Author Archives
The Tripwire: On Wax Idols’ Pounding Punk Debut
If Wax Idols’ No Future seems bold and eclectic for a debut full-length that’s because it is. As young as she looks, Wax Idols frontwoman Heather Fedewa has a more extensive resume than most rock … read more »
The Tripwire: On Quilt’s Coherent Psych-Twang
Boston-based band Quilt had their coming out party this week, releasing their debut self-titled album (via Mexican Summer) and playing a celebratory show at Brooklyn’s Glasslands. But you’d hardly know it by searching the internet. … read more »
The Tripwire: Youth Lagoon Breaks Out of the Bedroom
Bedroom pop-makers are not hard to come by in the high-speed internet age. Never has there been a more direct route to processing and broadcasting heartache from your machines to the world. Some of these … read more »
The Tripwire: On Friends and the Grounded Love Song
Sometimes it takes a music festival with an international draw like CMJ to get around to seeing that band from down the block you’ve been meaning to catch. Thus was the case with Bushwick, Brooklyn-based … read more »
The Tripwire: On the (Possible) End of an Era for Brooklyn’s Parts & Labor
Drummer Christopher Weingarten once summed up the unique mission that stellar Brooklyn noise-rock outfit Parts & Labor embarked upon for the past decade, saying, “Make the world a noisier place. Remind the noisy places what … read more »
The Tripwire: On Belle and Sebastian’s Stevie Jackson’s Solo Debut
Belle and Sebastian is a band I perennially geek out about. They were prolific and excellent for an entire decade. But from 2006 through 2010, they disappeared. Bands are entitled to hiatuses. Then, along came … read more »
The Tripwire: On The War On Drugs’ Contained Sprawl
The War On Drugs played an NPR World Café session last week. Watching it, I was blown away by the band and the sound they’ve grown into. The session closes with “Arms Like Boulders,” possibly … read more »
The Tripwire: On Cass McComb’s Formidable Year
Cass McCombs stated earlier this year that he doesn’t write albums. He simply writes songs, compulsively, and doesn’t look back until he’s made enough to create something. This might be surprising, given the cohesion that … read more »
The Tripwire: On Male Bonding, Versatility and Escaping Lo-Fi Stigmas
Male Bonding has always seemed to me a band that suffered from some unfortunate categorization. Don’t get me wrong. A lot of people have had a lot of very positive things to say about the … read more »
The Tripwire: On Eleanor Friedberger’s Surprise Album of the Summer
Fiery Furnaces frontwoman Eleanor Friedberger may not have made a summer album in the traditional sense. This will probably not find your ears through any pulsating car speakers or block parties. But play (the aptly … read more »
