TOP FIVE ARTISTS OF THE WEEK:
STEP ROCKETS: Step Rockets have developed a reputation as one of the most exciting new live bands on the scene, seamlessly blending wailing guitar solos and anthemic melodies with infectious dance grooves. Comprised of Josh Von Mink, John Synhavsky, Brady Lillie, and Anthony Schulz, the band has found the right balance between refining their classic sound, and embracing their new one. Although Future Nature is the band’s debut release, it sounds nothing like what one would expect a debut album to sound. The release is polished and compelling, and is proof that Step Rockets have something new to bring to the table, in the form of electo-pop punk mixtures.
COAST MODERN: This Los Angeles-based duo, who infuse their breezy, west coast electro-pop with elements of hip-hop and indie rock, Coast Modern was started by Luke Atlas and Coleman Trapp. After two years of failing to cast their creations into the mainstream, Trapp retreated to Denver, Colorado to get a little perspective, and began writing songs for himself, rather than the latest tastemaker. He would send theses back to Atlas, who would add bits of production, and before long, Atlas was back in L.A., and Coast Modern was born. Their first single, Hollow Life, in 2015, drew rave reviews and comparisons to artists like Grouplove, Cage the Elephant, Twenty-One Pilots, and Alt-J. A second single, Animals, followed in 2016.
THE FLESHTONES: The Fleshtones, back on the TOP 5 for a third week, are an American garage rock band from Queens, New York formed in 1976, debuting at CBGB. Often tagged as garage rock revivalists, the Fleshtones mix the fuzz guitar and Farfisa organ sounds of that genre with rockabilly, ‘50s and ‘60s R&B, and surf into a potent retro stew the group likes to call “super rock.” And in 2016, the Fleshtones celebrated their 40th anniversary as a band with an album named for one of the group’s mottos, The Band Drinks for Free.
RED SAMMY & SOME CHARMING TRESPASSERS: Adam Trice is an American writer, singer, and songwriter from Baltimore, MD. In 2007, he began performing in solo and duo ensembles under the name Red Sammy. Trice performs with a rotating cast of musicians ranging from a rock band to a four-piece string ensemble. Red Sammy and Some Charming Trespassers is Trice’s latest ensemble, that released the album True Believer, which is a collection of eight songs “stripped down to the essentials, allowing words and melody to take the lead.”
NOFX: Formed in Berkeley, California, in 1983, NOFX is an American punk rock band that rose to popularity with their fifth studio album Punk in Drublic in 1994. NOFX’s mainstream success was signified by a growing interest in punk rock during the 1990s, but unlike many of their contemporaries (including Bad Religion, Green Day and The Offspring), they have never been signed to a major label. First Ditch Effort is the thirteenth studio album, released on October 7, 2016. It is the band’s first studio album since 2012’s Self Entitled, marking the longest gap between two NOFX studio albums to date.
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