* Solid Goldberg is now online for your aural pleasure. The one-man project of local sleaze icon Dave Goldberg (Carsinogents, Box Elders, The Terminals) is an organ-fueled nightmare with analog beats and looping, buzzing pedal effects. The four song self-titled EP is out on Goldberg’s own imprint Home Cookin’ Records and is available at solidgoldberg.bandcamp.com.
* Under Water Dream Machine will release a new album, Can You See Behind The Moon?, Friday, August 2nd with a CD release show at the Barley Street Tavern, 2735 North 62nd St. Under Water Dream Machine is the project of Omahan Bret Vovk, who recorded this new release on on an 8-track cassette machine at home. The eight song album will be available on iTunes, Amazon and Spotify.
* PRO-MAGNUM is both a throwback and an evolution for the assemblage of local garage, indie rock and hardcore musicians that fill out what is as close to an all-star line-up that a band birthed at O’Leaver’s Pub, 1322 South Saddle Creek Road, could possibly boast. The band’s last show Thursday, July 18th at O’Leaver’s already shows the band has nailed down a firm identity. John Vredenburg (Digital Leather) is the frontman for this throwback to 80s heavy metal, drawing on Iron Maiden and early Judas Priest for righteous riff inspiration. That’s why Paul Hansen and John Laughlin, both of the F**king Party, are so vital, as they trade off lead riffs bathed in their homemade construction floodlight spotlights, which they trigger by foot pedals. Drummer Pat Oakes of Ladyfinger drives the rhythm with a heavy thump. The whole effect is one of all the disparate worlds of the the band members converging into a sound that takes a specific genre influence into a modern context. And yes, it slays to the point of throwing devil horn hand signs during each and every guitar solo.
* A heap of Pitchfork Media buzz has put Speedy Ortiz on an indie rock fast track, making their appearance at a midtown house show Wednesday, July 17th seem like a secret show instead of just another DIY event off of Farnam St. The Massachusetts band plays a post-grunge indie rock that nods to riot grrl and female indie rock bands like Sleater-Kinney. The band revels in elements of a basement DIY culture that folds hardcore, punk, lo-fi and indie influences into bands in surprising and new ways. Local band Eric in Outerspace deserve their own mention, playing teenage angst punk-pop with a certain lo-fi-influenced directness that puts them in a musical lineage paved by acts like Superchunk and shared by indie favorites like Cloud Nothings. Eric in Outerspace have caught my attention.