Hi! Hello! Here we are with some bite sized goodies and a taste of some new things that we dug this week, quick fire responses to some great new music we think you should check out. This week Chantal, Kate and Mike weighed in on some killer songs, so give em a listen!
As always, if you’re in a band or from a label, don’t hesitate to reach out and let us know about you! If we dig ya, you’ll get a nod in the column. Read on to find out what we dug the last week or so:
Belaire’s– London. Indie rock with a power-pop shimmer for the last dregs of summer. They’ll be at Gold Sounds with Komodos, The Tarrys, and Gun on 9/23 (aka tonight). [CW]
City of Caterpillar– Paranormaladies. The third single from the Mystic Sisters album (9/30 Relapse) is a noisy stripped down track that reminds me a bit of Blood Brothers. Apparently the band tried to re-record the song in studio but found the original demo impossible to top, and I think they’re on to something. Catch them at St. Vitus on October 2nd with Foxtails and Michael Berdan. [CW]
Death From Above 1979– Don’t Stop Believin’ The Journey classic got a makeover from the Canadian dance punk duo who recorded the song for Amazon Music last year. The song has now made its way to Spotify and YouTube and being that I love DFA1979 and a great cover, I wanted to share it. They took it from an 80s anthem and made it sound frantic and unhinged in the best way possible. At the time of its initial release, the band said on Twitter “We made a kind of witchy version of the song that would make Steve Perry magically join Journey again.” Only time will tell if Perry heeds the mystical call, but we’ll be rocking out to this version in the meantime. [KH]
Guts Club– Cliffs/Walls. Brand new music from the New Orleans based band and the first single/title from their upcoming track album. This one is a ten minute opus of a “little doom muffin” (singer Lindsey Baker’s cheeky description on Instagram) and it’s fucking HEAVY. A dirgey drone with relentless feedback and funeral march drums, this is reminiscent of doom metal greats Divide/Dissolve, though unlike the instrumental D/D, anguished vocals really nail the massive sound home and add a nice contrast to the dissonance. The full album releases in January 2023 and is available for pre-order now. [KH]
Hammered Hulls– Boiler Maker’s Notch. The second single from Careening, the anticipated debut album from this DC punk/post hardcore super group which includes members of Helium, The Make Up, The Faith, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists and many more. This song delivers more of that classic DC/Dischord sound and ranges from experimental to full on traditional rapid fire punk. Read more on their debut album here. [KH]
Miss Grit– Like You. After two EPs, this project of Margaret Sohn has signed to Mute Records for their newest track. Featuring layered vocals weaving together with distinct bass and guitar lines over hypnotic synth, the song has a good beat without being clubby. With lyrics like “there’s no escape the world they simulate / they want a hold of you to dominate / and I try to abide so I won’t be denied like you,” Sohn muses on outside expectations and self-identity, themes they’ve dealt with elsewhere in their work. [CW]
natural born kissers– ephemeral at most. natural born kissers have described themselves as “bubble grunge” and “picnic punk,” and their newest single does justice to those descriptors, a fun fuzzy track bursting with enthusiasm, pushed along by singer Mika Itkin-Weinstein’s energetic yet emotional vocals. The band is also a great live act—check out our recent coverage here. [CW]
Sean Spada– Set Up to Self-Destruct. The next installment of the Sean Spada Doppleverse which we premiered earlier today. Read more here. [MB]
Sunnyboy– The Recipe. The debut single from NJ’s Sunny Boy aka Patrick DeFrancisci (ex Tru), it’s a catchy slice of emo power pop and if you’re a fan of bands like Tigers Jaw and Jimmy Eat World, you will definitely dig this. In a press release DeFrancisci said this project came about during the pandemic and shared that when lockdown hit “It was the first time I wasn’t actively in a band practicing and playing shows in around a decade. It felt awful, it felt lonely and I needed to do something about it,” continuing “I wanted to make sure I was being productive and doing something with all of that free time so I learned how to demo songs on my laptop and it snowballed from there.” On the future of the project, he says he’s “all in” and just recorded another song and is in the process of demoing more at home, ready to be out performing them. We look forward to what comes next for this project. [KH]