Frontman Britton Powell writes:

"Phasing" is the first fully-realized track we've shared from our
summer recording sojourn in upstate NY. We started with improvised grooves, tracked them on reel to reel, arranged them for the record and rearranged them for live performance, all in isolation on a hundred acre farm. We then fine-tuned them as the songs shape shifted throughout our three month tour this past fall. Since returning to DC, we've been revisiting all the previously recorded material from this summer's sessions. We've been putting the raw tracks under the microscope of mixing and production, trying to apply a unique tint to the lens of each song, embellishing when necessary to push specific vibes. The results have been excitingly different from the live set we've gotten used to. We've been relishing these slower winter days for all the meticulous processing needed to rein in our summer's energy.This track in particular is highly influenced by Henry Flynt, Nico, Perry & Kingsley, and Steve Reich.

Yeah, so the track is totally seeped in bong water, but it's also remarkably controlled despite what first feels like blissed out formlessness. On Bandcamp, the song is tagged as both "music concrete" and "pop." Might as well just call it pop concrète.

"Phasing" will appear on a 12-inch this spring, with one more original track and remixes from Doldrums, Dustin Wong (of Ponytail), and Aaron Leitko (of Protect-U).

Listen to "Phasing":

Hume, "Inverse Fireworks" ("Inverse Fireworks" single)
The psych-inflected pop of this early 2011 track sounds miles away from the infinitely spaced-out Hume of late 2011, but its relative restraint makes the song all the more memorable.

Meredith Bragg, "Birds of North America" (Nest)
The haunting folk of Meredith Bragg doesn’t really belong alongside the more Americana-focused singer-songwriters in the area, even though that's often who he shares bills with. The ever-persevering troubadour traffics in quiet subtleties, and the slight changes in timbre and instrumentation throughout "Birds of North America" reinforce a simple, repeated melody without becoming stale.

Oddisee, "Skipping Rocks" (Rock Creek Park)
With the kind of beats hip-hop heads dream about, this mostly instrumental record is like hearing the ‘90s in soft focus. Oddisee seamlessly blends live instruments with choice, ‘70s-style samples, and the result is a soundtrack to your favorite summer memory.

More Humans, "Mason-Dixon" (Demon Station)
The harmony-laden post-punk of More Humans’ Demon Station was one of the year’s more pleasant surprises. This track somehow feels both breezy and urgent, showcasing both craft and accessibility.

Mason-Dixon by More Humans from NIGHTTIDE on Vimeo.

The Caribbean, "Mr. Let’s Find Out" (Discontinued Perfume)
One of the densest, strangest pop releases of the year (can you really call it pop?), The Carribbean’s Discontinued Perfume continues to occupy a strange, dark corner of my record collection. The hooks in "Mr. Let’s Find Out" aren’t especially obvious, but its texture-driven, stream-of-consciousness melody quietly refuses to leave.

yU, "If U Down" (the EARN)
I may be a bit late to the Diamond District’s party, but this yU record has me stoked about whatever those three put out next. Smart, effortless delivery, conscious lyrics that aren't pedantic, and warm, understated beats.

Deleted Scenes, "Bedbedbedbedbed" (Young People’s Church of Air)
This song is inescapable. While the live version packs more punch, the recent single off the effects-drenched Young People’s Church of Air softly plants itself in your skull for the rest of eternity.

Deleted Scenes "Bedbedbedbedbed" from Stephanie Wuertz on Vimeo.

Poor But Sexy,  "Fool Runnin’" (Let’s Move In Together)
Despite featuring familiar guitar work by ex-Dismemberment Plan guitarist Jason Caddell, Poor But Sexy doesn’t quite fit into any particular D.C. scene...which is fine by me. Their funkiness recalls the golden days of yacht rock, and while their frank, straightforward relationship lyrics are somehow startling, they’re also weirdly bold and endearing. Oh, and the sample that kicks off this tune is totally Plan-worthy.

SPRCSS, "Ours is Expanding Light" (05/2010)
The primal urgency of SPRCSS, replete with constant 16th notes, creates a constant forward motion. On “Ours Is Expanding Light,” an extended, slow build leads to a cathartic release that somehow feels longer than its mere four and a half minutes. In a good way.

Joe Lally, "What Makes You" (Why Should I Get Used To It)
Three records deep into his post-Fugazi career, Joe Lally displays fresh confidence with “What Makes You.” It’s a mid-tempo rocker with an expectedly groovy bassline, and Lally’s understated vocal delivery adds heft to the song's sultry attack.

