Bent Knee is returning from a 9 week national tour and in anticipation of their homecoming show at O’Brien’s, we’re premiering a live video of the band playing their song “Battle Creek.” The song comes from last year’s triumphant album Shiny Eyed Babies. The 7 minute epic was shot by Fitz Ross Productions for their always top-tier Spare Room Sessions. Treat your eyes and ears to the live video below.
Bent Knee is one of the tightest bands in Boston, combining masterful technical skill and sweeping emotional suites to form a sound that rarely comes through the scene, if ever. Their live act is one not to be missed, so head on down to O’Brien’s this Sunday the 16th to welcome the band back home and to give them congratulations for a tour well done. Tickets are $8, 21+.
“It’s like a cassingle with a little extra ‘ingle, pilule ” I think,” John Lutkevich offered regarding his new release, Golden, which arrives today via Disposable America.
We’ve become wellacquainted with Lutkevich’s aching rasp under the alias Soft Fangs over the last year, but it can be sort of difficult to imagine him cracking jokes under the shadow a song like “Golden” casts.
“Basically, this song references the title of the upcoming album, [The Light]. I feel like it’s a mysterious thing,” Lutkevich added cryptically. “It will slowly… uh, illuminate itself though,” he finished with a laugh. The single paints its creator waking up “full of hate, trying to wipe my past away”, assumedly unsure if a light even exists at all. Coupled with ornate children’s book art that Lutkevich “pieced together” himself and it’s not hard to conclude that these burdens have been carried over the years. “I think the whole narrative scope of this EP leading into this cassingle leading into the album reads like a book a little bit,” he added, calling Golden “the little short story leading up to the novel.”
Golden comes with the woozy, Alex G-eying b-side “Future Sun” and, for early adopters, a handmade collage made by Lutkevich. Although the collages have already sold out, standalone cassingles are still available through Disposable America. Sorry… cassingle-ingles.
Soft Fangs is playing tonight at Out of The Blue Gallery with Horse Jumper of Love, Pits, Ian, and Puppy Problems. Stream the full cassingle below to prepare yourself:
“I was just noodling on this guitar and I came up with the basic chord structure for the song, then I started singing a little melody to it, and then Ben, his eyes kind of glazed over with fire, and he grabbed the guitar and he started shredding the part,” said one half of queer punk duo PWR BTTM on writing the band’s newest single, “Dairy Queen,” in an interview.
The band’s playful lyrics about taking success one step at a time, overlaid on an unbearably catchy riff, foretell great things for their forthcoming album, out September 18 on Father/Daughter and Miscreant Records, and provide an excellent companion piece in the meantime for their first (also excellent) single, “Ugly Cherries.” Listen to “Dairy Queen” below, and pre-order the album here.
Slept on getting your tickets to the Girlpool show on October 6 at the Middle East? Apparently, you’re not alone, and apparently, you’re in luck, because a second show was just added for October 5, also at the Middle East. The October 5 show will also feature local heroes IAN – and that lineup alone should get your lazy ass promptly to the ticket booth, because we have a feeling this one won’t last long, either.
There seems to be a fairly lively Boston folk scene that’s begging to be heard, as evidenced by bands like The Ballroom Theives, Box Of Birds, and especially Mother Moses. Utilizing heartily plucked string instruments and sweetly sung harmonies to unleash their narrative lyrics, Mother Moses embraces the core of folk music.
Rollicking melodies create a lighthearted and buoyant EP in From The Ground, which you can stream right here. The lengthy tracks give the listener enough time to become truly immersed in From The Ground, feeling more like a full-length album than an EP. A full-length EP, if you will. With one album under their belt, this isn’t our first taste of Mother Moses, but it is a sizable sampler of their sound if “folk rock” still doesn’t sound enticing to you. Though heavier on the folk than the rock, the delightfully ethereal songs on From The Ground offer an introduction to the lighter side of the Boston music scene.
“New Mothers” is simple in structure, and yet as such, probably the most chilling. “When we wander we aren’t lost,” harmonize vocalists Jon Cox and Ellen Shultz. And so many of us are lost in this world–but From The Ground offers a sonal map to guide you, at least for a little while.
You can stream the album below. And be sure to head out to Out Of The Blue Too on August 17th for the EP release show. The second half of the EP is due out in six months, slated to make a full album when put together.
BIRN is a radio station run by students at Berklee that aims to supply music to the community within Berklee as well as the surrounding areas. Articles from BIRN are part of our Community Partner initiative. Meet BIRN and learn more about them here.
—
Song of the Week:
PDX Pop Now! is an annual music festival held in Portland, Oregon. In celebration of all the acts being from Portland, this all-volunteer, not-for-profit organization produced a double album compilation of some of Portand’s best bands. The compilation, also titled, PDX Pop Now!, consists of 40 tracks but there is one that I want to single out, Old Wave’s song Indigo. I always enjoy when songs are able to include non-cheesy, rhythmic hand-clapping. This very indie, flower child song uses simplicity in the best way. There is minimal instrumentation but a lot of arrangement which creates the interest. Singer, Adam Brock conveys a layed back, relaxed atmosphere with his voice. Check this tune out when you need to relax and simplify your life.
