DC LIVE: Oh Pep! / Broncho / Fear of Men

Posted on by poetryinanemptycokecan

broncho

June is a busy month for shows, so we’ve got a new installment of DC Live for you today. The first band we’re featuring is a group called Oh Pep! that hails from Melbourne, Australia. The duo, headed by Olivia Hally (guitar/vocals) and Pepita Emmerichs (fiddle/mandolin) have a hybrid sound of folk and pop that has won the praises of NPR‘s Bob Boilen and KCRW. For a taste of what they have to offer, listen to the second single “Bushwick” off their forthcoming debut album Stadium Cake, which drops June 24 via Dualtone.

With a tireless year of touring ahead, the DMV will have not one but two chances to see them this summer — first at Wolf Trap opening for Lord Huron June 7, and then headlining at Jammin Java on July 7. Get hip to Oh Pep! now.

Next is a garage-rock band that originates from Norman, Oklahoma, has two albums under their belt and has seen a surge in popularity over the last few years. That’s right, BRONCHO is back with a new record, Double Vanity slated to release June 10 via Dine Alone Records. While the group is known for their unbridled, early punk influenced sound, the new album marks a shift in tone towards a sleeker, darker, and broodier vibe. Case in point, the track “I Know You” is a mellow, but still gritty late-night song — the kind you play when the party is winding down.

BRONCHO will be playing DC9 on June 25.

Finally, Fear of Men will be bringing their stoic, dark synthpop sounds to DC9 on June 30. For those unfamiliar, Fear of Men is a three-piece band based out of Brighton, UK, whose second full-length Fall Forever came out June 3 via Kanine Records. Speaking on the song “Trauma,” vocalist Jessica Weiss describes the topic at hand as “the undefinable anxiety and damage that all of us suffer at some point at the hands of another. It’s how we deal with it that defines us…to me, dealing with trauma is not about looking back, it’s about taking that experience and putting it under your own control, letting it become a part of you.” It’s about “empowerment through taking control.”

Weiss couldn’t be more right about that. Listen to the single below and be sure to check out their show later this month.

RMX ROUNDUP: Jocelyn Alice + The Him / Classixx + How To Dress Well / Lindstrøm

Posted on by poetryinanemptycokecan

jocelyn-alice-the-him

We’ve got another Remix Roundup for you this week, a biweekly segment in which we bring you the latest and greatest mixes and electronic earworms currently burning up the blogosphere. First up is a rework of rising Canadian pop star Jocelyn Alice‘s hit song “Jackpot” by The Him. The Dutch producers have created an energetic edit by speeding up the tempo — using Alice’s kinetic vox (which recall those of MS MR‘s Lizzy Plapinger) to maximum effect. Look out for Alice’s debut EP to be released later this year.

We recently featured Classixx with their noteworthy cover of Natalie Prass‘ “Bird of Prey,” who in addition to fashioning remixes also craft their own material. The LA production duo have been bringing electronic music to the masses for a few years now, and this week they dropped their second album Faraway Reach via Innovative Leisure. The album includes some choice collabs, including the summery disco anthem “Just Let Go” with How To Dress Well.       Just listen below.

Closing out this edition of Remix Roundup is the new one from prolific Norwegian producer Lindstrøm, whose new EP Windings is due out July 8 through Smalltown Supersound/Feedelity Recordings. Windings seems like an apt title for an electronic artist who knows how to deftly take you on a musical odyssey or “space disco” journey as he calls it, much like his peer Todd Terje. Stream the EP’s first single “Closing Shot” below. DC locals can experience his atmospheric set at U Street Music Hall July 28.

Yumi Zouma – Keep It Close To Me

Posted on by poetryinanemptycokecan

Yumi-Zouma-Yoncalla-1-1

Yumi Zouma released their first full length May 27,  which marks the first time the international group has recorded together in one room. Although the band members call different metropolises — Auckland, Paris and New York — their home, they’ve managed to produce two EP’s in the last few years from across the globe. It’s obvious on their debut, Yoncalla, however, that working together directly has helped the synthpop act to hone their unique music stylings and reconcile their overall sound.

