For the love of music
Steadfast and willingly able to further his craft, Ty Segall returns with his third album of 2012, Twins. His first and only album of the year as a solo artist, it follows Slaughterhouse’s smashing success and Hair’s brilliant chemistry with sounds that are reliably Segall’s. And thank goodness really, Segall has been one of music’s most … [Read more...]
This was originally going to be a Top 3 list, but I couldn’t resist doing a Top 10 instead. Too much joy to spread around this year! 10. Meringue & Malice – “Christmas Covered in Candy” Leslie Dallion and Ryan Breegle, formerly the duo The Loligags (on Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records out of Athens, Georgia), are back as … [Read more...]
Admittedly, Ganglians’ third LP begins with a garish thud. An a cappella declaration that promptly begins the album with, “This is a sad, sad song for all you sad, sad people” is a tactic few bands could adequately execute with any semblance of grace. Luckily, however, this stain is quickly scoured with the first sounds of Ryan Grubbs’ … [Read more...]
I'd like to file this Portland quartet comfortably between progressive and sludge metal. Unfortunately, their sound is not that simple and it would be an injustice for me to label them as such. They are mesmerizing. With a slick, complex production and a swirling, psychedelic personality all their own, this overdriven, fuzzed out metal … [Read more...]
Since its genesis in 2002, Brooklyn-based collective Akron/Family has been lumped into the freak folk genre – essentially just another ambiguous tag used to categorize those with a jones for suffusing acoustic music with a touch of psychedelia and the avant-garde. By melding these two disparate tastes with a calculated desire to be evasive, … [Read more...]
Do you remember the immediate and palpable differences between Nirvana’s Nevermind and In Utero albums? Most critics – and fans, for that matter – will point to the production as the most prominent factor that distinguishes the lauded grunge band’s second and third albums. Nevermind boasted a glossy veneer and shimmer that, as it turned … [Read more...]
Back when Ty Segall travelled through El Paso, Royal Baths opened for them. There was much confusion when the promoter initially sent out a release stating that his would be a Segall/Baths show – which would mean that electronic artist, Baths, who’s album Cerulean is a terrific listen would be splitting the bill with Segall. Eventually, the … [Read more...]
Royal Forest are very much an indie rock band of the aughtie definition – meaning, they take a lot of songwriting tips from the heroes of the scene today; Iron & Wine, Sufjan Stevens, Modest Mouse etc. This is hardly a new development, a large crop of bands like Freelance Whales and Local Natives have forgone any influence from the pre-Moon … [Read more...]
Generally when I’m reviewing a band I’m unfamiliar with, I’ll try to make guesses about their sound based on album art, press photos, and of course, song titles. With The Cush I was operating under the assumption that they were going to be some Atlantic hush-folk act in the same realm as the Bon Ivers and Iron & Wines of the world. After … [Read more...]
With an extensive discography that boasts an impressive album per year ratio, you’d be in good company expecting shoegaze outfit Stellarscope to sound every bit like the veteran act they appear to be on paper. Yet with more than a dozen recordings under their belts since 1998, these Philadelphia psychedelic rockers ironically still sound like a … [Read more...]