Kyle Harris began writing songs at the age of twelve, but it was another two decades before he decided to play them publicly. “I just never saw a reason to play any of it for people,” he says. “I’d been writing songs regularly that whole time, but I never thought…
In about three to five years, the subgenre of “doom” — and, to a lesser extent, its subset of “drone” — may become as ubiquitous and stale as “surf garage,” or whatever happens to be the flavor of the moment enjoying underground-bordering-on-mainstream popularity. But it won’t be because of the…
Originally formed as a side project of Ceremonial Oath, In Flames quickly became a full-time endeavor. While retaining some of the sharp edges of its founders’ death-metal leanings, the band successfully joined melodic hooks, vocal and otherwise, with nervy aggressiveness and sharp dynamic shifts. In 1995, the core members recruited…
As a pop band, you could do a lot worse than having your first-ever show be opening for Amy Winehouse and then getting tapped to serve as the opening act for her European summer tour. But that’s essentially what happened to the Asteroids Galaxy Tour after Winehouse heard the band’s…
In the music video for the Darkness’s greatest hit, 2003’s “I Believe in a Thing Called Love,” the band’s alternately naked and jumpsuited lead singer, Justin Hawkins, is repeatedly groped by a motley crew of space aliens. He appears, for all intents and purposes, to be into it. His band’s…
Lady Antebellum’s star has risen in an unparalleled way over the last half-decade; conquering both the country and pop-music worlds, the trio’s three records have garnered Grammy, Billboard and CMA nominations and awards along the way. All three members — Charles Kelley, Dave Haywood and Hillary Scott — pen and…
Unless there’s some kind of cruel Carrie-style joke going on, every high-school kid pretty much knows what to expect from the senior prom: The weird alienated kids will be absent, the male and female establishment favorites will be coronated in a quickly forgotten ceremony, and everyone else will just be…
It’s tough to pin down a dominant sound or overarching musical theme on Flight or Fight, the new full-length release from Achille Lauro. The feel of the album’s nine tracks ranges from breezy to meditative, and the sound veers from the danceable pop of “Lightning” to the amorphous experimentation of…
With an extensive background in classical and prepared guitar, Janet Feder has focused primarily on instrumental recordings. But on her latest effort, the aptly titled Songs With Words, Feder sings on most of the tracks, and her voice sounds stunning throughout, particularly on cuts like “O the Sky Falling Moment”…
Saxophonist Aakash Mittal has studied music in India over the past few years, and at one point, the other members of his quartet joined him for a two-week residency in Calcutta, where they wrote the six songs on Thumbs Up. The EP opens with Matt Fuller playing the meditative solo…
Opening with “Wrecked and Useless,” the music on this album is reminiscent of the sinuous, eclectic Jux County. On “The Vines,” Fred Thulson channels a bit of Love Hysteria-era Peter Murphy, even as the band waxes into funky territory in the song’s outro. The orchestral arrangement of “Why’d She Rain”…
After three successful years of hosting Bisco Inferno at Red Rocks and consistently playing three- to four-day runs in Colorado, the Disco Biscuits have left an indelible imprint on the Centennial State. Taking a bit of a break from the band, Marc Brownstein and Aron Magner are now focusing on…
Rob Gray — who relocated to Denver last year after building up his name as a Midwest Massive resident in St. Louis — is the latest to grace Brett Starr’s monthly House Revival night at the Funky Buddha, where three different DJs spin hours of house music in the round,…
Last week, nominations for the 47th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards were announced, and Denver got a few nods. The 40,000 square-foot Grizzly Rose, which has been the city’s premier country bar for over two decades, received another nomination as Nightclub of the Year, while KYGO earned a nod…
Celebrating the life and legacy of J Dilla, the super producer from Detroit, has become a yearly occurrence since his passing from Lupus in 2007. Started by New York DJ Dee Phunk, the Donuts are Forever parties have been going strong for the past five years. Recent Denver transplant, audio…
TANTRIC PICASSO @ BLUEBIRD THEATER | 2/2/12 Sometimes when bands come out on stage and look like they dressed for the show it can seem like a put-on. But when Tantric Picasso came on they looked like a band that had stepped out of a door to the early 1970s…
See also: Super Bowl commercials: Elton John, Flavor Flav, Echo and the Bunnymen and more and Top 5 Super Bowl halftime shows. C’mon! How did the NBC network brass not see this one coming? Seriously? Let’s see… tap one of music’s most subversive artists who has a well known reputation…
LOTUS @ FILLMORE AUDITORIUM | 2/4/11 Freezing temperatures aside, the Fillmore was turned into a dancing sauna, brimming with melodic improvisations and thousands of moving bodies. If Lotus derived their band name from Greek origin, then we all got a taste of the sweet fruit that leaves you in a…
RYAN ADAMS @ TEMPLE BUELL THEATRE | 2/4/12 It’s probably safe to assume that the inquiring mind — the one who just asked Ryan Adams if the red, white and blue guitars he’s been playing all night bear any reference to Buck Owens (they do) — will not be one…
FACEMAN’S WALTZ @ BLUEBIRD THEATER | 2/3/12The sound became expansive and the stage felt crowded fairly early in FaceMan’s set at the Bluebird Theater on a snowy Friday night. After a brief introduction from the Flobots’ Stephen “Brer Rabbit” Brackett and Wheelchair Sports Camp’s Kalyn Heffernan, FaceMan’s eponymous frontman (known…
Update (12/5/12): Full review and setlist from the show just posted. Update (12:53 p.m.): So check this out: A couple more things you should know here: First of all, Friday’s show has been postponed until tomorrow night (Saturday) due to inclement weather (shocker, we know). Secondly, whatever sensationalist malarkey you’ve…
If you manage to survive today’s snowpocalypse, there’s plenty of party goodness happening in the Mile High City this weekend. It’s Bob Marley’s birthday, in case you feel like celebrating. Oh, and speaking of celebrations, Tooey’s will toast to the Clinton-era at the Aquarius edition of the ’90s House Party,…
