Get Better Fest 5 will be bringing the positive vibes to the basement of the First Unitarian Church. Benefitting Black & Pink, Morris Home, and Project SAFE, kind locals will be donating their time and talents, to raise money and awareness for these multitude of good, important causes. A beautiful bluntness bangs on the sonic doors when listening to Soul Glo. Unabashedly in your face and unwavering, their bombarding instrumentation pushes against the barriers at high velocity. Hovering between hushed and heavy tones, caught between the noise-induced blitz and relatively subdued melodies, there’s a cathartic intensity found in the music of Mannequin Pussy. Blank Spell stirs in the shadows, creeping out in quick bursts of menace. You’ll also come across the precise attack of Control Top’s punk/dance hybrid, while the noise-speckled glow of Empath rounds out this small sampling of the loaded, all-day lineup. – Michael Colavita

More local sounds for this weekend…

First Unitarian Church (2125 Chestnut St.) FRI The Obsessives, SAT Get Better Fest 5: Mannequin Pussy, Big Nothing, Soul Glo, Control Top, Kilamanzego, Blank Spell, Empath

LAVA Space (4134 Lancaster Ave.) FRI Get Better Fest 5: August Koch, Solarized, Strawberry Runners

Johnny Brenda’s (1201 N. Frankford Ave.) FRI Agent Zero, GoldenSpiral (Dual Album Release), Jackie & Jesse, Lotits, SUN Heavy Temple

Boot & Saddle (1131 S. Broad St.) FRI Marah

Kung Fu Necktie (1250 N. Front St.) FRI Bryan William Myers/DJ Deejay, SAT A Black Celebration: DJ Baby Berlin and Jem, SUN All This Huxley, Adventure Lost, Petty Vandal

The Trocadero (1003 Arch St.) SUN (Balcony) The 1940’s, Adam Travis & The Soul, Silver Autumn, Fauxtron

TLA (334 South St.) SAT The Parsnip Revolt

The Fillmore Philadelphia (1100 Canal St.) SAT Kur

World Café Live (3025 Walnut St.) FRI (Upstairs) John Vettese/Conjunto, SAT (Upstairs) Philadelphia School of Rock/Don McAvoy & the Great Whatever, Germany Hill/(Downstairs) Beyond The Bars Benefit Show: The Districts, Hardwork Movement, Ill Fated Natives

The Fire (412 W. Girard Ave.) FRI Malcolm Culleton (Album Release), Bern and the Bastards, Anna Dausman, SAT Anomie, Great Neck, Sunset Negative, Necrosexual

MilkBoy Philly (1100 Chestnut St.) FRI Hellings, SAT Ryan Tennis

Ortlieb’s Lounge (847 N. 3^rd St.) FRI Better Ducks, Cookie Rabinowitz, SAT Taiwan Housing Project, Dirt Queen, SUN Luminous Fins, The Justines

The Barbary (951 Frankford Ave.) SAT Darla

Bourbon & Branch (705 N. 2^nd St.) FRI Morning River Band, The Miners, Red Means Run, SAT De Tierra Caliente (CD Release)

Fergie’s (1214 Sansom St.) SAT James Pace Band, SUN Rusty Cadillac

Connie’s Ric Rac (1132 S. 9^th St.) FRI Drug Bust, 7^th Victim, Bunny Savage & The Plibmen, SAT Seeing Snakes, Atomic Cretins

Voltage Lounge (421 N. 7^th St.) SAT Murda P, SUN Atomic Cretins, Rubbish

Frankie Bradley’s (1320 Chancellor St.) FRI DJ Chris Urban, SAT Ed Christof

The Grape Room (105 Grape St.) FRI The Low Bottom Boys, Overcoming Gravity, This Kills Me, SAT Apple Juice Jones, Mercury Retrograde

Ardmore Music Hall (23 E. Lancaster Ave.) FRI Big Mind, On Wa, SAT Hezekiah Jones, Chestnut Grove, Black Horse Motel

The Pharmacy (1300 S. 18^th St.) FRI Mahatma X, Stoops, A Virgin, Pithair / Daniel Levine, Mochi Robinson, Brushstroke, SAT Randle Patrick McNuthing, SUN Starwood & David Fantasy & Adult Content

West Kensington Ministry (2140 N. Hancock St.) FRI Bardo Pond

Tralfamadore (Please contact one of the acts or venue for more info.) FRI Rebecca Zimmerman, Dominy

Planet Phitness (Please contact one of the acts or venue for more info.) SUN Boosegumps, Walte Young

The Sound Hole (Please contact one of the acts or venue for more info.) SAT Death’s Dynamic Shroud, Vincent Remember, Phteven Universe

Tundra Dome (Please contact one of the acts or venue for more info.) FRI Hermit Thrushes, Sour Spirit

Hardcore-punk trio with a bit of post-punk flava, Blank Spell, has been piquing our interest for a while now with its lone official debut EP 7" and snapshots of demos. Well, the band is all set to release its first full-length album, entitled Miasma, with the physical release coming out on June 2 via World Gone Mad and the U.S. tour in the works for July. Press play, and feel the slow burn & combustion of Blank Spell's single, "Nervous Language," below, which is also available for free download!

Currently on a run of August tour dates, many of which are with Deerhoof, Philly's Blank Spell has released a set of songs that will appear on their upcoming LP. The tracks exhibit frantic fits of heavy. The pummeling charge of percussion and push of bass provide direction to the cuts of guitar as the vocals react to the sinister marriage of instrumentation. It's adrenaline-fueled fire with creepy undercurrents.

With their freshly released EP 7’’ in hand, punk trio Blank Spell steps into Wolf Cycles. A sense of urgency is apparent in the group’s sound. Taking little to no time to storm ahead, their nonstop blow after blow bad intentions style jars as adrenaline stirs the off-kilter pot smashing whatever resistance lies in their path. Emerging from behind closed doors, The Bad Doctors prescribe highly danceable yet tormenting tunes. While keys, bass, and percussion combine to lay a stable yet moving foundation, Matt McDermott’s magnetizing vocals tie into a gloom undercurrent. A pair of St. Louis acts fill out the remaining slots, including the similarly ominously-tinged, noisy post-punk of Trauma Harness and hardcore four-piece Shaved Women. Wolf Cycles, 4311 Lancaster Ave., 7pm, All Ages - Michael Colavita

Philly punk trio Blank Spell has a blistering new five-song EP entitled 7", which officially comes out tomorrow but you can stream and download it below. The record will be released by World Gone Mad/Cruel Noise and through Trabac in Europe. Blank Spell will be tearing shit up this Sunday, April 19 at Wolf Cycles along with The Bad Doctors, Trauma Harness, and Shaved Women.