Check out ‘Leisure,’ the debut LP from Oakland’s Marbled Eye
Since 2016, Oakland's Marbled Eye has been crafting tightly wound post-punk over a couple of EPs, and the band just released its first full length, Leisure, on Digital Regress. The band's sound includes a relentless two-guitar attack and a driving rhythm section that add up to some remarkably strong songs. You can stream the entire LP in full below. Leisure LP by Marbled Eye Check out all of the dates on the band's upcoming Leisure Tour 2018, which is bookended by a show at the Octopus Literary Salon and a set at the Rickshaw Stop opening for Exploded View and [...]
Listen to RAYS’ new jangle-pop gem “Yesterday’s Faces”
RAYS' self-titled debut was one of 2017's highlights. The band's recently debuted "Yesterday's Faces," a wonderful two-minute slice of jangly pop, indicates that the upcoming You Can Get There From Here will be another winner. Now a quintet with the addition of keyboardist Britta Leijonflycht, the Bay Area band exists at the intersection of indie pop, punk, and post-punk, and Trouble in Mind Records suggests that the new album will draw more heavily from the outsider pop of acts like Television Personalities and Cleaners From Venus. You Can Get There From Here by RAYS Catch Rays at The Knockout on [...]
Tim Cohen announces new solo album ‘The Modern World’
The great Tim Cohen (of The Fresh & Onlys and Magic Trick) just announced a new solo album. The Modern World comes out on Sinderlyn on September 28, and it's a self-recorded effort that finds Cohen playing all of the instruments (save some drums and horns) as well. Below, check out "Goodness," the first single from the new record. According to the artist: "Like many of my songs, 'Goodness' spills forth as a plea of sorts. A mixture between happy and sad. A contented malaise. Throw in the dissonant synth stabs over the sing-along chorus. It just feels like goodness [...]
Grex draws inspiration from ’60s psych on ‘Electric Ghost Parade’
Experimental art-rock duo Grex — guitarist Karl A.D. Evangelista and keyboardist Rei Scampavia — draws inspiration from '60s psych sounds on the new Electric Ghost Parade LP, which comes out later this month. Joined by a variety of brass and woodwind musicians in the studio, the two songs on display below offer a wide-ranging and excitingly unpredictable sound. Electric Ghost Parade by Grex Grex is currently on tour in support of Electric Ghost Parade. After crossing the US, the band returns to the Bay for a show at the Fireside Lounge in Alameda on July 20. Grex, IMA, Qualia, Orchestra [...]
‘Commerce’ offers new electronic sounds from San Francisco trio INHALT
Commerce is the third EP from SF's INHALT, out now on local label Dark Entries Records. Recorded over the last several years, the new work incorporates classic and modern drum machines and synths alongside vocals sung in German. If you're a fan of big, rhythmic electronic sounds, check out "Alles," from the new EP, below. Just don't expect something flighty and shallow. Per the press release, the release explores "the psychopathy of relentless thirst mandated by neo-liberalism and traverses to the adoption of social technologies that strengthen domination via self enslavement to disempowerment." Weighty stuff!
Cruel Diagonals preps debut LP of experimental compositions
Oakland's Megan Mitchell wears many musical hats, as a field recorder and audio archivist, as the publisher of the Many Many Women index of women/trans/non-binary composers, as a DJ, and as a musician recording and performing as Cruel Diagonals. Mitchell's debut Cruel Diagonals LP, Disambiguation, comes out in July, and you can listen to a first preview, "Render Arcane," below. As you'll hear on the song, the artist adeptly draws from ambient and experimental forms to create a rhythmic, captivating composition. Disambiguation by Cruel Diagonals Disambiguation comes out on Drawing Room Records on July 13, 2018.
With “Heartbreaker,” Ah Mer Ah Su delivers summer-ready electronic pop
Last year, Ah Mer Ah Su — the musical identity of Oakland's Star Amerasu — released one of the year's best EPs, Rebecca, featuring the heartbreaking "Klonopin." Her newest single, "Heartbreaker," is more upbeat, but certainly has a little melancholy alongside the ultra-catchy electronic pop. "Heartbreaker" comes from the forthcoming album Star, which was produced by Peaches collaborator Vice Cooler. Amerasu discussed the upcoming album's themes in a recent interview with Paper: The whole album is really an exploration of what it means to be Black, trans, femme, and young, and having real problems. I think the problem is that [...]
Get excited for ‘Explorer’ with new music from Con Brio
After releasing a stellar, soulful cover of "Heart-Shaped Box" last month, Bay Area favorite Con Brio has dropped a couple more singles from their upcoming sophomore album, Explorer. "Too Lit 2 Quit" is inspired by MC Hammer, who saw Con Brio perform at the Fillmore back in 2016. "I Wanna" is a dance floor-ready dedication to life and love. Both songs sound great, and will likely crush when the group performs live. Con Brio's Explorer comes out in July on Transistor Sound. The band also has a bunch of summer tour dates coming up, from Healdsburg to the Netherlands. Check [...]
‘bathed water moon’ collects new dream pop from There’s Talk
bathed water moon is a new 7"/EP from Oakland dream-pop trio There's Talk that comes out February 23. If you like lush, expansive, synth-driven music, you'll really enjoy the two tracks that are streamable below. bathed water moon by There's Talk
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 [...]