Balancing a hefty dose of psychedelia with their indie folk sound, Pree premiered a new music video yesterday for “Different Shores” from last year’s full length album Rima. Since singer May Tabol is the only woman in Pree, you may be curious who the other character wearing an identical wig is in this video. That’s Paige Brubeck from St. Louis band Sleepy Kitty, and by sheer cosmic coincidence both female-fronted bands are playing a show together tonight at one of the last shows at DCDIT hotspot Above The Bayou, along with the excellent producer Louis Weeks. Simply a no brainer.
Hometown Sounds
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Category Archives: shows
Color Palette – Bullets
A few dedicated, well-run house venues in DC survive the test of time and put on a long string of amazing shows. More often, of course, police shut down the party early, landlords get wind of the goings-on and snappy-named venues fade into memory. Which will Casa Bellissima near in Shaw turn out to be? Wouldn’t it be cool to go to their first show ever? Well you can, as synth rockers Color Palette inaugurate the space this Friday with Drive TFC and New York’s Frances Cone. Color Palette’s debut full length album comes out this May, but you can sample their powerful, big room sound now with this live video for “Bullets”. Be cool, bring your own beverages, donate money for the touring band, and don’t scare the house cats.
Mellow Diamond – No Treaty
Cellist Janel Leppin, always at the forefront of experimental mind-blowing music in DC, has been struggling to release her debut solo record as Mellow Diamond for years. Despite being recorded, mixed and mastered, no label she met with was willing to put it out the way Leppin intended, so she has gone the route of many in the DIY scene and started her own label, Wedderburn Records. Last year we featured Mellow Diamond’s first ambient, dreamy video “Namesake”, and earlier this week she dropped the second video, “No Treaty”. It’s a surprising turn to moody pop music with lyrics, strummed electric guitar and a steady 4/4 beat with handclaps, while the video keeps things trippy as video artist Michael Hindert manipulates travel footage shot by Leppin. Mellow Diamond’s album finally emerges later this week after a celebratory show Thursday night at Songbyrd featuring a finely curated lineup of fellow female-fronted experimental pop bands, Roz and the Rice Cakes and Pree.
Two Inch Astronaut – Personal Life
No one bats a thousand with their crazy ass ideas, but it takes courage to admit it didn’t work out the way you thought and creativity to salvage the tatters into something pretty cool. Director Mike O’Brien thought he could recreate the Wachowski siblings’ Bullet Time effect from The Matrix in DIY fashion by equipping 15 dedicated superfans with selfie sticks while grungy post-hardcore band Two Inch Astronaut performed “Personal Life”, the title track from their recently-released third full length album. That didn’t quite work, so instead we get a video of people filming themselves around the oblivious band. Any concert goer stupid enough to try this at a real show should get their selfie stick broken over their head. After a tour of the southeast and SXSW, the tiny spacegoers play a show at The Void, formerly Hostage House, in Hyattsville on Saturday March 26th with Exploding In Sound labelmates Gnarwhal, XK Scenario and Sungazing.
Wylder – Swells
Are these guys on the radio yet? I gave up FM for podcasts years ago, but the acoustic guitar, singalong choruses and feel-good violin & keys melodies of indie folk band Wylder are tailor-made for mass appeal. They’ve only put out 2 singles to date, but their debut album Rain and Laura comes out April 8th, and opening slots for national acts and festival gigs won’t be far behind. Unless, of course, romantic relationship troubles doom this tight-knit sextet of young musicians, as portrayed by singer Will McCarry in their second music video, “Swells”. Don’t ever give up your bros, Will. Catch Wylder opening for The Family Crest at Rock & Roll Hotel on Saturday March 26th.
Cigarette – Housewife
Cigarette maintain a brash attitude by creating the absolute opposite of hurried punk music, allowing their languid compositions to sprawl out and soak listeners in moody atmosphere. For their first music video for “Housewife” from their 2013 debut ep ‘gush’, Sarah Kinlaw of the Brooklyn band SOFTSPOT directed her bandmate Jonathan Campolo to shoot this solo dance performance of Sarah moving through rooms of a house while changing costumes and wigs that feels eerily like a clip from a David Lynch movie. Cigarette plays tonight at the Black Cat with Pearie Sol (aka Perry from DC bands Teen Liver and Gauche) and headliner Dougie Poole.
https://vimeo.com/144129080
Loud Boyz – World’s A Cage
The inaugural Breakin Even Fest kicks off tonight at Songbyrd in AdMo, promising “Mystery Merch Raffles, Cheap Beer, Party Times” from a hardcore lineup including Lilac Daze, Collider, Curse Words, The Mauls and headliners Loud Boyz. “World’s A Cage” comes from their debut album Tough Love, Hard Feelings out on Cricket Cemetery, and the video wisely chooses some iconic 80s monsters to join the raucous Loud Boyz party.
Near Northeast – Under the Pines
The divide is as stark as the Potomac river: the punk and angular indie rock goes on the DC side, and the folk and twangy alt-country goes on the VA side. Near Northeast is doing great work at bridging that gap, developing a passionate fan base for their earnest folk sound in the heart of the city. Kelly Servick, Avy Malik and Austin Blanton play a lot of well-received sets around town, including a high profile gig at the Luce Unplugged showcase at the Smithsonian American Art museum last fall, while they work on a follow up to last year’s pay-what-you-want debut Curios. Videographer Kip Radt and graphic artist Ashley Blanton collaborated on Near Northeast’s debut music video “Under the Pines”, presenting a puffy cloud’s journey through surreal landscapes and many recognizable DC landmarks. Tonight Near Northeast kicks off the buildup to the Kingman Island Bluegrass Festival later in April with a show at the Hamilton also featuring the Plate Scrapers and Walter Martin of The Walkmen.
We Were Pirates – Matter
Esteemed co-host and podcast producer Tony Porreco likened We Were Pirates‘ Mike Boggs to a “pourover coffee”. It takes more time to brew, but the complex, nuanced taste is worth the wait. While Boggs rounds up a few talented folks to perform songs live, the composition and studio recording work is nearly all Mike. The original instrumental score to the documentary film Dear Mr. Watterson came out in 2013, and the last proper album by We Were Pirates was 2012’s Change. Spacey electronics and synthetic drums are the new compliments to Boggs’s delicate and precise vocals on “Matter”, the title track from We Were Pirates’ brand new album. Celebrate the album’s release next Thursday March 3rd at the Black Cat with Color Palette and Me & Karen, an all-DC lineup as perfectly curated as you’d expect from Boggs.
Den-Mate – DC Junkie
The best place to see Julia Hale front the Babe City Records crew as Den-Mate is front & center. That’s where noted videographer Michael Andrade captured this performance of “DC Junkie” at the Luce Unplugged concert seriess at the Smithsonian American Art Museum last November. That’s where you should be tonight when Den-Mate headlines an album re-release show at the Black Cat along with Baltimore’s Sitcom and label-buds Witch Coast. As work continues on recording new material with Hale and her backing band, Babe City opted to remix Hale’s initial GarageBand demos from 2013, showing a more electronic angle than the loud and brash sound Hale leads now. With releases from Foozle, The Sea Life, Witch Coast, BRNDA and Young Rapids, Babe City is doing great work to broaden the popularity of their flavor of the DC music scene.
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