Weekly Wrap-Up: 4/24/16

Local athletes flooded down Commonwealth Avenue and Boylston Street last week sweaty and wide-eyed, flying/stumbling down the course of the Boston Marathon. Meanwhile, college students swarmed local libraries, significantly less sweaty but perhaps just as physically and emotionally compromised as they crawl towards the finish line of another academic year. Ahh, the sweet smell of spring.

New Berklee Video With Bat House

Bat House, who describe their music as “cosmic rock,” paint a fireworks show across a night sky in their new recording of “Patterns” at Berklee. Guitar licks fizzle, flicker, and pop over echoic vocals in a darkened studio. A racing drum beat sends out electric ripples of sound that become more frenetic as the song progresses.

New Music Video for Bellwire

There are the types of songs you sing with arms outstretched dancing in a field of daisies. Then there are the songs that you sing alone in the shower. JAKL, which will be on Bellwire’s upcoming EP Dog Thoughts, falls into the latter category. A lilting slow swing accompanies the quivering, stilted voice of the lead singer. His singing style captures the timidity of the song’s protagonist. The video sets the mood by placing the singer dripping wet, eyes slightly reddened in an elbowroom-less shower stall. The new EP, which you can preorder now, will be released next month.

Murdock Manor Call For Acts For “Stripped Set” Series 

The Murdock Manor, the live event production service that produces the Sofar Boston shows, has been hosting their “Stripped Set” series at Thunder Road in Somerville since November. The production features acoustic, intimate sets from a handful of local acts every Monday night.

Musicians: email  Themurdockmanor@gmail.com to be considered for a stripped-down, acoustic set. Music lovers: go check it out! It costs only $5, and you’ll get to see artfully produced performances from local acts.

Glenn Echo Releases Feist-y Cover

Those of you used to seeing Matt Gaydar’s juicy guitar licks spattered throughout Otter’s funky tracks will be surprised to see this cover of Feist’s “So Sorry” on a beach in Salisbury. Gaydar, who calls his solo project Glenn Echo, croons with a creamy, smooth voice that evokes Feist’s earnestness and tenderness. Gaydar’s guitar picking also captures the essence of the song’s groove. Glenn Echo releases a new album next week, and if the fifteen second preview on Facebook is representative of the whole album, it sounds like it will be of the indie pop vein.

Boston Bands Can Perform At Radio 92.9’s EarthFest

Last Friday was Earth Day, and Radio 92.9’s music festival/environmentalism promotion Earthfest will be held on May 21st at the Hatch Shell on the Esplanade. The Strumbellas, Joywave, and Fitz and the Tantrums will be headlining the free festival, and the station is holding a battle of the bands to select the show’s opening act. Local acts will be able to enter a voting process to get selected on the station’s website. According to The Boston Globe, the five bands receiving the most votes will compete at the Hard Rock Cafe on May 14th.

Selected Sounds: 5 Spring Shows

Premieres: General Crush, Blank Brothers

Events and Concerts: All Together Now, Alex G and Porches