Get To Know: Almas Fronterizas
(photo: Jaimes Rodriguez, styled by J.C. Luna of Barrio Dandy) Almas Fronterizas is a band out of Oakland. They mostly sing in Spanish, but please don't use that to try to pigeonhole them into...anything. They've created their own genre and it's some of the most unique and goddamn cool music I've heard in 2018. Their visuals for "El Barrio" couldn't be more perfect — it's a great introduction to the trio. Trust me, you need this band in your life: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JolNoB73wAI Their most recent release, the Rosa Tropical EP, is available on vinyl via Bandcamp. Get your taste of the [...]
SOB x RBE announces debut album ‘Gangin’
SOB x RBE, one of the most exciting new hip-hop groups in the country, much less the Bay, just announced the release of their debut proper album Gangin, set for a February 23 release. They also contributed a song to the Kendrick Lamar-curated Black Panther soundtrack that will be out February 9. On the hook-less lead single from Gangin, "Carpoolin'," DaBoii sets the tone with the intensity you'd expect from him, while Yhung TO showcases his improving rap skills on the second half. SOB x RBE will perform at the Fox in Oakland March 17 followed by a West Coast [...]
Shannon and the Clams share three videos ahead of ‘Onion’ release
In case you haven't noticed, it turns out Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys loves the Bay. He's signed two fantastic Bay Area bands to his label Easy Eye Sound — Sonny Smith is releasing Rod for your Love in March and Shannon and the Clams is releasing Onion February. To get you ready, Shannon and the Clams has released a trio of videos for the songs "Did You Love Me," "Backstreets," and "The Boy." As you'd expect, the songs are a delight and the visuals are all wildly different, yet exactly what Shannon and the Clams videos should be. [...]
Video: Dead to Me, “Fear is the New Bliss”
The unpredictable and ever-evolving SF punk band Dead To Me are gearing up to release their long-awaited LP American Son of Cholo this year. With original singer and guitarist Jack Dalrymple rejoining the ranks in 2016, they gave fans a taste of what to come with the brutally honest EP I Wanna Die in Los Angeles. The release date for the LP is still unannounced, but check out the video for the first single "Fear is the New Bliss" in the meantime. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fp0X-U_0OBQ Check them out as they wrap up their West Coast tour in San Francisco next month. Dead to [...]
Ezra Furman returns with ‘Transangelic Exodus’
The great Berkeley musician Ezra Furman returns in February with the follow-up to 2015's beloved Perpetual Motion People. Judging from the two videos below, Transangelic Exodus (out 2/9 on Bella Union) looks like it's going to be another winning collection of smart, ultra-catchy indie rock-pop songs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7bhgtixLOU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QX8CiG4aRLo Ezra's also got a ton of tour dates over the next several months. Ezra Furman Tour Dates: 02/25 - St. Louis, MO - Blueberry Hill Duck Room 02/26 - Chicago, IL - Thalia Hall 02/27 - Indianapolis, IL - HI Fi 02/28 - Columbus, OH - Ace of Cups 03/03- Toronto, ON [...]
Video: Monophonics deliver soulful cover of “My Heart Cries”
Local psychedelic soul titan Monophonics has a new EP, Mirrors, coming February 15. The six-song set of covers finds the band digging into and reinterpreting a number of their influences. Below, check out a video of the band's cover of the Invicibles' "My Heart Cries," featuring stellar lead vocals from local jazz singer Tiffany Austin. Monophonics is about to embark on a month-long tour — check out those dates below as well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PG107nMMCeo Monophonics Tour Dates: 02/06 – Eugene, OR – HiFi Music Hall 02/07 – Bend, OR – Volcanic Theatre Pub 02/08 – Bellingham, WA – Wild Buffalo 02/09 [...]
Bicontinental band Dry Erase plays the Knockout Friday night
Oakland's Rob Miller is always doing something you should know about. As the brain behind Vacant Stare Records, he's introduced us to loads of new local bands. You can spot him on guitar with newly-minted Hardly Art signee (and Vacant Stare Alumnus) Dick Stusso, and let him bring you down in beautiful ways fronting his project Mall Walk. And that just wasn't enough, so Rob started yet another project, Dry Erase, who released their debut almost a year ago. Rob describes the trio best: [Dry Erase] is a recording project I started early last year with Kyle Day of Beekeepers [...]
Pink Pigs have all your party essentials in “Hell On Earth” video
It's time to party with Pink Pigs. Pink Pigs is the project of veteran SF drummer Andrew Skewes-Cox, who has held down drums for acts like Rin Tin Tiger and King Willow. "Hell on Earth" is made up of a thrashy-thrashy kind of rock and roll. The world has gotten a bit more serious as of late, so it's refreshing to watch some friends kick back to a soundtrack of good, solid shredding. Pink Pigs is playing at El Rio tomorrow with Rebel Rebel and Space Banquet. If this video is any indication, it'll be the best time you've had [...]
Video: Sonny Smith and Angel Olsen team up for “Burnin’ Love”
The great Sonny Smith, leader of SF's Sonny & the Sunsets, has a new album, his tenth studio LP, arriving this March. Rod For Your Love was produced by the Black Keys' Dan Auerbach, and it's coming out on Auerbach's new label, Easy Eye Sound. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0k14x79cq0 Above, check out Sonny Smith's new video for "Burnin' Love," a duet with Angel Olsen. Sonny has a bunch of mostly West Coast dates coming up in the next few months, and you can find those below. January 18 /// Chicago, IL /// Tomorrow Never Knows Festival @ Schuba’s February 2 /// San Francisco, [...]
OMB Peezy and Yhung TO (from SOB x RBE) are too cold on “Talk My Shit”
What starts as a few pensive chords turns into a funk rather quickly from Sacramento (by way of Bay Area) rapper OMB Peezy's latest video, "Talk My Shit." Yhung T.O. of SOB x RBE fame counters Peezy's squeaky rhymes with his own cool vocal chops for the hook. Though the two have widely different syles, the rubbery G-funk-inspired track is irresistible to bounce to. Off his latest project, Humble Beginnings Peezy, a signee on E-40's Sick Wid it Records, has been referred to as a regional heavy-hitter and if he keeps partnering up with fellow young gunners from the local [...]