Label: Evil Weevil Records Released: April 7, 2009 I’d almost forgotten what emo was like before it became a dirty word, but Everyone Everywhere is a clear reminder. Sure, the mohawk crowd is still going to find this to be too sappy, but it never devolves into the self-conscious and saccharine whine-fest that consumes the genre today. The vocals, sensitive,… Read more »
Oceans “We Are Ruins” in HD from Hannah Rosner on Vimeo.
Flipper will release Love, their first album in 16 years, on May 19th. You never know what you’re gonna get with a band like Flipper and over a decade and a half since they last recorded, it’s even more up in the air. However, you can check out “Be Good Child” to get an early taste before the release.
Label: Forcefield Records Released: January 27, 2009 This vinyl-only release collects two earlier City of Ships EPs from 2006 and 2007 that are clearly worthy of being issued on this superior format. Both EPs feature monstrous waves of dissonance underscored by shockingly melodic lines. The tension created isn’t pleasant, but reflects that nice is a minor virtue next to truth… Read more »
Label: Able Heart Records Released: April 28, 2009 I wonder why it is that when a band rehashes 60s garage psych or 70s hard rock, I’m so much more open to it than I am to the now-popular revisiting of 80s pop. I think the answer is two-fold. First, I lived through the 80s. I missed the 60s and was… Read more »
Label: Emarcy Released: March 31, 2009 Over the years, John Scofield has worked with a who’s who of jazz and fusion artists. He has established himself as one of the top names in jazz guitar and is almost as well known outside of jazz circles as he is within. He’s one of those artists who finds himself in the unique… Read more »
Label: self-released (available at the bands Myspace and at shows) Released: January 31, 2009 In recent years, there have been a number of bands who have returned to punk’s old loose hooks and gritty melodies. Against Me is at the top of that pile with bands like Gaslight Anthem quickly climbing up behind them. Many voices are screaming to be… Read more »
Label: Hopeless Records Released: March 10, 2009 Label: Doghouse Records Released: April 7, 2009 Thirty years ago, a subgenre of rock that had been building for a few years was just about ready to explode. AOR took the best elements of 70s rock, dummied it down, made it safe and sold millions of records whose broad appeal was based on… Read more »
Label: Copper Lung Records Released: March 24, 2009 I have long believed that artists only are only half of the creative force behind art. The other half of the creation is the interpretation. Often, the greatest art allows for significant breadth of interpretation even as it guides the very same. Most often though, the artist errs on the side of… Read more »
Label: self-released (CD Baby) Released: April 28, 2009 In the waning days of the first wave of punk, several bands took the groundwork it had laid and mixed it up with a frantic sense of dancability. For lack of a better desciption, we called it post-punk. Three decades later, it seems like everyone wants to “rediscover” Joy Division, the Fall,… Read more »