This Friday, May 24th, Johnny Brenda’s is hosting a night of really fucking weird avant-pop from Melbourne.  Headlining the evening are Total Control, a collective of Aussie musicians indebted to the most brilliant forward-thinking crazies of recent musical history, who manage to hone the spirit of punk with postmodern...

Concrete Knives are likely 2013’s most exciting band that you’ve never heard of.  Concrete Knives are a five-piece from Caen, France, who appreciate all of the most joyously fun ways of being abrasive.  They’re either the toughest and most morose power poppers in the world, or the most playful...

For some reason, I actually really enjoy the fact that all the best and most authentic contemporary Americana artists seem to be from Europe… Helping to make my case more than any other act in 2013 is Brighton’s The Leisure Society, who are set to release their third LP,...

Pinkunoizu are a band from Copenhagen.  According to their Facebook, “ play cocktail music for you.”  Earlier this month they released their sophomore EP (and follow-up to their debut LP), Second Amendment, on Full Time Hobby.  It does sound a bit like cocktail music… but for cocktails at the...

I vividly remember the release of Spacehog’s debut album, Resident Alien.  I was just in fifth grade, but had already spent the better part of my life familiarizing myself with the more abrasive side of popular music.  I enjoyed the “alt rock” scene/epidemic… but it was all kind of...

Philthy Mag, myself, and Philadelphia, itself, have always been quite the fans of San Antonio’s Southernly soulful power pop trio, Girl in a Coma, who have released four brilliant LPs in the past half-a-dozen years and are rightfully proud to be signed to Joan Jett’s Blackheart Records.  I have...

Although she may be a Seattle girl, Tess Henley she has quite a fondness for the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection. “I love Philly.  I really mean that. I really do love it and just the whole vibe. It has a cool vibe.  It has its own...

Without a doubt, my favorite release of 2013 is Deap Vally’s debut EP, Get Deap! (Recently-profiled Blood Red Shoes may agree, whose Steven Ansell name-dropped the band as being one of his favorites of recent years.)  And unless Iggy and the Stooges’ new album proves to be their best...

Norway’s Highasakite are quite an interesting amalgamation… often leaving you feeling like you’re, well… high as a kite… but I mean that in the best way possible.  They use postmodern synthetics to channel the spirit of both folk and classical music, but with the bravado of a rock outfit...

For the past half a decade or so LA’s The Airborne Toxic Event has been making a name for themselves with a brand of Rock’N’Roll that is equal parts punk angst and infectious pop (In addition to a well-honed literary background… hence the Don DeLillo-inspired moniker.) and a live...

For the past five years or so North Carolina’s Lost in the Trees have been garnering critical acclaim for a sound that blends folk, classical, and chamber pop… So I did more than a bit of a double take when I recently chatted with LITT main man, Ari Picker,...

Since their inception, about half a decade ago, I’ve always considered Wales’ The Joy Formidable to be the rebelliously hip offspring of arena rock… They know how to write brilliantly poignant pop tunes that appeal to fans of Pixies and The Smiths (and gain critical acclaim from the likes...

I’m pretty sure The Casket Girls are the most existentially cool band of 2013… The Casket Girls are a Savannah trio, comprised of Phaedra and Elsa Greene, along with Ryan Graveface of Black Moth Super Rainbow, The Marshmallow Ghosts, Dreamend, and the mastermind behind Graveface Records.  The three came...

Vancouver’s Rococode are pretty much everything I like in a band: boy/girl vocals, a reasonable grasp on cinema history… and a debut album called Guns, Sex & Glory… Rococode are a four-piece who seem to grasp the brightest and darkest forms of beauty to be found in postmodern music…...

New York singer/songwriter Laura Stevenson has recently begun referring to herself as an, “unfunny Woody Allen.”  The designation comes from the popular existential musings that would seem to be the biggest inspiration behind the brand of whimsically woodsy indie folk pop found on her upcoming release, Wheel (out April...

The lovely Lucy Rose has been a darling of London’s indie-folk scene for a while now… But, more recently, she’s been winning over the Yanks as well.  Her 5-song Middle of the Bed EP was released stateside earlier this year (Her debut LP, Like I Used To, dropped in...

Perth, Australia’s Emperors’ are certainly not concerned with being liked by “the cool kids” of the music industry… In fact, even their popularity has come in the form of a bit of a throwback… They’ve been garnering a reputation on US college radio… along the lines of how legends...

Jason Novak is best known as one of the masterminds behind Industrial legends Acumen Nation… However, he’s spent recent years putting a bit of distance between himself and the rivetheads… with varying degrees of success.  For the past half decade Jason’s been handling guitar, vocals, and bass for a...

Despite the name… Brighton’s Blood Red Shoes generally look to be endearingly quirky… However, their riffy, noisey, garagey, stonery, ‘90sy take on punk is actually quite abrasive and even a bit scary… but in the best way possible.  The band, comprised of Laura-Mary Carter on vocals and guitar and...

Yesterday I had the pleasure of chatting with possibly Philadelphia’s coolest and loveliest singer/songwriter, Jennifer Logue.  Jennifer’s a local girl, but a local girl who’s been away for about a decade, which she spent in NYC. “I just moved back to Philly.  I spent the last ten years living...

I’m terribly jealous of Toronto’s Moon King.  They’ve spent the better part of the year on the road, sharing stages with the likes of BRAIDS, HAERTS, and Ava Luna.  They’re currently on an extensive jaunt with Born Ruffians and are making a stop at Johnny Brenda’s this 4/20, which,...

