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COIN are at the intersection of two of our favorite things in the world of music right now: they’re based out of Nashville and they share a distinct and keen appreciation for ‘90s alt rock. However, they’re not churning out the gritty punky country or country punk of so...
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Laura Carbone is my favorite artist I’ve encountered this year that I had absolutely no prior knowledge of. The German singer/songwriter was in Deine Jugend, an electro-punk band who earned a following in Europe, but whose sounds never really made it to the states, and she released her solo...
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2013 saw the release of The Lonely Wild’s debut LP, The Sun as it Comes, a beautiful 12-song collection of morbid, yet rollicking and uplifting, indie folk tunes that got the band accolades courtesy of the likes of American Songwriter and Consequence of Sound, in addition to gigs supporting...
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Echodrone are one of those bands that I want to be horribly embarrassed to have not been aware of ‘til their fifth album and tenth year… Although, apparently many of the band members are yet to even meet each other… So I’m inclined to be slightly less embarrassed… This...
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Du Blonde is still a relative newborn… It is the new moniker and project of Newcastle (but often LA-based) singer/songwriter Beth Jeans Houghton. In 2012 Houghton released Yours Truly, Cellophane Nose, which critics mostly liked, but which had many comparing her to a plethora of the most obvious contemporary...
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Danish duo Darkness Falls not only seamlessly blend musical movements, but musical eras and genres. They’re clearly influenced by ‘80s goth rock, new wave, and dream pop; ‘90s shoegaze; and the most ethereal and spiritually profound avant-pop of this century. The band, comprised of vocalist/keyboardist Josephine Philip and bassist/guitarist...
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Brooklyn’s Friend Roulette are not only really fucking good, but they’re also really fucking charming…They’ve been described by Kodi McKinney as “Bambi having a god damned acid nightmare,” and they, themselves, describe the genre that they fit into as “Good Music.” The band, whose members are regularly fluctuating and...
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Last week I met a lovely kindred spirit, a former punk, who is now primarily focused on roots, or Americana, music… Well, except she actually plays the music and I remain simply an admiring listener of the two beautiful, working-class genres. That individual is Kendl Winter,...
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It can sometimes feel cool to talk to “stars” on the record… Although it tends to be less satisfying than meeting an actually interesting person, with good taste and a working understanding of the world in which we live… But rarely do the two sentiments overlap (And even when...
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Philadelphia is hosting a plethora of music history’s most amazing comebacks in 2015, from Morrissey’s first non-cancelled regional dates in six years, to Sleater-Kinney’s first local date in nearly ten years, and The Juliana Hatfield Three, Refused, L7, Ride, and Babes in Toyland’s first 215 dates in right around...
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Although Hemming’s connection to ‘90s alt rock might not be quite so glaring as many of the best indie artists of recent years, there’s certainly still a pretty profound connection to that golden age of “alternative.” The singer/songwriter’s solo career actually began on VH1’s Make or Break: The Linda...
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Toronto’s The Weather Station are a band that don’t like to rush themselves… although I’m not sure that any of their fans mind… Forming in 2006, their third LP just dropped this May. That LP is Loyalty and The Weather Station is Tamara Lindeman (whom you may also know...
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Although the UK’s BLiNDNESS technically formed in 2008, their debut full-length, WRAPPED iN PLASTiC, isn’t set to hit shelves until July 24th… although the album is well worth the wait… BLiNDNESS is comprised of Beth Rettig, Emma Quick, and Debbie Smith (of Curve, Echobelly, and Snowpony fame), a trio...
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Like recently profiled (and brilliant) Dear Rouge (who Philly unfortunately didn’t really turn up for when they played an amazing show at MilkBoy a week and a half ago), Bora York are a husband/wife duo that deal in all things funky, dancey, and synthy… However, unlike Dear Rouge, who recently...
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It’s been a while since we have heard from Heather Woods Broderick… or at least under her own name (She has played in Efterklang, Horse Feathers, and Loch Lomond, in addition to backing Laura Gibson, Sharon Van Etten, and Alela Diane). Her sophomore LP, Glider, is set to be released on...
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Although rightfully entitled “Norway’s queen of electronic pop,” Sandra Kolstad is, sadly, a relatively unknown name in the states. The classically trained pianist, who is currently better characterized as “postmodern singer/songstress,” has released three full-lengths since 2011 and made a name for herself throughout Europe for live spectacles that...
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Motobunny are a brand spanking new Rock’N’Roll (and I mean that in the truest sense of the phrase) band comprised of members of The Wooly Bandits, The Love Me Nots, and Zero Zero and who have, at one point or another, shared stages with the unlikely diverse likes of...
