Philthy Mag
  • Band Interviews
    Bella White Finally Makes it to MilkBoy: “I love sweaty…
  • Live Events
    Oxis at The Fillmore (10/26)
  • Band Interviews
    Nuovo Testamento: “Those cozy barroom shows have a kind of…
    Philthy Mag
      • Band Interviews
        • Bella White Finally Makes it to MilkBoy: “I love sweaty…
          Bella White Finally Makes it to MilkBoy: “I love sweaty…
        • Nuovo Testamento: “Those cozy barroom shows have a kind of…
          Nuovo Testamento: “Those cozy barroom shows have a kind of…
        • Rocket Talk Debut LP, Touring with Legends, and Not Taking…
          Rocket Talk Debut LP, Touring with Legends, and Not Taking…
        • Whispers: “We never imagined we’d be playing in front of…
          Whispers: “We never imagined we’d be playing in front of…
        • Tei Shi: “There’s a lot of dancey moments but also…
          Tei Shi: “There’s a lot of dancey moments but also…
        • Night Tapes: “we are aiming for an immersive journey that…
          Night Tapes: “we are aiming for an immersive journey that…
      • Music Reviews
        • David Byrne, Three Nights at the Opera
          David Byrne, Three Nights at the Opera
        • “Make my tattoos melt in the heat”: My Chemical Romance…
          “Make my tattoos melt in the heat”: My Chemical Romance…
        • Modest Mouse Keeps It Cool at The Mann
          Modest Mouse Keeps It Cool at The Mann
        • The Warning Bring the Rock Spectacle to a Theater Near…
          The Warning Bring the Rock Spectacle to a Theater Near…
        • The City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection KNOWS Katie…
          The City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection KNOWS Katie…
        • Lauren Mayberry’s Return to Union Transfer
          Lauren Mayberry’s Return to Union Transfer
      • Tedeschi Trucks Band w/ Margo Price at The Mann

        payton-jade
        August 30, 2024
        This Wednesday night, Grammy-Award winning husband/wife duo Tedeschi Trucks Band returned to Philadelphia’s TD Pavilion at The Mann for the first time since 2013.  Touring behind 2022’s I Am The Moon, their 12-piece band put on an incredible performance for a packed house of adoring fans.  Nashville singer/songwriter Margo...
      • partygirl 101: An [Extensive] Intro (8/30 at MilkBoy)

        izzy
        August 29, 2024
        Tomorrow night (8/30) Brooklyn feminist rock band partygirl return to the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection!  During a recent Zoom chat, I discover that partygirl founder, songwriter, and frontwoman Pagona Kytzidis is actually from the area, and the band (who first emerged during the pandemic) has already...
      • Melissa Brooks Talks Solo Debut in the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection (9/5 at The Dolphin)

        izzy
        August 25, 2024
        “As a music fan, I love all genres of music…  My cousin’s cheerleading mixes are actually how I discovered EDM, and Alice Deejay just became my thing,” says Melissa Brooks, who we know best as the founder and frontwoman of SoCal surf rock/”sunshine punk” outfit The Aquadolls (I last...
      • A New Era of The Sisters of Mercy: “As long as it sounds like the band they went to see, they’ll be happy…” (9/18 at The Met)

        izzy
        August 19, 2024
        “We always like creating a safe space to come together.  We’ve always attracted a lot of marginalized people,” says Ben Christo, who’s been playing guitar and bass in legendary English post-punk band The Sisters Of Mercy since 2006, alongside founder and frontman Andrew Eldritch.  Last year The Sisters Of...
      • Cloud Cult’s Craig Minowa: “This one will definitely be a bigger rock show…” (8/30 at WCL)

        izzy
        August 19, 2024
        “We kind of wanted to circle back to more of the rock venue feel.  We enjoyed the intimacy of the last one, but we got a lot of feedback from people who felt trapped in their chairs,” Cloud Cult founder and primary songwriter Craig Minowa tells me, laughing.  March...
      • Pure Bathing Culture: “We’ve never tried to recreate our records track for track in a live context…” (8/22 at MilkBoy)

        izzy
        August 17, 2024
        Portland, Oregon’s Pure Bathing Culture are longtime phriends of PHILTHY (We first met them in September of 2014, while they were on tour with Tennis.), but I’m pretty sure they haven’t headlined the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection in close to a decade… and I haven’t gotten...
      • Crumb Bring AMAMA to the 215 (8/20 at Brooklyn Bowl)

        izzy
        August 17, 2024
        Last month Brooklyn-based psych-pop quartet Crumb played an electrifying Sunday evening set alongside PHILTHY phavorites Jessica Pratt, Mannequin Pussy, and MUNA at Pitchfork Music Festival (There’s tons of footage on YouTube.), the final of three Midwest shows that served as the opening chapter of a North American headline (aside...
      • The Gaslight Anthem: “We are definitely a full-time band again…” (8/23 at The Fillmore)

        izzy
        August 12, 2024
        During a recent phone chat with The Gaslight Anthem’s Benny Horowitz, I find out that the drummer for the New Brunswick heartland punk rockers actually has quite the history with the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection: “I wear Yankees hats and am a fan of New York...
      • The Courettes, 8/15 at KFN: “Expect a sweaty celebration of true passion for rock’n’roll!”

