With “80’s synth-pop” being all the rage these days amongst the hipster elite, it’s surprising that Tears For Fears haven’t generated more buzz amongst the Urban Outfitter set. Instead, their show at the Celebrity Theater brought out an aging 40 something crowd to soak in the new-wave sounds of Orzabel and his musical partner – Curt Smith.
A lot of bands these days have been rehashing the 80s, but very few of them bring anything particularly new to the table. For me, it's really dull to have your own teenage years spit back to you as if it's new, so it's refreshing to hear a band do something interesting with it. Foreign Born are pretty steeped in the 80s, but they are most definitely not regurgitating it back. Instead, they take that era of post-punk, new-wave and pop, dig back to its influences and come up with their own sound.
The latest album from Austraila
CBGB, the club Hilly Kristal opened in 1973, which would eventually become known as the birthplace of punk, is facing it’s possible last days. In conflict with the Bowery Residents Committee over back rent and impending rate hikes, the club’s lease expires on August 31st. And while efforts are made to save the historic venue, the future of the seminal club remains unknown.
The Gang Of Four classics like
The Secret Machines are still defining what their live shows can potentially transgress to, while finding their stage voice as a headliner. This building period is an exciting step forward for an act that is almost guaranteed to be huge upon the release of their next album. Thriving on delivering a fresh taste of rock n
RANA is like taking in a Pavement, Devo, Talking Heads, Cars, Ween
and Ted Nugent concert in 1 two-hour show. Led by the new-wave
vocals of keyboardist Matt Durant, who stands behind the keyboards
in cool Ric Ocasek fashion, and guitarist Scott Metzger, who mans
his guitar with showmanship and grit, RANA is definitely best seen
and heard live.
Omaha, Nebraska is slowly turning into the new New York with a couple of bands emerging from the cornfields to make big names for themselves. The first to do so was the emo band Bright Eyes headed by Omaha native Conor Oberst. Now it’s the electro-dance group The Faint.
Taking a more melodic and refined approach from their grimey 2002 debut Turn On The Bright Lights, Interpol leader Paul Banks strived to make a stellar follow up, while pushing the band in a step me up direction. As a result, Interpol is turning the corner in a shinier pop direction, surfacing them apart from their continual Joy Division comparisons.
Mixing intelligence with off-the-cuff rock and roll sophistication has always been one of Costello
