Philly alt emo post hardcore band BOOZE RADLY are set to release a new EP late this month titled “Lose, Badly” and they just released their second single off of the album today, titled “Admission of Infirmity”. It’s an introspective post-hardcore song about anxiety, dysmorphia, and the internal struggle to be comfortably in one’s own skin. It has some Spanish influence in its sound and has explosions of screams in the chorus for emphasis of how frustrating it can be to never be sure of one’s self. To celebrate the upcoming release of this DIY powerhouse, we have teamed up with them to give you their top 31 picks for cool independent artists and tracks discovered during the tough pandemic era.
BOOZE RADLY is: Alex Manescu (Guitar/Vocals), Dylan Molloy (keyboard/vocals), Vince Dejesus (Guitar), Youssef Moussa (Bass), and Peter Sovia (Drums).
“When businesses and workplaces shut down, it took live music with it as we went into covid safety protocols.” – comments the band.
“This forced us to become more engaged online in order to be aware of others in the DIY music scene who were still active.
This period, while hard on everyone, had a silver lining in that we got a chance to meet a bunch of really cool artists and musicians during this time.
This was through becoming more active on Twitter, Instagram, and Discord and participating in many different DIY compilations that were put out on many a Bandcamp Fridays.
Through these releases and spending a lot more time on our computers and phones, we became mutuals (and eventually friends) with many of the other artists on this playlist. Since venues re-opened, we’ve had the pleasure of playing with many of these bands, and if not, have at least had pleasant online interactions with the others.”
BOOZE RADLY guitarist Vince and keyboardist/co-vocalist Dylan have put together this great playlist of some DIY bands they met after lockdown occurred. They’ve called it DIY Covid Comrades and they included their brief notes on either what they like about the tracks or how they met the artists.
James Barrett – The Art of Letting Go – great stadium rock, great vocals, catchy, organized Good Things Are Happening Fest
Afloat – Fake Nice – met at DIY X-Games, played show together at The Pharmacy and at Harper’s, collab’d with Gabby on WGE
Ben Quad – Joan of Hill – saw music video, mutuals on twitter, great album of 2022
Thorn Tire – I WILL NEVER BE LIKE YOU – Twitter friend, found out via Chillwavve’s twitter, screamy emo that hits v hard emotionally and has great riffs. EP was one of the better releases of 2022
Hey, Ily! – Human! – Psychokinetic Love Songs great release of 2022, twitter mutual met through Lonely Ghost Records
Superdestroyer – SU’ 85 – vibiest song off newest release, runs LGR, has put us on some comps, given us great advice about labels
Riverby – Burn Yr House Down – straightforward rock, great vocals and energy, met at a show at grape room they attended, twitter friend, fellow PHL artist
Driving Underwater – Jared Can’t Read! – played with at DIY X games, saw at Knifest NJ, twitter friends. Song has great riffs, builds well
Saint Judas – Spooky Ghost Noises – Booze Chatly (twitch stream/DIY interview show) guest, bought their tape, and are twitter friends
Futura Free – Optical Illusion – First Booze Chatly guest, Twitter friend from Canada, reminded me of Angels and Airwaves
Johnny Football Hero – Cap’n Oblivious (Deficit) – played DIY X games, helps run Luigis Mansion (great philly house show venue), twitter friends
2nd Grade – Sugar & Spice – power pop from Philly, played with them at The grape room, reminds me of velvet underground a bit, love the bass tone
Sonagi – Ambivalence – philly band on get better records that rips, puts on a great live show and has that 2015 – 2018 screamo sound perfected and keeps it alive
Silithyst – Some will see your light as a curse – doesn’t fit a distinct genre, puts on fantastic live shows, now friends with the members after seeing live many times and meeting on twitter/discord
Mikau – Terrorizer – unique build, fantastic live and on the album, no one does it like them and they include technical guitar/drums with great use of trigger samples, played with at house show in philly
Bubblegum Octopus – Big Dumb Cat Head – introduced me to cybergrind, danced so hard to their set at a show we played with them in Philly, been at it for a minute and keeps staying fresh and great
Illicit Nature – FS Ollie – met through DIY comps released online, started Throat Honey Records, did an Anti-flag cover for a comp they organized. Listen to them when I play Skatebird!
Stand and Wave – You’re the One That’s Good – met through twitter, played with them on Temple’s campus as support on their tour, they are also based in PHL and like basketball more than most in the scene
Sunchoke – Mama Tried – our drummer’s other band, based in Philly, interesting mix of jazz, rock, and indie influences, our guitarist mixed/mastered their album
Take Today – SKAdiving – met at Porchfest, went to many of each other’s shows, became friends online and in person quickly
How I Became Invisible – Vampires As Capitalists – met online through comps we were both on, played in person together in New Jersey at Harper’s and at a house show, now friends
Overtheweather – willem dafriend – tape released on Knifepunch, was a booze chatly guest, want to play a show together in PGH, party socks EP rules
The Merrier – BMO (ft Biitchseat, BLUEVALLEY) – LGR artist we became mutuals and internet friends with who does incredibly varied collaboration based emo-adjacent projects that are always cool
Cheem – Overload – In a group chat together, put out one of our favorite 2022 albums, incredibly cool mix of nu metal and emo influences synthesized into something new
3 Awkward Men – Looks like I’m skating again – one of the most supportive accounts on DIY Twitter, puts out great music, and is incredibly kind and uplifting of others in the scene, fast and fun riffs
Flying Racoon Suit – Afterglow – Really cool punk/hardcore/ska fusion, met them at thier first show in Philly ever when things started opening up again and saw them perform a song they wrote over pandemic with Take Today, SKAdiving, which is also on this list. They came all the way up from Mississippi too, which is wild.
Drive, Kid – Carrie – Saw at Knifest NJ, incredible live, album released in July rules and we’re going to play a show w them in November
Catbite – Spiral – Discovered via mutual musician friends and noticed I kept seeing the name tossed around Philly a lot recently, they’re another staple of the big ska revival scene right now
Sweet Pill – Dog Song – Met them a while back through mutual friends and fell in love with thier debut album, Where the Heart Is, then saw the release show in philly like 3 weeks later. Everyone in the room already knew every lyric to the entire album. Powerful stuff, can’t recommend this album enough. Also shoutout to 4333 collective, iykyk.
The Black Dirty – Bush Queen – Not so much a covid release but some of the best dudes, love them to death, and I know they’ve been cooking up something new that is sure to see the light of day soon so definitely keep an eye/ear out.
Zombieshark! – Smile support society – Played at a Philly house show with them, saw at century, now Twitter friends, incredible solo cybergrind artist
