Released in late 2019, when heard today “I Don't Know How To Dress For The Apocalypse” sounds like a warning from our past future present. Over a buzzing rush of power chords the Desert Sharks’ lead yelper and bass player Stephanie Gunther laments “the world's a disaster / our leader wants to get there faster.” Mission accomplished. Fast-forward to October 2020 and the power-trio-plus-one have stayed busy with everything from a Zoom-tastic cover of the Misfits' “Hybrid Moments” to a feature on the queer-friendly Twitch rock 'n' roll hootenanny I Want My HYB hosted by Astoria's own Hell Yeah Babies in benefit of The Okra Project—a charity providing meals to Black Trans people-in-need prepared by Black Trans chefs. (Jason Lee)

It was just over a week ago that Pure Adult played a raucous set on BABY TV, the socially distanced version of indie venue Baby's All Right, and this writer is still recovering. The Brooklyn-duo-turned-live-foursome is known for filtering adult concerns--e.g., late capitalism, social control, granny panties--through a childlike impulsiveness whose end result is a big wonderful mess of burbling synths, stuttering drums, gratuitous guitar pedal abuse and brief spasms of strutting rawk. Pure Adult’s mix-and-match aesthetic is not unlike a kid let loose with a 128-count box of crayons, fresh piles of Play-doh and a prescription of Ritalin. The set below opens with the band’s as-yet-unreleased “Ain't I A Woman” (shout out to Sojourner Truth) segueing into “The New Guillotine” (see underwear fetish above), a track from the band's debut EP S/T (self-titled, that is). In these five minutes you get a pretty good idea of what they're about: a feral Foucauldian funhouse ride that's equal parts “queasy listening” and raw ecstatic rush. (Jason Lee)

One could view Brooklyn-based outfit Career Boy as the natural successors to last decade’s garage rockers — their white knuckle guitar work, marked by a slightly discordant sound, combined with frothy, fast and loose vox evoke the sound of predecessors like Jay Reatard and Harlem. In a different sense, however, new track and video “What’s Next” finds the band lyrically situated in an uneasy rut, pondering personal flaws of excessive drinking and “waiting for what’s next to come,” bounding outwards without a sense of personal direction. Moreover, such songwriting encapsulates the sentiments of our current age, capturing the energy many of us feel to do something, literally anything new, while feeling woefully uncertain as to what the first step is. Regardless of when whatever's next arrives, Career Boy will be ready to start — stream the premiere below.

Igniting our month and weekend simultaneously, furiously shredding and adorably bopping, all the same, is Vaughan Supple’s brand new EP Backbone Elegy. The new record is more of Vaughan’s grungy brand of music, except this time the Boston artist varnishes his sound in a sweet mixture of gooey doo-wop that creates a product irresistible and all his own. Right out of the gate, the furious punk rhythm and sugary harmonizing of “For Old Time's Sake” gets a hold of you, ripping distorted guitars and floating Vaughan’s infectious melody in its raunchy medley of fun. Where “Perfume and Mirrors” is a gorgeous piano-led ballad, drowsy and passionate, “Bubblegum” is true to its namesake: short and sweetly-flavored pop-jazz. The title track of the new EP, is where Vaughan Supple’s theme is revealed, why with its thick ambiance of velvety harmonies and distinct acoustic guitar flourishes the artist takes vocal flight towards the past, reflecting as he longs for a simpler time in music and all elsewhere. One could say the final song in the album, a reprise of the first, is a moody send-off, but we argue it could just as well be the beginning as time is not always a river flowing in one direction, sometimes it is a beautiful storm to behold. Stream Backbone Elegy premiering exclusively below and here is to a great month. - Rene Cobar  

HITTER has released their half of a new split 7" with fellow local rockers Midnight Dice, "29 Levi Slim".

The Midnight Dice side of the album is a track called "Precious Metal", and vinyl release of this 7" is set to be released this summer via German label Underground Power Records.

HITTER was scheduled to perform on April 26th at Empty Bottle, but that show is clearly not going to happen. However, there is a little more hope for their May 30th date at Reggie's with Acid Witch, HenryxChinaski, and Dead Sacraments.