girl about town

Dig the New Breed: Toy Soldiers

  

 

South Philly's Toy Soldiers is the core duo of Ron Gallo (vocals and guitar) and Mike Baurer (drums).  Friends from Temple University, this dynamic duo has been on the Philly music scene for about a year-and-a-half, entertaining audiences with their own stamp of blues-laden indie rock.  With the recent addition of Tyler Beck on bass, Toy Solidiers is ready for what's next.  Proteges of local promoter Derek Dorsey, the band will start recording their first full length debut (entitled "It is What It Is, Is It What It Is?") this month at The Fire's Studio (where favorite Philly band The Teeth recorded). Currently they have a self-recorded six song demo/EP that the band sells at shows, but the hope is that the new album will be released in the Spring, perhaps April.  Expect somewhere between 12-15 songs, most of which will be engineered by Pete Veloski of Falkonr.  Also expect the brash, down-and-dirty sound these boys are known for, up the same alley as The Strokes, The White Stripes, and The Black Keys....swampy guitar, jittery vocals, and crashing drums - albeit with an ever-so-slight rockabilly bent.  If you didn't know Toy Soldiers was a young current band from Philly, you may even think they are from another era, like the Sun Records house band.  The band isn't ashamed to harken back to the past, since they know how to twist the songs into their own howling version, not unlike the other bands who also riff the blues.  While we wait for the release of the new album, you can catch Toy Soldiers on the road with another Philly band, The Armchairs, in March.

Toy Soldiers - myspace

Dig the New Breed: Deaf Not Dead

Delaware's Deaf Not Dead rose from the ashes of Lolita Nation, a band that formed at the University of Delaware in Newark.  Lolita Nation was a Brit-pop inspired group that fed off of guitarist and WVUD DJ Rick Martel's love of shoegaze and distortion.  Once Lolita Nation had run its course, Martel joined up in 2007 with fellow band mate Brian Bartling for a new sound and a new direction.  Moving away from the shimmery guitar pop that Lolita Nation offered via strong influence of Echo and the Bunnymen, Deaf Not Dead takes a different approach by paying homage to a different musical hero - Joy Division.  The vocal similarity between Ian Curtis and Martel cannot be denied, and this sets the tone for the rest of the band's music: dark, gloomy, and thoroughly captivating.  Intensely loud and experimental, the band relies on synthesizers and guitars for their melodies, while the bass and drums propel the songs along at a steady if not brisk clip.  Martel (vocals, guitar, keys) and Bartling (bass) are joined by Kirby Sankus (keys) and Sean Mis (drums), and together this foursome sinks their teeth into some pretty weighty material.  Their debut full length album "Commotions" was released this past May, while the band continued over the summer to write and record.  "Commotions" offers ten tracks of substance, and if the band continues to find its stride, their future will be bright (or dark and gloomy, as we like it).  Don't miss Deaf Not Dead when they play in Philly on December 18th at The Fire.

Deaf Not Dead - band site / myspace

Dig the New Breed: The Ruling Class, Natalie Portman's Shaved Head

The new 'monkey-men'? Sunshine bright, waterfalls and rainfall...

Someone call Ian Brown, John Squire, Andy Bell and Mark Gardener already; because there's a few lads who've heard The Second Coming, and they've made it their personal mission to turn it into their own. Dead-ringers for The Stone Roses, Ride, and newly signed to London's fiercest of indies; Fierce Panda records (the label that brought us the earliest releases from bands such as Coldplay, Ash, The Bluetones and Art Brut--and of course "Wibbling Rivalry", the Liam/Noel Oasis interview)--brand new indie The Ruling Class is treading heavily (heavily!) on 90s "Madchester" holy ground and not even hiding that fact. We also swear that there's even a part in their song "Umbrella Folds" (from Tour De Force) that is channeling Lou Reed's "Take a Walk On the Wild Side". Call us stuck in the past, or, longing for a time when we could just throw on a Love record and dance into the late afternoon sunset lighting things on fire and throwing colored paint on paper, but these songs are so made; it's like The Ruling Class are actually covering tracks from a 90s reel-to-reel of lost shoegaze numbers they found hidden in someone's closet straight down to the vocals, lyrics, bass lines and the flower-beaded and jangly acid-drenched guitar that's straight out of Shaun Ryder's mystical brain sayin', 'Call the cops!'. But we love it, and we're so wound up that we can't even talk about it anymore....just listen. If you know and love the sound and long for more, you can pick up their first two releases (an EP and two singles) via mailorder through lovely pop-makers Shelflife Records, or Label Fandango (aka Fierce Panda) now. The band has already been added as an opener for up-and-comers Glasvegas in the UK for one of their quickly-selling round of tour dates, and we know that means business.

