Category Archives: music

Apr 10 2025
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music

DC Releases for 2025 Q1

We rounded up all the EPs and albums released by DC-area musicians so far in 2025, with Bandcamp preferred and Spotify as fallback. If you know of any we missed, let us know in an email reply or DM.

d. majestic and the spectral band – Spectral Transmissions ’24 (Jan 1)

The Rally Caps – A Get Rich Quick Love Story (Jan 2)

Sol Reactor – S.O.L. (Jan 3)

Bushmeat Sound System – NitroZeus! (Jan 3)

Collapsing – Collapsing Poems 1 (Jan 6)

Pink Lemons D.C. – Pink Lemons (Jan 7)

Sad Roach – Permanent Luck (Jan 7)

DJ NATIVESUN – REFIX SzN VOL 5 (GQOM EDITION) (Jan 8)

Mystery Friends – ON THE FLOOR! (Jan 9)

model home – mh globe (Jan 10)

Pet Names – Hey Hi Hello (Jan 10)

Vegas With Randolph – Triad: The Medleys (Jan 10)

VOSH – Vault Vol. 1 (Jan 10)

JR Hairston – Here & Now (Jan 10)

The Wine-Dark Sea – The Comet (Jan 11)

Rosslyn Station – covers (Jan 11)

Thunderpaw – Rise of the Thunder Moon (Jan 13)

Hostile Mind – Rogue (Jan 15)

grlztoy – blue! (Jan 17)

Peak Bloom – Disaster Prone (Jan 17)

Master Sword – Toying With Time (Jan 17)

IMKA – Who Taught You to Run II (Jan 20)

Endlings – the ugly (Jan 24)

Strutman Lane – Strutman Lane (Jan 24)

TonalTheory – Can You Hear Me Now? EP (Jan 31)

Geologist and D.S. – A Shaw Deal (Jan 31)

The Montaines – Live at Pie Shop (Feb 1)

Nicole Lepre – Games We’re Too Old For (Feb 2)

Rahiem Supreme x Axpuzzles – BBQ OR MILDEW (Feb 2)

BUKO BUKO – ALL YOU CAN EAT (Feb 3)

Red Spells Red – Secret Sounds (Feb 6)

Professor Goldstein – Songs About Dinosaurs (Feb 7)

model home – library (Feb 7)

Fanoplane – Live at the Black Cat! (Feb 8)

Cash on the Nail – Live at the Dew Drop Inn (Feb 8)

SIR E.U – SIR E.U live at BR Festival (Feb 13)

The Caribbean + Geologist – Needlepoint (Feb 14)

R-NØT – Dumpster Fire (Feb 14)

Grand Scheme – EP (Feb 14)

Joshua Palace – WORMS (Original Soundtrack Recording) (Feb 14)

B_X_R_N_X_R_D – J4M! (Feb 18)

Ben Patterson Jazz Orchestra – Mad Scientist Music (Feb 18)

Sling (Sami Yenigun & p cain) – SLING (Feb 21)

dirt eater – The Champion (Feb 25)

Lizzie Blue – Under the Moon (Feb 25)

Adrian Loving and Like David – Touch Points (Feb 25)

Dystaron – s/t (Feb 28)

RDGLDGRN – The RED Album (Feb 28)

Kids Table – We Can’t Go Back in Time (Feb 28)

oddbodi – run the gamut (Feb 28)

The Rally Caps – The Eddie Sessions (B-Sides) (Feb 28)

Grams – When The Tables Turn (Feb 28)

The Moonbugs – Corporate Minute (Mar 1)

Danger Painters – To Anyone (Mar 1)

Un Denomination – DN Singles (Mar 2)

Terracotta Blue – Outrun (Mar 3)

Rahiem Supreme – Dead Fingers (Mar 3)

Raw Poetic – The Inside (Mar 4)

Accidents – Year of the Rat (Mar 4)

Gabe & Jude a.k.a Martyn – Gabe & Jude 007 (Mar 6)

Dave Vosh – The Unknowable (Mar 7)

