Retro orchestral pop makes up Clare and the Reasons’ debut release The Movie. Nestled under its throwback pulp movie poster cover design, the music has a light and scattered appeal to it.
When attempting to describe the HBO comedy cult hit Flight of the Conchords, the short answer is that it is Tenacious D for people who like Crowded House.
Straddling the indie/classic rock/roots line of My Morning Jacket and Wilco, while incorporating the sensitive harmonies and instrumental angst of Built to Spill and Neil Young, Band of Horses is pure critic ear porn.
Spanish for 100 is yet another recent Seattle “buzz” band, securing a coveted designation as “your new favorite band” by KEXP’s John in the Morning. One can’t help but listen to their recent album Say What You Want To Say To Me with a mixture of doubt and the desire to not buy into the aforementioned hype – and yet, the catchy, driven album has a way of worming its way under one’s skin. Their formula is nothing new: two guitars, a solid rhythm section
A new Radiohead album came out today. You can download it at inrainbows.com. After you put it in your shopping cart, you can choose to pay whatever price you want. What else can you say?
here are a few points in rock n roll time and space where everything just comes together and something new is born. Love Is the Song We Sing: San Francisco Nuggets 1965-1970 tries to capture that point on the space-time continuum in four CDs.
Home is a sweet place on Chrome Dreams II, and no matter what you love about Neil Young, my guess is that you’re going to like what you find when you get there.
On his third Iron and Wine full length, The Shepherd’s Dog, Beam sticks with his token formula of hushed melodies and moving lyrics as the ground-work, but goes in a whole new direction above. Like his flowing mane and beard, Beam grew out the production level on The Shepherd’s Dog, that includes African rhythms and expanded instrumentation of courtesy of Joey Burns and Paul Niehaus from Calexico, Califone’s Jim Becker and Tin Hat Trio’s Rob Burger.
Sadly, Slayer will never get the recognition that they deserve. As has been the story with metal in general, acknowledgement of the influence that Slayer has had on music for the last 25 years is few and far between.
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.
