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10 Delaware Valley bands you need to hear NOW

Submitted by jstudent on Tue, 2007-09-18 21:00.  
By Joe Simek
Philly EDGE Correspondent
 
            When Philly EDGE recently interviewed Brian McTear, local producer and frontman for Philadelphia’s Bitter Bitter Weeks, he gave us this take on the state of the
local music scene:
“In a nutshell, at least 50 percent of the people who attend shows are in bands themselves; it’s very difficult to support a music scene solely on the backs of musicians.”
Isn’t it about time you got out to support the talent in our music scene? Here are 10 artists you need to pencil in your schedule… Fuck it; break out a pen.
 
 
Philly’s The Swimmers have been keeping us in suspense over the release of their debut album Fighting Trees. Although the band formed a year ago around the recording, they have yet to release it. Considering the buzz this band is getting, you might guess the stalling is due to a record deal being in the works.
In the meantime, the album is streaming free at the band’s website. The group has already done residencies at The Khyber in Philly and Piano’s in New York, as well as shows in Boston, Chicago and Washington, D.C.
They are XPN and WPRB darlings, and 6-ABC in Philly already did a major online feature on the band. It’s an impressive resume even without a properly released full-length album, which signals that there may be big things ahead for this band.
 
See The Swimmers:
Oct. 19: Doylestown Moose Lodge, Doylestown
Oct. 27: Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia
 
 
Local press began salivating over Papertrigger after the band moved to Philadelphia from Syracuse, NY in 2006. The project of five childhood friends, Papertrigger has released only one EP, Riot Lovers, since making the move, but it’s been enough to spark acclaim. 
This five member band has a difficult sound to describe, as they contrast saxophone and piano with distorted guitar. At times, Papertrigger sounds like drunken pirates ala Blackheart Procession, other times they explode with reckless abandon like early-Muse. The band was just selected as one of nine bands for the 2007 Zig-Zag Live fall competition, where it is in the running for $14,000 in prizes (none of which are rolling papers, sadly).
 
See Papertrigger:
Sept. 26: The Khyber, Philadelphia
 
 
East Hundred's song “Numbers” might be the most addictive track by any artist on this list. It's glitchy drum beat and crafty electric guitar riff are a great beginning, but they pale in comparison to lead singer Beryl Guceri’s gorgeous, yet tense vocals.
East Hundred blend electronics with a pop mentality, and with a six-piece live band, they rock pretty hard. Unsurprisingly, East Hundred is thinking outside the Philadelphia box, as their latest EP, Copper Street Performer, was mixed by John McEntire (Tortoise, Sea and Cake); they have a respectable national tour booked for this November.
 
See East Hundred
Oct. 31: The Fire, Philadelphia
Nov. 15: The North Star, Philadelphia
 
 
In a recent blog, Illuminea listed over 60 instruments this Philly and New York-based “mini-orchestra” played on its new album, Out Of Our Mouth.
Now that might sound like overkill to some, but it appears to be necessary for this seven-piece to craft a sound that is rooted in experimentation. Produced by Joel Hamilton (Tom Waits, Sparklehorse), Out Of Our Mouth is the follow up to 2004’s droning Nightlight, when the band was still Illumina (they added the “e” over legal concerns.)
With all those instruments and three main songwriters spicing things up, Illuminea is able to keep things mellow, without causing fans to nod off. Plus, it’s a refreshing change from the guitar-heavy indie sound dominating rock.
 
 
Technically speaking, Witness is our hip-hop inclusion on this list, but this Morrisville emcee isn't exactly a staple of the local hip-hop scene. Although Witness has said he "started making hip-hop music at age 15 with intentions of waking up the next day and becoming Kool Moe Dee," he has abandoned (for the most part) the traditional rap game for an indie take on the hip-hop genre. His latest EP, Evermore, uses cellos, acoustic guitar and jazz undertones for a beat production that lands somewhere between Buck 65 and DJ Shadow.
Witness was recently scooped up by Japan's Rockwell Product Shop record label, but he remains unsigned in the U.S. You would think someone would sign this cat quick, because with two solid EPs now complete (he released Ever Since in 2005), Witness
probably has a stellar full-length ready for the future.
 
