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Fortunately, if it can be called that, the more our culture seems to be becoming entrenched in spectacles that inform us of how we should be approaching our own lives – through life-like (or possibly more like “life-mildly-resembling”) media narratives, the more people seem to be calling “bullshit” on...
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“It’s just a rock show. Bring your drinking shoes!” Hardy Morris, best known as a founding member of alt. country psych rockers Dead Confederate, is telling me what to expect when his Diamond Rugs kick off their upcoming tour at the hyper-intimate – and even more divey – Ortlieb’s...
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Missy Mazzoli has been called “Brooklyn’s post-millennial Mozart” by Time Out New York. She’s written work that’s been performed by The Detroit Symphony, New York City Opera, and Minnesota Orchestra, among many noteworthy others. She’s currently working as Composer-in-Residence with Opera Philadelphia on an opera adaptation...
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Today sees the Blu-ray and DVD release of Michael Armstrong’s Mark of the Devil, a film that was sadly missing from my teen years. The 1970 tale of witch hunts (… and eventually rapes, tortures, and mutilations) in 18th century Austria may be most famous to its US release, accompanied...
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Critically acclaimed painter, rock musician and poet, Joseph Arthur brings his synergistic live performance to the Arden Concert Gild on Saturday, March 21st at 8:00 pm for a WXPN Welcomes show. Joseph Arthur’s influences span from a variety of sources from Jimi Hendrix to Picasso. His music catalog is vast...
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Brighton-based, London-born composer and performer Poppy Ackroyd is a beautifully postmodern entity of polarities. Classically trained in piano and composition, she lends herself to interdisciplinarity within the fine arts. In addition to her own “releases,” she often writes soundtracks to experimental video projects, theatre, and dance pieces; she is,...
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Since we last heard from Reno, Nevada’s Swahili they have become Portland, Oregon’s Swahili… And the lo-fi, avant-garde, highly-dissonant band with roots seemingly in the No Wave scene, have gone on to become somewhat of a pop group… Well, maybe more of a long-winded (The eight songs on their...
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Charming Disaster fall into that very charming category of old-friends-in-new-circumstances for us at PHILTHY. The duo is comprised of Sweet Soubrette leader Ellia Bisker and Kotorino leader Jeff Morris. The two have each become known for, all on their lonesome, balancing and orchestrating their “expandable and collapsible” Vaudeville-inspired, jazzy...
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“I’m an awkward person so it’s hard for me to deal with any reactions to my existence,” says Jessica Lea Mayfield, laughing slightly, but undoubtedly with complete sincerity. I had just asked her about her favorite responses to her latest project, which has the indie singer/songwriter — best known...
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On Sunday night, Union Transfer became a magical land packed full of tigers (with the exception of one llama)… well, according to one mystery man in a cape. Sound strange? Maybe. But for those who were in attendance for of Montreal’s concert… completely normal. As much as the night...
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San Francisco-born Moon Duo released their third LP, Shadow of the Sun, earlier this week on Sacred Bones. And while the record, which I would characterize as “psych rock with an ‘80s post-punk edge,” has been receiving praise as their best yet, the comparisons it’s been getting are somewhat...
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There is definitely a hyper-sensual quality to My Body’s brand of electro-pop… My Body are Jordan Bagnall and Darren Bridenbeck and they recently released their 6 Wives, EP, a collection of songs dripping with postmodern sonic eroticism, seeming to draw inspiration from the ‘90s sexiest kinds of R&B, dream...
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Northampton, Massachusetts rockers And the Kids characterize their sound as “conscious noise pop,” resenting the ambiguity of “indie rock.” Their Facebook page places them in the genre of, “unconscious, accessible, existential, indie, glitter, popsicle, crisis.” And their Twitter reveals that they’re fans of Belle & Sebastian, Purity Ring, MGMT,...
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The last time PHILTHY MAG caught up with Los Angeles’ Milo Greene was just last fall. The band; who have characterized themselves as “cinematic pop,” with the ultimate goal of scoring film and television; and who have all four members sharing lead vocal duties; were presently on the road...
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Despite being named after a presumably lame American road movie; whose only real cred comes from boasting cameos from the likes of Flea, Michael Pollard, and Garrett Morris; Russia’s Motorama is quite the cool Rock’N’Roll band. Next Tuesday, March 10th, the band are set to release their third LP,...
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When I first met Melissa Ann Sweat, better known as Lady Lazarus, she was quite enigmatic, with little available biographical information and very few photographic representations, yet she was very willing to open up to me in our chat which appeared on PHILTHY in September of 2013. She’d recently...
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Like recently profiled indie poppers The Colourist – albeit quite a bit more “badass” –Richmond’s Avers are an act that PHILTHY MAG have been fans and friends of for quite some time. The “super group” of sorts, composed of members of The Mason Brothers, Farm Vegas, Hypercolor, The Trillions,...
