Why wouldn’t Dinosaur Jr. get back together? The Police did. So did Van Halen, Led Zeppelin, Asia, Aqua, The Dismemberment Plan, B2K, Genesis, The Jesus and Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine, The Pixies, Rage Against the Machine and just about every band short of Kris Kross. Wait, what’s that you say? Kris Kross is currently […]
From the opening Zeppelin-lifted riff of “Diamond Hoo Ha Man,” the faux title track that commences Diamond Hoo Ha, there’s a staggering retrospective aura to the sixth Supergrass release. It recalls some of rock’s most brazen personalities and time-honored stereotypes. It’s every bit as sexually charged and debauchery-driven as an album that rips Jimmy Page’s […]
Man Man’s Chris “Pow Pow” Powell and Bablicon’s Griffin “Blue Hawaii” Rodriguez recruited an often-changing cast of characters to piece together this boundless mostly-electronic LP. Miami Ice incorporates all the spastic melodies and hyper-elusive structures from the two songwriters’ primary acts, as this strange side project treks through nine songs with the same free-flowing demeanor […]
There remains a bizarre misperception that being artistically credible as well as financially stable are mutually exclusive terms. As if commercial success somehow renders all the critical acclaim moot, and performers that receive — or worse, seek out — a level of mainstream acceptance forfeit their rights to a fair trial. It’s silly. Especially today, […]
It’s almost noon on this particular day in mid-May, but Rhett Miller nevertheless is still animated when he talks about his previous night’s gig: an on-ice performance in between periods of an NHL playoff game for his beloved Dallas Stars. Although it’s something that Old 97’s has done in the past (the frontman has also […]
There’s always been a confusing obscurity about Maritime. In circles of record store employees discussing the golden age of college radio over late-night coffee breaks, the Milwaukee-based ensemble still sparks the same “oh yeah” sentiment of bands that have been forgotten until their song comes up during the iTunes shuffle. By the group’s nature, they […]
There’s urgency in Ade Blackburn’s voice when he gets on the phone the final day of April. The Clinic front man’s tone is rushed, like that of somebody trying to pleasantly wrap up a chat before they’re late catching a bus. Or maybe he’s just distracted, the way one can get splitting attention between talking […]
Someone get a hold of Dr. Phil, stat. Actually, no, call Doctor Robert, instead. Come to think of it, better get them both on the line. And it couldn’t hurt to also dial up Dr. Feelgood, Dr. John, Dr. Ruth, maybe even Doc Ock, and throw in some Dr. Pepper for good measure. Neva Dinova’s […]
There’s a moment less than two minutes into Islands’ sophomore LP when front man Nick Thorburn muses, “You faded into a different shade/a completely different hue.” He bellows the line during the lead single, “The Arm,” hanging on each word seemingly for both melodious and contextual emphasis. Sure, each note needed to be dragged out […]
Alex Turner is 22 years old. That’s important to remember when thinking about the Arctic Monkeys front man. He’s not a youngster anymore. Although his quick rise to international stardom after his band’s debut, and all the hoopla surrounding the circumstances of that immediate success, seems destined to stunt the perception of Turner’s growth. He’s […]