Canadian (though technically American) sibling act Heart is one of those bands that has always been around, or so it seems. Despite the changing fads and musical styles, they always manage to keep up without compromising their distinct sound. So much so, that when you start to calculate all of their hits over the past few decades (“Magic Man,” “Dreamboat Annie,” “Barracuda,” “These Dreams,” “Never,” “What About Love,” among many…
Dance wunderkinds Justice have just released a video for their latest single, “New Lands”. The track, which is based on the work of AC/DC, is matched perfectly with its video. They tapped the Spanish collective Canada for this one and the results are stunning. Check it out and pass it along: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DgAfs4FutI&feature=youtu.be From the band/Ed Banger: “First, there are tense bodies,…
In the mid 2000’s a young Johnny Solomon was a fixture in the tight knit Twin Cities music scene, forming the angular indie pop band Friends Like These and touring extensively, he received critical praise from far flung sources such as Time Out New York, the College Music Journal and numerous local articles and accolades, including a City Pages cover story that looked like the beginning of a promising…
Scattered among the soon-to-be forgotten one-hit wonder releases (Glass Tiger, Stacey Q.), the last grasp efforts by fading bands (Toto, Nazareth) and the first strains of hair metal (Cinderella and Bon Jovi), 1986 saw Paul Simon release his career-defining album, a record that easily is one of the best things musically to survive the 80’s: Graceland. Since splitting from Art Garfunkel 16 years earlier, Simon had settled into…
Bleed is an utterly expansive track that touches upon new age, rock, and pop genres. No matter what styles of music that you personally like, the approach taken by Putt will turn you into a fan. There is a maturity to each of the compositions that we have heard that far outstrip great deal of what is currently out on the market. This means that each side of the…
Katrin the Thrill is an act that is hard to categorize. The eclecticism of Evil Eye Charm is such that listeners will continue to find more to appreciate with each subsequent listen. The initial track on Evil Eye Charm is Losing, and it blends hints of “Creep”-era Radiohead with Sisters of Mercy. Perhaps most brilliant on this track would have to be the guitars that soar above the rest of…
Most of the “gay” identified artists really suck. Enterprising individuals go and understand that there is a lot of money from campus groups and private organizations if they identify themselves with a GLBT logo, so the quality of music by out musicians really suffers. That is, until Soce begins eir “The Lemonaide Incident” with “I Am (So Gay).” The boldness experienced with the rapping on this track is great;…
In the same vein as Leah Zicari and more established individuals like Fiona Apple and Ani DiFranco, Kelly Snyder seems to be on a stratosphere rise simply due to the style of music that eir puts on “Oxygen”. I mean honestly the Amos/DiFranco bunch will buy this up with a spoon, but is the disc honestly any good? Kelly has an ear for pop, and producer Charles Newman has…
The title track introduces listeners to who Snakes and Music is. I know I was not familiar with the band before that, and what one can expect from the band is a brand of indie rock that is safely nestled in a guitar fuzz and dreamy vocals. The style of the title track breaks slightly into a punk framework, so that Snakes and Music approach something closer to an…
The album starts out as a microcosm of sounds and styles to come; I believe that Fawn introduces themselves nicely to listeners. While the band is riding a wave of success after the release of “No Wave”, I feel that the rest of the cuts on this album are at least as strong as that cut. The eclectic approach of Fawn is the reason that can create hit after…
Lulling listeners into a false sense of security with the fairly calm opening to their first track on “Harpoon”, Philadelphia’s Snack Truck come forth with a musical assault that vacillates between FBTMOF and your typical indie-rock band. The mastering of “Harpoon” offers a clean slate for the band; the guitars are clean, being distorted just enough to make for a nice sound but not enough to crowd out the…
“Patty Hearst Syndrome” is one of the earliest tracks on Smoke or Fire’s “This Sinking Ship”, and this song makes me think of a more poppy blend of Strike Anywhere and Rise Against. This means that there is a punk type of tempo and bouncy beat, while there is a more emotional set of vocals that at times achieve the register of bands like Yellowcard. Even with a new…
All I have to say about this disc is wow. Imagine Queens of the Stone Age with a little harder sound, and you have a vague idea of what Smoke Follows Beauty sounds like. While the disc is continually plagued by weak-sounding vocals, the instrumentation is simply amazing. In fact, as I continued listening to the disc, I found it easier and easier to tune out the vocals and just…
Coming out with a sound that is reminiscent of the very first days of the 1990s on the West Coast, Smogtown really knows how to write a punk anthem. If it isn’t the Gilman sound of times back, some of these tracks would seem just as proper on a GBH or Exploited album – really, the songs are anthems enough to stand the test of time, and the mass…
Very few cover albums really work. Where it is common for an act to include a cover on an album or on a single, few individuals have the chops to really come out with an album that is just covers. While a person like Tori Amos creates beautiful original tracks, eir foray into a cover album (“Strange Little Girls”), ultimately ended in disappointment. Patti Smith is an individual that…
“Never Going To Kill Us” is perhaps the best beginning to any disc to come out this year; there are equal amounts of rock and punk mixed together that is imbued by The Smashup into something that is completely their own style. The three and a forth minutes of “Never Going To Kill Us” shows an AFI type sound, but one that looks equally to the earlier punk days…
“Her Fantasy,” the highly praised lead single––and dare we say summer anthem––gets a very fitting video treatment. Director Tommy O’Haver’s video for “Her Fantasy” takes us on a journey through bizarre sequences of debauchery and seduction with a hint of humor, as he pays homage to Avant Garde filmmaker Kenneth Anger in a self-described “mash-up”. Also, check out the Australian producer Tornado Wallace’s remix of said single. Beams is available…
Who are you and how long have you been active? Cedric Streeter aka C.E.D. (Cash Every Denomination) and I am CEO of Kaos Records, LLC. Been in business for roughly 6 years. What or who do you think will be big in the next year? Indie artists will dominate the industry next year, period. What’s your setup? How does a track move from initial thought to finished effort? The…
Dreamy indie-pop comes through on Smallspace’s disc, in the vein of The Flaming Lips, Grandaddy, and most of all “Kid A”-era Radiohead. However, it is during “Right Here” that Smallspace really begins to distance themselves from such an obvious tag; this is due to the electronic sound that burrows its way through the track. This version of electronic is not that type which is present in a number of…
Using a banjo to peddle eir wares, Josh Small makes for a very American and alternative look on what is traditionally folk music. Not subscribing to the elitist feel of a number of Devendra Banhart-related CDs, Josh Small has the feeling on eir first track “Pushing Boulders” of one of the dime-a-dozen acoustic guitarists. What is different for me is eir heavy use of profanity in eir tracks; instead…