Blacks’ Myths meets Pat Thomas – The Mythstory School (Mar 7)

The Abe Mamet Septet – levitate the heavy part (Mar 7)

Greenhouse Ghost – Bloom (Mar 7)

Emily Henry – Patreon Recordings 2022-2023, Patreon Recordings 2024 (Mar 7)

The Heavy Editors – Undertow (Mar 8)

504 Plan – To Think, or Not to Think (Mar 8)

Michael R. Bernstein – The Perfect Radio Station of the Mind (Mar 9)

David Breather – I AM WHAT I AM (Mar 11)

Jah-I-Witness – Sounds Like Orange: Volume 1 (Mar 11)

Druid Stone – Stuffer 31 (demo EP) (Mar 12)

Pepelin – Bathing in Limerence (Mar 13)

Jackson Ryland – Rave Invaders Volume 03 (Mar 14)

James Bangura + JR2k – James Bangura vs. JR2k (Mar 14)

A.D.D. Ramone – Claws Out! (Mar 14)

Erasergirl – 30 (Mar 14)

XK Scenario – Tone Paints (Mar 18)

A Shrewdness of Apes – Mythology (Mar 19)

Cool Clear Water – COMPLICATION (Mar 20)

Smoke & Tea – Modern Conversation (Mar 20)

J Scienide – Fire At The Philharmonic (Mar 21)

M4TR – Rock To Resist By (Mar 21)

Black Rave Culture – BRC Vol 3 REMIXED (Mar 21)

Sensor Ghost – Irritation on Demand (Mar 21)

Suburbanabuse – ⛥ (Mar 21)

Bohemian Waxwing – Four Demos (Mar 24)

Educated Owls – The People We Hate To Make Us Feel Safe (Mar 24)

alex roldan – laps (Mar 25)

Drawn – stealing from the sky (Mar 26)

Zae.Mayflower – HAISI. (Mar 26)

Januarius – Glass Eyes, Glass Ghosts (Mar 28)

Shades of Violette – Spiritsense (Mar 28)

Midnight Snowball Fight – As Good A Place As Any (Mar 28)

Dec 29 2024
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music

DC Releases for 2024

Presented here is our top 212 DC music releases, in chronological order.

Strangers That Clique – The Heavy After Hours (Jan 3)

Joy Viver – Joy Viver (Jan 3)

Griot X – Easy 2 Digest (Jan 16)

Reginald Cyntje – Gentle Touch (Jan 17)

Pinkhouse – Vanity Project (Jan 19)

Flowerbomb – Gloom Scroll Vol. 1 (Jan 19)

Mystery Friends – Utopia (Jan 23)

¡FIASCO! – Anger Artist (Jan 25)

Dear Daria – Solastalgia (Jan 26)

Broke Royals – Big Dream (Jan 26)

For Love of Records – Yesterday & Today: DC Does Dischord (Jan 31)

clothes – Earshot (Feb 1)

Sensor Ghost – 3 Songs (Feb 2)

Rosslyn Station – 19 Proclamations of Love and Adoration (Feb 11)

Nate Scheible – or valleys and (Feb 16)

dreamcastmoe – Molly’s Son (Feb 16)

Freddy Mac – The Devil is a Well Dressed Man (Feb 16)

Night Hawk – Everything Good Ends (Feb 16)

oddbodi – ordinary / people (Feb 17)

I Wish I Had Stayed – The Horsemansplit (Feb 20)

Shades of Violette – s/t (Feb 22)

Glitterer – Rationale (Feb 23)

Mary Timony – Untame the Tiger (Feb 23)

Eric Hilton – Sound Vagabond (Feb 23)

Darkest Hour – Perpetual | Terminal (Feb 23)

Junto Trio – Silver Apples of Jupiter (Feb 24)

NAYAN – Rock N Roll Ruined My Life (Feb 29)

Czonka – Kunstausstellung der Sezession MMXXIV (Feb 29)

Old Soul Dallas – Ain’t Nothing Fancy (Mar 1)

