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Savoir Adore are Deidre Muro and Paul Hammer. They compose and perform ineffably whimsical fantasy pop. They began as the result of a dare that had them leave Brooklyn for the country to record for 48 hours with no acoustic guitars. They’ve been sorts of indie darlings ever since. ...
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“I’d gone to a Radiohead concert and I think they’re amazing in being able to constantly change and evolve and grow. I wanted to have a repertoire that would enable me to tour with Radiohead. I wanted a pallet that would be able to work with Radiohead,” explains Angela...
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Philthy Blog is sponsoring DJSC at Fluid Nightclub. Depeche Mode / Joy Division – New Order / The Smiths / The Cure The innovators of music on October 12th only at Fluid Nightclub. $5 cover. RVSP via our facebook page. http://www.facebook.com/events/119986088152061/ Mention “Philthy Blog” at the door and get...
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The last time Buke & Gase were in Philthy, they were playing for a sold out crowd at Johnny Brenda’s, supporting tUnE-yArDs… At the time they were called Buke & Gass. Buke & Gase are Brookyln-based duo Arone Dyer and Aron Sanchez, who not only play all of their...
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While what I was most excited about, musically, during the first half of 2012 was the explosion of youth getting into traditional Americana, what I’m most excited about in the second half is Michael Gira’s Swans reemerging as a legitimately significant meme in indie culture. The art rock outfit,...
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I’m pretty sure I’ve covered Freelance Whales more than any other single musical act. The five-piece indie pop outfit (with both chamber pop and traditional folk overtones… making for something that first sounded a bit like what could be called “pre-twee”) of multi-instrumentalists got their start performing on the...
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Letting Up Despite Great Faults get very existential on their latest album, Untogether. The album, which drops next Tuesday, October 9th, has the quirkily moody electro-shoegazers exploring what it is to sever connections with that which has surrounded and, often, bound you and discovering yourself as an individual after...
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Earlier this week Balmorhea released their fifth full-length, Stranger. The title would seem appropriate, as the band do appear as strangers in most settings, both literal and figurative. The New Yorker has described the Austin six-piece as “ambient Americana.” Despite being an instrumental band, Balmorhea resemble storytellers to a...
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Although, as a band, Faun Fables look to be something that could be considered postmodern, as storytellers, they embrace a traditional folk aesthetic. At the heart of Faun Fables is Dawn McCarthy, a writer, singer, and theatrical performer interested in not only the physical bodies that roam the Earth,...
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So male/female collaborative duos have become a bit of a cliché (to put it mildly), but they’re a cliché that you often can’t help but love… especially when they’re legitimately brilliant. My new favorite such duo is James Levy & The Blood Red Rose, which pairs the anti-folk singer/songwriter...
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Rah Rah’s US debut, The Poet’s Dead, is not only the best album title I’ve heard all year, but may better characterize this band’s own aesthetic than any album title has managed this decade. Rah Rah are an indie pop collective hailing from Regina, Saskatchewan. There are six of...
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Charlene Kaye is officially the first musician to make three appearances on Philthy’s homepage (and all in just over a year)… We obviously like her quite a bit. Philthy first met the singer/songstress last July, when she was in the middle of a smashingly successful Kickstarter campaign to fund...
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Becky Stark is often compared to a fairy tale princess. However, I think fairy tale heroine seems far more accurate to me, for Stark is clearly an active agent in the beauty surrounding her and not simply the passive product of her circumstances and someone else’s bravery. She is...
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I think it’s safe to say that there’s only one band in the world who can claim to contain individuals who have (individually) collaborated with The Crystals’ LaLa Brooks, Fugazi’s Joe Lally, The Fiery Furnaces’ Eleanor Friedberger, Hercules and Love Affair, and Beyonce… among many others. That band is...
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Lindsey Stirling may, technically, be yet another YouTube-sensation-turned-legitimate-musical star, but she’s likely the only one whose aesthetic is equally indebted to modern dance, Mozart, and Nintendo… Her self-titled debut album hit shelves today, September 18th, but there’s a good chance you’re already familiar with her work. After all, she...
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You may recognize the lovely lady pictured below from GAP billboards and signage across Center City. And she’ll be in the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection this Friday… but not for an in-store. She is Nicki Bluhm, frontwoman of Nicki Bluhm and the Gramblers, who will be...
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So Big Scary might be a new name to you, but they’re actually quite a big deal. They’ve toured alongside the likes of Midlake, Editors, and Florence and the Machine; they’ve had a song in an AT&T advert, in addition to an episode of Grey’s Anatomy; they’ve released half...
