The War on Drugs Slave Ambient Secretly Canadian By Al Kaufman Much like Beck is essentially a folk rocker with ambient tendencies, so too are Philadelphia’s The War on Drugs. The band’s 2008 debut, Wagonwheel Blues, was more of a straight ahead rock and roots affair. Then Kurt Vile left the group for his rather […]
The Features The Wilderness Bug Music/Serpents And SnakesBy Justin Lyons Murfreesboro, Tenn.’s four-piece outfit The Features show their maturation since 2008’s Some Kind of Salvation. On their third album they ditch a horn section that never seemed right in favor of driving rhythms and howling guitar. The resulting effect is much darker on The Wilderness, […]
Bon Iver Bon Iver Jagjaguar By Al Kaufman Most fans know the story by now. Justin Vernon, a sensitive (bearded, naturally) guy from Wisconsin holed himself up in a cabin in the woods with his guitar and wrote a painstakingly beautiful and intimate album about a break-up. He gave himself the moniker Bon Iver, […]
Christina Perri Lovestrong Atlantic By Al Kaufman Up until a year ago, Christina Perri was a waitress and struggling songwriter. Then one of her songs, “Jar of Hearts,” was featured on “So You Think You Can Dance” and stardom ensued. “Jar of Hearts” is just the type of song that would raise a ruckus. The […]
Antigone Rising 23 Red Blackheart Records By Al Kaufman Joan Jett is known as the the Queen of Rock and Roll and the original riot grrrl. But her label, Blackheart Records, is open to a variety of acts, especially female ones. Hence Antigone Rising. Antigone Rising call themselves a rock band. They are not; at […]
The Downtown Fiction Let’s Be Animals Photo Finish By Al Kaufman It’s probably Green Day’s fault for making punk so popular and accessible. But at least Green Day still has a chip on their shoulder. They’re still fighting the man, even if they are doing it from Broadway. All The Downtown Fiction wants to do […]
Hayes Carll KMAG YOYO Lost Highway By Al Kaufman “I’m like James Brown only white and taller,” boasts Hayes Carll on his fourth CD, KMAG YOYO. He’s not. The Arkansas native is more like Terry Allen, John Prine, or good friend Todd Snider. In other words, he writes the kind of songs that people in […]
Taking Back Sunday Taking Back Sunday Warner Brothers By Al Kaufman Everything old is new again. Taking back Sunday started in 1999 when a bunch of friends from Long Island got together to play their post-hardcore, emo rock. They had a few personnel changes, but released their first CD, Tell All Your Friends, in 2002. […]
Ramajay Intercoastal Work in Progress Self-released By Al Kaufman “Ramajay” means many things; from “party” to “show off.” But the definition that is most relevant for our purposes is an improvisational competition between pannist (or steel drummers). And, of course, these competitions often lead to showing off and party-like atmospheres. The party atmosphere is what […]
Washed Out Within and Without Sub Pop By Al Kaufman It’s been a long time since a band has been more aptly titled. Imagine a large canvas of electronica. Then imagine someone taking a garden hose to it. This is the type of music that Georgia’s own Ernest Greene, the man behind Washed Out, makes. He […]
Weird Al Yankovic Alpocalypse Volcano By Ellen Eldridge Weird Al Yankovic pissed me off when I was very young. He mocked Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” with a disgusting jab-in-the-gut called “Eat It.” At the time, I didn’t get it; I didn’t understand parody or even sarcasm. As an adult, well-versed at sarcasm, I can appreciate […]
The Head Hang On Self-Released By Al Kaufman At a time when great musicianship is conveyed by showing up at an award ceremony in an egg, or by wearing a meat dress, Atlanta’s power-pop trio, The Head, have something to prove. They are showing the three nice guys (twin brothers Jack and Mike Shaw, and […]
Ben Sollee Inclusions Tin Ear/Thirty Tigers By Al Kaufman Ben Sollee is a classically trained cellist. Wait, keep reading. He is also a man with strong pop sensibilities and a heart throb voice. It’s a voice full of yearning and longing, but sensitive enough to say he only wants to cuddle. Women’s hearts have fluttered […]
The Book of Knots Garden of Fainting Stars Ipecac Recordings By Ellen Eldridge The Book of Knots begins with the birth of “7-pounds 11 ounces of sin” in “Microgravity” and, after posing the question, “Will they survive this microgravity?,” the band embarks on its third concept album; this one dedicated to the absence of expected […]
Sebadoh Bakesale: Deluxe Version Sub Pop By Ellen Eldridge If anything reminds of the late summer of 1994, a naked baby digging in a toilet does the trick. Sebadoh graces its audience with a nostalgic reminder of its fifth and best-selling album from the season when millions of jaded fans mourned Kurt Cobain’s suicide.
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