At the end of the ’90s, before almost every form of music had been completely compromised, colonized and commercialized, the Pauline Heresy formed and wrote emotionally raw, lyrically confessional music that might have been lumped in with emo two years later. But before that could happen, two of the band’s…
With a name like the Shrapnelles, you might expect a reverb-drenched garage-rock band with a penchant for all things Phil Spector — and you wouldn’t be too far off the mark. This all-female outfit from Calgary plays shimmery guitar pop with one foot firmly planted in classic R&B, as evidenced…
Formed in 2007, North Wales’s Joy Formidable could just as easily have come together ten years earlier. The trio’s sound is, at times, reminiscent of a Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness-era Smashing Pumpkins, carried by guitarist Ritzy Bryan’s anthemic vocals. But its sonic trickery goes beyond genre; with a…
A synth-pop band made up of noise and hardcore vets, Cold Cave debuted in late 2009 with Love Comes Close, a unique collection of frosty, fuzzy, industrial-leaning new wave that boasted a single for the ages in its wistful title track. But where Love Comes Close often felt like a…
LeVar Burton, the man most readily associated with the children’s program Reading Rainbow, is probably unaware of this Reading Rainbow, which presumably lifted the name of that show for its musical experiments. Sarah Everton and Rob Garcia built this project out of the pieces of their old band, Forensic Teens,…
As original bassist and founding member of the Punch Brothers, Greg Garrison obviously knows his way around progressive bluegrass. But on Low Lonesome, his first solo outing, Garrison proves to be a competent jazz bassist and composer as well. Recorded live at the Laughing Goat in Boulder with trumpeter Ron…
The less-is-more idea works for this three-song split between Laser Palace proprietors Kristi Schaefer and Ryan McRyhew as Hideous Men and frequent collaborator Milton Melvin Croissant III, with a quick but deep look into some gorgeous electronic landscaping. Hideous Men’s rave-ish throwback “Sirens” works off a humbleness in Schaefer’s vocals,…
The Kool Crue, the triple-threat team of Concept, Chris and Quinn, is out for lyrical blood. Leaving nothing on the table, the crew gets right to the point with eight very solid tracks, each different from the next. The production, handled here by the whole crew, fuses samples and sounds…
Somewhere along the line, Jonny Woodrose & the Broken-Hearted Woodpeckers transformed into Woodrose. Along with the change in name came a marked shift in sound. Rather than the poetic Americana of Jonson Kuhn’s previous efforts, this album comes straight out of a run-down honky-tonk frequented by Woody Guthrie and Pete…
Somewhere in the second half of Rebecca Black’s “Friday,” the thirteen-year-old singer offers a breakdown of the order of days in the week: “Yesterday was Thursday,” she helpfully informs us. “Today is Friday. Tomorrow is Saturday, and Sunday comes afterwards.” In that way and several others, watching the video is…
As a child, producer and multi-instrumentalist Daedelus (aka Alfred Weisberg-Roberts) wanted to be an inventor — hence the nod to the ancient Greek inventor who created the labyrinth on Crete. (Daedelus’s moniker was also partially inspired by the character Stephen Dedalus in James Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist as…
Pink Martini’s show originally scheduled for Wednesday, April 6, has been pushed back to Saturday, June 4 due to singer China Forbes straining her voice. According to a release by the band, “medical voice specialists have advised her that to avoid permanent damage, she must not sing or even speak…
Hard to believe it’s been that long. Seventeen years ago today, Kurt Cobain left this life entirely too early. I remember vividly where I was and what I was doing when word of his death first came across the clock radio on my desk. It was a complete shock to…
If you happen to be an agoraphobic dance-music fan, then chances are you live a fairly miserable life spinning records to an audience of cats and catching up on all the big DJs and parties by living vicariously through the Internet…
Although metalcore was born (and is still very much centered) in the suburbs of America, Asking Alexandria (due tonight at Summit Music Hall) plays it convincingly well for a bunch of Brits. These dudes, who got together in 2008, have spent a good amount of time touring and recording stateside…
DJ MU$A has emerged from his creative cave with a striking new mixed CD he’s been working on called My Robot Girlfriend. A mash-up that’s more sophisticated than many full album productions hitting the streets these days, My Robot Girlfriend finds MU$A infusing elements of old-school funk and newer R&B…
Israel Oka, one of the party organizers. On Friday we told you about Damn Gurl!, “a new night of booty bass, pop and funky house” at 700 Kalamath. Over the weekend, we stopped by and snapped some pics. Check out some of the highlights below, and then peep the full…
On Friday night at the Bluebird Theater, the Epilogues (who debuted a new video for “The Fallout”) performed for a sold-out crowd with My Body Sings Electric and Input, both celebrating new CDs of their own. Jonathan Shoup was at the show. Click through for some highlights and then check…
A rambunctious throwback to that time when the Kinks were first birthing some of the truest rock and roll in existence, the Strange Boys have been creating their own jangled jams for almost a decade. Guitarist and vocalist Ryan Sambol sounds slightly brattier than Ray Davies ever did (in a…
Wow! What a difference the Grammys make. Say what you will about the relevance of the annual awards show, but judging from the subsequent success of crossover country act Lady Antebellum last year to the increased exposure it generated this year for already celebrated indie acts like Arcade Fire (due…
From 1up to Stingray, March was a decent month for bar and club openings. A half dozen new joints opened their doors last month. Click through for a full rundown…
Spending a Saturday night at the arcade used to be the kind of activity that single men could engage in as an entertainment option of last resort when the opposite sex showed only mild interest. How far we’ve come. Now the arcade has rightfully been restored to its throne as…
