Big Harp is the latest indie-rock husband-wife duo with a catchy sound on “Everybody Pays,” the free song from their forthcoming album.

August 8, 2011 at 12:20 pm | Share | No Comments »

“Understated” is not generally the first word that comes to mind in describing Alison Clancy, the singer/provocateur behind New York City group Electric Child, which gave an excellent demonstration of why this year at SXSW. Yet when she’s not getting banned from local clubs for kicking stuff over, or tending to her other gig as [...]

August 4, 2011 at 1:25 pm | Share | No Comments »

New Jersey indie trio Real Estate gives away a free song from its second LP, due in October.

July 13, 2011 at 9:41 am | Share | No Comments »

Cool: The Dex Romweber Duo next month releases a new album, “Is That You in the Blue?” Cooler: This time, it’s just the duo, blasting through 38 minutes of taut garage-surf-rockabilly ravers. The last release, “Ruins of Berlin,” featured some special guests, and while we liked the album — and fully understand how the presence [...]

June 23, 2011 at 2:56 pm | Share | No Comments »

Because there’s no such thing as too much Big Star, you should go here right now to stream the three-song “Live Tribute to Alex Chilton” EP, featuring John Davis, that came out today. No lie: the songs sound flat-out spectacular. Read more Big Star coverage here, here and here. Tweet

June 21, 2011 at 4:49 pm | Share | 3 Comments »

Divorce parties aren’t all that rare, though we suspect it’s a little less common when the couple in question co-hosts one. Yet that’s what Jack White and Karen Elson are doing: the couple Friday announced a shindig to celebrate their sixth anniversary “and upcoming divorce.” “We feel so fortunate for the time we have shared [...]

June 10, 2011 at 11:32 am | Share | No Comments »

First, Teen Girl Scientist Monthly is an outstanding band name. Think of the t-shirt possibilities! Second, Teen Girl Scientist Monthly is also a great band. Although the New York sextet doesn’t quite create the “completely new and entirely original sound” their PR promises (there seem to be a lot of facile Arcade Fire-meets-Black Lips comparisons), [...]

April 6, 2011 at 12:16 pm | Share | No Comments »

Post-rock is all about patience, as largely instrumental bands such as, say, Explosions in the Sky, take their time crafting soundscapes that unfold slowly into rapturous kaleidoscopes of sound. Broken Cities takes the patience thing a step further. Inspired by Radiohead’s “In Rainbows” model and by authors who release book chapters one at a time, [...]

February 22, 2011 at 3:08 pm | Share | 2 Comments »

New drummer, new label, new record (and sweet new duds, above): Vivian Girls return this spring with “Share the Joy,” the Brooklyn trio’s first album for Polyvinyl, and first with drummer Fiona Campbell (her predecessor left for Best Coast). The Girls describe the album as “cleaner and more hi-fi” and “more pyschedelic and less shoegaze,” [...]

February 1, 2011 at 8:00 am | Share | No Comments »

After foundering in recent years, Misra Records this week announced its relaunch, a new distribution deal with Chicago indie label Bloodshot and a free digital compilation of songs by artists who have called Misra home, Centro-matic, Great Lake Swimmers, Destroyer and Southeast Engine among them. Speaking of Southeast Engine, drummer Leo DeLuca heads the reconstituted [...]

January 20, 2011 at 8:30 am | Share | 3 Comments »