Homemade: Baltimore
February 2, 2015
Courtesy of Visit Baltimore.
Baltimore seems to be the mid-Atlantic’s best kept secret when discussing East Coast music scenes. The city’s proximity to D.C. is both a blessing and a curse; while it’s convenient for local bands to hop between music scenes, unfortunately many national tours choose to play in only one of the two cities, and Baltimore often gets overshadowed by D.C. Many musicians (including 2Pac and Tori Amos) got their start in Baltimore in the late 20th century and as experimental and punk bands slowly crept into the city during the 21st century, many more artists have followed suit.
In the 1950s, jazz and doo wop dominated Baltimore. Like its mid-Atlantic sister cities, it had a thriving jazz scene and musicians sprung up all over the city. As the 20th century continued, Baltimore had a growing underground scene in hardcore punk and new wave – although its hardcore scene was often overlooked in respect to D.C.’s – thus many different DIY venues began opening. (In fact, there is a Baltimore Dead Venues Project that exists documenting the opening and closing of these very popular and sometimes illegal establishments.) The Merriweather Post Pavillion (despite being located in Columbia, still considered a Baltimore venue), was built in the late 60s and brings larger acts to the city, making itself a staple venue in Baltimore’s music scene.
Today the city has a large experimental and punk scene with local favorites such as Animal Collective, Future Islands or pop-punk darlings All Time Low gaining national recognition. The Merriweather Post Pavillion continues to bring large acts to the city, while smaller venues such as Ram’s Head Live!, Metro Gallery and Ottobar focus on local or upcoming artists and the city’s ever-growing collection of musicians.
Dan Deacon
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Courtesy of The Windish Agency.
Loved fiercely by the Baltimore community, Dan Deacon has really forged a path for himself. Not only has he released several solo albums of electro-indie swells and rhythms since 2003, but he has also dabbled with contemporary classical music as well as beginning to score films in the last five years. His live shows are especially raved about since he plays on ground level with the audience surrounding him and he also interacts with his fans. His experimental tunes fit in perfectly alongside other Baltimore favorites like Animal Collective and his upcoming album Gliss Riffer is coming out Feb. 24, so be on the lookout for that.
Courtesy of The Windish Agency.
Every city has a well loved, up-and-coming indie-pop act, but what makes Sun Club especially interesting is that they love Baltimore as much as Baltimore loves them. They’ve said that their favorite shows of 2014 were house shows. Their most recent release from last year, Dad Claps At The Mom Prom, features fuzzy guitars, whoops and drums that will keep you on your feet dancing through any of their shows. They are in the process of making a new album and I’m really looking forward to their future releases.
Courtesy of The Finest Kiss.
Wildhoney’s noise rock combines aspects of shoegaze with pop to create a fusion of distortion pedals with wailing guitars and pop melodies. Their recent release Seventeen Forever has been well received and their recent performance at Above the Bayou in DC has created buzz in the city. The band is gearing up for a national tour this summer and gaining some national recognition will surely and most likely rapidly make them a popular name in the post-punk/shoegaze scene.
Crimson Wave
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Courtesy of Crimson Wave’s Bandcamp.
Signed to local DC label Accidental Guest Records, the all-female post-punk quartet Crimson Wave are rising to prominence with their self-described “bummer pop,” which comprises of haunting vocals and hints of punk riffs, sometimes bordering on shoegaze. They were recently featured on Topshelf Records 2014 Sampler. Another fun fact: they played an AUIAC show in Kay Basement at American University earlier this year. Check out their recent 7” release Say on Bandcamp.
Joy Classic
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Courtesy of Obscure Sound.
Currently working on a new album, Joy Classic’s dreamy guitar riffs practically melt together with overall warm tones and hazy vocals. The band opened for Someone Still Loves You Borris Yeltsin at DC9 last year, a band that has a similar sound to the Baltimore band. Joy Classic’s songs border on psychedelic yet it’s the type of music that makes you want to lay out on a warm beach all day and listen to their album on repeat.
Holy Ghost Party
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Courtesy of Holy Ghost’s Facebook.
Equal parts indie-pop and experimental, Holy Ghost Party mixes melodic guitars with swirling synths and echoing vocals to create weird sounding music that – while at times very eccentric – is still easy on the ears.
Honorable Mentions:
Teen Suicide // Julia Brown // Raindeer // Us and Only Us // Secret Mountains
