Radiation City Animals in the Median Tender Loving Empire By Al Kaufman On their sophomore record, Animals in the Median, Radiation City has done the near impossible. They have made electronic music sound warm and soulful. The five-piece (three boys, two girls) indie band out of Portland, Oregon has created an album full of rhythmic [...]
The David Mayfield Parade Good Man Down Beautywood Records By Al Kaufman With crystalline vocals reminiscent of a young James Taylor, it would be easy for David Mayfield to write adult contemporary songs and have middle-aged women swoon over him for the rest of his life, but Mayfield isn’t that type of guy. He spent [...]
Review by Ellen Eldridge Black Out the Sun is the ninth release by Atlanta natives Sevendust since 1997; this release also marks the first time the band has taken more than two years to release an album as Cold Day Memory came out in 2010. The guys must have taken the extra year to nail [...]
Review by Ellen Eldridge The word Intronaut makes me think of a spacesuit-clad band destined only to open for bigger bands, spiraling out musically while standing still on stage. After listening to Habitual Levitations, I feel quite certain that Intronaut will break out of its well-earned slot opening for bands including Tool and Meshuggah. Maybe [...]
Sol Driven Train Underdog By Al Kaufman Sol Driven Train is made up of a bunch of happy guys from Charleston, SC who love making music and probably listened to a lot of Jimmy Buffett as kids. Their songs consist of loose, rootsy melodies infused with horns. They sing carefree songs about the glories of [...]
Review by Ellen Eldridge The cover art for Holy Fire stands out like a battle call for a new British invasion. The third Foals album follows two gold releases and solidifies the group in a similar fashion to a small business that outlives its first few years. Truth be told, I haven’t heard the band’s [...]
Tegan & Sara Heartthrob Warner Brothers By Al Kaufman The indie pop darlings have discovered the ‘80s. The goal of the seventh album for the Canadian twin sisters was to write a batch of fun ‘80s synth-pop love songs, but add an undertone of darkness. They succeeded. Ditching their producer from the last two albums, [...]
Review by Ellen Eldridge The Coldest Weather debut introduces The Romans as empathetic to indie rock while immersed in influences from wider sources. Atlanta acts as a melting pot for music; so many genres and influences inspire the music from our city’s bands and The Romans belly up to the bar bringing a warm nostalgic [...]
Ben Folds Five The Sound of the Life of the Mind Legacy By Al Kaufman It’s been 13 years since the last Ben Folds Five album, The rather lackluster The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner. In the intervening years, Folds has cobbled together a rather successful solo career, including the brilliant Lonely Avenue, a collaboration [...]
Review by Ellen Eldridge A strong well-spoken woman with a curse word for a middle name stands out as a woman I want to love. I’ll admit that I never heard The Dresden Dolls; my first introduction to Amanda Palmer came from her cover of Nirvana’s “Polly,” and my intense curiosity grew out of the [...]
By Ellen Eldridge The chanted beginning of Matisyahu signals a fresh and inspiring take on rock-reggae. The significance of the album title, Spark Seeker, presents itself in the line, “These lies have got me tired; I’m free-falling, I’m done stalling,” that references the idea that music made inspires despite the music maker’s own struggle for [...]
Everest Ownerless ATO Records By Al Kaufman Success in the rock world is a crap shoot. For every Coldplay and Linkin Park that make it big, there are thousands of bands that have more talent but never make it. Is Everest a great rock band? No, but they’re just as good as any of these [...]
Langhorne Slim & the Law The Way We Move Ramseur Records By Al Kaufman “Lord, release my wild soul,” Langhorne Slim pleads on the acoustic ballad “Wild Soul.” It is safe to say that the Lord has answered his prayers. While his most recent home is Portland, Oregon, Slim and the band have [...]
Simone Felice Simone Felice Team Love Records By Al Kaufman Simone Felice, drummer and singer the Catskill folkies Felice Brothers, and founder of the folk-soul outfit, The Duke and the King, branches out on his own in this warm, hushed solo debut. Felice possesses a sweet, haunting voice. He puts it to use right away [...]
The Bright Light Social Hour New Year’s Live self-release By Al Kaufman Austin, Texas has more than earned its reputation as The Live Music Capital of the World. So when a band takes an unprecedented six trophies from last year’s Austin Music Awards, they must be onto something. The fact is, Bright Light Social Hour [...]
Live Review & Picture Book: Ben Deignan and Special Guests @ Eddie’s Attic 5/23
Review by: Molly Free I couldn’t think of a better way to kick off my Memorial Day weekend than cozying up in my favorite corner table at Eddie’s Attic for their Songwriter Series featuring my good and mucho talented friend, Ben Deignan with his special guests Jessica Cayne and Scotty Cram. I have seen this [...]
Picture Book & Live Review: Paramore @ The Tabernacle May 21st
Photos and review by Jenna Hughes Paramore returned to Atlanta on May 21 at the Tabernacle, closing out the North American portion of the tour supporting their new self-titled album. The band released Paramore in January of this year and it debuted at #1 on the charts, proving to naysayers that the band has staying [...]
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 [...]
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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