The Man From Another Place, The Loneliest Cowboy EP

By John Lane

There’s something a-brewing in Scotland, and aye, I believe it has the whiff of genius. (Macbeth, Scotland, witches reference—anyone? Bueller?)

The Man From Another Place (a.k.a. Dan Hirst) has proven himself to perhaps be the next incarnation of Burt Bacharach, providing five cinematic tunes on his debut EP that defy the listener to not daydream or soul-search. The title itself, The Loneliest Cowboy, hints at its instrumental-only air, suggesting a mute cowboy who wistfully ambles along with his ol’ horse and lets the music in his head do the talking while visualizing sweeping country vistas.
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The Dudes, Blood Guts Bruises Cuts

By Danny R. Phillips

In my younger years, Power Pop was a genre that I avoided it like the Black Plague or Herpes. As a long time advocate of the virtues of punk rock I could not allow myself to support music with such an identity crisis. Was it hard rock? Bubblegum? What? With a few exceptions, mainly Cheap Trick, The Cars, and the riff from “Jessie’s Girl,” it was not something I championed or even tolerated.

Then came the 1990s and with it came bands like Weezer and the exceptional songsmith Matthew Sweet, musicians who embraced the principles of power pop and drank fully of its long and storied past. Perhaps years had softened my barriers or I was now old enough to see that punk has its limits. Power Pop was no longer the enemy.
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I Found All The Parts, By Laura Faeth

By Less Lee Moore

In I Found All The Parts: Healing The Soul Through Rock ‘n’ Roll, we learn a lot about author Laura Faeth as we follow her on an important journey.
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What a Fun Trick: A Great Noisemaker!

By Matt Keeley

Photo © Adam Cantor

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.

At a show once, my best friend and I got to talk with Apples member Robert Schneider, and not only was he one of the happiest folks out there, he gave us a hug, one that HE initiated. That is really awesome.
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These New Puritans, Hidden

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.

Frontman and principal songwriter Jack Barnett dubs it a “hybrid,” which is a perfect description of the aggressive, synth-based songs his band couples with classical strings and woodwinds.
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Desktop EP

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.

But that’s exactly the position I found myself in. Having heard the EP hundreds of times now, I’m still at a loss to talk about it with adjectives other than “kick-ass,” “amazing,” and “awesome.”
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Embracing Pop: Throwback Suburbia

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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Neil Young, Dreamin’ Man Live ’92

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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Peter Project, Fresh EP

By Megashaun

Based on how much I loved and listened to Peter Project’s self-titled debut (reviewed in Popshifter ) I had some rather high expectations when I had heard he released a follow-up in the form of a bar of soap.
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Venus Bogardus, Spitting At The Glass

By Jemiah Jefferson

When does influence become imitation? When does homage become outright copying? These questions illuminate upon listening to this album, the third from UK-to-Santa Fe art rock transplants Venus Bogardus.
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