Elaborating in a press release, guitarist Charlie Ryder said: “Yumi Zouma has always been an exercise in refining ideas and collaborating, but this was the first time we weren’t limited or protected by distance. With Yoncalla, the process was different, and it can be scary to present raw ideas to your friends — but it’s also incredible to see songs evolve through the sparks of inspiration that bounce between people in the same room.”

The breezy lead single “Keep It Close To Me” is probably the most accessible track the group has put out to date. Check it out below and if you’re in the DC area, be sure to catch them live at DC9 June 8 with support from Color Palette.

Arthur Beatrice – Every Cell

Posted on by poetryinanemptycokecan

unnamed (14)

Another band out of the UK making wonderfully bucolic, indie folk is Arthur Beatrice, who celebrate the release of new album Keeping The Peace via Open Assembly Recordings/Polydor Records today. The quartet collaborated with the London Contemporary Orchestra on their sophomore effort to make an inspired work of contemporary pop that manages to feel grand and yet still intimate.

Regarding the raw honesty of the record, vocalist Ella Girardot writes: “Putting yourself and your emotions out there for people to hear can be a terrifying thing, so at times we tended to hide behind words and pristine production. That had to change, because music, for us, above everything, is a release; an escape from an internal battle. A kind of therapy. But it’s impossible to find without brutal honesty. And real honesty is hard, it’s uncomfortable, it’s raw and at times it’s pretty painful, but it’s necessary and at the end of it all you feel that release, that calm.”

Well said. Get a taste of the radiant effort with “Every Cell” below. If you dig it you can purchase Keeping The Peace directly through the band’s website: http://www.online-presence.info.

The Staves – Sleeping In A Car

Posted on by poetryinanemptycokecan

13119938_1238820529476276_7576446621488550509_o

Three sisters Emily, Jessica, and Camilla Staveley-Taylor aka The Staves have followed up their 2014 LP If I Was with a new three-song EP entitled Sleeping In A Car. The UK trio make mellifluous, British folk music with rich harmonies and lovely layered arrangements. The new EP, released this month was recorded in London as well as Justin Vernon’s studio in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, where they also recorded their previous album.

“These songs reflect the transient nature of travelling,” the sisters said in a press release. “Fleeting moments, like a slide show—reflections in car windows, streetlights passing in rhythm, stolen phone calls, late nights. Feelings of displacement and a disconnect — living in some sort of alternate state of reality. But underneath it all is the feeling of adventure and making your own rules and how dizzying and freeing that can be.”

Having previously supported Bon Iver and Florence & the Machine, the sisters are now setting out on a headline tour this summer, which includes a stop at DC’s Rock & Roll Hotel June 20. Watch the video for new song “Sleeping In A Car,” stream older effort “Steady” and scope out their full tour schedule below.

Upcoming 2016 Tour Dates:

06/03 Minneapolis, MN @ Cedar Cultural Center
06/04 Madison, WI @ High Noon Saloon
06/05 Milwaukee, WI @ Club Garibaldi
06/06 Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
06/08 Pontiac, MI @ The Pike Room at the Crofoot
06/09 Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace
06/10 Montreal, QC @ Bar Le Ritz PDB
06/14 London, UK @ Meltdown Festival
06/16 New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
06/17 Brooklyn, NY @ Baby’s All Right
06/17-18 Dover, DE @ Firefly Festival
06/20 Washington, DC @ Rock and Roll Hotel
06/21 Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle Back Room
06/23 Atlanta, GA @ Smith’s Olde Bar
06/24 Nashville, TN @ The High Watt
06/25 St. Louis, MO @ Off Broadway
06/26 Kansas City, MO @ Riot Room
07/08 Winnipeg, MB @ Winnipeg Folk Festival
07/22 Newport, RI @ Newport Folk Festival
08/12-13 Eau Claire, WI @ Eaux Claires Festival

James Blake – Timeless

Posted on by poetryinanemptycokecan

blake802

It may be premature, but we’re willing to take our chances and declare James Blake‘s new LP The Colour In Anything an early contender for album of the year. The much accoladed UK singer and musician, known for his metallic electronic minimalism has outdone himself on the new record released earlier this month — composed of 17 no-filler tracks over the span of 76 minutes. With songwriting and production credits from Justin Vernon, Rick Rubin, Frank Ocean, and NZ’s Connan Mockasin, Blake’s third LP might be the magnum opus of his R&B inflected, nu-gospel catalog. Rather than the myriad of contributors making his music sound disjointed, there’s a continuity between the tracks that tethers the effort into one stunning, cohesive piece. His signature spacious and quietly majestic production is still at the forefront of the project, with his soulful, sumptuous pipes reigning supreme.

