'Designer impostor' products are funny things. On one hand, they're rather mawkish and genuinely looked down upon because, as the term implies, they're bargain-basement replicas of established and lauded matter. Sometimes they don't even bear a slight resemblance to the product they're knocking off – but that's the true lottery gamble of them; sometimes what you get is more palatable and easier to respect  because of it. Sometimes it's god awful and the patron knows he's been taken for a...

Australia has the particular ability to create things lovely and drastic and just above the edge of destruction. Take the tragic beauty of the Outback, for example, or the impossible tangle of muscle that constitutes kangaroos or Mel Gibson. Among this number—but maybe not as well known as its drunk raving countryman—is Dappled Cities. Hailing from the ‘burbs of Sydney, this Aussie posse presents their third full-length album, Zounds. Sitting somewhere between experimental indie rock and electro-pop, the band crafts...

Sometimes it takes looking at an experience through new eyes to really appreciate it. As a fan of live music in general, I've probably been to–conservative estimate–200 shows in my admittedly short lifetime. But you never forget your first one. Mine? Bryan Adams, in Vancouver, with my mom, at the horribly awkward age of 11. There are so many things wrong with that sentence that I don't even want to talk about it, but I did have a great time–I...

Nearing the end of their 2009 Pandemonium tour in support of their latest release Yes, Pet Shop Boys return to the U.S. promising another avant-garde performance. Original members Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe—with four Grammy awards, dozens chart-topping hits and more than 100 million albums sold—have historically presented dazzling visuals in their live shows. Including massive set changes, costumed dancers, video displays and an array of soulful backup singers, this tour promises to have all of the elements of their...

When he tried to sum up singer Richard Thompson's place in the grand scheme of the alt-rock pantheon in 1994, Spin/San Francisco Bay Guardian contributor Dirk Richardson wrote: “Even when his impeccably crafted tunes are covered by such established stars as Bonnie Raitt, R.E.M., or David Byrne – as they were on 1994's, Beat The Retreat – Richard Thompson eludes mainstream accessibility. Thompson never shared '60's peers' optimistic faith in social progress. That's why X, Bob Mould and Dinosaur Jr....

I love shows with such a diverse line-up of bands that it not only crosses multiple genres of metal, but still bring out so many different types of fans, from the Stoner Metal Weedeater fans to the slightly geekish Melvins fans (I only say that because I am on of them), to the tattooed neck, jock and frat boy Down fans. Yes, this show had something for everyone. I should mention that Portland, Oregon's Danava opened this show, but due...

The problem with progress has always been that, as time marches forward and new ideas ultimately become the norm (well, if they're any good), invariably a few really good, established stylistic ideas lose ground and run the risk of being forgotten. It's unfortunate, but it's a by-product of the human condition. As true as that is though, sometimes a new document surfaces that pays close attention to some old (very dangerously near to forgotten) ideas and the effect is elating...

To say that the last five years (give or take) have been less than charitable to bassist Nick Oliveri is a polite understatement. Since his eviction from the bass seat in Queens Of The Stone Age, Oliveri has bounced to any and every outfit goodly enough to have him – from The Dwarves to The Blag Dahlia Band to Turbonegro to Winnebago Deal with one-off stints elsewhere in addition to maintaining his name as a solo act – with little...

If music is the food of life but every second of an album chronicles one man's struggles with addiction, might said record be considered a gateway drug? This is the sort of  question that comes to mind as a listener is ensnared by the answering machine message that opens Ko's debut album, Let's Blaze. The message – apparently left in voice mail by a social worker at the rehab center in which Ko (nee Ko Kapches) was kept in order...

On tour in the US for the first time since 1991, the Happy Mondays hit the road last week, kicking off their 26-city tour. Original members Shaun Ryder, Mark “Bez” Berry and Gary Whelan will be supporting their 2007 reunion album Uncle Dysfunktional. Along with the Mondays on this tour are ’80 stalwarts The Psychedelic Furs. The lineup includes Richard and Tim Butler, along with Mars Williams and Paul Garisto and more recent additions Amanda Kramer and Richard Good. After...