Old 97's

Recordings

Miller's Crossing

The Old 97's form from wreckage of musical mishaps

Harm's Way

Arizona Music Forum finally reaches local musicians with its first local jam

Recordings

Arizona Music Forum finally reaches local musicians with its first local jam

Are You Coming With Us?

The Lo-Fidelity Allstars pose some dizzying musical questions with a riot of sounds and styles

Show Announcements: Junior Brown, Limbeck, David Banner, Davey Jones, The Verve Pipe

The Lo-Fidelity Allstars pose some dizzying musical questions with a riot of sounds and styles

You Asked For It: Tractor Pull Divas

Tractor Pull DivasLove Songs for (Insert Your Name Here)(Self released)I haven't been overly enamored of local alt-country bands since I started doing You Asked For It back in September. The New Westerns had a nice sound, but spotty vocals, and suffer from occasional self-indulgence. Instant Hobo ... More >>

Phoenix’s Best Records of 2008

Tractor Pull DivasLove Songs for (Insert Your Name Here)(Self released)I haven't been overly enamored of local alt-country bands since I started doing You Asked For It back in September. The New Westerns had a nice sound, but spotty vocals, and suffer from occasional self-indulgence. Instant Hobo ... More >>

Bloodshot Eye Candy

Whose alt is it?

Lucero

Two fingers of punk and a splash of country-rock

The Damnwells

Two fingers of punk and a splash of country-rock

Palomar

Palomar III: Revenge of Palomar
(Self-Starter Foundation)

World Class Gad

Gadabout Film Fest makes its way in the reel world

Old 97s

Drag It Up
(New West Records)

Rhett Miller

Solo tour picks up new familiar steam

Heart and Steel

Jon Rauhouse's debut showcases this fine pedal-steel guitarist

High School Confidential

Teen punk band Angry Dirty Sanchez finds itself in the principal's office

Ride On

With the release of their latest, the Old 97's put something good into the world

Retro No More

Singer-songwriter Neko Case and her musical pals bring country music out of the curio cabinet

Road Weary

The Grievous Angels bid goodbye with a bleak chronicle of a traveling band

Various artists

Down to the Promised Land: 5 Years of Bloodshot Records (Bloodshot)

Obsessions, Passions, Perversions

New Times music critics reveal their deepest, darkest record-buying secrets

Calendar for the week

New Times music critics reveal their deepest, darkest record-buying secrets

You Asked For It: A Few Random Drunks

A Few Random DrunksWorld Famous County Wide(Self released)If you ask me, there's too many alt-country acts doing the Old 97s thing, and not nearly enough doing the Drive-By Truckers thing. Now, granted, I prefer the former to the latter, but unless you've got Rhett Miller's worn-denim vocals -- and ... More >>

Lucero Live: Moshing to Pedal Steel

Martin CizmarLucero: Music to mosh to!Dear ex-hardcore kids,Please stop ruining roots music.Look, I get it, you're pretty much aged out of hardcore shows, but you're covered in tattoos and have plugs in your earlobes, and it's hard to find a scene. Every band you've ever liked seems to be starting a ... More >>

Wilco Is Dave Matthews Band – And That’s Okay

Martin CizmarLucero: Music to mosh to!Dear ex-hardcore kids,Please stop ruining roots music.Look, I get it, you're pretty much aged out of hardcore shows, but you're covered in tattoos and have plugs in your earlobes, and it's hard to find a scene. Every band you've ever liked seems to be starting a ... More >>

Lucero Live: Why Country Music Needs Some Punk Blood

I love discussing music with our new Music Editor, Martin. More often than not we basically agree on most things. But I could not disagree more with his review of the Lucero show last night at the Rhythm Room. The first of my complaints is when talking about how the crowd was reacting (or the fact t ... More >>

The Scourge of Aesthetic Atrophy, and the Top 50 Albums of the Aughts

I love discussing music with our new Music Editor, Martin. More often than not we basically agree on most things. But I could not disagree more with his review of the Lucero show last night at the Rhythm Room. The first of my complaints is when talking about how the crowd was reacting (or the fact t ... More >>

Nothing Not New: We All Suffer from "Aesthetic Atrophy," But at Least I'm Getting Help

"If music be the food of love, play on. Give me excess of it . . ." -- Wm. Shakespeare ​ I recently received some bad news regarding a diagnosis. It's never easy to hear someone (especially an expert in his field) tell you that you have a serious problem, and it certainly wasn't easy this t ... More >>

Odds 'n' Sods: Delta Spirit, Stereo Total, The Tallest Man on Earth, The Cringe, The Dig, and more

​Let's clear off the desk, shall we?Stereo Total: Baby Ouh! -- This band on the Kill Rock Stars label is a multi-lingual new-New Wave boy-girl band with songs sung in English, German, and French. It's quirky with a capital "Q" and not nearly as charming as it thinks it is. Still, most songs are un ... More >>

Mill's End: Mill's End

​Artist: Mill's EndTitle: Mill's End, the band's self-titled, debut EP.Basics: Billed as a band that "carries on a tradition of American Alt-Country that blends modern influences with folk/Americana songwriting," Mill's End's sound is "firmly rooted in a style reflective of Drive By Truckers, Whis ... More >>

Kings of Leon: Come Around Sundown

​Artist: Kings of LeonTitle: Come Around SundownRelease date: October 19Label: RCAI think it's funny that people are getting all bent out of shape over the supposed "selling out" of Kings of Leon, saying their new record sucks worse than that sucky one that sold a bajillion copies a few years ago. ... More >>

