The A Side:
My Familiar – Demons
“WHAT’S IN THE BOX?” – David Fincher’s psychological crime thriller, Se7en, depicts serial killer John Doe, using the seven deadly sins as motif to wreak havoc over New York City. Detectives David Mills (Brad Pitt) and William Somerset (Morgan Freeman) are strung along, determined to make an arrest. Similarly, My Familiar have strung along listeners, releasing one track at a time from their 2020 album, Demons. Each song also represents a deadly sin: pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony, and sloth. Demons has been released in full on BandCamp today with all fees being waived to benefit the Philadelphia Black Giving Circle. Check out focus tracks “Demons” and “Parasites” from the cinematic, folk-rock 5-piece. -Kevin
Barney Cortez – “Necessary Evil”
Philly garage-rock jack of all trades Barney Cortez released a new single today, titled “Necessary Evil.” Channeling the likes of Elvis Costello and Jonathan Richman, Cortez leans into late 70’s power-pop to deliver this squiggly earworm. “I’m gonna put the world in my pocket!” yelps Cortez over a Petty-influenced new-wave groove. –Tyler
More evil things! Everything Tyler mentioned here is 100% spot on. Barney Cortez’s influences are definitely of the classic rock variety. I hear early Stones, Costello, and even Ali Awan. Cortez rules and resembles a younger Bob Dylan to me. Check out an in depth review of “Necessary Evil” from Phila Globe HERE. –Kevin
Egocentric Plastic Men – “Nothing Good Happens After 2am”
“AM I MORE THAN YOU BARGAINED FOR YET?” Egocentric Plastic Men dropped “Nothing Good Happens After 2am,” last week. In typical pop punk fashion, the trio takes inspiration from 90’s rom coms and early 2000’s sitcoms. This time, How I Met Your Mother gets the at bat. Anthony, Billy and Dom have switched up their sound over the years from surf rock and alt-rock accordingly, but have found their stride within the punk pop genre. Embracing all of the khaki shorts and pineapple pizza cliches, EPM would be great local support for Fall Out Boy next Spring when they kick off the grand reopening of Peyton Sawyer’s all ages nightclub in One Tree Hill. –Kevin
A Day Without Love – “Where You Fit In”
Phila Globe contributing writer, Brian Walker, performs under the moniker A Day Without Love. ADWL teamed up with Erin Fox (Resilient), Kelsey Cork (Kelsey Cork & the Swings), Jace Miller (Alright Junior), Brandon Ford (Grape Room Open Jam Host/ memester) and Aaron Weiss to bring us “Where You Fit In.” This past year, Walker has been on a mission to collaborate with as many Philadelphia-based musicians as possible. Everyone shines on this star studded track:
Fox could sing a phone book.
Cork’s swanky saxophone riffs.
Miller’s dreamy guitar work.
King’s shuffle to half time feel.
Aaron Weiss’ key solo.
How fortunate to write and record with such a crew! -Kevin
Also check out…
Hotbed – “Sweet Nothing”
mrnoname – “Futurism”
The B Side:
Ruston Kelly – Shape And Destroy
One of my favorite surprise records from a couple years back was Ruston Kelly’s Dying Star, an out-of-nowhere left-of-center Americana-country record that checked all of my boxes: incredible songwriting, tasteful harmonica, and a driving sense of urgency. Kelly followed that up last week with Shape And Destroy, a very different but equally interesting album. Self-defined as “Dirt Emo,” Kelly shares as much DNA with Jackson Browne that he does with Dashboard Confessional, and Shape And Destroy reflects that. It’s more indie-rock/emo than it is country, with the Blink-182-influenced chorus on “Radio Cloud” or the tear jerking reflection that is “Changes.” Kelly proves that country music is not just a lifestyle but also a jumping off point, and that genre just doesn’t exist in 2020. -Tyler
Angel Olsen – Whole New Mess
When Angel Olsen released her stunning All Mirrors last year, it came with the announcement that there would be a stripped-down companion record next: Whole New Mess is that. Olsen is once again looking in a mirror here, reflecting on her older tracks while making something completely different and new. Also ICYMI, check out Olsen’s recent Tom Petty collab cover of “Walls” with Hand Habits if you haven’t yet. -Tyler
Katy Perry – Smile
Katy Perry’s Smile was probably the most “top 40,” release from last week. This has some major JAMS! Check out “Tucked.” Contributing writer Patrick DeMarco breaks down the album track by track. Read in full HERE. –Kevin
Lovelytheband – conversations with myself about you
To take a headline from clickhole, “heartbreaking: when the worst person you know makes a great point.” – that’s how I felt listening to conversations with myself about you. Lovelytheband lean into the self loathing, “I hate myself” thing, but focus track “emo,” proves that it can be lighthearted – “I’ve got this girl saying I’m so emo, but I felt this since I was young.” Back in catholic school, the term “emo,” was thrown around a lot in a negative context, but we weren’t really emo. Is lyricist Mitch Collins that melancholy or did he just grow up on My Chem and Death Cab like me? –Kevin
PVRIS – Use Me
There is more depth to modern alt-rockers Pvris (pronounced Paris), then on the surface. Lead vocalist Lynn Gunn is one of the most prominent figures for LGBTQ rights in the rock music world. Their third studio album Use Me brings to light these themes. Be sure to check out focus tracks “Gimmie a Minute” and “Dead Weight” for melodic walls of bass driven synths. Shout out Jordan & Amy! -Kevin
Every week, Kevin & Tyler will take a look at 5 singles (The A-Side) and 5 albums (The B-Side) and report back on Kev & Ty's Record Club! - Reviewing last week's records today!
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