Al Harper has been a part of the San Francisco DIY scene for years now, often working with noisy lo-fi projects like Tony Jay and Eternal Drag. She’s set to follow up here solo debut with The Analemma Observation League, due out February 23 via Take a Turn Records, and she just shared the second single “Plaster of Paris.”
Last year saw the release of You Can Do It All, introducing Cusp to a wider audience, the songs equal parts muscular and gorgeous, heartfelt but heavy. Everything about it was well-crafted, Jen Bender’s memorable songwriting the spark. That spark grows ever brighter on Thanks So Much, due out March 15th, a triumphantly defining moment.
The NYC super crew are back with their first full length in six years. Zenith No Effects is out May 10 via Gentle Reminder, Home Late, and Intellectual Birds Records. “Play it Cool,” is a tense and subdued number a few simmering moments from boil. It never quite bubbles over, leaving the listener with a collage of agitation and unease.
Throughout their career, Spiritualized has transformed psychedelic rock. They’ve taken seemingly small steps in re-shaping the standard formulas and they’ve taken big leaps into the unknown. At that, their best albums usually include both. That’s exactly what was happening on their fifth album Amazing Grace, newly reissues last month.
All in My Head, the latest EP from the Maggie Denning led NYC quartet Tetchy, continues to cement them as one of the more creative and fun punk bands around. As a songwriter Denning continues to examine and attack life with equal amounts of passion and fury, unleashing strengths and a new level of depth.
Art-rockers Godcaster, based in Brooklyn, have blessed the ears of underground music fans with their self-titled sophomore album. The sextet comprised of Bruce Ebersol, Judson Kolk, Jan Fontana, Von Kolk, David McFaul, and Ryan West have captured their theatrical and chaotic energy on this record, transcending any of their other work.
Following last year’s excellent BUBBLE (billed as a “mixtape” upon release), the band return with a new proper album, their third full length, Total Reality. Due out April 19th via Marthouse Records and Erste Theke Tontraeger, it’s fair to say that each successive DSUP record is better than the last, and they’ve definitely upped the ante.
The Austin-based trio make bilingual no-wave that is unsettlingly anxious but also life-affirming and necessary. Their debut album, Smell of Money, is pervaded by pounding riffs, staticky, screeching guitars, and entrancing vocals. The music is challenging and rewarding and extremely singular in the current landscape.
Sometimes it’s the songs with the least intentionality that have the biggest impact. Let loose and see what happens. That would appear to be the case with “Nail Biter,” the latest single from Cor de Lux. Originally recorded during the band’s sessions for last year’s Media LP, they scrapped it without much intention on releasing it.
Over the span of a decade there’s been some refinement and what was once masked in acid-fried tape hiss and awash in caterwauling guitars has become distilled into something cleaner, yet every bit as strong. David Nance & Mowed Sound is the next chapter of an already essential story, an evolution of his penchant for country subversion.
Toronto’s cootie catcher are set to tour across Canada this Friday. The band has a pair of hometown shows tonight and tomorrow with a brand new track to boot. “Sound Out the Vowels” is cootie catcher’s latest single for The Cooked Raw Label and the best way for new listeners to dive into the band’s playful and colorful discography.
This is not an album of hope because these are rarely hopeful times, rather Buice’s aim seems to be catharsis by way of some of the most inventive noise rock this year. Their sound is a hurricane of angular guitars, crushing bass, and rapid-fire drums, with bass player/lead singer Hayden Locke's voice echoing out across the storm.
Toronto punk outfit Life In Vacuum have a full dance card for 2024 so far. Later this month, the Canada-by-Ukraine trio set out for a great big North American tour; a multi-coast trek you don’t see too often nowadays. Before they hit the road, the band has shared their latest ripper “Soul Crusher” via the always reliable Born Losers Records.
Mary Jane Dunphe’s debut has been a long time coming, the musician and poet has been making waves within the underground for the better part of a decade. Dunphe’s voice has appeared across a swathe of cult acts, always sounding as impressive as it is unique. Yet on her debut, Dunphe sounds her most fully formed and brilliant yet.
Aunt Katrina’s Hot, out via Pittsburgh label Crafted Sounds, feels like letting loose after hours, blasting music over the office intercom and sneaking your friends in to dance. It’s all the marshmallows in the bowl of Lucky Charms that stick in your teeth, with its Y2K computer game nostalgia and sweaty danciness.
