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After releasing Mood Valiant, their first new LP in six years, last year to profound critical acclaim, Australian jazz/funk outfit Hiatus Kaiyote are currently on a massive US tour, with an already-sold-out show this Sunday, August 7th, at Union Transfer. Additionally, Hiatus Kaiyote bassist Paul Bender released his first...
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Over the course of the past year the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection (along with the internet) has found a profound amount of love and affection for R&B artist Saleka. And the local singer/songwriter is literally about to take her show on the road as the opening...
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Montreal-based experimental metal trio BIG | BRAVE are about to kick off a tour where they (as immediate support) are sandwiched between post-metal supergroup SUMAC (featuring Baptists’ Nick Yacyshyn, Russian Circles’ Brian Cook, and Aaron Turner of Mamiffer and Old Man Gloom) and Tashi Dorji, their first U.S. tour...
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“It’s gonna fucking rip,” says Dan Wriggins, poet and frontman for Philadelphia Americana-tinged indie rockers Friendship, who will be playing a Record Release Show this coming Saturday, August 6th, at Johnny Brenda’s. The show is part of a co-headlining run the band are currently on with Chicago bedroom-folk outfit...
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“I’m really intrigued about Fargo. I’ve never been to North Dakota and they apparently have more weird laws than anyone else, like you can’t wear a hat inside while dancing,” says NYC-based singer/songwriter Scout Gillett, laughing. Gillett just announced the release of her debut full-length, no roof no floor,...
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During Cassandra Jenkins’ most recent stop at Johnny Brenda’s, just two weeks ago, she regaled the audience with tales of her recent UK tour supporting Mitski and realizing that waves of fans fainting in Beatlemania fashion had become about as common as Morrissey stage invasions for shows of the...
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This Friday, July 29th, gothic Western outfit Murder by Death will be releasing their ninth studio LP, Spell/Bound, which frontman Adam Turla tells me he is exceptionally excited about, during a recent phone chat: “I am really proud of this one.” Like most albums being released these days, Turla...
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If they’re not already, by the year’s end LA-based math-rock outfit standards (yes, all lower case) will surely be your new favorite instrumental band. Last week the group — led by guitarist Marcos Mena — released Fruit Town on Wax Bodega, their sophomore LP and follow-up to 2020’s Fruit...
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Although their third and latest LP (Entropy) came out in 2018, North Carolina folk-pop outfit The Collection have been dropping one-off pandemic singles for the past year-and-a-half, including “Blue Day,” “Loud,” “GET LOST,” and “Won’t Stop Yet,” which was released earlier this year. The song, a charmingly irreverent anthem...
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“It’ll be a little bit of a TED Talk, but mostly a concert,” says Ellia Bisker of her band’s upcoming performance in the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection. Bisker is one-half of Brooklyn-based goth-folk duo Charming Disaster, who PHILTHY has been following since the release of their...
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“I think I would argue I’ve been touring too much for someone who doesn’t really have too many resources, but I was just so ready to get back out there after all that time,” says New York-based folk singer/songwriter Cassandra Jenkins. This May Jenkins was a featured artist in...
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“I am interested in healing, freedom, tenderness in relationships… I think about lyrics first and then build the song around that,” says Katie Bejsiuk. Bejsiuk is the former frontperson of Philly-based indie poppers Free Cake For Every Creature, who released her solo debut, The Woman on the Moon, last...
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“I always thought our old band got a pretty good reaction, but it was more like being impressed like, ‘Oh, they’re so young and they can play,’ and, ‘Oh, they can play for girls.’ And this time around, it feels like they’re generally surprised sometimes, and I feel like...
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“I realized my whole life I’ve been very dark, very witchy, and in the past six months to a year I’ve embraced it a lot more,” says ZouZou Mansour of her sartorial swagger as frontwoman of Philly-based retro hard rockers Soraia. You’ve likely seen Mansour clad in combinations of...
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Today English post-punks-turned-hard-rock-legends The Cult announced their 11th studio album, Under The Midnight Sun, set to drop on October 7th, courtesy of Black Hill Records. The album has co-founders Ian Astbury (vocals) and Billy Duffy (guitar) joining producer Tom Dalgety — known for his work with Pixies, Ghost, and...
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This year marks the 15th anniversary of Brazilian singer/songwriter Céu’s self-titled debut album’s U.S. release, and she’s celebrating with her first American tour since 2016, which kicked off this Sunday at Ottawa Jazz Fest and includes a stop this coming Saturday, July 9th, at City Winery Philadelphia, which will...
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Word on the street is that Bikini Kill’s July 13th show at Franklin Music Hall is just about sold out… More than two years in the making, it will be the recently reunited riot grrrl co-founders’ first show in the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection in nearly...
