This week’s trip through 80s Baltimore runs both noisy and nice, beating a path from no wave-inspired post-punk (Ceramic Madonna Head, Grey March, Motor Morons, Moss Icon), propulsive new wave (Bangah, the Baltek, Destination Venus, Infant Lunch), and gauzy alt/goth (Mission, Immortal, Fiction Bridge) to upbeat college pop (Boy Meets Girl, Disappear Fear), retro-flavored garage…

Our second trip through Mobtown’s swinging 70s focuses on the town’s storied dance and hard rock scenes, including raucous disco platters (She-Devil, Curtis Anderson), post-Sabbath and -Nuge heavyocity (Pegasus, Pen Lucy, Kashmir), metric tons of funkadelia (Sound Experience, Madhouse, Man’s Theory, Pockets, Contraband), some punk-adjacent smirk (Poobah, Dirty Work, Raisinets), a few local institutions (Edith…

Spiritually, this tribute to 50s Bmore music is a bonus episode: unlike previous installments, it was built from a loose pile of found “scraps” rather than an intentional quest for material, as my original vision for the series only included rock & R&B from the 60s onward. That said, even limited research revealed Charm City…

Our mass excavation of Baltimore’s alt & punk scene covers the post-Aughts hangover this week, including a pile of tracks from now-renowned locals (Dan Deacon, Wye Oak, Lower Dens), sharp indie popsters (Expert Alterations, Princess Reason, Manners Manners, Romantic States), 90s dreamers (Roomrunner, Us and Us Only, Wing Dam), tuff post-punk and -rock mavens (Ed…

By the end of the Aughts, Bmore’s national profile had exploded, as the massive successes of DayGlo digital composer Dan Deacon, dream pop phenomenon Beach House, psychedelic tunesmiths the Animal Collective, and (of course) HBO’s The Wire placed fresh media halogens on the otherwise humble – if famously quirky – burg. This week’s show presents…

In the latest episode of our Bmore series, the 90s’ alt-rock explosion officially descends on the City That Reads, with nods to roughshod DIY pop (Big Heifer, Nord Express, Glo-Worm), simmering indie rock (Pedge, Hassassins, Candy Machine), sweat-soaked punk (Universal Order of Armageddon, Cinnamon Toast), D.C.-/Louisville-adjacent post-hardcore (the Haberdasher, Roads to Space Travel, Lungfish), and…

In this week’s show, the scattered punk seeds of last week’s 70s mix bloom into one of the East Coast’s sharpest and quirkiest new wave scenes, including a few goth prodigies (Vigil, the Unknown), post-punk live wires (the Accused, Thee Katatonix, Reptile House), 4-track songsmiths (Linda Smith, Mark Renner), college rock scholars (Sunday Cannons, exibit…

Our second excursion into Baltimore’s musical history reps the freewheelin’ 70s in grand style, offering a full dance card of disco-tinged funk (Both Worlds, First Class, the Softones), playful prog (Apricot Brandy, Orange Wedge, OHO), post-Beatles pop (The Reason, Hollins Ferry), 60s hangover hits (Fresh Air, Fortune Teller), and the seeds of the town’s soon-to-be…

During the 21st century, Baltimore escaped D.C.’s shadow and became one of indie music’s most celebrated scenes, with folks like Oxes, Dan Deacon, Beach House, JPEGMAFIA, Future Islands, Wye Oak, Snail Mail, and Turnstile helping foment nearly two decades of continuous buzz. But while pundits’ love for Charm City has been relatively new, the town…