Bad Dad & The Pool Girls have been charming the local scene for a couple of years now with their soul-infused, west coast melancholic folk rock. In fact, “charming” pretty much sums up everything about this band. Their description on their facebook page (which you can go ahead and “like” right here) states that their music is “where old souls meet young bodies.” This frame of mind resonates perfectly throughout their recent self-titled LP. Over the course of nine tracks, the music morphs from a west coast folk style to a melting pot of funk, soul and indie. Lyrically, it’s all over the place, with the majority of the songs either about laying down the funk on a member of the opposite sex (“Lay It On Me”, “Get Down”) or a good ol’ fashioned murder ballad (“Bloody Murder”, “Forty-Five”). Somehow, someway, the BD/PG’s are able to make these subjects mesh behind catchy melodies. Mr. Bad Dad and his pool girls will be playing their hazy summer tunes at The Silver Dollar Room on August 6th. - Chris PJ D

The San Francisco based classic soul revivalist band, Gene Washington & The Ironsides will be performing at Slim's in support of the rapidly emerging soul/big band The Suffers. If you like insanely large music ensembles, energetic soul music and nostalgic experiences, check this show out. The San Jose based band, Los Hot Boxers will be rounding out the bill with a unique fusion of doo-wap, Jazz and Latin musical influences.

This would be the perfect show to take your S/O out for a night of dinner and dancing. It can't always be about you, of course there's no reason why you wouldn't have a BLAST getting down to The Suffers and all the amazing music you're going to experience on August 4th at Slim's??

You can order tickets strictly for the show, or you can invest in advanced tickets that includes a three course meal and reserved seating on the balcony. Do your best to make it out to this show!

Now this is one we’ve posted before as part of a previous Artist of the Month Poll roundup, but now we’re givin’ local pychpoprock (mmmhmmm, smush them genres) act Three Bones its own damn post because they’ve got a neat lil July residency goin’ on at the Historic Scoot Inn that’s jammin’ along quite nicely. We’ve been quite into this pair (headed by Victoria de Benedicty and Dalt Jacob with Grant Johnson and Mike Stavitz as well) since they put what has been one of the year’s prime headspace occupyin’ tracks and eyeball a’pleasin’ vids out earlier this year with the strummmeriffic and oddly super satisfyin’ “Hold on to Ya” earlier this year. Goddamn psychedelic earworms y’all: in a genre that finds itself in the long-noodlin’ territory more often than not, it’s not somethin’ you really expect for a psych track to be a tight, clean piece of pop that gets right up between your brains and shakes its tail for a week or two, but damn if “Hold on to Ya” ain’t just that.

I think what really gets this track and vid movin’ is that it just feels legit as Texas barbeque; even when hammin’ it up all weird and creepylike for the camera (as Dalt does just freaky fuckin’ well), you get that unfakeable sense of authenticity that tells ya these are some good damn people just doin’ the damn thing thing in the way they damn well wanna do it, and they’re down if you’re down and cool if you ain’t. We think y’should be, and a trip out yonder to Scoot Inn will likely get you on the Three Bones wavelength quicker than a blonde dude in an all white get up can strum a guitar, which if you check the vid, is pretty fuckin’ fast.

DC based artist DÉVÅZ released his first EP this May titled "Narcissist". The sound is lush and mysterious, sometimes pulling samples from unlikely sonic-pals Ariana Grande, Drake, Charles Manson, Billie Holiday, Interpol, Anna Kendrick, and Iggy Pop (to name a few) into a foggy, paranoid brew. This is a mix for the listener who likes their house music in the context of a psychological thriller (or maybe an H.P. Lovecraft narrative guessing from the aesthetic of the album art). Though washed and ambient in structure, the beats keep this twisted story on fast, nimble feet from beginning to end. We're looking forward to further releases and hoping this newcomer will start DJing some of our local haunts. 

- Leora Mandel

Having just released their EP 'Break Me Free,' Connecticut/New York soul octet Mad Satta today premieres through our blog the music video for the work's second single, “Simpler Times.” Elegantly infusing present struggle into a reflection on past joy, this horn-blared song is almost intensely candid. However, behind these crisp visuals, which intercut scenes of frontwoman Joanna Teters quietly singing and her band jovially playing, the track becomes a melancholic yet ultimately triumphant piece of musical meditation. Watch the music video for “Simpler Times” below, and head over to here to find out more about Mad Satta's summer tour. The band will be opening for SF's R'&B songwriter Goapele at the Bowery Ballroom on July 10th. - Zach Weg