Author Archives
Something Comes Our Way
When sleepy eyes give birth to musical inspiration there is Balun, a band that went from electronic to electro-acoustic within two years, transitioning from Balloon to Balun. Now, Angelica, Jose and Andres (from San Juan) embark on the follow-up to their dreamscape filled EPs (While Sleeping and Nada Que Hacer Hoy) with Something Comes Our Way, furthering the child-like fashion of groups like The Boy Least Likely To in its organic spirit read more »
Live – The Lovely Feathers @ Bowery Ballroom | NYC
The Lovely Feathers are Ted Suss, Noah Bernamoff, Mark Kupfert, Richard Yanofsky and Daniel Suss. Straight outta Montreal, the band unleashed a frenzy at Bowery on Friday night behind Dr. Dog and headliners, The Spinto Band.
Among the gathering crowd, The Lovely Feathers frolicked unabashedly amid their hyperbolic post-punk, while keyboardist Daniel sported silver Superman-style undies over a Big Bird-yellow spandex suit and bro Ted drummed shirtl read more »
Free To Stay
At the age of 14, I remember having your usual adolescent school-boys-life-crisis tremors. However, if I were growing up now as Asya (14) or Chloe (11) of the sister duo, Smoosh, I would also have stage memories with the likes of Jimmy Eat World, Death Cab For Cutie, Sleater-Kinney, Cat Power and Pearl Jam – not to mention being mentored by Death Cab’s Jason McGerr. Life would be grand in the scheme of name-dropping among the older indie kids, while my aspi read more »
Live – Asobi Seksu @ Joe's Pub | NYC
On a wet night in NYC, Joe’s Pub became a quaint spectacle in celebration of Citrus, Asobi Seksu’s anticipated sophomore release and follow-up to their self-titled 2004 debut. As drenched and lackluster as the city seems to be on rainy evenings, the dream-like atmosphere was appropriate for the upcoming show. Having caught the group a few months ago at Bowery, I remembered the wispy pop vocals amid crashing guitar that made the show awesome, and I was read more »
A Hundred Miles Off
After the gothic mystique of their debut album, Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me Is Gone, and the reminiscent schemes of Bows + Arrows, The Walkmen present A Hundred Miles Off, a record that despite its collaboration over distance lives up to, if not surpasses, the group’s progressive credits. With covers of Harry Nilsson’s Pussycats, the album features the familiarity of Hamilton Leithauser’s Dylan-esque vocals and an elevated se read more »
Types Of Wood
Who knows what random spasms arbitrary stream-of-consciousness trips will produce. After Whirlwind Heat debuted their Do Rabbits Wonder? album (with tracks named after colors) and followed with the outlandishly freaky Flaming Honey, one could only expect a capitalizing stunt marked by blindfolded escapades down dark tunnels and silent screams among pink morbidity. Except, during all extreme nonsense and efforts to self-stretch sanity there appea read more »
Enemies Like This
When I first saw Radio 4 live two years ago in good ‘ol Lawrence, Kansas, I immediately fell for their crashing vocals and relentlessly catchy instrumentals, which were also savvy enough to capture the audience crammed into a teeny hall bar called the Jackpot Saloon. Like many, I was drawn to the “Party Crashers” and “No Reaction” that were virally making their way via hand-to-hand. Afterwards, I met up briefly with guitarist Tommy Williams, who gladly handed read more »
Sancho Panza
According to frontman James Nugent, “If you want to know what rock will sound like in 10 years, just listen to Mountain Con” – appropriate words for music that upholds its bid with Sancho Panza, a diversely woven album that pulls from genres as polar as folk and electronic. Named after the copper mine in Butte, Montana, Seattle-based Mountain Con also includes members Ben Erickson, Pierre Ferguson, Sweed, Pledge and punk rock icon, Mike Watt, who pione read more »
Beams
Live, The Presets’ Kim Moyes and Julian Hamilton (both formerly of Prop) blend retro turbulence between twisted synths and rowdy drums. Nothing short of the real time encounter, the band ignites a revival with fur and fangs mighty enough to bang a gong on Beams, a ticking follow-up to the EPs Girl And The Sea (2004) and Blow Up (2003). More world-class than half-ass foolhardiness, the record re-contextualizes the fervor of the ’80s and unearths read more »
The Hardest Way to Make An Easy Living
While material was originally pirated and a grand didn’t come for free, Mike Skinner returns with his trademark high jinks drenched in a more honest, lyrically elevated fashion with The Hardest Way to Make An Easy Living. For the past two albums, A Grand Don’t Come For Free (2004) and Original Pirate Material (2002), The Streets delivered raging, bipolar antics fixated between shagg-adelic times, drink-til-dawn rebellion and soft, reflect read more »
