Year: 2005

1. Beck, Guero (Geffen) 2. Jack Johnson, In Between Dreams (Universal) 3. Mae, The Everglow (Tooth & Nail) 4. Mars Volta, Frances the Mute (Universal) 5. The Bravery, The Bravery (Island) 6. Queens of the Stone Age, Lullabies to Paralyze (Interscope) 7. Thrice, If We Could Only See Us Now…

It’s understandable that much sophisticated ink has been spent on Q and Not U’s context, rather than its music. The band does, after all, come complete with its share of buzzy reference points, including (try not to get nauseous) “dance punk,” “DC-core” and “emo.” But let’s pretend we’re blissfully unschooled…

My eyelids fluttered open, and there, peering down at me, was a six-foot-tall platypus wearing a paisley vest, a monocle, and a mischievous smile. “Wh-wh-where am I?” I stammered, sitting up in the purple grass and gazing at the grove of marshmallow trees in front of me. “Now, now, my…

Choose Your Own Adventure #296: Papa Roach You are in a rap-rock band from California. You hit it big in 2000 with your multi-platinum album Infest, and its smash single, “Last Resort,” but your 2002 follow-up, lovehatetragedy, tanked amid the decline and fall of nü-metal. You want to keep the…

Have you ever complained about the lack of unity in the Phoenix music community? Well, it’s time to put your money where your mouth is. The guys in positive hardcore band Where Eagles Dare borrowed some friends’ trailer for a tour, and then came back to our fair city to…

Things to think about next time you toe-tap to “Seventh Son”: Johnny Rivers, whose last hit was “Swayin’ to the Music (Slow Dancin’)” in 1977, still continues packing fans into large halls, while his contemporaries slog away in pathetic oldies revues. A savvy businessman early on, he worked an integrity…

It’s nice to finally hear a local band living up to its hype. With Up, Ember Coast has proven it has what it takes to play with the nationals. The disc kicks off with the catchiest and most radio-friendly “On My Mark.” Vocalist Sean Brennan uses breath control to add…

Call her the anti-Norah Jones. Crinkly-voiced, not particularly friendly, more issues than a thrift-store guitar — Martha Wainwright is a rare example of the darker folk-inspired singer-songwriter. And occasionally, she takes it too far, as when she molests a great song with the refrain “Ya bloody mother fuckin’ asshole.” Likewise,…

Snakier and spookier than anything on the recent Trojan or Studio One compilations, Down Santic Way boasts incredible focus where the others offer breadth. There’s a reason for this: Where the former labels enjoyed a decades-long life span, Leonard Chin’s Santic Records hammered out its legacy within a concentrated period…

Hinson was raised a fundamentalist Christian, but by the time he was 19, he’d descended into his own private hell of addiction, jail and homelessness. During his downward spiral, he kept writing lyrics and composing tunes on borrowed instruments, and his dark odyssey is now brought to life with a…