Check out the video for “Indigo” by Old Wave:
Album of the Week:
Nattali Rize & Notis’ new album, New Era Frequency, is full of catchy hooks and reggae beats that will induce heavy head bobbing. This album was created after Rize spent most of 2014 in Jamaica, collaborating with Notis, a Jamaican live band and group of producers. This team of musicians and producers use a combination of electronic and acoustic instruments to create a refreshing sound in the reggae scene. Combined with the tone in Rize’s voice, which is very similar to early Rihanna, the band creates a sound worth listening to. With only nine tracks, this album is short but sweet. Listening to all of the tracks won’t be difficult. Make sure to check out Generations Will Rize (Ft. Kabaka Pyramid) and Rebel Love (Ft. Zuggu Dan).
– Zoe Mitchell
——–
Album of the Week
Lianne La Havas is back with her second full length release, “Blood.” The album showcases her effortless vocals that bring to mind the intensity of Chaka Khan, with a tone as smooth as Ms. Lauryn Hill. La Havas is an eclectic song-writer. Songs like the first single off the record, “What You Don’t Do,” is danceable, yet tastefully produced. The song creates an overwhelming feeling of happiness and sounds like an homage to the days of Aretha Franklin with the attitude and an attention to lyrics like Amy Winehouse. A change in the mood is lead by tracks like “Tokyo,” a song with a haunting sense of soul that is near impossible to turn off. Check out the new music video for “Unstoppable” here.
-Liz Klammer
—————-
Video of the Week:
Emily King stopped by the BIRN to perform an acoustic version of the title track to her new release, “The Switch.”
***p.s. Listen to the BIRN for your chance to win tickets to see Ed Sheeran at Gillette Stadium on September 25th!
—
Allston Pudding is giving the community a voice, right here on our site. Community Partners will provide content showcasing for you the best and brightest of their niche. If you are a Boston business that would like to partner with Allston Pudding, shoot us a note. Let’s talk. You can view our other Community Partners here.
Bedroom-music lo-fi favorite Alex G has just announced a new album, to be called Beach Music, that the young singer-songwriter will release via Domino on October 9. Since beginning to release copious amounts of music online during his time as a Temple University student in Philly, Alex G has gone on to release a full-length sleeper hit in DSU which gained him a devoted indie following throughout the East Coast circuit and beyond.
The singer’s music has been hailed as 2015’s DIY answer to the likes of Elliott Smith, full of quiet emotion and bristling self-awareness at once – and his new single seems to follow in that vein. Listen to the new single, “Bug” below, and pre-order the album here.
Remember last week when we had that freak hail storm? Well while you were snapchatting and making classic “AWWW HAIL NAWW” tweets, I was trying to mask the terrifying sound, hoping Ne-Hi‘s Jason Balla wouldn’t notice and ask me if I was under fire. Balla is hanging out at home in Humbodlt Park in Chicago, gearing up for tour, and safe from golf-ball sized ice.
Ne-Hi is a no-frills guitar driven indie rock band with deep roots in Chicago. Being revered by the Chicago Tribune and selling out hometown shows regularly, it’s time for them to hit the road. While Ne-Hi is being spotted by the likes of Stereogum and NME, Balla said, “It’s exciting! I mean when I go on and see our photo on the homepage between Eminem and Jay-Z, it’s pretty funny and surreal, but so cool.” He may be even more psyched about the fact that the band just got their first van, which they are hoping to name during this tour.
With their new van, Ne-Hi is bringing some Midwestern charm on the road in tow and is particularly excited about this stop in Boston. “I’ve always been really impressed with Boston’s local scene. It’s known to be this really great community of talent and everyone is so supportive through the local scene,” Balla said. According to him, Chicago misses out on the perks of the small city-wide radius that Boston has. “In Chicago we have scenes that are very separate and spread apart from one another, we have the bar scene separate from the house show scene, separate from the hardcore scene…we don’t have the same closeness that Boston has.”
Ne-Hi originally brought the four (Jason Balla, Alex Otake, Mikey Wells, and James Weir) together to score a film for a mutual friend. Balla, Wells, and Weir all were roommates/hall-mates in college. While the notion to start a band with the guy who lives down the hall is common, having it work out to the point where you’re being written about internationally is anything but. The four have created a lo-fi sound equally fit for dirty garages as for beaches. The jangly guitar lines are basically irresistible so grab a ticket for this Thursday at Great Scott and welcome Ne-Hi into Boston with open arms. If you want to go that extra mile, bring a bottle of Topo Chico over for Balla, it’ll make his day.
