CD Review: Black Mountain — Wilderness Heart; Playing The EARL, November 12

CD Review: Black Mountain — Wilderness Heart; Playing The EARL, November 12

Black Mountain Wilderness Heart Jagjaguwar By Al Kaufman Seventies’ rock will never die. At least not as long as folks like Stephen McBean are around. McBean has dabbled in everything from folk-rock to noise (with bands Jerk with the Bomb and Pink Mountaintops, respectively), but seems to have found a home with classic rock. Wilderness […]

CD Review: Never Shout Never — Harmony; Playing Center Stage, November 9

CD Review: Never Shout Never — Harmony; Playing Center Stage, November 9

Never Shout Never Harmony Loveway/Sire By Al Kaufman Christofer Drew, the brains and talent behind Never Shout Never, is a good hippie. He writes lyrics like, “So trade your guns and fire with dove/We fight for love, and peace will find us with harmony.” He even supports the American Community Garden Association by inserting paper […]

CD Review: One EskimO — All Balloons; Play Smith’s Olde Bar, November 2

CD Review: One EskimO — All Balloons; Play Smith’s Olde Bar, November 2

One EskimO One EskimO Shangri-La By Al Kaufman There is more to One EskimO than their breakthrough single, “Kandi.” Sampling from Candi Staton’s “He Called Me Babe,” the song is reminiscent of Primitive Radio Gods’ “Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth with Money in My Hand,” in which the B.B. King sample was better than […]

CD Review: Pigeon John — Dragon Slayer; Playing The Loft with DJ Shadow, November 9

CD Review: Pigeon John — Dragon Slayer; Playing The Loft with DJ Shadow, November 9

Pigeon John Dragon Slayer Quannum Projects By Giles Turnbull With a title like Dragon Slayer, you may be expecting one of two extremes. If your point of reference is stories of knights in shining armor, that would be swashbuckling songs of a hero vanquishing fire-breathing mythical monsters; if you turn to the Urban Dictionary, you’re […]

CD Review: Sharon Van Etten — Epic; Playing with Junip at The EARL, November 21

CD Review: Sharon Van Etten — Epic; Playing with Junip at The EARL, November 21

Sharon Van Etten Epic Ba Da Bing! By Micah McLain It’s been reported that Sharon Van Etten had audiences crying during her intimate performances at this years SXSW – one listen to Epic closer “Love More” and it doesn’t take long to understand why. The track seems as if it’s been slowed down for maximum […]

CD Review: Martina Topley Bird — Some Place Simple; Playing The Fox Theatre with Massive Attack, October 29

CD Review: Martina Topley Bird — Some Place Simple; Playing The Fox Theatre with Massive Attack, October 29

Martina Topley Bird Some Place Simple Honest Jon’s / Ipecac Records By Giles Turnbull Martina Topley Bird is a name you might have come across, without even knowing. Some Place Simple is her third solo album, but she has been featured on albums by Tricky, David Holmes, Primus and Gorillaz, to name but a few. […]

CD Review: Sorry No Ferrari — Ternary; Playing The Drunken Unicorn, October 23

CD Review: Sorry No Ferrari — Ternary; Playing The Drunken Unicorn, October 23

Sorry No Ferrari Ternary Stickfigure Recordings By Eric Chavez In case you create a band that uses absolutely no lyrics or vocals, period, in your records, there is only one thing to do: create an instrumental album to rock the senses. That is just what Sorry No Ferrari does on their debut full-length LP Ternary. […]