Liberty Never Sounded So Good

There’s been something special brewing along the Delaware River the last few years, in a little town called Philadelphia. Being a New Yorker, I can imagine the draw. From the price of real estate, to the price of booze; bands pay for rehearsal space about the same as the B&T crowd spends for a night out in the LES. Good things never last though, so it's only a matter of time before there's a NOPHO or a Philita, and pristine condos dwarf modest and cozy brownstones. Track lighting will wash out the golden glow from behind lace curtains and there'll inevitably be ironic videos and articles making fun of the “ubiquitous” Philly hipster with an unmitigated and usually self deprecating distaste that I’ll never understand. Maybe, one day we'll give up the search for the affordable symbiotic artist/city relationship and head to a nice quiet spot in the Catskills where we can play our amps as loud as we want to, but for the time being, I think we should all embrace what's going on in the Liberty City. Philadelphia has a lot to offer, and I feel shorted that I haven’t been able to enjoy it properly. A large percentage of bands that I have really been digging, I later find out, are based in Philly, so needless to say, Philly’s awesome (I think), but the music there is even “awesomer”!

The Cobbs - Their album Sing The Deathcapades will be one of my favorite albums of 2006, and hopefully won't go unnoticed to the indie community. The band is rooted in Psychrock, but the album is textured with elements of hard rock, 80's Springsteen tenderness, and a little '90's grunge crunch. I've had this album on repeat for the last few days and it only gets better. Be sure to check them out. [MP3] The Cobbs - Say You Never Knew Me [MP3] The Cobbs - Hold On The Cobbs Homepage Black Pearl - I haven't heard too much about this band, but what I've seen and heard, I really like. This song "All The Pretty Girls" is saturated in psych sludge, akin to a poppier Dead Meadow. They've got a few more tracks available at their Myspace page. [MP3] Black Pearl - All The Pretty Girls If you know of any other great unsigned / undiscovered / underappreciated Philadelphia bands, let us know. And if you ever want a tour of the town, here's where to go.