Posts by Chris Calarco

These Days, while still carrying the mainstream heart of JBJ, is a different animal. The band’s first album following a less then amicable breakup with original bassist, Alex Jon Such, the disenchantment runs deep. The band was grieving the loss on one of their oldest friends and sounded willing to express this despair musically. No longer burdened with the expectations of being the planet’s biggest band, Bon Jovi made their best album.

Ken Will Morton is a singer songwriter from Georgia. To stand out in that crowded field one has to have the humility to sit back and let the song take center stage. Morton successfully walks the fine line between playing the music and letting the music play him on his latest disc, Contenders.

Akin to Spiritualized filtered through urban Philadelphia, The War on Drugs is often cited as Springsteen influenced. Undoubtedly, a mournful Nebraska-era sensibility drives the melodic reverie but this is only the Boss after a codeine laced blunt. By creating atmospheres within and around their melodies, The War on Drugs expanded the walls of Bunk Bar. It’s easy to feel the rock n roll brawn underneath the smoke but it is these lush textures that guide a head into the cosmos. 

With smiles that emit a grounded and radiant glow, Katelyn and Laurie perform a joyfully eccentric live show.

Playing a short set in front of the sparse audience did not appear to negatively impact his passion, punch or power. Rummaging through both new and old songs Vandervelde and his band reverted back to the chunky hybrid of T Rex and A.M. – era Wilco to produce a potent rock n’ roll.

It is highly unlikely the Fab Four considered the possibility of infusing Abbey Road with the rhythms of Jamaica when they recorded the landmark album at the end of their career in 1969. It takes a lot of gusto for a young band of white musicians from the east coast of America, named Yellow Dubmarine no less, to attempt a full-fledged reggae reinterpretation of an album long considered one of the greatest records of all time and a pinnacle of the LP format.

I stumbled across Ten and Tracer, or Jonathan Canupp, an American producer from Boulder, Colorado by listening to samples that left me drooling for more.

JEFF The Brotherhood is Jake and Jamin Orrall of Nashville, Tennessee, owners of Infinity Cat Recordings. The bare bones duo, just guitar and drums, played 230 shows last year and were hailed by Spin magazine as one of the “must see” acts at this year’s South by Southwest.  Their new album, We are the Champions, is eleven tracks and a short 35-minute. It’s packed with jagged scuzzed-out guitar riffs that hop between Weezer style chunky rhythms, sharp, classic rock swagger, and blasts of powerful punk power.

Natural Child come from Nashville and call themselves “the greatest rock n’ roll band in the world”. Known as much for this bold sense of humor and hard partying ways as much as their rocking live show, the band recently released a 1971 on Infinity Cat Recordings. The sound is raw, loose, and limber, vacillating between the Stones-y demarcation points of bluesy R&B and rollicking acoustic numbers. This ramshackle construction seems to be part of the band’s allure. At any moment self-destruction sounds possible.

here is a constant dynamism at work on Otherwise Law Abiding Citizens. The band will circle back inside a drum break and build up yet again, deconstructing a jam just to hit you harder when the kick drum dive bombs into your chest. As a whole, this body of songs shines with impeccable, dynamic and grounded production, all accomplished at a full-throttle pace. If you’ve ever felt a Biscuit peak hit and responded by thrusting your fist victoriously in the air, this album is for you.

Throughout this gorgeous collection of music Sykes’ voice crisscrosses the paper-thin rift between deep pain and true bliss, enabling songs to drift into the ether in between. Slower moments build with a creepy, meandering flow before bursts of swirling psychedelic rock attack that would make Comets on Fire proud. This is heavy.

The Errant Charm, Vetiver’s fifth full-length album (and second with Sub Pop) continues a process that began with Tight Knit, moving the band away from this unorthodox folk into more traditionally structured California pop. Overall, most of the album has a subdued and gossamer mood, but to its credit, there is also an eclectic mix of breezy, sanguine arrangements combined with robust moments like “Ride, Ride, Ride that recalls an A.M.–era Wilco.

In 2008 Ernest Green’s moniker, Washed Out, became a touchstone for the influential “chillwave” micro-genre, known for its tendency to morph lush and hazy atmospherics with 80’s synth pads, mournful vocals, and a hearty dose of modern R&B bump.  With his new offering, Within and Without, Green proves himself capable of moving forward while the expected hype surrounds the release.

The Globes are from Spokane, WA, not usually thought of as a hotbed for fruitful musical collaboration. Young, having graduated from high school in 2007, band members dedicated themselves to pursuing a musical vision that first expanded into a seven piece orchestral and cinematic unit before contacting to the current quartet. Future Self is their first release and retains a certain murky drama that is both musically complex and emotionally accessible.

With LA based outfit Dawes about to release their second album, Nothing is Wrong on June 7th I was able to catch up with bassist Wylie Gelber while the band was in Georgia supporting Brett Dennen on a national swing.

With rock solid playing and a freshly melodic spin on 70's AM radio rock this young group shows of a rare ability to channel an older tradition but play it with a full slate of personal inspiration.

Buffalo Tom, one of the forerunners of 90’s “college rock” is back on the street with their new album Skins. While the band’s music, especially 1994’s “hit single” “Sodajerk”, may stir some achingly awkward memories of Angela Chase and Jordan Catalano making out in the boiler room, these Boston boys have maintained a steady sound over the years that will bring you right back to the days of “alternative” music.

When Taylor Goldsmith rips into a staccato-laced solo toward the end of “Fire Away” on Dawes’ second LP, Nothing is Wrong, the band emphatically declares their expansion. With more time to write and more attention focused on their efforts this time around, Dawes manages to honor their modern Laurel Canyon country folk by adding moments of increased muscle and bright new flourishes of their striking harmonies inside a wider palette of sound.

Ever since releasing records entitled I’m Like a Virgin Losing a Child and Everything into Nothing, Manchester Orchestra has staked a claim as sensitively extravagant rockers. With the more mutedly titled, Simple Math, Hull has concocted a collection of simultaneously bombastic and intimate songs tracking the dissolution and reconstruction of his marriage and his life.

While Duff McKagan has always appeared far more open to a reunion than the iconoclastic and downright ridiculous Axl Rose, he has soldiered on since their mid 90’s breakup. The modern world of metal has been more than welcoming with his platinum selling work in Velvet Revolver as well as his longtime band, Loaded. Having always played a supporting role in his two other bands, since 1999, Loaded has afforded McKagan the opportunity to step to the fore, showcasing his song writing, guitar playing and singing.