Music Philadelphia Weekly

Soul Singer Nikka Costa Heads Out On Her Own

By Craig D. Lindsey — Tue, 22 May 2012 14:44:47 PDT

Just because Nikka Costa has a YouTube channel called “Nikka’s Box” doesn’t mean she prefers to be in one. The former international child pop star-turned-wild-haired, funk/soul chanteuse (daughter of late producer/Frank Sinatra arranger Don Costa) launched her viral-video...

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On the Record: Beach House, Best Coast, Killer Mike & More

By Bill Chenevert — Tue, 22 May 2012 14:41:42 PDT

Beach House Bloom (Sub Pop) Sounds Like: Relent, because it’s a lovely record of deliriously pretty dream rock, full of lush sadness and celebratory beauty, sublimely blended over 10 blooming tracks. Free Association: Worth investing in so you can play it loud and in full (over and...

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Cult Bands Can Sometimes Become Actual Cults

By Bryan Bierman — Tue, 22 May 2012 14:49:48 PDT

When a band has a small, yet very devoted fan base, some people—mainly music writers—describe them as having a “cult following.” Presumably, this analogy upset actual cults in the late ’60s, as a few then began flirting with the music biz (Charles Manson, the Process...

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Critic’s Pick: Simian Mobile Disco

By Reyan Ali — Tue, 22 May 2012 14:41:13 PDT

Simian Mobile Disco is an unpredictable and often totally absurd project, and that’s very much a marvelous thing. The London-based team of James Ford and Jas Shaw specialize in lively electro-house that’s the aural equivalent of consuming a bag of Skittles dunked in cayenne pepper. That...

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Bathe in the Unique Light of Comedian Reggie Watts

By Brian McManus — Wed, 16 May 2012 07:30:51 PDT

Originally, this here piece on Reggie Watts was going to be written in the style Reggie Watts performs in: free form, improvisational, off the cuff, many twists filled with many characters taking many turns. The first paragraph was going to be in the voice of a pirate. He’d just discovered a...

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Critic’s Pick: Yo Gotti

By Elliott Sharp — Tue, 15 May 2012 12:49:26 PDT

Yo Gotti built his reputation as a fierce street rapper pushing independently released albums and mixtapes on back blocks across Memphis. On his ongoing, six-volume Cocaine Music mixtape series, and with his gnarled, bulldog growl and syrupy Southern accent, he rapped about pushing more white than...

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East Hundred Frontwoman Beril Guceri Talks About the Band Ending

By Kevin Brosky — Tue, 15 May 2012 12:52:11 PDT

Philly five-piece East Hundred just ended their impressive eight-year run with a show last week at Johnny Brenda’s to a room packed full of family, friends and fans. The band played through a gigantic 20-song set of material from their entire catalog, a few unreleased songs, favorite covers...

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On the Record: S. Carey, Silversun Pickups, Felix, & More

By Bill Chenevert — Tue, 15 May 2012 13:26:41 PDT

S. Carey Hoyas EP (Jagjaguwar) Sounds Like: The Bon Iver percussionist and expert in ethereal percussion-anchored vibes has a real ear for ambience. The singing is almost unnecessary. Free Association: This poor guy’s always going to be the dude from Bon Iver—not fair. For Fans Of:...

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Coors Light and Ice Cube Search for the Nation’s "Coldest" Rapper

By Brian McManus — Tue, 08 May 2012 13:17:52 PDT

File under “unfortunate”: Ice Cube, caught on film, arguing with a can of beer. “You think you’re colder than me?” he asks incredulously, mean mugging a 12-ounce Coors Light in several 30-second spots for the product. “You think you’re colder than ...

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Regina Spektor Brings Her Big Voice to the Tower Theater

By Maggie Serota — Tue, 08 May 2012 13:29:56 PDT

These days, anti-folk ingenue Regina Spektor has a lot to be excited about. She’s about to release her sixth album, What We Saw From the Cheap Seats. She’s also touring with an obscure little outfit called Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers. Not bad for a girl who...

