Wisebuck, the latest project from Casey Weissbuch, feels like a fresh start, a new focused use of his energy. The band, comprised of Weissbuch, Matt Kursmark, Mike Sarason, Dylan Debiase, and Jon Degen, are set to release their debut album, Flyworld, on January 17th, a breezy “college-rock” and fuzzy pop record.
With two EPs bookending 2019, Alien Nosejob is set to release a new full length in 2020 and thankfully the wait is nearly over as Suddenly Everything Is Louder is due January 17th via Anti Fade / Drunken Sailor Records. If each unique and increasingly realized release has been leading up this, we’ve arrived at essential Alien Nosejob.
The Asheville, NC band are making introspective rock songs rooted in dissonance, caterwauling guitars, and ragged pedal steel. Their three guitar approach is big and blistering, but their music retains a gentle quality, one in touch with Karly Hartzman’s (guitar/vocals) thoughts and surroundings. It’s dreary pop music that isn’t afraid to get messy
After a string of exceptional shows ranging from support for A Giant Dog to the Emerging Music Festival in Bryant Park, the collective co-headlined National Sawdust, a carefully curated and ultra-artistic space that looks as dazzling as Ghost Funk Orchestra sound. The band made the most of the occasion, playing their first show as a fourteen piece band, complete with an extended string section for the evening.
Quiet Moves makes their introduction plenty clear on their debut EP We’ll Understand When We’re Older. It’s emo revival that's aged a little bit. The pop comes through clearly throughout the entire EP. Certain guitar lines or vocal inflections will crawl their way into your subconscious. Take a listen and decide for yourself.
During the band’s European tour, they stopped in at The Netherlands’ Katzwijm Studio for a quick Polygänger Session, opting to share one of the record’s most elastic pop-songs, “Green Eyes.” The live version is flat out pristine, with Cohen and co. bringing a desert breeze of psych into the room’s wooden frame, locked in and mellowed out.
February 14th will see the release of New Arrows, their sophomore album and first with Dirtnap Records. Produced by Marked Men/Radioactivity’s Jeff Burke, their first full band effort should have the punk underground swooning long past Valentine’s Day. The record is near flawless and easily repeatable.
DIM Comp Vol. 1 is a collection of both the DIM Things label and New York’s DIY up-and-comers (Pom Pom Squad, Should’ve, Top Nachos), with all proceeds donated to RAICES. Due out 12/13, we’ve got the premiere of one of the compilation’s highlights, a new track from the legendary Lost Boy ?, a Brooklyn DIY essential band if there ever was one.
This past August, Ukraine’s Bichkraft released their new single Desire b/w Rod, the duo’s first set of songs to feature lyrics written in English. Following three experimental albums for Wharf Cat, they continue to shift their sound in new directions, “Desire” hinting an a new found pop-eccentricity with dance punk friendly tendencies.
While David Settle’s (Big Heet, Ex-Breathers, Psychedelic Flowers) music has always veered closer to blown-out post-hardcore and noisy punk, his vast range of influences has positioned his latest project with a decidedly jangle-pop aura, one driven by the days of Flying Nun Records, Cleaners From Venus, and early Yo La Tengo.
Brooklyn’s Realworld are here to have a good time and they’d prefer if we’d all have a good time together with them. Formed last year by Kegan Zema and Mike Greene (both former members of Journalism), they come to us with one previous single (“Perfect Vision”) and a goal to create joy with upbeat, positive, 90s-inspired pop-rock.
Railings are Queens’ best secret. The reliably unbounded New York outfit have been keeping a relatively low profile since their first release in 2012, producing a singular sort of genre-mashing music currently populating backwater Bandcamp tags like “fatalistic flangers” and “ambitious cargo containers.”
San Antonio’s Pinko have been immersed in the Lone Star State’s noise rock scene since their 2015 formation, releasing splits with Exhalants, Bummer, and New Primals along the way. After a string of increasingly tight recordings, the trio are finally set to release their full length debut, You and You on December 13th via Hex Records.
