Rothbury has the stones. It sees your Bonnaroos and your High Sierras, your Lollapaloozas and, God forbid, your Schwagstocks, and raises you an unmatched experience of otherworldly grace. A psychedelic
On Son Volt's new album, American Central Dust, Jay Farrar only plays an acoustic guitar, not its electric counterpart. The bandleader's choice of instruments is as much a direct reflection of the overall approach he applies to the album as the choice of label for which Son Volt debuts. Rounder Records has become one of America's primary independent music distributors, largely by focusing on the folk, blues and country music that form the foundation of Farrar’s new songs.
In an era where technologically savvy producers can make even the likes of Katy Perry sound decent on CD, it’s always refreshing when an artist’s performance outshines their album. Such was the case with Jenny Lewis.
San Francisco rock band, Tea Leaf Green is known for their incendiary, psychedelic rock shows and skillfully crafted songs. Over the years, they have developed an alter ego band with the namesake, Coffee Bean Brown. Coffee Bean Brown is known for playing impromptu shows that display their acoustic side while focusing more on singer/songwriter Trevor Garrod’s timeless songwriting skills. These shows are special for the few Tea Leaf Green fans who attend and now they are offering one of their most intimate shows available with clear, crispy quality.
Sometimes all it takes is a pure voice, a few instruments, and a scattering of bells and whistles for a talent to stand out in a crowd. Canada’s Andy Shauf has all of those things, and he delivers them on Darker Days, his solo debut. The songs are brief, the songwriting seems personal and mature, and the melodies have staying power that suggest Shauf, 21, is a lot older than he really is.
With half undecipherable melodies, half indie pop, Dirty Projectors mash up a style that reflects the work of Deerhoof, capturing a disjointed knack of melody that is otherwise fascinating and pretentiously artsy. At first listen, you’ll probably want to run to the more “welcoming” sounds of Wilco..
Straightforward. Subdued. Accessible. If Octohedron had been recorded by just about any other band, those words would never cross anyone's mind. However, the Mars Volta has pushed the boundaries of their music and their mania time and again, leaving the expectation that each album will be a further exploration of psychedelic insanity. This album explores to be sure, but in a different way than they have previously
It is great to literally hear the walls of genre coffining labels collapse when Akron/Family starts a’rolling. Their newest release Set’Em Wild, Set’Em Free isn’t as experimentally weird as past efforts, but still brings enough freak with their Nuevo-hippy folk to keep listeners on edge.
Few bands have successfully produced two decades of quality music and lived to liven listener's senses for a third. Even fewer bands staking that claim hail from that musical-bridge between the late 80’s and early 90s. Yet that is exactly what Dinosaur Jr. has re-affirmed with their newest release: Farm.
Drive-By Truckers front-man Patterson Hood’s second solo record, Murdering Oscar (and other love songs), flows like a DBT rock show—hook ‘em, rest ‘em, then beat ‘em senseless—and while saving the best for last may not always be the best recipe for an album, Hood leaves nothing on his plate.
