Category Archives: video

The Hunted Hare – Everywhere Green

WORLD PREMIERE!

Friday June 1st is a big day for Verses Records. The DC-based experimental label decided to drop two major releases on the same day. Known for their expansive 40-ish track benefit compilations, the first is VR, a modest 12 song split release with Liverpool’s Romeda Records, featuring Tag Cloud, James Wolf, DMLLL and The Hunted Hare. The second is the sophomore album Lost Wilderness by The Hunted Hare, the solo moniker of minimalist guitar wizard Dennis Kane.

On last year’s full length album Nothing Is Always, Kane established the tone of the project as melancholy and pensive, providing tenor and baritone melodies through cello tones and electronics. Lost Wilderness, despite its bleak title possibly referencing over-development and climate change, reveals a warmer, more summery vibe. “If there’s a theme to this recording”, Kane says, “it’s about balancing the needs of a peaceful inner life with the demands of living in a chaotic world”. Hometown Sounds is honored to premiere the music video of the album’s first single “Everywhere Green”, a soothing mix of heavily saturated nature shots with archival footage of dancing flapper women, slowed down and perfectly synced to the whispers of Kane’s pleasing melody. Mood is key with instrumental music, and Kane delivers a release worthy of turning off all the lights and letting it fully envelop you.

The Hunted Hare performs songs from the new album Sunday night at Bossa, opening the night for a collaboration between Ben Harbert (Los Angeles Electric 8) and Chris Hamley (Alarms & Controls, Circus Lupus) adapting 20th-century pre- and post-minimalist music to electric guitars, delay pedals and drum machine.

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Winzday Love – Dragons

Singer Winzday Love delivers an appealing blend of soul and reggae on her first proper music video “Dragons (1000 Years Old)”. Her precocious and animated performance is quite captivating, contrasting with her backing band quietly chilling in the background. This single and her assortment of others streaming on her SoundCloud page make us excited for a full release from this rising artist. Mark your calendars for her headlining show at the Black Cat Backstage on Saturday July 7th with support from Blaquestone, Kesari and Alireza.

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The North Country – Don’t Quit Your Day Job

Andrew Grossman’s band The North Country continues to evolve and thrive. Today they released “Don’t Quit Your Day Job”, the first single with a brand new lineup that includes Near Northeast’s Austin Blanton, Ms. Fridrich drummer Kirk Kubicek, singer-songwriter Laurel Halsey and Joel Gleiser of My Son Bison. The new music video, filmed of course by the estimable Nigel Lyons, is a fun mishmash of intriguing imagery, including comedian Brittany Carney as a pink haired patriotic figure overly fond of flipping the bird. They’re playing a single release show Sunday June 3rd at Union Stage with Delaware’s Hoochi Coochi and a new band from Baby Bry Bry called Slow Love, so you’re going right?

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Pinky KillaCorn – OOOUUU

DC rapper Pinky KillaCorn is firmly on brand with her neon hairstyle and teases of a new release with the cheeky title Pinky & The Pain. In the meantime, though, she just dropped a new music video for the vowel-laden song “OOOUUU” from the 2017 Spinrilla-hosted free mixtape KILLACORN 7.0. The summer vibes are well timed, as are her deft verbal acrobatics.

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Dubpixel – Stonecutter

Do you remember when we hosted Super!Silver!Haze! at the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage back in January? Feel free to watch the whole thing again right now, it was top notch. Guitarist Doug Kallmeyer also makes nervy, atmospheric electronic music under the handle Dubpixel. Experimental label Verses Records releases Dubpixel’s output, including the song “Stonecutter” that appeared on 2016’s epic Bandcamp-only compilation Code Red: An International Compilation to Benefit the ACLU. Dubpixel dropped the song’s new music video earlier this week featuring urban-flavored hallucinations crafted by Monica Stronik, who also helmed the amazing visuals for the Millennium Stage show. Chip in a few bucks to help preserve our precious civil liberties and dig deep into DC’s impressive experimental scene.

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Flasher – Pressure

Bad Moves aren’t the only DC supergroup blowing up on a sizable out of town label right now. Post-punk trio Flasher‘s debut album Constant Image drops in June on Domino Recording Company, and its second single is out now. “Pressure” is an 80s “alternative” style romp with a VHS-distorted video from Weird Life films featuring Chicago artist An Authentic Skidmark. This is an interesting dose of garish camp in the normally serious-minded DC punk ethos. Stay tuned for a hometown album release show announcement.

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Be Steadwell – Sometimes

In April of 2017 Be Steadwell gave us a full length album called Breakup Songs, brimming with heartache and regret. This year is turning out quite differently for the queer pop singer. Queer Love Songs, Steadwell’s new album that drops this Saturday, features many more collaborations and a fuller sound thanks to a grant from the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice. In addition to new songs lionizing love of many varieties, some old songs get fresh versions, including the hook-laden “Netflix” and “Sometimes”, about a relationship with a non-binary person. Kisha Hopwood presents ASL translations in this music video, furthering a theme of deep communication about Steadwell’s emotions and her world. Celebrate this new release with her Saturday night at Strathmore’s AMP venue.

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Aaron Abernathy – Generation

Soul singer Aaron Abernathy is at the forefront of engaging in Dialogue on racial issues in America today. His 2017 sophomore album is one of DC’s finest, and he saved the video for its lead single “Generation” for last month’s somber remembrance of 50 years since we lost Dr. Martin Luther King. Director Real Rec combines archival footage of the ongoing struggle of minority communities with Ab’s hopeful presence in Washington as he sings about unity for all neighbors. #BEAPARTOFTHEDIALOGUE

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Ace Cosgrove – Wrong Woes

Our favorite nappy-headed rapper Ace Cosgrove went quiet on us for a few months in early 2018, but we know that just means fire is brewing. His new track “Wrong Woes”, dropped last week with Cosgrove’s distinct staccato cadence and producer Reggie Volume‘s creeping baseline throughout. The handsome video directed by Perry weaves a sparse tale of dealing and betrayal, driving home the enduring theme “never trust the pretty girls”.

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Makeup Girl – Living Safe

One of the excellent songs on our most recent podcast was the new single “Living Safe” by Mount Rainer band Makeup Girl. Whether or not you heard it there, now’s the time to watch the pretty music video for it. Director Vincent Jaugan captures the sweater-clad lads in their practice space, with pizza boxes stacked high and the mannequin from last year’s video “Something New” as chaperone. The song has a nice balance between solid beat and bassline and wobbly, minor key vocals and guitar. We’re looking forward to the May 11th release of their third EP, also called Living Safe, almost as much as the EP release show Friday May 18th at SongByrd with The Slim Jimmies and the Dune Flowers.

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