Interview: Departures
Monday, April 18, 2011 at 10:04 PM 
Departures is a a four piece punk-rock outfit hailing from Bayonne, New Jersey. The band formed in January 2009 out of the necessity to make honest music in a scene so badly watered
Monday, April 18, 2011 at 10:04 PM 
Departures is a a four piece punk-rock outfit hailing from Bayonne, New Jersey. The band formed in January 2009 out of the necessity to make honest music in a scene so badly watered
Departures,
Hardcore,
NJ,
New Jersey,
Pop Punk,
Punk Rock,
band,
bayonne
Tuesday, March 1, 2011 at 11:44 PM
Monday, February 28, 2011 at 4:23 AM
Cranford's Socratic are set to make their first live appearance in sometime this Friday, March 4th at Hoboken's Maxwell's. The former Drive-thru group will be joined by NJ's Chocolate Bread, West The Defender and Elephant In The Room.
Monday, February 28, 2011 at 3:41 AM
A new website dedicated strictly to an impromtu Penfold reunion show that happened in a New Brunswick basement in 2005 was launched last week. Video of the praised local NJ band's entire set can be found over at Elf Pond.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011 at 2:32 AM
South Jersey's It's a King Thing have hit their Kickstarter goal. The campaign was to raise $2,700 in order to release their latest album Buffalo (x7) on vinyl. Luckily, they not only hit their goal, but currently have over $3,100 in their Kickstarter account!
Monday, February 21, 2011 at 7:55 PM
Brooklyn's Tiny Victories are set to kick off an extensive East Coast tour, which will bring them to and from Austin, TX for 2011's SXSW. The indie/electronic duo will make stops at Williamsburg's Spike Hill this Thursday, February 24th and at Philadelphia's Danger Danger Gallery this Friday, February 25th.
Friday, February 18, 2011 at 7:48 AM
Friday, February 18, 2011 at 7:25 AM
NJ's Ben Franklin have signed with Kearny based Killing Horse Records. The pair will be working together to put out a new 7". The two track effort is titled Urgency and will see an official release on February 25th.
Friday, February 18, 2011 at 7:05 AM
Jersey Shore's These Branches recently released their debut LP. Their new album is titled This One's On You and is available via the 'Name Your Price' method over at the group's bandcamp. Yes, that means you can technically pick it up for free if you're a cheap bastard.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011 at 7:50 PM
Washington Square Park have put up a new song titled "Material Hell" up for free download on their bandcamp. While you're there, if you haven't yet, you can grab their other recently released free single "Open-Ended" as well.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011 at 2:07 PM 
Washington Square Park will be releasing their self-titled LP on March 8th with Animal Style Records. This will include two brand new songs. The band recently released "Open-Ended" for free download on PropertyOfZack. Both "Open-Ended" and "Explanation" were recorded for an acoustic set. Check them out in Montclair at Gallery U on February 19th. Other bands will include GDP, The Exotic Aquatic, The Front Bottoms, Mother Nevada and C-Note. Presale tickets can be found here.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011 at 5:57 PM 
We here at NJU are happy to be able to giveaway one pair of tickets to Fences' headlining date at Maxwell's next Friday, February 18th. The show kicks off at 7pm, is all ages and will also feature NJ's PJ Bond. Fresh off of opening for Against Me!, the Seattle songwriter is currently in the midst of a full US run. The tour also includes stops at New York City's Mercury Lounge the day after his Maxwell's show and a stop at Philadelphia's Kung Fu Necktie. Fences aka Christopher Mansfield released his self-titled LP this past September via Onto Entertainment. Luckily, you can download the album's impressive lead single "Girls With Accents" below for free. Preview the entire album here.
If you dig what you hear and think you might just want to win that pair of tickets for next Friday's Maxwell's show then listen up. All you have to do is "Like" NJU's Facebook page or retweet this TWEET and then send Contests [at] TheNJUnderground.com an email with the subject line "Fences Contest: [Your Name]". A winner will be chosen at random on Tuesday (2/15), so get on it and tell your friends too! Check out the official video for "Girls With Accents" below.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011 at 5:54 PM 
"Wow. It’s nice to see some testosterone in New York for once,” were the words overheard towards the end of Brick + Mortar’s set at Piano’s in Manhattan last month. Hailing from Asbury Park, Brandon Asraf (vocals, bass, synth) and John Tacon (drums, synth), are certainly doing some heavy lifting as the pair produces a drum and bass, post-punk sound appeals to moshers and dancers alike. After a righteous roster of performances in 2010, and their first EP ‘Seven Years in The Mystic Room,’ Brick + Mortar are headed up to exit 129 for their first gig at Maxwell’s in Hoboken on Thursday, February 10. NJU’s Kiani Angus-Torres took a few minutes to talk to Asraf and Tacon about going from bullies to bros, Victoria’s Secret, and the bastard love-child of Eugene Hutz (Gogol Bordello) and Joey Ramone.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011 at 1:11 PM Cropduster (Photos by James Damion)

