Aloha Reader,
We made it through the last week and honestly, congrats to all of us. Celebrate by deleting your Twitter account and attending one of these fine events.
As always: if you like this newsletter, tell a friend.
Cowed by the Bla Bla,
Maria T
To celebrate the release of their new retrospective box set on the Numero Group, members of Tsunami are throwing a shindig featuring a short conversation following a DJ set from Jackie Zahn.
Chris Richards over at the Washington Post wrote a great piece on the band's storied work ethic that is worth a read. I would be remiss if I didn't mention how Tsunami's can-do mindset didn't deeply influence my own endeavors throughout the years, and I'm probably not alone. It's great to see their contributions and legacy being given their proper due. The box set is beautiful, the written pieces inside are a real labor of love, and in true D.C. fashion the listening party's proceeds will benefit the Sunday Love Project, which helps feed Philly folks in need. Tsunami plan to hit the road in support of the box set in 2025, sharing the stage with Ida.
Technically there are multiple screenings of this 1990 ode to pirate radio featuring Christian Slater at his peak Manic Pixie Dream Edgelord finest, but this one's the Quizzo screening if you're looking for a little extra fun.
And I don't know if PFS realized it or not, but this screening is timed perfectly to the end of WPRB's fall silent membership drive, so if you have a couple extra bucks to spare, consider donating to a local radio station that keeps the spirit of this film alive today—albeit in a far more FCC-compliant way. (Full disclosure: I am a WPRB alum.)
Feeling Figures are from Montreal and according to their PR, recorded their new album (Everything Around You) before their first. If you like scrappy NZ Clean jangle mixed up with Sonic Youth's more straightforward material, it really won't matter what order the records came in, because this will be entirely your thing and you'll want more of it.
Opening up this Petty Bunco production are the Lo Fives, scuzzy chaos monsters and recent Portland transplants, as well as Heavenly Bodies' Dustin Burrows doing a solo thing.
I stand by what I wrote on Carney's House Party's BC page for its debut release: "'Eau de Bedroom Dancing' jams for the 'Oh, I don't want to clean the bedroom' crowd." Melissa, formerly of twee sensations the Snow Fairies and Men In Fur, has the synthy home recording thing down well. It's also easy to see the tangible thread from bands like Tsunami to Melissa in the way every detail is tackled, such as the packaging for her most recent tape, The Negative Space EP, a beautifully handcrafted Risograph affair.
Sandcastle, the brainchild of artist Sam Kassel, seems to merge the old with the new. And by old, I mean you're likely to hear ancient Greek theatre and Melville poetics mixed up with the new of bubbling keyboards and sticky beats. 2023 saw the reissue of Sandcastle's alluring 2012 album Wild Legend on the Strange Mono label, which releases music and donates proceeds to local organizations.
MD/DE's Red Birds start things off, sitting in the musical sweet spot between Patsy Cline and Songs: Ohia.
Over the course of two evenings, we're all going to find out exactly what in the world "Norwegian bopcore" is all about, and we're going to do with guitarists Hedvig Mollestad and Nels Cline along for the ride, so it's bound to be a rollercoaster of a experience.
If you didn't get your fill of Nels during his Solar Myth residency last month this is great news for you, and it makes me wonder: Did Nels secretly move here or something? If anyone has intel on why he's doing so many shows locally, the hotline is open. BTW, this is not a complaint. I'm all for it.
Be advised: 11/ 19 is seated, 11/20 is standing.
Sound Advice is a weekly newsletter highlighting upcoming concerts and music-related events in the greater Philadelphia area. Expect 1-5 shows of note, perhaps an occasional guest contributor or two, published on Thursdays.
Local concert listings can be found at the following websites because I am not a concert calendar:
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