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“I’d much rather sing about myself than talk about myself,” says local singer/songwriter Annalise Curtin. Although the folk-pop-leaning singer and guitarist hails from the area, after the release of her 2013 debut LP, Battle Against Me, Curtin relocated to Cleveland, Milwaukee, and...
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Since the release of their last full-length, 2018’s Constant Image, DC-based indie rockers Flasher have been through a few major changes. Bassist Daniel Saperstein parted ways with the band, leaving guitarist Taylor Mulitz and drummer Emma Baker (who share vocal duties) to continue on as a duo. Mulitz also...
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“My show is kind of like a punk show, but also a pop show, but not in a pop-punk way,” says Sizzy Rocket, laughing. Sizzy’s crass, club-ready bangers owe as much to the acts that made Max’s Kansas City and CBGB famous as they do to any of the...
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“I spent most of my pandemic sleeping, smoking weed, and crying,” says singer/songwriter Ambar Lucid, laughing. In March of 2020, the then-19-year-old Mexican-Dominican musician was preparing for the April release of her debut LP, Garden of Lucid, along with an accompanying US tour, including a date at The Lounge...
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Summer vibes will be aplenty this Saturday night in the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection when sibling-led soul-poppers Lawrence bring their Sounds of Summer Tour to Franklin Music Hall, alongside co-headliners MisterWives and openers Winnetka Bowling League. The NYC eight-piece band are currently touring behind Hotel TV,...
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Having released their third LP, WOMB, in April of 2020, “future pop” connoisseurs Purity Ring never got a chance to properly tour the album’s songs, which each serve as a coming-of-age tale of a female protagonist as they are forced to face the deepest-cutting traumas of modernism, which Pitchfork...
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The New York Times has called Kate Bollinger, “an architect of chill vibes,” while NPR characterized her sounds as, “smart, melodic indie pop music,” and KCRW stated that she, “has a prowess for nuanced lyrics and earworm melodies.” The retro-leaning folk pop musician has spent the past year playing...
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I literally could not make out Vile’s face through the luscious veil of locks that he refuses to push out of the way. Vile is already a world class guitarist, that was obvious last Friday at Union Transfer, but playing through all that hair? I would call that a...
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Today sees the release of Sonder, the sophomore LP from pop rock troubadours The Wrecks (along with the music video for the album’s title track) and the catchiest and most pogo-able breakup album of the year, which vocalist/producer Nick Anderson tells me is the most potent batch of songs...
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This Saturday, June 11th, Nashville four-piece Betcha will be bringing their brand of alternative rock to Johnny Brenda’s. The band embraces the sounds of crunchy and punchy rock radio of the late ‘90s, along with some of the more introspective and moody pop of the 21st Century. They’re highly...
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This past Wednesday, June 1st, folk rocker Ray LaMontagne brought his Monovision Tour to the Metropolitan Opera House of Philadelphia, where he treated fans to 9 of the 10 songs of his Monovision LP, in addition to a number of fan favorites, from the stage of our city’s most...
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This Wednesday, June 8th, Montreal duo Blue Hawaii – comprised of Braids’ Raphaelle “Ra” Standell-Preston and Alex “Agor” Kerby (also known as Alexander Cowan) – will be bringing their dreamy, synth-heavy, often-ethereal, and always danceable brand of electropop to Johnny Brenda’s. The band are touring behind their My Bestfriend’s...
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Avi Kaplan’s impressively low vocals seems to never fail in captivating his audiences. Kaplan’s basso profundo range allows for a performance rarely ever seen, and has been a staple of his musical repertoire since his days with acapella super-group, Pentatonix. Like his voice, Kaplan’s stage presence is soft, meditative,...
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This Sunday, June 5th, the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection will have its live debut of two of 2022’s best releases when bedroom pop stars mxmtoon and Chloe Moriondo play Theatre of Living Arts. Headlining the evening is mxmtoon, who’s touring behind her second studio album, rising,...
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This month 4AD brought the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection a few of its best shows, including post-punk revivalists Dry Cleaning at First Unitarian Church and neo glam rockers The Lemon Twigs at Underground Arts. And next Friday, June 10th, 4AD recording artist Aldous Harding will be...
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“I’m just really excited about the new music. It’s a totally different genre and style,” says singer/songwriter Maddie Poppe. Poppe gained fame as the winner of American Idol’s Season 16 in 2018, before releasing her debut album, Whirlwind, the following year. The Iowa-born artist became known for a folksy,...
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Last year British-born, Berlin-based post-punk-leaning, avant-garde singer/songwriter Anika (real name Annika Henderson) released Change, her second solo album and first since 2010, on Sacred Bones. In September we chatted about the album (which was inspired in equal parts by ‘90s alternative music, the current state of politics, the pandemic,...
