Posts Tagged ‘Philadelphia’

SHEER MAG – ” III “

Posted: December 18, 2016 in MUSIC
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In the past two years, Philadelphia arena-rock punks Sheer Mag have put out three EPs elucidating the myriad ways in which Thin Lizzy’s “Jailbreak” can be integrated into the Go Go’s “We Got The Beat” in order to create new wondrous rock and roll songs. Admittedly, Sheer Mag hasn’t been the most prolific band, though a full-length is supposedly on the way in 2017 . but creating 12 tunes this perfectly chunky and ripping is a lot harder than it sounds. On III. Sheer Mag didn’t quite top its best-ever song, 2015’s “Fan The Flames,” but the group did produce its most consistent EP, demonstrating new-found vulnerability on the kinda-ballad “Worth The Tears” to balance out the one that stomps like an S.O.B. (“Can’t Stop Fighting”), the one that swings like an S.O.B. (“Night Isn’t Bright”), and the one that swaggers like an S.O.B. (“Nobody’s Baby”).

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SHEER MAG – ” Nobodys Baby “

Posted: December 17, 2016 in MUSIC
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DIY classic rockers Sheer Mag made their television debut on Late Night With Seth Meyers. The quintet shared a pleasant surprise in the III EP in March, and here they ripped through standout track “Nobody’s Baby.” Philly bands seem to have a simple, but infectious mentality of just getting on stage and rocking as hard as they possibly can. Sheer Mag brought that to the Late Night stage, and it made for one hell of a performance, with three purely shredding guitars and Tina Halladay’s guttural tone in command.

Sheer Mag popped up on an episode of “Late Night with Seth Meyers,” where they performed “Nobody’s Baby“ from their knockout III EP. It was the band’s television debut. 

They really brought it, with singer Tina Halladay’s emotional vocal performance one of the things about this band that comes across much better live than on record (and it still comes across pretty well on record), and the band sounds just the right amount of loose. The band just continues to have a big year. They released their third EP back in March, and soon after they played Coachella Festival .

MODERN BASEBALL – ” Holy Ghost “

Posted: December 17, 2016 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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The first album recorded by someone other than the band themselves, Modern Baseball enlisted Joe Reinhart (Hop Along, Joyce Manor) at Headroom Studios in Philadelphia to help refine their sound on Holy Ghost. In a tight 28 minutes, Holy Ghost covers an impressive emotional range, with co-songwriters Jacob Ewald and Brendan Lukens literally splitting the record in half. The record kicks off with six songs from Ewald and ends with five from Lukens. What they ended up with was a complete record of the past two years– the highs alongside the lows, tales from the road and glorious days at home alongside songs of heartbreak and personal struggle.

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This band is so honest and down-to-earth, it’s amazing. Love the vibe of the whole album.

HURRY – ” Guided Meditation “

Posted: December 17, 2016 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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When Philadelphian band Hurry expanded to a trio for 2014’ albums “Everything.Nothing”, there were two ways to view Matt Scottoline’s former solo project. A band making fuzzy, mid-fi indie rock. The other was as an offshoot of Everyone Everywhere who had released two truly outstanding albums .

Hurry’s third LP Guided Meditation sounds like a credibility bid for Scottoline’s fledgling new band. Their success is in their ability to be serious about frivolity, The difference is entirely present within a rerecorded version of “Shake It Off” which appeared on a stacked 2015 mini-Singles soundtrack for Philadelphia. Perhaps they figured since it would be associated with Taylor Swift anyways, “Shake It Off” removes anything that made the original sound bashful—the unnecessary feedback is sheared, the performance is significantly tightened, Scottoline’s vocals aren’t subject to the same fuzz as the guitars. And there you go: Hurry decided they’re really a power-pop band at heart, not indie rock.

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Regardless of how much Scottoline’s love of Yo La Tengo or Guided By Voices influenced the writing of Guided Meditation, there is more in the lineage of the Posies and Matthew Sweet, acts who would’ve been considered pure pop had they existed in a different decade.

Hurry doesn’t overcomplicate things musically—they abide by the Weezer Method that states all vocal melodies should sound good as guitar leads and that instant gratification can be replicable gratification.“Love is Elusive” cruises through six-and-a-half minutes of flanger clouds towards a sunburst of layered harmonies,

Guided Meditation can be accused of being too simplistic, too sweet and unengaged with the present. But, really: isn’t being dumb and in love the most uncomplicated state of being?  So when Scottoline sings, “I don’t even have to try when I’m with you/All the stupid things I say, you know they’re true,” it damn sure sounds like the truth.

MODERN BASEBALL – ” The Perfect Cast EP Featuring Modern Baseball “

Posted: December 8, 2016 in MUSIC
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Philadelphia’s Modern Baseball has been one of the most refreshing and lovable surprises . Split into two halves and led by members Jake Ewald and Brendan Lukens respectively, their former themes of punk scene politics, fancying girls, and feeling awkward to deal primarily with personal struggles with death and depression. What sets them apart even further is the close relationship they have with their fans, from writing openly about difficult topics to consciously striving to make their live shows safe and accessible. Their remarkable ability to write nothing but great songs is what draws people in, but it’s their lack of pretense, sense of humor, and consideration that holds them close.

