Today is one of those days that my social media feed was flooded with remembrances of a musical icon gone too soon. Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell’s death has sent many of us down a 90s grunge rabbit hole on Spotify or YouTube as we read reminisces of his legacy. You can certainly hear that influential style in “The River”, the new single from shoegazey rock band Collider. The song originally appeared in somewhat grungier form on their self-titled 2015 debut EP, but the band gave it a second life in a re-recorded version pressed to 7″ that comes out this weekend. We also get this wet and hazy music video courtesy of Mike Edwards of Delaware band Feral Ponies. Come to the Black Cat on Saturday night to celebrate the release along with Big Hush and Wildhoney, and dig that old Soundgarden shirt out of the closet for the occasion.
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Category Archives: video
Bells and Hunters – Sense of Time
Indie rock band Bells and Hunters get wistfully nostalgic on their new music video for “Sense of Time”, from the second of three EPs comprising the Modern Witch’s Songbook, subtitled Wives’ Tales. Filmed in the last weekend of their tenure at Yellow House, the video shows Time, portrayed by Ben Silvernail of the band Distant Creatures, taking all their stuff away bit by bit. The video also serves as a farewell to guitarist Joe McMurray, who moved away from DC shortly after filming. Grab the EP for whatever price you like and pray that part 3 comes out soon!
Be Steadwell – Sage (Witch Two)
Be Steadwell‘s songs are bite size tales of heartbreak, coping and moving on that are delicious in their wit and lyricism. Her new album Breakup Songs gather together many of the tracks Be has released in the last year as single-take live-looped performances on her YouTube channel, and today we got the album’s first proper music video. “Sage (Witch Two)”, directed by Steadwell (she’s a filmmaker too!), indulges her fascination with witchcraft, astrology and other unexplained magics in her cautionary post-relationship rant. Catch her play a solo show next time she’s in town at the Brentwood Arts Exchange‘s Listening Room on Friday June 23rd.
Abu Rahss x PacMan Slim – Myself
Branding yourself “the world’s most subversive record label” is precisely the boldness associated with FHTMG, the Forest Hills Tenleytown Music Group. Their stunt filming a music video by rappers PacMan and Peso in North Korea without permission seems pretty insane, but it certainly got them noticed. This time the backdrop is unmistakeable as London on their new single “Myself” by PacMan Slim and label head Abu Rahss, produced by Wolphe. This track concerns taking personal responsibility for everything in life, very much the DIY spirit associated with DC.
Humble Fire – Taliesin
Dream pop band Humble Fire really created something special with the video for their new single “Taliesin”. The delicate song’s cryptic title comes from Taliesin West, the home of famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright in Arizona until his death and current location of the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture. Singer Nefra Faltas traveled there and conceived of the song as a response to the death of her father, who was also an architect. The video was directed and choreographed by dancer Sadie Leigh, featuring some cool costume changes as visual effects as the dancers move through their performances. Humble Fire’s sophomore album Builder drops on July 14th, but you can celebrate the single’s release this Thursday night at the Black Cat with support from Sean Barna and CrushnPain.
Reesa Renee – Wanna
Singer Reesa Renee released her first solo single in a minute, and we are digging the slow party jams conjured by producer Aleem Bilaal on “Wanna”. The music video, shot by Yah Yah of Minister Cinema, features gorgeous afro-puffed Instagram model Char drinking and smoking with Renee and her crew. Catch her joyful live performance at Saturday’s 4th annual Funk Parade on the Duke Ellington Black Broadway Stage just prior to the parade’s kickoff.
Near Northeast – Indali
True Mirror, the long-awaited sophomore album by indie folk group Near Northeast, is now available for purchase through the adventurous local label Etxe Records. The album release show is this Friday May 5th at St. Stephen’s, and like all good shows in 2017 part of the proceeds go to support those in need. The band incorporated tabla and sarod, traditional Indian instruments, on the album and especially its beautiful and whimsical debut single “Indali”. Waves are the impossible-to-miss theme and connective tissue of the single’s music video, connecting found footage of frolicking on a beach vacation to immense terror and devastation wrought by tsunamis in the Indian Ocean and Japan. This band knows well how to bridge the delightful and serious into powerful art.
Clones of Clones – That Wasn’t Me
Clones of Clones is well known for rocking hard, but the quartet dials the intensity into a slower emotional ballad on “That Wasn’t Me”, the title track from their recent EP from March. Boston freelance illustrator Emily Hancock, creator of cotton-candy infused paintings (seriously, go look) as well as previous album cover art for Clones of Clones, contriuted to the art-driven music video for the song, and it’s really worth watching without us spoiling the whole thing. If you dig this, check out Hancock’s Patreon page for more deliciously artistic ways to support.
Den-Mate – Just So You Know
Jules Hale’s stage persona Den-Mate and her musical sound have evolved significantly since her experimental bedroom pop beginnings in 2013. The song “Just So You Know”, a highlight of Den-Mate’s debut self-titled solo album, is definitely recognizable but greatly expanded in its current form backed by members of Babe City Records label-mates The Sea Life, in this live take from the label’s new Babe City Sessions series directed by Robin Groulx & Eli Sinkus. Pick up Den-Mate’s newest EP Entropii on cassette or digital, but do yourself a favor and experience the Den-Mate live show ASAP.
Stephen Redhead – Red Carpet feat. Breana Marin
Waikiki, the beautiful beach-festooned tourist destination in Hawaii’s capital Honolulu, is a surprising backdrop for DMV rapper Stephen Redhead‘s bespectacled appearance. He took full advantage of a recent performance there with Foolapalooza to film this video for the luxe single “Red Carpet” with support from LA singer Breana Marin. Grab the Deluxe version of Redhead’s debut album Exxxactly for more of his charming smirk and catchy rhymes.
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