Cropduster played their last show ever this past Saturday, February 5th at Hoboken's Maxwell's. The Hackensack group were joined by Jim Testa of Jersey Beat/Star-Ledger. Photographer James Damion was there to grab some pics of Cropduster's bittersweet set. Never checked out Cropduster's music? Well, now is the time too. You can stream some of their latest songs over at their Facebook page.
"While some folks like to use (and abuse) the term 'insurgent country' to brand anything that resembles twangy punk rock, Cropduster inspires a whole new label--'eccentric country.'"- CMJ, February, 1999
Friday, February 4, 2011 at 5:56 PM Trees Above Mandalay recently posted a video of the group in the studio recording a new track. Several clips of the new song, whose title is unknown, can be heard in the 80 second video. Check it out above. Trees currently have an NJU presented show at Montclair's Meat Locker coming up on Saturday, February 19th w/ fellow '20 Bands to Conquer 2011'ers, Young American Artists. Control and Ninety Six are also on the bill. All the details for that amazing bill can be found here.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011 at 3:14 PM 
Gentleman Theives have released their debut album The Price of Silence. The South Amboy group's full-length release is currently available via all major online retailers (itunes link). You can check out a track titled "99" off the 11 song effort. GT are set to play New Brunswick's The Court Tavern this Friday along with Go Falcon!, Colony and The Grifters. More info on that event can be found here. A bit about the release can be found below.
On their new full length "The Price of Silence", Gentleman Thieves have written a rock album rooted in the underground and polished with solid songwriting. The band spent over a year writing, rewriting, and constantly challenging themselves to balance their influences. The shades of punk and hardcore are still there, but they serve as a foundation for nods to 60s rock, 80s post-punk, and modern indie.
Sunday, January 30, 2011 at 9:32 PM 
Underwater Peoples' Melted Toys have a new EP set for a vinyl release come February 22nd. The seven song release from the San Francisco trio can be pre-ordered here. You can preview a track (via Altered Zones) titled "Come On" below. The indie/synth act have journeyed over to the area to make appearances in Philadelphia, D.C., NJ and NYC this week. MT will kick off their run tonight (1/31) at Philadelphia's Kung Fu Necktie with Young Prisms. Then they will hit Hoboken's Maxwell's this Wednesday (2/2), where they will be joined by Alex Bleeker & The Freaks, The Family Portrait and Speculator. Thursday they'll be at Brooklyn's Glasslands and Friday will be at Queen's Silent Barn. All of their upcoming dates with support details can be found here.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011 at 5:26 PM Lemuria (Photos by Dan Bassini)

Mikey Erg

Byrds of Paradise

Buffalo's Lemuria stopped by Philadelphia's The Barbary this past Sunday, December 16th. The date was the last of a month long US tour, which kicked off in Syracuse, NY at the end of December. The group recently released a new LP titled Pebble via Bridge Nine Records. Though Lemurai's tour did not include any NJ or NYC dates, they are however set to play Brooklyn's Music Hall of Williamsburg on February 12th as part of Don Giovanni Records' annual showcase. The bill will also include: Screaming Females, Laura Stevenson & The Cans, Shellshag and Byrds of Paradise, who were also on Sunday's bill. Mikey Erg of The Ergs (and a bunch of other bands) played a solo set as well.
live tagged
Byrds of Paradise,
Lemuria,
Mikey Erg,
Philadelphia,
Photos,
Show Review,
The Barbary,
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Tuesday, January 18, 2011 at 7:48 AM 
Hellogoodbye have released a tour sampler featuring all of their upcoming US tour's supporting acts. The compilation includes: Gold Motel, Jukebox the Ghost, You Me And Everyone We Know, Now Now Every Children and of course, Hellogoodbye. The six song sampler can be downloaded for free (have your Twitter or Facebook account ready) by going here. The Hellogoodbye song titled "Coppertone", that appears on the comp., is from their lastest LP Would It Kill You?, which dropped this past November. The sampler also includes Gold Motel covering Hellogoodbye's most well-known song to date, "Here (In Your Arms)". All of Hellogoodbye's upcoming 2011 tour dates, which include stops at NJ's School of Rock and NYC's Highline Ballroom can be found below.
Friday, January 14, 2011 at 9:53 AM 
NJ label, Satan Is U Records recently released a 3 song Birth Screams cassette. The release titled Asleep At The Wheel can be ordered here for only $3. The Rockaway hardcore/punk group is set to play a massive house show tonight in Mountain Lakes. More info on that here.

Asbury Park's Imaginary War are giving away their Noiseland EP for free. The 4 song release can be downloaded here. Three of the songs were produced by Pete Steinkopf of the Bouncing Souls at Little Eden Recording Studio in Asbury Park. The other was produced by Rob Freeman at the Pilot Studio in Boonton.
