Category Archives: New Music

Stocks rocks Denver at Tap Fourteen

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Grunge inspired rock band Stocks plays Tap Fourteen in Denver Colorado

I knew Ryan Brashier‘s new band Stocks was going to be good, but I didn’t know they’d be THIS good. Thanks to Phantasy Tour bringing a lot of us Denver Phish phan degenerates together, over the years I’ve become good friends with Ryan and his wife Erin, from living just a block away from each other to taking down our tents in the rain when Curveball was canceled.

Beyond friendship, he is also my go-to guy for everything guitar. This guy knows his pedals and rigs! So Wednesday night at downtown Lodo bar Tap Fourteen – Rooftop Beer Garden, it came as no surprise to see lots of pedals on the stage. Joined by Matthew Norcross on guitar, Chuck Obmaces on keys, David Simutis on bass and Matt Fisher on drums, Stocks has a big sound that draws heavily on 90’s grunge influences.

Always remember where you came from

So many jam bands that are out there come from funk and bluegrass backgrounds, so to get to hear raging guitar jams through a grunge lens is fresh and sure to tickle the fancy of any 90s kid. Just in case you didn’t get the memo, a searing cover of The Smashing Pumpkins “Cherub Rock” drives it home with Ryan’s vocals sounding eerily just like Billy Corgan.

Ryan Brashier glows

With Phish listeners on deck, segues and mash-ups are sure to happen, and my personal highlight from the night was a charging rendition of ALO‘s “Dead Still Dance” with a surprise cameo from The Beatles “Tomorrow Never Knows” in the middle. At this point, my camera had to get put down and joining the other dancers was a must. Take a listen to the audio here on Ryan’s Soundcloud page: https://soundcloud.com/playthestocks/dead-still-dancetomorrow-never-knowsdead-still-dance-stocks-7282021-tap-xiv-denver-co

Matthew Norcross sending psychedelic messages to the cosmos

Make sure to follow Stocks (they only go up!) on their Instagram page for news about upcoming shows: https://www.instagram.com/playthestocks/?utm_medium=copy_link&fbclid=IwAR0ZugZwH25NkjsXWena2xCAuArMs124aBFD3qe9hif7X0RLIzTnd3mAoEg

New songs to listen to this weekend

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photo by leslie simon

photo by leslie simon

I’ve been in the processing of moving and had over 800 viruses cleaned off my computer (thanks, Spotify), so haven’t had a chance to listen to any new music in a few weeks. Things are now settled and I spent all morning dancing around to bouncy sunny off kilter beats, and here are ten of my favorite new songs to listen to this weekend:

French Style Furs “Solitary Life”- Cold War Kids side project with lead singer Nathan Willett singing poems written by 20th century monk Thomas Merton. Using found materials and putting them to a Latin groove, “Solitary Life” takes elements from David Byrne’s playbook as Willett’s distinct vocals sound more pleading than ever courtesy of Merton’s philosophical thoughts.
https://soundcloud.com/frenchstylefurs/solitary-life

Old Smokey “All the Way Slow”- Composed of veterans from the Athens, GA scene, Old Smokey make catchy songs with a perplexing AM sound that has elements of Bollywood and spaghetti western throughout the onslaught of beautiful strings. “All the Way Slow” has a great psychedelic extended bridge with a fitting public access looking video.

La Femme “Welcome America”- French electro-surf powerhouse brings the frenetic energy with uptempo synthesized clapping and a ridiculously bouncy bass line.

Sylvan Esso “Hey Mami”- Overlapping the crystal clear vocals of Mountain Man’s Amelia Meath, producer Nick Sanborn creates a perfect sweet pop song that gets harder and more complex with every measure.

Tyson Meade “Nihilists Need Love Too”- legendary 90’s alt-rock former Chainsaw Kittens member loved by the Flaming Lips shows that weird never dies in his new single.

BOSSK “Albatross”- This Fleetwood Mac cover maintains the beautiful dreamy mood of the original and is best heard over and over.

Yonatan Gat “Escorpiao”- mesmerizing guitarist from Tel Aviv now residing in NY spends time in Portugal and tweaks his fuzzy psychedelic unhinged sound.
http://yonatangat.bandcamp.com/album/iberian-passage-2

Teleman “23 Floors Up”- incredible songwriting and melody from a UK group who sound like they listen to a lot of Bowie.

Cretin Stompers “Eye of the Storm”- super fuzzy light as a beignet deliciousness. So fuzzy I thought a speaker had blown out. Yum.

Ariana Grande featuring Iggy Azalea “Problem”- I’m sure Ariana Grande is a nice girl, but I go straight to Iggy’s part in this song. Reminding me of Lady Gaga’s “Teeth”, saxophone and marching drums never sounded so good with Iggy as the perfect Drum Major.

New songs to listen to this week

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Blitzen Trapper- photo by Leslie Simon

Blitzen Trapper- photo by Leslie Simon

New music to listen to this week- the sun is shining, spring has arrived, and I’m really feeling sunny, dreamy songs with the occasional dance beat to get down to. Here are some of my favorite songs that have been released recently that you should check out:

King of Prussia “Your Work is Magic”- uptempo indie tambourine pop out of Athens, Georgia with unexpected and fantastic horns that remind me of a less political King Khan. Available for stream or download here at Stereogum:
http://www.stereogum.com/1673969/king-of-prussia-your-work-is-magic-stereogum-premiere/mp3s/

Yann Tiersen “A Midsummer Evening”- Toy instruments mix with acoustic to create a warped, gorgeous song complete with angelic backing vocals. Psychedelic church.

