Primus (now officially a jamband) saw it’s transformation into a modern day Pink Floyd inch closer to completion with the group adding a new toy to their current tour; a huge LED Screen that tosses 3D images at its audience.
"Best of” albums are always tough to review: if you already know you like the musicians in question, the album often serves a reminder of why you like them, probably through a replay of songs you know well. If you didn’t find them the first time around, well, are you any more likely now that they’ve been around so long they’re doing “best of” albums?
He’s not the next Hendrix. Not the next Stevie Ray Vaughan, even though they both honed their craft in Austin, TX and have played in many a same club. Nor is he the next anything. He is Gary Clark Jr., a dominant blues guitarist cementing himself as a shareholder in the blues rock revival that is slowly retrofitting this age of music.
Grimes is, in some sense, a testament to the pursuit and creation of an artistic vision, no matter how outlandish it may seem, and making it fly, and the fact that she is controlling everything coming out of the PA from start to finish is also impressive. After an hour of songs, she speaks to the crowd for the first time.
A DIY production sound on Sundowning adds to the intimacy as if you are in the dark dank club with them as they thrash away. Nu Sensae has constructed a messy, noisy, confusing full length album, and all of those things make me want to hear it again.
There are many things to love about the way The Hold Steady does business in the live setting. Among them: The no-nonsense equipment setup, the case or so of Tecate that waits on stage, and the band's apparent inability to offer anything less than maximum effort. They can turn any situation into a dizzying life experience full of the vibrant characters and relatable tribulations that inhabit Craig Finn's songs.
In contrast, a more straightforward and earnest Newman appears on Shut Down The Streets, his first album in three years, and this new-found openness is a direct result of a tumultuous time period that saw Newman experience the extreme ends of adulthood. Like most middle-aged men, his life changed quickly and forcefully, as his first child was welcomed into the world around the same time that his mother passed away.
The Vaccines, one of the UK’s most buzzed about rock bands of the last few years just released their sophomore album, Coming of Age, on Columbia records. The record debuted at #1 in England as that provincial land loves to push its native lads to the top of the pops fast, brash, and loud.
Athens GA is one of those places in America that always seem to delivery great music – no matter the genre. Another sure bet in Athens is hearing Railroad Earth in the who have struck gold in this small southern college town with their brand of high energy roots-Americana.
A full decade after the release of their debut album Highly Refined Pirates, Minus the Bear continue to prove their transcendence of hipster cool with yet another impressive collection of expert musicianship and great songwriting .
