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BlowUpRadio.com's New & Notable NJ Music 6/24/24


By Lazlo

originally published: 06/24/2024

Lazlo, founder of BlowUpRadio.com (an online radio station based around New Jersey artists), shines a light on some of the many new releases from NJ based musicians each week with this column. This week Lazlo takes a look at new releases by Alibi, Szwei & Marat, Somebody Club, Mixolydian Dreamer, KLOUTMISFIT, The Mediocre Friends, and Tide Bends. Plus a look back at "In My Yard" by Mr. Reality.

Alibi - "Pretty To Think So". Alibi's Bandcamp page bio says, "music for the spring of the summer of love", but to these ears their new album, "Pretty To Think So" sounds like a Fall album, or maybe early Spring album. That is not a knock on the album, I enjoyed it immensely, but people should go in expecting a mellow acoustic album with a maudlin vibe, not a fun, poppy summer album.

Szwei & Marat - "Moonlighting". Carol Szwei and Nick Maratta are Szwei & Marat, and their debut single, "Moonlighting", is an exquisite piece of chamber-pop. Looking forward to hearing more form them.

Somebody Club - "The Epilogue of Unmade Plans". Somebody Club's latest release, "The Epilogue of Unmade Plans", is a lush electroacoustic folk rock album.

Mixolydian Dreamer - "mending!". Self described as, "Artsy prog rock", Mixolydian Dreamer only leaves out in their bio description that their music is absolutely beautiful and that "artsy" does not mean inaccessible to those with more pop sensibilities.




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KLOUTMISFIT - "2". "2" is a nice slowcore, alt-pop album from KLOUTMISFIT. Check it out.

The Mediocre Friends - "So, this is it?". Four musicians from the scene, who are also friends, join together to put out a 4 song EP of excellent power-pop rock songs. Each member (Bill Cederroth, Chris Dickscheid, Mike Eckhart, Gay Elvis) wrote one song, but the EP is cohesive, possibly because they play the same instruments through, and Gay Elvis sings lead on all of them. Highly recommended.

Tide Bends - "Say Yeah". The Tide Bends' bio refers to their sound as a blend of "Brit rock, alternative, and shoegaze influences". I could not have put it better myself. Their new EP, "Say Yeah", is magnificent!

Not New, But Memorable Corner

Mr. Reality - "In My Yard". The year was 1992 when Mr. Reality released their self-titled debut (and only) album, on SBK Records. Their blend of harmonies with acoustic pop, brings as much joy to me today as it did 32 years ago when it came out. "In My Yard" is a classic, nostalgic summer song to me.

That's all for this week.

Remember BlowUpRadio.com, plays these and many other New Jersey based artists on our internet radio station, so please check us out. #SupportGoodMusic - If you like any of the above artists, please purchase their music from their site. And if you would like to be part of BlowUpRadio.com's New & Notable, please send downloads or contact Lazlo at Lazlo-at-BlowUpRadio-dot-com. We're also on Mastodon at https://gardenstate.social/@BlowUpRadio




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Dru

Dru Hill

Friday, February 20, 2026 @ 8:00pm
State Theatre New Jersey
15 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ 08901
category: music


 

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James Day And The Fish Fry - MARDI GRAS MAMBO

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217 E. Main Street, Tuckerton, NJ 08087
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The New York Bee Gees

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11 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ 08901
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Lez Zeppelin: The Song Remains The Same 50th Anniversary Celebration

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Union County Performing Arts Center (UCPAC) - Main Stage
1601 Irving Street, Rahway, NJ 07065
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EVENT PREVIEWS

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Winners of the Spring 2026 New Jersey Film Festival Competition Announced!

The Competition component of the Spring 2026 New Jersey Film Festival has just concluded! Overall, we had a good festival this year.  We had a few screenings that were very well attended and a bunch with lower turnouts but that happens every festival for a variety of reasons.  The in-person show attendance was about the same as our Festival last year, but the online viewership is what has kept us afloat financially since COVID broke in 2020. All the Official Selection works of the Spring 2026 New Jersey Film Festival were selected by a panel of judges including media professionals, journalists, students, and academics. These judges selected the 33 finalists which were publicly screened at our Festival. The finalists were selected from over 600 works submitted by filmmakers from around the world. In addition, the judges chose the Prize Winners in conjunction with the Festival Director. Here below are the winners of the Festival. 



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Music at Bunker Hill presents David Kim on March 15th

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Newton

Newton Theatre presents GRUNGEFEST: Tributes to Pearl Jam & Chris Cornell

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Lewis Center for the Arts presents "How to Be Not Alone"

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