The Ruling Class - band site / myspace

It's a raging disco party, and there is a grooving synth-rhythm that beats in the fiery heart of all stigmatized early twenty-somethings hitting the summer pool party scene this year and longing for a hold on the concept of 80s style, new-wave, and maybe even a piece of the spandex and slap-bracelet action. We get all of that, and apparently, so do Natalie Portman's Shaved Head. "Me and your daughter, hotter and hotter...so don't make us go home ever again...!", we get the quirky lyrics about romancing someone's daughter (Me + Yr Daughter) and the cute electronic beats that format the sound of this youthful quartet... "Keep it strictly on the dancefloor, otherwise what's your booty for?", they advise. We couldn't agree more, Natalie Portman's Shaved Head (most recently spotted opening for CSS here in Philadelphia--Lovefoxxx loves them). And we'll have some fun listening to you this year and reminiscing about our Aunts working out to Jane Fonda jazzercise videos; you are wisely joyful, and shallowly entertaining. "Hot damn, sexy facial hair! It's everywhere!" Download a track from their latest EP release, Glistening Pleasure so you can feel the shaved head and get down with all of its 'glistening pleasure.'

Natalie Portman's Shaved Head - Slow Motion Tag Team

Natalie Portman's Shaved Head - myspace

Dig the New Breed: Le Corps Minces de Françoise, Bell, and The Wombats

Le Corps Mince de Françoise (roughly translated; 'the thin body of Françoise') are from Helsinki, Finland and take their smart and quickly-paced electronic, new wave disco-beats from the book of such bands as Yelle, and Le Tigre. While one side showcases the light face of French-inspired pop (their name is after all inspired by an imaginary French chanson), the other balances the music firmly within the more punk, electronic and dreamy imagery of Mary Timony, Bat for Lashes, and the sound of the pre-mentioned Le Tigre. Emma, Mia, and Malin balance it all with clever wordplay laid over cool beats, clean samples, and slickly interjected guitar riffs. Their first two videos for "Cool and Bored" and "Bitch of the Bitches" are fresh and colorful, and anyone who can reference Twin Peaks Agent Dale Cooper while free-styling lyrics about treating the boys like the boys treat the girls, is OK in our book.

"I'm gonna marry Agent Cooper, he'd be good as a wife! I don't want to marry you, stay out of my life!" (Bitch of the Bitches)

Le Corps Mince de Françoise - band site / myspace

Photo from Musicsnobbery.com

Brooklyn, NY-based band Bell is Olga Bell (singing, keyboards, laptop, samples, clapping), along with contributing members: Jason Nazary-beats, drums, Mike Chiavaro-bass, Grey Mcmurray-guitar, and Ryan Ferreira-guitar. As a classically trained pianist and composer (and with the help of her band), Olga Bell creates songs with layers of depth, each unique composition spiraling upwards in a kind of breathy and ethereal vocal style that climbs mountaintops. Her singing style and the multi-layering of samples and effects is only one part of what makes Bell's beautifully epic songs so unique. Bell's singing is striking in the sense that the notes have a wondrous, and wide-eyed sense of naïveté (not unlike her many comparisons to Bjork) to the tone set in tune to each long note that is being played, and while the lyrics penetrate darker subjects, the vocals give the songs a certain lightness. A self-titled 6 song EP is available for sale online for $5 (worth every penny, and more). You can see Bell live next for musicsnobbery.com's first night on Friday July 25th at Joe's Pub.

Bell - myspace

The Wombats are a three-piece out of Liverpool (UK) and have released three albums since 2006. Their bright and addictive power-punk-pop (think; The Killers, Arctic Monkeys, Seafood) has put them on the covers of the NME and brought them to destinations across Europe and into Japan. They've opened for the Kaiser Chiefs, CSS has remixed their track "Kill the Director", and Sir Paul McCartney wants to produce them. Their latest EP, only their second US release (the album Girls, Boys and Marsupials was a Japan release only, and The Wombats Proudly Present: A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation was import only until its recent release on June 24th in the US) is out now on their new US label Bright Antenna.

