If Bob Mould did nothing more than provide melodic songs and driving guitar for the innovative and influential 1980s band Husker Du his reputation would be secure. Following the band’s demise in the late ‘80s Mould didn’t rest on his laurels, recording a half-dozen albums with his 1990’s group Sugar and a dozen solo projects. His latest, Silver Age, shows he hasn’t lost a step.
One the key figures in those revolutionary times was Ray Davies, the chief songwriter and front-man for the Kinks, and on July 21st, he could be found onstage at the Wiltern in Los Angeles, playing a set that consisted mostly of songs by his former band. Davies tackled select gems from his vast songbook over the course of an hour and forty minutes, opening the show with a handful of barebones acoustic numbers and wrapping things up with an electric band.
It seems as though “supergroups” have become the latest trend in rock music. Each year, scores of musicians are setting aside their traditional outputs and collaborating on releases with contemporaries or like-minded thinkers. The autumn of 2012 brings forth Divine Fits. In the accompanying press notes for their debut album, A Thing Called Divine Fits, the wise Gerard Cosley warns listeners to not judge the band’s music by its’ members prior output.
There were threats of major summer thunderstorms this Friday night on the Brooklyn Waterfront; perhaps that is why one of the vital late 80’s/early 90’s rock and roll acts could only fill about half of the outdoor venue. Whatever the reason Jane’s Addiction didn’t seem to mind as they played with an energy that proved they still have fire in their veins.
Orbital has returned with Wonky, their first album since 2004 (Blue Album)– that is imminently listenable, and very much Orbital. However, it also conveys interesting hints of past musical goodness.
When Liars emerged in 2001 with their scorching debut LP They Threw Us In A Trench And Stuck A Monument On Top, it was a caustic wad of spit in the mascaraed eyeball of everything trendy, vapid and annoying about hipster New York City in the turn of the century
Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti values style over substance, but that isn’t a bad thing. The band’s new project, Mature Themes, contains many of elements found on its successful 2010 release Before Today—creative collages of 1970’s pop themes suffused with vocal and keyboard-driven atmosphere.
It is a well-known fact that Tyler Connolly was not a happy camper when he wrote the band’s latest record The Truth Is, but what happened in the process was that a popish, devil having fun, part rock/part rockabilly hornet’s nest of a symposium was created instead of something more sinister. And it worked. The singles have been hits, the shows have been sell-outs, and Connolly just may finally be a happy man once again.
The cinematic, vintage appeal of The Glorious Dead is what makes The Heavy's latest offering worth digging into, but it's also a record with too many missed opportunities to make it a great offering.
Yeasayer’s music typically demands patience and repeated listens, elements that lack a bit from this release as the songs don’t reveal many hidden layers. With Fragrant World, they miss the mark a little bit, but it’s still a noble enough attempt to keep people interested in following their career arc. It will be fun to watch which direction they embark upon next and decipher what chapter of their evolvement this release falls under.