The art-tainted/prog-damaged* dudes of Hume left town awhile ago for a fall tour. What's the net result? It's a screwed & chopped version of a Steve Miller song set to some C-grade sci-fi clips. But hey, if you're gonna drag yourself Around The Indie-Rock Circuit In 80 Days, it's probably better to bring back "a YouTube video" instead of "herpes and a collection of trucker hats." Hume appears to be lucid enough to organize a show on Dec. 17 here in D.C. They have made a poster for it. It would awesome if that extremely large JPG file used steganography to embed the complete audio code for the original version of "Fly Like An Eagle," so future cryptographer-archaeologists would have something to keep themselves busy. This smaller version probably does not:

* Art Tainted and Prog Damaged would be great rock & roll aliases.

Double Dagger, from left: Strals, Willen, Bowen

Last month Baltimore post-punk trio Double Dagger announced it was breaking up after a little more than nine years together. The six-paragraph note on the band's site sums up the bittersweet nature of Double Dagger's demise, which is taking place simply because, in their words, it's just time.

Followers of vocalist Nolen Strals, bassist Bruce Willen, and drummer Denny Bowen still might think their split is premature: Double Dagger has morphed its calamitously cathartic punk-rock riot into something positively pop-ready over the course of several releases through last year's Masks EP. Throughout the band's evolution, it's lured fans with chaotic live shows, in which Strals spends most of the show on the floor, screaming inches away from concertgoers' faces, wriggling on the ground, and jumping all over the place while Willen and Bowen kick out some thundering, bombastic punk. It's an act rarely seen and hard to beat.

But Double Dagger has chosen to go out in style, building an eight-date minitour that ends with one final hometown blowout on Friday in Baltimore. Before setting out, Strals and Bowen took some time to discuss the timing of the breakup, their posthumous work, and the band's relationship with D.C.

Washington City Paper: The note you left on your website explaining why you're breaking up you mentioned that a big portion of it was timing. Why is now the right time?

Nolen Strals: Well, the band is still popular, we still like the music, and I think we would rather stop when other people still like it, more importantly when we still like it, then have it sort of drag on. The band is still something that we choose to do and I don't think we want to keep going if it felt like an obligation.

WCP: You have other songs you're recording, too. Have you decided what you're going to do with them?

NS: It's probably gonna be a handful of songs, so we're not sure about the format. It might just be a seven inch. We think we know who's going to put it out, but we're not sure, we just haven't had time to have a formal talk about it. We're going to record that in November. We have this friend who works in film, and he said he wants to come with us to tape our last string of shows. He wants to make a short little documentary. That was his idea. We're not really sure how it's going to come out or who will put it out just because that idea it just came together sort of last-minute, just really spotaneously. So hopefully there will be the last record and possibly a little documentary, too. You're the only person I've told that!

WCP: As far as the final tour, you mentioned that these are your favorite places to play in. Why these cities?

NS: Well, not to knock Detroit, but we've only played there once and we're only playing there because it gets us to Chicago. We've always had a great time in Chicago and the other cities, and those are the cities where we seem to have the strongest fanbase, if you want to use that word. It just made sense, if we were only going to play a handful of these kind of shows, they should be places that we really like, but also that has a good audience. There are a lot of shows where you have like 20 people at, that would be kind of a bummer at the end of a long streak.

WCP: D.C. is one of the shows, it's right around the corner from Baltimore, and you guys have often gotten compared to being a Dischord band. How has playing in D.C. factored into your career as a band?

Denny Bowen: I don't know, I guess the only thought is it was important to try and play there even though there was a period of time when we were so frustrated with the shows we would play in D.C. After a certain point it started getting better and better. It just seemed really important to try and play something that close. There should be more bands doing that regularly because, why not? Two cities could afford to be a little bit more symbiotic in their relationship musically I think sometimes.

WCP: What was so frustrating about those first shows you played in D.C.?

NS: The first couple years it was hard just to get a house show. Early on we didn't even much care playing there just because just to get on even some bad show was just to get at full speed. But then we started to have more stuff there, but even then it's just the old cliche at D.C. shows, everybody stands so still.

DB: Obviously it's changed now. The D.C. shows we've played have been pretty rowdy, which is awesome. I think also the standing still thing was something that then was a reaction to even before I was in the band. Kind of early on that was kind of the normal behavior at shows, people just kind of standing still, observing what's going on...Nolen ended up breaking that wall, making such in-your-face movement and remarks that we kind of had to pay attention or you'd look like a fool.

