Related Posts
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Maraqopa by Damien Jurado
03/02/2012
If you do a quick search for Seattle bands, you're likely to find bands that span many genres: grunge, garage rock, heavy metal, even twee pop. One genre seldom associated with Seattle is spiritual folk.
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Break It Yourself by Andrew Bird
03/06/2012
Chicago native Andrew Bird began his career as a prolific multi-instrumentalist when he first began taking violin lessons at the age of four. He later studied blues, gypsy jazz and American and European folk.
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Reign of Terror by Sleigh Bells
02/22/2012
In 2010 Brooklyn-based duo Sleigh Bells burst onto the music scene with a critically-acclaimed debut, Treats. Derek E. Miller, former guitarist for punk/hardcore band, Poison the Well met vocalist Alexis Krauss in a restaurant at which Miller was a server.
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Tramp by Sharon Van Etten
02/15/2012
Sharon Van Etten’s voice is one that stands out among her singer-songwriter contemporaries—its haunting quality leaves listeners hanging on every word she sings. Her chilling vocals get under your skin; they snatch your attention, refuse to be ignored and compel you to hear what she is saying.
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Born to Die by Lana Del Rey
02/11/2012
When Lana Del Rey, the self proclaimed “gangster Nancy Sinatra,” parts her pouty lips to croon one of her songs, listeners get pulled into a hazy, sad place. Del Rey oozes with old Hollywood glamor, and her voice is comparable to a breath of fresh air in today's music industry where pop stars are replicas of one another regurgitating stale overly produced singles.
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Clear Heart Full Eyes by Craig Finn
02/04/2012
Craig Finn is the bard of the bar, the second coming of Springsteen, America’s hipster-in-chief. These are the sentiments of much that has been written about him for the last decade in which he has fronted The Hold Steady, a rock and roll band from Brooklyn, by way of Minneapolis, with passion and presence that could fill arenas.
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Strange Weekend by Porcelain Raft
01/30/2012
The weekend is something that I, like most people, crave, because it temporarily halts the monotony that makes up the rest of my week; however, when this long awaited respite arrives, it seems to fly right through my hands, and the mundane takes over once again.
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100 Proof by Kellie Pickler
01/31/2012
The songs on Kellie Pickler’s new album, 100 Proof, constitute a declaration of independence from her origins—a reality television singing competition on which she appeared in 2006. With three albums of solid country pop out now, it’s time to replace “American Idol alum” with “country music superstar” when introducing the burgeoning bombshell from North Carolina.
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The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy by Nada Surf
01/24/2012
Over the last two decades in the world of music, hair metal died giving way to the era of grunge, hip-hop turned gangsta and then was auto-tuned, radio stations appalled listeners with the sugar pop of boy/girl bands.
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Which Side Are You On by Ani DiFranco
01/20/2012
Twenty-two years, four presidents, three wars, one global financial meltdown and one less Soviet Socialist Republic—there are many ways to mark the passage of time since the first Bush administration, but why not go with 17? That is the number of studio albums released by Ani DiFranco since 1990, a staggering rate that has brought us some of the cleverest turns of phrase in music of the last quarter century.
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Let’s Go Eat The Factory by Guided by Voices
01/14/2012
Customarily, when a band wraps up a farewell tour, fans expect not to hear anything from them again; however, this is not the case when it comes to Guided by Voices' creative mastermind, Robert Pollard.
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Undun by The Roots
12/20/2011
Today, success in hip-hop is identified by a few years on the scene and a couple of well-known albums. For The Roots, it’s taken decades of shaping their craft, multiple top-selling albums, numerous changes in band mates and the opportunity to be a mainstay on late night television.
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El Camino by The Black Keys
12/12/2011
The Black Keys do one thing exceedingly well, and just like you don’t go to Waffle House for the sirloin, you should not listen to any of their records for politically insightful lyrics, instrumental virtuosity, or some grand response to pop culture.
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Whatever by Hot Chelle Rae
12/02/2011
It’s been a long time since the Billboard Hot 100 has been invaded by a band that could draw out a single vowel with the optimism of a fourteen-year-old girl plucked out of the audience to go backstage after a Taylor Swift concert.