        izzy
        August 12, 2024
        This Thursday, August 15th, The Courettes are bringing a night of classic rock’n’roll – of the garage rock and proto-punk variety, not the kind that your dad listens to… unless you have an exceptionally cool dad – to Kung Fu Necktie.  The Danish-Brazilian duo, comprised of husband/wife Martin and...
      • Jess Cornelius Comes to the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection for the First Time (8/10 at MilkBoy)

        izzy
        August 6, 2024
        “I used to do very stripped back demos at home, and then I met Mikal Cronin,” jokes New Zealand-raised, Los Angeles-based artist Jess Cornelius about working with the famed LA musician perhaps best-known for his collaborations with Ty Segall.  Cronin served as producer and multi-instrumentalist for Cornelius’ sophomore solo...
      • OSTON Headlines WCL, 7/31: “Show up ready to scream-cry and work through some trauma together.”

        izzy
        July 30, 2024
        “Anything you need to know about me I feel like you really can learn from the music,” Los Angeles-based alt-pop singer/songwriter OSTON tells me during a recent interview.  OSTON – who has toured alongside our phriends VÉRITÉ and The Greeting Committee and written a song with our good buddy...
      • Jessica Pratt Brings Here in the Pitch to World Café Live

        izzy
        July 30, 2024
        “I’m very sorry for the delay.  Thank you for your patience,” says Jessica Pratt as she sits down in a chair center stage at the Music Hall at World Café Live this past Friday night.  The show – the Los Angeles-based folk singer/songwriter’s first headlining performance in the City...
      • Laur Elle: “I’m always going to be true to myself…” (8/21 at WCL w/ Lyncs)

        izzy
        July 25, 2024
        “You are gonna see an all-girl two-piece band up there .  I usually have a guitarist with me, but for this I will be playing electric for the whole set… but you’ll experience all of the ups and downs of a normal set,” says pop artist Laur Elle of...
      • BIG|BRAVE’s Mathieu Ball: “Every tour we go on we realize how lucky we are.” (8/17 at MilkBoy)

        izzy
        July 25, 2024
        “What’s important to us is touring and playing live.  We put these albums out so we can keep playing and touring…  I thought if we could go to Europe once it would be great, but it’s been like 10 times over,” laughs Mathieu Ball, guitarist and co-founder of Montreal...
      • Peel Dream Magazine Talks Fourth LP, Rose Main Reading Room (8/13 at Underground Arts w/ Wild Nothing)

        izzy
        July 23, 2024
        “I love supporting any band that’s doing intelligent pop music.  I feel like the dream would be like Stereolab, Sufjan Stevens, Belle & Sebastian… Alex G, that would be a really fun tour,” says Joe Stevens, founder and songwriter of Los Angeles avant-pop outfit Peel Dream Magazine (Yes, named...
      • Ciara Grace: “I am definitely full-fledged, full throttle on music right now.” (CD Release Celebration Show 8/8 at WCL)

        izzy
        July 23, 2024
        “I’m so excited to play that show.  That’s definitely gonna be a huge thing.  I don’t wanna say it’s all about me, in like a narcissistic way , but I really want it to be a showstopper,” says locally grown pop singer/songwriter Ciara Grace of her upcoming CD Release...
      • Sydney Sprague Hits the Road with Her Favorite Band! (8/7 at The Foundry w/ Super American)

        izzy
        July 22, 2024
        “The first time I was in Philly, I had a cheesesteak five minutes before I went onstage, which was the worst decision of my life,” Sydney Sprague tells me, laughing.  However, the indie pop singer/songwriter has had some more enjoyable experiences playing the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly...
      • Kaitlin Butts: “I always hope everyone feels welcome at my shows.” (8/6 at MilkBoy)

        izzy
        July 22, 2024
        “You forget that places like Philly and California have a lot of people who love country,” Kaitlin Butts tells me during a recent phone chat.  At the time, the Nashville-based, Oklahoma-bred singer/songwriter is about half-a-dozen dates into The Roadrunner! Tour, which will be making a headlining stop at MilkBoy...
      • Thank You, I’m Sorry’s Lleen Dow Talks New Lineup, New Recordings, and New Shows (8/2 at Silk City)

