probable depths

With their new album "Probable Depths" released into the wild earlier this month (and streaming below), Half Waif is gearing up for an eventful summer, and the previously mentioned plans are just the beginning...

Starting late June the band will join Pinegrove and SPORTS on a full nationwide tour, spanning two coasts, two countries, more than 25 shows, and over a month on the road (click the poster above or here for full details).

So far the likes of GoldFlakePaint, The Revue, The Deli, and Brooklyn Vegan (who premiered the album earlier this month) have all had some lovely things to say...

“Combining pop sensibilities with the classical textures of violins and twinkling pianos, Brooklyn’s beguiling trio, Half Waif, sends un on a dazzling journey in her album Probable Depths… With swelling vocals, billowing synths, and blinking electronic melodies that lull us into a dream, the album is both achingly private and daringly open, as if each song was a stolen glance into Plunkett’s sonic world, each painting an acutely fine and deliberate stroke of her emotive life. A mellifluous pirouette of musical resplendence.” - The Deli Magazine

“what the full ‘Probable Depths‘ LP does is to throw its arms fully around the listener, not to tease you with the world itself depicts but to invite you all the way in and ask you to stay awhile, until what once felt distant and perplexing feels beautifully nuanced, a lush, vibrant, world, fierce with fire and fervour, that, over time and repeated visits, end up cozying up in, without the smallest intention of leaving.” - GoldFlakePaint

“Bjork’s got this feel, so does St. Vincent, but Chairlift’s Caroline Polachek is my favorite comparison. She and Plunkett share the stirring ability to mix clarity with out-there samples, pop-worthy hooks with Advanced Music Theory-final-thesis-worthy composition and finish it all with an ethereal, bleeding poetic sense.” - The Revue

“if you’re at all a fan of the type of pop artists that have a foot in the modern classical world, you should check this out. “Nest” has more than a few hints of Julia Holter, while most of the album is up a more similar alley to My Brightest Diamond/early Sufjan/etc. The whole eight-song thing is a great listen” - BrooklynVegan

And if that's not enough for you, check out the music video for "Nest" on DIY Mag and the band's full live set from a recent visit to the studio at WPIR Pratt Radio.

* * *

In other exciting new from DZ HQ, the next two tapes will be out next month, both very special rereleases for longtime friends of the label Wildhoney.

On their 2015 LP "Sleep Through It" (Deranged Records), the band proved themselves masters of creating a cohesive, yet diverse, full-length set of songs that left the listener wanting more. Critics noted the band's thoughtfulness and attention to dynamic.

In the other corner are "The Forgotten Works", the two EPs that started it all - a self-titled release (Nostalgium Directive) that showed off the band's heavy punk influences and first nervous forays into pop, and “Seventeen Forever” (Photobooth Records) on which the group advanced bravely forward, refining their sound and highlighting their catchy vocal melodies.

Meanwhile, a very special DZ alum Adam Torres has signed with Fat Possum Records for the release of his upcoming record due out in the fall! Adam and his band have a string of dates lined up in early June, check the full announcement here for the full schedule. 

Lastly, the 14th installment of Escape From DC Brunch is going down June 12 at Hole In The Sky, come BYOBrunch at enjoy a sunny afternoon of friendly vibes and groovy jives with Sitcom, Beverly Tender, and the new Poppy Patica full band lineup (click flyer for details):

I'm sure there's a few other things I've forgotten to post about with all the excitement boiling over in this post, so stay tuned for more updates on upcoming changes to boogie down~

romantic states

"Romantic States forge their path with little more than guitar, drums and voice but their success lies in what they achieve outside of these components. Immeasurable as these things often are, there’s a sense of melodrama that bleeds out of these tracks, a longing that you just can’t place. It’s there in the emphatic build of opening track ‘Watched By An Animal‘ and more prominently in the (beautiful) ugliness of ‘Frozen In Place‘. This muted charm runs like the lifeblood right through the heart of Romantic States, breathing fire in to its more raucous moments while propping up the more disillusioned passages where it slows to a quietened sigh, lost, to some extent, within the confines of the world it’s created for itself. A downbeat and fiery collection of songs that never settles, never quite finds the answers that it sets out to, but one that builds itself up regardless, in to something that, for all the disjointed elements that surrounds, still manages to portray an unexpected feeling of beauty."

