With their new LP Michael Boyd ready for release, Our Griffins have shared a new video for their song “Come and Wake Me Up.” The song is the first taste of the upcoming album from Easton, PA’s DJ Brown and is available as a free download on Our Griffins’ Bandcamp. With hushed vocals and prominent percussion, the song wanders and floats through a gradual crescendo of trembling guitar chords, mirroring the girl wandering through the woods in the accompanying video directed by Brad Kunkle. Our Griffins will open for Nightlands at Johnny Brenda’s on May 31st; tickets and information can be found here. Watch the video below and download the song here.
Philly metal band Surgeon will release their new album tonight at Johnny Brenda’sKung Fu Necktie (the show was moved due to a water main break). Chemical Reign has been a long time coming for the local four-piece: we first got a sample of the new songs back in 2011 when the band stopped by for a Key Studio Session, a few years after their 2008 debut Angry Guest was released. Tickets and information for tonight’s 21+ show with Swarm of Arrows, Ominous Black and Skeleton Hands can be found here. Below, watch a live video of Surgeon performing “Greed.”
Local thrash / metal band Surgeon has been readying its long-in-the-making new full-length Chemical Reign for the past couple years – since we had them in for a Key Studio Session, as a matter of fact – and the day has finally come. This weekend the band plays its album release show at Johnny Brenda’s, and you can get a taste of the shreddery in store with this video performance of “Greed” at Garage Mahal earlier this year, filmed by The Angry Mountain.
About a year ago, the snappy and warped psych-pop band Literature relocated to Philadelphia from Austin, Texas with an awesome LP called Arab Spring in tow. Hard tourers, sharp dressers and a buzzing name on the indiepop circuit, they specialize in a sound that’s a bit more direct than the washed-out hazy dazy Pain of Being Pure At Heart aesthetic of a few years back. There’s a lift to their sound (though still a reverb’d surface) and a galloping-out-the-gate energy (with some oddball lyrical diversions). For their Key Studio Session, Literature recorded four new “barn burners” in the words of guitarist Kevin Attics, including their latest 7″ a-side “Tie Dye” and a couple unreleased numbers. “Grifted” slowed down the pace and dipped back to their LP, but kept the momentum going enough that it may as well just plow straight into the Johnny Brenda’s show they’re playing (and KDU is hosting) next week. They’re opening the night on May 22nd, with Key Session alums Pet Milk headlining; tickets and information can be found here, while the session is available for your streaming and downloading (and bopping around the room) pleasure below.
TJ Kong And The Atomic Bomb plays Johnny Brenda’s tonight for Brat Aid: A Concert Fundraiser for local theater company Brat Productions. Playing a blend of rock and folk, TJ Kong employs heartfelt and soulful sounds to their music, and released a full length called Manufacturing Joy in September. You may also read a piece about Kong performing a Tom Waits cover set, and watch a video here. Tickets and information about the show with The Brat Cabaret and Isadora can be found here. Below, watch TJ Kong And The Atomic Bomb perform “3 Wishes”.
Funky dream pop band Twin Sister plays at Johnny Brenda’s tonight. The band moves within elements of sound, all staying roughly onthe dreamy side, but also mixing indie pop with chillwave. Their album In Heaven was released in September of 2011. Tickets and information for the 21+ show with Lockets and Acres of Diamonds can be found here. Below, enjoy the music video for Twin Sister’s “All Around And Away We Go” from their Color Your Life EP.
Shredding the night away, Marnie Stern and her crackling band headlined a night of indie rock awesomeness at Johnny Brenda’s on Friday. The tightness of the openers — phenomenal Philly locals Little Big League and the hard-rock stylings Barren Girls — readied the crowd for the entrancing guitar riffs and sweet yet edgy vocals of Stern, who was joined by bassist Nithin Kalvakota and drummer Joe Wong. By the second song, Wong’s shirt was off and the crowd was thrashing about, tossing their shirts onto the stage and hanging onto Stern’s every shred and her frequent references to her vagina. Though brief, her set, clocking in at under an hour, blasted through exuberant numbers from The Chronicles of Marnia, including the title track and a spirited “Year of the Glad.” And with a flourish of rock mania, the show — her last of the tour — came to a close with guitar theatrics and a drumstick flying at this reviewer’s mouth. After a brief taste of blood, all teeth remain — as well as memories of rock heaven, Marnie Stern-style.
Local thrash / metal band 
TJ Kong And The Atomic Bomb
Funky dream pop band 
