[Tonight in Somerville!] Gold Muse, SAVAK, & Lake Ruth at the ONCE Lounge
Posted on March 25, 2017 at 8:37 am | No Comments
Lend me yer eyes and ears, Boston-centric people, and allow me to tell you about a pretty special show happening tonight in Somerville: A three-band bill at the ONCE Lounge on Highland Avenue, featuring the return of a local fave, the first-ever area appearance by two excellent NYC-based combos, and a pre-and-between set soundtrack spun by a certain DJ Bad Squirrel. (uh, that would be me)
Headlining is Boston’s own shoe-pop-dream-gaze quartet GOLD MUSE, who rose from the ashes of the much-beloved Soccer Mom in 2015, and haven’t played out since last September. The foursome spent the winter months hibernating in their practice-cave, fine-tuning a slightly new lineup that now includes ex-Soccer Mom drummer Justin Kehoe (last seen playing in the touring config of New Dog). So, yes, that means Gold Muse is officially 3 parts Soccer Mom and 1 part Deb Warfield (Swirlies/Shenzou 5/Broken River Prophet). Great things await.
In the center spot: The mighty SAVAK, whose debut LP was one of my favorite records of last year, and are finally making the drive north from NYC to share their songs with us. I’ll forego descriptors and give you their peerless pedigree: Ex-members of Obits, Holy Fuck, Nation of Ulysses, Edsel, and The Cops. If that ain’t to get you there, just check out the video for “Alive In Shadows” and stream the track “Reaction” below. That should do it.
Easing us into the evening will be NYC’s LAKE RUTH, also playing their first-ever Boston-area show. They made their recorded debut last year with a couple singles and June’s “Actual Entity” full-length, and have already released two new songs this year: The lead-off track from The Blog That Celebrates Itself‘s latest dreampop compilation, and the Broadcast-esque single “Pictures From Home“. Have a listen to both below…
I’ve been wanting to catch SAVAK on stage since I first heard ’em, so the fact that they’re playing a tonight in ONCE’s cozy upstairs lounge with one of Boston’s best, and bringing another great NYC band with them, is a true treat. To be able to fill the before-and-between set hang time with some of my favorite songs will be my pleasure. Advance tickets here, doors (and DJing) at 8pm, bands on at 9. Join us tomorrow night, won’t you?
[Last Week’s Playlist] March 2017’s NEW MUSIC NIGHT at ONCE Somerville
Posted on March 23, 2017 at 12:23 pm | No Comments
Did you skip New Music Night at ONCE in Somerville last week? No worries, I’ve got you covered. While you may have blown your chance to win one of several pairs of free show tickets I handed out during the two-hour DJ set, and missed out on some truly tasty tacos, at least you can check out the playlist here. Small consolation, I know. Some of the songs are streamable below, others you’ll have to hunt down (maybe on my monthly playlists?), and a few include a little extra info.
Join us next month at ONCE on Monday, April 24th and avoid any potential lingering regret.
NEW MUSIC NIGHT playlist
at the ONCE Lounge, Somerville, MA
on Monday, March 13th, 2017
01. Will Johnson – “Childress (To Ogden)”
From his “Hatteras Night, A Good Luck Charm” LP, out this week. The former Centro-matic frontman plays the Sinclair in Cambridge on 6/8 with John Moreland.
02. David Bazan – “Make Music”
From the just-released “Care” LP.
03. The Shins – “Rubber Ballz”
04. Gregory and the Hawk – “She’s An Angel” (TMBG cover)
An exclusive bonus recording for GatH Patreon supporters.
05. Lambchop – “Old Masters”
Playing Allston’s Brighton Music Hall with Animal Hospital on March 28th.
06. Aimee Mann – “Goose Snow Cone”
From her almost-available “Mental Illness” LP.
07. Girlpool – “123”
Opening track from their upcoming LP, “Powerplant”.
08. Real Estate – “Stained Glass”
From their just-released “In Mind” LP.
09. Terry Malts – “It’s Not Me”
New single ” target=”_blank”>on Slumberland Records. Tour hits O’Brien’s in Boston on April 17th.
10. Anders Parker – “High Flying Bird”
From his upcoming LP, “The Man Who Fell From Earth”. Tour with Son Volt hits the Paradise in Boston on April 6th.
