CD Review: Casiotone for the Painfully Alone — Vs. Children and Advance Base Battery Life

CD Review: Casiotone for the Painfully Alone — Vs. Children and Advance Base Battery Life

Casiotone for the Painfully AloneVs. ChildrenandAdvance Base Battery LifeTomlab By Al Kaufman Chicago native and film school dropout Owen Ashworth and his Casio make up Casiotone for the Painfully Alone. It's a combination of a painfully flat voice with a lots of digital beeps and beats. On Vs. Children, Ashworth has grown warmer and more organic, […]

CD Review: Ear PWR  — Super Animal Brothers III

CD Review: Ear PWR — Super Animal Brothers III

Ear PWRSuper Animal Brothers IIICarpark Records By Al Kaufman Devin Booze and Sarah Reynolds, the duo that comprise Ear PWR, are so gosh darn cute you just want to pinch their cherubic little cheeks. Super Animal Brothers III is full of so many hyperactive, day-glo loops and beats it makes Gwen Stefani sound like Peter […]

Live Review: The National @ The Tabernacle, May 27

Live Review: The National @ The Tabernacle, May 27

By Julia Reidy It began with "Runaway." The nine-member incarnation of The National, complete with three horn players and a keyboardist, began the set with a new, mesmerizing, post–Boxer song. Poignant and compelling even on the first go-around, everyone listened with rapt attention. Then, like one communal exhale, guitarists Aaron and Bryce Dessner launched into […]

CD Review: Von Iva — Girls on Film

CD Review: Von Iva — Girls on Film

Von IvaGirls on FilmStickfigure RecordsBy Eileen Tilson Rumor has it that Von Iva, grandmother of Jillian Iva and the band’s namesake, was one of the most seductive snake-charmers of her time. She captivated her audience, mesmerizing them with her control of her body; Walking on stage in her short shorts and heels on Von Iva’s […]

Q&A with Cris Kirkwood of Meat Puppets — Playing The EARL June 16

Q&A with Cris Kirkwood of Meat Puppets — Playing The EARL June 16

By Samantha Parvin Meat Puppets, a band that has been around for nearly three decades and has experimented with most all musical genres under the sun, has just released yet another album, Sewn Together. Brothers Cris (bass) and Curt (vocals, lead guitar) Kirkwood, along with drummer Ted Marcus, began a tour to support the album […]

CD Review: Magic Wands — Magic Love & Dreams

CD Review: Magic Wands — Magic Love & Dreams

Magic WandsMagic Love & Dreams By Eileen Tilson With a name like Dexy Valentine, from the leader of a band called The Magic Wands, you are most likely to expect a scene out of a Hogwarts prom, and truth be told, you would not be that far off. With their four song EP, Magic Love […]

The Charlatans Coming to The Loft on October 5, Tickets Go on Sale Friday, May 29

The Charlatans Coming to The Loft on October 5, Tickets Go on Sale Friday, May 29

Ah, those baggy trousered, cagoule-wearing, northern British lads with bad bowl haircuts and an affinity for brilliant guitar-driven rock. If you have any knowledge of music from across the pond, then you probably know what we're talking about. From Oasis to the Verve, Cast to Shed Seven, and of course The Charlatans, these lads lef […]

CD Review: Elizabeth & the Catapult — Taller Children

CD Review: Elizabeth & the Catapult — Taller Children

Elizabeth & the Catapult Taller Children Verve Forecast Elizabeth & the Catapult's fearless leader Elizabeth Ziman has some serious credentials on her musical CV. Born and raised in Greenwich Village, she was introduced to music through classical piano, leading her to fall in love with composers like Debussy and Chopin, and discovered a talent that […]

CD Review: Wayne Hancock — Viper of Melody

CD Review: Wayne Hancock — Viper of Melody

Wayne HancockViper of MelodyBloodshot By Al Kaufman You won't hear Wayne Hancock on country radio. That's because Hancock is too country for today's country radio. Hancock is an unabashed throwback to the days of Jimmie Rodgers and Ernest Tubbs. This is old fashioned roadhouse, honky-tonk, country, with a yodel or two thrown in for good […]

CD Review: Nerd Parade — The Span of a Life

CD Review: Nerd Parade — The Span of a Life

Nerd ParadeThe Span of a Life By Alexandra Edwards Hearkening back to the days when the American South was inextricably tied to rock 'n' roll, Nerd Parade's The Span of a Life contains the kinds of big sounds and inventive daring that rock music should be about. The songs would, in fact, make the perfect […]

CD Review: Casper & the Cookies — Modern Silence

CD Review: Casper & the Cookies — Modern Silence

Casper & the Cookies Modern Silence HHBTM Records By Scott Roberts You might not expect “serious” music from a band called Casper& the Cookies. Even leader and principal Cookie Jason NeSmith comes across as ambivalent and almost apologetic about the name in the band’s press kit: “We thought of better names, but this one stuck […]

Corndogorama’s Initial Lineup Announced!

Corndogorama’s Initial Lineup Announced!

Thanks to our friends over at Ohmpark for the news that Corndogorama has announced its initial lineup – and it's looking like a scorcher! A Fight to the Death Attractive 80’s Women Batata Doce Bouldercrest Singing Group Can Can Club Awesome Cordero Dropsonic Electric Cycles Graboids Grinder Nova Hawks Hip to Death Jeffrey Butzer & […]

CD Review: David Berkeley — Strange Light

CD Review: David Berkeley — Strange Light

David Berkeley Strange Light Straw Man Music By Samantha Parvin It’s a shame that physical compact discs are going out of style, because David Berkeley’s third studio album, Strange Light, is beautifully packaged.  And luckily for him, the audible art matches its visual counterpart. David Gray meets Ryan Adams circa Demolition meets Gavin DeGraw’s country-insinuating […]

Q&A with Simon Illa for Mind for Music @ Velvet Underground, May 29

Q&A with Simon Illa for Mind for Music @ Velvet Underground, May 29

By Noel Wurst On May 29 at Hard Rock Café’s Velvet Underground, Atlanta’s own Leslie Fram is hosting a benefit for the Unbreakable Music Foundation (UMF), a charitable organization set up to “raise funds in order to put computer equipment and music software in schools for students with physical challenges.” Heralded multi-musical genre producer Simon […]