What do they sound like?: All things Steve Albini, Mclusky and Black Eyes.
Why YOU Should Listen!: The Dirty White’s Vs. Evil Circles totally took me by surprise. The Florence, SC-based band’s album is filled with anthemic rnr that is ballsy, loud and super catchy. All attitude and no filler. Really impressive stuff here from a great up-and-coming band. Highly, highly recommended.
You can check out two songs on our player to your right – “Dabney Coleman Pt. 5″ and “Mighty Prehistoric.” Like what you hear? Buy the band’s album on Bandcamp for $5.
What do they sound like?: A mashup of your favorite SST and Sub Pop bands.
Why YOU Should Listen!: The New Brunswick, NJ-based band has a pretty impressive resume (The Ergs, Full of Fancy and Hunchback) but they don’t have much in common with those bands. I’ve been listening to the band’s self-titled debut full-length (which came out late last year on Don Giovanni Records) pretty constantly these days. I’ve been describing them to friends as a throwback to the 90s alternative scene. A mix of Dinosaur Jr., Lemonheads, and Screaming Trees with some Sabbath-loving riffage here and there. I had the band play at Generation Records on Record Store Day 2010 and they were definitely one of the highlights of the day.
Check out the band’s song “Couch Critics” in our player to your right.
What do they sound like?: A bar band that’s actually really good.
Why YOU Should Listen!: Music fans (myself included) sometimes put too much emphasis on bands pushing the boundaries with music. It’s fucking music. If it moves you, no matter how simple or complex the chords and melodies are, it’s good. When you strip all the hype and pretentious attitude away, that’s the shit that matters. It’s like somebody complaining about an ice cream sandwich; just shut up and enjoy, asshole.
This is the feeling I got when I heard Boston-based band Dan Webb & The Spiders’ self-titled (and self-released I assume) album. I can’t find too much info about them. I don’t know their previous bands which they mention on this press release and maybe it’s better that way. I don’t need to know credentials. So while much of this band is a mystery to me, their simplistic approach to rock ‘n’ roll is not. All the songs on the album are catchy, hook-laden jams. It’s got a little Guided By Voices, some Desaparecidos and hell, I can hear a little No Age’s in the band’s music. Check out the band’s Myspace and give it a listen.
Oh and on a side note, I think this band should get into a fight with that Aussie who is trying to steal the first half of their moniker. Reclaim the throne!
Why YOU Should Listen!: Let me start this off by saying I’m pretty pissed at myself here. I feel like I probably could have seen Screaming Females about 29 times by now. Chalk it up to me being a lazy sack of shit or whatever but I finally took my head out of the sand and saw the band live recently. I had only really heard their first album at that point and nothing ever really grabbed me. People always told me that they were amazing live and that lead vocalist/guitarist Marissa Paternoster was the next great female guitar hero. It’s all true and Screaming Females will be the next great indie phenomenon. Look out Rolling Stone, here they come!
The band’s latest record Power Move (Don Giovanni) has not left my headphones since I bought it. There is something so familiar yet unique about the band’s tunes. You can hear the effects of their homebase of New Brunswick, NJ (See: The Measure [SA], Hunchback) in the mix. The influence of mid-to-late 90s alt-rock bands is undeniable as well (See: Sleater Kinney, Bikini Kill).
But the band, as Fleetwood Mac would say (yeah, I went there), go their own way, through their DIY approach to artwork, management, and attitude. With their face-melting guitar solos and funky rhythms, they cannot be placed into a genre easily and, frankly, that’s exciting.
In their three year existence, the band have played over three hundred plus shows and it’s starting to pay off. The band was recently asked to open Dead Weather’s (ya know, Jack White’s new band) tour. They are also playing with Dinosaur Jr. in the not-too-distant future. I think White should say piss off to his new band and form one with Paternoster. Hell, why not give J Mascis a call too?
Believe all the hype they are so rightfully getting right now. Screaming Females are going to take the indie/punk/alternative rock world by storm soon enough.
What do they sound like?: The soundtrack of a busy Bushwick street corner.
Why YOU Should Listen!: A casual observer heard me listening to the Menahan Street Band’s debut full-length Make the Road by Walking (Dunham/Daptone Records -2008) not too long ago and was intrigued by what he heard. After he purchased it, he stated “they are obviously from Jamaica.” It’s not a totally groundless viewpoint since the band’s style is rooted in many different styles of music, but their homebase and soul is in Brooklyn.
Featuring members of Antibalas, Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, The Budos Band, among others, the group is a melting pot of all those bands, with styles ranging from funk, jazz, soul to afro-beat. These are some beautifully crafted songs that become the soundtrack of your surroundings perfectly, whether or not you are roaming around Brooklyn. Of course, it doesn’t hurt. These songs live and breath through the hussle and bussle of the borough. I know I’m addicted to this stuff and I think you might be too after a few listens.
