When the Guantanamo School of Medicine (GitSOM) released The Audacity Of Hype in 2009, singer Jello Biafra accomplished what many assumed to be impossible: he managed to get the whole world (all of it – not just punk rockers) to begin looking at him as a musician again – not just as “that outspoken social and political critic/satirist Jello Biafra.” He fired all of his guns at once on Hype and the result was phenomenal, but even he would admit...

LA band Dawes keep good company. Their 2009 debut North Hills was born out of informal jam sessions with Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst, the Heartbreakers' Benmont Tench, The Black Crowes' Chris Robinson and Wilco's multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansone. More recently, Robbie Robertson selected them to be the backing band for his public appearances in support of his new record, How To Become Clairvoyant, on which singer/guitarist Taylor Goldsmith also guests. Their sophomore effort Nothing Is Wrong again features Tench and sees...

Compared to the average working practices of most other bands in the last ten years, OFF! must have just run back into the studio following the first promotional tour they embarked upon in support of their First Four EPs release. Granted, a new seven-inch from the band isn't so shocking as it would have been to see another full-length offering, but the pair of songs presented on this single already imply growth and betray the fact that the band members...

The Felice Brothers have returned with Celebration, Florida – an album that is sincerely sinister, oddly beautiful and creepy, at times. It is an album that begs for repeated listens and may be their best to date. I was first introduced to the Brothers with their 2008 self-titled release and immediately fell in love with their ramshackle Americana sound. Their self-titled album was a raucous experience – full of tall tales and gritty characters – and it makes for great...

Yr. ship done come in junky! Whenna boat hitsa beach, it don't mess around, does it? This week, I gotcha ova SEVENTY little bits o' SWAG ta calm yer nerves an' make everything alright. Some of it's pretty good too. I gotcha the new Mayer Hawthorne single (which might help me get well too, las' time I included one o' his tracks, I got me a subscription ta SPIN Magazine), a Hella song so new, it DON'T EVEN HAVE A...

The Killers’ Ronnie Vannucci will release his debut solo album, Big Talk, on July 12th via Epitaph Records. Produced by Joe Chicarelli (The Strokes, My Morning Jacket), and mixed by Alan Moulder (U2, Foo Fighters), Big Talk sees Vannucci step out from behind the drum kit of one of the biggest bands of the past ten years to show us what he’s got. The album's first single, "Getaways" will be available on iTunes May 10th and fans are invited to...

The Killers’ Ronnie Vannucci will release his debut, self-titled solo album, Big Talk on July 12th via Epitaph Records. Produced by Joe Chicarelli (The Strokes, My Morning Jacket), and mixed by Alan Moulder (U2, Foo Fighters), Big Talk sees Vannucci step out from behind the drum kit of one of the biggest bands of the past ten years to show us what he’s got. The album's first single, "Getaways" will be available on iTunes May 10th and fans are invited...

Artist: And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead Venue: Lee’s Palace – Toronto, Ontario, Canada Date: May 3, 2011 Ten years ago, Trail of Dead was the hottest band in America. They were band that played groundbreaking progressive, alt rock, combed their black hair forward, acted like brats and smashed their guitars on stage. It was aggressive, melodic, soulful music and when you heard it you could not help but hurl yourself into the person beside with...

Can the format on which some music appears alter a listener's enjoyment of it in any way? Could there really be that great a difference between the overall experience a listener may gain from it? It's likely that most perspective buyers of the First Four EPs by OFF! will find themselves asking that very question as the weigh the pros and cons of purchasing the four-piece box set (which was released on December 14, 2010) or the CD edition (released...

Some musicians, (Brian Eno comes to mind) are able to wear a variety of artistic hats. At any given time, they're able to switch between composer, solo act, band member and producer (and more), thereby enhancing their reputation. Others pull off the same trick just as well only to find it diffuses, and therefore diminishes, their reputation. Nick Lowe is one of the latter. Despite over a decade of solid work in all of those roles, including some very influential...