!TGIF! DO THE DAMN THING BY YOURSELF
… That title is less depressing than it sounds, swear. But because everyone in the city—an particularly, it seems, the music community—has COVID, it seems kind of illogical, irresponsible and, uh, mostly like a giant waste of (y)our time to tell you about places to go (that might be closed) and things to do (that you probably shouldn’t).
SO INSTEAD! In the spirit of the holidays, a time of reflection and recaps, we’re going to use this newsletter to look/listen back on some of the releases we spotlighted over the last 358 days (in non-chronological and non-specific order, as is our ~signature style~). May you enjoy these sweet tunes and rad videos from the comfort of your own home, while in triple-masked transit to see your loved ones or, most likely, while waiting in a 4-hour line at CityMD.
This is part one of two, so stay tuned for more ~hella sweet~ highlights next week. Happy holidays to you, your family and friends, plus any hypothetical hamsters. We <3 you.
“BROKENHEARTED” - CHAPPO
Having fanned hard for CHAPPO since 2012, it was one of the most surreal + fucking awesome moments in this blog’s history to interview Alex Chappo and premiere one of his songs this spring. The single—featuring art from BdBK fave Keith Kelly— “came out of this conscious effort toward moving forward and growing as things around us continue to die and turn into something else.” Come to CHAPPO for the music, stay for his very rad wire art.
Read the post here.
“REST UP” - ALMOST SEX
Nick and Warren of Almost Sex connected on a dating app in early 2020 and courted each other as creatives, sending demos and lyrics back and forth before meeting to start a band, and a romance, in real life. “Rest Up” (one of nine singles the band has released) dropped in January, and the band’s debut EP is in the works.
Read the post here.
CAREFUL ON YOUR WAY OUT - THE BLACK BLACK
For this premiere, Jon F Daily of The Black Black (also the patron saint of East Williamsburg Econo Lodge), offered a breakdown of the album’s eight stick-it-to-the-man anthems, with explanations that double as bad-to-the-bone—or in our case, edgy-to-just-under-the-epidermis—journal prompts.
Read the post here.
A UNIVERSAL BLANK - SHARKSWIMMER
The last thing ever recorded by this particular Sharkswimmer lineup, A Universal Blank hits hard, digs deep and, in just three tracks, manages to cover an incredible amount of emotional ground as the artists sing and shout about fantasies, fever dreams and faking it—plus the confusing clusterfuck of feelings surrounding all of the above.
Read the post here.
“BOURGEOIS DE VILLE” - MARY SHELLEY
“We live in Brooklyn. You go to parties and there are pretentious assholes. Sometimes you’re the pretentious asshole.” The debut single from Mary Shelley—one of three the goof-groove punk trio released this year—harnesses nonsensical French to illustrate the ugly one-upmanship that can arise in social situations and the comically outrageous, frequently obnoxious lengths to which we’ll sometimes go in our quest for admiration, adoration and acceptance. Get a taste of the band’s live performance via video and catch them, along with countless other BK faves, at New Colossus Festival in March.
Read the post here.
“JULIA” - WILDLY
We listened to “Julia” on repeat for six hours while flying from Seattle to NYC, making the single from “SoulPsycle” band Wildly the (un)official soundtrack of Alaska Airlines flight 426. Whether you’re dealing with some less-than-ideal life shit at 32,000 feet in the air or, more likely, below sea level in your Bushwick basement, there’s no arguing that music really has the power to transform your mood (at least for a few minutes at a time), and we truly can’t recommend this song enough.
Read the post here.
“THOUGHT WE MET BEFORE” - WORK WIFE
The debut single and perfect piece of indie-pop from Work Wife, the solo project of Meredith Lampe (Colatura), hits on what we’re calling the groundhog date, and serves as an “eye roll at going on the same dates over and over again.” Whether or not you’ve (also) been on Tinder ~8 years, let’s just say: that shit hits.
Read the post here.