I find it hard to characterize Cloud Cult as a “band.”  Cloud Cult are eight really cool environmentalists from Minnesota who travel the country in a solar-powered van, putting on multi-media indie rock spectacles.  Cloud Cult also hold a special place in my heart, as a preview to their...

The first time Philthy encountered Johanna Cranitch was nearly two years ago, when she was known as Johanna and the Dusty Floor, which I described as “delightfully audacious for a… singer/songwriter,” going on to characterize her music as, “Often incorporating epic moodiness, more reminiscent of elegantly angsty 80s teens...

If Philthy readers hadn’t noticed, I’m a long way from getting tired of postmodernly lovely chanteuses of the synth pop variety. So it should be no surprised that I’m currently digging (and, admittedly, crushing on) NYC’s Computer Magic (moniker of Danielle Johnson, or Danz).  Computer Magic/Danz/Danielle has been a part of...

NYC’s Dead Leaf Echo don’t exactly sound of their time… not that that’s a bad thing… They sound more like they should be sandwiched between Ride and The Jesus & Mary Chain on the soundtrack to one of Gregg Araki’s Teenage Apocalypse films… They are an amalgamation of the...

Beach Day are sort of like a musical episode of Three’s Company produced by Phil Spector.  Beach Day are a trio hailing from “Hollyweird,” Florida… a retro-vibing town whose quirk would seem to be the band’s biggest influence (It’s been described as resembling an R. Crumb drawing.)  Kimmy, Natalie,...

Earlier this week I got a chance to hang out with (recently “featured” band) Blessed Feathers, who told me all about the Wisconsin music scene… something they have recently departed from, currently dedicating themselves to an ongoing life on the road.  However they remain quite fond of the scene,...

Even though she’s seemingly “all growed up,” Rachel Trachtenburg, of the Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players, is still Supercute!  Well… she’s in Supercute!  Supercute! is Trachtenburg’s latest musical project, a brilliantly juvenile, tongue-in-cheek, tie-dyed take on a girl group, which Trachtenburg has described as “psychedelic-indie-bubblegum.”  This June sees the release...

This Thursday sees the first in a brilliant string of weekend shows at our very own Johnny Brenda’s: Little Green Cars on Thursday (the 21st), San Cisco and Chaos Chaos on Friday (the 22nd), Sky Ferreira on Saturday (the 23rd), and Kate Nash and Supercute! on Sunday (the 24th)...

My favorite album of 2013 is, without a doubt, Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside’s Untamed Beast (on Partisan Records).  The band’s sophomore effort is a blend of classically great musical movements almost too brilliant to even fathom its existence… okay, so maybe it’s not quite as revolutionary as The...

“There are loads of really cool sister bands at the moment – Haim and First Aid Kit – there’s something to be said for blood harmonies,” Emily Staveley-Taylor tells me.  Emily is one-third of English sister trio The Staves (along with Jessica and Camilla).  I had just asked her...

Blessed Feathers are definitely my kind of people… The duo share a 10-year-old cell phone and have to make a trip to the nearest library if they want internet access (Okay, so I’m told that management forced them to get a new cell phone for SXSW… but they still...

“At night, 6th street kind of feels like the Apocalypse, like there are no rules, anything can happen.  It’s madness.”  Katrina Jones is musing about her inaugural trip to SXSW.  Katrina is the pianist, backing-vocalist, and one-fifth of Vancouver’s The Belle Game, an indie pop outfit that manages to...

“I’m a synth singer/songwriter… whatever that entails,” says Ariana DiLorenzo, mastermind behind Ariana & the Rose, who was recently kind enough to take some time out of her day to discuss her debut album with me.  Ariana and the Rose’s 6-song, debut EP, Love Me, Love Me Not, will...

The tale of Tristan Prettyman that occurred in the half a decade between her last LP, Hello, and her third, and latest, Cedar + Gold (released last October) sounds like a thing of blockbuster cinema and New York Times bestsellers.  A bit bored with the life of a successful...

Disregarding the Elvis Presley musical…“Blue Hawaii” would seem to reference some utopia/dystopia… That, combined with the fact that the band’s upcoming, sophomore effort, is titled Untogether, should make them a musical wet dream for existentialists and social scientists.  Montreal male/female duo Raph (whom you may know as a member...

Is it just me, or has a recent wave of child-star-turned-cool-adults made the designation of “child star” at least slightly less lame?  Alexz Johnson is currently best known for writing brilliant pop tunes with a soul that resembles, in equal parts, that of the Motor City and Nashville… (She...

There was an excellent double billing at Milkboy Philadelphia on 1100 Chestnut St. last Thursday night, February 21. The headliner was Broken Anchor, an atmospheric retro influenced indie rock band from Los Angeles debuted along with Stone Cold Fox, a dreamy folk inspired band from Brooklyn. Broken Anchor has recorded music on...

“I’m challenging myself to be myself as much as possible,” Kacey Johansing tells me.  The San Francisco musician is describing for me her current approach to performing live.  However, the sentiment would also seem to ring true to her sophomore LP, Grand Ghosts, which she is self-releasing next Tuesday,...

Like so many great electro-pop duos, Sally Shapiro first came together while singing Christmas carols… Okay, so maybe their backstory isn’t so common… But neither are their methods.  Sally Shapiro is one lovely and anonymous blonde chanteuse (who prefers to just go by Sally Shapiro) and producer Johan Agebjörn,...