Music
Essays, blog posts, playlists, and more focused broadly on music. For more playlists visit my Spotify profile.
- G. Love: “Lemonade” ()
Lemonade comes as the latest release from post-Sublime hippie funkster G. Love (sans Special Sauce… for the most part). Jack Johnson, who also appears on this album, might not be near the star without G. Love…or is it vice-versa…either way the man is damn near unlistenable to these days due to the overexposure of “Bubbletoes” […]
- Grace Potter and the Nocturnals “Nothing But the Water” Review ()
Obsessively accepted as one of their own by the jam band scene, Southern-sounding Vermont natives Grace Potter and the Nocturnals accept said similarities and influence, combining lengthy waves of song with their brand of gospel based rock. And all is lead by the phenomenal 22 year old singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Grace Potter. Nothing But […]
- Soul Asylum “The Silver Lining” Review ()
Soul Asylum releasing new music is a strange thing. It sparks thoughts about a friend you had all but forgotten about a decade ago. You’ve both moved on and neither had since taken the initiative to check in periodically, both content with your current state of living without any burning curiosity as to how the […]
- Gary Numan Interview ()
Gary Numan is an icon within the realm of synth pop and industrial music. Generally considered an originator for his work in the late ’70s, Numan now takes his minimalist creationism to a new heights within the realm of dreamy, moody electronic based industrial. With his latest release, Jagged, Numan futher proves that his star […]
- Jamie Morrison (of the Noisettes) Interview ()
The Noisettes are a band that have seen a sharp increase in popularity due to a brash bluesy sound that contrasts with a pounding fever of grrrl power and punk fury. With a laundry list of notable mentions including numerous pieces in NME the Noisettes have struck a chord with critics and audiences alike, which […]
- The Majestic Twelve “Schizophrenology” Review ()
The Majestic Twelve are one of the only bands that will make you rethink the music you’re currently listen to and question why you’re not only not listening to more of the Majestic Twelve, but why you hadn’t listened to them sooner. (That is unless you have heard of the band, in that case the […]
- Chris Kinnon (of Lions in the Street) Interview ()
Lions in the Street are one of those bands that you can’t help but enjoy. There is a great divide between groups who dabble as a full blown rock n’ roll machine and those who live it, Lions in the Street is the latter. Presenting a ying to the Toronto art-band scene’s yang, this Vancouver […]
- Eric Pulido (of Midlake) Interview ()
Midlake is a strange band, being one that is truly deserving of being at the center of attention within the realm of today’s indie rock scene. The band’s latest release The Trials Of Van Occupanther has been target to overwhelming acclaim. It could be likened to a completely pure retrospective effort, one that perfectly bridges […]
- Joan Jett & The Blackhearts “Sinner” Review ()
One of the greatest points of interest on Sinner comes from its liner notes, “Thanks” in particular, as it drives an interest into where this new Joan Jett is coming from. Steven Van Zandt, Fugazi, Social Distortion’s Mike Ness and Rancid’s Lars Fredrickson among a laundry list of others are all named. See, despite being […]
- Everclear “Welcome to the Drama Club” Review ()
Everclear’s new album Welcome to the Drama Club is a wasted effort from a nonexistent band past its prime. While such a criticism might be merited, actually listening to the album proves it wrong. What has Art Alexakis done? The band is different, but the music is refreshingly enjoyable. The band that backed him to […]
- Silversun Pickups “Carnavas” Review ()
“In the brutally cold world of Big Rock Biz, there’s something very comforting about just knowing that a band like L.A.’s Silversun Pickups exist.” Something tells me that the band’s press release has an air of arrogance stemming from varied facets, the main being that it is the truth. Simply said, there is something oddly […]
- Kaki King “…Until We Felt Red” Review ()
In preparation for a new album, it becomes fitting to revisit an artists older work, and in doing so various thoughts and memories are too revisited. Re-experiencing Kaki King’s live performances revealed a longing for her music that was unbeknownst to me at the time. While refreshing memories, a number of videos became suitable preparation […]
- Brand New Heavies “Get Used To It” Review ()
Popular early 90s funk revivalists The Brand New Heavies new album Get Used To It jumps straight into a sound that precedes the group wherever it goes; acid jazz, lounge funk or even soulful grooves, if you will. Or at least history would lead you to believe this to be the case, as it would […]
- Gov’t Mule “High and Mighty” Review ()
Gov’t Mule stands out as one of those bands that are recognizable by name to many but are truly appreciated by a select sect of music fans. Historically, I do not find myself in that particular segment however, and often I have found myself making possibly unjust associations between the band and jams bands; along […]
- Trainwreck Riders ()
Unfortunately I wrote the Trainwreck Riders off the first time I heard the band. I watched the video for the track “Slow Motion Cowboy” and thought that it was cheesy, a bit tacky and lacking enough kick to really differentiate itself in any modern scene. I think that’s just the point, however. The band isn’t […]
