Hi! Hello! Here we are with some bite sized goodies and a taste of a some new things that we dug that came out in the last week (ish), 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— give ’em a listen!
Anareta– Black Snake. This blackened-orchestral doom band hails from New Orleans and blends western classical instrumentation with
The band shares:
“‘Black Snake’ is a recognition of the horrific and destructive forces of the oil industry and the commercial infrastructures that are imposed on our lands and across our waterways. The title stems from a Lakota prophecy of a black snake that would cross the land causing destruction and poisoning waters, and was widely used during the Dakota Access Pipeline protests to refer to the toxic contamination that oil pipelines produce across our land. These issues are not isolated, but global, as industry everywhere continues to contaminate and compromise our natural resources. This song is about water. Water is life, and through water everything is connected. With rage and grief we recognize what we have lost as water turns black.”
The song is an 11 minute sweeping opus, starting out with the metal side of their sound before giving way to a gorgeous, string led instrumental interlude that lasts for several minutes before building back up again to a huge crescendo to drive the song home. Fear Not, is due out on 4/28. [KH]
Bo Gritz– Stored In The Sky. It’s been five years since the noisy London trio released their Tape EP and we hadn’t heard from them during all that time until earlier this year when they released the single “Observes and Selects.” Now they’re really back and not just “back” but BACK and with the announcement of their debut album, Chroma, in hand. Its first single, “Stored In The Sky,” came out today and it’s a ball of industrial grit wrapped in acidic, glitched out post punk sensibilities; it will snarl at you harder than someone bumping into you on the London Underground during rush hour. (Or maybe I’m NYC projecting here, in my experience people are much nicer on the Underground than on the NYC Subway!)
In their press release this was compared to “Snapped Ankles at their most industrial extremes” and being a lover of their weirdly wonderful forest too, I can certainly see the juxtaposition here. Chroma releases in full on 6/9 and the band has some UK tour dates throughout the spring, though nothing on our side of the pond just yet; we’ll certainly be keeping our eyes peeled for that. [KH]
Crazy & the Brains– Open Eyes. The band released this Pete Steinkopf (Bouncing Souls) produced single last fall but today released a brand new video for it which we premiered. Check out more here. [KH]
Desert Sharks– Medusa. Kicking in immediately with growling bass and guitar and the powerful vocals of Stephanie Gunther, this is full throated rock and roll, an “anthem of feminine rage and reclamation of power” inspired by the mythological Medusa. The video blends images of blooming flowers and slithering snakes with live performance footage filmed at Econolodge. Desert Sharks’ new album will be out on Substitute Scene Records March 31—watch this space! [CW]
The Dilators– Cop City. The Brooklyn queer punx and driving force behind Brooklyn Transcore have been on a relentless push over the last year, their live shows cathartic, community affairs that continue to grow in size. Now they are here with their debut single and if you’re a cop or a bootlicker, they don’t have time for you or your fucking bullshit. Not one ounce of a word is minced on “Cop City,” and it just so happens to be one of the ragiest and most refreshing slices of hardcore I’ve heard in a while. The song comes paired with a powerful music video of live performance clips alongside protest footage.
Lead singer Saoirse shares:
“The cops and Hollywood are working together to bulldoze hundreds of acres of forest in Atlanta, the largest urban forest in the country, to build a mock city/pig training facility. People all over the world are standing up to this atrocity. But the cops are cracking down hard, holding dozens of peaceful forest-defenders in jail on trumped up charges. Over 40 people have been wrongfully charged with domestic terrorism. And on January 18, during a violent raid, the police murdered a tree defender. Tortuguita was a peaceful warrior. They were a nonbinary person of color. They were fighting for everything that is good and right. They were sitting cross-legged with their hands up. They were shot 14 times. We made this video to raise awareness about the great sacrifices people are making so that we can have clean water to drink, fresh air to breathe, and real freedom. Rest In Power, Tortuguita.”
