Seagulls flying overhead, the unforgiving sun beaming scorching rays, and countless patches of crowds filled the Coney Island area of Brooklyn this weekend as The Village Voice presented its 10th installment of the Siren Festival.
Just as both camps will be attracted by the gorgeous color packaging of You Hear Me, newcomers to the music of Tommy Keene who hear the double CD set will no doubt be as impressed by the consistency of this Retrospective as long-standing fans. Yet the most beautiful virtue of this music may be that it’s equally satisfying to play in the background or sit down and listen closely.
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.
An indie-rock/classical/concept album trifecta may seem like a broad over reach, but in reality artists like Frank Zappa and more apropos for Television Landscape – Prince, have shuffled down these paths before, now whether the combo actually works is another question entirely. In William Brittelle’s case the answer is yes, for the most part. Fully orchestrating the Television Landscape with electronic and acoustic instrumentation infuses a sense life to the disenchanted themes presented.
Roadsongs is a two disc live set recorded with Derek Trucks Band in Chicago after release of their most recent 2009 studio album, Already Free. This live recording captures the band fresh from the studio with increased energy and fluidness complete with Trucks’ staggering solos and New Orleans style horn section.
Last week wasn’t the first time Silversun Pickups brought their distinctive fuzz through Philadelphia; in fact, it was their seventh time playing in front of a crowd of Brotherly Love since 2004. If you were lucky enough to spot this great rock band earlier in their career then you probably made it out to their shows at Johnny Brenda’s or First Unitarian Church back in 2006, but odds are that lead vocalist and guitarist Brian Aubert won’t believe you really did.
Sacred Steel guitar maestro, Robert Randolph has come a long way since the days of leading church worship to becoming one of the most recognized guitar players in the country. Randolph’s highly anticipated third album – We Walk This Road – is a work of art that began over two years ago with roots pioneer and producer extraordinaire, T Bone Burnett
On a recent stop in Cincinnati, Jeff Beck and his band blazed through a mostly instrumental performance that alternated mind-numbing rockers with glistening ballads. This career retrospective crash course at times seemed like it was maybe a little too heavy on the sweet ballads. But honestly the rockers were so intense that these softer tunes may have been placed strategically throughout the set just to allow the stunned audience to catch their breath.
Nearly nine years after their last public gig, God Street Wine “was brought back” last night at the Gramercy Theatre in New York City and delivered a tight, dynamic performance that showed exactly why the quintet has been missed by fans who started a Facebook group and blog columns pleading for their return.
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.
