Growing Pains

 

Pretty Sick, an EVG fave, has a new video out for the single "City Kid" ... from the band's upcoming album Anarchy.

Bonny asks, 'What Are You Doing?'

 

Bonny is a three-piece whose psych-tinged sound is fueled by dual lead vocals and classic-rock influences. 

The NYC band is up first tomorrow afternoon (1:55 pm) on the latest Show Brain bill in Tompkins Square Park. 

The video here is for "What Are You Doing?"

The 'Silent" treatment

 

The debut EP from Mouth Ulcers, a London-based four-piece, delivers a strong set of dark, gothic-tinged tracks. 

The video here is for "Silent Pictures."

Listening to it, it's easy to imagine Dave Kendall introducing the band on "120 Minutes" back in the day before sending viewers down another post-punk rabbit hole. RIP Dave.

Keep Comin' Up (to Tompkins Square Park)

 

Ahead of Sunday afternoon's free Show Brain concert in Tompkins Square Park, here's the new video from NYC's Diary. 

The band recently announced its debut album, Spiral Bound (out Sept. 4 via Kanine Records), and "Keep Comin' Up" offers an early taste of its mix of garage rock, psychedelic pop and infectious hooks.

Diary is expected to play from 3:35 to 4:10 p.m. 

Sands of time

 

The second record from Soft Palms — the wife-husband duo of Julia Kugel and Scott Montoya — came out on June 19... the above track is for the dream poppy "Garbage in the Sand." 

They'll be live at TV Eye in Ridgewood on Aug. 24.

A little hell-raising from the Dollheads

 

If you're planning on going to the free Show Brain show in Tompkins Square Park tomorrow, consider arriving early for the first band (roughly 1:50 p.m.).

The Dollheads are a sibling trio from Las Vegas making a name for themselves on the punk scene. 

Check out the video here for "See you in Hell." 

From an early 1980s East Village rooftop: Beat Rodeo's 'Just Friends'

 

Steve Almaas, a longtime East Village resident, musician and songwriter, died on June 5 at the age of 69. 

He was arguably best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist for Beat Rodeo, a pioneer of the Americana and alt-country sound. 

The video here for "Just Friends," filmed on an East Village rooftop, is from Beat Rodeo's 1984 album Staying Out Late. 

A snapshot of a band, a rooftop and an East Village that feels both familiar and far away.

Only U

 

Nautics, an NYC band who've been playing together since high school in 2015, are on the free Show Brain bill tomorrow afternoon in Tompkins Square Park.

The video here is for "U23" ... their latest single. 

'Love' saves the day

Photo of Bob Bert at Night Club 101 on Avenue A by Stacie Joy 

Veteran drummer Bob Bert (Sonic Youth, Pussy Galore, Chrome Cranks, Knoxville Girls, Lydia Lunch Retrovirus, etc.) is releasing his debut solo album, Beach Bongo Bloodbath, on June 12 via Bar/None Records. 

The percussion-heavy, no-guitar release features several covers, including "Love Comes in Spurts," originally recorded by Richard Hell and the Voidoids in 1977.

In the video below, Hell, a longtime EV resident, makes an appearance... it also features Mary Hanley of Bunny X. 

There's a record release bash at the Bowery Palace on June 15.

 

Don’t shoot the 'Messenger'

 

Brooklyn-based Chanel Beads release its second full-length record on June 26 (via Jagjaguwar, and yes, the album title is the same as its debut). 

Ahead of that is the single from Shane Lavers and company called "Song for the Messenger."

A spin through the East Village with the Judex’s ‘Sweet Hatchback’

 

Musician William Byron shared this new video for "Sweet Hatchback" from his band The Judex, filmed around the East Village last month. 

Though the band isn't based in NYC, Byron said much of their work is mixed at producer Mark Plati's private East Village studio. (Plati is perhaps best known for his work with David Bowie in the 1990s.) 

The video features neighborhood scenes and appearances by local resident Felix Goodman, a stylist on St. Mark's Place and violinist who has played with various New York bands.

Byron said regular breaks at places like Paul's Da Burger Joint, Juicy Lucy, and Tompkins Square Park helped shape the project's atmosphere.

By the numbers

 

This Sunday afternoon marks the first FREE Show Brain show of the season in Tompkins Square Park.

On the bill: The Lemon Twigs ... Fine Mess... and Josephine Network.

The above video is for "2 or 3" by Long Island's own The Lemon Twigs, from their album Look For Your Mind! out TODAY. 

These are the 'Daze'

 

We have another new video from local psych-pop trio Lukka, led by East Village-based singer-songwriter Franzi Szymkowiak.

The clip here is for "StarDazer."

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• Heady psychedelia: A conversation with East Village musician Franzi Szymkowiak of Lukka

'Red' alert

 

We have another new video from EVG faves Genre is Death ... a track from their forthcoming full-length debut on In the Red Records, set for May 1.

Check out "In the Red" above.

The noise-no wave duo of Taylor and Ty will have an album release show on May 3 at Madame X on West Houston Street. 

TV party tonight

Photo this week in Tompkins by Stacie Joy

 The Acute, the East Village-based duo of Viveca Butler and Stephen Cacouris, have a new video out for their track "As Scene on TV." 

Check it out below (and follow the band on Instagram for show updates).

 

Mad world

Surfbort is back with their first record in five years, the delightfully absurd Reality Star. 

The video here, which includes a dancing chicken, is for "Jessica's Changed." 

Surfbort has a few local shows — next Friday at Night Club 101 on Avenue A, which is SOLD OUT, and Market Hotel in Brooklyn on Saturday.

A meditation on memory, loss and heritage

 

Tearless, thoughtless, the second record from Brooklyn's Nara's Room comes out on May 15. 

The video here is for the first single, the seven-minute ballad "Tucson." (Read more about the emotional backdrop for the song here.) 

Keep tabs on the band via Instagram... and see them live at Night Club 101 on Avenue A on March 28.

The rules of attraction

 

Genre is Death, one of our favorite local or anywhere bands, has just released its first single from their forthcoming full-length debut on In the Red Records, set for May 1.

The video is for the title track, "Attractive People." 

Take it away, Taylor and Ty...

A band playing New Colossus Festival: Welcome Strawberry

 

The 2026 edition of the New Colossus Festival is entering the weekend stretch at local music venues. Details here. 

In recent weeks, our Fridays at 5 video clip features a band playing at the festival. (And there are more than 190 in total!) 

Here are the Oakland, Calif.-based dream popsters Welcome Strawberry with "Desperate Flower."

Catch them at 2:15 p.m. tomorrow at Arlene's Grocery or Francis Kite Club at 7 p.m. 

A band playing New Colossus Festival: Drook

The 2026 edition of the New Colossus Festival takes place in the East Village and on the LES starting this coming Tuesday. Details here. 

In recent weeks, our Fridays at 5 video clip features a band playing at the festival. (And there are more than 180 in total!) 

Today, we have the Richmond, Va.-based Drook with a sample of their electro-pop in this video for "Sprinter."

They'll be playing at Piano's next Friday at 5:15 p.m. and at Ki Smith Gallery on Saturday at 6 p.m.

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• Q&A with Steven Matrick, co-founder of the New Colossus Festival, taking place this week at East Village and Lower East Side music venues (Link from March 2025)