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Brooklyn trio EULA explore the boundaries of post-punk to an abrasively sexy degree… from the traditional, morbid intellectualism of the godfathers of the “movement” to the noisy, dissonant, and often downright scary experimentalists associated with post-no-wavers to the transgressive playfulness of Riot Grrrl… and many of the things in-between. ...
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Leisure Cruise more or less began as an intellectually morbid joke. (I wish I could say that of more bands.) The band is comprised of Dave Hodge (best known for playing in Broken Social Scene and Bran Van 3000 and arranging for the likes of Janet Jackson and Carly...
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We at PHILTHY MAG have been longtime fans, supporters, and friends of Orange County indie poppers The Colourist. We first met in June of 2013, right after they released their debut 7” and we later caught up last March, prior to their first Philadelphia headlining show. ...
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Earlier this month Philadelphia experienced for the first-time, in-the-flesh, New Zealand musician Brooke Fraser in her radically new form. The songstress, who has deservedly earned a title as a darling of Christian music and who began as a relatively traditional “singer/songwriter,” only to transform into a powerful princess of...
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Our friends at Lagunitas and O+Positive are sponsoring an awesome tour called Couchtrippin’ and it’s hitting Philadelphia on Feb 21st with a free show featuring Heartless Bastards. There are all sorts of awesome entertainment happenin’ at this event like a beer circus, side bands, green screen video booths and a ton...
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While every lonely housewife and intellectually-repressed book club member in America flock to see the premier of 50 Shades of Grey, the adapted film of E.L. James’s book, I pull out of my bookshelf a copy of The Marquis De Sade’s Justine and say (pointer finger up): actually this came first. Already getting...
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2015’s best record yet hits shelves today, courtesy of relatively obscure Austin, TX indie label, Red Eye Transit. And that record is Indépendance, the first full-length from Tomorrow We Move To Hawaii, an Oslo-and-Berlin-based duo comprise of Marianne Stranger and Eyvind Brox, whose sounds are as hard to pinpoint...
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We at PHILTHY would hope that our readers know that we’re not exactly the type to shy away from (if not downright enjoy) a bit (or maybe more) of S&M (I mean, we’re called PHILTHY, for fuck’s sake.) However, we’d like to think that we have at least slightly...
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Although shoegaze fans have had quite a bit of nostalgia (or… more accurately, “imagined nostalgia,” as most of them were unlikely there the first time around) to get excited about as of recently, between Slowdive reuniting last year, and Ride’s upcoming dates (their first in nearly two decades), but...
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Arden Concert Gild presents one of my most intriguing and unique Brooklyn-based indie rock bands today, San Fermin, with opener White Hinterland on Saturday, January 31 at 8:30 pm. Get your tickets here. Enamored by the lush gorgeous arrangements of the debut album, a full production comes from a band pushing...
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Update: Within 5 minutes of this article going live Zola Jesus’ performance this Tuesday in Philadelphia was cancelled due to severe weather. But please take the time to read my recent chat with her anyway. As a humanities professor and an unabashed cinephile, I feel a special bond with...
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I’m hoping that anyone who caught one of Phantogram’s two sold out appearances last year at Union Transfer is familiar with Lia Ices… The postmodern singer/songwriter, who was initially known for the slightly more traditional singing and songwriting found on her first two LPs, traded that sensibility for something...
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I wouldn’t normally consider imagery of three women vomiting, nude aliens, and a Grim Reaper as particularly beautiful, but when it complements Noah Lennox a.k.a. Panda Bear, it becomes a fascinating work of art. On Sunday night, some of Panda Bear’s biggest fans crammed into the geodesic VW dome...
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Although I’m generally regarded as equal parts Gloomy Gus and Debbie Downer, I’d like to think that the coverage I do for PHILTHY MAG showcases that there are, indeed, a rather large handful of musicians that I feel a sincere affinity and affection for… And I do actually enjoy...
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There are two kinds of Future Islands fans: the “knew about them before Letterman” and the “became a fan after Letterman.” At this point it doesn’t matter which side you associate with, as long as you’re listening to them. While part of their success stems from the theatrical gyrations...
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Kawehi is a bit of an anomaly. She embraces postmodern methods of putting out pop music (She’s a big fan of fan-funding and is most famous for her fan-requested covers of tunes by the likes of Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails, and The Supremes), but also embraces highly “academic,” socio-political...
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I recently reached a milestone… I turned 30… That would seem to mean quite a few things. I think it means I have to stop referring to myself as “a kid.” It probably means I should stop wearing driving gloves as an accessory… as I’m not Joey Ramone… But...
