Good morning, Dig Nation. Enjoy your Sunday with some nice tunes and videos in the latest Weekly Roundup.
This past week on the Dig, Dave shared information on a very cool event that took place in Baltimore at the Creative Alliance. Whether you attended or not, you should read up on some talented, adventurous acts making echoes in the Charm City scene. I shared the newest single from Brooklyn electro-pop act Little Daylight, a band I feel we'll all be hearing a lot more from.
Didn't see any films but I did catch some of my friends from the Wonderland Archives family live at Cameo Gallery Tuesday night. This label is based in Queens and puts out some awesome music. We've given a lot of coverage to Chase King and you can expect to see more from the Wonderland family on our site as they continue putting out quality releases. Sanibal, who opened the night, has a 7" out soon and their performance made me eager for that. They were followed by Tiger Dare, whom I also enjoyed a lot. I missed Oceanographer and Slow Country, but I know they did not disappoint.
What else did I enjoy this past week? How about this song "Time Square" by Sophia Knapp in collaboration with Aop? It'll be available physically for Record Store Day, but it's streaming now. I think what appeals to me most about it is how it never quite becomes a full on, straight up pop song, though that feeling does peek through, like the sun emerging from behind clouds, only to be covered again. The clouds here are the more ambient and rocking textures around the vocal performance of Sophia. They happen to be nice-sounding clouds – it's like one of those days when it's still pretty bright, even if cloudy – and it all works. Pick it up for RSD if you're so inclined and you can check out Sophia in NYC on 4/19 @ Silent Bar and 4/24 at Tammany Hall.
Here's a really cool video from Haerts (that's not a typo), which uses Super 8 footage to create a lovely portrait of some town. It's not anything that sounds particularly interesting when described, but it has an undeniable appeal and is full of plenty of great moments. It's like a series of micro-vignettes. What impresses me is how you get a strong sense of everyone, even if only shown for seconds. It doesn't necessarily have much to do with the song, yet the video works perfectly. The track, "Wings," does have some flight to it. It's relaxed and warm. Rich emotionally, too, which makes me very intrigued by the chance to see Haerts performing with another act I feel similarly about, the Shout Out Louds. They play NYC on 5/10. This is their debut single, so look for a lot more from this band.
We had a video from MS MR on here a few months ago and now there's another to share. It's for the song "Hurricane," and it has some very striking visuals. For example, people have vibrant skin hues, wear clothes with faces, drip with goo, and even steam. The different scenes seem to have a connection of physical manifestations of a heightened mental state, or at least that's my current reading. Welcome to the inner workings of my mind. The song is moody and electronic and it's from the upcoming Secondhand Rapture due 5/14.
The new track "Lift Away" from Black Light Dinner Party is out in advance of the upcoming Sons and Lovers. It might be a little bit deceptive of a title because it's not quite a blastoff, but it is definitely a good vibe. Heavy on synths and falsetto vocals, it seems primed to take over your playlist on a summer afternoon, or even a nice spring one.
A few other NYC quick hits:
The female country-rock band Antigone Rising is going to release a new EP soon. Here's the rollicking "That Was The Whiskey."
The self-described "Psycho-Mambo" band Gato Loco has a cool new video out for "Splinter." It's quite energetic.
Gato Loco / Splinter from Gato Loco on Vimeo.
Some shows happening in NYC this week:
- Redfoot plays tonight 4/14 at Paperbox Artist Farm.
- Loren Benjamin plays at The Bitter End on Wednesday 4/17. Check out live video "Reckless Days / Endless Nights" for an idea.
- French Horn Rebellion starts a Friday night residency at Brooklyn Bowl 4/19 that goes until 5/10. Get into the spirit with "Friday Nights."
- Friend of the Dig Tim Kuhl has performances twice this week. Little Worlds will play at Grand Victory W 4/17 and St. Helena will play at Shapeshifter Lab F 4/19.
This next item is not NYC-based or from someone we've featured before, but it was too good to pass up: the video from Kingsley Flood for "Sun Gonna Lemme Shine." The simplest way to describe it is heart-warming. The clip depicts a young boy in a dress and his search to find a spot to fit in at school. It features a bunch of 7 year-olds acting a bit beyond their age as pretend high schoolers. Just when it seems there is no group that will accept the boy, a man in an eye-patch shows up with a red wagon to take him to an all-inclusive dance party. Trust me, it's worth watching. It's triumphant like the song, which pulses with energy, particularly in the impassioned vocals.
I can't embed it here, but I encourage you to take a little time to visit this website to hear the latest from Montreal's Folly and the Hunter. The album is called Tragic Care. I might encourage you to finish up here at the Roundup before visiting, actually, because if you're like me, when you start off with "Watch For Deer at Dawn," you are going to want to just keep right on listening. It's a stunning opening track. I suppose it's folk more than anything else, but that doesn't seem to encompass the sound entirely. All I know is I dig how the piano, brushed drums and the voice come together in such a satisfying way. And the lyrics are quite stunning once you actually hear them; I was pretty wrapped in the music the first few times.
We head all the way to the western edges of Canada for the latest from Teen Daze, who just put out a new EP The House on the Mountain. I've fallen hard for the single "Morning House." Much of the inspiration came from Jamison's recent move to, quite literally, a mountainside house. You can feel the sense of wonder and beauty that such a setting might instill in this song. It's an electronic soundscape that invites you in and alludes to the grandeur of existence through its simple, modest joys. This is one of those contemplative, emotional tracks, and I am perfectly content to get utterly lost in it. Click through the Bandcamp to hear all four songs on the EP. Great stuff.
A few other previously-on-TWD quick hits:
Cherokee Red has unveiled their newest single, the dreamy and perhaps a little spooky "Lonely Summer."
Alessi's Ark new album The Still Life will come out 4/30, but you can check out new single "Tin Smithing" below and stream the album here.