I like bands who experiment, expand, who are always trying something new. My favorite artists—David Bowie, Talking Heads, King Crimson, the Beatles, the Who—did this; every album presented something new, took a step in a new direction. At the opposite extreme, take the Rolling Stones: they continued to innovate until sometime in the mid-70s, when they started repeating themselves, which is when I lost interest. One the other hand, sometimes a band gets in a groove—establishes a sound and does...

Maybe I'm just simple, but it never occurred to me that Franz Ferdinand might have even one reggae-infused bone in its bandmembers' collective body. No really—did anyone know? The band has always (at least in my mind) been perceived as a slightly new wave-ish Top 40 rock outfit but, in listening to Blood:, a dub rendering of the songs on the band's smash hit Tonight: (released earlier this year), a series of new possibilities present themselves. In retrospect, were those...

San Diego's The Black Heart Procession will be releasing their new album, Six, on Oct. 6th. Their first new work since 2006's The Spell, Six returns to the naming conventions of their first three albums, but is BHP's premier effort on Temporary Residence, LTD. To stoke the fires of longing the band is making "Rats" available for download right now, and released the tracklist as well: The Black Heart Procession – Six – 10/6/09 01. When You Finish Me02. Wasteland03....

Anyone that has been following Alexisonfire over the last seven years knew it was time for the band to make some changes. The band's self-titled debut and Watch Out! established the band as the kings of Canadian screamo – there's no arguing or debating that fact – and the band both enjoyed and flourished in that acceptance. When Crisis came along in 2006, the album found Alexisonfire at the absolute pinnacle of its powers as the songs added up to...

Andrew Bird is preparing to hit the road next week, serenading Conan O'Brien and the TV viewing public on July 7th before embarking on a summer tour that will see him supporting the likes of such indie rock stalwarts as Death Cab for Cutie and The Decemberists, as well as headlining stops with Ra Ra Riot and Heartless Bastards rounding out the bill. (editor's note: Both Ra Ra Riot and Heartless Bastards are fucking fantastic, and definitely sweeten the pot...

It must be Summertime in Chicago. Why? Because there are 97 festivals in every part of town every single weekend. Taste of Randolph, Taste of Chicago, Taste of whatever, something something Block Party… you get the idea. But besides the ToC, the two big boys are Lollapalooza and the Pitchfork Music Festival. Unlike Lolla, Pitchfork has called Chicago home for the last decade, and has become the face of online music media, where “any publicity is good publicity” actually comes...

Even the most die-hard fans thought it was done – game over. On April 20, 2002, Alice In Chains singer Layne Staley's remains were found by his parents and police after an anonymous tip that the singer had been unreachable for an alarmingly long period of time. After his remains were examined, it was concluded that Staley had been deceased for roughly two weeks when his body was discovered. That was it – not many bands are able to orchestrate...

What opportune timing Cage The Elephant (or rather, their record label) has. After the announcement came down that Jack White would be embarking upon another side project apart from The White Stripes and The Raconteurs (for those that don't know, it's called Dead Weather and also features members of The Kills), Cage The Elephant's self-titled debut – which has been out in Europe since the middle of 2008 – finally sees release in North America. As “In One Ear” rolls...

Ever have one of those moments when you thought you heard something but, because the context and surroundings in which you heard it just seemed so far off, your brain recoiled and you disregarded it as being a figment of your imagination? Listening to The Birth is something like that. Walking in, you know that Stardeath And White Dwarfs is a band comprised of former members of the Flaming Lips' road crew and the voice involved belongs to Wayne Coyne's...

PJ Harvey and John Parish took the stage in grand style with Harvey appearing barefoot in a flowing black gown and the band wearing dark suits and hats. The stage was set with the drums and keyboards to the right and left respectively leaving a large open area in the center for Harvey to dance around during the performance. This tour is not only in support of their album A Woman A Man Walked By but also drew heavily from...