WCP: You mentioned the connection between D.C. and Baltimore needs to be a little stronger. Since the Baltimore scene came up midway through the last decade has there has been a stronger connection made between bands within the two cities? Is it still something that needs to be improved upon?

DB: I think there's definitely some inroads being made, and it can always be strengthened.

NS: With D.C. bands Hume and Imperial China, they both actively persue the Baltimore audience.

DB: Oh yeah, I mean I see Brit from Hume in Baltimore quite a bit. It kind of makes me feel bad, I kind of feel that the ball's in our court for a lot of Baltimore bands to try to just do stuff right down there.

WCP: Are Hume and Imperial China the two D.C. bands that you guys have maintained a strong relationship with?

DB: Hume played my house in the Copy Cat when I lived there a few times. That strengthened that relationship, at least on my end.

NS: There are, well, those two bands from there we really have a good connection with.

WCP: Once you're done and finish up in the studio and put everything out, what projects do you have in the works? I think I heard a little of Denny's new project [Roomrunner], but that's about it.

DB: Yeah, I have that new band where I'm playing guitar. I play all the instruments on the recording, save like a guitar track, but I've been working on writing stuff over the past year or two and I don't know, I always need some kind of outlet. I happened to get hooked up with a really good drummer through Brett so that obviously is awesome to me. I rarely get to not play drums and having someone really awesome play drums.

NS: Some friends of mine are more in the punk-slash-hardcore scene, we've been talking about starting something up towards the end of the year, but there's nothing really solid there. I think all three of us, we'll still be making music, just not together and hopefully we can play on the same shows and stuff.

DB: Yeah, I'm sure we'll help each other out and stuff like that. Even during all of it, we've all been busy doing one thing or the other, even throughout this past year, I played drums on Future Islands' record and Dan's [Deacon] new record. I'm always pretty busy, but without Double Dagger it's going to be interesting to go about things without trying to find a new outlet that's going fill that same speed, but I think it'll be easy to do, it'll be awesome when we get to share our new stuff together.

WCP: As far as the final show in Baltimore, is there anything that D.C. listeners should be aware of if they want to trek out to that as well as the D.C. show?

NS: As for the D.C. show, we're gonna play a slightly longer set than the normal. Actually, I don't know that was, but it'll be like much longer than usual. And the Baltimore show that's probably gonna be the longest that we've ever played. It's gonna be pretty epic. We might be dead at the end of it.

DB: That's actually in the setlist.

NS: At the final song we're gonna stop halfway through just because all our bodies are just gonna shut down.

Double Dagger plays with Imperial China and Holy Ghost Party Wednesday at the Black Cat.

PUNK, ETC.

The local rock show to catch tonight is Hume, Dope Body, and Protect-U at the Black Cat Backstage. We've written about all three extensively, but here's what we said about Baltimore's Dope Body last time they drove down 95 for a visit:

It’s unbelievable that an MP3 file or a slab of wax could contain the fury of Dope Body’s latest album, Nupping. The band mixes boisterous alt-funk, damaged noise rock, and aggressive post-punk, spikes the result with a bit of soul and hip-hop, and plays with enough intensity to make the album seem like a plausible alternative energy source. So it should not surprise anyone that the Baltimore band puts on one hell of a show. The foursome is loud, visceral, and unstoppable, ripping through its catalog with impassioned precision. Frontman Andrew Laumann straddles the line between magnetic and maniacal: He’ll sometimes lurch around onstage shirtless and sweaty, contorting his sinewy frame into whatever shape suits his brutal vocals. Witnessing the veins on Laumann’s neck swell as he forcefully shrieks along to pulverizing tunes may illustrate what “dope body” really means. (Leor Galil)

There's also Plums, Guillermo Sexo, and Insect Factory at good ol' Bella Cafe. It's another installment of Plums' residency at the restaurant across from 9:30 Club. There's no admission listed on the Facebook invite, but it'll probably be under $10. 8 p.m.

And Los Angeles punks X play their classic album Los Angeles in its entirety tonight at the Birchmere. 7:30 p.m. $29.50.

For more arts outings, check out our music calendar, our books listings, and everything else.

Hume

"We made great creative strides in a pretty finite amount of time," says Wilson Kemp, the quartet's drummer. Hume's members lived together, ate together, and handled the business of operating a band together. The keyword, according to Kemp: "holistic." Trippy.

