Giving the modern jazz world a much-needed kick in the ass, Kneebody has assembled a quirky brand of improv-based crossover jazz that’s as refreshing as it is expressive. The New York/Los Angeles-based quintet’s sound, which borrows equally from traditional jazz, hip-hop, rock and electronica, is anchored by hard-hitting beats and…
The Indiana-based indie imprint Secretly Canadian has quietly grown into a powerhouse over the past couple of years, with signees as illustrious as Magnolia Electric Co. and Antony and the Johnsons. But a considerably lower-profile act on the roster, the Impossible Shapes, was responsible for one of the label’s best…
While many bands spend their careers exploring different musical styles and ideas, there’s something to be said for finding one thing and doing it well — you know, like the Ramones and AC/DC. That’s not to say that this Los Angeles-by-way-of-Omaha quintet exists on the same hallowed plane as those…
Between being a hot-shot photographer and a full-time rock star, Nick Zinner of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs found time to remix a couple of songs this year: “Compliments,” by Bloc Party, and “People Are Germs,” by the slightly less- known Austin outfit Single Frame. But don’t let the group’s lack…
The moniker adopted by the All-American Rejects is half accurate, half not. The “All-American” part fits the quartet’s leaders, Oklahomans Tyson Ritter and Nick Wheeler, and it’s not a bad description of their music, a thoroughly domesticated variation on classic power pop. However, these self-proclaimed Rejects have been widely embraced,…
Sometimes the wait is so fucking worth it. Cowboy Curse has taken its sweet time putting together a debut album; a year and half has passed since the release of the Welcome to Cowboy Curse EP, a three-track teaser of smart, bashful, damn near flawless indie pop. But the trio…
As half of rave juggernaut Together Productions, founder of Beatport and talent manager for the Church and Vinyl, Brad Roulier has been a major player in Denver’s nightlife for the past ten years. Now he’s taking a turn at the decks, teaming up with Sean Sabo, aka DJ Sabotage, in…
When Cave In made its first trip to Denver six years ago, the anticipation was feverish. And for good reason: The Boston quartet was touring in support of its second disc, Until Your Heart Stops, which was and remains an undeniable hardcore masterpiece. Combining the power of Slayer, the melody…
People don’t know what they like. They like what they know. A program-director friend of mine once shared that axiom with me as he tried to explain why listeners gravitate toward some songs as opposed to others. People are essentially sheeple, he asserted, creatures of conditioning. I’ve always thought this…
These days, most people know Jerry Joseph as the leader of Jerry Joseph and the Jackmormons, or through his affiliation with Widespread Panic and the Stockholm Syndrome. Back in the ’80s, though, during what he calls his “white reggae hippie” phase, Joseph lived in Boulder and played in the band…
Plenty of people out there are under the impression that Fiona Apple is, well, nuts — but nothing could be further from the truth. Take the memorable words she delivered at the 1997 MTV Music Video Awards: “This world is bullshit. Don’t model yourself after what you think we think…
Last Chrismukkah, an entire generation did a double take when The O.C. ‘s resident indie geek, Seth Cohen, uttered the words “Death Cab for Cutie” on network television during prime time. A year later, it’s clear a new era has arrived when the biggest name on the soundtrack to TV’s…
Like another pop pioneer, David Bowie, Madonna has always been a musical chameleon, hopping artfully from trend to trend, leaving bits and pieces of radio-friendly gold in her wake. (Unlike the Thin White Duke, however, the Material Girl was born and raised in Bay City, Michigan, making her recently affected…
For a guy associated with German industrialists KMFDM and Einstürzende Neubauten, PIG’s Raymond Watts cranks out deliciously listenable tunes. The Berlin Wall has fallen, and brighter days have arrived — sort of. Gone is the old “We put the noise in annoys” Throbbing Gristle school of sound. Like Neubauten’s Blixa…
After Michael Gira’s discovery of Devendra Banhart, it seems that the Angels of Light frontman (and Young God Records head) knows a good investment when he sees it. Gira’s first major find since Banhart is Akron/Family, an avant-folk troupe that traffics in warped twang and blurry harmony. Angels of Light…
At the outset of City, Big Kenny Alphin and John Rich declare, “Somebody’s got to be unafraid to lead the freak parade” — and they’re clearly the men for the job. As on last year’s Horse of a Different Color, they delight in tweaking country conventions, and, thanks to a…
Since singer/pianist Ben Folds isn’t dead, his ghost can’t possibly hover over Highwaters EP, the latest from Boulder’s Michael Lloyd Band. His influence is pervasive, though, and that turns out to be a mixed blessing. “Sleepwalking,” the opening track, serves as a template for the disc as a whole. Guitarist…
My handmade copy of Oblio Duo’s eponymous CD came with a strand of human hair accidentally glued into it. There are two things I can do with that hair: make a voodoo doll, or clone singer/instrumentalist Steven Lee Lawson. The cloning probably wouldn’t work, though. Although Lawson and bandmate Will…
The Clientele, Strange Geometry (Merge Records). Alasdair MacLean makes beautifully baroque folk music misted in string arrangements by Louis Philippe. Strange Geometry is not for those afraid of the faint and fey; its tempos wouldn’t disturb a light nap. MacLean’s Nick Drake drag of a voice adds an extra layer…
Chris Thile and siblings Sean and Sara Watkins, collectively known as Nickel Creek, have been widely embraced by the bluegrass and acoustic-music communities, even though their music makes a habit of stretching or ignoring genre boundaries. How have they gotten away with such apostasy? “Talent” is probably too facile an…
In 1998, director Penelope Spheeris made The Decline of Western Civilization Part III. But unlike the first installment, which centered on legendary punk acts like Black Flag and the Germs, Part III was a much more stark look at contemporary hardcore. Fittingly, one of the featured groups was Naked Aggression…
Forced out by oppression — presumably Thin Lizzy’s terrorist twin guitar attack, the monumental weight of the Corrs’ shite pop polluting the moors and the shame Black 47 bestowed upon the Irish with its dodgy hip-hop from men far too old to be “chillin'” — a pair of Celtic immigrants…
