Music cognoscenti everywhere will probably agree that 2005 was the year of “New American Weird.” From Sufjan Stevens to Iron & Wine, nu-Americana, folktronica or whatever you call it is fast becoming the new American sound, at least among the mop-top and Puma set. Tempe-based Skybox’s new release, Arco Iris,…
As an underground hip-hop group from Portland, Oregon, Lightheaded wouldn’t be expected to rap about pimping bitches, but this trio’s subject matter is noticeably clean-cut. Wrong Way, its second album and first since 2001’s Pure Thoughts, features songs about trying to be a better husband (“Eye to Eye”), testimonials about…
Ordinarily we wouldn’t encourage anyone to patronize a fraternity-sponsored event, but since all y’all collegiate would-be intellectuals are back clocking hours with the professors, you probably need a chance to cut loose while the semester’s still fresh. The local chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha — the first intercollegiate African-American fraternity,…
With a title like The Greatest and a hot pink album cover featuring boxing glove bling, Chan Marshall (otherwise known as Cat Power) seems to be making an effort to separate herself from her established image with this latest release. Marshall, notorious for her insecurities and fumbling onstage persona, began…
A prime example of a drunken idea that turned out to be a good one, Head Wound City is a noise-rock supergroup of sorts, featuring two members each from hypercore outfits The Locust and Blood Brothers, plus guitarist Nick Zinner of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Recorded in a week, this…
Don’t let the band’s name, the band members’ eyeglasses, or the kittens they’re brandishing on the album cover fool you. The dudes in We Are Scientists look every bit as awkward as beloved femme-punk trio Le Tigre, but thankfully pocket protectors often conceal the hearts of lions. The California trio’s…
Meanwhile, in a back room somewhere in northern New Jersey . . . “Do you know why I’ve gathered you here for this important meeting?” “No, Boss,” replied the eight members of the E Street Band in unison. “Have you heard the new Marah album?” Springsteen hissed through clenched teeth…
Fans of music heavier than the cast of Celebrity Fit Club 3 have had much to rejoice about over the past couple of years, what with so many powerful, innovative sounds coming out of the art-metal underground (as so nicely documented in a recent New York Times piece), plus the…
His dad, novelist Larry McMurtry, bought him his first guitar when he was 7, and his mother, an English professor, taught him how to play it, but even so, the acorn resides close to the tree. James McMurtry’s country-tinged roots rock is keyed to his facility with words, his insights…
Whatever happened to those freaky-deaky sisters we knew back in high school? You know, that one pair of punky-funky-gothy chicks who dressed like they were Tim Burton groupies or RenFest extras, knew every Kate Bush and Cure song by heart, and had unhealthy obsessions with dolls and fairies. We heard…
Puerto Rican born and raised house DJ Robbie Rivera earned his chops the hard way on the island, spinning for whomever would hire him — without the benefit of pitch control on his tables. Now a worldwide house phenomenon, he’s got the pitch modulation down perfectly, as you can hear…
By employing the chopped and screwed mix method — a style developed by Houston’s own DJ Screw that slows down a song’s tempo for a lurching, dizzying effect akin to a codeine-cough-syrup high — Southern DJs have produced a spate of slurring, visceral remix albums that often sound better than…
Though millions of people heard his influence on classic efforts by Nirvana, Mudhoney, Soundgarden, and others, recorded during his stint as de facto in-house producer for Sub Pop Records, relatively few music fans are aware of Jack Endino’s considerable skills as a guitarist and songwriter. With a still-busy schedule as…
San Francisco band Film School’s brand of music is an anguished yet expertly resurrected form of shoegaze; it’s Slowdive for the new millennium. One of the tracks from its debut, “He’s a Deep Deep Lake,” sounds as if it were taken from Lush’s catalog, and another cut, “Harmed,” copies Ride’s…
Some Girls don’t do eyeliner. They aren’t sweet. They don’t take things lightly. Oh yeah, and they’re dudes. The brutality on the five-piece’s latest disc, Heaven’s Pregnant Teens, is honest and intentional. Some Girls have continued to refine the art of orchestrated chaos with layers upon layers of guitars and…
1. Matisyahu, Live at Stubbs (Sony) 2. Sublime, Gold (Geffen) 3. The Strokes, First Impressions of Earth (RCA) 4. Eminem, Curtain Call (Aftermath) 5. System of a Down, Hypnotize (Sony) 6. Avenged Sevenfold, City of Evil (Warner Bros.) 7. Nickelback, All the Right Reasons (Roadrunner) 8. Korn, See You on…
In a scene awash with hardcore kiddies and cooler-than-you indie acts, the local reggae-punk hybrid renegades in Fayuca stand out like potheads at a policemen’s ball. The band’s highly improvisational new CD, Black Market, ebbs and flows with a fusion of south-of-the-border soul and barrio punk, complete with chunky guitars,…
Most bands falsely advertise — they describe their sound ad nauseam as different and unclassifiable, but a good listen usually outs them as either deceived or uninitiated. In contrast, Tempe’s Batter the Drag (a hip ’50s term for playing music on the street) oozes originality. BTD succeeds because it knows…
Tempe rockers The Heartless not only have hearts, but smarts as well. The heart beats throughout the band’s seminal release, This Could Take Some Getting Used To, as all six songs on the pop-punk opus seem to have their lyrical origin somewhere between Lonely Street and Nostalgia Drive (but thankfully,…
The only music genre less driven by social politics than modern country music is pop music, which isn’t so odd when you think about it — today’s country is just saccharine-sweet pop nothingness anyway, and that’s how Wal-Mart shoppers like it. That’s why Natalie Maines’ criticism of George W. received…
In December’s Vibe, Mary J. Blige said that even though she’s comfortable revealing her abs in photographs, “I ain’t giving you titty, nipple, pubic hair or damn near clitoris.” While that’s certainly the most colorful quote uttered by a public figure this year, Blige’s comment actually runs counter to the…
Ah, the Dealing With Fame record. The Strokes — biblically stylish NYC bar-rockers 4 life — mingle indifference (My feelings are more important than yours) with critical indignation (They love you or they hate you but they will never let you be) and apathy (I’ve got nothing to say) on…