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This past Saturday Philly was engulfed in yet another Apocalyptic storm, of whose recent regularity can’t help but make one wonder if something is attempting to tell us something… Yet South Philly indie rock hot spot Boot & Saddle was nearly full for Torres’ most recent area appearance, which...
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Call me “old fashioned” (or just a “dork”), but I’m a sucker for an actual “tour” with an actual name… Nowadays it seems as though artists do short sprints of dates at their convenience (And really, I can’t blame them, as I’m a “starving artist” myself), but it’s become...
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Remember Asobi Seksu? That shoegazey dream pop band that did that song “Transparence?” Remember? How fuckin’ great were they? Well, they broke up… But James Hanna, one half of the core members, recently started a new project, which is pretty much different from Asobi Seksu in every way, except...
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Although Australian indie poppers San Cisco are technically new friends of PHILTHY MAG, they are great friends of our longtime friends Chaos Chaos, who hit up Johnny Brenda’s two years ago together on one of the best “pop”-tours-that-are-still-legitimately-amazing bills we’ve seen in recent years. San Cisco have since returned...
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For all those late-twentysomethings and early-thirtysomethings whose childhoods were soundtrack largely by the beauty of ’90 alt rock, Jeen O’Brien’s (better known simply as Jeen) Tourist should likely be the summer’s most satisfying release… Although Toronto singer/songwriter Jeen may not yet be a “household” name among indie music aficionados,...
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If you’ve wondered what ever happened to quintessential Placebo drummer Steve Hewitt since he parted ways with Bri and Stefan in 2007, he’s actually been up to quite a bit… like, a whole lot, actually… 2009 saw the formation of Love Amongst Ruin, a band fronted by Steve, which...
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The City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection has seen some notable musical legends throughout the month of June – Noel Gallagher. Belle & Sebastian, Morrissey, Paul McCartney – but I’m excited, anxious even, to get back to the bars and clubs. And this week has a number of...
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It is literally impossible for a “rocker” to age gracefully… Like, it actually can’t happen… You either die (ideally, halfway through the recording of your sophomore effort) or you become a mega-corporate arena-filling dinosaur rock entity who is best known for gouging suburban moms and dads of the paychecks...
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The award for the weirdest thing I’ve seen on the internet this week is Amazon suggesting that those purchasing the 2-CD deluxe edition of Sticky Fingers by the Stones also consider bundling that purchase with Sub-Lingual Tablet, the 31st record by brilliant post-punk weirdos The Fall (both of which...
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Radio 104.5 continued their Summer Block Party series at Festival Pier – this time with A Silent Film, New Politics, Misterwives, and Big Data. The next Block Party hits Festival Pier July 12th, with Nate Ruess (from fun.), Philly’s own The War on Drugs, Civil Twilight, and MS MR....
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Although cinema historians may resent the claim, over the course of the past half-century or so, Rock’N’Roll has served as one of the most potent catalysts for introducing people to some of film’s greatest overlooked gems, from the hyper-intellectual (i.e. Bowie’s references to William Klein’s masterpiece Who Are You,...
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The entity that is Marion Walker are beautifully ambiguous squared. The three-piece band is comprised of Jessie Marion Smith, Kyle Walker Akins, and drummer Donovan Jordan Williams. In addition to fronting and writing music for Marion Walker, Jessie is also a choreographer, dancer, and filmmaker, while Kyle is a...
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“We’re like Bob Dylan playing the theme song to Roseanne.” Hutch’s statement held partially true, as Kathy did actually play the Roseanne theme on Tuesday night. However, Hutch and Kathy are much more than that. Taking a break from their punk aesthetic with The Thermals, the duo stripped down...
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The best “rock doc” of 2015 hit shelves via Blu-ray and DVD earlier this week, courtesy of Rhino: R.E.M. By MTV. The doc premiered at select theatrical screenings last month and manages to condense last year’s REMTV 6-DVD box set, containing nearly all the footage MTV ever provided about...
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Although perhaps best known as a star of the teen-pop variety, who actually spent her mid-teens supporting Britney Spears on the Onyx Hotel Tour, in her later life Skye Sweetnam has re-branded herself Sever, lead vocalist for Toronto-based rockers Sumo Cyco, who blend the sonic sentiments of punk, industrial,...
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Although the majority of Noel Gallagher’s most recent press has revolved around his ineffably amusing (and actually quite poignant) commentary on things like gay marriage and the songwriting abilities of Taylor Swift, the Oasis co-founder actually does have new music that you should be listening to. This February saw...
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I’ve described my favorite song by Savannah, GA-trio CUSSES as, “Kathleen Hanna fronting a sleaze rock band, or a riot grrrl taking up vocal duties on the first Buckcherry record.” (Both of which would be equally as interesting and admirable as they were bizarre.) The song is “Sally and...
