You may know the distinctive Javier Diaz from the bands Spirit Plots or the newer Trajectories. His brother Nestor is a veteran of post-punk trio Golden Looks. But now, in the surreal fictional reality of The Electric Grandmother‘s new album Cancelled, the Diaz brothers are corrupt cops in the shlocky TV drama “Cop Force”, rival to the feel-good neighborhood romp “Police Department” from their previous music video. They’re probably better at violating civil rights than catching high-profile criminals, but these law enforcement officers always rock hard. Grab Cancelled for free while you can, and catch The Electric Grandmother next at the Uptown Art House on Monday October 16th.
Hometown Sounds
Showing The World How DC Rocks
Monthly Archives: September 2017
Reagan Bombs – Wind Me Up
Though he moved to LA a few years ago, superstar DJ Jesse Tittsworth can’t escape the pull of the DC music he grew up with. Partnering with filmmaker Scott Sanders, known for the 2009 blaxploitation comedy Black Dynamite, Reagan Bombs updates DC’s indigenous go-go sound with Techno and House influences to create “DC GoWave”. Their self-titled album was released on cassette and digital by the DC label Swedish Columbia run by Shelby Cinca, formerly of the DC bands Frodus and The Cassettes. The album’s first single is “Wind Me Up”, a well-known go-go catch phrase, and Sanders edited this music video with some of the same classic go-go VHS footage that contributed to the samples in the album.
Flex Mathews – Never Change
“If you hatin’ then you probably wasn’t fam anyway.” Flex Mathews has always seemed restless for creativity. Rappers often pop up on guest spots for hip-hop tracks, but Flex, true to his moniker, has lent his freestyling to Congo Sanchez, downtempo DJ Farid, funk & dub band See-I, trucker hatted troubador Justin Trawick and many more. DC often seems divided into cliques and scenes, but Flex transcends all boundaries. When we spot Flex in the crowd at a show, we know there’s a solid chance he’ll hop on stage and throw down rhymes without any rehearsal. His long-simmering debut artist album Hi I’m Flex Mathews just dropped, so now it’s time to watch the mission statement single “Never Change”, with classic hip-hop production and scratching from The Unown and an overflowing of hometown love from The Handsome Grandson.
Chain & The Gang – If I Was An Animal
Ian F. Svenonious’s sardonic pop outfit Chain & The Gang ready the release their 5th full length album Experimental Music on September 29th through Ian’s own label Radical Elite, in partnership with DC’s flagship Dischord Records. The album’s second pre-release single “If I Was An Animal” is the first with a music video, and you can get it now by daring pre-ordering the album now, as of course we did. Svenonious’s extreme wit and uncompromising style are on full display as he sings about what the animal world must think of the planet’s dominant species. We enthusiastically recommend Ian’s next show at Comet Ping Pong on Saturday September 23rd under his solo moniker Escape-ism celebrating a split 7″ with Justin Moyer’s new band Light Beams.
allthebestkids – Confetti
Genre-defying ensemble allthebestkids debuted their new single “Confetti” with a bang last week, dropping this music video shot during this year’s Funk Parade festival on U Street. The video’s backdrop hearkens back to one of our faves ever, Asheru and The Funk Ark’s “Funky DC” from 2014, and we hope more bands will follow suit. The song is a certified earworm, with singer Anya Ross’s killer hook accentuating Cody Valentine’s rap verses, and the crisp drums and big brass sound make us want to dance through the streets. Catch allthebestkids and Drive TFC on a sunset cruise on the Boomerang Pirate Ship on Sunday September 17th, because what’s better than partying on a pirate ship?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRB3J-fEVLw
Podcast for September 5th, 2017
Paul’s new drums are still unplayed, while Tony fights off a summer time cold.
Tracklisting:
allthebestkids – Confetti [Confetti / Unafraid]
ShowPony – CastlePonia [ShowParty Demos]
Ms. Fridrich – Oh, Girl [Last Brick Laid]
The NRIs – Brooks Was Here [An Echo For Each One Of Us]
The Vintage Babies – Say My Name [The Vintage Babies]
The Wine-Dark Sea – Dirt Farmer [Avalanche]
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