Ne-Hi w/ sturgeon Thursday, August 13 Great Scott 1222 Commonwealth Ave. 9:00 p.m. – 18+ – $10
Ten years into their career together, Delta Spirit continue to assert themselves as an indie rock force. The five piece, originally formed in Southern California, has album after album put together an inspiring sound that splits the difference between folk and rock, making songs that are equal parts soothing and driving with consistently illustrative lyrics to match. Though never quite making it into the mainstream (despite their music being featured in every TV show from Sons of Anarchy to The Walking Dead to the final scene of Friday Night Lights), their following has remained incredibly strong, while the release of last year’s LP Into the Wide saw possibly their highest critical praise to date.
To celebrate the tenth anniversary, the band is heading out on a brief tour of more intimate venues, which they’re billing as “An Evening with Delta Spirit and Friends.” We talked to lead singer and guitarist Matt Vasquez in advance of their two shows this week at The Sinclair about balancing family life with band life, his forthcoming solo material and what we can expect from these special sets.
Allston Pudding: Delta Spirit has operated out of both Los Angeles and Brooklyn, and you live in Austin now. Would you say location influences your songwriting?
Matt Vasquez: Absolutely. Living in Austin has been an inspiration for me. It’s the place I grew up, it’s where I went through puberty, it’s where I smoked pot for the first time, did stupid things with my friends. Now I’m an adult and it’s still beautiful and it still feels really magical. It’s a crazy place. My wife and I moved there this last August and we’re getting ready to have a baby, so that’s pretty inspiring and mind-folding!
AP: Speaking of babies, you guys are hitting a point in your career when you’re starting to settle down! For a band that’s prided themselves on their touring schedule and live shows, has that made you reevaluate the way you plan tours?
MV: I married a pretty special person- well, we all did. People who understand us and what we need to be ourselves. They’ve been nothing but supportive. But we try to time it out right. Usually have them meet us whenever we’re out and traveling around. That certainly helps with things. Also, being in the 21st century with video chat really helps.
AP: “Throw your idols into the sea/ dreamers get your own dream,” is one of the standout lyrics on your last album Into the Wide (From “Language of the Dead”). Would you say that sentiment is part of your mentality as a band?
MV: Definitely. I think when you start doing anything creative the first thing you do is impersonate those that you love. The trick of it is to impersonate as many different people as possible until you start figuring out what your own voice is, and once you figure out what your own voice is you’ve gotta follow that. Of course, you’ve got to find your own person in the songs. That’s what that song’s about really. Impersonating Bob Dylan is like impersonating Jack Kerouac or Hemingway as a writer. It’s inevitable that you’re going to touch on those things, but trying to find your own voice is a lot better than chasing and floating along with the fads.
AP: I hear you’ve got a solo album already finished. Can you tell us anything about it?
MV: Yeah! I played almost everything on it except a couple of drum tracks. Everything was done in three takes and it was just fun. It was an art project to me and I just wanted to play some rock and roll.
AP: I heard “Missing Teeth” and thought it was a great change of pace.
MV: Oh, that’s not even on it! That was a jam that was completely improvised between Loren Humphrey of Guards and James Richardson of MGMT. The three of us were in New York and just fucking around and I thought it was just such a cool little thing so I put it up on the internet!
The album kind of has that vibe though. The tone of the engineering sound. The musicality is also very similar.
AP: These shows are being billed as “An Evening with Delta Spirit and Friends.” What’s going to set them apart from other Delta Spirit shows?
MV: They’re going to be much more intimate, considering the venue choice. We’ll have Jessica Lea Mayfield with us and Scott McMicken from Dr. Dog. We’re gonna play stripped down, more singer-songwriterey versions of our songs.
AP: This year marks the band’s tenth anniversary. Where would you like to see Delta Spirit at fifteen?
MV: Rich, but not famous!
AP: Is there any new material in the cards for Delta Spirit?
MV: That’s why I made a bunch of solo stuff, so I can have a little bit more time to write new songs for the band. I’ve been writing a lot lately and Kelly (Winrich) has a bunch of songs in the hopper so getting ready to experiment with the new sounds of the new record after my son shows up… from the ether.
You can catch An Evening with Delta Spirit and Friends this Thursday, 8/13, and Friday, 8/14 at The Sinclair. Friday’s show is sold out, but you can still cop tickets for Thursday right here.
The Lawn on D has been doing a great job stepping into the role of Boston’s vibrant outdoor venue. And now they just stepped up their game, announcing the first ever BEAN Festival set to take place on Saturday, August 22nd from 12PM-10PM. They also released its full live artist lineup that is aimed towards showcasing and celebrating Boston’s own homegrown up-and-coming young musical artists. The entirety of the city and its surrounding areas are all covered with this music festival.
Highlights of the lineup include favorites like Vundabar, Michael Christmas, and Funeral Advantage. Did we also mention that the festival is completely free? Check out the full lineup and schedule for all the action below and get excited.