VICTORY GARDEN - TVOD
Mic-wielding madman Tyler Wright, lead disco punk of TVOD, served up a track-by-track breakdown of the band’s debut EP, which “focuses on the pent-up emotions and frustrations that we were all dealing with during the pandemic” and was written “to encourage movement and self-exploration/reflection.” Play it loud, and def def def don’t miss the band’s “Steady Crushin’” release party at The Sultan Room on January 12th.
Read the post here.
“NUMBERS AND A BARCODE” - CONSUMABLES
When we caught Consumables opening for Grim Streaker at The Broadway, we were so stoked on the band that we had to tie ourselves down after a few tequila shots so we didn’t run up and immediately offer to manage them for free (if you’re reading this guys, offer is still kinda on the table???). Instead, we settled for premiering the music video for “Numbers and a Barcode,” which centers around the fucked-up nature of the justice system, linking the emotions experienced while incarcerated to universally understood (thx, pandemic!) feelings of boredom, isolation and fear.
Read the post here.
“NOT DEAD YET” - RAZOR BRAIDS
The lead single from Razor Braids’ debut full-length, I Could Cry Right Now If You Wanted Me To isn’t just a denial of death but also an insistence on survival: a stubborn refusal to give in or give up, delivered with the tiniest wink—an unspoken but nice fuckin’ try—that sums up the driving force of Razor Braids, as well as the beginnings of the band of best friends’ origin story.
Read the post here.
“ANICA” - ENDEARMENTS
Of his moniker, Kevin Marksson of Endearments said “I wanted the name to convey affection, even though I knew the music would almost certainly be sad.” The second single from the artist—whose EP Father of Wands dropped this fall—is “built around the energy of anticipation” and is, for the record, way more of a banger than a bummer.
Read the post here.
“BOYFRIEND’S BAND” - NEVVA
The music video for Nevva’s single—the first song written by the fierce (and funny) af punk pals—riffs on band culture, rips on the music front and features a gang of hyped-up, horny zombies. So: Night of the Living Dead, but make it Brooklyn. And make it sexy.
Read the post here.
“ALRIGHT” - LITTLE SUN
“Sorry about the world. The world is trash. But, you’re alright. It’ll be alright….” The debut from BK dream-punk project Little Sun kicks off with the life advice their friend would give to his little son. As for the rest of the track, Ryan Lloyd of the band described it as “…getting fed up with how ambiguous life is and shooting from the heart. A coming-of-age tale… again and again.” This is the lead single from Rainbow Body, which features songs written over the course of a decade as Ryan navigated relationships, travel and tragedy in his twenties. (Little Sun bonus content: Watch the artist performing in our living room just last week.)
Read the post here.
SOLSTICE // GHOST - PUNCHLOVE
As soon as live music was back, Punchlove was instantly everywhere. The band formed in 2020 when NYU students Jillian Olesen and Ethan Williams were sent home from their study abroad program in Prague as soon as the pandemic hit. Upon their return to NYC, the pair—who had connected musically while overseas—needed to, in the words of Jillian, “start a project in order to salvage the year in some way.” Solstice // Ghost is a double-single that touches on the themes of desire and destruction in goddamn gorgeous fashion.
Read the post here.
“IAMANANIMAL” - NIHILOCEROS (FT. GILLIAN VISCO)
The lead single from the newest Nihiloceros record Self-Destroy “explores the unraveling of the human condition.” Along with being the mayor of the BK music scene, shaking beer-soaked hands and kissing Bushwick babies, Mike Borchardt of Nihiloceros is one of the borough’s most passionate performers, and celebrating this single at OWL as sideways rain and wind ripped through the rooftop was 100% one of the sickest experiences of our summer.
Read the post here.
“TOTAL CONTROL” - OPAL ROSE
Written in the wake of a traumatic breakup, the song from Opal Rose—a musician, model, yoga teacher and spiritual healer—“was inspired by the liberation that Opal felt after being released from the traumatic environment and the new found feeling of control that she felt over her life and encounters with lovers along her journey.”
Read the post here.
“DADDY’S SHOE” + “WORLD ON FIRE” - TILDEN
While some people were makin’ quarantine babies, others were makin’ quarantine bands, and since there were no infants set to ~rock our world~ this year, we were obv way more interested in the latter. It was a thrill and a half to premiere the debut double drop from Tilden, a group of buddies turned bandmates who established the most creatively productive of pods and spent their time writing and playing music on the sand and in the studio. Don’t miss them at the aforementioned TVOD release show next month.
Read the post here.
“STICKY SWEET” - WETSUIT
The debut single/video from Brooklyn-based indie-rock outfit Wetsuit explores relationship progression from crush to long-term love, and the resulting feelings, behaviors and occasionally awkward moments that characterize that journey. In other words: the “sticky/sweet nature of love… in all is saccharine, addicting yet sticky, embarrassing and grossly vulnerable glory.”
Read the post here.
“KING OF THE ZOOMERS” - MY SON THE DOCTOR
The lead single from the new-wave punk band’s EP Taste Those Dreams, “King of the Zoomers” is My Son The Doctor’s “ode to all the skate punks in tiny glasses and big pants, but also to Matt’s recently discarded skinny jeans.” MSTD is hands-down one of Brooklyn’s best live acts (there are frequently aerobics involved), and if you’re making a band bucket list for 2022, we highly suggest you slot them in first. For the stories behind the songs, check out the episode of the BdBK radio show when Brian of the band joined us in studio.
Read the post here.
LET’S - PLEASURE ISLAND
The debut album from BK’s primary purveyor of “surf-deprecating loungecore” "rides a wave from neuroticism to shores of lolz," demonstrating the band’s ability to serve up sweet sounds without taking themselves too seriously. That said, it’s Pleasure Island, not The Lonely Island, and while the lyrics are thoroughly laced with silliness, the concepts are rooted in (some) sincerity. Along with the tunes, check out frontman Dave Hadden’s hilarious and beautiful breakdowns of the eleven songs, which explore ideas ranging from embracing a sense of vanity to transcending your inner baby and, of course, gettin' to the bone-zone.
Read the post here.
“LOVEUS” - CLIMATES
Our last premiere of the year and a Climates fan-favorite, in “Loveus” the glitter-grunge band takes a look at the society-approved blueprint for a life well lived and responds with an “eh, no thanks,” an easy-breezy wave and a middle finger to the man as they cruise by with the windows down, reminding us that the real fun lies down the road, available only via detour at a different destination entirely.
Read the post here.
Those are just a few… or, uh, 21… of the excellent releases we’ve had the privilege of premiering this year. (Stay tuned for a second—and final—set of highlights next Friday!) A HUGE thank you to every musician who trusted us with their art in 2021. It was truly an honor.
MORNING ANNOUNCEMENTS
NEW YEAR, NEW YOU, NEW… BAND? We’re thrilled to have signed on to help with BROOKLYN BAND LOTTERY 2022, a v free and v fun event presented by #EWEL + BdBK, is officially on the books for Saturday, January 15th! Consider this one-day, all-day event a crockpot for creativity: Musicians put their names in a hat, groups are randomly formed, and then you and your new best friends are sent away to cook something up. Music marinates andddd eight hours later, BOOM! BANDS!
Find more info + sign up to participate here.MARK YOUR CALENDARS for the BDBK THIRD BDAY BASH on 1/29! Very sick lineup TBA ASAP, but trust us: It’s gonna be a party.
It’s another tricky time (hopefully temporarily!) for venues. Support our friends at The Footlight by buying merch from Windjammer and becoming a sustaining member of their programming on Withfriends. Meanwhile, OWL is selling giftcards, which make for perfect stocking stuffers for the punks, delinquents and major music fans in your life (+ anyone in between, honestly).
Speaking of OWL, the deadline to sign up for WINTER MADNESS, the venue’s battle of the bands, is TOMORROW! Enter for the chance to fight it out (musically!) for $5,000 here.
Okay, that’s enough for today. HAPPY HOLIDAYS and thx 4 reading! As always, find more fun stuff at bandsdobk.com and @bandsdobk. <3
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