Hip-hop infused rock band RDGLDGRN are pretty badass cool in the many music videos we’ve seen from them to date, but their newest goes in a very different direction. The slower, groove-laden single “Won’t Last” soundtracks this video tribute to The Goonies, the most formative movie for anyone growing up in the 80s. While the colorful gents tour Germany in October, their second full length album drops October 9th, and you won’t even have to do the truffle shuffle to hear it.
Hometown Sounds
Showing The World How DC Rocks
Monthly Archives: September 2015
Ace Cosgrove – Burning Slums
Among the many highlights of this past weekend’s Landmark Music Festival, young rapper Ace Cosgrove stood out for an energetic and inspired performance. Despite a sore throat and early time slot, Cosgrove won many new fans rapping from the middle of the crowd while his large live band jammed onstage. While I wish that every band booked by Landmark came from our hometown, they deserve props for presenting some quality DC talent to the devoted early-goers of the festival, especially Ace Cosgrove. Check out this video for “Burning Slums”, a Black Diamond-produced track from Cosgrove’s UsVsRobots mixtape from last year.
The NRIs – Across The River
Nayan Bhula’s folk-rock ensemble The NRIs show their love for and excellent taste in DC landmarks in their new video for “Across The River”. While singing about familiar facets of living in this town, Bhula and his guitar take a tour of landmarks including Fort Reno and the Sunday drum circle at Meridian Hill Park. The long-gestating video accompanies the pay-whatever-you-want 2012 EP The Charm.
Song Premiere: “Big Dumb Hooks” by The Beanstalk Library
I’ve seen a lot of bands in my time diving deep into the DC music scenes, and there’s no mistaking that The Beanstalk Library is the friendliest. Bandleader Ryan Walker exudes natural charm and enthusiasm when performing that follows him offstage into post-show mingling. He’s also the rare example of a frontman lending his talent to other bands, playing with Justin Jones and Andy Zipf’s Cowards Choir. The Beanstalk Library’s lineup of keyboardist Joel Hicks, guitarist Brian Pagels, violinist Erin Ryan, bassist David Gassman and drummer Adam Neubauer have an affectionate performing chemistry that’s rare to see.
Apart from a one-off single “Whiskey Mountain” honoring the late Sean Meyers of Norman Rockwell, it’s been a couple of years since we tasted and digested the full length album The View From Here. After many months road-testing new material, TBL is nearly ready to drop a new EP, and Hometown Sounds is tickled pink to premiere the first single from it.
“Big Dumb Hooks” is a classic pop song with a driving beat and singalong chorus. Walker knows the power of a catchy melody and well-placed ooo’s, and this song really will sink its hooks into you as advertized. TBL makes well-crafted pop-rock music with deft songwriting, hard-hitting drums, full guitar/bass sound and flourishes from violin and keys for a mature sound that’s criminally underrated in DC these days.
As we mentioned on yesterday’s episode of our DC music podcast, The Beanstalk Library kicks off a show this Friday night September 25th at Iota, playing with a band from Boston called The Lights Out. Lead guitarist Adam Ritchie played in high school bands with TBL’s Brian Pagels and they haven’t shared a stage since 1999. Funk & soul party band Precautionary Measures finishes up the night. As with almost all Iota shows, tickets are only available at the door, so get there early!
Podcast for September 22nd, 2015
On this week’s episode of the Hometown Sounds podcast, Tony can’t bounce to the latest club bangers because a new Popeye’s special is weighing him down. Also, Paul admits to creepin’ on Periscope. But what you really want are the freshest DC songs from Swings, Reesa Renee, Gent & Jawns plus exclusive new tracks from Br’er, The Beanstalk Library and Jacqueline Pie Francis that you can’t hear anywhere else!
