“In the spring of ’27, something bright and alien flashed across the sky. A young Minnesotan who seemed to have nothing to do with his generation did a heroic thing, and for a moment people set down their glasses in country clubs and speakeasies and thought their old best dreams.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Nordic Simon and Garfunkle have done it again. After the Kings of Convenience released Quiet is the New Loud in 2001, the purported “New Acoustic Movement” began. The album became an instant success, and after 3 years of tours, remixes and contributions, singer/songwriters Eirik Glambek Boe and Erland Oye have released another album: Riot […]
I burn, I pine, I perish! Wait, actually I do none of these things while listening to the latest release by (Insert City Name Here)-based duo Jim Saunders and Chris Farrell, The Social Side of Midnight. Collectively known as Pushcar, these two pseudo-rockers don’t really do enough of anything to make a less-than abhorrent record. […]
When a press release uses the word “emotive,” you know what you’re in for. Those first three letters that have taken on such a life of their own–either making you cry happy tears (because really, isn’t that what emo kids do?) or making you want to run the other way.
I’ll be the first to admit that most female singers and songwriters drive me nuts because there’s just something about overtly female vocalists that makes it hard to sit through an entire album. For some innate reason, I just would rather listen to a guy sing, which is why I kept imagining I was going […]
Like a daydream pool with a reality filter, Bedroom Walls’ debut album, I Saw You Coming Back to Me, is chock full of hazy guitar, dreamy keyboards, and crackling vocals that are just what you need when you want to read existentialist literature or, say, write a love letter. Essentially, you could listen to it […]
Matt Shelton – vocalsTimothy Cordova – guitarsDustin Lovelis – guitarsKyle Duckworth – bassPaul Remund – drums Since forming in 2002, Letter Kills has managed to sign onto Island Records and swing two straight years performing in the Van’s Warped Tour—all without even releasing an album. They do have one, however, entitled The Bridge which is […]
Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness the atypical union of timeless ballad crooning and philharmonic orchestration. Should anyone object to the marriage of these two beings, speak now or forever hold your peace. I wouldn’t say that I object to The Dirty Projectors newest album, Slaves’ Graves and Ballads, but as a […]
In the tradition of slow, dark, and wonderfully melodious music, Molasses has crafted an album that fits their name only too perfectly. On their fourth release, Trouble at Jinx Hotel, (on alien8 recordings; www.alien8recordings.com), this Montréal ensemble creates a sonically enchanting masterpiece full of whispery vocals and steel harmonies that drip with images of sipping […]
I am starting to think that there must be an unwritten rule in the punk-nouveau by-laws stating that every lead singer must sound thin and scrappy with a voice that projects like a nasal laser beam. Down to Earth Approach is no exception to the rule, whose lead singer Jonathan Lullo gives Chris Conley a […]