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Unfortunately, Chicago trio Dehd’s show scheduled for this past Sunday at Union Transfer had to be cancelled with someone in the group’s touring party testing positive for COVID…. But, just today they announced more than a month of Fall dates, including an October 22nd stop at Brooklyn Bowl Philadelphia. ...
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“It’s Interesting coming back into the world with this pandemic; things are different. It’s great to see friends again, and do our thing, finding good coffee and finding good food,” says Stephen McBean of finally getting back on the road. Although best known as frontman of Vancouver psych rockers...
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Although Slayyyter’s May 25th gig at The Foundry at The Fillmore is technically sold out (along with much of the rest of the tour), as of right now, there are “Verified Resale Tickets” currently going for $23. The date is the second-to-last of her current US headlining tour, which...
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“I’m really excited to play Firefly. I’ve never played a festival before,” says Jordana Nye (better known as simply Jordana), the bedroom-pop-star-turning-legit-alt-pop-sensation behind “I Guess This Is Life” (which has more than a million streams on Spotify). Just yesterday the singer/songwriter released her debut LP, Face The Wall, courtesy...
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I bought a NoSo t-shirt instead of getting a Lyft home. Given the fact I didn’t know who NoSo was before the show last Wednesday, my redirection of cash should speak to how much I enjoyed their set. NoSo’s music is a pure, genuine expression of the emotional spectrum...
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This Saturday night, May 21st, Johnny Brenda’s will likely be rocking quite a bit harder than usual… Portland-based quartet Blackwater Holylight will be bringing their doomy, gloomy, ultra-heavy psych rock to the Fishtown venue best known for hosting darlings of indie pop and experimental rock (not that there’s anything...
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Singer/songwriter Al Olender describes the songs of her debut album (Easy Crier, which dropped this past Friday, May 13th) as, “Storytelling truth bombs,” and, “Folky, indie, yummy earworms.” “I just want to connect with as many people as I can,” she tells me during a recent phone chat. The...
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Over the course of their last three albums (and several interviews with PHILTHY MAG) Minnesota-based experimental indie pop outfit Cloud Cult has played World Café Live, Johnny Brenda’s, Prince Music Theater, and The Foundry (In that order, actually…) However, on their upcoming run of dates, which will have them at our very...
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This Friday, May 13th, 4AD retro Rock N’ Rollers The Lemon Twigs will be headlining Underground Arts… But we’re even more excited about opening act, Tchotchke… Tchotchke are a New York-based trio who kick out sunshine punk jams that would be right at home in a John Waters movie...
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This Wednesday, May 11th, indie pop singer/songwriter Molly Burch returns to the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection when she headlines The Foundry at The Fillmore. However, we’re equally excited to see opening act NoSo, who is currently on the road supporting Burch. NoSo (shorthand for North/South) is...
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Earlier today NY indie rock trio Sunflower Bean premiered their latest single and music video, “In Flight.” The single is yet another preview to their third LP, Headful of Sugar, which drops tomorrow on Mom + Pop (The band had previously released videos for album tracks “I Don’t Have...
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“POP PUNK IS NOT DEAD!” shouted Simple Plan lead singer, Pierre Bouvier, on Monday at The Fillmore. Seeing the crowd that night, hearing them scream every single word, I can say for certain that Pop Punk is alive and well. Simple Plan kicked off the night with a burst...
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This coming Monday, May 9th, contemporary noise rock legends A Place To Bury Strangers return to Johnny Brenda’s. However, I’m actually far more excited about the opportunity to see Glove, who will be providing direct support. Glove are a four-piece, hailing from Tampa, Florida who, earlier this year, released...
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Last month Nashville-based country pop singer/songwriter Caitlyn Smith released High, her third LP and the follow-up to 2020’s Supernova. And while Smith’s biggest credits still come from songs she’s written for others (Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton’s “You Can’t Make Old Friends,” Cassadee Pope’s “Wasting All These Tears,” Meghan...
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South London-based quartet Dry Cleaning are likely the most qualified band of their generation to bring the “post-punk” tradition to moody, morose, and musically nerdy teens and twentysomethings that can’t find a feel for contemporary fads. While their music is far from any sort of overpowering nod to the...
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Last week Australian dream pop singer/songwriter Hatchie released her sophomore LP, Giving The World Away, courtesy of Secretly Canadian (Cherry Glazerr, Faye Webster, Skullcrusher). Although the album follows-up 2019’s Keepsake, Hatchie has said it feels like a restart of sorts. Without losing any of the charm of Keepsake or...