NEW YEAR, NEW SOUNDS
Add these local bands to your nightlife roster
We are nearly a month into 2018. Have you found your new favorite local band? No? Don't sweat it, I've pulled together a few great options for you. Fear not, nobody is going to tell you to stop listening to Ruby Rose Fox, Party Bois or your other 2017 delights. But it's a new year, a new you, and time for fresh favorites.
The Low Cards
Providence act the Low Cards have clearly been schooled in the blues. But they come at the music sideways, or back ways or upside-down ways. Frontman Dan Baker writes earthy, raw and bleeding tunes that he and his boys (upright bassist Brian Jablonski and drummer Matt Slobogan) then stomp on with garage rock, ugly rockabilly and a sound between Balkan folk and California surf. Need a shorthand? Fine, it's like Tom Waits and Brian Setzer trying to lead the Stooges through Muddy Waters covers.
Next gig: Feb. 6 at Durk's Bar-B-Q in Providence.
Sundial
As Sundial, Dorothy Chan and Jisu Kim make pop, which makes sense considering their Berklee backgrounds. Chan and Kim's pop is both catchy and compellingly odd, which, well, makes sense considering their Berklee background. To hear the duo's range, start with their 2017 single “Ok Wait.” In less than three minutes, Sundial manages to flirt with Steely Dan fern bar jazz, sexy Justin Timberlake pop, downtempo electronic and '90s arcade sounds.
Next gig: Feb. 27 at ZuZu in Cambridge.
Oompa
What's the difference between hip-hop and slam poetry? Listen to Oompa and the question seems silly. The Boston-born poet and rapper finds no distinction between the two worlds, which both embrace her. She was the winner of the 2017 Women of the World Poetry Slam, a finalist at the 2017 National Poetry Slam and New Artist of the Year nominee at the 2017 Boston Music Awards. Fittingly, her debut mixtape, “November 3rd,” includes sweet, nostalgic jams, such as “Take Me Back,” and the jazz-inflected, Black Lives Matter anthem “SayHERName.”
Next gig: April 27 at Great Scott in Allston.
Set Fire
How do you create a sludgy, thundering metal sound without a bass player? I have no idea. But Set Fire do. The trio of Jess Collins (keys/vocals), Jim Healey (guitars/vocals) and Rob Davol (drums) plod, stomp and scream across their new, three-song EP, “Aura.” Considering the group's collective resume (Mellow Bravo, Black Thai, Shatner, the Static Dynamic and more), the talent displayed on “Aura” shouldn't be a surprise. And yet, the almost pop bridge of “Better Off,” ambient opening of “Falling Backwards” and operatic feel of “Vincent Price's Right” go to new places.
Next gig: March 1 at Opus Underground in Salem.
Sun Parade
This quartet has been kicking around Northampton for a while, but its debut LP, “Shuggy Mtn Breakdown,” has to be heard. The guys can harmonize like the Beach Boys on acid. They can push out power chords with the fury of a '70s stoner rock act. They sound like the psychedelic '60s, the indie '80s, and the electropop boom of the aughts. If you like, well, rock 'n' roll, you'll like Sun Parade.
Next gig: March 3 at the Greasy Luck Brewpub in New Bedford.