Blood Family Reunion – lucky mutation (Mar 7)

Honest Lee – Cosmic Justice (Mar 8)

The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis (Mar 15)

Tosser – Sheer Humanity (Mar 15)

Lud Roes – Dear IV. (Mar 17)

Ivan Liptak & Horda Basin – Naked Choir (Mar 20)

Glenn Echo – Demos, Dubplates, & Sureshots (Mar 21)

East Coast Offense – Everything is Nothing (Mar 22)

Aaron Abernathy – From the Throne Room (Mar 25)

TonalTheory – Keep Me Blushin’ (Mar 29)

Cumbia Heights – Amaneciendo (Mar 29)

Brian K & The Parkway – Killing The Bear (Mar 29)

NØ MAN – Glitter and Spit (Mar 29)

Dupont Brass – Professional Development (Apr 3)

Continuals – s/t (Apr 5)

Deccan Traps – Watching the World (Apr 5)

Dolo Percussion – DOLO 6 (Apr 12)

Kingpen Slim – If God Could Rap (Apr 7)

Dale and the ZDubs – Off the Rip (Apr 12)

Sami.Moe – Crash and Build (Apr 15)

Nappy Nappa – NZA 99.0 (Apr 15)

Milo in the Doldrums – s/t (Apr 15)

Ekko Astral – pink balloons (Apr 17)

Griefcat – Late Stage Capitalism (Apr 19)

The North Country – The Future’s All We Need (Apr 26)

Rebel Rae – Last Train to DC (Apr 26)

The Midnight Groove Collective – Love Devine EP (Apr 26)

Stripmall Ballads – Left Behind (May 7)

Martyn – Through Lines (May 10)

The Loving Paupers – The Ghost Of Ladders (May 10)

Dundrum – Dundrum (May 17)

Watermelon Milk – Bazillionjillion (May 24)

Josee Molavi – Break Your Heart til it Opens (May 24)

Mannequin Fight – Handwoven (May 28)

Birthday Girl DC – Dirtier (May 20)

Miri Tyler – MEMO (May 21)

Bed Maker – S/t (May 31)

Horda Basin – Polar Record; Sprung Alterations (both Jun 6)

Naked Choir (Horda Basin & Ivan Liptak) – Crossing (Jun 6)

SHAED – Spinning Out (Jun 7)

Prude – Prude (Jun 7)

Flowerbomb – Gloom Scroll Vol. 2 (Jun 13)

James Bangura & Om Unit – Rushing 1621 (Jun 13)

renai – Beware of Your Surroundings (Jul 14)

Clear Channel – Public Access (Jun 21)

Outerloop – EP 2 (Jun 21)

Black Techno Matters – Liber8 v2: N3W P4RAD1GM (Jun 21)

Jau Ocean – The Deer (Jun 23)

Glenn Echo & Daniel Meinecke – What Happened To Yesterday Vol. 2 (Jun 26)

Pinky Lemon – Pinky Hell (Jun 27)

Ensemble Volcanic Ash – To March Is To Love (Jun 28)

Janel & Anthony – New Moon in the Evil Age (Jun 28)

Eric Hilton – Out of the Blur (Jun 28)

Zen Warship – The Renewal (Jun 30)

Aidan Leclaire – The Spaceman (Jul 1)

Fat Vaughn – Road to Riches (Jul 4)

Bacchae – Next Time (Jul 5)

Raw Poetic – Wayward Skies (Jul 5)

Nicole Lepre – Good Times Wrong Trees (Jul 5)

Dream Feeder – Everything At Once (Jul 9)

Abe Mamet – Spa Day (Jul 19)

King Face – King Face (Jul 21)

Origami Angel – Dirty Mirror Selfie (Jul 23)

Cecily – Awakening Pt. 2 (Jul 26)

Glock Jones – Live from the Trenches (Jul 26)

Luke Stewart Silt Trio – Unknown Rivers (Jul 26)

Emma G – Fight the Fear (Jul 26)

Pretty Bitter & Flowerbomb – Take Me Out (Aug 1)