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On the Record: Carrie Underwood, Santigold and More

By Bill Chenevert — Tue, 08 May 2012 13:38:59 PDT

B.o.B. Strange Clouds (Atlantic) Sounds Like: Bobby Ray Simmons’ sophomore is crazy star-studded (TAYLOR SWIFT) and produced to the nines, but it’s still mediocre pop rap underneath it all. Free Association: It is now standard for rappers to go H.A.M. with their guest game. For Fans...

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Critic’s Pick: Siltbreeze Showcase

By PW Staff — Tue, 08 May 2012 13:20:37 PDT

Siltbreeze’s Tom Lax began his noise-mongering, rarity-unearthing rampage in 1989 with a now very collectible Halo of Flies 7-inch, took an 11-year break starting in the mid-1990s, and re-emerged in 2005 to kick off the lo-fi phenomenon with Times New Viking’s debut Dig Yourself. Along...

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Critic's Pick: Acid Mothers Temple

By Bryan Bierman — Tue, 01 May 2012 15:05:11 PDT

Despite what your dealer tells you, most jam bands aren’t very good, no matter how much cheap peyote you’ve stuffed inside your sad body. Thankfully, the Japanese collective Acid Mothers Temple have been inverting this trope for almost 20 years, with an amalgam of wild psychedelia,...

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Photographer Shane McCauley Followed Diplo Across the World For His New Book

By Brian McManus — Tue, 01 May 2012 14:59:21 PDT

Photographer Shane McCauley is zipping through the streets of Brooklyn in his slick, baby blue Hyundai Accent, checking the next address of the shoot he’s scouting on his iPhone. “This is it,” he says, pulling the car over, throwing it in park, killing the ignition, grabbing his...

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Exploring the Faded, Lo-Fi Fantasies of Dirty Beaches

By Reyan Ali — Tue, 01 May 2012 15:08:06 PDT

On April 26, Alex Zhang Hungtai posted an Instagrammed image to the Twitter page of Dirty Beaches, his solo project and occasional band. It was a photo of a segment of the Underground subway system—an economically designed, futuristic space—with the caption “Good bye London”...

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Daughn Gibson's New Debut is Making Waves

By Elliott Sharp — Tue, 01 May 2012 15:03:44 PDT

Released by the White Denim label in an edition of 400 vinyl records, Daughn Gibson’s All Hell is a front-runner for the best debut album of 2012. It was self-recorded in a two-bedroom apartment in South Philadelphia last year by 31-year-old Josh Martin,...

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On the Record: Jack White, Daughn Gibson and More

By Bill Chenevert — Tue, 01 May 2012 14:32:20 PDT

Jack White Blunderbuss (Third Man/Columbia) Sounds Like: An excellent step out on his own after more than a decade of nonsolo projects; this record is full of blues, brutal truths, stellar guitar work and production. Free Association: We knew he had it in him; it’s just nice to finally...

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XPN’s Music Film Festival is Impressively Diverse

By Matt Prigge — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 13:17:26 PDT

Traditionally, the music film genre has been dominated by the well-trod-upon classics: Don’t Look Back, Gimme Shelter, Stop Making Sense, ABBA: The Movie. The evolution of cheap, decent film equipment has...

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Local Rapper Asaad Pisses Off Hip-Hop Fans With Controversial Cover Art

By Elliott Sharp — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 13:12:38 PDT

The cover art for 20-year-old North Philadelphia rapper Asaad’s newest single, “Boss Status,” is a watercolor painting of dead rap legend Tupac doggystyle fucking dead rap legend Notorious B.I.G. in what looks like a cheap hotel room. Pac points his pistol to the ceiling with his...

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On the Record: SWV, Jason Mraz and More

By Bill Chenevert — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 13:43:58 PDT

Spiritualized Sweet Heart Sweet Light (Fat Possum) Sounds Like: Grandiose and expansive with the support of choirs and an orchestra, the Brit outfit’s seventh is a marvelous bridge between gospel, blues and glam rock. Free Association: Each song finds its way to a worked-up and dramatic...

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