By Jhoni Jackson For Athens, Ga., outfit Koko Beware, the weather’s perpetually warm and sunny—the perfect climate for absolute cute to flourish. Laid-back surf nods spruce up the band’s otherwise sparse lo-fi indie-pop canvas, but not to excess. The unembellished palate tempers exclamations like, “You’re a beach babe!” Koko Beware is nonchalantly adorable in that [...]
By Jhoni Jackson Famed soul DJ Jonathan Toubin travels the states with his various dance parties, all of which are now fueled solely by vintage 45s—first pressings at that! Tomorrow night, Atlanta finally gets to play host to one of Toubin’s hip-shakin’ shindigs: the Soul Clap and Dance-Off. That’s right—there’s a dance competition. On the [...]
By Jhoni Jackson Maintaining ethereal ambiance in a pop-minded effort is a delicate affair. Local act Moodrings does it masterfully. Their sway-worthy, peppier tunes are lush and dreamy. Even the most sluggish, textural songs frontman William Fussell and company offer never fail to serve up a lovely melody, even if subtly embedded. Hear a selection [...]
By Jhoni Jackson The care with which Atlanta’s Sealions craft their synth-pop is supremely meticulous—a sonic time-warp to the darker days of ‘80s dance carefully embellished with modern trimmings. Each song is a perfect little pocket watch, a vintage timepiece cautiously comprised of parts as intricate and delicate as they are crucial: the subtle rolls [...]
By Jhoni Jackson New local act Brother Hawk offers more than a nod the good ole days of Southern rock. Led by J.B. Brisendine, the band reenergizes the genre in a way that straddles the sonic line between mainstream and indie. Lush and powerful blues-tinged instrumentation, complete with harmonica accents, back Brisendine’s pristine vocals on [...]
By Jhoni Jackson Atlanta’s Carnivores have been keeping busy all summer, wrapping up their third LP, Second Impulse, as well as snagging some coveted slots on the West Coast opening for Franz Ferdinand. The forthcoming LP promises to be their best, most mature and cohesive bout yet. But being the hardworking group they’ve proved themselves [...]
By Jhoni Jackson If all the garage-lovin’ power-poppers of today’s underground scene threw individual parties and you could only attend just one, I’d strongly suggest King Tuff’s shindig be your first choice. He’s not only one of the most consistently beloved pushers in the genre, but also seems to be having an exponentially more fun [...]
Questions via Codi Glancy; Intro by Jhoni Jackson Alongside the likes of Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth and Keith Morris of Black Flag, Mike Watt is one of the most elite players in what is considered the historical bedrock of indie rock, garage and punk. From his vital roles in the Minutemen, fIREHOSE and Dos to [...]
By Jhoni Jackson Confession: I discovered the wonderful world of R. Stevie Moore only a few years ago. Weirdo-pop virtuoso Ariel Pink was responsible—he cited him in some story I read. In my exploration of Moore’s enormous catalog, I never considered he’d play Atlanta. I didn’t think his work, which includes avant garde experimentalism to [...]
By Jhoni Jackson Garage-stomp is the choice term for the Blind Shake. The Minneapolis band employs it in press releases and on their website. There’s no use in arguing—they’re right. There’s no better way to describe them. But what’s that mean, anyway? It means the Minneapolis trio will incite thud after thud on the EARL’s [...]
By Jhoni Jackson Brisbane, Australia’s Slug Guts are a little frightening. The band’s third and latest LP, Playin’ in Time with the Deadbeat on Sacred Bones Records, is dark in spirit, a post-punk jaunt in the glorification of the grotesque. Freakish sax accents drums that echo as if recorded in a dungeon, and singer James Dalgleish—or [...]
Talk about tried and true: Atlanta’s Subsonics have been on the garage-punk grind since the early ‘90s. There have been some quiet years, sure, but they seem to have bumped the pace up to a trot since playing the Mess-Around last year, playing several shows after, including the Drive Invasion earlier this month. They’ve got [...]
By Jhoni Jackson Little 5 Fest has just added two hometown heavy hitters to its already massive lineup: Ponderosa and Reptar. Criminal Records will host both bands, both of which are set for later than the Little Five Points record store is typically open. Psych-tinged, Southern-rock rooted Ponderosa will play at 9:30 p.m., then eclectic [...]
By Jhoni Jackson There’s only one strictly local fest in Atlanta that dares to reach all points of the city’s vast spectrum of genres: Little 5 Fest, which goes down on Saturday, Sept. 29. The day-long event completely encompasses the eclectic neighborhood of Little Five Points, consuming venues like Aurora Coffee, the Clothing Warehouse, Tijuana [...]