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Modern Baseball have evolved with every album, and this EP continues with that. They really are something special. Modern Baseball “clicked” for me a few weeks ago and now I’m hooked. This is a great step forward after the fantastic-ness that was “You’re Gonna Miss it All” .
Recorded, Mixed & Mastered in Philadelphia, PA
Produced by Modern Baseball

 

JANK – ” Versace Summer “

Posted: December 7, 2016 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Jank, the pop punk band from Philadelphia, scored a hit with their first EP, “Awkward Pop Songs”, and quickly followed up with an equally good if not better second record, “Versace Summer”. With a combination of jazz and surf rock, Jank crafts tales of everything from losing a bicycle and hoping it’s happy to the Grim Reefer, a nod to the paranoia involved with smoking weed. “If Awkward Pop Songs was Janks joke-cracking icebreaker, then Versace Summer is your fourth time hanging out with them, the point where things start to get less funny and more serious.” With it, they give listeners a sense of optimistic nihilism, creating sad songs about sad things in a way that allows fans to laugh a little at being sad. The album is full of humour always, and a crippling ability to relate to the ever so angsty teens .

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JAPANESE BREAKFAST – ” Psychopomp ” Best Albums Of 2016

Posted: December 1, 2016 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Grief hangs over Psychopomp like a dark cloud, but as the year goes on, what stands out on Michelle Zauner’s debut full-length as Japanese Breakfast are the intense moments of euphoric happiness that play out on the sidelines: the joyous high of “Everybody Wants To Love You,” “Heft”‘s glorious fuck-you to the encroaching darkness, the resolute power in the album’s closing lines, “But in the night, I am someone else.” More than a depiction of loss, Psychopomp stands as a testament to finding your strongest self in situations of monumental sadness, taking comfort in the unpredictable and unknown

Soaring vocals and dreamy instrumentals, this album has so much heart. This band knows how to translate sugary pop, rock, and folksy music into a glowing, lofi dreamscape. There is a fun blend of hooky-ness and surreal, often amusing lyricism that keeps the whole album vibrant and exciting.

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Released April 1st, 2016

“at once cosmically huge and acutely personal, Zauner captures grief for the perversely intimate yet overwhelming pain it is. Long may she keep at this music thing.” -Pitchfork ,
“a stunning debut” -Rolling Stone
“overwhelmingly colorful and joyous; while her words betray grief and frustration, she turns the pain into power.” -NPR
“Psychopomp is exemplary, finding joy in sadness and despair in the brightest of lights…It’s an immaculately crafted debut, and you should listen” -Stereogum

MANNEQUIN PUSSY – ” Romantic “

Posted: December 1, 2016 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Mannequin Pussy plays the hi-dive this week.

There’s not an album in recent memory that occupies a your head space with such clarity and potency. Mannequin Pussy’s Romantic is only 18 minutes in length but its a savage emotional whiplash, expressing the rapid-fire push and pull between external affection and internal anxiety through powerful ripcord hooks and a masterful blend of punk, pop, and hardcore that threatens to fall apart at every turn. The Philadelphia band has crafted the perfect album to put on when the voices in your head get to be overwhelming, one to turn to when those fleeting, intense moments of despair and uncertainty feel like they may never go away.

Its just brutal in a really endearing way. The band`s voice hooked me from the start. They have got an impressive range from gentle rock that showcase melodies to fast-paced, angry, angsty songs without any words at all.

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MODERN BASEBALL – ” The Wedding Singer “

Posted: December 1, 2016 in MUSIC
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Modern Baseball — Holy Ghost

’‘Holy Ghost’, Modern Baseballs third album, was a change in approach. The endearing self-deprecation is still very much apparent; the lyricism is both earnest and witty thanks to Jacob Ewald and Brendan Luken’s turn of phrase. Yet the fun that Modern Baseball have used to cut through melancholy over their last two records is missing, resulting in a darker tone. It’s ironic that while this is their first album to use an external producer (Joe Reinhart), it’s the most introverted they’ve sounded.

That’s not to say the new album isn’t great, because it is really good stuff. Modern Baseball now angle their trajectory towards the more brooding bands in their scene, like The Wonder Years, which is no surprise given their Philadelphian roots. It’s less of a celebration of adversity that finds comfort in the relatable and much more an exploration of one’s own turmoil, which is compounded in the lack of interchange between vocalist Ewald and Luken. Instead they choose to split the record in half, exacerbating their isolation and commanding the record’s tone.

Official Music Video for ‘Wedding Singer’ by Modern Baseball from the album ‘Holy Ghost’ released May 13th, 2016 on Run For Cover, Big Scary Monsters Records

SHEER MAG – ” Sheer Mag “

Posted: November 17, 2016 in MUSIC
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Sheer Mag are a force of nature and a band that are doing it on their terms. Over the last couple of years they’ve released 3 EPs on their bandcamp site with no self-promotion other than word of mouth. No social media. No Spotify. I came across them via the esteemed Steven Hyden and have downloaded all 3 of their EPs. Now those EPs are being repackaged as an LP .
For those not in the know, Sheer Mag is a quintet from Philly that plays a brand of music that is built on punk and 70s rock riffs. Fronted by Tina Halladay who’s voice is sure to become one of the dominant voices in rock.
This compilation is the appetizer for their debut LP coming in 2017. Get very excited about that.

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SHEER MAG
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ian, tina, hart, kyle, matt

Sheer Mag has a fan-made Facebook page

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