Medeski, Martin and Wood + Nels Cline “Bonjour Bese”- mixing wild spacey reverb noise with the heavy hitting sounds of MMW is a dream come true. If you don’t like dissonant noise fast forward three minutes (but really you should embrace the noise, it’s beautiful). Exclusively at Esquire here:
http://www.esquire.com/blogs/culture/mmw_nels_cline

Alpha Consumer “Ms Positron”- taking cues from 80’s art rock and adding mega fuzzy guitar riffs and catchy hooks, this Minneapolis group has collaborated with everyone from Andrew Bird to Brother Ali and are releasing their new album April 15th.

Thee Oh Sees “The Lens”- yet another awesome track from the upcoming release. Monty Python-esque psychedelic videos that are done well are always a treat.

Allah-Las “Had It All”- california psych pop with a delicate touch and throwback as hell

Chain and the Gang “Devitalize”- some of my favorite garage rock that doesn’t take itself so seriously. Plus, I’m a sucker for really bratty vocals.

Horse Thief “Little Dust”- psych tinged roots rock from Oklahoma City with theatrical fascinating Cameron Neal’s quirky pretty vocals taking the lead.

Driving Mrs. Satan “Hells Bells”- when I got an email about this band and saw “acoustic heavy metal” I put it on thinking I would get a laugh. Instead, I found they have beautiful arrangements, gorgeous vocals, and I like it better than the original.

Ten Songs To Listen To Today

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photo by Leslie Simon

photo by Leslie Simon

    Ten Songs To Listen To Today

1. Mystic Braves “Born Without a Heart”- bright, energetic 60’s throwback sound

2. Galactic with JJ Grey “Higher and Higher”

3. Blitzen Trapper “Coming Home” – sweet country swamp funk

4. Miniature Tigers “Swimming Pool Blues” – sunny indie pop

5. Little Racer “Punk Life”- reverb drenched chill surfpsych

6. Charles Howl “Garden Train” buzzy lofi garage rock

7. Cloud Nothings “Psychic Trauma”- pretty rock noise with punk energy

8. J. Roddy Walston and the Business “Heavy Bells”

9. FUZZ “Raise”- heavy, muffled fuzz

10. St. Vincent “Regret”- aggressively cool guitar driven pop

Got just under two minutes?

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Dances

Listen to Dances new single “Rat” today off their debut EP coming out this spring on Black Bell Records. One minute and 41 seconds of reckless, jangly, melodic fury. In their press release it says they are influenced by 60’s psych and 90’s alternative, I didn’t have to read further. Sold. The NY trio will be playing the Sailor Jerry party at SXSW on 3.13, won’t be missing that one.

Woods continues to deliver with “Moving to the Left”

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Woods

Woods continues to put out perfect songs, this time letting the musical saw and almost theatrical enunciation take the lead. Just a whole bunch of prettiness down to the “ooh ooh ooh’s”. The song has a swagger befitting a walk down a coastal boardwalk wearing nothing but a bathing suit, confidence and a smile. The musical saw wavers in and out like a polite alien abduction of a falsetto hero:

Natural Child release silky smooth “Out in the Country” single today

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naturalchild

With influences like J.J. Cale, Canned Heat and Waylon Jennings, Nashville’s Natural Child create a sound that is a cross of classic country, southern soul R&B and psych rock. Today they released my favorite track off their new album, “Out in the Country”, a smooth as silk song layered with gorgeous swirling guitar lines and delicately funky keys. They just announced a tour with the Black Lips after their SXSW performances, listen to the new song below and check out their tour dates for a show near you. Their new album Dancin’ With Wolves comes out Feb. 25th on Burger Records:

Mon. April 14 – Richmond, VA @ The National *
Tue. April 15 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat *
Thu. April 17 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall *
Fri. April 18 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer *
Sat. April 19 – Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club *
Mon. April 21 – Montreal, QC @ Corona Theatre *
Tue. April 22 – Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Concert Theatre *
Thu. April 24 – Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick *
Fri. April 25 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom *
Sat. April 26 – Chicago, IL @ Logan Square Auditorium *
Sun. April 27 – St. Paul, MN @ Turf Club *
Mon. April 28 – Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room *
Tue. April 29 – St. Louis, MO @ The Firebird *
Wed. April 30 – Kansas City, MO @ The Riot Room *
Sat. May 3 – New Orleans, LA @ Siberia *

* w/ Black Lips

The Preatures “Is This How You Feel?”

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preatures

The Preatures out of Sydney, Australia came on my radar again after seeing their name on the list of SXSW artists. When I was first introduced to this song, I looped it about a hundred times that day, as I am wont to do in the obsessive stage of hearing something I like for the first time. Today I have been doing the same. Sent the song over to my mother, who noted the Prince influence. Spot on, mom. You can practically hear the ghost of Sheena Easton lurking in the mix. I’d been thinking Fleetwood Mac. It’s so freaking breezy in sound and mood, the light bass line just bounces while the vocals stay silky smooth.

Curtis Harding “Keep on Shining” brings soul music around to a modern era

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curtissoulpower

It’s no surprise that Curtis Harding used to sing backup for Cee-Lo Green, his voice is familiar almost instantly. Signed recently to Burger Records, Harding manages to create a sound that could have come from 2014 or 1964. The album isn’t due out til April 22nd, so enjoy the first single he just released “Keep On Shining”:

Woods new single “Leaves Like Glass” has a Bob Dylan feel

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woods

As New York’s psych folk rock act Woods‘ sound constantly evolves, it bears to note that it always evolves for the better. The new single “Leaves Like Glass” from their upcoming album With Light and with Love has a perfect, sunshine-y, jangly spring sound that will be perfectly timed with its April 15th release date. Dylan-esque vocal inflections mix with beautiful organ chords and tambourine to create a perfect pop gem that is at once joyful as well as melancholy and bittersweet; the music builds gracefully before reaching a blissful crescendo.