Burden’s Landing – Could This Be a Portal? (Aug 2)

Flowers for Palestine – Chokehold (Aug 7)

Airospace & Eahwee – SUM≠PARTS (Aug 9)

Seconds Before Awakening – Eighteen (Aug 12)

B_X_R_N_X_R_D – Be Here (Aug 15)

Velocity Girl – UltraCopacetic (Aug 16)

The Jet Age – Don’t Let Me Leave (Aug 16)

THAT CLOUD – L’HOMME APPROXIMATIF (Aug 16)

Dylan Rockwell – False Dawn (Aug 16)

Tripping Corpse – Thank You for the Mess (Aug 16)

The Duskwhales – Strawflower Lane (Aug 16)

Out of Our Cells: Music by Incarcerated Composers in Washington DC (Aug 16)

Yaddiya & Griot X – Wario Bros Microdose (Aug 20)

Ryan Hanseler – Four (Aug 23)

Oh He Dead – Ugly (Aug 23)

Spring Silver – Don’t You Think It’s Strange? (Aug 23)

You Fool! – What is the Meaning of This? (Aug 23)

Nicole Lepre – Saugherties (Aug 23)

Black Rave Culture – Quick Game EP (Aug 23)

Carly Harvey – Kamama (Aug 25)

Sutras – Awakening of the Spirit (Aug 30)

Fat Trel – Boosa’s Keeper (Aug 30)

Silver Scrolls – Mind Lines (Sep 6)

James Bangura – The Heights (Sep 6)

Carrier Wave – Sounds Like the Devil in Here (Sep 6)

Baltimore Avenue – static (Sep 6)

Curse Words – Big Wave Dreaming (Sep 12)

Martyn – Vancouver (Verraco & Rhyw Remixes) (Sep 13)

Bad Moves – Wearing Out The Refrain (Sep 13)

Two Ton Twig – Grandpa’s Cough Medicine (Sep 13)

David Barker – Vancouver (Sep 13)

Wes Felton – Nothing Beautiful Is Safe (Sep 14)

Sansyou – Spaces In Between (Sep 17)

Posición Unida – Demo (Sep 18)

Wings Denied – Just the Basics (Sep 20)

Night Train 357 – Affirmations (Sep 20)

cuni – Prescribed Burn (Sep 20)

Kill Lincoln – No Normal (Sep 27)

Grimm Winter – Grimm Winter Vol I (Sep 28)

Goetia – Tomb Essence (Sep 30)

Halpine – Awake in a Dream (Oct 1)

Jackson Ryland (JR2k) – The Hot Zone EP (Oct 1)

Yasmin Williams – Acadia (Oct 4)

Requiem – Monuments (Oct 4)

Yes Vacancy – Calm and All (Oct 4)

Roscoe Tripp – We All (Oct 4)

Witch’s Mirror – Witch’s Mirror (Oct 4)

NAPPYNAPPA – FANTASYSCAPE pt.1 (Oct 4)

DJ Stylus – The Vibe Conductor – Vibe Conductor Vignettes Vol. 4 (Oct 4)

Bushmeat Sound System – Funky Pox (Oct 4)

Undertone – VA 01 (Oct 11)

Hailu Mergia – Tche Belew (Oct 14)

¡FIASCO! – Remember Your Flowers (Oct 17)

New Impressionz – Welcome to Crankland (Oct 18)

Hays Dowdy – The Ghost Before You (Oct 18)

Stukes – Asura EP (Oct 23)

Alma Laprida – Pitch Dark and Trembling (Oct 25)

Flowers for Palestine – From the River (Oct 25)

Kinda Evil – Hard to Believe (Oct 25)

Prinze George – Better Girl (Oct 25)

Nico Zaca – Higher Louder TurboPower (Oct 25)

Vaelastrasz – The Death of the Midwest – Live MMXXIV (Oct 26)

Bob Boilen – I’m Molting (Oct 28)

Mannywellz – Lala (Oct 29)

