By Matt Keeley
The Apples in stereo are such a great band: shiny retropop that just makes you happy, even when the lyrics are depressing. It also seems that they’re nice folks.
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By Stuart Myerburg
Imagine Philip Glass recording a symphony with Nitzer Ebb, Nine Inch Nails, and Depeche Mode and you have some idea of the singularly daring sound created by These New Puritans on their second album, Hidden.
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By Megashaun
Desktop is a combination of the creative forces of two men: Keith Thompson (from Electric Six and Johnny Headband) and Zach Curd (from Suburban Sprawl Music’s The Pop Project). When I first discovered the act several months ago, it was mainly with the intention of reviewing their all-too-short debut EP. At only three songs in length, it can’t possibly be difficult to describe them adequately.
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By Jemiah Jefferson
The newest original-material release from Toronto’s ambassadors of brainy party rock shows the four members of Sloan further exploring their masterful sound with these five tracks, one from each member (with an additional track from the prolific Chris Murphy).
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By Christian Lipski
Backspace, Portland OR
February 16, 2010
Although they are from my home base of Portland Oregon, I first heard about Throwback Suburbia from Indiana resident Gidget Bates, a DJ for Woody Radio. They’re her favorite modern band, and they’re neighbors of mine, so I went to see them at local venue Backspace.
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By J Howell
Find out how to win a copy of Dreamin’ Man Live ‘92 at the end of this article! The contest has now ended.
In short: this record is achingly beautiful. Buy it.
It’s beyond the scope of this review to really go into why Neil Young is, well, Neil Young, and I’m not going to indulge in a long string of superlatives here.
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By J Howell
The moniker “Dex Romweber Duo” is a little misleading on Ruins of Berlin, a record by a band ostensibly consisting of former Flat Duo Jet Romweber and his sister Sara on drums. Ten of the 14 tracks feature at least one other person, though the final track is Dex solo.
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By Matt Keeley
The Gramercy Theatre, New York NY
February 13, 2010
After seeing POLYSICS for the first time in 2003, I said this:
POLYSICS are pretty much the best band in the universe. POLYSICS are way better than your favorite band. This holds true even if POLYSICS are your favorite band. They’re JUST THAT GOOD.
—Wikia Music, “POLYSICS OR DIE!!! POLYSICS”
By Christian Lipski
In every genre of art, there evolve solidified scenes, where well-defined rules force participants to toe the line and conform, even if the theme itself is nonconformity. And there are, logically, points when those scenes lose their power to enclose, and you suddenly begin to see variety where there once was only similarity. At this point, there are usually no existing words to define the new forms, except to identify what scene they were or are not a part of.
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By Chelsea Spear
In this day and age of bringing heroin to a court date and stripping on the red carpet, being the most endearing man in rock may seem kind of mundane. However, Elvis Perkins makes this underrated virtue an outstanding and distinguished asset.
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