 
For the past few years now, Scranton’s Prison Jazz Records has been releasing some of the better indie rock from the region, such as The A-Sides, The Sw!ms and Okay Paddy. You can now add Jenkintown's The New Motels to that list. Although this foursome has been plugging along since 2003, the band had yet to release anything as promising as Domestic Life, an EP that dropped a few months back.
Wilco comparisons have been abundant, and more or less accurate, which can really never be a bad thing. Less quirky and not as overtly pop as some of their better known label mates, The New Motels are the darkhorse of the Prison Jazz imprint.
 
See The New Motels:
Sept. 20: The Khyber, Philadelphia
Sept. 27: Mill Creek Tavern, Philadelphia
 
 
Hardcore fans will tell you that a majority of local press (this writer included) spends too much time on indie rock when there’s a respectable hardcore community flourishing locally. With Staggered Works now consistently booking hardcore and metal shows at
Siren Records in Doylestown, you have no excuse not to check these bands out.
Start with The Minor Times, a Lansdale band that recently released its latest full-length, “Summer Of Wolves,” on Prosthetic Records.
Curious to hear the chaos that is The Minor Times? Listen to “The Pugilist At Work,” an older, but still featured track on the band’s MySpace site.
Few bands have made the line “Fuck me? No fuck you” sound so good. 
 
 
The last time Philly EDGE checked in with James Harvey, he was pondering the impending break-up of his last band Playwright.
Harvey has regrouped with the help of his brother Farzad Houshiarnejad and Ben Money, and Mike Cammarata to form Drink Up Buttercup, a band that owes as much to The Beatles as it does to kindergarten sing-a-longs.
This Bucks County group likes it sloppy and poppy and brings an inspired amount of enthusiasm to its live shows, which often involve audience participation. If you don’t catch the band at its September residency at The Fire in Philadelphia, Drink Up is playing at the Moose Lodge in Doylestown in October with D-town scene heroes Illinois and Aderbat, as well as The Swimmers.
 
See Drink Up Buttercup:
Sept. 19: The Fire, Philadelphia
Sept. 22: John and Peter’s, New Hope
Sept. 23: Deer Park, New Hope
Sept. 26: The Fire, Philadelphia
Oct. 17: Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia
 
 
Although Birdie Busch is signed to Bar/None Records and has raised her profile to a national level, this Philly singer-songwriter will be pretty damn local in the next few months. Busch will be playing two shows at Johnny Brenda’s, including her CD release on September 25, as well as a couple of dates in Doylestown and Bethlehem with locals Hoots and Hellmouth.
With her upcoming album, Penny Arcade, Busch looks to continue the lackadaisical pop songwriting of The Ways We Try, the album that launched her career and landed her a deal with Bar/None.
 
See Birdie Busch:
Sept. 25: Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia
Oct. 20: Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia
Nov. 16: Puck, Doylestown
 
 
Whether it’s the claim that they are influenced by C+C Music Factory or the Chinese menu-turned-liner notes in their album, curiosity alone should make you want
to check out Downtown Harvest’s latest, GoldenDragon. 
Of course, you have to really strain to hear the C+C in this band, but there is an obvious dance and electronic element like that of Beck circa Midnight Vultures. The band’s video for “Alexander Hayes” recently won Ralph Lauren’s RalphRocks contest.
Last month, DH was flown to Los Angeles to play for the Vice President of Atlantic Records; Ralph Lauren footed the bill for studio time, airfare, hotel -- and we’re hoping, here -- a bunch of Chinese take-out.
 
See Downtown Harvest:
Sept. 21: Crazy Carl’s
Sept. 28: General Lafayette Inn
Oct. 18: Milkboy, Ardmore
Oct. 25: Grape Street Pub
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