Pickaxe – PROVOCATEUR (Oct 30)

Meerwolff (fka The Meer) – Let It Break Through (Oct 31)

Bash Rodriguez – American Hauntology (Oct 31)

Anno – Anno (Nov 1)

Dumb Lucky – Here (Now) (Nov 1)

Vienna Teng – We’ve Got You (Nov 1)

Tomb Warden – Split with GATE (Nov 5)

Bomani Armah – The Black Colin Powell Mixtape (Nov 5)

Raw Poetic & Damu the Fudgemunk – Pictures & Scriptures (Nov 5)

P Cain – P Cain 9 (Nov 7)

Terracotta Blue – Chipmunk Soul (2001-2003) (Nov 8)

Raheim Supreme – Pretty prada papi Screwed & Chopped (Nov 8)

Lizard Hands – *Dronevember* (Nov 10)

Perro Sombra – El Fuego Eterno (Nov 11)

Two Inch Astronaut – Check Please / Humorist (Nov 12)

Glosser – Angel Dust (Nov 15)

The Crystal Casino Band – Cardboard Cutouts (Nov 15)

Pig Destroyer – Terrifyer (20th Anniversary Remaster) (Nov 15)

Autumn LaBella – Sweater Weather (Nov 15)

Greenhouse Ghost – Open Repeater (Nov 22)

Damu the Fudgemunk – Peace of Action (Nov 22)

Lifted – Trellis (Nov 22)

Fleabath – Midnight At The Roach Motel (Nov 22)

Looping – Note to Self (Nov 22); Live from the District of Columbia, November 2024 (Nov 24)

Dirty Destroyers Orchestra – The Quarantined Sessions (Nov 25)

prrs grvr & nick tha 1da – Give Thknx: Book One (Nov 28)

Flowers for the Dead – Magnolia (Nov 29)

Personal Injury – Sauna (Nov 29)

Faraway Ghost & Sunken Cages – Ashk Haye Moghavemat (Nov 29)

Des Demonas – Apocalyptic Boom! Boom! (Nov 29)

David Barker – The Tiger EP (Nov 29)

Jon Laine – Compass 1.5 Instrumentals (Nov 29)

Drew Kid – Don’t Be Scurred (Mixtape!) (Dec 1)

Ryan Lucas – The Spices (Dec 1)

Wes Felton & KeepAnEyeonTheProduct – Kings In The Wilderness Pt.2 (Dec 1)

Eggs – The Government Administrator (Dec 5)

Frodus – Teenage Punk Suburban Weirdos (Dec 6)

Ardamus – Limbrosia (Dec 6)

Prowess the Testament – Lunar Prelude: Sailor Overture (Dec 6)

Celebration Summer – A Little Less Numb (Dec 6)

Attract Mode – The Art of Psychic Self-Defense (Dec 6)

Vänstermaskinist (Horda Basin & Regnskur) – AD Pulverform (Dec 7)

Emma G – Remixed – Fight the Fear EP (Dec 8)

Ari Voxx – distance (Dec 10)

B_X_R_N_X_R_D – THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF BEARPUS & OCTOBEAR (Dec 13)

Joshua Palace – Disfigured Perception (Original Motion Picture Score) (Dec 13)

Caleb L’Etoile – You Gathered Friction (Dec 13)

Argo & The Violet Queens – Kings of Industry (Dec 20)

The House You Grew Up In – Unlikely Shades Of (Dec 20)

Toro – Heads / It’s Only Us (Dec 20)

Wes Felton – Mos Wes Live in Croatia (Dec 22)

Keith Butler Jr. – Recital 1 (Dec 23)

P Cain – P Cain 10 (Dec 27)

Model Home – Mongrel (Dec 27)

XK Scenario – A Monument to All Our Tomorrows (Dec 28)

Apr 28 2020
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music

The Sweater Set – Being Alone (Song Premiere)

WORLD PREMIERE!