        izzy
        July 20, 2024
        “We got a writeup that called it an ode to 2005, and I was like, ‘They knew exactly what I was going for,’ like, they’re really picking up what I’m putting down!” laughs Lleen Dow, founder, frontperson, and as-of-recently sole constant member of Portland-based, aughts-emo-flavored indie rock outfit Thank...
      • An Extended Evening with The Pretenders, Live at The Fillmore

        izzy
        July 20, 2024
        New Wave/Post-Punk legends The Pretenders have spent much of the past year performing show-stealing (we’re assuming…), hits-filled festival gigs and support sets for Axl, Slash, and Duff’s Guns N’ Roses and Foo Fighters.  However, this past Sunday, July 14th, they brought An Evening with The Pretenders to the 2,500-capacity...
      • Brijean Returns to The City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection (7/20 at JB’s)

        izzy
        July 16, 2024
        “It was the first song we wrote that felt like it was part of the Macro world, and we wrote the initial version with only guitar and voice which was a new process for us,” said Brijean Murphy – percussionist/singer/songwriter and one-half of Oakland-based psychedelic pop outfit Brijean, alongside multi-instrumentalist/producer...
      • Ava Della Pietra on Summer Break, Her Roots, and Olivia Rodrigo (8/1 at The Foundry w/ Madilyn Mei)

        izzy
        July 16, 2024
        “I try to be very honest in all my music.  I don’t lie,” laughs singer/songwriter Ava Della Pietra, going on to explain, “I try to be very authentic in my songwriting process…  I feel like it’s easier for people to connect with me that way.”  The 19-year-old (She recently...
      • In The Valley Below Return to The Road: “When we started, we wanted to just be a studio band…” (7/30 at JB’s)

        izzy
        July 14, 2024
        “Something crazy always happens in Philly!  Not in like a bad way, but the last time at Johnny Brenda’s our drummer’s brother got really drunk and jumped up onstage with us, and then someone stole my chains off the stage,” says Angela Gail Mattson – one-half of Grand Rapids-based...
      • Lunar Vacation Talks Sophomore LP, Everything Matters, Everything’s Fire (7/28 at UT w/ Vacations)

        izzy
        July 13, 2024
        “A lot of people think we’re putting out a shoegaze album…  They’re like, ‘Yes!  Lunar Vacation going shoegaze!” the Georgia indie rock outfit jokes with me during a recent phone chat.  They’re referring to “Set the Stage,” the lead single off of Lunar Vacation’s sophomore LP, Everything Matters, Everything’s...
      • MILLY: “We’re really trying to perfect our live set.” (7/27 at UT w/ Fiddlehead and 10/5 at The Fillmore w/ Balance and Composure)

        izzy
        July 11, 2024
        “We’ve never gotten to play venues this big…  We’re the first band on these bills, so we feel like we’ve really got to bring our A-game,” says Brendan Dyer, founder and mainman of LA alt-rockers MILLY, who are about to embark on two pretty massive tours.  Just after a...
      • Trousdale Revisit Their Roots and Get Acquainted with New Musical Friends on Out Of My Mind Deluxe

        izzy
        July 11, 2024
        Last month LA-based, country-tinged folk-pop trio Trousdale stole the show with a 45-minute set opening The Met for Aussie blues-rockers The Teskey Brothers.  Trousdale’s musical journey began when the three University of Southern California students (now alum) — Quinn D’Andrea, Georgia Greene, and Lauren Jones – went viral on...
      • rosecoloredworld Talk First Tour and First EP (7/18 at KFN w/ The Dangerous Summer)

        izzy
        July 8, 2024
        “I couldn’t be more excited to hit the road.  Live music is the biggest reason why we do this,” says Rae, one-half of LA duo rosecoloredworld, alongside Addison (Yes, Addison and Rae, haha.)  The band, raised on pop punk of the early aughts, are currently a little more than...
      • SHAED Talk Growing Up and Starting a New Chapter (7/12 at Johnny Brenda’s)

        izzy
        July 8, 2024
        The last time we caught up with Washington DC-based indie pop trio SHAED – comprised of multi-instrumentalist twin brothers Spencer and Max Ernst, along with lead vocalist Chelsea Lee, Spencer’s wife – was in February of 2019, when the family band was about to embark on their first-ever headlining...
      • The Greeting Committee Turns 10 (7/16 at World Café Live)

