Dallas Area Music Offerings For June 8

Hip Hop Humpday (Pussy Cat Lounge): Tonight’s guest is BK Miller, a venerable Dallas DJ whose music can be found here. There you will find his “Record Shop Breaks” tracks, which fully display his passion for Rap’s history as well as his veteran prowess.

Another note is that DJ’s D Teknics and Flotation will now make regular appearances at the weekly. We told you a little about Flotation in one of last month’s write-ups.

The Antlers/Little Scream (The Loft): If you prefer consistency in your music, i.e. that classic conundrum where an individual complains that the “rest of the album didn’t sound anything like the single,” The Antlers are definitely what you’re looking for. Their album Hospice and its infamous mopey tone could almost be something of a modern Indie Rock update of Berlin. That is, if Berlin wasn’t already such a part of the genre’s identity.

Their newest record, Burst Apart, added electronic flourishes, but not necessarily enough to be a real departure. In fact it’s an fairly unsurprising record, but as I mentioned before, this is a perfect band for minimal boat rocking. Or rocking period.

Through instrumentation alone, The Antlers make a convincing case that the world (and especially their world) is a sad place. However, the faintness of the vocals often detract from the overall theme, which is understandable. It’s a rare singer indeed that could match the dour emotion on display here, no matter how many synthesizers with which they spruce things up.

Little Scream, on the other hand, is the opposite in many ways. Let’s hope that Laurel Sprengelmeyer (the artist’s actual name), never abandons the diverse magic that makes her debut record exploring. Though she’s just as capable as turning out the sort of pleasant and easily digestible folk ballads on which many of her contemporaries have bet their entire careers, Little Scream seems unsatisfied with that lonely blueprint. Instead, she’s daring enough to open a track with precious busyness that rivals the Diane Rehm Show’s theme music. Just before it becomes too sonically ornate, a rudely loud guitar comes in and everything is reconsidered.

Over the course of the entire album, through various guitar and percussion bombs followed by folk-laden aftermath, it becomes impossible to pin down exactly what it is that Little Scream is hoping to achieve. Considering how predictable most artists are, that is an achievement in itself. Show up early.

By Christopher Mosley