Relatively New Stuff from LKFFCT, latewaves, Lunch Ladies, and Bobby Mahoney and The Seventh Son

Lunch Ladies at The Saint back in March.

Digging Out

I've got an inbox full of new EPs, LPs, videos, songs -- many from friends of the site and artists we discuss here often. I've got 100s of pictures to edit from last night's release show for High Waisted and The Coax. Taking the easy way out as I begin to comb through over a week's worth of new and interesting material by calling your attention to a few bite-size morsels from some of our Garden State neighbors.

LKFFCT, "Hatchling"

Montclair indie rock quartet, LKFFCT, just released the first single from their upcoming Dawn Chorus. "Hatchling" sounds like it's about growing up, specifically as it pertains to an increasing willingness to listen to and be educated by others. It's kind of swirling, kind of psychedelic and goes out on a bit of a freakout that probably makes for some wild moments during a LKFFCT live set.

Catch the band this Saturday at Montclair's Meatlocker and next week as part of the second installment of the North Jersey Indie Rock Festival.

Dawn Chorus is out on 10/6 via Sniffling Indie Kids.



latewaves, "Face Down"

I've been kind of behind on Asbury Park's latewaves ("late" you might say). I see them in the listings all the time and have never managed to catch one of their shows. That changes tomorrow when they play a set at the third annual Bond St. Block Party in their hometown.

The trio recently signed to Panic State Records; and their debut EP, Partied Out, is due on 9/22. Earlier this week, latewaves released a video for single "Face Down."

The Chris Shashaty-directed video depicts a ghost and the Grim Reaper moving aimlessly through life until they ultimately find each other. The song is big and bruising with stylistic callbacks to 90s alt rock and more recent post-hardcore.

I'm pretty excited to see latewaves tomorrow.



Lunch Ladies, "Pick Yourself Up"

Back in March, when Jersey Shore-based Lunch Ladies released Down on Sunset Strip, CDM contributor Stephen Stec had this to say about "Pick Yourself Up:"

"It sounds like what your Real Estate LP sounds like played at double time; an absolute bopper that's probably the most fun and light-hearted sounding tune off the album. It just might be the most heavily resonating, a song that feels like waking up and opening your window to a morning so sweet, you've got to take a walk or go running and just do something generally weird to better yourself while appreciating the little things in life."

I liked that then; and, now that Lunch Ladies have released a new video for the track, I like it even more. Director Ed Hellman captures the fun, retro vibe of the song as he documents the band doing band things like playing and eating at diners.

Down on Sunset Strip is out now on Good Eye Records and is quite awesome.



Bobby Mahoney and The Seventh Son, "Another Deadbeat Summer"

Remember Neon Indian's seminal chillwave track, "Deadbeat Summer?" Yeah. This isn't that. Bobby Mahoney and The Seventh Son are Jersey rockers through and through with a sound that draws from Springsteen, The Gaslight Anthem, and the brashness of our home state.

Originally recorded for the band's Friends in Low Places, the song has become a (if not the) highlight of the band's live set. Having grown up with the song, the band decided to re-record it and release it as part of a single to close out Summer of 2017, release details of which are forthcoming.



...OK. That's it for now. I'll get to more stuff in the coming days.

Bobby Mahoney and The Seventh Son, Shot in the Dark, 2016

Album Review

East Brunswick five-piece Bobby Mahoney and The Seventh Son are a hard-working crew. They release albums and EPs at a pretty relentless clip and can be found playing live most weekends. The band have said of their latest release, Shot in the Dark, "We wanted to record an album that showcased this band in its current line-up, with a live, raw, and 'reckless' sound." That sound draws from some venerable New Jersey influences like The Gaslight Anthem and, by extension, Bruce Springsteen. The songs on Shot in the Dark are emotional, anthemic, and mostly loud.

Opener "Anxiety Queens" initially had me thinking that the "raw and reckless" sound the band were going for was acoustic and lo-fi. The song begins with Mahoney strumming and singing along with his acoustic guitar before it kicks into the raucous gear that characterizes much of the rest of the album. Mahoney possesses a grit and worldliness in his voice that's surprising for someone so young. It's something he sort of acknowledges when he sings, "We're too damn young to be so damn jaded."

The title track is another soaring anthem -- huge guitars, artillery fire drums, and Mahoney giving it his all on vocals. "Reckless" careens at high speed as Mahoney sings of his heart getting the better of his head. "Van Gogh" slows things down for its first half before ramping up the rock once again. The real breather comes during the acoustic "Talking in Your Sleep."

The final trio of songs sandwiches the emotional "Black and Milds" between two more rockers -- the Replacements'-influenced "Infamous" and the country-tinged "Leave It Frayed." On "Black and Milds," Mahoney calls himself "hopelessly romantic." That's reflected on all the songs on Shot in the Dark. They all possess the sincerity and emotion you hear in that strain of rousing, soul-stirring rock and roll that seems to grow best somewhere in the swamps of Jersey.

Bobby Mahoney and The Seventh Son are building on a venerable tradition. With a slew of releases under their belt, and a prolific songwriter steering the ship, they've already started making their own mark.

Shot in the Dark is available as a Name Your Price download from Bobby Mahoney and The Seventh Son's Bandcamp page.

Exclusive Premiere: New Video from Bobby Mahoney and The Seventh Son

"Don't Ever Love Me"

East Brunswick's Bobby Mahoney and The Seventh Son are set to release their second full-length studio album, the Max Aharon-produced The Outskirts, on July 18th. Today, the Central Jersey five-piece bring us the Zack Morrison-directed clip for the album's second single, "Don't Ever Love Me."

The song is a hard-rocking affair that brims with the emotion and romance of many of Mahoney's New Jersey influences like Brian Fallon and Bruce Springsteen. It's that not too unfamiliar story of someone afraid to commit to a relationship. Morrison uses light -- the bright sun of a field, the dappled sunlight of a wooded area, the darkness inside a car -- to effectively set the mood throughout the clip.

You can check out the video right here and then head over to the Bandcamp page for Bobby Mahoney and The Seventh Son to grab "Don't Ever Love Me" as a Name Your Price Download.

Bobby Mahoney and The Seventh Son celebrate the release of The Outskirts on July 18th at The Saint in Asbury Park along with Atlas Bloom, Ashes to Rain, and Julian Fulton.