don’t let anyone use you in post-punk uk rockers shopping’s new video ‘suddenly gone’
Post-punk band Shopping’s new visuals for their track ‘Suddenly Gone’.
“It’s about feeling used and undervalued in a relationship or, more generally, as a queer and/or a person of colour making music or art in the UK and how that can feel very draining. You can feel overlooked for years and then suddenly tokenized when your identity becomes buzz-worthy or fashionable”, says band member Rachel Aggs.
Tour Dates:
Thu. March 1 — Boston, MA @ Great Scott *
Fri. March 2 — Providence, RI @ Columbus Theatre *
Sat. March 3 — Brooklyn, NY @ Market Hotel *
Sun. March 4 — Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s *
Tue. March 6 — Washington, DC @ Union Stage *
Wed. March 7 — Asheville, NC @ Mothlight *
Thu. March 8 — Savannah, GA @ Savannah Stopover *
Fri. March 9 — Atlanta, GA @ 529 *
Sat. March 10 — New Orleans, LA @ Gasa Gasa *
Sun. March 11 — Houston, TX @ The Secret Group *
Mon. March 12 — San Antonio, TX @ Paper Tiger *
Wed. March 14 — Austin, TX @ Hotel Vegas Annex (SXSW) (11:25pm)
Thu. March 15 — Austin, TX @ Latitude 30 (SXSW) (10pm)
Fri. March 16 — El Paso, TX @ Lowbrow Palace *
Sat. March 17 — Phoenix, AZ @ Rebel Lounge *
Sun. March 18 — San Diego, CA @ Whistle Stop *
Tue. March 20 — Santa Ana, CA @ Constellation Room *
Wed. March 21 — Los Angeles, CA @ Resident * #
Thu. March 22 — San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop #
Fri. March 23 — Portland, OR @ Bunk Bar #
Sat. March 24 — Seattle, WA @ Vera Project #
Tue. March 27 — Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry
Wed. March 28 — Chicago, IL @ Beat Kitchen &
Thu. March 29 — Detroit, MI @ Marble Bar &
Fri. March 30 — Toronto, ON @ Baby G &
Sat. March 31 — Montreal, QC @ Bar Le Ritz &
* = w/ French Vanilla
# = w/ Lithics
& = w/ Tyvek
brooklyn rock and soul quartet harville are out for “blood” on their debut single
Brooklyn alt rock quartet Harville has been tearing it up since high school classmates Jonathan Singletary and Jay Troop reconnected. Their debut single “Blood” finds the band merging their punk and soul influences into a sound that’s got flashes of Van Hunt and hints of Fugazi. With a jagged beat and a razor edged guitar line, the band is definitely out for blood. Check it out below.
take on america’s racist legacy in the massive new single by alt rock singer zion rodman, “did not wake up today”
Like a lot of us, the election of a certain crypto-fascist has really fucked up Zion Rodman’s sleep schedule. He reportedly wrote “Did Not Wake Up Today” late at night after the election, thinking about the shattered illusion of “post-racial” society. The song draws on memories of his mother growing up in Jim Crow Alabama, with Rodman expressing rage and frustration that America’s racism never really left. It’s been always been simmering, until it exploded into the White House in a seething foam of white mediocrity. Rodman turns up the volume on his melodic indie pop, with his stunning voice just barely masking his anger beneath the hook. “Did not wake up today, I got no sleep last night / I was genuinely afraid but kept it all inside.”
The full EP is available January 20th, but you can pre-order it and get the title track now via Bandcamp.
Did Not Wake up Today by Zion Rodman
we found your new freedom anthem in swahili hard rock band rash’s poetic “nitachange” ft. ruff
It’s Kwanzaa time, so chances are you’ve been hearing some Swahili lately, but I bet it sounds nothing like this. RASH is a five piece hard rock band hailing from Nairobi, Kenya (which they jokingly refer to as the “hakuna matata land” on their Facebook page). Featuring Ruff, their latest single, NITACHANGE, is a poetic ode to the struggles of people across the globe, told in seamless transitions from English to Swahili. Described in a short Soundcloud blurb as being about blood “Bled from heroes never met / Bled for freedom that we were supposed to get,” “NITACHANGE” is the rousing liberation anthem you never knew you needed. Check it out below!
celebrate male sensitivity on the hook-filled “boys poop too” by party rock quartet baby baby
Let’s say you’re a beloved party rock band and you want to write a song about the toxic masculinity that forbids men from showing emotion, you’re probably going to call that song “Boys Poop Too.” You just are. Probably a lot could be said about the meta fact that Baby Baby hides their most emotionally honest song behind a joke title in service of dissecting the same patriarchal impulse that drives them to hide self-same emotions, but more importantly: the song fucking rules. It matches one of their best hooks to a passionate performance from frontman Fontez Brooks and the band at their tightest. Emotional honesty has never been more joyful.