The band has a tour coming up around Reclaim the Stage Fest and will be in Brooklyn next on 4/21 at The Meadows with Adult Mom and 5/13 at TV Eye with HIRS. “Cop City” is from the forthcoming album, Die Later, due out later this year. [KH]
Fenne Lily– In My Own Time. The latest single from Fenne Lily is a gentle and soothing acoustic contemplation, but while it is delicate, it explores big feelings, existential quandaries of life and the general state of confusion that can bring. Who among us can’t relate to the realism of lyrics like “sometimes I feel like I’m just killing time here // or maybe it’s killing me” and the feeling of wondering what else might be out there? Lily is joined by Katy Kirby on harmonies for some added saccharine that hits just right: in the heartstrings. For the accompanying video that features ventriloquist dummies and rowdy bar patrons she shares:
“This song’s about the weight of stasis — about time moving too quickly and too slowly and every mistake feeling both permanent and inconsequential. When it came to writing this video concept, I wanted it to reflect the twisted aspects of a love that’s found in the midst of chaos and the subsequent feeling of being inanimate in your own story. All that, in the style of Terminator 2.”
“In My Own Time” is from the forthcoming album Big Picture (4/14 Dead Oceans). Fenne Lily will embark on a lengthy tour in the UK and Europe followed by US dates which will see her hit Music Hall of Williamsburg on June 2nd. [KH]
Friko– Crimson to Chrome. Singer and guitarist Niko Kapetan’s confessional lyrics (“I’m sitting here writing the same sad song / with the cogs on fire / spinning on and on / till I’m old and tired / even then I’m on fire”) and earnest yet forceful voice paired with classic indie distortion and sharp percussion puts me in mind of a more rollicking Bright Eyes. There’s an energy here you could certainly enjoy in the comfort of your own room but is perhaps better experienced with a crowd singalong. Indeed, their video for the track is comprised of clips from their first headlining tour. Currently they are appearing at SXSW and moving on to a West Coast tour through April. [CW]
Grampfather– Rot In Bliss. The Kingston, NY quartet is back with a brand new single “Rot In Bliss,” which follows up their 666G EP released in summer of 2022 (read our review). This band sure as hell knows how to bring the jangle and how to get in your head with some catchy and fun indie rock. You can catch them live on 3/31 at Our Wicked Lady for even more fun. [KH]
Jesus Piece– Silver Lining. The Philadelphia metallic hardcore band is set to release their upcoming album …So Unknown soon and have released the centerpiece of the album “Silver Lining,” a song the band says was inspired by vocalist Aaron Heard’s son. The song is epic, heavy and yet atmospheric, showing off many sides of their muscianship. They are currently on tour with Show Me The Body, Zulu, Scowl and TRiPP JONES and will hit NYC on 3/24 at Brooklyn Steel. [KH]
Low Presh– Blade Runner. For those keeping track and counting down the days until LP III (which is a pretty cool subtle double entendre btw), Low Presh just dropped a trompy stompy banger new single called “Blade Runner.” Between sliding walls of big guitars, punctuated with moments of hanging silence and big fuzzy choruses, the track is stung together beautifully by verses bent by metallic clink. It offsets wonderfully last month’s “Dark Eyes,” a brooding ripper full of dark spacey imagery and ominous slither. The quartet has proven themselves over recent years to be quite skilled at balancing discord and resolution, and these new songs prove nothing to the contrary. We are pretty excited to dig further into the new record which comes out on all platforms March 31st. [MB]
NEWSKI– Airplane. A midtempo lo-fi rock song featuring Guster‘s Ryan Miller that flows along pleasantly and strikes a nostalgic tone, or as NEWSKI says, “a magical time when MTV still played music videos…when prank calling truckers on CB radios was top-shelf entertainment, and when MGD was still considered a good beer.” FRIEND ROCK releases on April 7th and features appearances from Matthew Caws (Nada Surf), Brian Vander Ark (the Verve Pipe) and more. [CW]
OK Cool– nissanweekends. There’s a lot going on here and I like that. Got some emo, some indie, it gets mathy, it gets loud, it’s in 6/8, I’m feeling all of it. I was previously unfamiliar with the Chicago duo who bills themselves alternately as “two pasty little music muppets” or “two tiny tiny rats with a dream of one day becoming human,” but I’m very ready to hear more.
