CD Review: Manchester Orchestra — Mean Everything to Nothing

CD Review: Manchester Orchestra — Mean Everything to Nothing

Manchester OrchestraMean Everything to NothingFavorite Gentlemen BREAKING NEWS: Atlanta is no longer the Home of Hip-Hop. Manchester Orchestra (Andy Hull on vocals, guitar, Jonathan Corley on bass, Jeremiah Edmond on drums, Chris Freeman on keyboard, Robert McDowell on guitar) has put Atlanta’s indie-rock scene on the map as a force to be reckoned with. The […]

CD Review: Telepathe — Dance Mother

CD Review: Telepathe — Dance Mother

Telepathe Dance Mother Iamsound Records By Stephanie Roman Dance Mother is the debut full-length CD from Brooklyn-based electronic duo Telepathe. The first track, "So Fine," is driving piece of electro pop that cleverly draws the listener in with gorgeous tone and a perfect mix. Put this in your ear next time you're gliding through France on the Eurostar for […]

Live Review: Ladytron & The Faint SOLD OUT show at Variety Playhouse, April 18

Live Review: Ladytron & The Faint SOLD OUT show at Variety Playhouse, April 18

By Stephanie Roman A late-night audience from the Criminal Records' in-store performances this evening spilled out into the streets of Little Five Points to enjoy the cool air and investigate The Faint and Ladytron show. A substantial crowd had gathered outside Variety Playhouse by the time we reached the door. Small groups of fans murmured their frustration as the words "sold out" filtered down […]

CD Review: Jill Sobule — California Years

CD Review: Jill Sobule — California Years

Jill SobuleCalifornia YearsPinko Records By Al Kaufman You know Jill Sobule. You know her as the woman who sang the 1995 hit, "I Kissed a Girl," which included a video starring Fabio. Her name popped up again lately when Katy Perry recorded a completely different, and ultimately inferior, song with the same title.  Sobule has […]

CD Review: Gliss — Devotion Implosion

CD Review: Gliss — Devotion Implosion

Gliss Devotion Implosion Cordless Recordings By Eileen Tilson Gliss is a Kate Moss biographical soundtrack; a beautiful mess caught between drugs and rock and roll; Gliss is the music you listen to in the wee hours of the morning after partying in the underbelly of a city, and are coming off a great high.

CD Review: The HEAP — Deluxe

CD Review: The HEAP — Deluxe

The HEAP Deluxe By Samantha A. Parvin Close your eyes and listen to the first track, “One of Those Days,” from The HEAP’s debut studio album, Deluxe. I can imagine bodies jammin’ out at a gig on the festival circuit on a hot yet windy March afternoon, noodling to the funky beats of this eight-man […]

CD Review: The Coathangers — Scramble

CD Review: The Coathangers — Scramble

The Coathangers Scramble Suicide Squeeze Records By Samantha A. Parvin The Atlanta all-female quartet, The Coathangers, presents their latest and second full-length album Scramble with great enthusiasm. Their style showcases several characteristics of African and early American roots music (and ultimately blues, rhythm and blues, pop, hip-hop and rap genres), such as call-and-response, syncopated rhythms, […]

CD Review: Pomegranates — Everybody, Come Outside!

CD Review: Pomegranates — Everybody, Come Outside!

PomegranatesEverybody Come OutsideLujo Records By Al Kaufman The Pomegranates, from Cincinnati, have that same indie-pop exuberance that caused the media to fawn all over Clap Your Hands Say Yeah a few years back. Much like Clap Your Hands, Pomegranates clearly draw heavily upon their early Talking Heads and New Order albums. Everybody, Come Outside! is […]

CD Review: Dan Deacon — Bromst

CD Review: Dan Deacon — Bromst

Dan DeaconBromstCarpark Records By Ben Grad It's hard to see Dan Deacon's newest album, Bromst, as anything more than a collection of excellent (but similar) songs. By track four of Bromst, “Snookered,” Dan Deacon has established the pattern he'll use throughout the album: about a minute of minimalist noise buildup (in “Snookered,” a jumble of […]

CD Review: Alice Peacock — Love Remains

CD Review: Alice Peacock — Love Remains

Alice PeacockLove RemainsRocket Science/Adrenaline By Al Kaufman After 2005's introspective and piano-laden Who I Am, Alice Peacock moved to Nashville from Chicago and reinvented herself as a country girl with rock tendencies. There's plenty of twang on Love Remains. And there's plenty of Peacock's vocals. Strong, sexy and soulful sum them up quite well, but […]

CD Review: Chris Knight — Heart of Stone

CD Review: Chris Knight — Heart of Stone

Chris KnightHeart of StoneDrifter's Church By Al Kaufman Chris Knight should be doing Chevy Truck commercials. He's that type of guy. He's one of those straight ahead Americana type of singers; a little too country for rock radio, and way too rock for country radio. He falls into the cracks where Steve Earle and James […]

Live Review: Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus 3 @ Variety Playhouse, April 7

Live Review: Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus 3 @ Variety Playhouse, April 7

By Scott Roberts; photos by Sue Volkert From the familiar beginning arpeggiated chords of show opener “I Often Dream of Trains” to the slightly shambolic ending of final encore “Listening to the Higsons” with its familiar sing-along “wo-wo” refrain (and guest star Mike Mills joining in on guitar), Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3 delivered […]

CD Review: Alligators — Piggy & Cups

CD Review: Alligators — Piggy & Cups

Alligators Piggy & Cups Appplehouse Records By Julia Reidy Washington State quintet Alligators’ name might be misleading. While possessing musical chops as sharp as the namesake reptiles’ teeth, the sounds they create wholly lack the suggested spiny skin and claws. Their national debut, the puzzlingly named Piggy & Cups, is pop as immaculately clean as […]