Sara Curtin and Maureen Andary, the two soulful folk musicians performing as The Sweater Set since 2008, recorded their new album Fly On The Wall in front of a live audience at Tonal Park in Takoma Park MD two full years ago, in April 2018. In “Being Alone”, the fourth advance single from Fly On The Wall which we’re honored to premiere today, Curtin sings “When did we get so bad at being alone?” Songs written ages ago can take on new meaning when our world suddenly shifts into a strange new quarantine. Hopefully we’ve gotten a bit better at being alone over the last month, and maybe this quiet, mellow tune can help.

Curtin and Andary have this to say about “Being Alone”:

SARA: I wrote this song in the dead of winter. Washington, DC is a city that clears out in December around the holidays and again in August during government recess. “Parking is easy, bars are empty.” The predictability of the pattern and the quiet of the city got me thinking about how we behave when we’re alone. Do we let ourselves feel it? Do we stare into the mirror discovering every new wrinkle and gray hair? Or are we forced to feel it only when the internet goes out and we can’t numb our loneliness with a mindless scroll through Instagram, or a whole night-long Netflix binge?

It’s meditative to sing this song. There are only two chords and even the vocal melodies and phrasing repeat while only the lyrics change. We always work very hard to sync our exact phrasing and breaths for our songs, but we spent extra time on this one because of its precise use of unison and counterpoint melody. If something is off, it pulls you out of the trance. Like when a fire engine goes by at the very end of a yoga class.

MAUREEN: It was special to sing this song together. It’s so interesting when we sing the refrain and the verse at the same time to end the song. The refrain is an expansive melody and we had to really plan our breathing for this one. We’ve done counterpoint in choral singing and also in our school days of musical theatre so this is a fun callback to those experiences. Don’t let the electric guitar fool you, this is Sara’s most Stephen Sondheim-esque reverie on the record.

SARA: “Being Alone” was the most patient and quiet I can remember ever being while writing a song. I remember sitting there, playing the chords over and over and just waiting for the words to come out. While experimenting with the effects on my electric guitar I started to notice very faint overtones. Those notes ended up as the very simple 2-note melody Maureen plays on the classical guitar. It happens very specifically only 3 times throughout the song when one or both of us sing the word “body”. It was one of those things that I was only able to notice because of how quiet I let my mind become while writing. It was fun to put hidden nuances and patterns like this all throughout the song.

MAUREEN: I love the backdrop this song has with the weather and the sense of place. What’s interesting is that the seasons and the places are so predictable, even in the city, the patterns of the people on the street are the same, but what changes is us. In February I complained to a mentor of mine that I didn’t want it to snow because I didn’t want school to be cancelled. And this guy was like “NO!! Don’t ever say that! It means you’re no fun anymore!” I realized he was right and immediately took it back. But I think that’s the essence of this song. I think that the narrator is feeling oddly confronted by the seasonal shift and wondering, why does this bother me now? Why am I uncomfortable with the quiet?”

Tune in Friday May 1st at noon to see The Sweater Set performing live in a split-screen Facebook livecast, and pre-order Fly On The Wall that day too, as Bandcamp is waiving their fees that day and sending more money to the musicians that need it most right now.

Photo credit: Amanda Reynolds

Tagged
Nov 01 2019
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music, Q&A

Bobby Thompson – Meet Me By The Garden

SONG PREMIERE!

Hometown Sounds is proud to premiere the hot new single “Meet Me By The Garden” by blues rock maestro Bobby Thompson. This song is the lead-off track from Thompson’s brand new self-titled album, his seventh studio album since 2011.

We chatted with Thomspon via email about his new album, the reshuffling of his Bandcamp catalog, and what’s up with his next live show.

When we checked in with you last Spring, you were teasing your new album with a short EP called ‘Song of Love’. How did this new album come together?

I think I pulled together a great cast of musicians for this album, and some of the guys and I toured together, so we were pretty tight by the time we tracked the record. A few of the songs were hold-overs from 2014 and 2015 studio sessions, and those seemed to fit well with some of the newer material, like “Meet Me By The Garden” and “My Everything”. We did a lot of the tracking for this album at Cue studios in Falls Church, Virginia, and we’ve got a few awesome special guests, like Mark Wenner of The Nighthawks, and Matt Grundy, who tours with Donovan Frankenreiter.

