Some artists can elicit a very strong reaction from listeners, even after just a few bars. When Neil Young appears on the radio, for example, one camp of listeners embraces his non-traditional style and finds comfort in his elaborate vocal intensity while others race...
After thirty-five years and a path marked by both line-up and label changes, it could never be said that The Damned don't still cut a bedeviled image on stage. Currently backed by longtime, on-again-off-again guitarist Captain Sensible, keyboardist Monty Oxy Moron,...
The mixture of music on Alesana's fourth LP (first for punk stalwarts Epitaph), A Place Where The Sun Is Silent, is unlike that of any one band I’ve ever listened to before. By that I can say that Alesana sounds like a melange of several different styles and...
It may have taken almost ten years of hard work, trading record labels, touring constantly and building a devoted fan-base out of almost nothing, but on The Brains' newest album lies the proof that this band has finally hit its stride. This time out, the...
Sometimes you never know which way the wind will blow, or what those winds may bring your way. So when editor extraordinaire Bill Adams sent me a new album, unsolicited, for review with a note attached saying he thought I should check it out because it was my cup of...
Sometimes there's just no way to explain how a musical collaboration between two artists could have happened because, like oil and water, they just don't seem capable of mixing. In the case of oil and water, a mixture is impossible because, on the most basic...
2011 has been a red letter year for Touche Amore. The band has spent the year touring hard – appearing at festivals like FYF, SXSW, Chaos in Tejas, Hevy Fest (UK), the House of Vans in Brooklyn, and cutting a swath across most of the globe. While all that was...
Since Tom Waits' music first started appearing on record store shelves thirty-eight years ago, the singer has traveled to all four corners of the musical map. He's been dozens of characters in that time too; he's been a coffee shop crooner, a back-alley...
Awrightcha mugs, Good ta see ya. In fact, i's great ta see ya – I ben cooped up in my apartment fer days, layin' low (long story). Anyways, da beauty o' bein' stuck at home izzat I got ta shake as many tunes outta da inta-tree as possible. I got...
Punk rock (one could say the right kind of punk rock) has had a shinier-than-usual spotlight put on it these days, partly because of what bands like Fucked Up are doing. I say “bands like” out of formality because, to be honest, I should say it’s...