15 Detroit bands to watch out for in 2017

By Metro Times Staff on Thu, Jan 19, 2017 at 6:31 pm

Welcome to the Metro Times’ roundup of the 15 best new bands in the metropolitan area. We’re calling it “15 Bands to watch in 2017” — even though like half of the musicians involved are not bands. Last year, we went with “15 Best new bands,” and then had them arranged numerically, even though it wasn’t a contest, or whatever. It’s not like there was a trophy for the winners. (And anyway, the No. 1 “ranked” band, Mountains and Rainbows, seem to be kind of broken up at this point.) This year, we went the non-hierarchical alphabetical arrangement route. As with the first time we did this, our list encompasses a wide range of ages, musical styles, and pizza preferences.

So, what were our criteria? In order to be on the list, an artist should have no more than one physical full-length release. This emphasis on the physical format might be a bit old school or arbitrary. But hey, it works for us. We really do absolutely believe that everyone on this list is totally crazily talented and deserves extreme mass adulation. We cannot wait to watch them each grow, and get even better — over the next year, and beyond.

All photos taken by Doug Coombe at Trinosophes’ gallery space.

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Valley Hush: "There's no denying that Valley Hush is making sweet pop music, but with Vanicelli's soaring vocals and producer/guitarist Alex Kaye's expansive production, Valley Hush's sound is an ever-changing landscape of what pop music means to them. "Pop music is a very diverse genre, so there's some of it that we like, and some of it that we really do," says Vanicelli."

Wurl Sotto: "Last year, Sotto debuted with "Ibuprofen," a lustrous showcase of the artist's penchant for tasteful poetry. This momentum continued with the release of Energy Entwined, a 6-song project described by the emcee as "a dive into the eyes of myself to display my experiences, show my versatility and highlight real issues in Detroit.""

Paint Thinner: "Their finest description comes from a German review of the demo, in which they are "best remembered as a bit of wire." Of course, the reviewer is referring to the experimental art-punk of the English band Wire, but the beauty of this unintentionally pretty translation is just as well-fitting and accurate as the remark itself."

PRC: "PRC is the music of these times, embroiled as it is in the dissonant shudders of Detroit, evoking a creepiness that is both specific to the city and emblematic of the Midwest. Their latest is a 7-inch: their fourth release, but first to appear on vinyl and only second to include a drummer."

Jade Lathan: "Lathan documents her journey through life with her impressive brand of progressive R&B and house music. Although her first independent project titled On This Roadsurfaced a few years back, the singer has appeared on several records since then, including features on Sheefy McFly's Edward Elektro and Kopelli's GentlemanJack."

Julian Kendall: "Kendall makes the type of electronic music that meanders along unexplored boundaries, controlled chaos, while heading somewhere definite."

Kaleb the Intern: "Now 20 years-old and a full-fledged artist in residency at Assemble Sound, Waterman has become a known commodity in the city. As part of Assemble's collaborative Sunday Songs series this past summer, he made his grand debut on the track "Someday." A soulful, uplifting number featuring LexLander, MotorKam, and his own sister Kaylan Waterman of The Normandies, this was his first track formally released as Kaleb the Intern."

Marcus Elliot: "An early start giving saxophone lessons at age 14 eventually lead to, among many other things, directing the Detroit Symphony Orchestra's Civic Jazz Band in his early 20s to his current role as Artist-in-Residence at Troy High School. This is all on top of regular live performances and composition, his true passion."

Drinkard Sisters: "The sonic equivalent of kindness, the music of the Drinkard Sisters is supposed to make people feel good, and it does. It is little wonder, then, that Caitlin is inspired by another musician who found perfect harmonies with family: "I saw Brian Wilson at the Fox in September and he asked the audience, 'Did you guys come for shitty vibrations?' and everybody screamed back 'Noooo!' and that's basically what drives me to make music. I want to contribute the opposite of shitty vibrations to the world around me by making music that feels good on the ears and resonates in the heart."

Oshea Davaun: "Davaun dodges bullets on the buoyant "Buchanan View," pleads for his life at the hands of paranoid white cops on "Don't Shoot," and faces a fearsome inter struggle on "Man in the Mirror.""