This Little Underground

LOCAL RELEASES

While Orlando’s TV Dinner have been steadily honing their sound on stages over the past several years, they haven’t actually released any new recordings since 2017 debut album Table Manners. In that time, the band have progressively shed some of their early twee-pop hues for a moodier, more personal shade of indie rock. Their new mini-album, Leftovers, officializes that direction.

While still tender and melodic as always, the three songs here show a side of TV Dinner that rocks a little harder and gets even rawer with the emotion. Produced by talented Orlando polymath Chandler Strang (Saskatchewan, Case Work, etc.), Leftovers is TV Dinner’s brawniest, most assured guise yet.

It’s only the prelude to this new chapter, since these songs are actually just demos from an entire new Strang-produced album that’s nearly completed and planned for full release early next year. And yet another signal that TV Dinner are really leveling up is that they just officially enlisted Strang from behind the mixing board and into their ranks as a permanent guitarist.

With an appetizer like Leftovers, things bode well for the upcoming main course. It’s streaming everywhere but is available as a name-your-price download on Bandcamp.

Since reshuffling after parting ways with member Sean Mingo, O-grown experimental hip-hop act OHTWO have been simultaneously settling into their new groove and pushing themselves forward. On their new, eponymous album on hometown label Xylene Records, OHTWO’s Byson and Faust have further dug into the uniquely intimate dance that can happen between producer and MC. The result here is impressively equal-footed, a crisp and clarified interplay with both forces shaping the sound.

Even from the outset, OHTWO’s progressive rap has always looked beyond hip-hop fundamentalism. In a laudable sign that they remain committed to keeping their outlook in a constant gear of evolution, the new record takes a further post-rap step and ticks with a more assertive drum-and-bass kick.

While OHTWO still weave mood with Faust’s articulate cloud-rap stylings, the sonic dynamism here keeps it in motion thanks to Byson’s restless beat work.

The album features guest appearances by singer Honeybeamz, rapper 30racccz and Orlando industrial band TTN. The chemistry that defines this work, however, is one of focused artistic monogamy.

OHTWO now streams everywhere, with even a full version complete with visuals up on YouTube. But it can be fully yours as a name-your-price download on Xylene Records’ Bandcamp.

While still tender and melodic as always, the three demo songs on Leftovers show a side of indie rockers TV Dinner that rocks a little harder and gets even rawer with the emotion. With an appetizer like this, things bode well for the upcoming main course

BY BAO LE-HUU

TV Dinner | photo by Jim Leatherman

CONCERT PICKS THIS WEEK

Thursday Night Hang with Chris

Cortez: Between all the sturm und drang of the holiday season, just an ounce of respite can quickly rocket to the top of anyone’s personal wish list. That’s why this casual weekly jazz performance headed by Blue Bamboo figurehead Chris Cortez is especially on-time right about now. Although Blue Bamboo showcases a wide range of national and area acts, the informal and intimate nights that Cortez personally hosts pack some of the most vibe and convey the soul of this musician-run place in its purest state.

This Thursday affair is anchored by Cortez, Walt Hubbard, Doug Mathews and Ed Krout. But true to the Boo’s for-musicians-by-musicians ethos, attending players are encouraged to bring their own instruments. After the house band’s concert set, they welcome anyone who’s game to join them in an open jazz jam session. Considering the musician community that surrounds this place, some surprise magic is practically guaranteed. Thanks to a grant by the City of Winter Park, it’s free. (8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 22, Blue Bamboo Center for the Arts, free)

Body Shop, The Synthetics, Altar Boy,

KT Kink: In sound and attitude, this exciting young bill is pure underground. Between the primitive and evocative garage rock of Body Shop, the deep post-punk moods of new band the Synthetics, the EBM beats of KT Kink and the dark synth-pop of Altar Boy, the lineup cuts an excellent cross-section through Orlando’s most interesting edges and overflows with some of the city’s rising subterranean stars. It’s a state-of-the-scene sampler that’s probably the most current thing happening this week. (8 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 28, Will’s Pub, $10-$12)

baolehuu@orlandoweekly.com orlandoweekly.com ● DEC. 21-27, 2022 ● ORLANDO WEEKLY 25