhile, might remind you of "The Golden Age," featured in last year's beer campaign. Though ad-related publicity has, in part, kept The Asteroids Galaxy Tour's popularity afloat for the last two and [...]
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