CD Review: Art Brut — Brilliant! Tragic!

Art Brut Brilliant! Tragic! Cooking Vinyl After years of being compared to other “Art Wave” artists such as Franz Ferdinand and Bloc Party, Art Brut have taken the genre to the next level. They’ve done so by creating an album more explosive and vibrate than any artist in their genre has ever done before. Brilliant! […]

CD Review: Hank III — Hillbilly Joker

Hank Williams III Hillbilly Joker Bruc/Sidewalk By Al Kaufman Hank III never had a good relationship with Curb Records. They thought they were signing a old-fashioned country singer that was more like his grandfather than his dad. What they got is a kid who likes punk and thrash metal more than anything else. The whole […]

Live Review: Phosphorescent at The EARL, May 8

Review and photo by Ashley Hizer My career as a freelance scribe was christened years ago by the arrival of The Weight of Flight, the sophomore EP by multi-instrumentalist Matthew Houck, under the tag Phosphorescent. The haunting neo-folk effort that grew on me put the Alabama-born but Athens-based act on my radar, and I’ve followed […]

Live Review & Picture Book: Fleet Foxes at The Tabernacle, May 14

By Scott Roberts; photos by Matthew Smith (www.shadowboxerphoto.com). Full gallery after the jump. Portland-based Fleet Foxes opened their show at the Tabernacle Saturday night with the wistful and melancholy instrumental “The Cascades” from their stunning new album Helplessness Blues, and set the tone for an evening of blissful and timeless songs that perfectly showcased the […]

CD Review: Crash Test Dummies — Oooh-La-La and Demo-Litions; Playing Smith’s Old Bar, May 22

Crash Test Dummies Oooh-La-La Deep Fried Records Crash Test Dummies Demo-Litions Cast-Off Recordings 1996-97 Deep Fried Records By Al Kaufman Back in 1993, Canada’s Crash Test Dummies, led by Brad Roberts — whose throaty bass-baritone sounded like he had washed down a hive of bees with a bottle of whiskey — released  their second CD, […]

Picture Book & Q&A: Coca-Cola Celebrates 125 years with Ryan Seacrest, Kelly Clarkson and more

By Eileen Tilson Did you know that “Coca-Cola” is the second most recognized word in the world? A company whose success is a direct result of their southern hospitality, gave the city of Atlanta and its Coca-Cola employees a most gracious “thank-you” last Saturday, by throwing Coke’s 125th birthday party in Centennial Olympic Park. Hosted […]

CD Review: Plain Jane Automobile — Your Tomorrow; Playing Vinyl, May 11

Plain Jane Automobile Your Tomorrow Self-Released By Ellen Eldridge In a style U2 fans will find familiar, Plain Jane Automobile begin again with album opener “You Were Only A Song,” which recounts sentimentality of the loss of a friend to war. Admittedly, vocalist/guitarist Duke Crider felt compelled to tell the stories of WWII heroes and […]