Perhaps it’s not that evident for a casual observer, but this week is painfully slow for new music releases. It is my job to select one album that comes out every Tuesday and find some reviews of said album to post on Up On The Sun for my Review Roundup…
When your band plays a brand of music called “zombie jazz,” you’ve got to come up with a flier that is just as hypnotically creepy to promote your summer tour. That’s exactly what Brooklyn, N.Y.-based band Father Figures was going for with the creation of this epic poster, which advertises…
“Yes, I’m running as fast as I can / Toward a stunning and imperfect plan.” The couplet appears midway through That’s How We Burn, the fine Sub Pop debut by Jaill, and it encapsulates the Milwaukee quartet’s tipsy but assured take on Plimsouls-meets-REM, early-’80s mid-fi pop. It’s the sound of…
You got to give it up for local boys done good. Former downtown poster boys Miniature Tigers may have shuffled off to New York, but that hasn’t stopped them or their label, Modern Art Records, from drawing considerable national focus to Phoenix and Arizona-centric issues, like posting a message from…
Now in their 35th year, the Scorpions are a quintessential hard rock band. Everything from their over-the-top ’80s sound to their Spinal Tap-length roster of current and past members (there have been 19 Scorpions!) is somehow representative of all the ridiculousness of hard rock’s heyday. You may remember hits like…
Game (he dropped the “The” for his new album) has a new album coming out in August. It might actually be pretty good. I was a) convinced he was quitting rap after his 2008 album, LAX, partially because Game told everyone he would, and b) under the assumption that moribund…
To paraphrase the almighty Mark Twain, reports of Cherry Lounge’s demise were greatly exaggerated. Sure, you might’ve heard rumors about how the crimson-colored Mill Avenue club was forced to temporarily shut down in late June (necessitated after a minor spat with the Arizona Department of Liquor Licenses and Control). But…
There were plenty of synchronized dance moves, laser lights and ski masks to go around at Club Sanctum Friday night. Check out our Sanctum slideshow to see all the action…
Title: Get a RoomBasics: Who wants a dose of fun, lighthearted countrified rock music? Yeah, me either. “But this is Arizona, every other local band plays some sort of tame rock music with a country influence,” you say. I know, I know — it’s inevitable to the point that mocking…
It doesn’t matter how hot Spanish singer Enrique Iglesias is–in his song “I Like It,” he proves he’s also a douche.His girlfriend Anna Kournikova better watch out, because he starts the song singing, “Girl, please excuse me if I’m coming on too strong, but tonight is the night we can…
This flier pretty much speaks for itself–but it’s still really bad-arse. Seriously, how many fliers do you see these days with random goopy creatures coming out of sludge-filled ravines? Not many.The lovely piece of art was created by Mantooth Group promoter Michelle Donovan, who admits she took the most literal…
You can always count on Kimber Lanning and the good people at Stinkweeds Records to be ultra supportive of local bands. So are the customers who shop there.it’s always a nice treat to see homegrown kids chart on a record store’s top ten list of what’s selling for the week…
Jeremy Kittel is a young, fairly attractive young man who plays violin. Now, before your mind is cluttered with images of Andrew Birds, Owen Palletts, and Tobie Milfords, let’s get this straight: Kittel doesn’t play indie violin-folk, he plays classically minded jazz, bluegrass, and Celtic music. When he does veer…
Things have been fairly quiet on the Pinback front since the math-y, emo-rooted San Diego indie-pop outfit led by Rob Crow and Zach Smith finished the short touring cycle behind their last album, 2007’s widely acclaimed Autumn of the Seraphs. Crow’s been away from Pinback, doing the semi-jokey doom-metal thing…
Most of the free world — including Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones, we hear — would probably love to see Robert Plant move past his recent O Brother, Where Art Thou? phase and get on with a full-scale reunion of (what’s left of) Led Zeppelin. No dice. Ol’ Bob…
Jersey Shore’s offspring, Jerseylicious and Jersey Couture, are two trashy reality TV shows giving the Garden State a bad name right now. But not all things Jersey are as nauseating as the sight of Snooki without makeup. Take The Gaslight Anthem, for example. The ’59 Sound, the New Brunswick quartet’s…
Hidden amongst the dozens of rock, punk, and hardcore bands that DJ Johnny Volume cites on his MySpace page as musical influences are many of country music’s greatest rebels. There’s David Allan Coe (of course), not to mention Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and all three generations of Hank…
Thrice walk a fine line. Though their sound is raw, and leans toward the heavier side of alternative rock, their lyrics are more philosophical than those of the average rock band. Well, maybe “religious” is the better word. Though it’s not entirely clear what the distinction is between “Christian music”…
Sometimes the best time and place to dance will surprise you. More often than you’d expect, a Thursday night at Tempe’s Yucca Tap Room is a way better time to “get down” than a Friday night at [insert any typical dance club here], thanks to the killer DJs and zealous…
Artist: The trickily named .listen.Album: A CD-R containing one song from .listen’s future album Atomic Sunrise, “Defiance,” was all that was submitted.Basics: .listen is a young man named Eric who moved from Vermont to Scottsdale and has been a MySpace member since April 5. .listen is billed simply as such: With…
Hoodlums has been the indie-rock home for ASU kids for many years. This week, the kids are branching out a little bit. While there are no great surprises in Hoodlums’ top 10 list of bestsellers, classic rocker Tom Petty comes in at number one, and the Rolling Stones, Ozzy Osbourne,…
Leave it to Justin Bieber to make a gentleman out of Usher.Usher, a player notorious for demanding threesomes and using big boobies as criteria for hooking up, actually sounds sweet on the track featuring him and The Biebs, “Somebody to Love,” which is all about commitment and showing a special…