Endless thanks to GoldFlakePaint for the glowing remarks above and for premiering the new album in its entirety, and additionally to The Le Sigh for their write-up on "Nettles" in which they refer to the band's sound as "intimate, a little experimental, and subtly beautiful".

The duo is celebrating the release of their new cassette with a string of shows this weekend around the DMV. Click the flyers below to RSVP, and if you can't make it to one of these gigs, keep your eyes open for more shows around the Mid-Atlantic region this month!

On Friday, February 6, they'll be playing for the hometown crowd in Baltimore at the Penthouse Gallery with a splendid bill of talented acts from their creative corner of the world including Post Pink, Boy Spit, Rosemary Krust, and Princess Reason.

The afternoon of Saturday, February 7 in DC will be a benefit show for local pirate community radio station 97.5 FM Radio CPR. The station has been a staple for the Mt. Pleasant community for about 15 years and plays host to a wide variety of shows ranging from community news and sociopolitical commentary to independent music from DC and all of the world. The gig will feature DZ favorites Mattress Financial and a rare solo set from Chris Taylor of Big Hush / Pygmy Lush / Pg. 99 as The Creature People.

That same night in Harrisonburg, VA, Jim and Ilenia will be joined by Sailor Ripley and Fresh Hell at MyMansion.

Stream of download the new album for free using the player at the top of the post! Cassettes are pro-dubbed on a solid pink shell and hand-numbered out of 100 - for those of you unable to catch the band in the flesh, you can grip a copy of the tape from the merch store. Thanks for taking the time to check it out~ ✌

stay sweet

This first month of the year packed quite the punch and things are showing no signs of slowing down. We've got two great shows lined up next week - click the flyers to RSVP.

On Friday, January 23 at the Communiverse with Baltimore babes Et Al. and Boy Spit pairing up with local lovelies Passing Phases and Nice Breeze.

Then the very next night, Big Hush share the stage with Wildhoney, on tour supporting their debut full-length album Sleep Through It on Deranged Records. The bill's filled out by Expert Alterations and Myrrh Myrrh.

The final lists from last year were slow to trickle in, but GoldFlakePaint bestowed its honors upon the Wholes EP, naming it one of their Favorite Tapes of 2014, pointing to the release's "tight instrumentation and seemingly effortless harmonies bundled with powerful songwriting." Echo Bay caught the band live on VHS in the wild performing an unreleased track titled "Walk On" at the Rocketship show, check it out!

If you missed the Daytrotter session by Adam Torres, make sure to take a listen to his new material and updated renditions of old favorites.

And finally, I'll leave you with some photos from last week's show at The Beehive, featuring Emperor X, Sitcom, Trunkweed, and Br'er. Thanks to everyone who came out and to Alex Schelldorf for the pics!

Emperor X

Sitcom

Br'er

moving on

2014 is coming to an end, but not without a few more events to close out what's been a momentous year of music in the DC DIY scene. Check out the details below and click the flyers to RSVP.

First up is an In It Together Fest promotional event on Saturday, December 27 at The Pinch, featuring Meridian, Two Inch Astronaut, Polyon, Boardroom Heroes, and Collapser (playing their last show ever, purportedly). Join us for a brief retrospective and a look ahead to the fest's next iteration.

Then on Sunday, December 28, Big Hush will be joining Chain & The Gang and Qualms (first show!) at Comet Ping Pong. Come out to catch the good vibes, and peep this shining review of the Wholes EP by GoldFlakePaint to get you in the groovy mood.

"From full on shoegaze sustain to amplified campfire folk, Big Hush’s repertoire to date maps out a clear path of progression to their newest collection of songs...The four tracks featured on Wholes blend the delicate with the overwhelming. The soft-nurtured vocal expressions combined with guitar tones that can cry, sing and growl all at once make for the most affecting noise-pop you’re likely to hear any time soon." – GoldFlakePaint

And for those of you in Austin, Adam Torres is back home and playing one final show at Studium on Sunday, December 28 with Abram Shook.

Before I sign off, I'd like to say a quick thanks to Ground Floor Go for their shout out and inclusion of The Sweets Greatest Hits album as one of their Top 10 Cassettes of 2014! There's already a few things in the work for next year, so keep your eyes and ears open for more from DZ TAPES in 2015.