The EmptiesThe Empties Slush Fund Records By Eileen Tilson There must be something in the water of Athens. It draws musicians in like the Pied Piper, giving them the belief that maybe one day Micheal Stipe or John Bell is going to walk into Tasty World on the night you are playing and decided to […]
By Scott Roberts; photo by Sue Volkert During the initial heyday of Athens music back in the early to middle 1980s, most of that city’s bands were purveying either a sort of quirky, danceable artsiness (Pylon, Love Tractor, Method Actors) or a folk-fueled, Southern jangle-pop (REM, Buzz of Delight, Art in the Dark). One band, […]
Regina SpektorFarSire By Al Kaufman Regina Spektor is a poet. As such, she has license to be nonsensical and downright weird if she so desires. She can talk about making a "computer out of macaroni pieces," or boldly state that "blue is the most human color." But she can also utilize beautiful metaphor. When she […]
Little Boots Illuminations Elektra By Leila Regan-Porter British people (disclaimer – I am one) have no problem with hailing a pop princess as leader of the future of great music. We've gushed over Robbie Williams, Sugarbabes, Duffy and Sophie Ellis Bextor in the same sentence as Coldplay, Razorlight, Amy Winehouse and Jamiroquai. We birthed the […]
CitifiedAbsenceeskimo kiss records By Eileen Tilson The Five Physiological Methods of Perception are used by the human body to mentally grasp something outside of our bodies. These senses: Sight, Touch, Smell, Hear and Taste, have been repeated to us since childhood as the tools needed to fully comprehend the world around us. On the EP […]
By Scott Roberts; photos By Sue Volkert Any trepidation I had about seeing a legendary L.A. punk rock band whose members are in their mid-50s (at least!) playing 30-year-old songs was joyfully and powerfully obliterated approximately 10 seconds into the opening song of their set at Variety Playhouse on Saturday, June 13. All four original […]
Carley TanchonPeridot By Al Kaufman Carley Tanchon is one of those young women who is as fat in voice as she is lithe in body. There are plenty of pictures on the accompanying booklet of her exposing her long, limber arms. Just as there are plenty of moments on this album that allow her to […]
It’s Elephant’s Gets Along By Julia Reidy The danger latent in having a frontman with such a recognizable voice — in this case one with a crackling, blues-rock bent that bends and scoops from pitch to pitch — is that everything else will go unnoticed. But Brent Jay’s vocal performances, for Atlanta band It’s Elephant’s, […]
Broken Promise Keeper Ice Cold Pop By Scott Roberts In the recent movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, the wide-eyed, backwards-aging title character is asked about whether he’s too old to be working on a tugboat. “There’s no age limit,” he innocently replies, “as long as you can do the work.” I suppose the […]
The Morakestra Witness To Connection Stratking Records By Chris Homer On their sophomore album, Texas’ The Morakestra creates a record of hook-filled rock songs built around multiple soaring guitar riffs and the haunting vocals of Will Mora. The LP’s tracks range from the acoustic folk sound of “Angel” to the upbeat Franz Ferdinand-style rhythms of […]
Todd Snider The Excitement Plan Yep Roc Records By Noel Wurst I was 16 years old when Snider’s first album, Songs for the Daily Planet, came out. “Talkin’ Seattle Grunge Rock Blues” was a hidden track on it (remember how awesome hidden tracks were?) and it was the funniest thing I’d ever heard in my […]
Foma Inverness By Eileen Tilson Sitting right on the cusp between EP and LP at eight tracks and 25 minutes in length, Inverness is full of complexities in its design and build yet is very organic in its execution. Listing contributions from six musicians (Edward M. Burch, Chani Hawthorne, Jeffrey Schmidt, Hun Kim, Charith Premawardhana […]
Country Line StrangersHeartbreak Motel By Eileen Tilson Lead singer Matt Megrue needs to take up unfiltered Camels and Jeremiah Weed straight out of the bottle. His vocals are too smooth for the intentions of the band; in fact, his lyrics bring you to places you have definitely been… middle school dances, seedy bars and rural […]
Ben Folds Presents:University A Cappella!Epic By Al Kaufman Leave it to Ben Folds to make geek chic. A cappella music has been the butt of jokes on everything from The Office to Scrubs. But Ben Folds, who is not adverse to meeting cheese head on (the guy produced a William Shatner CD for crying out […]
Deleted Scenes Birdseed Shirt What Delicate Recordings By Ben Grad “Turn to Sand,” the first track from Deleted Scenes' Birdseed Shirt, is the best track on their new album. By itself, it's enough to make a listener very very eager to see their Star Bar show tonight. The Washington, DC-based band plays a (on first […]
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