Tag: Oakland

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Over the past year or so, it turns out that I’ve written a bit about the indie rock quintet Happy Diving. And although they’ve gone through a number of lineup changes with members currently based in Seattle, Vancouver and Oakland, the quartet initially formed in the  Bay Area in 2013. Within a short period of time, the quintet developed  reputation regionally for high-energy live shows and for being remarkably prolific. Building on the buzz they’ve received since their formation, the members of the quintet received to write and record the material that would comprise their forthcoming full-length Electric Soul Unity which is slated for an August 19, 2016 through Tophself Records.

Earlier this month, I wrote about “Head Spell,” a slow-burning 90s alt-rock inspired ballad consisting of enormous, buzzing and sludgy power chord and anthemic hook that sounds as though it draws from the likes of Pavement, Dinosaur, Jr. and others — while also firmly adding their names to a growing list of 90s alt rock inspired contemporary acts, including Brooklyn-based trio Dead Stars. The West Coast quintet’s latest single “Don’t Be Afraid of Love” will further cement their burgeoning national profile for crafting sludgy, anthemic, power chord-based pop that would be perfect to mosh to in a small, sweaty club somewhere — with an infectiously upbeat and encouraging message to boot.

The band will be on tour throughout the summer and it’ll include an August 8, 2016 stop at Shea Stadium. Check out the tour dates below.

 

TOUR DATES
JUL 23 – Oakland, CA @ The Rat’s Nest
JUL 24 – Santa Rosa, CA @ Arlene Francis Center (w/ Gun Outfit, Tony Molina)
JUL 25 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hi Hat
JUL 26 – San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar
JUL 27 – Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress
JUL 28 – Albuquerque, NM @ Small Engine Gallery
JUL 29 – Oklahoma City, OK @ TBD
JUL 30 – Ft Worth, TX @ Purple Palace
JUL 31 – Houston, TX @ Vinyl Edge Records

AUG 1 – New Orleans, LA @ Saturn Bar
AUG 2 – Nashville, TN @ Two Boots
AUG 4 – Richmond, VA @ TBD
AUG 5 – Raleigh, NC @ Pinhook
AUG 6 – Baltimore, MD @ TBD
AUG 7 – Philadelphia, PA @ Lava Space
AUG 8 – Brooklyn, NY @ Shea Stadium (w/ Ovlov, Patio, Peaer)
AUG 10 – Providence, RI @ Tommy’s Place
AUG 11 – Boston, MA @ Great Scott (w/ Kindling, California X)
AUG 12 – Amherst, MA @ TBD
AUG 13 – Montreal, QB @ Poisson Noir
AUG 14 – Toronto, ON @ Smiling Buddha
AUG 15 – Detroit, MI @ TBD
AUG 16 – Milwaukee, WI @ High Dive
AUG 17 – Bloomington, IN @ Jan’s Rooms
AUG 18 – Eau Claire, WI @ TBD
AUG 19 – Duluth, MN @ Northern Isolation Fest
AUG 20 – Minneapolis, MN @ Dead Media (early show)
AUG 21 – Sioux Falls, SD @ Total Drag
AUG 24 – Calgary, AB @ Tubby Dog
AUG 26 – Vancouver, BC @ Antisocial Skate Shop
AUG 27 – Olympia, WA @ TBD
AUG 27 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos (w/ Chastity Belt, So Pitted)
AUG 29 – Portland, OR @ TBD
AUG 30 – San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill (w/ Creative Adult, Never Young, Plush)

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Graham Patzner (vocals, guitar, violin and piano), Will Lawrence (bass and mandolin), Nick Cobett (drums and guitar) and Charles Lloyd (guitar and sitar), Oakland, CA-based quartet Whiskerman quickly developed a reputation in the Bay Area for a unique folk-rock sound that paired lush instrumentation and profound lyricism — and for a passionate live show that often featured Patzner singing at the top of his lungs while playing the fiddle.

The quartet’s 2011 self-titled debut was the culmination of several years of songwriting and performing; however, over the subsequent few years the band has expanded their sound as the material has drawn from a wider array of influences, and the individual members of the band have had more freedom to showcase their unique talents. And as a result, the band has found ways to eschew easy categorization — 2014’s  Bad News EP featured funky, soul-leaning material, complete with a horn section while last year’s Nomad featured orchestral string arrangements and electronic flourishes around art school rock. Whiskerman’s forthcoming album Champions will further cement the band’s reputation for a genre-mashing, difficult to categorize sound as the material reportedly draws from barroom rock ‘n’ roll, blue-eyed soul, pastoral folk, blues, and ragas while thematically the material focus on life and love, success and failure, and what it means to be alive in a world in which everything is seemingly small and insignificant.

 

The album’s latest single “Waking Up in Providence” is a bluesy and soulful song that sounds as though it were deeply indebted to the classic rock sound of the 70s, AM radio rock, and singer/songwriter confessionals as the song balances swaggering, arena-friendly bombast, complete with a horn section and a slick guitar solo with a hard-won and earnest introspection, as the song’s narrator talks frankly about the ups and downs of his life — and how love was the force that pushed him through every single thing.

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Cameron Stephens (guitar, synth, bullhorn, percussion), Christopher Sprague (bass, organ, percussion), Josh Lindenfelzer (drums, percussion, synth, AM radio, saxophone, stylophone, suona), Christopher Hash (guitars), and Aurora Crispin (vocals), the Oakland, CA-based quintet Naked Lights specialize in a tense and angular post-punk sound that sounds as though it draws influence from Gang of Four and Wire but with a clean, modern sheen and a subtle seductiveness, as you’ll hear on “New Carrion,” the first single off the band’s recently released On Nature.

 

 

 

 

Video Review by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Check Out a Strutting, Badass Elvis Impersonator in The Atom Age’s “Wasteoid”

Currently comprised of Ryan Perras (vocals, guitar), Peter Niven (vocals, guitar). John Murgueitio (drums), Brendan Frye (saxophone), Fred Brott (organ) and Kevin Mohn (bass), the Oakland, CA-based sextet The Atom Age originally formed in 2009, and […]