Listening to Deaf Scene for the first time, one of the things I was most impressed by were the seamless transitions within the songs. The band does a great job developing themes with increasing intensity, steering clear of traditional verse-chorus structures to take listeners on a journey. Sometimes it's easy to get listener fatigue, going through 9 separate journeys on a full length prog-rock album, but the band keeps it interesting with a pleasing blend of post-rock and psychedelic, mixing in the driving force of tracks like “Zealot” with the trippy vibes of “Sun Drops”.

Aside from the stellar songwriting, the musicianship is a real tour-de force here. Everything is so tight, clean, and well rehearsed, it's abundantly clear that these guys really know their way around their instruments. An impressive and promising first album from Deaf Scene.

-Written by Michael Dranove

On September 15th-16th, Baltimore-based electronic/hip-hop group, Bunk Buddha, is set to headline the Mind Field Music and Arts Festival in Bunker Hill, West Virginia. In addition to playing 3 sets, the band will also have a hand in curating the multi-platform festival, which will include late-night acoustic bluegrass and folk jams, art installations, a community campfire, nature walks, group meditation, and more. Have a listen to Bunk Buddha below! - Ethan Ames

DC-based avant-pop band Humble Fire recently released a music video for "Taliesin," a single from their forthcoming album, Builder, out July 14th. Filmed in a domestic setting (probably a nod to bedroom recording practices), the video matches the ethereal song and its experimental vocal arrangement with the abstract movements of a group of dancers. A crescendo of editing, featuring reversed video cuts and musicians casually noodling on their instruments in tight rooms, compliments the percussive build-up of the song. Humble Fire will be playing at The Pietsch Tree in Baltimore on June 3rd, as well as the dates below!

 - Ethan Ames

For the past year or so, Fairfax's Vaelastrasz has been quietly developing their electronic composition skills. The releases have always seemed promising, and “Glyph of Inspired Hymns” gives a lot of reason to think that Vaelastrasz is starting to really come into their own as an electronic musician. The album art, a black and white photo of an old church, is at once nostalgic and haunting, an aesthetic which meshes well with the antique, dystopian ambiance given off by tracks like “In Memory of the Third” and “Cathedral I”. Interestingly, behind the ambiance often lies post-rock grooves, keeping the tracks from sounding repetitive.

In all, some very good music produced on this album, looking forward to hearing more from Vaelastrasz.

-Written by Michael Dranove

“I'm coping” Kaimbr assures the listener on “Cora”, the first track of his latest full length release, Share the Shelter. Starting the album with a song dedicated to his mother, Kaimbr switches between conventional raps and a sense of lo-fi innocence on the album. Giving the album a real sense of concept are the retro, often melancholy samples, which add a nice touch of melodic material to the album, giving it a unique, tight sound.

Here is “Defiant” from Kaimbr's latest album Share the Shelter, which dropped May 16th.

-Written by Michael Dranove