Email Author Chris Parker

2005 Stories by Chris Parker

• The Burning Brides, and Mastodon

  published March 24, 2005

  This coupling is a little like TNT wrapped in plastic explosive -- a kind of hard-rock overkill. The Burning Brides are the more accessible of the... More >>

• Lucero

  published March 10, 2005

  Ben Nichols was a child of punk, inducted as a youth into the underground world of VFW halls, basement shows and illegal public park performances... More >>

• Pretty Girls Make Graves

  published March 10, 2005

  This Northwestern quintet plays jagged post-punk with a dash of goth verve (thanks to keyboards and singer Andrea Zollo), sounding like Siouxsie... More >>

• Hella

  published March 10, 2005

  Hella is a two-piece that must be seen to be appreciated. It's not an extensive visual display, just the breathtaking spectacle of two musicians... More >>

• Bear vs. Shark

  published March 10, 2005

  This Michigan quintet sounds like the orphaned children of several genres, mixing supple post-punk, a distortion-drenched wall of guitar riffing,... More >>

• Early Day Miners

  published January 27, 2005

  If any indie band could be reconstituted with a properly calibrated mix of the mood, pop and rock quarks, Early Day Miners would require... More >>

• Zao

  published January 20, 2005

  Zao is a powerhouse of the metalcore scene, following the example of genre icons Earth Crisis, forging a hardcore/metal act unafraid of dabbling... More >>

• The Thermals

  published January 13, 2005

  Punk has grown as a term to encompass an eclectic array of approaches, and its infiltration of guitar-based underground music is now so complete... More >>

• Elefant

  published January 13, 2005

  Perhaps it's the omnipresent gray skies, but whatever the cause, the Brits are masters of a strain of gloomy romanticism traceable from Bowie to... More >>