The Hilken Mancini Band I wasn’t expecting to have drinks with Hilken Mancini two days before Thanksgiving, but there we were. I’m not name-dropping, it happens. We were there because she insisted on meeting me in person to give me a copy of her excellent new record by the Hilken Mancini Band. She’s still looking for a better name, by the way, if you happen to have one. And she was giving me a copy because I needed to review...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into Bambies’ Snotty Angels LP. Rare is the band that is capable of taking a very well-established sound, tweaking it ever-so-slightly and landing on something that is instantly rewarding and gratifying for those who hear it, but Bambies – a teeny tiny band on an even smaller label – have made an album which lands them among that aforementioned select few. The band’s sophomore album is just bombastic; from front to back, the...

WHO: Tim Heidecker WHAT: Slipping Away WHY: Sure, you don’t start your album by telling your listener to lower their expectations, and Slipping Away does have some half-cooked ideas at the beginning, but it ends with a rich, compelling and beautiful set of songs that make the rocky start worth it. In the end, this album is a fuzzy and remarkably relatable experience, especially to a dad like me. Yeah, it’s easy listening, but it’s good warm easy listening. Listen...

Watchmen: Chapter 1 Sure, Alan Moore is controversial but he’s also right most of the time. Even the worst Alan Moore work is kind of good, when you think about it. Can you blame him for wanting to have SOME sort of ownership over his comics? He only turned against the adaptations of his work once it became obvious that they would never remain true to their source material. His books still get made into movies, and he’s...

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A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Music That Humans Can Play LP by Autogramm. That Autogramm has so meticulously presented themselves as being perched on New Wave’s pinnacle of power and influence now – about forty years after that form peaked – cannot possibly have been by accident. From front to back and top to bottom, Music That Humans Can Play goes out of its way to return to that moment in time when movie soundtracks were...

How long has it been since I’ve seen Paint it Black? I feel like when I lived in Harrisburg, I saw them all the time. Is it because they used to be more active? Maybe being so Philly-adjacent facilitated the whole thing? I haven’t stopped listening to Paint it Black and my love for them is strong. If only there were a way for me to express it. Maybe the best way to do that is bringing them to town...

WHO: J. Robbins WHAT: Basilisk WHY: Basilisk might be too rock for the punk crowd and too punk for the rock crowd. It occupies that grey area. Whatever the case, this album is a crisp, rocking, polished, deep collection of songs that sound both hopefully and as cautionary tales. Basilisk is grim and serious and wears its heart on its sleeve. It’s well crafted both on the outside and the inside. Listen to it...

Star Trek Discovery Season 5 (The Final Season) I look back at the legacy of Star Trek Discovery and I am equal parts baffled and confused. There are many many many things wrong with the series and the franchise as a whole. But, what it basically comes down to is really terrible showrunning and no good ideas. Discovery was never concerned with telling its own stories, but basically throwing back to old Trek. It’s not Star Trek in the classic...

BeatKodak Center, Rochester NYOctober 19, 2024I saw King Crimson in 1981 on the Discipline tour and, to this day, it ranks as the best concert I have ever seen. (Followed by a close second place of Crimson in 2021.) So I was eager to see this version of that tour and snatched up tickets as fast as I could, when they became available. If you’re not familiar, Beat consists of Adrian Belew (guitar and lead vocals) and Tony Levin (bass)...