        izzy
        July 7, 2024
        “I can see if you’re on Twitter or on Instagram.  I can read your phone,” jokes Addie Sartino, lead vocalist for The Greeting Committee, upon being asked if she has a message to fans coming out to see the indie rock band on their upcoming headlining tour.  Sartino, a...
      • Mother Mother: “We just grow in intensity from one year to the next.” (7/3 at Highline Stage w/ Cavetown)

        izzy
        June 29, 2024
        “We would play the smaller venue for like a decade, and rolling our amps through the bigger venue, it was kind of like stinging.  So, when our fate changed, it was such a milestone,” says Mother Mother vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter Ryan Guldemond (with whom I last spoke...
      • Pedro the Lion: The Teen Years (7/2 at The Foundry)

        izzy
        June 29, 2024
        My first encounter with David Bazan’s Pedro the Lion came in November of 2002 when he played Washington DC’s The Black Cat, which had recently relocated to a few doors down the street.  Pedro the Lion were touring their third LP, Control, a concept album revolving around a businessman...
      • Flashing Back with Hiatus Kaiyote (6/29 at Franklin Music Hall)

        izzy
        June 26, 2024
        Last week Melbourne-based neo-soul quartet Hiatus Kaiyote kicked off their North America summer tour, in addition to dropping “Cinnamon Temple,” their fifth and final single from their upcoming fourth LP, Love Heart Cheat Code.  The album drops this Friday, June 28th, courtesy of Brainfeeder Records/Ninja Tune, and this Saturday,...
      • Quasi on Playing Songs and Settings They Don’t Normally Play (Featuring “Birds” LIVE 6/27 at WCL)

        izzy
        June 24, 2024
        Just last March we saw Quasi – Janet Weiss and Sam Coomes – return to Johnny Brenda’s in support of Breaking the Balls of History, both their tenth studio LP and their first studio LP in ten years, in addition to their first for Sub Pop.  However, the Portland...
      • This Is Lorelei Talks Making an “Album” Album (6/24 at JB’s w/ @ and 10/22 at The Foundry w/ Dehd)

        izzy
        June 23, 2024
        Earlier this month Nate Amos (of Water From Your Eyes) released Box for Buddy, Box for Star, the first “official” album from This Is Lorelei (which dropped courtesy of Double Double Whammy), a solo project whose music he’s been self-releasing online since 2014.  The album — whose origins date...
      • Bonny Light Horseman: “Philly’s got our back!” (6/20 at Union Transfer)

        izzy
        June 19, 2024
        This Thursday, 6/20, folk supergroup Bonny Light Horseman are bringing their brand-new double album (and first for Jagjaguwar), Keep Me On Your Mind/See You Free, to Union Transfer.  While the trio – comprised of Josh Kaufman, Eric D. Johnson, and Anais Mitchell – have played the City of Brotherly...
      • Kim Gordon, Back in Eraserhood

        izzy
        June 18, 2024
        While 2024 has already given us opportunities to see “classic albums” by Ride, The Charlatans, and Deap Vally in their entirety (the first two on the same night), I was equally entranced by Kim Gordon’s front-to-back performance of her 2024 LP, The Collective, this past Friday (6/14) at Union...
      • A Breathtaking Evening with The Dresden Dolls at Union Transfer

        payton-jade
        June 12, 2024
        Last Saturday, The Dresden Dolls blew the audience away with a just-under-three-hour set, appropriately titled An Evening With The Dresden Dolls. Amanda Palmer, on vocals and keys, along with Brian Viglione on drums, gave an incredible, unique, and unforgettable performance that brought me a newfound love for this renowned...
      • Entering “The New World” of Pale Waves… (6/22 at TLA w/ PVRIS)

        izzy
        June 12, 2024
        We’re nearly halfway through Pride Month and we’ve already attended some fabulous events.  However, there are still several musical celebrations of queerness that we’re eagerly anticipating, including June 22nd at Theatre of Living Arts.  The evening will be headlined by Lynn Gunn electropop outfit PVRIS, with opening duties being...
      • Rich Ruth Talks Nashville, Experimentation, and Playing Live in a Plethora of Contexts (6/26 at JB’s w/ Mikaela Davis)

        izzy
        June 12, 2024
        “The live shows are heading in this doom jazz direction,” says Nashville musician Rich Ruth during a May phone chat.  Although Ruth is perhaps most recognizable as a touring member of Americana singer/songwriter S.G. Goodman’s band, he also spends just as much time on the road with his own...
      • Blushing: “I know a lot of shoegaze bands like to just stare at their shoes, but I just can’t do it!” (6/19 at JB’s w/ Airiel)