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Alicia Lemke, a.k.a. ALICIA, may be more enthusiastic about her work than any other musician I’ve spoken to in my life… and that’s pretty cool. She’s quite excited and thankful to have the opportunity to be able to explore her loves as a professional musician in a time when...
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Excursions into strange lands often prove for the most romantic inspirations for musicians… and Berlin would seem to have a subcategory of its own, as far as that sentiment goes. Brooklyn’s organically eccentric indie poppers, Clare and the Reasons – known for their cleverly quirky use of things such...
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I sort of wish that every band were TOY. They listen to all the right tunes, wear all the right duds, and hang out in all the coolest circles of the English rock scene. They’re ripe for a 2042 biopic about the hipness of their early days. TOY are a...
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Karlie Bruce’s debut album, Paperback Lover, dropped today, however, the Australian singer/songwriter is far from new to the scene. Karlie moved to NYC in 2005 and has made a name for herself doing things as diverse as taking on the role of a back-up singer in the 17-piece disco...
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Not a lot of bands are offering their fans singing telegrams these days… But, then again, not a lot of bands are as quirkily interesting as Toronto’s Snowblink. The duo, comprised of Daniela Gesundheit and Dan Goldman, compose haunting and sugary postmodern folk music that has gotten the attention...
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“It’s pop, but it’s also noise. People who are into noise are into the noise aspect and people who are into electronic pop are into that aspect. I like that about it.” Brooklyn artist Eleanor Logan is explaining to me her latest project, Happy New Year, and just what...
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Philthy has caught up with a bevy of San Francisco artists recently, from Dirty Ghosts to Emily Jane White and Permanent Vacation. However, Future Twin have the most interesting story of any of them. Future Twin was spawned from SF’s first ever all-girl moped gang, The Lockits. The four-piece...
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Last Friday Marina & the Diamonds had their first sell-out in the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection, packing the legendary TLA for the summer’s best and sweatiest queer dance party, which very much resembled a performance from Madonna’s least mature days, when her fans’ favorite hangout was...
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Barrie Cadogan may not be a household name, but there’s a good chance you’re familiar with some of his work. The UK-based musician is currently a member of Primal Scream and has toured as a guitarist for Morrissey, Paul Weller, and Saint Etienne, in addition to studio work with...
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In a recent chat with Lauren LoPrete, founder of Loglady Records, she confesses to me that the biggest motivating force behind the artists she signs is being, “Basically, people we’re interested in being friends with.” The San-Francisco-based independent label houses Dead Angle, Grandma’s Boyfriend, Moonbell, Part Time, Terry Malts,...
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Earlier this week Australian country singer/songstress Kasey Chambers released her latest, Storybook, in the states (It dropped last September in Australia.) exclusively through Amazon.com. The album, a collection of covers, is an ode to the songwriters who have most prominently influenced Chambers’ own life and sound, including Gram Parsons,...
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The Lumineers seem to be the most chart-friendly band I’ve chatted with all year. The band’s self-titled debut LP recently reached #17 on the album charts. The album has sold 130,000 copies to date and has reached #1 on the “Independents” chart.” In addition, the album’s first single has...
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I think it’s clear that PHILTHY has a thing for postmodern electropop princesses, so it should be no surprise that we’re all about Charli XCX, the 19-year-old UK sensation that Pitchfork’s in love with and who’s spent the better part of this summer touring as support for Santigold and...
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In the closing lines of her “Next Time You See Me,” Laetitia Sadier proclaims, “We know well that only art suggests there is a way out.” My official endorsement for the most tattooable lyrics of 2012… there you go. Laetitia Sadier might seem like a bit of a cliché…...
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Like the recently Philthy-profiled Kristin Hersh, Charlotte Hatherley is another heroine of my teenage years that I have been out of touch with for quite some time. Since her departure from Northern Ireland power poppers Ash in 2006, her solo output has remained largely alien stateside (i.e. unavailable aside from...
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Kristin Hersh has the unique distinction of being the last person I ever (and will ever) asked for an autograph… hopefully she finds that something of a small honor. Along with that, she has the honor of being my most-honored-to-interview individual for Philthy Blog all year. I grew up...
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This past Saturday I found myself in Eraserhood’s latest hotspot for the first time… Underground Arts. The venue does, indeed, promise what it delivers. It is an underground performance art space. It also fits quite nicely into the hood of Eraserhead. The room resembles a cross between a school...
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A few years back I fell hard for Kate Miller-Heidke’s Curiouser. The album, the second from the Australian songstress and first released in the US, boasts a dozen postmodern piano pop anthems… like a matured and coolly restrained Kate Nash, sprinkled with playfully sassy synths. Some of the songs...
