Monday: Marissa Nadler
For more than 12 years, Marissa Nadler has perfected her own take on the exquisitely sculpted gothic American songform. On her seventh full-length, Strangers, she has shed any self-imposed restrictions her earlier albums adhered to, stepped through a looking glass, and created a truly monumental work.
Sounds Like: Mariee Sioux, Tiny Vipers, Alela Diane
Tuesday: Holy White Hounds
Holy White Hounds is an apt name for the quartet’s endearing but feral alt-rock. The moniker also conjures the band’s origins as small town underdogs who are rising to earn national prominence. Now, the band announces its debut album, Sparkle Sparkle (Razor & Tie). “We are a band that comes from the basement who has worked real hard to gradually make our way up the staircase,” says lead vocalist and guitarist Brenton Dean. In addition to Brenton, on vocals/guitar, Holy White Hounds is comprised of Ambrose Lupercal (bass), James Manson (guitar), and Seth Luloff (drums).
Sounds like: The Struts, Bleeker, Death Valley Dreams
Wednesday: tiny deaths
Following in the footsteps of mood-setters Phantogram and Beach House, tiny deaths is poised to be the next breakout act from Minneapolis, a city rich in talent. Sounding simultaneously almost familiar and yet like nothing else, Grant Cutler (Lookbook, Wolflords) and Claire de Lune (The Chalice) have joined forces to create a fresh take on the dark, brooding electropop movement currently dominating indie rock. Their live show is a dichotomy. It’s something you can move to, but lyrically it’s delicate and introspective.
Sounds like: Wales, Waterbed, Rose Quartz
Thursday: Propaganda | Murs
Propaganda: What do you say about Propaganda? He’s a poet, political activist, husband, father, academic, & emcee. With LA flowing through his veins & armed with a bold message, Propaganda has assembled a body of work that challenges his listeners with every verse & reaches across the spectrum of pop culture..
Murs: Have A Nice Life, the Los Angeles rhymer’s debut solo album on Strange Music, encapsulates MURS’ far-reaching personality and sensibilities while arriving as a cohesive project that nonetheless vacillates between being humorous, serious, intense, street and socially aware.
Friday: Inter Arma
INTER ARMA‘s raw, uninhibited approach merges doom metal, psychedelic sludge, black metal, prog and more, and over the course of the last ten years, has established the band as a uniquely innovative force in contemporary extreme metal. INTER ARMA are poised to return with their heaviest and most multifaceted work to date. Paradise Gallows is more than an hour of lush, colorful melodies and textures blended with the heaviness of the earth’s impending death.
Sounds like: Lord Mantis, Indian, The Atlas Moth
Saturday: The Twilight Hours
Matt Wilson and John Munson have been playing music together off and on for about twenty years. After a few projects together, they formed the rockband, The Twilight Hours. The band features wonderful musicians, Jacques Wait on guitar, David Salmela on piano, and Steve Roehm on drums. Together the guys produce a sinuous groove, over which Matt sings his melodious poetry.
Sounds like: The New Standards, The Melismatics, The Arms Akimbo
Sunday: SHEL
The billowing curtains of sound on Just Crazy Enough, the second full length album from virtuoso indie-folk band SHEL, will be both familiar and far-out to fans of the exciting sister quartet. The classically inspired mandolin, violin and piano are there, along with the band’s glowing vocal harmonies. But we also hear dense, ethereal textures that hover between the digital and the analog. Grooves are deeper, emboldened with electronic ambience and beat-boxing.
Sounds like: The Vespers, Elenowen, Elephant Revival
Blog by Ellie Moonen