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Expanding from a one-piece bedroom project to a 5-piece band, Shawn Foree (also formerly of the bands Destruction Unit and Lost Sounds), mastermind of Digital Leather has ambitiously created quite a fury of knock out songs on the new album, All Faded, scheduled to be released on South Philly’s own FDH Records...
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Holly Herndon is my favorite kind of amalgamation, bridging my love of cosmetically dark, avant-garde sonic experimentation (Her most recent album, Platform, was put out by 4AD.) with my current position as an “academic,” as a humanities professor at Temple University (She’s currently working on a PhD and is...
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The Hunts are the most recent of “family bands” to enamor PHILTHY MAG (The Last Bison; Mission Zero; The Staves; Haim; He’s My Brother, She’s My Sister…) The Chesapeake, Virginia-based band of seven siblings are set to release their debut album, Those Younger Days, on June 9th, courtesy of...
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Although Little May’s career may still been in its infancy, Hannah Field, Liz Drummond, and Annie Hamilton are lifelong friends. And despite the fact that the band is still kinda a new thing, they’ve already achieved some pretty lofty accomplishments: more than one million Soundcloud plays in just a...
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Before Hutch Harris and Kathy Foster became the punk rockers we know them as today, they wrote and recorded a self-titled, folk-inspired LP. While the LP was initially released back in 2002, Hutch and Kathy took a back burner as The Thermals took off. As part of Record Store...
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It makes me frowny that more people aren’t talking about ADVAETA… because they fucking RULE… The Brooklyn trio is comprised (in equal measures, a very important point) of Lani Combier-Kapel, Amanda Salane, and Sara Fantry. Last month they released Death and the Internet on Fire Talk Records. The LP...
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Kristyna Myles’ story is one that is getting more and more common in the current state of the music industry… Although whether that is ultimately for better or worse is hard to say… (Musically, definitely for the better, but it certainly doesn’t make artists’ lives any easier.) Half a...
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Although Arrow Video is perhaps best known for their restorations of films that fall into a category somewhere in-between horror “classics” and “must-see” B/C-movies, Nico Mastorakis’ Island of Death, out today, May 26th, on Blu-Ray and DVD in the US courtesy of the UK’s Arrow and our very own...
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Intergalactix has been exciting crowds with their funky microphone effects and head-bopping beats for nearly a decade. This multi-instrumental electronic duo, hailing from Sydney, Australia, consists of long-time friends Serg Dimitrijevic and Kristian Attard, who, after moving to the States, decided to combine visions and create music which they...
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Angelspit have been kicking out jams from the realm of cyberpunk and pretty-much-every-category-of industrial for more than a decade now… They’ve also been putting on a plethora of insane live anti-spectacles to accompany each of their releases… However, this past year or so they’ve undergone some major changes and...
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The last time we caught up with North Carolina Americana outfit Mandolin Orange was exactly one year ago this week. At the time the band, comprised of Emily Frantz and Andrew Marlin, were getting more comfortable than ever before. They were currently supporting Willie Watson as a duo (sans...
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Crystal Bright may not be a “storyteller” in a traditional sense, but she’s the most intriguing I’ve encountered in quite some time. Bright is the leader of Crystal Bright and the Silver Hands, a Greensboro, North Carolina band that whimsically (and at times abrasively) combines elements of dark cabaret,...
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Sóley has apparently been through a lot since we first met in November of 2012 (which I’ll let her tell you about). At the time the Icelandic singer/songwriter was supporting Of Monsters and Men on tour, who had a sold out show at The Tower Theater. She was touring...
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Sannhet are a Brooklyn instrumental trio who are more than slightly difficult to characterize (In fact, Pitchfork’s Brandon Stosuy recently published a featured interview entitled “No Words: Sannhet’s Uncategorizable Squall.”)… But that’s something that makes them happy. They’ve been called things like “post-black metal,” “post-rock,” and “experimental,” and they...
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This Wednesday, May 13th, Theatre of Living Arts will be hosting a one-off double-bill that will surely be talked about by those in attendance for decades (i.e. “You’ll never believe it, but this one time at the TLA I saw Ministry and Laibach double-headlining.”) Yes, for one night only...
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Remember Be Your Own Pet? Yeah, they were pretty great; their self-titled debut LP was like the best punk record since Dig Me Out and their live shows were on par with The Stooges and Refused (Remember when they played that house show in South Philly and got drunk...
COIN are at the intersection of two of our favorite things in the world of music right now: they’re based out of Nashville and they share a distinct and keen appreciation for ‘90s alt rock. However, they’re not churning out the gritty punky country or country punk of so...
Laura Carbone is my favorite artist I’ve encountered this year that I had absolutely no prior knowledge of. The German singer/songwriter was in Deine Jugend, an electro-punk band who earned a following in Europe, but whose sounds never really made it to the states, and she released her solo...
