Lots of bands say they're committed to working as hard as possible and that they're hungry to break through to a mass audience, but one look at their actual itinerary illustrates that they're still working well inside a leisure industry paradigm; things get accomplished at a rate favoring comfort over deadline adherence and so, while some bands might break on a grand scale, it still usually happens on someone else's terms. Such laissez-faire productivity may suit some bands just fine...

Since 2005, Bruiser has been punishing audiences with their simply complex rock 'n' roll. Over the last few years, a couple lineup changes and a few familial transitions have put these three friends—Clarke Mills (bass), Dan Stock (Guitar, vocals), Chris Balagot (drums)—together to form the final trio. They allowed us into their studio at Uptown Recording—where Stock works as a studio engineer—to see a little behind-the-scenes action into the making of their latest EP, I Sold Hand-Grenades to the Salvation...

Who can say that The Dixie Chicks haven't had a rough run over most of the last decade and keep a straight face? Between the band's surrealist battle with Washington and the Bush administration, diminished record sales (sure – Taking The Long Way went double platinum in the US, but compared with Home – which went six times platinum in the US alone – that result isn't exactly comparable) and other assorted woes both personal and professional, the band's strength...

Sometimes as soon as you read about a record label and the acts associated with it, you're going to get a clue regarding what to expect from any and all output said label will release in the future. Label Fantastic! is the perfect example of such a phenomenon; staffed by Mathias Kom (a.k.a. The mastermind behind The Burning Hell), Chris Adeney (better known as Wax Mannequin), Gillian Manford (Miss Quite Contrary) and Jenny Mitchell (Jenny Omnichord), LF! is an artist-operated...

The day that Nathan Rateliff's In Memory Of Loss showed up on my doorstep, it was with several other packages of albums. It looked innocuous enough, so I didn't pay if much attention; I had other things to do, so it sat for a brief period in my stacks, untouched. One night after I'd already gone through a number of other titles, I took a minute, stopped and relaxed. I didn't intend to review any more CDs that night. Then...

As much as many people outside of the music business don't really understand how it works, there are moments when events can even come as a surprise to those on the inside too. Part of that may have to do with geography; every fan knows when a record is due to come out at their local record store (or on iTunes), and knows when their favorite band is playing through their town right? After the record in question comes out,...

In every young band's career, the honeymoon period between label and group after the first contract signing is always an important one. After the signature dries on the dotted line, there is tremendous excitement; the band is getting their dream shot and will do the best they can to adhere to the instruction of the far more seasoned veterans both at the label's office and, while they're in the studio, the record producers with whom they work. Things tend to...

It's a very exciting time in the Country French camp. Of late, the band has been working hard wrapping up the sessions for and putting all of the associated bows and ribbons on a new release, entitled Awake You Sleepers!, the band's first full-length album for Murderecords. Judging by Currie's description of the album, the band has cooked up an ambitious experience for fans as, with the assistance of an army of strings and horns, the Country French has created...

It certainly took the rest of the world long enough to catch on to what many punk rockers already knew: Gogol Bordello is one of the best new (if one can call going strong for eleven years 'new') bands on the circuit right now. Punk rockers (lots of 'em – if not all of 'em) have known this since Gypsy Punks: Underground World Strike! hit like a dead-blow hammer in 2006 and, in so doing, suddenly made it okay to...

There's no way to look at Hole or Courtney Love in the present tense without looking at the history, if only because it is now so indelibly etched into pop culture. Of course, there has been the ongoing conjecture and quibbling over the state of Nirvana (or lack thereof), and all of the in-fighting around Kurt Cobain's legacy but, even after that should have faded, Love has remained a full-time pariah as Hole's productivity has become more sporadic. The rumor...