Pairing Black Lips with Mark Ronson was a stroke of genius: the English musician/DJ/producer has a retro sensibility that perfectly matches the Atlanta band’s rollicking garage-rock sound.
Ronson produced all but two tracks on Black Lips’ latest, “Arabia Mountain” (out June 7 on Vice). It’s a loose-jointed blast of old-school rock ’n’ roll, piled high [...]
June 1, 2011 at 8:00 am | Share |
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Turns out shoe-gaze and electro have quite a bit in common on the latest from Miracle Fortress.
May 20, 2011 at 1:29 pm | Share |
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Just about any topic is fair game for a concept album: a deaf, dumb, blind pinball wizard; gullible Americans in the age of media saturation; a wall symbolizing alienation — the list goes on. Southeast Engine takes a historical approach on its new concept record, “Canary” (Misra), an 11-song cycle following one Appalachian family through [...]
April 25, 2011 at 8:00 am | Share |
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We are exceedingly pleased to present, streaming in its entirety, “Human Hearts,” the latest album from Maritime.
The Milwaukee band’s fourth LP, and first for Dangerbird, is an urgent album bursting with hooky melodies and vivid, vibrant guitars sweeping through (mostly) compact tunes. There’s an epic quality to songs like “Paraphernalia” and “Out Numbering,” and a [...]
April 4, 2011 at 6:00 am | Share |
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Swedish band The Bell is making music in a way that wasn’t even possible until fairly recently. The trio, split between Stockholm and the southern city of Malmo, made its second album by collaborating on digital files almost entirely over e-mail and Skype.
Though the press notes describe tantrums during the task of sequencing the record, [...]
April 1, 2011 at 8:30 am | Share |
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It’s catchy, trashy and from Milwaukee: it’s “Mess Around” from Trent Fox & the Tenants, a jaunty quartet of garage-rockers and operators of the basement venue The Vault.
The song — lean, serrated and a little dangerous, with an infectious yeah-yeah-yeah refrain — is the title track (and opening number) from a new five-song 7-inch EP, [...]
February 11, 2011 at 1:04 pm | Share |
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Nicole Atkins says “Mondo Amore” is “the record I’ve been wanting to make since I was 12,” and you can see why: her second album is a collection of vivid, soulful songs showcasing Atkins’ powerful voice.
The songs have a growling blues-noir feel that sounds the way the photo above looks, with rollicking arrangements pushed as [...]
February 8, 2011 at 11:42 am | Share |
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The Smith Westerns recorded their 2009 self-titled debut in guitarist Max Kakacek’s basement, and by the sound of it, they set up the microphones somewhere near the top of the stairs. Muffled and distorted, the album recalled ’60s garage and ’70s glam, even as the then-teenage Westerns clung fast to their generation’s prevailing lo-fi indie-rock [...]
January 18, 2011 at 8:30 am | Share |
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Working on the theory that recording in different places helps keep things fresh, British Sea Power made its latest album, “Valhalla Dancehall” (Rough Trade), in a rustic farmhouse in the English countryside.
Still sounds like British Sea Power, though, on lush, deeply textured songs that build skyward. There’s a sweeping, cinematic scope here, abetted by epic [...]
January 12, 2011 at 2:13 pm | Share |
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You can talk all you want about how Weekend is ripping off My Bloody Valentine and the Jesus and Mary Chain, but unless you really shout, the San Francisco trio isn’t likely to hear you.
That’s because on “Sports” (Slumberland), its relentlessly noisy debut, the band turns the reverb loud and fuzz even louder, using these [...]
November 22, 2010 at 8:30 am | Share |
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