Label: Rykodisc Released: March 11, 2003 Joe Jackson is a recent discovery for me. It’s not that I’ve just heard his music for the first time, just that I’ve only recently spent the time to get to know it and really appreciate it. In the midst of my Joe Jackson discovery, I came across 2003’s Volume 4 which finds Jackson… Read more »
BUFFALO KILLERS NEW ALBUM LET IT RIDE IN STORES JULY 22ndPRODUCED BY DAN AUERBACH OF THE BLACK KEYS SOLO WEST COAST RUN STARTS JULY 18OPENING SLOT ON THE BLACK CROWES TOUR THIS FALLADDITIONAL U.S. DATES TO BE ANNOUNCED “Ride simmers, then explodes with the fuzzy psychedelia of southern rockers crowding classic rock playlists, but without sounding dated or overtly derivative.”… Read more »
Label: Temporary Residence Limited Released: August 5, 2008 I hear enough Prince on Just Thoughts to make me wonder if Prints is really a clever play on the Purple One’s name. Either way, the four tracks on this EP show both similarities and key differences between Prints and Prince. Prints does manage to find a similar ability to find solid… Read more »
Label: Late Bloomers Works Released: May 31, 2008 One look at the cover of Parasols and Pekingese leaves little doubt where the album is going. It mixes art deco style with the painted effects of a pre-linen postcard. As the cover suggests, Tippy Canoe and the Paddlemen look back to simpler, more honest times. There’s nothing new in that. Americana… Read more »
War of Ages continue their summer tour extravaganza as the street date for their new album Arise and Conquer closes in. On the Scream the Prayer Tour with Impending Doom and Sleeping Giant they are plowing through the north east and mid-west before ending up back where they started on the west coast. After Scream The Prayer, War of Ages… Read more »
Label: self-released Released: September 30, 2008 While the album art for Catfight’s In Stereo is totally 80s (like, totally), their music spends an awful lot of time in the sixties as well. Eschewing all that is delicate, everything about their songs is based on their simple deliberate rhythms. They don’t waste time with frivolities like riffs or solos. The album… Read more »
Label: Retroactive Records Released: June 9, 2008 I’ve liked the Misfits (a lot) since I was about 15, even if the themes never quite sat well with me since I’m not a big horror fan and I have little tolerance for the celebration of evil. But the Misfits weren’t that serious and the B-movie quality of their music always made… Read more »
Label: Triple Crown Records Released: July 8, 2008 From the piano pop of the opening track, it’s clear that rock n roll isn’t high on the agenda for Hit the Lights. Somewhere in the last decade or so, pop punk and emo took a wrong turn and Skip School, Start Fights finds itself pretty far down that unfortunate detour. There’s… Read more »
Song: Chimera ObscurantArtist: The Velvet TeenAlbum: Elysium bob_vinyl put this song on a mix CD he made a few years ago. It blew me away, and then I promptly forgot about it. Having it show up on shuffle was like having an old friend show up at my front door. You can hear it for free at Last.fm.
Label: Science Records Released: April 22, 2008 Pop punk today is a lot like new wave was almost three decades ago. A few great artists, Elvis Costello, for example, managed to both establish and transcend the genre and in their wake, literally thousands of bands tried to follow. Some, like the Cars, wrote some outstanding songs and broke the strict… Read more »