Eureka Birds, the songwriting vehicle of Justin Levy, has been a favorite band of the folks at Mobtown ever since their 2008 self-titled debut album and subsequent visit to the studio for a microshow. And while their follow-up release, the Eureka! EP, runs only about 20 minutes, it feels like a substantial work in and of itself, not just a minor stopgap release. The EP’s 6 songs represent a variety of sounds and a satisfying arc as well as many albums, and producer Tyler Watkins, who also plays bass on the recording, helps guide the songs to a clear, full-bodied sound.

(more…)

When singer/guitarist Jon Ehrens first recorded an album as the Art Department in 2005, it was just one solo project of many, including Repelican and the Hypnic Jerks. Nearly five years after The Art Anthology, however, the band is a fully operational gigging trio, rounded out by drummer Mike Meno and bassist Jason Howe, who have helped Ehrens both expand and refine the Art Department’s rewardingly unusual sound and uncompromisingly narrow aesthetic boundaries.

(more…)

Monteclair came in last month to record their record “No More Overtime”. They’re a band based out of Baltimore with Greg Wellham on guitars, Steve Mangubat on bass, Artie Sanchez on vocals, and Ben Dayman on drums. They describe themselves as sounding like “vacation music”. They are incredibly precise guys who know exactly what they want out of their music and their band. Monteclair pulls from music all over the world, from mathy post-rock to world music to pop. Some of their influences are obvious, such as Mars Volta, Fang Island and the Strokes others are subtle, like 60s Motown and Yo La Tengo. Have a listen and decide for yourself.

Adobe Flash Player is required to play this audio.

Of The West is the brainchild of husband/wife team David Banahan and Lisa Wanionek Banahan. Yet, the band is not complete without the indispensable help of Nick Kelly and Henry Ward. They create methodical and passionate soundscapes that evoke intense emotions akin to Sigur Rós, Brian Eno, Yo La Tengo and Godspeed You Black Emperor. This is no casual listening band. It’s intense and it will move you. Enjoy the samples below from the record we mastered.

The Morning Is Bright

Adobe Flash Player is required to play this audio.

Chesepiooc

Adobe Flash Player is required to play this audio.

The rock trio Pontiak, comprised of the brothers Van, Jennings and Lain Carney, have quietly become some of an unstoppable force of late, with a surprisingly prolific output via Thrill Jockey Records, which in the past two years along has yielded four full-length albums and one split LP, 2008’s Kale with likeminded Baltimore pals Arbouretum. But while 2009’s Maker and the vinyl-only tour release Sea Voids were knocked out relatively quickly, their latest album, this year’s Living is the band’s first attempt in a while to slowly, patiently assemble an album over the course of a few months.

(more…)

Given that nearly two and a half years passed between the original local release of Baltimore duo Wye Oak’s debut album, If Children, and its Merge Records follow-up, last year’s The Knot, it’d be reasonable not to expect a new record from the band for a while. So it was a delightfully unexpected surprise to hear word of a new Wye Oak record just 8 months after The Knot, even if it’s just an EP. And the 18 minutes of My Neighbor / My Creator are as meaty and substantial as fans should have come to expect from anything the band does, in fact possibly surpassing the band’s last full-length in terms of moment for moment quality.

Adobe Flash Player is required to play this audio.

(more…)