For the love of music
It is one thing to create an inherently creative progressive metal album, but it is another thing completely to do it well. Philadelphia’s Heikousen have recently signed to heavy metal frontrunner Translation Loss Records and teamed up with Bury Your Dead producer Vince Ratti to wield a punishingly clean debut album Parallels, which was released … [Read more...]
Ah, the curse of the sophomore album. Performers, critics, and fans alike are all keenly aware of the pressure that often plagues musicians with the follow-up to an inspired debut. Apply too much creative zeal in your chrysalis, and you’re likely to be flogged by listeners for circumvention - those who fell for MGMT’s surging synthpop on … [Read more...]
Anyone even partially invested in the emo boom at the turn of the century is likely to recall onelinedrawing, the given handle for scene godfather Jonah Matranga’s acoustic rock solo project. Armed with a 6-string, a decade’s worth of intensely personal songs and some programmed drum loops, Matranga’s output under the onelinedrawing alias … [Read more...]
Not being the sort of guy who immediately warms up to the sometimes convoluted and frequently ludicrous narratives of post-hardcore outfit Coheed and Cambria, I was a little tentative in approaching the post-apocalyptic storyline that accompanies Folklore’s third record, Home Church Road. Concept albums and obsessively detailed imagery in music … [Read more...]
Philadelphia has a storied past, but in terms of pop culture, the most frequently visited topics are probably Rocky, The Fresh Prince, and those irresistible hoagies. If Christina McGeehan – a.k.a. Christina Ryat, a.k.a. Ryat - has a say in the matter though, you might also add electropop to the City of Brotherly Love’s accolades. Were you … [Read more...]
On a steamy August night I found myself walking into the Starlight Ballroom afire in anticipation of the first Boris appearance in Philly in two years, as well as my first opportunity to see Russian Circles. Not to leave Disappearer out, I just wasn't at all familiar with the band and what they did. That being said, let me get to the meat of this … [Read more...]
"MONGREL MIX is a dynamic and innovative act which draws inspiration from a wide variety of American music genres. Performing contemporary Rock and R&B, Mongrel Mix engages audiences with a fusion of Blues, Rock, Latin, Jazz, and Funk with Afro-Cuban rhythms. Our music is intensely passionate and ranges from acoustic folk tales to angular … [Read more...]
On the 15th February Thrill Jockey will release Luck in the Valley by Jack Rose. Rose, who passed away suddenly at home in Philadelphia on December 5 at the all too young age of 38, was a masterful guitarist, who was considered instrumental in bringing ragtime into the modern era and transforming it into something that was both referential and … [Read more...]
Not being at all familiar with the separate work of Guignol or Mischief Brew, the bands' collaborative release Fight Dirty strikes me as an album recorded by just one, incredibly cohesive band. I'll further admit to not being at all familiar with the members of Guignol's other bands (The Hold Steady, World/Inferno Friendship Society, Antony & … [Read more...]
When this 7" found its way on to my turntable I was burnt out on listening to too many scrappy punk records. When I saw that Everyone Everywhere is a Philly band, I had to make it my next selection for the afternoon. I didn't want to hear any more punk, and this hometown band definitely delivered on that front. The group plays what I would … [Read more...]