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Like Philthy’s recently-featured husband/wife duo, Hank & Cupcakes, Oakland’s (by-way-of Massachusetts) Mornin’ Old Sport’s biggest influence would seem to be literary and not musical. However, band member Scott Nanos (guitar, bass, keys, strings) tells me that since deciding on the band’s moniker, he has been reading less fiction and,...
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“We’ve been lucky to play very cool events in Philly and we always like to rub a little Philly on us before returning to Brooklyn,” says husband/wife dance rock duo Hank & Cupcakes, who are no strangers to Philly, or Philthy, for that matter. I first befriended them at...
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The Motor City’s music scene is most regularly associated with 1960s Motown and Proto-Punk, the garage rock revival of the past two decades, and… Kiss… despite the fact that they’re not actually from Detroit. However, the city’s also produced some of the best sounds of 2012, including the recently...
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The Marble Vanity are a supergroup of sorts. They are comprised of members of CoCoComa, the Hipshakes, and Hollows, including Lisa and Bill Roe, proprietors of Trouble in Mind Records. They released their self-titled debut 12” June 19th on Chicago’s Slow Fizz Records. I had a chance to chat...
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“There’s more of an edge to it. The sounds are edgy and raw,” Jesca Hoop tells me of her latest album, The House That Jack Built, out this Tuesday on her very own Bella Union. The album, the Manchester-based/California-born singer/songwriter’s third, doesn’t stray too much from her previous releases. ...
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Liz Enthusiasm, lead singer for Boston synthpoppers Freezepop, certainly lives up to her moniker… even when she’s talking about a lack of excitement. “Musically, it’s actually been a pretty quiet year for us. We were taking a little well-deserved break. It’s been kind of nice to take a little...
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When 2012 began Sharon Van Etten was probably the most darling-ed singer/songwriter in indie music. But since the release of her third LP, Tramp, this February, she seems to have ascended to the title of the most prolifically relevant and brilliantly acknowledged songwriter currently inhabiting music in general. And...
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When Now, Now’s debut album dropped the Minnesota then-duo, were barely old enough to buy cigarettes. However, after transforming into a trio, changing their name (formerly Now, Now Every Children), and spending nearly half a decade developing the sounds that would manifest themselves onto their follow-up LP, the band...
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“I’m interested in where rock music intersects with other forms of music,” says Russ Waterhouse, one-half of Blues Control. I’m surprised to hear that German rock bands of the 70s are a big inspiration. While the band’s latest release, Valley Tangents (which drops Tuesday), does blend at least a...
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Last night Philthy (the city, not this fine publication) hosted JEFF The Brotherhood, the slightly-psychedelic garage punk rock duo from Nashville that produces an aesthetic that is both hyper-traditional rock and hyper-conceptually postmodern (They utilize three drums, three cymbals, and a three-stringed guitar.) The duo brought a sizeable crowd...
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So I’m sure you’ve realized that it’s relatively rare that a male subject finds themselves covered in Philthy Blog’s music department… and that’s not a coincidence. However, Greg Laswell has proven to be an exception (And for somewhat ironic reasons.) I’ve come across Greg and his popular indie folk (You...
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Although technically a Boston resident, I like to consider Marissa Nadler an honorary Philthadelphian. The hyper-lo-fi singer/songstress produced her last two releases in the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection, she’s worked with a number of Philadelphia musicians, and her local appearances are always more than noteworthy. This...
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If you’ve been keeping up with Philthy, you know that this week is a particularly busy week for good music… especially in the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection. Brilliant new album’s drop today from semiotically-inspired songstress Emily Jane White and Detroit supergroup FAWN, both of whom I’ve...
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After a few bouts of phone tag, I recently got a chance to chat with Theresa Andersson. Andersson, a multi-instrumentalist, released her eighth solo recording, Street Parade, this past April and next Friday, June 15th, her current tour will find itself at Olde City’s Tin Angel, alongside Lucius, some...
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I would like to sincerely thank Ms. Emily Jane White for the best interview I’ve conducted all year… not that I should be surprised (based on the title of her latest). The Oakland-based “Gothic-Folk” singer/songstress’ third fell-length, Ode to Sentience, is about to drop stateside June 12th on Antenna...
Savoir Adore are Deidre Muro and Paul Hammer. They compose and perform ineffably whimsical fantasy pop. They began as the result of a dare that had them leave Brooklyn for the country to record for 48 hours with no acoustic guitars. They’ve been sorts of indie darlings ever since. ...
“I’d gone to a Radiohead concert and I think they’re amazing in being able to constantly change and evolve and grow. I wanted to have a repertoire that would enable me to tour with Radiohead. I wanted a pallet that would be able to work with Radiohead,” explains Angela...
