Sunny Side Up

Cold Fronts, a melodic garage-rock band straight out of Philly’s fortified DIY scene, played an energetic set on Sunny Side Up last weekend. Led by singer/guitarist Craig Almquist and drummer Alex Smith (pictured, right), their debut EP Pretty American hints at what’s to come from this double guitar-driven quartet: drunk punk with extremely hummable tunes….

Leave it to the folks at Glassnote Records to find bands from across the pond who look to our shores for inspiration. First, England’s Mumford & Sons and now from the Emerald Isle, anthemic, roots-folk band Little Green Cars. This young five-piece with the five-part harmonies just released their full-length debut Absolute Zero. Steve Appleby’s…

Wake Owl started out as a vehicle for Pacific Northwest singer/songwriter and former rapper Colyn Cameron. But it’s now starting to take shape as a full-fledged band. Their new EP Wild Country (out on Vagrant Records) features Cameron’s longing vocals and the seasonably-warm strings of Aiden Brant-Briscall. They blend beautifully with lyrics inspired by wanderlust…

A singular band of multi-instrumentalists and vocalists, the California group who call themselves Milo Greene make shimmering, cinematic rock. And given all their hours traveling across the country by van, it sure helps if to have an affinity for movies and a DVD player. Their self-titled debut features instrumental interludes between songs; the warmly-layered music…

Brooklyn trio The Lone Bellow are poised for a potentially big 2013. The country-soul three-part harmonies and back-porch rhythms on their self-titled debut should satisfy recent cravings for authentic American music. But what really makes the band unique is the journal-like lyrics and redemptive story of lead singer Zach Williams, whose wife was nearly paralyzed…

The Denver folk-rock band Churchill may have Morrissey to thank for thier big break. The avid animal rights advocate refused to play Jimmy Kimmel Live because the scruffy hunter pimps on reality show Duck Dynasty were booked for the same episode, and so, the band that recently played Sunny Side Up stepped in for the…

Matt Costa left behind his sunny Southern California comfort zone for gloomy Glasgow, where he recorded his new self-titled album with Mogwai collaborator Tony Doogan. The results are breathtaking! With members of Belle and Sebastian (including guitarist Stevie Jackson) serving as his backup band, Costa spiced up several of the albums’ songs with a kiss…

Though there had been flirtations on previous albums, keyboards really explode on Ra Ra Riot’s latest Beta Love. The Brooklyn by way of Syracuse University quintet last year parted ways with their longtime cello player Alexandra Lawn, and though they don’t ditch strings completely (violinist Rebecca Zeller still contributes her instrument as well as synths),…

Alternative music star Ben Harper and blues harmonica king Charlie Musselwhite, two surprising kindred musical spirits, release their first album together, the scorching Get Up on January 29th. They came together over their love of the blues and it shows with this collection of straight up, defiant rockers and uplifting, gospel tinged ballads. Backed expertly…

The six members of Bronze Radio Return, who met up at a prestigious music school in Hartford, Connecticut, made their second album Shake Shake Shake in the unlikely music hotbed of Norman, Oklahoma. It makes sense when you get to know the band members. Led by singer Chris Henderson, their down home sincerity and optimistic anthems…