Tracklisting:
Gent & Jawns – Moon Bounce [Moon Bounce / U NO I]
Reesa Renee – Guess Again [Lovers Rock]
The Beanstalk Library – Big Dumb Hooks
Jacqueline Pie Francis – Blue Sky [The Sea]
Swings – Tiles [Sugarwater]
Br’er – Reprobate [Maskings]
Or listen in SoundCloud:
Subscribe to the Hometown Sounds podcast in the iTunes Store or your favorite podcast app! (and tell a friend too!)
Catscan! – Voodoo Dollhouse
Last week electronic rock duo Catscan! unleashed the second single from their unbelievably catchy full length album Challenger Deep, a generous pay-what-you-want download on their Bandcamp. Mason Shelby and Paul Tsiaperas still know how to do a proper single release in 2015, making a goofy music video for “Voodoo Dollhouse” with plenty of burning dollhouse footage, and a dance remix by Eric Randall with rapping from Height Keech. Furthering the generosity, both the remix and the original are available for further manipulation under a Creative Commons license, so other bedroom noodlers should see how far this earworm can go. Mark your calendars for Catscan!’s next live show on Saturday October 17th at the Velvet Lounge with Electric Grandmother, ShowPony and Aggressive Pedestrian.
The Grey A – Dumb Fool
Georgetown’s classy Americana-focused venue Gypsy Sally’s celebrates 2 years of music with an anniversary show this evening featuring Jim Lauderdale and Human Country Jukebox. But their intimate Vinyl Lounge space hosts another in their free Capital Americana series, tonight featuring a fantastic lineup that includes Uptown Boys Choir and The Grey A. In true Washington fashion, The Grey A’s single “Dumb Fool” speaks to the need for campaign finance reform as a precondition to tackling the big issues of the day. This slick music video, a classic noir tale of murder and mistaken identity, comes from NYC film maker Adio Ash of Impaired Films. See them tonight for free and grab their 2014 debut full length album My Country.
Clones of Clones – Somebody Else
A vibrant music scene needs more than just great bands. Bloggers, show promoters, labels, photogs and podcasters (ahem) all play a vital part in getting crowds interested and involved. DC is rather lucky to have a videographer like Nigel Lyons to craft such polished visuals for acts as diverse as Paperhaus, The North Country, Outputmessage, ACME and the Jonathan Parker’s Panel Counsel jazz ensemble. Indie rockers Clones of Clones are the latest to get the video treatment from Lyons for their new single “Somebody Else” off their upcoming full length Monster Heart. The lovesick plot might seem straightforward at first, but the finish is worth a second glance.
Podcast for September 8th, 2015 feat. Bobby Thompson
Blues rocker Bobby Thompson drops by the Hometown Sounds podcast to talk about his favorite tracks and preview his new record “Live At Iota”.
Tracklisting:
Bobby Thompson – Down To Here [Live at Iota]
Lauren Calve – Sweep [Between The Creek And The Tracks]
Laura Tsaggaris – Only In Daydreams [Live at the Atlas]
Whisky Legs – Needy Woman
Bobby Thompson – Nobody’s Fool [Live at Iota]
Laura Cheadle – The Best that It Could Feel
Or listen in SoundCloud:
Subscribe to the Hometown Sounds podcast in the iTunes Store or your favorite podcast app! (and tell a friend too!)
Brutalism – Friday Night (Home Invasion)
Kids, let me tell you about a glorious time us old folk lived through called the 80s. It was glorious. Hair like you wouldn’t believe. And cars! Those spiffy cars even got their own TV shows, like Knight Rider and The Dukes of Hazzard.
Brutalism, the over-the-top synthpop group featuring Gavin Holland, Ben Bruno and Zach Carter, mine this treasure trove in their newest music video for the deranged single “Friday Night (Home Invasion)”. The first few times I heard the single I got lost in the feel-good dance party grooves, but the music video doesn’t let you miss the dark lyrics about home invasion and murder. So why not pair that song with visuals of cheesy computer graphics, hardcore action flicks and the carefree joy of taking a Pontiac Stinger on the beach? Brutalism seems to know a hidden formula for genius, because I’ve never seen modern synthpop, 80s video clips and murder work so well together anywhere else.
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