The Sword Warp Riders Kemado Records By Al Kaufman There’s something about metal and fantasy. Gods, Norsemen, and epic battles seem to be the perfect stories to tell in front of crunching guitars.
Sealions Strange Veins Self-Released By Eric Chavez Add a dash of the dark electronica/pop of The Cure, then mix in some of the experimental dance beats of David Bowie, refresh it with some talent from today and you have yourself some Sealions. The Atlanta-based foursome have recently been taking over the local music scene with […]
Ben Folds/Nick Hornby Lonely Avenue Nonesuch By Al Kaufman If there is a rap against Ben Folds, the wildly talented pianist and songwriter, it is that he is too white. It is a flag he flies with pride in songs like “Rockin’ the Suburbs.” His characters are mostly slacker youths whose problems are akin to […]
Tired Pony The Place We Ran From Mom & Pop Records By Scott Roberts Despite the beleaguered quality of the name of this super-group of sorts, Tired Pony, led by Snow Patrol’s Gary Lightbody and featuring the notable talents of R.E.M.’s Peter Buck and Belle and Sebastian’s Richard Colburn amongst others, has put together a […]
American Bang American Bang Reprise By Al Kaufman American Bang is a rock and roll band; of that there is no doubt. Their debut CD opens with what sounds like a wild sound check, then blasts into “Whiskey Walk,” which contains the type of spiraling guitars that were Living Color’s trademark back in the early […]
Girl in a Coma Adventures in Coverland Blackheart Records By Al Kaufman Girl in a Coma are cooler than you. Deal with it. The all-female San Antonio trio formed over their love of all things Smiths and Nirvana when Jenn Alva and Phanie Diaz were still in high school. They took in Phanie’s then 12-year-old […]
Rachael Sage Delancey St. MPress Records By Al Kaufman Rachael Sage is a pop goddess. Equal parts chutzpah and glamour, her songs are glittery and shiny, but carry enough weight that they never never fly away. She’s constantly in fishnets of some sort, but she’s smart enough to start up and maintain her own record company. […]
Andy Shauf Waiting For The Sun To Leave P Is For Panda By Giles Turnbull Andy Shauf is the quietest man in the world, probably. But he grew up listening to Napalm Death, Slipknot and the sounds of monster trucks playing tug of war with bungee cord — maybe. He’s also definitely been voted one […]
Underworld Barking Om Records By Giles Turnbull Underworld has been one of the pioneers of electronic dance music for around 20 years. Their early albums were vast in their imagination; sometimes you wished that tracks comfortably exceeding 10 minutes could be a little less epic! Barking, their eighth studio album, was written by band members […]
of Montreal False Priest Polyvinyl Records By Scott Roberts On their 10th full-length release False Priest, goofy, but often brilliant, Athens-based band of Montreal and their musical guru Kevin Barnes have temporarily set aside a generous portion of their obvious love of ’60s psychedelia to make way for their inner Prince and Bowie. So, how […]
Elizabeth & The Catapult The Other Side Of Zero Verve Forecast By Giles Turnbull Elizabeth & The Catapult’s debut album, Taller Children, received much praise, and deservedly so; it’s part-folk, part-indie, slightly jazzy nature was lively, and at times mischievous, which made it stand out from other female-fronted indie pop offerings.
Philip Selway Familial Nonesuch By Al Kaufman You know a band has made it big when its drummer releases a solo CD. Seriously, can anything else explain Ringo Starr’s recording career? Radiohead is that big, but drummer Phil Selway is no Ringo Starr. That is to say Selway has actual musical talent.
The Vaselines Sex With An X Sub Pop By Ellen Eldridge There exists a certain joie de vivre and an accepted amount of poison, hidden behind a tongue-in-cheek attitude, in pop punk songs and the Vaselines are no exception with the release of their sophomore album Sex With An X over 20 years after their […]
Buke and Gass Riposte Brassland By Giles Turnbull Let’s begin with a crash course history lesson to get up to speed with what brings us here, listening to Buke and Gass, whose very name, at first sight, appears to be taken from unpleasant bodily emanations that you wouldn’t want much of, especially not at the […]
Dungen Skit I Allt Mexican Summer By Eileen Tilson For those of you who do not have their English-Svenska Dictionary handy while listening to the latest album Skit I Allt from Swedish dream rockers, Dungen, let’s not the title’s potency get lost in translation, Skit I Allt= F*** it All. Frontman Gustav Ejstes explains, it’s […]
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