The Wombats - band site / bright antenna / myspace

Dig the New Breed: The Heart Strings and Falcon

The Heart Strings are a twin brother (Todd and Max, casually enjoying some ice cream cones, above) led six-piece based out of London, UK. After selling out their independently released album, "Try Fly Blue Sky", the band got together with Rough Trade to release a special digi-pak version of their debut which can best be described as charming, and twee, orchestral pop. The group has incorporated everything from a tuba, to trumpets and strings, to large groups of friends as backup singers. And the wonderful compositions on "Try Fly Blue Sky" are only highlighted by the talented storytelling and lyrical poetry of lead vocalist Todd.

"It seems as good a day as any / To start my trek across the ocean / With no funds for ship or sail / I’ll use my legs and my devotion. / An aqua bike will be my vessel / And high adventure the land I seek / So farewell friends who’ve come to gather / Waving hankies, tear on cheek, oh...
It’s a long long way to go on a pedalo, a pedalo..." (Pedalo by The Heart Strings)

The Heart Strings - band site / myspace

Falcon, a four-piece led by two junior high school chums, Neil Rosen (vocals and guitarist) and Shannon Ferguson (guitarist; also playing for NYC's Longwave), came across their most recent band's songs completely by chance. And they all led back to a mutual friend--a friend who also gave the band their namesake. "From 1986-88, Jared Falcon attended Petaluma Junior High in Petaluma, Ca. He played baritone sax in the orchestra and did not do particularly well in school. However, he was a songwriting prodigy, writing close to a song a day and recording each onto a Fisher Price tape recorder. The practice started in January 1987 and ended, 336 songs later, in February 1988, when Mr. Falcon was institutionalized." We're not sure how close or interesting the original tracks are to these revisions of Mr. Falcon's original works on acoustic guitar, but the band assembled here has made something definitively beautiful out of each one, in turn hopefully making a statement and in doing so turning Falcon's art into their own. Comprised of Rosen, and Ferguson, the band is also rounded out by Christian Bongers (bass), and  Jason Molina (drummer; also of Longwave). How far would 336 songs take you? “Look.We’ve only really worked up about twenty songs,” Rosen says. “That leaves more than three hundred, you know. I’m not particularly worried about running out anytime soon.”  

Download This: The Sandfighter - Falcon

Falcon - band site / no office records / myspace

Dig the New Breed: Sharon Van Etten, Matt Hopper, Brian McGee

   

Looking for the new breed? 
Allow us to present some fresh new faces on the scene:

Sharon van Etten

Sharon van Etten is an enchanting singer-songwriter living in Brooklyn who takes a personal approach to her writing as well as playing.  Her songs are sparse and delicate, just her voice and guitar, yet both are rich with emotion and poetry.  Listening to Sharon's songs is like reading someone's diary or eavesdropping on a secret conversation.  She has graced the stage recently with Meg Baird (of Philly band Espers), and Marla Hansen (Sufjan Stevens).  At this point in time, Sharon doesn't have a record out but is working on one (recorded at Philadelphia's Hexham Studio with Greg Weeks, also of Espers).  In the meantime, you can request a homemade CD that Sharon will custom make for you, and we promise it will be lovely.


photo of Sharon Van Etten by Michael Palmieri

Sharon Van Etten - band site / myspace

Matt Hopper and the Roman Candles

Matt Hopper is from Hatcher Pass, Alaska.  That fact alone is an intruguing one, and makes one wonder what kind of indie rocker can come from such a remote place.  Inspired equally by guitar rock, melodic folk, and the open road, Hopper tours constantly and is joined onstage by a rotating cast of musicians.  For the last seven years Hopper has been a fixture on the Anchorage scene, gaining critical attention for his blend of alt-country-Americana and hook-filled rock and roll, and has been a relentless performer.  Hopper's new album, called "Reverse Odyssey", is on his own Hatcher Pass label, and is an impressive body of work combining Wilco-like rock-outs with slower folk ballads.  Hopper will be playing at World Cafe Live on June 1st with local band The New Time, and Drew Grow and Joshua Park.


photo of Matt Hopper by Allie Moran

Matt Hopper - band site / myspace

Brian McGee and the Hollow Speed

Brian McGee is a local native but now calls Asheville, NC his home.  His old Pennsylvania band was a punk three-piece called Plow United, but they disbanded over a decade ago.  His penchant for punk rock has morphed into a love of country and folk music, and with his new band, The Hollow Speed, he achieves an alt-country sound indicative of these genres.  Fans of Whiskeytown will surely appreciate McGee's new self-titled album released this past February.  McGee and his band are touring extensively throughout the summer, spending most of their time down South but playing some shows in Delaware, upstate New York, and New England.  They are playing June 21st in Rehoboth, their only local show for those of you down at the beach.


photo of Brian McGee by Melissa Sullivan

Brian McGee - myspace