Kurt Vile is releasing three new songs digitally next week on Matador Records. The 7-inch vinyl release follows on November 9th. You can listen to/download the song “In My Time” below. It’s a hyper jangly melodic jam filtered through the Indie-Rock Paisley Underground. The B-Side will include the songs “Early Dawnin” and “Sad Ghost.” Vile is currently on tour and hits Philly on November 26th at Johnny Brendas.
Download: In My Time – Kurt Vile
Philly’s A Sunny Day In Glasgow are at it again (and we love when they’re at it). The psychedelic-shoegazers have a new free album called Autumn, Again that is available here. Consider giving them a contribution of some sort, cause heck, artists do need to get paid for their work.
Philly based singer/songwriter Timothy Showalter records under the name of Strand Of Oaks and he’s just released a haunting and gorgeous collection of songs called Pope Killdragon through eMusic. The Wilkes-Barre native is a fascinating story teller, creator of confessional acoustic based songs that are singular in voice and vision.
According to eMusic, “in 2003, Showalter’s house burned down, his fiancée broke up with him, and he resorted to writing songs on an acoustic guitar while living on park benches in suburban Philadelphia. Those events informed the entirety of his arresting debut, Leave Ruin, an album about loss and brokenness and lack of faith.” Cut to the present: Tim is happily married, living in Philly and getting deserving praise for his new album, a collection of songs that vary between gothic folk, stoner metal and prog-influenced rock. Showalter says he wanted to build a “mythology” that ran through the album, and the song’s characters, themes and stories do create an enigmatic vibe that holsters the album. It’s a beautiful collection of weird tales and small cultural touchstones that shape Showalter’s emotionally tinged songs. The album is wonderfully produced and the instrumentation (acoustic, electric guitars, drums, synthesizers) are played so efficiently and sharply that they help underscore both the albums darkness and (even) sense of humor. If you’re a fan of Bon Iver, Destroyer, Will Oldham & Elvis Perkins then you’re very likely going to flip over Showalter’s imaginative, musical tour-de-force.
Download: Alex Kona – Strands of Oak
Secretly Canadian just can’t get enough of local multi-instrumentalist David Hartley. In 2008, the Bloomington, Indiana-based indie-rock label released Wagonwheel Blues, the debut full-length by Philly’s own The War On Drugs (in which Hartley plays bass); the label will also release the band’s upcoming 12″ LP, Future Weather, on October 28th. The label has signed Hartley’s bedroom recording project, Nightlands, to its roster, and will release its debut album Forget The Mantra on November 9th in the U.S. on vinyl and digital formats.
Hartley has worked with a number of other local bands in the past, including Buried Beds, BC Camplight, and The Lindsey Buckingham Appreciation Society. So it comes as little surprise that, while putting the tracks to tape, he opted to invite a few pals over for feedback and collaboration. A listen to the two songs made available on Secretly Canadian’s website reveals the end result to be warm, pastoral dream-pop with hymnal qualities. If Hartley’s work with The War On Drugs feels like the perfect soundtrack for a drive through one of Bruce Springsteen’s working-class neighborhoods, Nightlands would make a great accompaniment for a post-six-pack stroll through the starlit fields that lie just beyond the edge of the city.
Download these two new songs:
Suzerain (A Letter To the Judge) by Nightlands
via The Key
Philly’s Sun Airway had a bust day yesterday, dropping a mixtape, announcing a tour with Bear In Heaven and giving away another song (below) from their forthcoming debut on Dead Oceans called Nocturne of Exploded Crystal Chandelier out on October 26th, All good stuff below.
Download this: Put The Days Away – Sun Airway
If Philly’s Blood Feathers hit your town soon you should go see them. They released a downright swaggerish collection of Stones-fueled rock & roll called Goodness Gracious last year and they tear it up live. Currently on tour down South, they’ll be coming to your town with The Walkmen soon and they’ll be rocking Philly greatly towards the end of September as part of the first annual Philadelphia Film and Music festival AKA Philly F/M.
August 31: JJ’s Bohemia | Chattanooga, TN
September 1: Farm 255 | Athens, GA
September 2: Highland Inn Ballroom Lounge | Atlanta, GA
September 4: White Water Tavern | Little Rock, AR
September 7: Ronny’s Bar | Chicago, IL
September 11: Northern Liberties Festival | Philadelphia, PA
September 24: Johnny Brenda’s | Philadelphia, PA w/ Field Music and Creeping Weeds
September 25: Philadelphia Film & Music Festival/Crane Arts Building | Philadelphia, PA
October 7: Royale | Boston, PA w/ The Walkmen & AA Bondy
October 8: Cabaret Juste Pour Rire | Montreal, QC w/ The Walkmen & AA Bondy
October 9: Phoenix Concert Hall | Toronto, ONT w/ The Walkmen & AA Bondy
October 23: The Trocadero | Philadelphia, PA w/ The Walkmen & Japandroids
The Same Mad Part – Blood Feathers
In case you missed it, check out Blood Feathers performance for WXPN & NPR Music’s weekly Free At Noon concert series here
Folks in Philly may know Shai Halperin as the lead singer of the indierock band The Capitol Years. Well, he’s decided to step out with a solo record called Sweet Lights which you can stream below, download some songs for free or even drop the 5 bucks to support your local musician with. Consider for heavy rotation the following songs: “Are We Gonna Work It Out,” “Ballad of Kurt Vile #2,” and the Roy Orbison-esque “You Won’t Be There.”
And check out this absolutely incredible video for “Are We Gonna Work It Out”
Philly’s Golden Ages have dropped a new EP which you can download here with a strong strong cover of Toto’s “Africa.” GA’s are definitely one of the coolest new bands to emerge on the Philly scene here in the last year. And their choice of this cover is just excellent:
And in case you missed some of their previous jams, dive in to this:
Be Cool – Golden Ages
For a dose of Toto (and they sure racked up some serious hits), make sure you check out the classic:
Philly’s indie-art-prog-rockers Grandchildren share first song via Fader. Download it
here
The band’s debut album Everlasting will be out September 29th on Green Owl Records.
If you’ve ever done a little (or a lot) of skateboarding at FDR Park in Philly you’re familiar with this amazing slice of cultural and social under life that occurs there. It’s all about punk rock, PBR’s, lots of cigarette smoke, tattoos, trash and absolutely amazing skateboarding & biking in the park that sits under I-95 bordered by the Sports Complexes on Broad Street & Pattison Avenue. The park is beautiful and when you go deep in to it, you’ll find this incredible skate/bike park that’s become quite an institution. Michael James Murray of The Calcutta Blog spent some time there on July 4, 2010 with a video crew filming the day’s events for a forthcoming documentary called FDR 7.4.10. Music is by The Trowels and the legendary McRad (go Chuck Treece and crew!) also performed that day. Check out the preview of the upcoming documentary below and also take a look at the pictures and account of The Pistola Press. This shit looks pretty cool. State of Independence, indeed, redefining the concept of under the bridge.
TRAILER: FDR 7.4.10 from Michael James Murray on Vimeo.
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