By Jhoni Jackson Though they hail from the garage-punk hotbed of Nashville, Cheap Time is far more complex than that. Many of their genre counterparts are excellent bands in their own right, but oftentimes they rely more on attitude than musicianship. Jeffrey Novak, Cheap Time’s frontman, boasts both. Even through decidedly lo-fi recordings, the intricacy [...]
Interview: Imagine Dragons; Rocked Out @ Hangout Fest 5/19
After the last note played on the last song of a marathon set a few years ago, Dan Reynolds, frontman for Las Vegas based rockers Imagine Dragons, realized it was all starting to come together. Reynolds and his bandmates – guitarist Wayne Sermon, bassist Ben McKee, and drummer Daniel Platzman – independently released three EPs, [...]
Picture Book & Review: Party in the Park, 5/18
Photo Credit: CatMax Photography, LLC, Review by Gini Strobel If you couldn’t make it to Hangout Fest, like AMG’s Katie Caccavale, you still had your chance to see some of the awesome artists that played the popular beach festival. Back for year 2, Centennial Olympic Park packed in a sweet festival lineup for Party [...]
Picture Book: Avett Brothers @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater 5/17
Photos by: CatMax Photography, LLC
Picture Book: Clutch @ Center Stage
Pictures & Review By Deidra Pinion If you were coming to see Clutch at Center Stage, you probably noticed that almost, if not every seat, was filled. Clutch started touring in March 2013 in support of their new album, Earth Rocker. People of all ages lined the theater. I was told that I was in [...]
Picture Book: Titus Andronicus @ The EARL 5/14 & Criminal Records 5/15
Photos by Hillery Terenzi: So So Glos: Titus Andronicus: Criminal Records In-Store Performance:
Picture Book & Live Review: Justin Furstenfeld @ Center Stage 5/14
Photos and review by Jenna Hughes The atmosphere at Center Stage was quiet and calm on Tuesday night as fans eagerly awaited the stripped down solo performance of Justin Furstenfeld (of Blue October). The standing room floor was transformed into a seating area and those seats filled up fast with dedicated fans. Strangers chatted and [...]
5GB Interview: Shockwave Riderz; Playing with !!! @ The EARL 5/22
Shockwave Riderz are a three piece from Pittsburgh consisting of Phil Boyd, Sara Mac and !!! drummer Paul Quattrone who make fuzzy garage rock. The band started making music roughly a year ago, but they are already on a roll. They guys are starting a tour with !!! this week and were super stoked to [...]
5GB Interview: Cosmonauts; Playing 529 Thursday, May 16
By Jhoni Jackson Orange County outfit Cosmonauts boasts a blend of chaos and comedowns in their forever-fuzzy rock ‘n’ roll repertoire. Last year’s If You Wanna Die Then I Wanna Die (Burger Records) hits both amped-up, anxious highs and droning, lost-in-lament lows with equal intensity. Nailing an energetic, raucous jam like “Motorcycle #1” is a feat in [...]
5GB Interview w/ Twin Sister; Playing TONIGHT (5/15) @ 529
Twin Sister trade in a brand of dreamy pop that’s equal parts Galaxie 500, Tusk-era Fleetwood Mac, and Lynchian weirdness. They claim it will make you feel good enough to hook up with that one person you’re not supposed to hook up with. UH-OH! We caught up with the band before they hit the road [...]
5GB with Beth Hart – playing Smith’s Olde Bar Tuesday May 7
By Ellen Eldridge Beth Hart brought her life experiences, both positive and negative, together for her April 2 release, Bang Bang Boom Boom, which was produced by Kevin Shirley (Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, Joe Bonamassa, Jimmy Page/The Black Crowes, Dream Theater). The Kennedy Center Honors show-stopping performance of Jeff Beck and Beth Hart’s “I’d Rather Go Blind” [...]
5GB Interview: Telekinesis; Playing @ The Drunken Unicorn 5/4!
Telekinesis is Michael Benjamin Lerner, an indie rocker based out of Seattle who is currently signed to Merge Records. The band was signed to Merge Records in early 2009, and shortly afterward released the eponymously named debut album Telekinesis! on April 7, 2009. With the recent release of their third album, Dormarion, Telekinesis was ready [...]
5GB Interview w/ Device – Playing @ Center Stage 5/3!
By Ellen Eldridge David Draiman of Disturbed, and ex-Filter guitarist Geno Lenardo recently collaborated together to construct Device. The self-titled debut released April 9, taking strands from hard rock, industrial and electronica to form a focused, fierce and fiery new machine. It all started while the Grammy Award-nominated multiplatinum powerhouse Disturbed was on hiatus. Lenardo [...]
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