Your Bandcamp page is now full of revamps and revisions of previous releases. What drove this effort to streamline your catalog?

I decided to clean things up, and repackage a few albums. Rather than reprinting Live By The Creek (Revelator Hill with Ron Holloway) and Live at IOTA, I created a new design and reissued them both as a double album Live in Arlington, which should be available on disc January 2020.

The Retrospect album has also been revised: I pulled out all of the acoustic tracks and added in some of my favorite from the Blueheart Revival and Revelator Hill days. That’s available digitally now, and soon on CD.

What’s really fitting is the latest version of The Acoustic Sessions. It’s based off the award-winning EP from 2018, but now includes the acoustic tracks from Retrospect to make a full-length acoustic album. That’s the one I’m the happiest with because it fits direction I’m going in.

What keeps you so devoted to perfecting your trademark blues rock sound?

I’m never satisfied with my work. I love it but as soon as an album comes out, I’m already reinterpreting it. Rarely do I play a song exactly like the album version. I think that’s why I really like finishing an album soon after I write the music. If I wait too long, the ideas change and reform and I’m writing new music.

Do you miss Clarendon’s IOTA as much as we do?

I struggled at first. I went through the stages of grief, in some random order. I was sad, and I was in denial. I was angry, and felt betrayed. I’ve come to accept losing IOTA, and now all I want to do is honor the existence of such a legendary club. I’m lucky to have been able to record a live album there, and have so many memories. I’m at peace with it now, but it was tough at first.

Hit us with all the important details of your album release show.

We’ve got Virginia’s own Karen Jonas and her band opening the show. I’ve found our music fits well together, and it’s been dubbed ‘The Country Blues’ show. I really like her songwriting, and she’s influenced me and my approach to song-craft. If you haven’t heard her, you should remedy that right away.

The band on deck for Pearl Street makes up a strong core of the album. Ben, Gary, and Kurt have all worked with me for many years, and we read each other like hawks. They keep an eye on me if I go into an improvisational vibe, and I’m always feeding off what they give back to me. Usually there are fireworks of the musical kind. You’ll have to experience it to know what I mean. Come out November 8 to Pearl Street Warehouse.

Tagged
Jun 14 2019
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music

Maryjo Mattea – Candlelight and Roses

SONG PREMIERE!

DC’s Maryjo Mattea has one more single to release from her upcoming EP The Other Side, and Hometown Sounds jumped at the chance to premiere it for you. Just like you’d expect from the detailed cover art, “Candlelight and Roses” is dark, cynical and yet still sweetly adorable. “The last thing the world needs is another tortured love song” Mattea croons, before cueing in pounding drums, jangly guitar and crisp hand claps. From her early days in the duo Two Dragons and a Cheetah, Mattea’s songs have always been driven by vocals, lyrics and songwriting. Stretching her horizons as an in-demand member of dance-rock band Color Palette, synthpop diva Loi Loi, and grungy Endless Winter has sharpened her chops and improved the songs she delivers under her own name. “Candlelight and Roses” is a polished throwback pop song with Mattea’s harsh take on the reality of modern romance. We think the full EP is going to be an essential feature in music lovers’ Bandcamp collections and Spotify playlists.

Maryjo and her backing band kick off a packed night at the Black Cat on Saturday night, opening for Pleasure Train and celebrating Jonny Grave’s masterful new full band instrumental EP Impala.

Tagged
Sep 05 2018
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music, video

Jasmine Gillison – In My Chest (Song Premiere)

Today Hometown Sounds is delighted to premiere the debut single “In My Chest” by singer/songwriter Jasmine Gillison.

We’ve had our eye on Gillison for a few years now, since we shared her performance of “I Get It” from a very early episode of Justin Trawick’s podcast The Circus Life back in 2013. Her debut album Little Light has been a long time coming, though she never imagined it as a bright-eyed 5th grader playing in the school band. It wasn’t until after college, thanks to the encouragement of friends, that she got up in front of a crowd at a local Open Mic Night and performed her first official set – a few cover songs on guitar. Thanks to those friends, she’s been writing and performing ever since.