For the first two weeks of the stay, the band improvised all day, every day, and then recorded for several weeks. "[The songs are] much more organic," says Kemp. "We all arrived there in the moment."

Back in December, I praised Hume's 43-minute EP (43-minute EP!) Penumbra for not quite meandering despite its lengthy track lengths. The record flirted with that strange, early-'70s moment in which psychedelic music transformed into prog rock.

The new stuff, Kemp says, is "much more linear and way more layered," says Kemp. It has intention, he says, and focus. The band laid down about 90 minutes of music, and is returning to Argyle soon to record vocals and mix the record. Then they'll tour for two months in the fall.

I'm guessing what this means is that the band is now tighter and more graceful and more concise, which is why their Comet Ping Pong show tonight with Dope Body and Buildings should be fascinating. The first 20 people in the door get a free silkscreen, says Kemp. And the band is selling a limited edition CD demo containing material from the Argyle sessions.

There are still some open questions for the band. Will they release the next record on local label Sockets? Can they make the band sustainable? (The current two-week tour with Dope Body has been successful "financially and vibe-wise," Kemp says.) Will they return to D.C.? They're planning an Arglye-like session in Savannah, Ga., this winter, but after that, the future is wide open. I can dig a nomadic Hume. Tonight's show is at 10:30 p.m. $10.

This Friday, the Hume frontman has organized a show in the lot behind Million Man Tires on Georgia Ave. NW featuring five musical acts, two video artists who will project their works, and two chefs who'll serve edible creations. What to expect, according to Powell: Thousands of tires, four or five video projectors, and "a bunch of beautiful mellow music." The goal is total sensory overload, he says.

The show is a bit of a happy accident. When Powell's van got a flat, he went to Million Man to have it replaced. "I saw people socializing there," he says, so he asked if he could throw a show. The owners were cool with it.

What's important about the show, Powell says, is that it's not in a club, and it's not in a regular DIY space. It's just a place. "What I’m trying to do is offer up a spark to my peers in the city," Powell says, explaining that he's sick of complaints about the city's lack of DIY spaces, and about going through the normal channels of playing in clubs. "I just feel like people get trapped in the idea of spaces developing over years. Most spaces, like the Red Door or Subterranean A or Paper Sun...it takes about a year and a half or two years for people to actually feel comfortable to show up to concerts there," he says. "It’s kind of cooler when there’s no predetermined feeling about the environment, when you can move from one [venue] to the other. It’s fresh, it’s more interesting."

In other words: Since DIY spaces are difficult to keep running because of density and noise ordinances, the scene needs to go into (here it comes) pop-up mode. “People are gonna have to be a little more creative toward where they’re going," Powell says. "The DIY scene will have to be more of a hunting/gathering, less agrararian kind of culture.”

Still, Powell says he may yet open another DIY space. In a suburb maybe, or another city. "Or another planet,” he says.

Diane Cluck; Susan Alcorn and Janel Leppin; Macaw; John Berndt; and Cigarette perform from 7 p.m .to midnight at Million Man Tires, 3411 Georgia Ave. NW. $7.

The Cassettes, at NASA apparently

An irregular roundup of local releases on vinyl.

The Cassettes, "I've Been Gone Far Too Long" 7-inch: The first release from the Northern Virginia steampunkers in two years, this three-song 7-inch is unusually self-aware for the group: "In the last world/we said our words/and now we're here again," sings frontman Shelby Cinca in "I've Been Gone," a slow-burner that achieves spaciness via mandolin. The next song, incidentally, is called "Far Too Long." Conceptual! (Flannel Gurl Records; digi version has a bonus track, "Australia")

Screen Vinyl Image, "Siberian Eclipse" 7-inch: I first wrote about the B-side of this release, "New Visions," a year ago, and it was one of my favorite local tracks of 2010. After many months of delay (production problems? label-related karmic issues?) it's finally out. The A-side, "Siberian Eclipse," is spooky and serrated and it moves, but I like Screen Vinyl Image the most when its noise gets blissful. More stuff like "New Visions," please. (Fan Death)

Hume, "Inverse Fireworks" 7-inch: Hume's excellent Penumbra LP from last year had a bunch of loose, soul-skimming ragas and one tight psych-pop single; on this latest 7-inch, the band manages to be loose and concise at the same time. Thoughts are repeated for a few bars then never revived; there's a great moment where frontman Brit Powell laughs a line instead of singing it. Also, the video for "Inverse Fireworks" proves there's no reason a shabby garage in Columbia Heights can't be trippy as balls. (Sockets)

Local? Got some new vinyl? Let me know.

