Posts by William Ruben Helms

There was a sense of the band preaching to the already converted but still I admired the fact that they performed with aplomb and a generous sense of humor about themselves.

If anything, seeing Rogers perform is a testament of the power of music – a well-written song can be as necessary to life as water and oxygen.

Born from an Inuk mother, a Newfoundland, French Canadian father, and adopted at birth by an Inuit family and raised in the isolated, Arctic, indigenous community of Salliuit, Nunavik, Canada – the Great North– singer, composer and filmmaker Elisapie Isaac has one of the most unique backgrounds I think most music fans will ever encounter.

With the release of her debut album, Nomad, Anna Rose offers listeners a slick blend of singer/songwriter based pop and rock – and although on a certain level her sound isn’t the most unique sound you may ever hear, it works as it brings to mind comparisons to famed artists such as Harvest-era Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, James Taylor and the like.

When it comes to Jace Everett there are two types of people: those familiar with his previous two albums and those who have discovered him through the highly popular and critically acclaimed HBO series, True Blood. For those few folks who know of the previous two albums, Everett’s third and latest album, Red Revelations is a major departure in tone and style.

The Detroit-based, Electric Six’s fourth and latest release on Metropolis borrows its name from a drawing by the German artist George Grosz which depicts and grotesquely satirizes the gluttony, greed and excess of Berlin between World War 1 and World War II. And although I Shall Exterminate Everything around Me doesn’t focus on 1920s Berlin, it does focus on and satirize excess.

ith their fourth studio release, Structure and Cosmetics, The Brunettes continue a tradition of 1960s pop-influenced indie rock as seen through artists such as The Shins, Belle and Sebastian and others.  And what the Brunettes specialize and excel in is the sort of silly, saccharine tinged love songs and danceable pop that haven’t been heard in close to 40 years – but with a modern interpretation.

Caribou continues a tradition of 1960s-inspired indie music – but where Andorra divulges is in the fact that this album follows the psychedelic tradition of early Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd, Jefferson Airplane and others, all while maintaining a strong sense of unusually syncopated, playful sounding melody. 

South may not break out of the Brit-pop mold but their recent attempt to make a unique name for themselves is compelling enough to give a listen.

From their Bows and Arrows album to this new release, the Walkmen seemed to be actively experimenting with their sound in the attempt to create something profoundly new and different. And although this unusual album is a largely uninspired mess of sorts, it

Nicola is a feisty, native New Yorker who went from performing nightly on Broadway in

Returning after a fourteen year self-imposed hiatus from recording music in which he concentrated on composing and producing

In the case of Tribeca, their debut album is extremely problematic because it accomplishes a rare feat

What Echo & The Bunnymen have created in Siberia is a rare piece of work

Joy Electric

Admittedly, OK GO

All of the members of Kansas City