Because the release of their punk rock cabaret live DVD got them exposed to new audiences unfamiliar with the idea that Kurt Weill might still have a place in rock n’ roll (the last band to give him his proper due was The Doors when they covered “Alabama Song”), the pressure must have been on Dresden Dolls to get another record out as fast as possible in order to capitalize on the interest. So appears No, Virginia… – an album...

That the Dresden Dolls make incredible and interesting records that imply a remarkably cinematic experience can’t be disputed but, given that the sound is produced by just two players, the most realistic question is how said material translates live and what sort of show it makes. All questions are answered, however, at the Roadhouse in London as The Dresden Dolls bring the punk cabaret (as opposed to The Rolling Stones’ Rock N’ Roll Circus) to the stage and illustrate just...

In spite of the fact that Juliana Hatfield has broken through to rock stardom several times over—had wildly successful tours behind celebrated albums, videos played in regular rotation on every available music television network and been offered a multitude of other accolades—it’s a safe assumption that there are still people reading this review and wondering, “Juliana who?” It’s lamentable, but it’d be hard to say that Hatfield has gotten a fair shake; she helped make the best Lemonheads record that...

Ever wonder what it’d sound like if Canadian critical darling Neko Case spontaneously decided to make a rock n’ roll record? It’ll probably never happen (well, not outside of The New Pornographers), but happily we have the closest possible approximation in Girl In A Coma. On their debut album, Both Before I’m Gone, sisters Nina and Phanie Diaz, along with bassist Jenn Alva, take the tremolo rich vocals of Case and British mope king Morrissey (the band name is also...

Okay, from the moment that Steve E. Nix and The Briefs sleazed their way out of Seattle, the band caused a lot of confusion in listeners accustomed to grungy things coming out of the Pacific Northwest. The Briefs were, after all, a tight, dayglo, 80s-fashioned punk band; they didn’t really fit in with their surroundings at all. With that band currently on hiatus, Nix has resurfaced with the nearly identical-sounding Cute Lepers – a band that isn’t quite so in...

As far as summer tours go, it seems like the consistent theme has been plain and simple: ROCK. Whether it’s the metal tour like the Rockstar Mayhem fest or the punk infused Warped Tour, it’s a fact that when it’s hot out, it’s time to listen to some loud music. And as Ground Control’s staff photographer Tracy Nunnery proved with his photos, this night was no exception. For the last 30 years, Scorpions have been blowing eardrums and influencing thousands...

For her first album of new material since 1994’s Pure and Simple, Joan Jett has elected to go back to basics with Sinner. 'Back to basics,' in this case, means playing to the singer’s strengths: heavy handed guitar riffs and Jett’s own signature mezzo soprano growling vocals take stage center over The Blackhearts’ hard-driving rhythms that, this time, have a more distinctly pop edge than they have in over twenty years. Even with that said though, we’re not talking about...

Have you ever wondered what you’d get if you were to crossbreed the gods of Brit-pop (London Suede, Happy Mondays, Stone Roses) with the crème of both the Matador and Tee Pee Records stoner rock crops (Dead Meadow, Annihilation Time)? Apparently Darker My Love did and, on the band’s appropriately entitled sophomore album, 2, they’ve ironed all of the creases out of their sound and produced what can only be called a definitive document. The record opens with majesty and...

It sounds like it should be a semantic debate, but The Dollyrots make the difference between pop-punk and punk- pop very, very obvious on their sophomore album.Pop-punk is the soft stuff – the best-known of the lot would probably be Green Day, No Doub t and Sublime – but punk-pop is ro ugh, tumble and poppy of course but also incredibly sarcastic and sardonic & ndash; all traits that The Dollyrots sho wcase masterfully o n Because I’m Awesome.< br...

A friend of mine took me to task last month for wimping out and not listing my favorite album covers. I had my excuses. In the first place, last month's column was long enough to begin with; I had other issues I was more interested in. Secondly, I didn't want to take the time to decide on my personal favorites. I don't have a ready mental list of my favorite album covers, like I do for my favorite albums (and...