By Sam Parvin Asher Roth, famous for his beer-guzzling, bongalicious tune “College”, joined the Blink-182 Reunion Tour just a few weeks prior to their Wednesday show at Lakewood. And, while Roth’s style is certainly not punk-rocker like Blink’s, the combination is complementary. Roth sings about his “glory days,” as a 20-something (currently) with two years […]
Built to SpillThere Is No EnemyWarner Brothers By Al Kaufman The good news is that Built to Spill, the godfathers of the indie rock scene, are back in fighting form after a few meandering missteps. The bad news is that few seem to care. It's been about 10 years since Built to Spill put out […]
Erin McKeownHundreds of LionsRighteous Babe By Al Kaufman "You can't deny me my kingdom" asserts Erin McKeown on "You, Sailor," a hushed ballad that recalls early Suzanne Vega. And while the song deals in more of a maritime theme, one can't help think that the line serves as a metaphor for McKeown's musical career; as […]
By Matthew Smith Beach House: Grizzly Bear:
Lou Barlow Goodnight Unknown Merge By Scott Roberts Don’t let the urgency of “Sharing,” the opening cut on Lou Barlow’s new solo CD Goodnight Unknown, fool you. This track’s incessant beat, provided by The Melvins’ drummer Dale Crover, and Barlow’s washed-out and tension-filled vocals may lead you to believe that you, my naïve listener, are […]
Supercluster Waves Studio Mouse Productions By Scott Roberts NOTES: In the world of astronomy, superclusters are large groups of smaller galaxy groups and are among the largest structures of the cosmos. In the world of music, Supercluster is a relatively new aggregation of Athens musicians who have just released their debut CD Waves, and with […]
The Pinx Look What You Made Me Do Self-Released By Beverly Bryan Can we interest you in a big dumb hot flat slab of undifferentiated, unreconstructed rock? The Pinx’s Look What You Made Me Do, perhaps? It appears to be an album constructed from the sweaty, cheesy end of '70s rock and the sweaty, cheesy […]
The Inner Banks Songs from the Disko Bay DAG! Records By Beverly Bryan Pretty but warped in places like a tape left outside on a hot day, The Inner Banks’ second album Songs from the Disko Bay takes indie music back to some of its most beautiful and thoughtful moments from around the turn of […]
Joe Stickley's Blue PrintSmoke Leaves TownPeola Records By Al Kaufman Joe Stickley examines this American life as only a Midwesterner can. Backed by a group that can hold together a rag-tag melody like great Americana bands such as Wilco and The Gourds can, Stickley examines love, loss, and life in subtle, graceful ways.
Heather Greene Sweet OtherwisePaved Earth Music By Al Kaufman Alcohol and music have successfully co-mingled since the invention of both but never in a way as they do with Heather Greene. The fledgling singer/songwriter decided to move to Scotland to work on her music and explore her heritage. What she found was whisky. She discovered […]
HockeyMind ChaosCapitol By Eileen Tilson Attention Attention, all ye New Wave kids! There is a new band in town that will seriously start making dance night at MJQ intensely aerobic. Hockey, the four piece hailing from a basement in Portland, Ore., are only interested in making music that will help you channel your inner Reverend […]
By Bryan Aiken As if moving with the cloud of fall’s first chill, so came the national tour of eccentric indie-rock stalwarts DD/MM/YYYY and These Arms Are Snakes to Atlanta’s Star Bar. An unlikely pairing already, if not for the bands’ loose common ground of spastic performance, the lineup was made even more disparate by […]
The Kentucky HeadhuntersLive/Agora Ballroom — Cleveland, Ohio — May 13, 1990Mercury By Al Kaufman With all these terms out, such as "outlaw country," "renegade country," or the tamer "Americana," to describe country artists too original to be played on the ultra conservative (in format as well as politics) country radio stations, it's easy to forget […]
By Alexandra Edwards If the critics peg you as the next big insert-seminal-indie-band-here, is it all downhill from there? Is there any way to step out of a shadow you never meant to get under in the first place? These were the questions that The Rural Alberta Advantage were most definitely not contemplating this past […]
By Eileen Tilson After hearing “Listzomania,” from French band Phoenix’s latest album Wolfgang Amadeus, in the new Cadillac commercial, it is not hard not to realize that this band is poised to be a worldwide success. Selling out shows across the country, Phoenix-mania has already taken hold on America. I followed Phoenix around Atlanta for […]
Have Your Say (Latest Comments)