Broken Bells Broken Bells Sony By Micah McLain When Brian Burton (AKA Danger Mouse) and The Shins’ lead singer James Mercer announced their collaboration in 2009, fans of both artists were no doubt excited about the wide range of sonic possibilities. While both artists come from very different backgrounds, their trajectories have been moving closer […]
Review by Jhoni Jackson; photos by Matt Smith (www.shadowboxerphoto.com) It wasn’t just the rarity of a smoke-free show that displaced Thursday night at the EARL from regularity. Two of indie’s most hyped acts – Washed Out and Beach House – caused a dreamy transformation. Pom-poms were strung in abundant rows along the ceiling and exaggerated […]
Justin Currie The Great War Ryko By Al Kaufman You know Justin Currie. He was singer and songwriter behind Del Amitri, the ’90s Scottish pop-rock band that had a knack for playing instantly familiar tracks, such as “Always the Last to Know” and “Roll to Me;” songs that everyone knows, but nobody knows who sings […]
Plants and Animals La La Land Secret City Records By Chris Homer La La Land, the second album from Montreal trio Plants and Animals, marks a major shift in the band’s sound. While Plants and Animals’ 2008 debut, Parc Avenue, was anchored by quiet folk melodies interspersed with huge choir choruses, blasts of brass horns […]
Findlay Brown Love Will Find You Verve By Jim Simpson Looking like the love child of K.D. Lang and Morrissey — like that’d ever happen; maybe he’s Jesus, miracle birth and all — the young Brit has been touted as this century’s Roy Orbison, Truth be told, Findlay Brown sounds more like Nick Lowe crooning […]
Cinetrope Once I Ruled the World Zombino By Al Kaufman Cinetrope think big. The Atlanta band, whose name means “film music,” have created a concept album about a man-made plague that ends the world (turning people into zombies, of course), the guilt the creator of the plague goes through, and the creator’s ultimate redemption by inventing […]
Brett Harris Man Of Few Words By Leila Regan-Porter It’s been said before of amazing undiscovered gems, and we’re going to say it again: It is a wonder that Brett Harris is not a bona fide pop star. His tunes should be heard on every episode of “Bones,” every commercial for a Toyota Prius, at […]
Th’ Legendary Shack Shakers Agridustrial By Eileen Tilson Known for their ability to shake redneck country, punk, and hillbilly blues into a whiskey-infused shot of sin, Nashville-based Th’ Legendary Shack Shakers are back with their release of Agridustrial on their own Colonel Knowledge Records. The band comes back guns blazing with just a few changes […]
By Eileen Tilson; photos by Patricia Smith With the constant spinning of “Sweet Disposition” on the radio, it was not surprising to walk into The Loft on Friday, and hear the ticket girl proclaim that The Temper Trap‘s show was “officially” sold out. It was wall to wall people in the smoky Loft, as Danish […]
Jeff Beck Emotion and Commotion Atco By Al Kaufman Jeff Beck loves and respects the guitar too much to just hack out albums when he does not feel inspired. While other guitar legends, such as Eric Clapton or B.B. King, are content to rehash old material or team up with upstarts to put out new […]
Everybody Was In The French Resistance … Now! Fixin’ the Charts Vol. 1 By Jennifer Gibson Art Brut’s Eddie Argos and his girlfriend Dyan Valdes of The Blood Arm may have made one of the most intellectually-stimulating records in recent memory. Stimulating, that is, for music geeks. For everyone else, it’s just one of the […]
Evelyn Evelyn Evelyn Evelyn Eleven Records By Al Kaufman Thankfully, nobody on the planet flies their freak flag higher than Amanda Palmer, and even she needed to find a longer pole for her latest endeavor, Evelyn Evelyn; ukulele-playing conjoined twins who share “three legs, two arms, two hearts, three lungs, and a single liver.” Palmer, a […]
Review & photos by Micah McLain Janelle Monáe and the rest of the Wondaland Arts Society took over Smith’s Olde Bar this week in order to preview both halves of her soon-to-be-released album, The Archandroid. As soon as you stepped into the upstairs room at Smith’s for the second half preview on Tuesday night, you […]
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