The debut EP is a bit of a departure from her usual acoustic performances, with new arrangements highlighting the depth and width of Gillison’s aptitude for storytelling. Jasmine was fortunate to work with many talented musicians in the DC/MD/VA area on this project, including Producer Ben Tufts (educator and percussionist in bands such as FuzzQueen, Virginia Creep and Uptown Boys Choir), Producer and Session Bassist Howard Rabach of Machine Room Studio in Arlington, VA., as well as a host of other musicians and great friends. The song’s instrumentation, including vibraphone playing from Tufts, is reminiscent of the lovely and influential early downtempo work from the French band AIR.

The Wharf’s Pearl Street Warehouse hosts the Little Light EP release show on Sunday September 16th. The early show starts at 5 PM and features Nardo Lilly and Laura Tsaggaris along with Gillison’s headlining full band performance.

Tagged
Apr 20 2016
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music, shows

Maryjo Mattea – Getting Over You

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SONG PREMIERE!
Maryjo Mattea has the charisma and the songwriting chops to rise above lesser singers and develop a substantial following. The garage-rock formula from her previous band Two Dragons And A Cheetah worked because of Maryjo’s captivating stage presence, and clearly none of the bro’s in her new outfit Maryjo Mattea & A Pile of Dudes are going to take away from that. Her solo EP Four Minute Symphonies comes out on April 28th with a release show at Songbyrd featuring Uptown Boys Choir and Party Like It’s, and Hometown Sounds is all atingle to premiere the second single from it. Unlike the first single, the catchy power-pop number “Rocket Science”, “Getting Over You” starts out as a classic torch song before ramping up the drums and slide guitar courtesy of blues rocker Jonny Grave. RSVP here to see Maryjo and her guitar summit the biggest pile of dudes in the city.

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Sep 23 2015
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music, shows

Song Premiere: “Big Dumb Hooks” by The Beanstalk Library

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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!

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Nov 17 2014
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music, Q&A

Q&A and Song Premiere with Fellow Creatures

by Tony Porreco

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In September of 2013, Ugly Purple Sweater decided it was time to call it a day. Over the course of the group’s 4 years of activity and 3 releases, Ugly Purple Sweater consistently impressed listeners with their appealing blend of bouncy indie folk and commanding vocal performances from songwriter Sam McCormally.

Following the band’s conclusion, McCormally spurred curiosity by signing up to do a stint on bass for Paperhaus, performed solo frequently and above all, said nothing of when or if he’d begin a new full band project. Fast forward to this past August when a new group called Fellow Creatures made their presence known with a single Bandcamp demo and an 8 bit image of McCormally and Ugly Purple Sweater guitarist Will McKindley-Ward. Reminiscent of mid-career Talking Heads and the David Byrne/Brian Eno album My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, the track (“Shuka Shuka”) features a funkier vibe than most anything in UPS’ catalog.

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With only two public performances and a single available recording, we were eager for the opportunity to sit down with McCormally and McKindley-Ward to learn more about the new band before their headlining show this Saturday 11/22 at DC9. In keeping with everything that’s “new” about the band, Hometown Sounds is proud to premiere the very first finished & polished track by Fellow Creatures.

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Sep 03 2014
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music, video

Beyond Modern – Facedown video & new song Fall Through

DC hip-hop fans have been waiting all summer for Mick Marx and Sur Jazz to drop new music as Beyond Modern. Back in June the duo dropped this sizzling music video for “Facedown”, asserting their rising status as sex symbols over a classic 2 Live Crew sample.

While they continue to assemble their debut full length release Distorted Reality, this morning Beyond Modern debuted a new song to keep the party rocking. “Fall Through” is a glitchy and melodic club banger featuring NYC’s Justin Rose and fashionable DC songstress Alison Carney.

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