After so many years of fantastic tales told and hero worship bestowed, the business of rock n' roll—of being an artist in any sort of pop music form for that matter – has become a very unusual endeavor. Tales of bands embarking upon marathon tours (Robert Plant's solo tour behind his Now And Zen album in 1988 was known as the Non-Stop Go Tour for a reason, Guns N' Roses toured Use Your Illusion for two years straight, the list...
Trivium may very well be the busiest metal band of 2009. Every time I turn around they seem to be scheduling a new tour. Having just completed 35 U.S. dates with Slipknot, the band did a few of their own shows before heading up to Canada with Slipknot later this month. Then there are a string of dates in both Japan and Australia, a few European festivals, a handful of Eastern European dates, again with Slipknot, then back to the...
With six studio length albums under its belt, it’s hard to say that Death Cab for Cutie has a typical sound. While the band’s simple songwriting and beautiful instrumentation are constant ingredients, the end product can be as pop and peppy as “No Sunlight” (from Narrow Stairs), or as subdued and brooding as “Transatlanticism” (from Transatlanticism). Not even Ben Gibbard’s distinctive vocals can confine Death Cab to a certain “sound” – quite a feat considering his vocal delivery for...
The Phrase “off the deep end” isn’t used enough, so let’s use it. MSTRKRFT went off the deep end into gangster-ville with Fist of God. It’s been a while since I’ve heard something from Ghostface Killah, or something borderline rock-ish from E-40. Both of them rep the streets with MSTRKRFT on this new album and all parties involved brought their bag of awesome. MSTRKRFT, a band only four years old, composed of Jesse F. Keeler and Alex Puodziukas has jumped...
Arriving at the Independent on Friday, the line of music fans huddled together trying to escape the frigid 50-degree San Francisco weather was already snaking down the street. I wasn’t quite sure how many would be in attendance for this show, but I quickly realized that any of my guesses would have been woefully short of the mark. Sandwiched between the wistful, shimmering guitars of Resplandor from Peru and the sugary Lost in Translation-esque soundscape created by Brooklyn’s Asobi Seksu,...
Sophomore years suck. The sparkling shiny newness the world carried Freshman year has worn off, yet you’re not advanced enough (say, Seniority status) to just give the authorities the finger and walk. No, you’re stuck in jaded misanthropy, knowing just enough to avoid the soda machine that steals your quarters and the jock table, but not enough to really advance yourself. I’m referring to the world of music, of course. Sophomore albums have the bad habit of leaving a sour...
“Are you the guy with the food?” It’s a beautiful Sunday night in Philadelphia and Laura and I are on surprisingly animated South Street that reminds me of a more subdued Las Vegas strip. Over the years, I’ve heard that South Street has gone downhill; that the shops and the visitors have gone to a more relevant and hipper spot, but tonight at least, that doesn’t seem to be the case. The point is that we’re outside of the Theatre...
When last we heard from Pink Mountaintops, the band had released Axis Of Evol and looked like the only band with the sand to try and wrest the championship of 'underground genius' from Microphones/Mount Eerie visionary Phil Elvrum. Axis certainly made the band seem like an able contender – the sound was bigger, more polished and breathtaking as a result when stacked against Elvrum's indie-informed and obviously budget tape recorded fare – but, for reasons that have never really become...
It could be the international side of my blood, but I feel an instant connection to men with facial hair. Weird, I know. Yet still I will announce it for the reason that you all must know that rocking a stylistic facial hair design that Marc Romboy is often seen touting is quite a task to take care of. Respect Marc. Respect. Marc has been in the music scene for over a decade, bringing us music from Monchengladbach, Germany. Over...
The unfortunate truth of the music press is that it is often a very narrow passageway through which the same information is passed to the public via a multitude of outlets and the resulting coverage – no matter how innovative or celebrated it might be – is really only a case of variations on the same theme with the only difference being the rhetoric that appears between point A and point B. It gets difficult for interview subjects to regurgitate...