Band member Haley Blomquist shares:
“nissanweekends” was written about the monotony of work and the stress that comes with balancing your time around it. It can feel like a waste of time to not be productive when there’s so many plates I’m trying to balance at once, ultimately making it hard to ever relax without feeling like ‘if I lay down, the earth will open up and leave me.’”
It is the second single from the upcoming album, fawn, which is due out 4/28 and follows several other singles and EPs, plenty for me to get to know them more with. Let’s get this band to NYC for a show, stat! [KH]
Snooper– Waste. Blink and you might miss this frenzy of a song. 1:24 of disorder is packed into this lo-fi banger and just as you’re settling into the chaos, BAM! there it goes, finished and done, just watch out it doesn’t take your head off in the process. The band is just wrapping up a tour around SXSW, here’s hoping they make it to NYC soon. [KH]
Semaphore– Stay2gether (Blink 182 cover). A shoegaze cover of Blink 182 was certainly unexpected, but being someone who loves a cover that changes things up, this one hit the spot. Singer/guitiarist Siddhu Anandalingam shares that “Stay Together For The Kids” is his favorite Blink song and it started out as an experiment with new gear which then evolved into this cover. This version keeps the moody spirit of the original, making it even darker along the way particularly since Anandalingam’s voice more closely matches the deeper pitch of Mark Hoppus who only sings the verses in the original, while Tom DeLonge sings the chorus in his much higher voice to make it soar; the deeper voice throughout works much better for this slowcore electro gaze take, keeping it grounded and more subdued. The band will release their album, I Need A Reason to Stay, on 3/24 and celebrate with a release show on 3/26 at Gold Sounds. [KH]
Teen Mortgage– Sick Day. Got 2 minutes? Then Teen Mortgage has this heavy garage rock ripper to tear apart your mind! This one looks like a stand alone for now but I’m reeeeeeaaal ready for a follow up to their 2019 EP Life/Death (which was a recent Bandcamp Friday pick for me) and hope that’s coming down the pike soon. As well as some live show action here in the swampy bowels of Brooklyn, too, of course. [KH]
Tetchy– Next Generation. Whether you are a die hard Trekkie, a Wesley Crusher fan, or just a being of any sort wishing for a better world, Tetchy’s newest single is for you. Aptly titled “Next Generation,” Maggie Denning and crew daydream of being friends with the young Crusher aboard the Starship Enterprise while binge watching TNG and hopelessly crestfallen over the disparity between relative future utopia of The United Federation of Planets and our current state of existence. Tetchy is currently at SXSW and will play their next Brooklyn show with my band, Nihiloceros, on 3/30 at Alphaville. [MB]
Tinariwen– Tenere Den. Tinariwen were my (and many others) first introduction to “desert blues,” which blends traditional Tuareg music and West African and Malian influences with an electrified guitar sound. Their new single “Tenere Den” displays their mastery of the craft, with intricate guitar work, meditative rhythms, and call and response lyrics that speak of the dualities of the desert (“white at times, and at other times / red with the blood of the martyrs / the desert where everything is far away / Inkilal heard the sound of gazelles / or of a Toyota roaming the vicinity.”) Their ninth album Amatssou is out on May 19th, and they’ll be at Webster Hall on June 6th. [CW]
waveform*– Lonely. I heard this song via a flyer on my street here in Brooklyn, walking home at 3 am not entirely sober, and let me tell you those are *exactly* the vibes for this track. This is gorgeous, country tinged (get a load of that guitar solo) dream pop with a surreal feeling, courtesy of songwriting duo Jarett Denner and Dan Poppa. Their album Antarctica will be out on Run For Cover on May 12th. [CW]