Singer Chris Farren has made the rounds lately performing with both Antarctigo Vespucci and his own project in support of his latest record “Can’t Die.”

Signed to Brooklyn based label Anchorless Records (the label that brought releases by Chumped and Mikey Erg), Early Riser’s blend of folk-infused pop. The main group is the guitar/cello duo of Kiri Oliver and Heidi Vanderlee, backed by Andrew Bisdale on bass and drummer Mikey Erg currently of Worriers. With influences mainly pointing to alternative rock, the band’s sensibilities use the folksy-neo Americana aesthetic with none of the kitsch that has plagued the genre in the mainstream, but as a vehicle for successful songwriting.

Early Riser

On the heavier end of the spectrum lies Rockland County’s own Timeshares. As labelmates with Jeff Rosenstock and AJJ on Sideonedummy, the band takes their suburban pop punk influences and fuses them with the more refined sensibilities of their contemporaries on the label. What sets them apart from the local scene groups is the poise and professionalism the group carries themselves with and part of what aids them is Signals Midwest guitarist Max Stern whose stage presence gives greater to the group’s presentation.

Timeshares

 

From the ashes of saccharine sweet punk pop darlings Chumped, rises the phoenix of Katie Ellen. Where singer/guitarist Anika Pyle and drummer Dan Frelly found themselves in a predicament after the group’s dissolution, Katie Ellen took Pyle’s indie rock sensitivities to the Nth degree. With bassist Lou Hanman (of RVIVR and Worriers) and guitarist Eric Sheppard (of Adult Dude), the band ripped through a set that hit major emotional highs and delicate lows.

Katie Ellen

With the release of his latest record “Can’t Die,” Naples, FL singer Chris Farren has made his live shows a spectacle truly to be witnessed. Starting with “To Insecurity and Beyond” on a Korg OP-1 synth, the musician dived into the track “Say U Want Me” on electric guitar with pre-programmed loops filling in for the rest of the band. As a solo performer, he’s advanced well beyond his days with just an acoustic guitar. As one-half of songwriting duo Antarctigo Vespucci, Farren played tracks like “Bang” and “Come to Brazil”, where he walked from the venue, into the bar area of Saint Vitus with his unnecessarily long microphone cable, and even debuted a new, currently unnamed track from the band’s upcoming fourth release. Also as of writing this, there’s only 13 days until his birthday.

Chris Farren