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Unlike acts like U2 and The Rolling Stones, whose live performance media spectacles are only enhanced and further caricaturized by the cuts, pans, and excess lighting of cinema, no piece of cinema has managed to come close to capturing the beautiful raw chaos of The Stooges/Iggy & The Stooges’...
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New York City’s Gold Lake have been making waves in the music industry for the past several years now, at festivals like NXNE, CMJ, and Brooklyn’s Northside Festival, touring with Peter and the Wolf and Nada Surf, and even having their debut LP produced by Phil Ek (best known...
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Suburban Reverb is not only the most poetically and postmodernly cool album title I’ve heard of 2013, but the sounds it contains are also some of the year’s best. The album, which drops next Tuesday, June 18th, is the product of Bay-Area-based, retro-electronic, husband-wife duo Ryan and Rebecca Coseboom,...
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Hearing neo-Americana acts doing ‘90s R&B covers is cool and all, but it’s getting a bit cliché… So I have to give Mississippi septet Rosco Bandana props for their brilliant take on “Tender,” by alpha Brit-Poppers Blur, on their debut album, Time to Begin, released last December… And their...
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If you regularly frequent Ortlieb’s Lounge in Northern Liberties, there’s a decent chance you’ve already seen Kendra Morris, who has made two stops the jazz venue this year. The Florida-born chanteuse has spent the past decade in NYC playing live, releasing EPs, and crafting her brand of soul-fusion that...
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In my notes taken during my recent interview with Los Angeles-based synth-poppers Touché, I see an underlined phrase I seem to have scrawled mid-chat: “Talk about how fucking nice and playful they are.” Touché are Alex Lilly and Bram Inscore (with additional help from Aaron Redfield), who seem to...
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For the past several years Portland, OR’s Radiation City has been making a name for themselves, putting out charmingly quirky, folky dream pop. However, their sophomore LP, Animals in the Median (released this May on Tender Loving Empire), is more along the lines of a whimsically funky postmodern brand...
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Want to be my new favorite band? Be a retro-leaning girl-group who writes badass surfy doo-wop, and send me your latest release on a cassette tape… Seattle’s La Luz did just that… and they are my new favorite band. The quartet seems to enjoy dragging their lovely four-part harmonies...
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Generally when I ask touring musicians if they have any favorite memories of Philadelphia, they tell me about a particular sandwich that they enjoyed… or a venue with a weird balcony… Jessie Stein is the first person to tell me a story about running around a church sanctuary. Jessie...
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Naomi Greenwald is very much my kind of a person. Ms. Greenwald is a heavy-hearted singer/songwriter and PhD student of the humanities, with a penchant for 90s alt rock. The LA-based songstress released Composite, an ineffably entrancing five-song EP, this March and, since then, a cover of Rihanna’s “Stay.” ...
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Burnt Ones have recently given me hope… in a hopeless time… It’s been years since “Rock’N’Roll” has evoked thoughts of anything aside from chunky, post-frat boys kicking it for people in cargo shorts in front of a banner for some drink that makes you hyper… or people your parents’...
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Like most things worth consuming, Sao Paulo’s Mixhell are a bizarre amalgamation of aesthetics and backgrounds whose union you can’t quite fathom… But then it all just comes together as brilliant postmodern chaos. I realize the whole “Dance-Party-at-the-End-of-the-World” thing has gotten to be a bit of a cliché, but...
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In my early years as a music journalist I was a bit uncomfortable admitting my fandom of artists younger than myself… I had to get over it… Well, not only is Tessa Rose Jackson younger than me, she’s younger than the legal age for drinking in America… Yet, I...
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Emma Louise has been a YouTube sensation, has self-released an award-winning EP, has traveled much of the globe with a nearly awe-inspiring live experience but, it wasn’t until earlier this month that she finally has a proper LP, which was released stateside on Frenchkiss Records. Emma Louise is originally...
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Like many of Philthy’s favorite acts, Lauren Balthrop, aka Dear Georgiana, has a quirkily clever indie pop take on the Americana chanteuse. Balthrop grew up in Alabama, although she’s spent her recent years in NYC. Prior to being a solo artist she made a name for herself in Balthrop,...
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This afternoon Garbage’s One Mile High… Live DVD showed up in my mailbox, courtesy of Eagle Rock Entertainment… I was pretty sure it had been more than a decade since I’d actually heard Shirley Manson and the boys play their electro-trip-hop alt rock… live or on CD. Before watching...
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Eureka the Butcher may not be quite as magical and violent as you would be led to believe… but they’re still pretty fucking awesome. Eureka the Butcher is the latest project of Marcel Rodriguez-Lopez of Zechz Marquise and The Mars Volta. The project reflects the more funky and electronic...
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… I like any band that doesn’t take themselves seriously… That’s not true… But I don’t like any band that does take themselves seriously… And I quite like Blank Realm. Blank Realm are a band of three siblings and one friend from Brisbane who, somehow, manage to blend the...
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Sam Shelton may not exactly be a household name, but I’m guessing you’ve come across some of her work at some point. She’s appeared in films such as Sorority Boys, White Oleander, and Shopgirl; TV series’ such as Judging Amy, Gilmore Girls, and House (She’s currently part of the...
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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...
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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...
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Folk rock sister trio The Staves have become one of Philthy’s favorite musical acts. We were there last year for their first Philadelphia performance, a sold-out showcase at World Café Live. And earlier this year we caught up with eldest sister, Emily Staveley-Taylor, to preview the release of their...
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Crossfire Hurricane, Brett Morgan’s recent doc chronicling the legacy of the Rolling Stones, very much wishes it were D.A. Pennebaker’s Dont Look Back… which it’s not… But it’s far closer than I would have imagined. It’s the best film on the Rolling Stones in more than four decades and...
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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,...
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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...
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I generally pride myself on valuing “authenticity.” However, considering that as Bauhaus’ 35th anniversary has come around this year and “Ziggy” (Peter Murphy) and “The Spiders” (Daniel Ash, Kevin Haskins, and David J) don’t seem to be seeing eye-to-eye, I was willing to settle for Murphy, the godfather of...
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Until this past Wednesday, I’m not sure Philthy (or Philly, for that matter) was aware that HAERTS had more than one song… In fact, that sentiment was included in the press release for their recent area appearance… But, indeed, they do… at least enough to fill up a support...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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I can’t express how distraught I am that Morrissey’s first Philadelphia appearance in three years, scheduled for April 6th at the Tower Theater, was cancelled. However, that distress is at least a bit tempered by the fact that who-I-would-like-to-consider-Steven-Patrick’s “life partner,” (existentially, at least) Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, is...
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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...
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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...
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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,...
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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...
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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...
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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…...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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We are so psyched for DJSC this month at Silk City on April 24th. Its more than just a usual amount of “psyched” as our friends at Union Transfer hooked us up with a pair of tickets to give away for Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark on Friday July 12th...
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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...
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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,...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
Unlike acts like U2 and The Rolling Stones, whose live performance media spectacles are only enhanced and further caricaturized by the cuts, pans, and excess lighting of cinema, no piece of cinema has managed to come close to capturing the beautiful raw chaos of The Stooges/Iggy & The Stooges’...
New York City’s Gold Lake have been making waves in the music industry for the past several years now, at festivals like NXNE, CMJ, and Brooklyn’s Northside Festival, touring with Peter and the Wolf and Nada Surf, and even having their debut LP produced by Phil Ek (best known...
