Back in April, Philadelphia trio Sunset Recorder released their debut LP, Hot Lava. Featuring the tight combination of mostly bass, guitar, drums and vocals, Sunset Recorder create a lo-fi sound that seamlessly shifts from pop melodies to surf sounds and even touches on minimal techno at times. What this all amounts to is a group that likes to have fun with their sound and, as a result, we get a upbeat summer album. Take their video for the song “Mind Clouds” as an example. A handheld camera moves from scene to scene, capturing mountains, flowers and tropical paradises. Meanwhile, the band plays a tune about going on a road trip driven by an upbeat drum and a bouncing bass line. Check out the video below and stream their whole Hot Lava album on bandcamp. You can also check out the band June 11th at Kung Fu Necktie or June 29th at The Paper Mill.
Not long after his mysterious new project United Nations came to town, Geoff Rickly performs a set at The Barbary tonight. Dubbed “The Acoustic Basement Tour,” the lead singer of Thursday invited his friends Vinnie Caruana (The Movielife / I Am The Avalanche), A Loss For Words, Koji and Brian Marquis (Therefore I Am) to hit the road following last summer’s Warped Tour. Rickly’s solo work and expansion into other projects follows the 2011 announcement by Thursday that the New Jersey rock band would go on hiatus. Tickets and information for tonight’s 21+ show can be found here. Watch Rickly perform Thursday’s “Understanding in a Car Crash” live at Gunners Run in Philadelphia below.
Lo-fi surf rockers Sunset Recorder have a new album in works, which is great for us because it will probably be the best soundtrack to the upcoming warmer months we could ask for. I base this solely on “Mind Clouds,” a sneak peek preview track from the band that you can stream below. It’s a drifty, bright, hanging-by-the-fountain song from the indie trio that was featured on a compilation by Death Magic Sounds. Sunset Recorder will be at MilkBoy tomorrow night with Broken Anchor, Heyward Howkins and Stone Cold Fox. Tickets and information for the 21+ show can be found here.
Adam Arcuragi will be performing tonight at Kennett Flash. The death gospel singer will be returning to Philadelphia on his tour supporting the January release of his third full-length album, Like A Fire That Consumes All Before It…, which you can stream here. Tickets and information for the all-ages show are available here; doors open at 7. Below, watch Arcuragi and the Lupine Chorale Society perform “You’d Think This Was Easy,” the first single from Like A Fire That Consumes All Before It….
American neo-soul pioneer Michelle Lynn Johnson, also known by the stage moniker Meshell Ndegeocello, is performing Pour Une Ame Souveraine: A Tribute to Nina Simone tonight at World Café Live. The tribute album, which was released last week, includes fourteen covers of the late jazz singer’s hits, including “Be My Husband” featuring Valerie June. The show begins at 7:30; further details here. Below you can listen to Ndegeocello and June’s funky cover of “Be My Husband.”
Ethereal lo-fi Philly band Sunset Recorder will be performing tonight at Kung Fu Necktie. The 21+ show starts at 8; more ticket information can be found here. The trio recorded an EP in 2011, Tuning Into The Universe, which you can listen to below.
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion continue their Meat and Bones tour this week in Philadelphia. The new album, which came out September 17th, is the ensemble’s first original album since 2004′s Damage. Their performance tonight at Underground Arts begins at 9 and more details can be found here. The band tore it up at yesterday’s Free at Noon concert, and you can listen to that performance in its entirety here (via the WXPN media player). Below, watch the video for “Black Mold” from Meat and Bones.
All weekend, The Fire will host Leithgow Oktoberfest sponsored by the Philadelphia Brewing Company. This year’s line-up includes The Circadian Rhythms , iNFiNiEN, TheMuffinManIsABand, Store Cats, Sunset Recorder, and Anjuli Josephine. The Oktoberfest activities will include a pumpkin carving contest and craft vendors. This event is all ages and free. More details can be found here. Below, listen to the Circadian Rhythms’ track “Sunday Nights.”
Southern rockers Drivin N Cryin are performing tonight at MilkBoy Philly. Last May the band announced plans to release four EPs over a twelve month period, the first of them being Songs From the Laundromat in June, which was met with enormous success for the single “R.E.M”. That was followed up by this week’s EP entitled Songs About Space, Cars and The Ramones. More ticket information for the 21+ show tonight can be found here. Below, watch the video for “R.E.M.”
XPN Welcomes singer/songwriter Dar Williams to the McCarter Theatre tonight in Princeton. Williams, who has enjoyed a career spanning over two decades, is currently touring after the April release of her fourteenth album, In The Time of Gods. The show tonight starts at 8; more details can be found here. Listen to her track “I Am The One Who Will Remember Everything” below.
Countrified Philly rockers Arrah and the Ferns are headlining a benefit show at MilkBoy tomorrow night to support Maasai Rising. The Philadelphia-based organization was founded in 2010 to educate and empower the women of the Maasai tribe in Kenya and Tanzinia. Also on the bill are indie poppers Sunset Recorder and a solo set from Kate Foust from Lady. Tickets and information about the 21+ show are available here. Below, get a free download of Sunset Recorder’s song “Sweet Dreams.”
Not long after his 
Lo-fi surf rockers 
