Track Work: The Tender Thrill, ‘Serena’
With its new EP, New Blues, D.C. garage-rock band The Tender Thrill isn’t proclaiming to hit the reset button on…
Category: Track Work
Track Work: Mike C., ‘New Shoes’
More rappers these days seem to be performing under their government names, and it seems like their attempt to appear…
Track Work: Art Sorority For Girls, ‘Man With A Van’
After cutting his teeth in New York’s anti-folk scene, Daoud Tyler-Ameen moved to D.C. for a job and brought his…
Track Work: The Ar-Kaics, “No No No”
The Ar-Kaics aren’t a D.C. band, but they might be the closest thing Richmond has to one: The garage-rock quartet has…
Track Work: GEMS, “Scars”
Last year, dream-pop duo GEMS released what I consider D.C.’s best pop recording of 2013, the shimmering and sad Medusa EP….
Track Work: The Urban Cartel, ‘While We’re Young’
With a sound it’s described as “indie-rock stylistics matched with hip-hop and R&B spirit,” local ensemble The Urban Cartel formed…
Track Work: Mattress Financial, ‘I Do That Good’
When Silver Spring band Two Inch Astronaut released its searing, herky-jerky LP Bad Brother in 2013, it attracted predictable, but fair, comparisons to D.C’s…
Track Work: Laughing Man, ‘Brilliant Colors’
A few years back, scenesters were talking a lot about the offbeat D.C. indie-rock band Laughing Man. Made up partly…
Track Work: Height With Friends, ‘Roxanne Returns (The War Continues)’
For more than a decade, Dan “Height” Keech has been one of the most unique and prolific rappers in Baltimore,…
Track Work: Maimouna Youssef, ‘Student Loans’
The idea for Maimouna Youssef’s new single, “Student Loans,” came during a performance at the University of Maryland in College…
Track Work: M.O.T.M., ‘Aracari’
Released two years ago, Party Bros.’ single “Malcolm X Park” told a mostly invented but plausible story about the illicit…
Track Work: Greenspan Featuring Ellis And Rome Cee, Wine & Cheese’
Baltimore’s diffuse, diverse hip-hop scene has enjoyed a bumper crop of thoughtful, well-crafted albums in the last few months. Chief…
Track Work: Ploy, ‘Friend Of A Friend’
What is it about agony that coaxes great pop songs out of Hyattsville two-piece Ploy? On many of the electronic-pop…
Track Work: BRNDA, ‘Super Dave’
Two Fridays ago, in an opening slot for Chicago’s Blizzard Babies and local three-piece Dudes, scrappy D.C. band BRNDA played…
Track Work: Will Eastman’s Remix Of The Caribbean’s ‘Imitation Air’
When I first heard The Caribbean‘s meditative, experimental pop tune “Imitation Air,” I didn’t think: “Throw some acid squelches in…
Track Work: A Synth-Funk Mix From Peoples Potential Unlimited
Electro boogie, vocoder funk, thrift-shop-aged R&B: These are the obscure subgenres peddled by Peoples Potential Unlimited, a small and highly…
Track Work: Deleted Scenes, ‘House of Dust’
Another great track from Deleted Scenes’ forthcoming LP, “Lithium Burn,” has made its way online. The album’s eighth track, “House…
Track Work: Furniteur, ‘Modern Love’
D.C. native Brittany Sims has spent years studying and practicing fine arts, specifically painting. Now, she’s flexing another creative muscle…
Track Work: Protect-U, ‘Time 2 Technique’
“Slicin’ the brain in tha mornin’.” “POTS + PANS THROWN AROUND THE KITCHEN TECHNO.” These are the phrases D.C. electronic…
Track Work: Priests, ‘Right Wing’
When D.C. band Priests came along a few years ago, it seemed pretty traditional—a back-to-basics, question-everything punk band not too…