        izzy
        June 12, 2024
        “Christina and I are still going crazy up there!  We just can’t contain ourselves!  It’s true joy and we have to move our bodies!  I’ve actually tried to stand still, just to see if I could do it, because I know a lot of shoegaze bands like to just...
      • Boeckner: “I’d never thought to put out anything under my own name.” (6/13 at JB’s)

        izzy
        June 11, 2024
        “I came from the late ‘90s hardcore scene, and the uncool-est thing you could do is release an album of songs under your own name.  Being a singer/songwriter was extremely uncool before the indie thing,” Dan Boeckner (Wolf Parade, Handsome Furs, Divine Fits, Operators) tells me during a recent...
      • Sheppard, Up Close and Personal: “It’s a lot of fun to play these shows. It’s sweaty, raw, intimate…” (6/12 at MilkBoy)

        izzy
        June 11, 2024
        Australian indie pop sibling trio Sheppard are celebrating a number of milestones.  The Brisbane band moved to Nashville last October, became the first band to ever play Australia’s Great Barrier Reef (This April they returned to Australia to play a gig on a pontoon for local heroes partaking in...
      • mercury’s Maddie Kerr: “I needed a space to be vulnerable and truthful with myself and what I was experiencing.”

        izzy
        June 7, 2024
        It’s a big day for mercury, the Tennessee-based indie rock project of Maddie Kerr.  This morning they released short film “Together We Are One, You And I” – a collaboration with producer Alex Farrar (Indigo De Souza, Snail Mail, Waxahatchee, Squirrel Flower, Wednesday, Plains…) and filmmaker Harrison Shook –...
      • “We’re doing the best that we can!”: A Conversation with Jeanines (6/9 at JB’s w/ Swansea Sound)

        izzy
        June 5, 2024
        “I wish it wasn’t more than two years between full-lengths…” Jeanines’ musical polymath Jed Smith glumly muses, before vocalist, songwriter, and namesake Alicia Jeanine chimes in, “I think it’s fine to have an LP every three years!  We’re busy, we have jobs… We’re doing the best that we can!” ...
      • Video Premiere: Soraia Covers Blondie’s “Union City Blue” (6/8 at Wayne Music Festival)

        izzy
        June 5, 2024
        Philadelphia-based rockers Soraia recently dropped their cover of Blondie classic “Union City Blue.”  And we’re proud to premiere the official music video for the ZouZou Mansour-led garage rockers’ take on the legendary power pop track.  The clip was shot by local videographer Tom Quigley at Boom Room in Fishtown,...
      • Get to Know the Feminist Pop of Morgan St. Jean: “I consider myself a bad bitch!” (6/15 at MilkBoy)

        izzy
        June 4, 2024
        This weekend, self-proclaimed Feminist Pop Princess Morgan St. Jean will kick off the “This Is For Life” North America Tour, her first-ever headlining trek.  The five-date East Coast jaunt comes in support of the LA-based singer/songwriter’s My Mind And I EP (which dropped this April) and includes a stop...
      • Y-Not Radio Turns 14! Celebrate June 6th at Kung Fu Necktie w/ Lauran Hibberd!

        izzy
        June 4, 2024
        Next month, our phavorite locally based internet radio station, Y-Not Radio, officially turns 14.  And this Thursday, June 6th, Kung Fu Necktie will be hosting the Y-Not Radio 14th Anniversary celebration with English slacker pop phenom Lauran Hibberd (opening the evening is local bassist and songwriter Harlee Torres).  The...
      • The Return of The Dresden Dolls (6/7 and 6/8 at Union Transfer)

        izzy
        June 3, 2024
        The last time The Dresden Dolls played the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection was December of 2007, when they appeared at Theatre of Living Arts.  At the time, Lou and Bowie were still with us, the South Street landmark was known as “The Fillmore at the TLA,”...
      • Durry Finally Plays The Foundry (6/5): “We’re hoping to have a crowd that’s good and riled up with anticipation.”

        izzy
        May 31, 2024
        This coming Wednesday, June 5th, sibling power pop duo Durry will be headlining The Foundry… exactly six months to the day since the Minnesota outfit were originally set to play the Fishtown venue.  But during a recent phone chat with Austin and Taryn Durry, Austin (whose sickness resulted in...
      • Ghostly Kisses Get Intimate This Saturday (6/1) at World Café Live

        izzy
        May 31, 2024
        Darkroom has the distinction of being our favorite album of the year by an artist that we’ve never actually met.  The LP, which dropped May 17th, is the sophomore full-length from French-Canadian duo Ghostly Kisses (comprised of Margaux Sauvé and Louis-Étienne Santais), the follow-up to 2022’s Heaven, Wait, both...
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