The deeply moving album plays out like a devotional oeuvre, tackling well-trodden themes such as love lost and grief, but with an introspection, emotional maturity, and eventual acceptance that makes these subjects well worth the re-immersion. Little known fact, Kanye West was actually supposed to contribute to the track “Timeless,” but in the end wasn’t able to make it work. Regardless, the song is still true to its epithet.

Stream “Timeless” and album opener “Radio Silence” below — and then we implore you to listen to the album in its resplendent entirety.

Monopol – Somebody That I’ll Never Be

Posted on by poetryinanemptycokecan

monopol

As the producer of G-Eazy‘s hit track “My, Myself & I” and a myriad of other projects, Christoph Andersson clearly has a knack for crisp production. This week he’s releasing his debut EP under his new solo project Monopol. The lead single from the EP “Somebody That I’ll Never Be” is an admirable electropop song that hooks you right from the opening synth spikes.

All the more admirable when you consider that it was written during a massive rainstorm in the middle of a jungle in Nicaragua, according to Andersson. Symptomatic of more than just a physical storm, “It’s a song about the desperation of trying to salvage a dying relationship,” he explains. Listen below and check out Monopol’s eponymous EP, out May 13.

Young Magic – Lucien

Posted on by poetryinanemptycokecan

unnamed (6)

New York experimental-pop duo Young Magic, comprised of Melati Malay and Isaac Emmanuel are getting ready to drop their new album Still Life as they head out on tour to support Yeasayer. Inspired by the native culture of Malay’s birthplace of Indonesia, the new record is a cultural tribute to the singer’s roots. Take for example the LP’s lead single “Lucien” — the video for which was based on the Balinese holiday known as Nyepi.

In Malay’s words: “There is a day called Nyepi or ‘Day of Silence’ where no one leaves the house because it’s believed bad spirits fly over the island. They burn effigies of their monsters (Ogoh Ogoh) and then everyone hides indoors for 24 hours. It’s incredible, the streets are completely empty. I’m not sure if these ghosts still follow me in New York, but making ‘Lucien’ was my way to make an effigy of my own Ogoh Ogoh, and then burn it to the ground.”

Symbolic, to say the least. Still Life will be out May 13 on Carpark Records, and is available for pre-order here. If you’re planning on seeing Yeasayer at 9:30 Club May 16, make sure you get there early enough to see Young Magic cast their incantations in person.

WEIRDO – BUTTER

Posted on by poetryinanemptycokecan

12356824_1025818984126375_6357290468709093260_o

WEIRDO made their enigmatic debut on the internet a couple months ago with the delightfully weird track, “BUTTER.” The mysterious man behind the project is a British songwriter/producer based in Germany, who’s been involved in various other projects and as a result is choosing to remain below the fold for now. On the name choice, WEIRDO says, “I’ve always been weird, I’ve always been told I’m a strange one, and I think within my coming of age I’ve learnt to embrace it and project it with my art.” We’re for one glad he’s found an avenue for his singularity, as “BUTTER” is an ultra fresh sounding pop number — glowing with ’80s synths, playful vocals and even a xylophone solo.

Get down with this groove below and look out for a future WEIRDO EP.

Billie Marten – Milk & Honey

Posted on by poetryinanemptycokecan

billie-marten-milk-honey

At the tender age of eight, Billie Marten was given her first guitar and wrote her first ‘proper’ song after having learned four chords from her father. Eight years later — upon being bred on influences such as Laura Marling, David Bowie, Portishead and Loudon Wainwright — the young singer-songwriter from Yorkshire has already made her debut appearance at SXSW and been lauded for her musical abilities. Her new single “Milk & Honey,” released on Chess Club Records is a beatific ballad about greed — specifically, “the thoughts that we’re all sort of stuck in this consumerist frame of mind” explains Marten. Stream via Spotify below.