Sushi Grade Panda
Stamford-based act Sushi Grade Panda blends elements of jam, prog and metal into a hearty rock stew that showcases the skills of guitarist/vocalist Tim Fallon, drummer Jordan Marion and bassist Stephen Dow. Most of the band’s originals find Fallon laying down one intricate, distorted riff after another while the rhythm section holds down the fort. Fallon’s vocals remind us of Layne Staley, Dow’s got the Jack Bruce thing goin’ on and Marion adds a bit of funky, “in-the-pocket” charm to his rock drumming.
SGP shows follow the jam formula of mixing a few covers with their originals and you never know what songs Sushi Grade Panda will whip out at one of their gigs. At the group’s New York City debut back in February they worked a shred-heavy, hard-edged version of Tom Petty’s You Got Lucky into one of their signature originals, PB&J, and later dropped spot-on covers of First Tube by Phish & Men At Work’s Overkill. While most of the group focuses on improv-laden lengthy tunes, the band was at its best during the quick and potent Hellbox at that NYC show, a song that displayed a bit of the grunge element that works its way into many of SGP’s originals. Next up for the Panda is a hometown gig at the Seaside Tavern in Stamford on June 4.
Recommended If You Like: Jimi Hendrix Experience, Pearl Jam and Gov’t Mule
Henry Wolfe
Here’s what Henry Wolfe probably doesn’t want you to know before you listen to his music: he’s the son of Oscar winning actress Meryl Streep. Not that he’s keeping that a secret, but that fact is buried about midway through the third paragraph of his bio. Now that we’ve got that out of the way we can actually concentrate on the music of the the singer-songwriter, who continues the new wave of acts that have been pouring out of Laurel Canyon over the last few years.
Unlike the sun-baked, country and folk-rock that the area is traditionally known for, Wolfe instead draws influence from the baroque-pop of Harry Nilsson, who also called Laurel Canyon home. Earlier this week, Wolfe released his full length debut Linda Vista, which showcases his unique blend of breezy melodies and gentle vocals, set to his reflective world worn lyrics. Henry Wolfe will play record release parties at Hotel Cafe in Los Angeles on April 8 and another at New York’s Joe’s Pub on May 18.
Recommended If You Like: Josh Rouse, Harry Nilsson, Randy Newman
Allo Darlin’
Somewhere over the course of the past few years, the word “pop” stopped being a pejorative. Alongside this shift, we’ve witnessed outcroppings of the increasing vague “indie” landscape that includes folk-pop, pop-punk, indie-pop and synth-pop. As much as the over-genreficiation can feel pretty ridiculous at times, these sub-genres play host to some of the best new bands today.
One band that falls neatly in the folk-pop category is London’s Allo Darlin’, a band that writes shamelessly catchy music with whimsical lyrics, ukulele chord progressions, lick trading female/male vocals (with a dead ringer for Stephin Merritt) and endlessly pleasant songs. Some listeners might find the band to be a bit too bubble gum to satisfy their Zeppefied souls, but this music is ideal for a quiet decompress, some ease into the day music or something you’d like hearing at a coffee shop while reading the paper. Once you give in to the peppiness, it becomes clear that Allo Darlin’ writes great songs and accents them with creative instrumentation.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDM_DyoGGSA[/youtube]
Recommended If You Like: Noah and the Whale, Nickel Creek
3 Responses
I heard the guy that tapes Sushi Grade Panda has a gigantic penis, smells perfect and actually IS smarter than a 5th Grader.
toot that horn heady. toot toot.
i like my sushi with gigantic penis.
toot that horn heady. toot toot.
i like my sushi with gigantic penis.
we