Giggle Party

Somewhere between pop-punk and anarchic electro-comedy, Giggle Party brings the atmosphere of a party wherever they go. Giggle Party’s fun, frantic live shows and catchy anthemic music are punctuated by synthesizer and group vocals.

Battlehooch

What can a rock band do that hasn’t been done yet? How much can you twist and mutate a genre until it turns into something new? These are the questions that lie at the heart of Battlehooch’s music. Their latest album “Hot Lungs” (Released Feb 2013) is a full length meditation on the answers for those questions. With songs ranging from symphonically epic to intimately beautiful, “Hot Lungs” is an album that captures the widescreen nature of Battlehooch’s sound.

Sun Hop Fat

The music of Sun Hop Fat is at once dark and soothing. The band started with the vision of reinterpreting Swinging Addis Period Ethiopian Jazz and has turned songs of freedom and blues into their own blend of groove, swell, and funk. The ten piece band now fuses their sound to reflect on Eastern scales while dancing with Western skies.

Spontaneous Respiration

Detailed, dense, intense, intelligent, insanely playful, yet surprisingly gentle, the music of Spontaneous Respiration catalyzes a stronger connection with the eternal for the listener…Mixing rock instruments with acoustic orchestral instruments and electronics to create strong emotionscapes, the songs often start off on a serene path, and sometimes end violently.

Scissors For Lefty

Scissors For Lefty has a sophisticated pop style, combining elements of Modern Indie, Yesteryear, & Dirty Glam. They are about as playful as an arty pop band can get, all fronted by tales of romance & counter-culture glow. Smart, sexy, and a little crazy.

Whiskerman

Born into a family of musicians, Whiskerman singer and front-man Graham Patzner didn’t have much choice. Cultivating a unique sound a voice that ranges from smoky to soaring, and his songs span a wide array of moods and genres, yet always remaining soulful. Behind him is a tight band that includes Will Lawrence on bass, Nick Cobbett on drums, and Charles Lloyd (Cash Pony) on guitar and sitar.

Happy Fangs

Mike Cobra and Rebecca Bortman come from opposite ends of the San Francisco music spectrum. He’s the brooding frontman of electro-rock band, King Loses Crown. She’s the giddy indie pop frontwoman of My First Earthquake. The result is Happy Fangs—with unique dark exuberance, punk anthems, and plenty of warpaint.

Sunbeam Rd.

Sunbeam Rd., a Bay Area three piece, craft a tense and expansive sound via psychedelic guitars, purposeful melodies, and restraint. Willing to fall apart completely exploring the margins of harmonic rock, their live shows can toe the edge of cacophony. At their best they reach into hook-laden, fuzz-saturated trance states.

Not the 1s

Not the 1s is the SF/OAK rap duo of Cuzzo D and Mawnstr. They’ve known each other since back in the day. They make songs about being fly, driving space-age cars, and shoplifting.

Ash Reiter

Ash Reiter’s melodies go a long way in the world of golden-pop sounds. Her gentle vocals are immediately compelling and distinct, with an aggressive punch thrown in here and there. Part of her charm is the unabashedly playful nature of her music; it is lighthearted and sincere, and it urges an audience to shake their hips a little while occasional psychedelic flourishes threaten to warp your mind.

Magic Fight

A band of baby phoenices based in the chrysopylae of Northern California. The Oakland “post-indie” band is composed of songwriter, Alex Haager, on lead vocal and ukulele, Alex Pinto on bass guitar, Hernando Buitrago on keys and vocals, and Jeff Gist on drums. After grabbing the attention of Bay Area blogs with their singles “Fangs” and “Legs”, the band released their full-length debut “Wooden Swords and Stolen Echoes” in April.

Callow

If Vic Chestnutt had come out of slowcore rather than country, he might have sounded like Callow. Stark, blue guitars and keyboards provide the backdrop for Red Moses’ minor-key songs of loss and the dark transitions the heart must make as it breaks, heals, grieves and grows.

clintongore

Clintongore is a Brooklyn/San Francisco based electronic duo. Sierra Frost and Chris Crawford record their music in bedrooms, sometimes from across the country.

Clintongore is each band member’s first attempt at writing electronic music and they are stoked.

Futurebrite

Futurebrite is the collaboration between singer/multi-instrumentalist Karen Kanan Corrêa and producer Josh Grant. After leading NYC indie rock trio Demander through US and European tours and two albums, Karen toured as bassist for Sweden’s Moneybrother before starting the songs for Futurebrite. Think beat-heavy 80′s + bright melodies + fireworks + cinema.

A-1

“Adam Traore, aka A-1, might be the next S.F. rapper poised for wider success. The first-generation U.S. citizen, son of parents from West Africa and Italy, A-1 treads a fine line between what would’ve once been considered conscious rap — giving lip-service to positivity and self-awareness — with party-ready anthems about girls and weed. The Thurl Tape, his release from last fall, mixes zeitgeist-y beats and production with guest spots from Roach Gigz, Little Dragon, and Dregs One. But Traore’s agile rhymes and likable, disarming persona keep the spotlight firmly planted on him throughout.”
–Ian S. Port

Frozen Folk

“Sweaty; Complex; Supple,” these are just a few words used to define the Bay Area trio, Frozen Folk. Eluding conventional definition, this band digs rusty hooks of thrashing energy into the frothing mouths of innocent bystanders, and reels them in with the lilt of bizarre lyrics and melody. Singer/songwriter Owen Kelley aims to unite influences like Jesus Lizard, Pixies, The Urinals, Eric Dolphy and Thelonious Monk. Patrick Friedman, drummer since the age of 12, and Tim Platz, bassist and jack of all trades musician since the age of 6, lay a brick-wall-backbeat that drives the complex and sonorous machinery of Owen’s chickin’ pickin’ style guitar work.

Growwler

Growwler is an art pop collective based on the songowriting of Davis IL. Since inception the band has had San Francisco music history dyed in its wool: ebullient harmonies, weapons-grade hooks and sophisticated arrangements. Composing mash letters to the golden era of modern melody, they’re unpardonably happy when they make the listener feel appreciated.

Animal Friend

It has been three years and we have played some fun shows around town. We like wizards and crystals and profanity. There are four of us. We make bhangra for cuttlefish. We make most of our music at night. We are made mostly of recycled plant material and water. The human members of the band are Jasper Speicher, Jacob Van Putten, Kazuko Kimura, and Jake Frautschi. We are friends and believe in love.

Mammoth Life

Mammoth Life is a female fronted, dream-pop quartet from San Francisco. Soaked in reverb with coursing organ and electric guitar, this band falls somewhere between Weezer’s Blue and current releases by Tennis and Beach House. ML’s debut LP will be out this summer via Satisfying Records.