A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the A Broken Heart is an Open Heart LP/2CD set by Louise Lemon. As intellectually evasive as music genre names have the capacity to be (dig into music history, and you’ll realize how silly sub-genre names get – take post-hardcore or “screamo” for just two examples), there’s no question that Death Gospel (or Doom Gospel – depending upon the press release that one reads) chanteuse Louise Lemon has hit upon something truly...

The MonsieursSelftitled Worship the mighty Monsieurs! Here in Boston it’s hard to find a harder rocking trio of musicians who are cooler than the Monsieurs. They are just one of these bands that should be appreciated by the masses but at the same time are reserved for those who “get it.” And if you don’t get the Monsieurs, then you need to reconsider your priorities, sir. For the uninitiated, the Monsieurs play a dirty and uninhibited form of garage rock...

Iggy and the StoogesRare Power Iggy Pop and the Stooges are a primary source, no matter how you look at it. If you look at punk rock and modern rock in general, you can hear and even taste some of the Stooges. They were true originators. Every person who makes or hears music needs to learn about the Stooges at some point. You don’t have to own their albums, you don’t have to memorize songs, you just have to hear...

Malibu Express & Hard Ticket to HawaiiMill Creek Entertainment What gems the Andy Sidaris movies are. If you’re not familiar with them, imagine low-budget sexy spy movies, so bad that they’re good. Wow, I’m actually surprised how well that summarizes them. You’re not going to find too much high-brow content when you turn on an Andy Sidaris flick but you will find a project born out of dedication and love. There’s no doubt that these guys know what they...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the First Light LP by The Ratchets. Anyone who has followed my contributions to this column likely already knows and understands that, while my coverage of vinyl records is very format-focused, I do not believe that the format itself deserves much discussion. Simply said, I do a lot of vinyl coverage because I like the SOUND of vinyl records – the color of the vinyl into which the music is pressed is...

Photos by Brittany QueenIG: @rosequeenphotography...

Bad SportsO Brien’s –  Allston, Massachusetts – April 4, 2019Photos: Brittany Queen If you were to ask me to name some of the best pop punk bands active today, I could probably narrow it down to an essential handful. And in that handful I would definitely include Bad Sports. This is a band that seems to boil pop punk down to the essentials. They’ve got the hooks, they’ve got the riffs, they’re masterful with their instruments, and they...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Constellate LP by Tensei.Over the last few years, The Flaming Lips have really come a long way from being the LSD-dipped and surrealist punk band that they were when they emerged from the wilds of Oklahoma in 1983. Since then, the hard left musical turns that they were perceived to have taken have become streamlined and the group has developed a greater sonic palette with which they’ve been able to compose...

Beastie Boys Bookby Michael Diamond and Adam Horovitz How are you going to write a Beastie Boys autobiography without Adam Yauch? That’s the first thing Adam Horovitz and Michael Diamond bring up in the Beastie Boys Book. Of course, the group was greater than the sum of its parts, but Yauch might have been the creative fuel and driving force behind the band. That’s the picture the band paints of him at least. But the story must be told, and...