By Jhoni Jackson Matt Adams’ musical yield is exceptional, like a less eccentric, younger R. Stevie Moore, who he actually shared bills with in Europe a few years ago. Still, the output is freakish. Since first releasing tunes as The Blank Tapes in 2005, he’s amassed hundreds of recordings. (Many collections are available via Bandcamp.) […]
By Jhoni Jackson Now on his second LP, Mikal Cronin has fully escaped the confines of being simply “Ty Segall’s bandmate.” He’s been at it for a few years now, but MCII solidifies Cronin as a luminary crooner in the garage-pop realm. The album is contemplative and compelling, replete with energetic jams like “Change” and […]
By Jhoni Jackson As far as bands on Instagram go, Jacuzzi Boys (@jacuzziboys) are among the best. Well, maybe enviable is more accurate. Their feed is full of goofiness, rockin’ and rollin’ and, you know, the occasional hang sesh with Iggy Pop. Onstage, however, they’re not so silly. The trio rips through their psych-laced garage […]
By Jhoni Jackson Back in the mid-to-late 2000s, Snowden was ubiquitous in the Atlanta dance scene. You simply could not go to MJQ without hearing “Black Eyes” and shake, shake, shaking to Jordan Jeffares’ sticky synth-pop. Anti-Anti wasn’t just a hit here, either. Snowden scored big in clubs all over, even landing a 2009 touring […]
By Jhoni Jackson O’Brother has been on a heck-of-a-ride these past few years. The notches in the Atlanta band’s touring belt are enviable: The Features, Thrice, Moving Mountains, Junius and, most recently, Alice in Chains. (Let’s not forget their frequent pairing with their pals in Manchester Orchestra, either.) The ethereal, epic-leaning rock act’s stint with AIC […]
By Jhoni Jackson Orange County outfit Cosmonauts boasts a blend of chaos and comedowns in their forever-fuzzy rock ‘n’ roll repertoire. Last year’s If You Wanna Die Then I Wanna Die (Burger Records) hits both amped-up, anxious highs and droning, lost-in-lament lows with equal intensity. Nailing an energetic, raucous jam like “Motorcycle #1” is a feat in […]
By Jhoni Jackson Even if it were not part of a fundraiser for a great organization, 500 Songs for Kids would still make for a memorable event. Lineups consisting entirely of covers based on a theme played by some of Atlanta’s best musicians? Count me in. The fact that it’s for a great cause simply […]
By Jhoni Jackson Will somebody let Billy from Portland’s Mean Jeans borrow a guitar for their set at the Mess-Around tomorrow? Because the one he’s been using for years was smashed last week—during the first song of the first show of tour, in fact. The notoriously raucous party-punks are known for a few things: Wild […]
By Jhoni Jackson There’s a little bit of L-U-V hidden in the lineup of this year’s Mess-Around. Two of the annual weekend throwdown’s most theatrical performers, Hether Fortune of Oakland’s Wax Idols and Tim Gick of Lafayette, Indiana’s TV Ghost, married in February. Their Friday-night sets at the EARL are part of a joint tour […]
By Jhoni Jackson Jennifer and Jessica Clavin, sisters and former members of all-girl post-punk outfit Mika Miko, are poised to garner even greater success than the much-beloved (but now defunct) band achieved. The Clavin’s debut LP as Bleached—which was several years in the making—is finally out, and the reception’s been more than ideal. This time, […]
By Jhoni Jackson Wayne “the Train” Hancock is a honky-tonk hero, a bona fide blessing to both country and rockabilly. Since the ‘90s—and that includes his latest LP, Ride—he’s stuck to his signature guns: earnest storytelling, premium pickin’ and, more often than not, a swingin’ tempo. It makes sense that Hancock’s responses to our 5GB […]
By Jhoni Jackson South Florida native Roberto Lange, better known as Helado Negro, has lent a hand to various projects, like mixing Bear in Heaven’s Beast Rest Forth Mouth and producing Prefuse 73’s Everything She Touched Turned Ampexian. But generally, his solo work over the past five years has been in Spanish—until now. On Invisible Life, […]
By Jhoni Jackson If you’re at all familiar with Cory Branan, you won’t be too surprised by his answers to our 5GB series. The Memphis-based artist’s work follows the storytelling vein of classic country and folk, and his responses reflect how deeply that tendency is rooted within him. He doesn’t give many short answers—he can’t […]
By Jhoni Jackson I just knew Michael Nau and Whitney McGraw of Maryland-bred indie-folk act Cotton Jones were coupled up. Back in 2010, I reviewed a Dutchess and the Duke show for which Cotton Jones opened. (For AMG and at the same venue, no less.) Their vocal exchanges were so adorable, so intimate. I mentioned […]
By Jhoni Jackson The bill at the EARL this Thursday is practically a sonic rejection of Valentine’s Day traditions. None of these bands are going to croon the soundtrack to your candlelit, arm-entwined sip of wine. More likely they’ll score your evening of white-knuckled can-crushing and drunken ex-bashing. The anti-cupid sentiment will abound—or at least […]
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