The recent inexplicable emo revival has reminded us that there was a lot wrong with music in the early-aughts. But for every band like Simple Plan and New Found Glory, aimed at heartbroken teens clutching lyric journals filled with 7th grade poetry, there were far better bands that knew how to write solid, complex songs of angst and confusion that never really got the accolades they truly deserved – bands…
Unless you were an Indie Rock geek in the ‘90s, obsessed with chasing down the obscure non-commercial bands that could only be found in photocopied zines, you likely have never heard of guitarist Jon Fine. That doesn’t matter; co-founding and playing with Bitch Magnet, Vineland and a handful of other somewhat obscure indie noise bands, Fine is in a unique position so many decades later to tell about what it…
CBGB’s may be dead and gone – the storied club now a John Varvatos high-end fashion boutique – but thanks to the Masters Live series MVD Audio puts out, the grit, noise and spirit of the tiny rock club inspired, continues into another decade. The latest from this series, on vinyl for the first time, comes from the LA metal band Terror and New York Hardcore group H2O.
While the band and label are still opting to describe Bunnygrunt as “Cuddlecore,” I think Power Pop does just fine here as a descriptor. The latest from the St. Louis band, Vol. 4, their sixth album, is brimming with infectiously addictive songs that span anywhere from one-to- seven minutes, but the band really excels when focusing on three-minute sing-alongs like “The Book That I Wrote” and “Frankie is a Killer,”…
It’s been 23 years and 10 records since The Real McKenzies first start out, so there are no surprises here; at this point you know what you’re getting with these Scotch/Canadian punk rockers. It’s been three years since their last record and with another lineup change, but the band still sounds just as solid as they did with their 1995 debut.
The first studio album from New York’s Whitewash is so steeped in hipster cred that of course they had to issue it on cassette tape. Despite that eye-roll inducing move (no one should put an album out on tape in 2015, I don’t care how retro you think you are), the band actually has a powerfully impressive sound to fall back on.
Michael Douglas, long past leading man status, is finding a great second act playing the villain. Beyond the Reach is one of his creepiest turns yet as the bad guy.
When NBC rolled out Welcome to Sweden last March there was little fanfare and little notice from TV critics at the time. Which is a shame, because the series, created and starring Greg Poehler (bother to Amy), is a solid, impressively creative series.
Willie and Merle are no strangers to sharing the recording studio. There was the 1983 Outlaw Country classic Poncho & Lefty, the decent follow up, 1987’s Seashores of Old Mexico and the duo brought in Ray Price for 2007’s Last of the Breed. But Django And Jimmy, (named after the duo’s heroes Django Reinhardt and Jimmie Rodgers) is the twosome’s strongest album since that first, fortuitous record.
The protagonist in first-time novelist Andy Abramowitz’s Thank You, Goodnight has quite a bit in common with his creator. Both men are lawyers in Philadelphia that have seemingly put left their time as musicians in the distant past. The big difference here is that Teddy Tremble, the fictional character, decides to get the band back together, while Abramowitz is using his spare time to launch a new career as a…
I think if you told Appetite for Destruction-era Duff McKagan that one day he’d be a best-selling author, columnist and writing another book offering life advice he’d choke on his Jack Daniels.
Season two of this British import managed to up the tension for the second go-round of this crime drama centering on the murder of an 11-year old boy found on the beach of this small town. The second season focuses on the trial of the alleged murderer – the husband of one of the investigators and a family friend.
The world is crammed with one-hit wonders that justifiably deserve that title; The Knack are not one of those bands. While technically “My Sharona” is their only real “hit,” they continued to churn out one great album after another years after that 1979 radio staple, but frustratingly were never able to make it back up the sales charts again. Thankfully, the Power Pop archeologists at Omnivore Recordings are re-releasing the band’s final…
It’s a little surprising to hear that Faith Healer is actually the alias for Canadian folkie Jessica Jalbert. Her first solo album, Cosmic Troubles is under this new moniker, while still having a softness thanks to Jalbert’s light as air vocals, is complimented nicely with a strong psychedelic pop vibe.
Simple Minds’ sixth studio album, Sparkle in the Rain, was released in 1984, a full year before the band would permanently be wedded to The Breakfast Club movie, a feat that defines the band in the country to this day. But the album was still an impressive collection on its own.
D.C.’s Mittenfields have been pretty under the radar since the release of their 2011 EP, The Fresh Sum, but rather than just taking it easy, it seems the five-piece have spent the time evolving their sound from simple indie rock, drawing in influences like shoegaze and noise pop. The result can be heard all throughout their solid debut full length, Optimists.
The self-titled album from Birds of Night marks their third full-length in four years, a pretty impressive feat for the label-less Denton, Texas four-piece that show DIY is still alive and well.
This unassuming relationship comedy from novice writer/director Susanna Fogel could have gone either way, but thanks to a perfectly cast Gillian Jacobs (Community) and Leighton Meester (Gossip Girl) as the co-leads, she ended up with a charming, if light, take on best friends navigating relationships in their late 20’s.
Now that Network TV has completely given up on creating compelling, original dramas, cable channels of every variety are filling the void. WGN America is behind the impressive period drama Manhattan, building a wildly compelling series around the semi-true/semi-fictional take on the building of the Atom Bomb.
Matthew O’Neill spent a lot of times in the woods, first as a kid growing up in Pennsylvania and then in his late teens and twenties living in national forests. That isolated feeling is all over Campfire Cook, O’Neill’s latest record. The fact that it was recorded in a cabin, deep in the woods, just adds to the outdoors vibe.