11. Robyn Hitchcock – “Mad Shelley’s Letterbox”
From his forthcoming self-titled record on Yep Roc.
12. The New Pornographers – “This Is the World of the Theater”
From their upcoming “Whiteout Conditions” LP.
13. The New Year – “Recent History”
First taste of their forthcoming “Snow” LP.
14. Mark Eitzel – “The Last Ten Years”
Off his latest Merge Records LP, “Hey Mr. Ferryman”. He plays ONCE Somerville with Howe Gelb on April 11th.
15. Spiral Stairs – “The Unconditional”
Off the former Pavement member’s upcoming solo LP, “Doris and the Daggers”.
16. Sheer – “Shut It Off”
From their “Psychic Quarry” EP, due out April 28th on Native Sound.
17. Future Teens – “In Love Or Whatever”
Off their brand new “Bored and Alone” EP.
18. Field Nurse – “Summer Spacecraft Motorhome”
Title track from their just-released debut EP.
19. Lake Ruth – “Pictures from Home”
Latest single from this NYC-based band, who will make their Boston debut this weekend at ONCE with SAVAK & Gold Muse. See you there, I hope.
20. Bill Botting & the Two Drink Minimums – “Treating You Right”
Allo Darlin’bass player extraordinaire has a backing band & a brand new LP.
21. Filthy Friends – “Any Kind Of Crowd”
Members of Sleater-Kinney, REM, Young Fresh Fellows, & more formed a super-duper group. 7-inch coming out on Record Store Day. The Best Show previewed this track (at the 5-minute mark).
22. Funeral Advantage – “Shining”
From the Boston-based band’s latest EP, “Please Help Me”.
23. Angus – “I Don’t Sleep”
One of two new songs from this Massachusetts-based band (digging their Bandcamp pricing model).
24. Juliana Hatfield – “Wonder Why”
From her upcoming “Pussycat” LP, out next month on ALR.
25. Monster Movie – “Going Backwards”
Long-running quartet featuring Slowdive guitarist Christian Savill returns with solid new stuff. LP out next week on Graveface.
26. No Thank You – “Serenity Song”
From the Philly trio’s new record, “Jump Ship”.
27. The Darling Buds – “Guess The Good Parts”
Yes, those Darling Buds. Their first recorded material over 2 decades, the “Evergreen” EP, arrives next month on Oddbox Records.
28. Charly Bliss – “Glitter”
This NYC quartet’s debut record, “Guppy”, is out on 4/21 via Barsuk.
29. Early Riser – “The Nevers”
First taste of their debut full-length, out later this year on Anchorless/A-F Records.
30. No Hope/No Harm – “Pony Boy”
Third song released from this Boston-based band (featuring Aaron Perrino of the Sheila Divine & Luke O’Neil of the internet).
31. Pile – “Leaning On A Wheel”
Another killer track off their upcoming LP, “A Hairshirt of Purpose”, out next week on EiS.
32. Jason Loewenstein – “Machinery”
The return of solo-style Jakerock. Been way too long, but damn, this song was worth it. Grab the 7-inch. LP on the way.
33. OUT – “End Times”
Straight outta Kalamazoo, their debut full-length is out now on Comedy Minus One. And I’m listening to it as I write this. Hot damn.
34. Thurston Moore – “Cease Fire”
First shared song from his upcoming solo record, “Rock N Roll Consciousness”, out next month on Caroline.
35. Beach Slang – “Roadrunner” (Modern Lovers cover)
From Vol. 2 of their “Here, I Made This For You” covers EPs.
36. Afghan Whigs – “Demon In Profile”
First single from their next record, “In Spades”, out May 5th on Sub Pop.
37. Tobin Sprout – “When I Was A Boy”
The Guided By Voices co-conspirator has a new solo record, “The Universe and Me”, on Burger Records. He plays Brighton Music Hall in Boston on 4/23 with DTCV.
38. Magnetic Fields – “Be True To Your Bar”
Stephin Merrit & co. have released another must-own epic. “50 Song Memoir” is out on Nonesuch.
For your calendar: Monday, April 24th at the ONCE Lounge in Somerville, MA: The next New Music Night. Note the special start time of 6:30pm, when I’ll start spinning and handing out tickets…
