Reviews

[rating=6.00] On Pearl Jam’s 2006 self titled release the band found their angst-ridden past melding swimmingly with their middle age present. There was a President they could rebel against, wars they felt were unjust and an overall pissed off feeling that resulted in an excellent disk. Things gradually changed with wars ending, their candidate taking […]

[rating=8.00] Amos Lee’s latest record, Mountains of Sorrow, Rivers of Song, is a testament to the fact that there are artists out there who know what a true Americana record is, critics and fans be damned. It’s more than a genre and it’s more than a mood created by a certain set of generally accepted […]

A few songs into their set at Brooklyn’s Music Hall of Williamsburg last Sunday night, Dodos’ drummer Logan Kroeber said what was on most of the audience’s mind: “Thank you guys for coming out on the same night as the finale of Breaking Bad. We weren’t sure how many people to expect.” As the roar […]

Portland, Oregon via Alaska based experimental rockers Portugal. The Man visited Charlotte’s Fillmore on last Wednesday, and gave the near capacity crowd exactly what they came for: recognizable songs, jams, and a few covers thrown in for a good buzz. The band took the stage after opening act Crystal Fighters warmed things up and the […]

[rating=8.00] Like an eulogy in reverse, a dreary organ hums the first notes of Mazzy Star’s first work in 17 years. During that time, Hope Sandoval and David Roback never stopped writing and recording together. This much is clear in the dreamy hour of loneliness that follows on Seasons of Your Day, a gently numbing […]

[rating=6.00] If you are looking for background music and aren’t too interested in paying attention to vocals or lyrics, then Innocents is probably going to be your cup of tea. Moby’s latest record is ultra-serious, incredibly moody, and—to its discredit—sounds largely like the same song played over and over. There isn’t a ton here that […]

Jeremy Garrett, fiddler for The Infamous Stringdusters and board member of the International Bluegrass Music Association, told the board that they needed to create a “bluegrass frenzy” in Raleigh for their annual event’s first year in North Carolina. Garrett and the rest of the IBMA must have been giddy with the results of their work, […]

[rating=6.00] The problem with The Speed of Things is not so much in how it sounds. For all intents and purposes, it is the sort of album that fans of electro pop and ‘80s-era pop should have no trouble enjoying. There are definitely moments where you can dance to some of the songs and enjoy […]

Despite an unusual amount of overcast on the coastal shores of Southern California this summer, the sun shined brightly for the first day of the Beach Ball Festival on the world-famous Santa Monica Pier. Along with the wonderful weather, the first day of the inaugural event featured fantastic performances from legendary pioneers, today’s biggest stars […]

[rating=7.00] VII could very well be subtitled, “How Blitzen Trapper got Their Groove Back.” The band took a certain amount of flack from media and longtime fans for their last release, American Goldwing, because of everything from selling out to being drenched in sentimentality. The reasons—whether justified or not—seemed to be endless. VII feels more […]

[rating=7.00] Del the Funky Homosapien & co.’s postscript to their riveting, world-gone-mad opus, Deltron 3030, picks up in the post-apocalyptic year 3040, where life and all its forms have surrendered to the calamitous pit the 2000 album only warned us about. Corporate evil and economic collapse dominate the dark narrative of Event II, the second […]

[rating=8.00] Virtually an EP based on a running time of just over thirty minutes, recorded, like many of his albums, largely by himself with help on drums and occasional other instruments, Tommy Keene’s Excitement at Your Feet is an exercise in contemporary musicology, permeated with passion, by an artist with his own estimable pedigree. A […]

If you are in need of a workout you might want to skip the gym and head to a Michael Franti and Spearhead concert instead. Franti’s recent two hour plus show at the Calvin Theatre in Northampton, Massachusetts was a night of endless motion as the San Francisco based singer constantly ordered the crowd to […]

Returning in 2011 after a 6-year absence, Music Midtown has grown to become Atlanta’s largest musical event. Previously featuring bands like Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters and Coldplay, the festival has continued to expand it’s size and popularity, now spanning two days on 3 stages.

[rating=6.00] Rubblebucket, a fast rising seven piece from Brooklyn (by way of Vermont/Massachusetts), manage to combine the best of 80’s mainstream pop (think Madonna, Hall & Oates) with indie rock creativity/weirdness producing engaging music that is hard to define but easy to enjoy. This teaser EP Save Charlie contains three new songs, three remixes and […]

Writing a review of a live show is a tough and sometimes unfair thing to do. Assuming that a band doesn’t just play songs from one album, a reviewer is then inherently judging the entirety of a catalog by just one performance, combined with whatever ups and downs may have accompanied the performers on that […]

Between its solid songs, strong production, and varied, original pop music sound, Days Are Gone is an album for anyone who truly appreciates well-written and meaningful pop music.

[rating=8.00] With B-Room, Dr. Dog has begun the process of highlighting various aspects of the densely crafted sound they’ve developed over their decade-plus together. Like their previous efforts, recorded in their own self-designed and constructed recording studio (newly rebuilt from its Meth Beach predecessor), the Philly sextet bring melody to the forefront on songs like […]

It wasn’t the hottest day on record in Arizona, but for many, baking on the pavement during a festival on a 105 degree day, it surely felt volcanic.   As the Uproar Festival kicked off on two outdoor parking lot stages mid-day, fans were skirmishing for whatever shade could be found in the parking lot.  This […]

[rating=5.00] Lifelong friends and native New Yorkers Alex Frankel and Nick Millhiser have been kicking around the indie dance-pop scene for a few years now. Long enough to earn some rave reviews for their previous work, 2010’s Static on the Wire EP and 2011’s self-titled full-length, but due to their still relatively youthful ages, not […]