Music

Aesop Rock’s legendary Greek namesake wrote fables with morals like “A man is known by the company he keeps.” And Aesop the MC (a.k.a. New Yorker Ian Bavitz) has borne out that bit of ancient wisdom: Since 2001’s acclaimed Labor Days, he’s been a mainstay of Def Jux, the underground…

This is an essential night out for fans of raffish, infectious, congenial and, yes, fun pop music. All the way from Oslo, you’ve got ’60s revivalists The Jessica Fletchers, sounding like some English, phonetically assembled band from Nuggets II, decked out with flutes and strings but still managing to pack…

There are a lot of ex-smokers in the world, judging by the testimonials on Amazon.com regarding Jesse Sykes’ husky voice (e.g., “makes me want to take up smoking again,” or how about “I found myself reaching for Dunhills that weren’t there”). It’s a wonder the surgeon general didn’t write the…

Funky house vets the East Coast Boogiemen won’t be here in full, but you’ll get a half-dose when Ken Christensen hits the Real Bar (formerly P.I./Boston’s) on Friday, June 17, as part of his “Ken You Dig It” tour. Christensen, and ECBM partner Juan Zapata, launched Odds and Ends Records…

It’s not exactly party-crashing if you don’t know Chase Stain or the local record label he’s been running for the past decade, but if it makes you feel more punk rock to bilk, then entertain that notion. At this all-ages extravaganza with no cover charge, you can sample a dozen…

“Pure devastation” is how the boys in local screamo outfit Greeley Estates jokingly describe their band on the mini-documentary “The Life of Greeley Estates,” included on this recently released DVD. While they certainly have some devastating riffage, Greeley’s live songs included here are more remarkable for their affability. Crowds of…

A grim romanticism has gripped British pop since the days of Morrissey, from Robert Smith’s mopey New Wave, through Thom Yorke’s existential angst, to Chris Martin’s haunted piano epics. The brainchild of Matt Hales, Aqualung is gripped by a similar tender pain, awash in luxurious piano-driven melodies that form a…

Within the next month, expect American music ‘zines and your local hipsters to pile head-exploding praise on England’s Amusement Parks on Fire, which just released its self-titled debut stateside. It’s already happened in the U.K. — “Genius-in-a-bottle waiting to be unleashed,” ejaculated Drowned in Sound; “Sounds like the sun rising…

Buzz bands from here, there and everywhere are nicking U.K. sounds, but too many of them are targeting the same period: the early ’80s post-punk days, when it was okay to wear any color as long as it was black, and young men were discovering how much fun they could…

Attention, (guys in) Tight Pants Brigade! Behold Bullet Train to Vegas — your new leader. The Los Angeles-based band’s We Put Scissors Where Our Mouths Are is a creative and spastic art damage record with intense guitar work dominating 11 tracks. The variation of sharp and clean styles (from hardcore…

Everybody loves to see a good bitch-slapping, and the expanded DVD version of this Sundance Award-winning documentary on two friendly bands turned rivals gives you bitch-slapping in any number of directions. What was originally slated as a Brian Jonestown Massacre documentary grew to encompass the Dandy Warhols when BJM went…

Hey, tweakers — hurry up and finish reassembling your El Camino, stop grinding your teeth for a minute, put down the glass dick, and listen up. I’ve got good news: Your favorite non-inhalable muscle motivator is coming to town. On Friday, June 10, Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland, a.k.a. breakbeat…

Once upon a time, sworn fealty to The Cure meant absolute disdain for AC/DC — and vice versa. Morrissey was Bluto to Axl Rose’s Popeye. Back then, It Dies Today wouldn’t have had an audience. But today, thanks to labels like Level-Plane and Trustkill, kids in black-framed glasses rub shoulders…

Ever wish New Wave had survived in the mainstream? As long as you were in it for the synth and not the Day-Glo, The Epoxies may give you what you need. The female-fronted band offers an updated version of that early ’80s sound, infusing poppy synthesizer beats, catchy punk flavor,…

Craig Finn (ex-Minnesotan, ex-Lifter Puller) has the voice of a semi-drunk punk, or maybe a manic street preacher — an exuberant, phlegmy grumble-stumble in line with such brilliant non-singers as Paul Westerberg, Elvis Costello, Shane MacGowan, and Bob Pollard, spitting sharp, wry, highly charged stories of the sacred and the…

Mick Collins hails from Detroit, but lives in a parallel universe — one in which a vinyl-collecting goofball can actually make records that are as fun, ripping and powerful as those of his jukebox heroes. This stuffed collection of singles is the document that proves it. Disc one is all…

As I Lay Dying was the first hardcore band signed to Metal Blade Records. And with Shadows Are Security, its sophomore effort, the quintet has amped up the metal, utilizing a more classic thrash sound. As I Lay Dying also maintains its metalcore foundation, but unlike others in the genre,…

It’s remarkable that after a half-decade of audacity, eccentricity and pulverizing hype, the White Stripes still manage to sneak up and genuinely surprise us. Get Behind Me Satan begins with the blasé Dude We’re Rockin’ Out Dude single “Blue Orchid,” but from there it gets infinitely better, not to mention…