… I’m not generally one for holiday festivities, but if I had some means by which to briefly escape Center City, I would likely be spending this Saturday evening, December 22nd, at Steel City Coffeehouse in Phoenixville for a holiday show courtesy of Winterbloom.  Winterbloom is a folk pop...

2012 has seen a plethora of country, folk, “Americana,” artists flourish among the masses… and while The Last Bison appreciate that their genre seems to be conveniently “in vogue,” they very much hope that you will see them as a band more than able to stand on their own...

Misfit Mod may sound like a cute nickname for Polly Maggoo, however, it’s actually the musical moniker of Sarah Kelleher, a London-based electronic musician.  Her debut album, Islands & Islands, is set to be released in 2013, but has been in the works since 2007.  However, her debut single,...

“Anyone that tells you you have to work at a relationship is dead wrong… It’s all about marrying someone who is just like you,” says Sean Beavan, one half of 8mm.  The other half is his lovely wife, Juliette (Beavan).  “When I heard she could sing it was like,...

In our postmodern society of the spectacle, when one-on-one, face-to-face, interviews seem to be a luxury only available to overpaid douches who write for glossies, it can be quite nice, and quite charming, to catch a musician in a moment of practicality or leisure.  I recently got a chance...

This past Saturday Icelandic six-piece indie pop outfit Of Monsters and Men graced Philthy with an epically-received, sold out, post-Thanksgiving show at the Tower Theater.    I’ll admit, I was hesitant to get on board with their supposed “brilliance”… and the fact that their audience resembled the next-generation of Rusted...

In 28 years and more than a thousand concerts, I’m not sure that I’ve ever been as excited for a venue-change as I am for …And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead’s local appearance this Sunday, November 18th, getting moved from the First Unitarian Church to...

You may be familiar with Asy and Chloe Saavedra from Smoosh.  The two Seattle-born-and-raised sisters (still short of drinking age) have spent much of their youth and childhood producing painfully infectious indie pop.  The band began in 2000 and, throughout the course of the last 12 years, they’ve released...

Ineffably haunting multi-instrumentalist Sondra Sun-Odeon recently took a step away from her duties of being one-half of NYC psych-rockers Silver Summit and into a spotlight of her own.  She released her solo debut, Aetherea, last week.  The album has the singer/songwriter displaying a far more intimate side of her...

San Francisco trio Grass Widow are often described as a “post-punk” band, but the sounds of their third LP, Internal Logic (released on May 29th), ring far more of the hippest, most avant-garde bands to grace the stages of the first five Lollapalooza’s, and also the first wave of...

If you ever find yourself thinking, “Whatever happened to Ken Stringfellow?” it’s likely because you’re looking in the wrong places… places from which Ken has currently moved on from, or yet to return to.  He’s been on the music scene for more than two decades now, most famously fronting...

Young Prisms’ latest musical output is said to have been inspired by time they spent stoned in Heathrow Airport.  The outcome can be found on In Between, the sophomore LP from the San Francisco five- piece (although not the same five who found themselves on their debut, Friends for Now),...

So I rarely get excited to do interviews, and have gained a reputation for being  jaded to the concept of being a “music journalist.”  However, I was quite excited to get a call last week from Chris Vrenna, drummer/keyboardist from the golden years of Nine Inch Nails.  However, he...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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,...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

“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...

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...

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...

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,...

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...

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...