IN THIS ISSUE: NIGHT RIOTS | DE LA SOUL | EVERLAST | DISGUISE THE SILENCE | BOB DYLAN | REVEREND HORTON HEAT | RUBEDO | DANNY SHAFER | 2M2X
Continue readingDecember 2015 – Night Riots
Month: November 2015
Top Tunes Thursday: Khruangbin — The Universe Smiles Upon You
While I find the majority of instrumentals have a regional style, not always glaring, but almost always present. L.A. jazz, Delta Blues, the sample heavy style of production prevalent in the East coast, generally speaking there’s something you can grab on to. Khruangbin plays like a musical atlas, sending fiery frets to Japan, then Brazil, and back over to Africa. The eighth track, cheekily titled “The Man Who Took My Sunglasses,” almost creates the illusion of needing them. Blinding sun beams reflect off polished surfboards and sparkling fret boards, cutting through swirling cigarette smoke on its way. Four tracks earlier, guitarist Mark Speer cools the jets to a low roar, infusing in its exhaust at first a wiff of the Far East, then an utterly American crashing collapse of guitar, amp, and kit.
Continue readingThe Good Ol’ Boys of Parquet Courts
Brooklyn-based quartet Parquet Courts has come a long way in its six-year tenure as a band.
Continue readingAlbum Review: futurebabes – Day Job
Day Job is a nostalgic nod to the days when drum machines and synthesizers ruled the land. The opening track, “Hearts for Now” grabs your attention, kicking off the EP with a beefy arpeggiated synth and an insistent, thumping drum beat.
Continue readingA Brutal Farewell: The Photo Atlas Release Final EP Disregard Disconnect
Things didn’t go as planned when The Photo Atlas set out to record their latest EP. “We were in the studio. We had been together for so long and I think I could see it in everyone’s faces. I don’t want to say their hearts weren’t in it but I think everyone was getting discouraged,” says lead singer Alan Andrews.
Continue readingTop Tunes Thursday: Coldplay — Adventure Of A Lifetime
The track is joyful in a resurgent kind of way. Driving leads and a surprisingly groovy rhythm for a pop band (let alone a pop band of such drear and atmosphere) cloud your mind like the smoke from a caterpillar’s hookah. It’s relentless and irresistibly toe tapping. Jam packed into their wooing, if not predictable, brand of pop are notes of Earth Wind & Fire, Phoenix, and fretwork from U2’s The Edge as well as modern pop titans, like Pharell, Justin Timberlake, and Daft Punk, especially the latter, considering their recent poppy-funky love affair. I feel the song chip away at winter’s frost, and as frontman Chris Martin heralds chorus after chorus of “I feel alive again!” I can’t help but agree.
Continue readingTop Tunes Thursday: Alabama Shakes — Joe
Stylistically, the track actually falls nicely between the two records, meshing cozy Southern hospitality with smoldering soul. The tune kicks off slow, enchant us with us a gated chrous across shiny pickups. Not long thereafter, the incomparable Brittany Howard welcomes herself to the track. At this point, it borders on the clichéd to talk about the thundering soul machine that are the pipes of Brittany Howard, but the vocal, as is typical for most Alabama Shakes content, truly is the star of the show. Murphy works the crowd like melted ropes of taffy, jumping from croon to croan at the pluck of a string. It’s a joy to listen to her work, and the crowd feels the same.
Continue readingUnleashed Wild Ones Take on the World
“Portland has played a significant role in our respective musical upbringings because of its incredibly supportive young music scene,” Sullivan explains. “When Thomas and I started our first band back in 2006, there was a very active house show scene where new young bands could play, learn how to perform and meet other musicians. It was a type of unofficial music training since our high school had cut all of its music programs.”
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