Track Work: Sarmust, ‘Edison’
Breakups suck, but every once in a while, they can become catalysts of clarity and self-discovery. Take the case of…
Category: Sounds
Track Work: Ras Nebyu, ‘Queens’
This song contains explicit lyrics. Ras Nebyu doesn’t have time for misogynistic rap music. He admits that he’s no saint—the…
A Critic’s Guide To Cuneiform Records’ Avant-Rock Releases
Back in April, we ran a critic’s guide to the 30-year-old Silver Spring institution Cuneiform Records, one of the D.C….
First Listen: The Wytches, ‘Annabel Dream Reader’
The British band borrows from the best to contextualize a sound that’s at once heavy, sinister, tuneful and theatrical, piling on the fuzz and reverb until its songs practically foam at the mouth.
Track Work: Ethan Spalding, ‘Happy Feelings’
Ethan Spalding doesn’t want to disclose his age on the record. “Hip-hop is a young man’s game,” says the Takoma…
Viking’s Choice: Accept, ‘Final Journey’
Could Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg have guessed that, one day, a cocksure German heavy metal band — now 40 years strong — would pay tribute to his “Morning Mood” melody?
Ex Hex Releases A Rocking New Song, ‘Beast’
D.C.’s Ex Hex has released yet another new song from its forthcoming record, Rips. Today, Pitchfork premiered “Beast,” a rock…
First Listen: Benjamin Booker, ‘Benjamin Booker’
Flashing both the raw talent of a recruit and the acumen of a much older musician, the singer-guitarist’s self-titled debut shows off both his youth and his grasp of past musical forms.
First Listen: Bebel Gilberto, ‘Tudo’
A soft, breezy summer record, Tudo lives up to Gilberto’s status as a member of Brazilian musical royalty. It strikes the perfect mix of chill and melancholy that’s become her specialty.
First Listen: Cymbals Eat Guitars, ‘Lose’
If the Staten Island band has a unifying philosophy, it’s that rock music is a negotiable solid, one that should be assembled with great energy and not-inconsiderable exertion.
First Listen: Orenda Fink, ‘Blue Dream’
More than half the songs on Blue Dream feature the word “love” somewhere, and every moment of Fink’s performance sounds as if it’s being sung into someone’s ear, not a microphone.
Track Work: Myrrh Myrrh, ‘Peter Criss’
Maryland rock trio Myrrh Myrrh doesn’t identify with any genre in particular. But it’s sure of one thing: The band…
Steve Gunn And Mike Cooper, ‘Pony Blues’
Director Champ Ensminger’s lush video for “Pony Blues” takes the blues out of the Delta and into the jungles of Thailand for an unsettling ghost story.
Playlist: Music You Need To Hear In D.C., Aug. 4 To 10
Sound Advice is Bandwidth’s recurring playlist of artists we think you should catch around D.C. this week. Synthesized music from…
First Listen: Sinead O’Connor, ‘I’m Not Bossy, I’m The Boss’
On her 10th album, O’Connor returns to familiar ground, yet still widens the scope of rock with frank, urgent, compelling songwriting that proves how complicated the idea of the personal can be.
First Listen: Mirel Wagner, ‘When The Cellar Children See The Light Of Day’
As implied in her second album’s title, the Finnish songwriter makes haunting, revelatory music for hidden places. Wagner sings for the dead; she digs past the heart of any matter and into bone.
DDm Came Up In Baltimore’s Macho Battle-Rap Scene. Then He Came Out.
Rapper DDm can remember when he was young enough to want to be a puppet of the music industry. “I’m…
Track Work: Tabi Bonney, ‘Poom Poom’
In 2006, D.C. rapper Tabi Bonney scored a breakout hit with “The Pocket,” an off-kilter jam that celebrated regional slang…
Listen To ‘Real,’ A Funky New Song From Rising Vocalist Kali Uchis
Northern Virginia-based artist Kali Uchis dropped a new song on her Soundcloud page today: Called “Real,” the sensuous, vibraphone-sprinkled track…
Track Work: Fatz Da Big Fella, ‘Grew Up’
This song contains explicit lyrics. As a kid growing up in Northeast D.C., Antoine Williams played AAU basketball. “I thought…