- Keith Nelson (of Buckcherry) Interview ()
Buckcherry hit the top of mainstream rock charts with its single “Lit Up” in 1999 but failed to follow the single and album up with anything that brought much mainstream attention. Shortly after the release of the band’s 2001 album entitled Time Bomb the band broke up, with lead singer Josh Todd pursuing a solo […]
- Midlake “The Trials of Van Occupanther” Review ()
A few years after befriending the überhip Jason Lee and Cocteau Twins bassist Simon Raymonde began working with the band on various levels, the members of Midlake now relax within their given niche of stylish retroactive rock with the release of The Trials of Van Occupanther. “The Trials of Van Occupanther is now one of […]
- Ane Brun Interview ()
Norwegian born singer/songwriter Ane Brun has one of the most unique voices of the year within the realm of indie folk and not surprisingly, she attributes much of that to her influences. Influences including everyone from Ron Sexsmith to Jeff Buckley, Ani DiFranco to M. Ward. For the record, she digs indie folk. In this […]
- Ken Jordan (of the Crystal Method) Interview ()
The Crystal Method typically steps outside of the given borders within modern electronica, and have historically done so, especially with releases such as 2004’s rock-tinged outlet, Legion of Boom. Most recently The Crystal Method have recorded Drive, the first of its kind, a 45 minute cross training mix exclusively through iTunes and Nike. In this […]
- NOFX “Wolves in Wolves’ Clothing” Review ()
Wolves in Wolves’ Clothing is the album that NOFX needed to make at this point in the band’s career. The title itself serves as a hint as to what the music within is, the opinions thoughts and feelings of a blunt, aging punk band. The album’s starting point is hidden far below the surface of […]
- Jon Weisnewski (of Akimbo) Interview ()
Though Akimbo has maintained a reputation for being one of the strongest Northwestern hardcore bands for some time, the band has been together for roughly eight years, it has gone through a number of difficult line-up changes (ten members have called themselves members of the group throughout the years) and as a result found itself […]
- Priestess “Hello Master” Review ()
Priestess’s release of Hello Master comes at a time in which blossoming metal revivalists are not simply becoming fashionable, but are sparking dialogue questioning which generation was better. Generation Budgie says it’s better, but Generation Priestess at a stronger, more determined level that some of the genre’s figureheads could only dream of reaching. Voted Montréal’s […]
- Prototypes “Prototypes” Review ()
Much of my first experience listening to Paris’ Prototypes lead me to believe that there was a serious connection between the band and general ’80s influences. A far broader base of pop culture influence, not simply musical—the band has seemingly jumped head first into the decade. The album’s lead single, “Je Ne Re Connais Pas” […]
- Punk Rock Graduation Part 2 ()
My intentions aren’t to spark a debate or express myself as something that I’m not. I’m a simple fan with simple thoughts, but when Angela and I were talking and a post-punk reference was dropped I was sort of taken back that she wasn’t quite certain what post-punk is. I was listening to a newer […]
- Punk Rock Graduation Part 1 ()
There’s something special about what our host, Angela, is going through in this particular time of her life. She’s on her way to her senior year in high school, and presuming she graduates, she’ll be looking forward to a new chapter of her life. As I graduated from a high school in Calgary I thought […]
- Henry Binns (of Zero 7) Interview ()
Electronic crooners Zero 7’s recent follow up to the highly acclaimed 2004 album When It Falls, The Garden, touches on a unique blend of suburban beats and grassroots tones. Throughout the development of the group’s sound came a tendency to rely on the plentiful resources of other musicians to add a diverse tone to the […]
- Good Riddance “My Republic” Review ()
With the release of Good Riddance’s eighth full length Southern California-branded album, My Republic, there comes a continuation of a back-to-basics movement for the band (without ever neglecting the basics). Seemingly following the if it ain’t broke don’t fix it methodology the band continues to deliver a steady set of songs that persevere through a […]
- Mariah Carey “The Emancipation of Mimi” Review ()
For a while here, I’ve been feeling a bit bored with the current state of rock. I don’t mean that there’s not music out right now that I’m impressed with (The Raveonettes, White Stripes, Kaiser Chiefs, Sleater-Kinney and even Audioslave among others are all getting a lot of time on my speakers)…it’s just…I want more. […]
- The Walkmen “A Hundred Miles Off” Review ()
Through the New York based band’s travels the recording process has proven to produce an increasingly overachieving brand of music as time progresses. With The Walkmen’s follow-up to the band’s uber-successful 2004 album Bows & Arrows comes a twisting and unbalanced record that finds both power, enlightenment and heartache when reflecting in the band’s past […]
- Pretty Flowers “Pretty Flowers” EP Review ()
Pretty Flowers is a Brooklyn-based four-piece that harkens back to the post-punk era of bands that played solid mid-tempo music based on harder, faster influences. The three-song debut EP explicitly borrows from a wide range of bands from the early ’80s, and the group does so effectively. Keeping somewhat of a rough sound through a […]