Blab School

Blab School | Blab School | 3hive.com
Blab School | Blab School | 3hive.com

Blab School is a rad new band out of North Carolina. The band consists of Ryan Seagrist (Discount, The Kitchen), Elizabeth Killian (Teens In Trouble, Glowing Stars), Dave Cantwell (Analogue, Cold Sides, In the Year of the Pig), and Fikri Yucel (Veronique Diabolique). I found out about these guys when I read “FOR FANS OF: Bad Religion, Buzzcocks, Descendants, Drive Like Jehu, The Faction, The Fucking Champs, Gang of Four, Green Day, The Hives, Hot Snakes, Jawbox, The Jesus Lizard, Les Savy Fav, Lightning Bolt, Meatbodies, Melt-Banana, Metz, Osees, Pipe, Pissed Jeans, Pretty Girls Make Graves, Superchunk, The Thermals” on Fort Lowell’s Instagram page, teasing their debut album. I was able to get my ears on a sneak peek from my friends at Fort Lowell, and I have been hooked ever since.

We are beyond stoked to bring you the premiere of the first single, “Scrolls”, from their incredible debut, self-titled album. “Scrolls” exceeded all my expectations from the list of “for fans of” above. It is a burner from the get-go with punishing drums, chunky bass lines, and razor-sharp guitars, sounding like Pretty Girls Make Graves meets Superchunk!

Blab School comes out in June via Fort Lowell Records. This is a must have record! You can pre-order it here and pre-save “Scrolls” here. Enjoy.

Kicking Bird

Kicking Bird | Just To Be Here With You | 3hive.com
Kicking Bird | Just To Be Here With You | 3hive.com

We are stoked to bring you the premier of Wilmington, North Carolina quintet Kicking Bird’s latest single “Just To Be Here With You”; a 4 minute dreamy pop track, packed with infectious guitar melodies and vocal harmonies from Shaylah Paul and her husband Shaun Paul.

Kicking Bird’s debut LP Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is out in May via Fort Lowell Records. Enjoy.

Lauds

Lauds | Imitation Life | 3hive.com
Lauds | Imitation Life | 3hive.com

After a few EPs and singles, North Carolina’s Lauds have finally released their debut long player, Imitation Life, and let me tell you, it is some solid jangle/dream pop gold. It’s packed with lush, jangly guitars dancing around echoed vocals and a driving rhythm section. Lauds has set the bar high for all albums released in 2023 with Imitation Life.

Check out album opener “Paralell” and “24” (below) for a taste.

Imitation Life is out now via Fort Lowell Records. Get your ears on this one. Enjoy.

Band and The Beat

Band & The Beat is the new project of husband and wife duo Tracy Shedd and James Tritten. Using only analog synthesizers and an analog drum machine, they have created quite the infectious dream-pop sound.

Dig on the warbly synths and lo-fi vocals of their first single “Buoy” below. Hopefully there will be many more songs from these guys in the future. Enjoy.

Band & The Beat – Buoy (2015)

Be sure to catch Band & The Beat on tour in a city near you:

Oct 14 . Durham NC . The Pinkhook . w/ Jphono1, Schooner (solo)
Oct 17 . Raleigh NC . Slim’s . w/ Jason Herring & The Mystery Plan
Oct 18 . Chapel Hill NC . Local 506 . w/ Nuns (Oklahoma)
Oct 19 . Knoxville TN . Pilot Light . w/ Bark (mems. of Tim Lee 3)
Oct 20 . Nashville TN . The Basement – 8:00pm – New Faces Nite
Oct 20 . Nashville TN . The 5 Spot – 10:00pm – $2 Tuesday
Oct 21 . Nashville TN . The Basement East – New Faces Nite
Oct 22 . Athens GA . Flicker
Oct 23 . Charlotte NC . Petra’s . w/ Jason Herring & The Mystery Plan
Nov 1 . Durham NC . Duke Coffeehouse . w/ Free Pizza (Boston MA)
Nov 7 . Chapel Hill NC . The Cave . w/ Tim Lee 3

Hey Mandible

“Ahhhh… the 90’s.” That’s the first thought that came into my mind during my first listen of Florida 3-piece Hey Mandible’s new album The Arse. The heavy bass lines and swirling, distorted guitars take me back to my late teens and early twenties when I was destroying my stereo speakers with bands like Nudeswirl, Mind Funk and Gruntruck.

Those super-heavy bass lines and distorted guitars are the driving force behind opening track “Supernovatone” (below). Caution, if played too loud it’s sure to melt your face.

Classifications be damned! If you dig loud, distorted, in your face music–Hey Mandible is the band for you. Fort Lowell hooked us up with an exclusive full album stream to share with you guys, check it out below you won’t be sorry. The Arse comes out on March 31 on Fort Lowell and Infintesmal Records. You can preorder it now from Fort Lowell Records. Enjoy.

Hey Mandible – Supernovatone from The Arse (2015)

La Cerca

Tucson’s La Cerca have been around as far as I can tell since at least 2002, but they are brand new to me. I stumbled across their new album, Sunrise for Everyone, one afternoon while searching the nets for new music. Their dusty, hook-filled brand of indie rock immediately captivated me.

Sunrise for Everyone took the better part of three years to record, and it shows as it’s songs are full of masterfully crafted layers of indie rock gold. Check out the standout, slow builder  “Weather Festival” below for a taste.

Sunrise for Everyone is available now from Fort Lowell Records. I highly recommend it.

La Cerca – Weather Festival from Sunrise for Everyone (2014)

La Cerca