WATCH: Hume – "Inverse Fireworks"

Whatever you choose, the weekend will look and probably feel a lot like this:

The Best of Friday:

Cee-Lo Green. American University's Bender Arena. Call for more information. (202) 885-3267

Das Racist. Rock and Roll Hotel. SOLD OUT.

I may be woefully undereducated about rap music, but I'm not entirely sure whether I should trust a few Wesleyan-educated, Coogi-sweater-clad rappers to school me in what rap music looks like today. The post-colonial dream team Das Racist seems to know its stuff, and with hyper-referential, irreverent lyrics, it wants to make sure you do as well. From the group's 2010 Sit Down, Man mixtape, the song "hahahaha jk?"  taunts, "we're not joking, just joking, we are joking, just joking, we're not joking." It's an apt summation of Das Racist's mission to confuse, sanctify, maintain, and deliver.  Questioning if these guys are the real deal is likely, but they're having an awful fun time playing at the fact that they might be. With Ardamus and the Metaphysical, Fat Tony.

The directions are simple: First bring canned goods and whole grain cereals to benefit the punk-rock collective Positive Force and the senior services nonprofit We Are Family. Then you benefit from punk, pop, and rock stylings of Pulling Teeth, Magrudergrind, Give, and Hot Mess. $8/$10.  St. Stephen's Church. 6 p.m.

The Best of Saturday:

Socket Records Showcase: Hume. Skeletons. Buildings. Laughing Man. $12. 9 p.m. doors. Black Cat.

Last time around, faithful retro-soul crooner Eli "Paperboy" Reed squashed his competition, Mayer Hawthorne. He and his band brass-heavy boys, the True Loves, are back. With Spirit Kid and The Shifters. 8:30 doors. $14. Rock and Roll Hotel.

Urban Arias. $15. 7 p.m. & 9 p.m. Artisphere

The Best of Sunday:
Prince vs. Prince: The 10 Year Anniversary. $10/$12. 9 p.m. Black Cat.
Party like it's actually 1985, before Prince disbanded the Revolution and the world was awash in the harmonies of Purple Rain, when Dynasty wouldn't let Billy Dee Williams be great, and Quincy Jones produced super sessions that could change the world.

Funk 4 The Dream: Afrika Bambaataa. Asheru. Fort Knox Five. Jahsonic. Rex Riddem. Mustafa Akbar. $10. 9 p.m. show.U Street Music Hall.

The Rest of Friday:

Vocalist Akua Allrich. 9 p.m. and 11 p.m.  Friday and Saturday. Twins Jazz.
Justin Jones and The Driving Rain. With Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit. $15. 8 p.m. doors. 9:30 Club.
All Good Funk Alliance. Price set at door. 10 p.m. show. 18+. U Street Music Hall.
Musicband. Thee Lexington Arrows. Yell Country. The Bam Bams. $8. Comet Ping Pong.
Truth & Salvage Co. A Thousand Horses. Black Dog Prowl. $10. 9 p.m. show. Red Palace. 18+
The State Department. Vita Ruins. Loose Lips. $10. 9 p.m. show. Black Cat.Practically Einstein. With Zelos and Kindlewood. $10. 9 p.m. Iota Club. Quaman Fowler Quartet. $15/$20. 8:30 p.m. show. Friday and Saturday. Bohemian Caverns.
V0calist Julie Nixon. 8:30 p.m. $34. Friday and Saturday. Artisphere.

The Rest of Saturday:

Virginia Coalition. With Danni Rosner, School of Rock DC. $15. 6 p.m. show. 9:30 Club.
Chopteeth Big Afro Funk Band. 9: p.m. $15. Iota Club. Sleeper Agent Presents: Lo Fi Muay Thai Release Party. Ozker. Reemstar & Navi. $10. Comet Ping Pong.
BSO: Icarus at the Edge of Time. $14 – $88. 8 p.m. Strathmore.

The Rest of Sunday:

Reaction 2011: Susan Morabito. Guy Smith. $35. 10 p.m. show. 9:30 Club.
Eternal Summers. Maybe, Baby. Flourescent Scents. $8. 8:30 p.m. show. All ages. Red Palace.Jean-Paul Bourelly. $15. 7 p.m. show. Bohemian Caverns.