The Kentucky HeadhuntersLive/Agora Ballroom — Cleveland, Ohio — May 13, 1990Mercury By Al Kaufman With all these terms out, such as "outlaw country," "renegade country," or the tamer "Americana," to describe country artists too original to be played on the ultra conservative (in format as well as politics) country radio stations, it's easy to forget […]
By Eileen Tilson If you haven’t heard of Alberta Cross yet, you will. Having recently played with Them Crooked Vultures (Dave Grohl, Josh Homme, and John Paul Jones) at Austin City Limits, the band is just at the start of their tour in support of their debut album, Broken Side of Time (which we reviewed […]
By Scott Roberts It’s not that often that you can truthfully tout a concert as a “Rare Event,” but tomorrow night’s performance by Jon Auer and Matt Brown at Eddie’s Attic actually deserves to be called just that. As half of the singing/songwriting members (along with Ken Stringfellow) of Seattle’s preeminent popsters The Posies, Auer […]
Jer CoonsSpeak By Al Kaufman Jer Coons missed his chance at becoming a national star when he slept through his audition for American Idol. But who knows how far he would have gone? After all, people with actual talent and songwriting skills don't generally win on that show. Jer Coons, at the tender age of […]
The Ettes Do You Want Power Take Root By Beverly Bryan The Ettes’ lovely minimalist name has come to signify lovely minimalist rock. There’s always been a touch of the blues and a lot of grit in their rock n’ roll and on Do You Want Power it has been produced to a high sheen. […]
Various AristsCiao My Shining Star: The Songs of Mark Mulcahy Mezzotint By Eileen Tilson Thom Yorke described Mark Mulcahy’s voice as the most beautiful he has ever heard, and Nick Hornby reflected that Mulcahy’s music was “only ever going to find its audience through word of mouth and recommendations by the like-minded.” To the average […]
Islands Vapours Anti- By Chris Homer Islands' third album Vapours marks a reunion for frontman Nick Diamond and collaborator Jamie Thompson, who has returned to the group after departing following the release of 2006’s Return to the Sea. Vapours showcases Diamond and Thompson’s work as collaborators. The album is packed with catchy synthesizer melodies and […]
By Eileen Tilson First off, congratulations on your success, there is such an incredible buzz about Those Darlins right now! How do you feel about all your recent success, such as being one of the "powerful female bands" in the Oprah magazine? That's huge! Thank you… We feel very grateful to have been so fortunate […]
As I sat to write this blog I was approached by a friend who asked me the question that I was going to write about in the first place. I get asked it all the time, probably once a day. I’m flying to Boston tomorrow to sit on a panel at the Boston Music Conference, […]
MuseThe Resistance Warner Brothers By Eileen Tilson The odds are fairly good that Matt Bellamy probably is not sleeping very well. Plagued with problems, real or imaginary, Bellamy’s world is filled with back alley government conspiracies and apocalyptic endings, which he so descriptively portrays in his Muse’s fifth studio album, The Resistance. Muse is declaring […]
Joshua James Build Me This Northplatte/Intelligent Noise By Scott Roberts Once in a while, an artist or an album bursts on the scene that seems absolutely destined to be huge, both in critical accolades and sales. Of course, there are always intangibles that come into play that inexplicably stop a CD or musician from […]
Rose Melberg Homemade Ship K Records By Scott Roberts In the mid- to late-1990s, Rose Melberg was one half (along with Jen Sbragia) of the duo The Softies, a band who carved out their own brand of delicate, melodic music — whisper-pop, if you will — employing only quiet electric guitars and goose-bump inducing harmonies […]
Whip ItSoundtrackRhino By Al Kaufman "This soundtrack is my mix tape for you," writes Drew Barrymore in the liner notes for the soundtrack for Whip It, the film she directed about an indie girl in Texas who falls in love with roller derby. This collection sounds like Drew Barrymore. It's got fun, attitude, feminism, sappy […]
Alberta Cross Broken Side of Time ATO Records By Eileen Tilson In 1931, Salvador Dali painted one of his most famous pieces, The Persistence of Memory; a painting that all the world is familiar with, it depicts melting clocks down by the ocean side. Many claim this was Dali’s way of depicting the irrelevance of […]
By Al Kaufman They're everywhere. Those people who like to say, "I saw REM in a small club before Chronic Town, before they even had a record contract." Music fandom is sometimes a competitive sport. It's important to be the first to notice somebody, to say that you saw someone before anyone else even knew […]
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