Screaming Females: Castle Talk

​Artist: Screaming Females Title: Castle Talk Release date: September 14 Label: Don Giovanni Back in the day, I'd hate to miss a good show (I'm still not happy that my parents wouldn't let me drive to Kalamazoo one Monday night to see Scratch Acid and Big Black play, ditto the time I couldn't ... More >>

Warpaint: The Fool

​Artist: Warpaint Title: The Fool Release date: October 25 Label: Rough Trade The musical path taken by L.A. foursome Warpaint is well trodden -- but this kind of ultra-moody, sort of experimental, Joy Division-indebted music is usually plied by men. But Warpaint is a quartet of women, and in ... More >>

The 88: The 88

​Artist: The 88Title: The 88 Release date: September 28 Label: Rocket ScienceWhat do you do if you're a band like The 88? You're top-flight songwriters and musicians, you get your songs placed in all kinds of big-name TV shows and high-profile TV commercials, you tour the country opening ... More >>

Elvis Costello: National Ransom

​Artist: Elvis Costello Title: National Ransom Release date: November 2 Label: Hear Music I really wish it weren't the case, but I'd have to file the new record by Elvis Costello under "For Completists Only" (of which I'm sure there many when it comes to Elvis Costello fans). If you heard hi ... More >>

Matt & Kim: Sidewalks

​Artist: Matt & KimTitle: SidewalksRelease date: November 2Label: FaderI suppose I should mention up front that I didn't like Tears for Fears in 1985 and I still don't 25 years later, even in a nostalgic sense. So it stands to reason that I have little use for Matt & Kim in 2010.It's not t ... More >>

Nothing Not New: Podcast #10

Peter Storch​Oh, how we've missed podcasting to the music fans of the Valley. Well, music editor Martin Cizmar and I are back with a new one, with nine new-ish songs and lotsa banter about music, including the artistic achievements of Sufjan Stevens, a great new song by local band Gospel Claws, wh ... More >>

OFF!: First Four EPs

​Artist: OFF! Title: First Four EPs Release date: November 23 Label: Vice Records In 2010, few things seem more ridiculous than a punk supergroup anchored by two guys who made their most indelible marks on American punk rock nearly 30 years ago. But, damn, OFF! pulled off an unlikely feat, ma ... More >>

Odds 'n' Sods: Helmet, Michael Franti & Spearhead, The Charlatans, Small Black, and more

​It's amazing how much music is released in a year. I've listened to nearly 270 records in their entirety this year, yet I still have a huge stack of unlistened CDs on my desk, several unlistened digital downloads in my iTunes, and a lengthy list of high-profile stuff I never got a chance to h ... More >>

Tierra del Fuego: Queen of the Rendezvous

​Artist: Tierra del Fuego Title: Queen of the Rendezvous Release date: December 11 Label: Scapular Winging Through pure happenstance, I witnessed this local band, Tierra del Fuego, on Saturday night play as they played to a small but appreciative crowd at Trunk Space. It just happened to be t ... More >>

Girl Talk: All Day

​Artist: Girl Talk Title: All Day Release date: November 15 Label: Illegal Art Whether sample-happy mash-up act Girl Talk is "good" or "not good" and whether you "like" or "dislike" Girl Talk are completely irrelevant to any discussion regarding Girl Talk. The only things I care about when it ... More >>

Six New Times Contributors Name Their Top 10 Records of 2010

​Artist: Girl Talk Title: All Day Release date: November 15 Label: Illegal Art Whether sample-happy mash-up act Girl Talk is "good" or "not good" and whether you "like" or "dislike" Girl Talk are completely irrelevant to any discussion regarding Girl Talk. The only things I care about when it ... More >>

15 Good Songs You Might've Missed in 2010

Peter Storch​I listened to more than 3,000 songs in 2010, so I was asked to come up with a list of the best of the year. But you've probably heard "Swim" by Surfer Blood and "Boyfriend" by Best Coast and "Helicopter" by Deerhunter and "Hustle and Cuss" by the Dead Weather, so I came up with a ... More >>

The Sound Strike's Spin on Their SXSW Panel, Old 97's and More from SXSW

The Sound StrikeArizona activist Leilani Clark, Sound Strike organizer Javier Gonzalez and rapper Immortal Technique pose after The Sound Strike panel at SXSW.​A day ago, I told you what happened at the panel discussion The Sound Strike hosted at South By Southwest. The group, which is organizing ... More >>

Incoming: Biffy Clyro, Crystal Stilts, Def Leppard, Journey, Old 97's, Cut Copy

Magnus BlikengCut Copy​There's plenty a fine show coming through Phoenix in the foreseeable future, so allow me to write about a show that has been announced for August 12 - Aussie synthpoppers Cut Copy. For those who may not be familiar with Cut Copy, they have released three albums so ... More >>

March 24 In Blogs: Eric Cox, Cut Copy, Citizen Public House, and a Mock Border Fence

​​​In the 24-hour news cycle, it can be difficult to keep up. We have the solution. Check back on Valley Fever every evening for highlights from each of New Times' blogs. Today's entries:

Old 97's @ Martini Ranch

​​​In the 24-hour news cycle, it can be difficult to keep up. We have the solution. Check back on Valley Fever every evening for highlights from each of New Times' blogs. Today's entries:

What's Selling: Hoodlums Top 10 Selling Albums of the Week

http://www.hoodlumsmusic.com​Washed Out's Within and Without topped last week's list at Stinkweeds. This week we look at what's selling at Tempe neighborhood music store Hoodlums. The independently-owned music and movie haven has been rooted in Tempe since 1998, when they first opened their ... More >>