The El Mansouris are likely the only band ever to have headlined the 9:30 Club before actually publishing a single song. The band, composed of Alex Braden, Drew Hagelin, Fiona Kohrman, Margot MacDonald and Sam Raymond, have buzzed about DC playing shows for a couple of years now, teasing an album that is finally almost here thanks to DZ Tapes and Babe City Records. Sadly, the self-titled album‘s release also brings the band’s demise, as members move away and onto other projects. Their last hurrah is this Friday at Smith Public Trust, along with the swan song of another much hyped band, The Young Rapids. Watch bassist Drew Hagelin’s video for the single “The Greys” and catch this band one last time.
Hometown Sounds
Showing The World How DC Rocks
Kingpen Slim – D’mons
Kingpen Slim had some fun with last year’s slinky EP Fxck Lxve, but his strength has always been his versatility in creative output. His full length album Life After Doubt got a little fuller with the release last week of the Deluxe Edition with a few bonus cuts, a new cover and this music video for the dark track “D’mons”. Jay Gregory crafted this video to accompany the story line of the song, a violent street beef between armed killers with tragic consequences.
Lightshow – Now
DMV rapper Lightshow celebrates his success in his newest video “Now”. Chop N Shoot Films made this slick video from footage of Lightshow’s sold out album release show for Life Sentence 3 at the Howard Theatre, with plenty of DC sports jerseys and one slick ride as bonus. There’s a nice balance between boasting and jubilation from this young rapper with a bright future.
Podcast for January 19th, 2017
Paul invents new magazines, while Tony invents a new restaurant.
Tracklisting:
The El Mansouris – The Grays [The El Mansouris]
Sarah Stardust – Supernova [Sarah Stardust]
Railsplitter – Tiger Papers [Tiger Papers]
PHZ-Sicks – Hurt [single]
Flash Frequency – Omni (live) [single]
Teething Veils – Here’s to to the State of Donald Trump [single]
Or listen in SoundCloud:
Subscribe to the Hometown Sounds podcast in the iTunes Store or your favorite podcast app! (and tell a friend too!)
The Obsessives – Surfer Rosa
If you’re a fan of indie rock, you don’t need us to point out the reference in the title of the new single by The Obsessives. The duo of Nick Bairatchnyi and Jackson Mansfield have been playing together since the age of fifteen, making a big splash with their debut album Heck No, Nancy back in 2015. The pre-order is now live for their second album, self-titled this time on Lame-O Records, and the music video for “Surfer Rosa” is a playful attention-grabber. Director Corrinne James turns life into a weird video game with cartoonish flying saucers punishing our young rock stars for making the wrong choices. Don’t miss them playing at the 9:30 Club on Tuesday March 21st opening for Modern Baseball.
Hand Grenade Job – New Year
Hand Grenade Job sounds like a young, cheeky punk band you’d see at a DIY basement show, and the duo of Beck Levy and Erin McCarley do draw some inspiration from that scene. But their minimalist sound, which they dub “post-Americana”, is decidedly more mellow and thoughtful. Pre-orders of their new album Devotionals, coming out on cassette via Sister Polygon Records, went up on their Bandcamp page today, as did the second music video from it. “New Year”, directed by Levy, is a sped-up meditation on raising children and making art in the face of an uncertain future. Being a mom sometimes means you’ve got marker all over your face. Their album release show is Thursday February 23rd at the Black Cat with Pissed Jeans.
Dawkins – Bad Faith
Dawkins is a new band in DC gaining attention by crafting their own unique style. Jazz will always be a staple of live music in DC, despite unfortunate venue setbacks and closures in 2016, but it’s often revered as a traditional expression we’ve heard many times before. Dawkins is inspired by the experimentation of Animal Collective and Radiohead, but fuses it with an unmistakeable jazz groove to craft what they call “splatter-pop”. These 5 young players were raised in Bethesda and collaborate on music remotely while studying far apart. The first taste of their sound for home and office consumption is “Bad Faith”, with accompanying subtly distorted war footage to unsettle us all.
The Cornel West Theory – Mr Colvin (sir)
In 2017, I’m hoping we see less of the street tough, drugs and women style of some DC rappers and more of the confrontational politics of The Cornel West Theory. Tim Hicks and his crew had hoped to drop The T.A.B.L.E. Too, the follow up to last year’s free release The T.A.B.L.E., late in 2016, but issues with the album’s mix delayed its release to 2017, when everything is right with the world and no one is upset about anything in America. Just kidding. Here’s their latest music video from the upcoming release, “Mr Colvin (sir)”, vintage 70s soul/funk samples underpinning trademark fiery quips and disturbing visuals. Get ready.
KAAN – Oochie Wally Remix
2017 could go any number of ways, but I can confidently predict that K.A.A.N., MD rapper and star of one of our fave music videos of 2016, will continue to deliver a steady flow of amazing rhymes, tracks and videos. His latest layers K.A.A.N.’s knowledge over the classic 2001 track by Nas and Bravehearts “Oochie Wally”, and includes a lengthy preamble showing a glimpse into K.A.A.N.’s work ethic, involving keeping a neat desk and smoking weed the right way. He takes it all seriously.
Reesa Renee – Radio Unplugged
Singer Reesa Renee can belt out a soulful song with the best of them, but her wide, fun loving smile and nerd glasses style complete the package as a memorable entertainer. 2017 is going to be a standout year for Renee, with new music coming in February and a cover feature on DC’s Modern Luxury magazine gracing the stands now. Her newest music video is this mellow unplugged rendition of “Radio”, originally from her 2012 album Reelease, featuring fellow DC musicians TK of Cloud 9 and Jay Rojas of Top 5.
Hometown Sounds 