The band explains:
“Boys Poop Too is metaphor for the idea that men are emotion creatures. This song personifies sensitivity. Imagine a world where men didn’t try and “play it cool” in the dating scene. A world where men say things like “Hold my hand as you look me in my eyes.” Well this world exists in this song.”
indie rock goes back to its jangly raucous roots on marvin the robot’s ‘commercially viable jump music’
Growing up an acolyte of the Lou Barlow and J Mascis school of indie rock, I will always have a soft spot for the earnest lo-fi stylings of bands like Marvin the Robot. The Columbus, OH collective has been kicking around since 1999, always with singer / guitarist Miles Curtiss at its center. Their latest, Commercially Viable Jump Music, is Curtiss’ music at its best: stripped down, unpretentious, and raw.
It’s an album that harkens back to an era when the term “indie rock” wasn’t just code for “pop, but with guitars.” There’s a personality here. Songs like “Girls Can Tell” and “Shouldn’t Have To Be So Brave” couldn’t have come from anyone else. Jangly acoustic guitars peek out from behind the sludged leavy lead, and drums have exactly two modes: loud or not playing.
It’s as it should be. Curtiss sings like a bewildered time traveller from 1992 trying to make sense of the world around him; all confounded shouts and frustration. On the band’s best songs, like “Get Out Of The Good Life” and the brilliantly titled “Liberals! Can We Riot Now?” their chemistry locks in and they find the right balance of indie jangle and punk attitude.
Commercially Viable Jump Music by Marvin The Robot
Stream it if you must, but this is the kind of album you really need to listen to on vinyl. Luckily they have some of those.
blow off some steam with the help of alt-rock quartet st. maurice’s impressive ‘hagiography’
Most of the time, when you take 4 years to make an album, running through as many engineers and studios, that’s a sign that something’s off. For Spartanburg, SC’s St. Maurice though, it’s a testament to their commitment to fine-tuning their craft. Their debut LP Hagiography runs through sounds and styles, each song teasing a dozen disparate influences, yet it never sounds fussed over or disjointed. Their blend of post-hardcore instrumentation, improvised flights of fancy, blues and R&B rhythms, and sonic exploration is a complex journey few bands ever take, let alone on their debut full length.
Opening with the 7 minute “Untitled (Dusky Hued Lady Satan)” the band builds a heavy guitar line into what might be their biggest hook, before jamming out the coda. In other hands a 3 minute outro might be self-indulgent, but the band layers dense textures and sounds in a way that makes it a perfect introduction to their ethos as a band: don’t worry about where you think the song is going, you’re in good hands, it’ll be worth the trip.
Tracks like “No Man, No Name,” “Vash the Stampede” and “M.A.Y.O.” shine by showcasing the band at their most focused and driven, but the highlights often come when St. Maurice stretch out a little. The closing duo of “Show Me Your Soul” and “After Credits Scene” were written through heavy improvisation, turning out some of the best riffs the record has to offer, courtesy of twin guitarists Will Robbins and Geordon Tullis. It’s this kind of musical chemistry that underpins St. Maurice’s tauter songs given room to stretch out and breathe. As “After Credits Scene” rolls to the end, the song evaporates. A post-credit scene in a movie is to whet your appetite for the sequel, leaving things just a little unfinished. This song does the same. I’m buying my tickets to Hagiography II now, before the line starts.
unleash your inner b*tch with rock ballerina kimberly nichole’s “veruca salt”
Known as the Rock Ballerina, Kimberly Nichole is a powerhouse rock diva. Described by Rolling Stone as a “superhero hybrid of Aretha Franklin’s vocals with Bono’s stage presence…” her newest single “Veruca Salt“ is wailing, in-your-face decree about getting want you want, when you want it. A perfect introduction to the AFROPUNK London host’s soaring intensity and captivating presence, ”Veruca Salt“ is a glorious homage to the Chocolate Factory brat and a splendid soundtrack for babes who know what they want.
Also check out Kimberly Nichole on Netflix’s ‘Neo Yokio’
blues/punk artist fantastic negrito commiserates with our political blues in the anthemic “push back”
Grammy Award-winning musician Fantastic Negrito leads the resistance in the expressive video for the passionately frustrated, ridiculously infectious “Push Back”.
kaytranada reworks gorillaz’ ‘strobelite’ into a funky fresh remix
Canadian DJ extraordinaire is only days away from headlining AFROPUNK Brooklyn next week, but you don’t have to wait until then to be blessed by new examples of his genius. Yesterday, virtual band Gorillaz dropped a remix to their Peven Everett-featuring track, “Strobelite,” featuring the super-producer, and it’s everything you could want it to be.
Originally appeared on Gorillaz’ recent album Humanz, and just last week receiving the video treatment, the Kaytranada remix to “Strobelite” is stripped down to pack even more funk into the feel-good jam.
Check it out below!: