This monthly feature highlights recently released tracks by bands from theNortheast, focusing on local acts from New York, Boston and surrounding areas.
It’s gettin’ hot, but the rock don’t stop. Bad puns aside, our track round up from May features garage bands from Boston and Brooklyn, an under-appreciated post-punk quartet and the next radio-friendly rock band.
The Teen Age are the sort of fuzzy garage rock band that you hope to see in a basement on a Friday night. We’ve been a fan of their tunes for awhile, so we’re glad they released “Ways to Adapt,” their debut EP recently. On the new video for “Stop,” they host a raucous show in their tiny Brooklyn practice space. Catch them next week at Northside, where they play four shows, and June 19th at the Bell House.
It’s not often that Boston can claim a post-punk, synth-laden, indie-leaning act to its local scene, but Vary Lumar do just that. The veteran four-piece, which formed in 2004, is underrated even within the city limits. Especially considering that comparisons to other dark, introspective prog acts ala Radiohead or The Cure aren’t unwarranted. This might be the ‘fans in practice spaces’ edition of Locally Amped, as their music video for “Slave,” an unraveling, cryptic five-minute jam also follows the theme. They play at Somerville’s Davis Square Theatre for When Particles Collide’s record release show on Friday, June 13.
Tight, simple riffs, punchy choruses and photogenic faces make for an attractive package. Brooklyn-based Stone Cold Fox certainly have all of the above, intermingling pop rock with the more radio-friendly side of The Strokes on their latest single, “Seventeen.” Off of their debut full-length, “Memory Palace,” the five-piece has the pieces aligned to break out nationally. First, they’ll bask in the glow of positive reviews, and a couple of local music feasts this summer. They play tomorrow at Spring for Sound in Millerton, NY and on August 10th at Musik Fest in Bethlehem, PA.
We like music that hints at music we’ve heard before. That’s no secret, and the science behind it is just as easy to find. Take a cursory listen to Boston’s The Rare Occasions, and it quickly becomes clear that they’re fans of Britrock new and old. “Dysphoric” surely has the Arctic Monkeys to thank, but we aren’t complaining. The roaring, stadium-friendly single from recent Boston area grads simply makes us want to dance in our respective seats.