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St. Vincent- St. Vincent : St. Vincent’s weird eponymous 5th release is my number 1 pick of the year – a statement about this year in music, her incredible songwriting, guitar wizardry and a choreographed live show are magnificent. The St. Vincent album is a world within a world. http://ilovestvincent.com/ Tracks to...
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A friend of mine recently received a text from me that read, “I know I’m TOTALLY jaded as a critic and hate ALL fucking music other than Belle & Sebastian and The Smiths, but this Springtime Carnivore record is REALLY fucking good.” The record was Springtime Carnivore’s self-titled debut....
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Like so many of our favorite artists, Via Tania should be much more of a household name than it currently is. Via Tania is the moniker of Tania Bowers, who has been making music professionally for more than two decades, first as a member of noisy indie outfit Spdfgh...
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If you made it to legendary blues and folk singer/songwriter Chris Smither’s most recent Philadelphia appearance, at World Café Live this November, there’s a good chance that you got a chance to catch the organically-enchanting-to-the-nth-degree Caitlin Canty, who served as the evening’s opener. Canty is a singer/songwriter of the...
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The Problem with Living in the Moment is not only my second favorite album title of 2014 (trailing only Moz’s World Peace is None of Your Business) but the concept resonates in a quite profound and scary way, as an art school graduate trying to balance a life dedicated...
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NYC’s Blue & Gold seamlessly blend my childhood’s musical obsessions with my adulthood’s love of the subversive and also acceptance of certain particularly delectable works well into realm of “pop.” Their roots stem back to singers/guitarists Alex Kapelman and Chloe Raynes kicking out covers of songs originally belted by...
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The last time PHILTHY MAG (which was, at the time, Philthy Blog) chatted with Brooklyn indie pop duo Chaos Chaos, in November of 2012, was more or less at the band’s inception. Less than six months previous sisters Chloe and Asy Saavedra had announced the end of their “childhood”...
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Although male/female duos of the indie rock persuasion have become a delightful cliché of recent years — and one that I’m highly guilty of indulging in – mr. Gnome are quite a bit more complex and satisfying than the average boy and girl who boast quirkily sing-along-able tunes based...
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I’m not usually one for popular observances, or really celebrating of any manner – I recently spent my 30th birthday gifting myself a night on the couch with the Criterion Collection – however, this year has had me, uncharacteristically, partaking in the festivities, alongside many equally-fair-skinned and drastically-overly-enthusiastic fans...
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Delaney Gibson is an artist that I’m really annoyed I hadn’t heard until a week and a half ago… Already on her third album, her latest LP, Tall Like the Tree, was released earlier this year. I’ve described my favorite track, “Kiss,” as reminiscent of, “Kate Nash on a...
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Austin’s Bee Vs. Moth, indeed, embody a few of my favorite things: An appreciation for film history and a communal collective of like-minded artists. The band began in 2004 with bassist Philip Moody and drummer Sarah Norris. Since then, the instrumental band has released three full-lengths, featuring an ever-expanding...
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LA-based folk rockers Run River North have gotten to be quite the friends of PHILTHY MAG over the past two years. We first spoke with them about a year and a half ago, when they were recording their Phil Ek (Band of Horses, Fleet Foxes, Modest Mouse)-produced self-titled debut,...
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Earlier this week saw the release of the debut album from yet another brilliantly enchanting male/female electro-pop duo, Celebrine. Celebrine are made up of Katya Logacheva and Ilya Dmitriev. They hail from Moscow and their first LP, Happy Tears, blends distinctly 80’s elements of ethereal wave, synthpop, and goth-tinged...
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Kid Moxie may not yet be a household name, but when you have not only The Gaslamp Killer, but David Lynch’s musical half, Angelo Badalamenti, asking to contribute to your sophomore record, chances are that you’re pretty profound… in some manner or another… This Tuesday, December 2nd, sees the...
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It was more than a bummer for Philly, or Philthy (a city with a history of subculture enthusiasts, with a special fondness for the electronically abrasive), to miss out on Skinny Puppy’s most recently scheduled area appearance, when the Industrial legends had to cancel their February show due to...
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Although it’s no news to anyone that I’m not the biggest fan of festivities in celebration of American life, I must admit that there is some undeniable pleasure in sharing them with people of a foreign land… Yesterday I got a chance to chat with Scars on 45 vocalist/guitarist...
Fortunately, if it can be called that, the more our culture seems to be becoming entrenched in spectacles that inform us of how we should be approaching our own lives – through life-like (or possibly more like “life-mildly-resembling”) media narratives, the more people seem to be calling “bullshit” on...
“It’s just a rock show. Bring your drinking shoes!” Hardy Morris, best known as a founding member of alt. country psych rockers Dead Confederate, is telling me what to expect when his Diamond Rugs kick off their upcoming tour at the hyper-intimate – and even more divey – Ortlieb’s...
