Title: The New Millenium ManBasics: San Diego born, RoQ’y TyRaid (né Jacob Raiford) has since moved to Phoenix to try and make his new name. I say new because Raiford was once known as J RoQ, but as he explains on “Vanguard,” “J RoQ is Neo, who was slain /…
Title: So Close Yet So Foreign EPBasics: It’s back to the pop punk grind here at YAFI, thanks to No Gimmick last week and now Russian Arms and Optics this week. Thankfully, RAO’s brand of pop punk isn’t that terrible — there’s is a pop punk with plenty of synths…
Michael Benjamin Lerner is a Seattle-based indie rock musician who performs under the moniker Telekinesis. Though he was a solo act before hiring two guns for his latest album, his foil on this particular project has long been Chris Walla, a guitarist who plays in Death Cab For Cutie. Walla,…
Alas, I must celebrate Japanese metal pioneers Loudness, who are playing an intimate gig at Club Red May 21. I remember first watching the video for their hit 1985 single “Crazy Nights” and simply wondering what the hell was going on — mainly why the hell a Japanese metal band…
Underneath The Pine is a more mellow — albeit funkier — album than Causers. It definitely has a more live, instrument-driven feel as opposed to that album’s electronic, laptop-centric music. The end result shows Bundick’s wide breadth as a musician — channeling his smoother, more downbeat side. By changing his…
It looks like there’s a new entry for the brilliant Who Is Arcade Fire? tumblr. Unfortunately, this one is longer than 140 characters — by about a full page in The New York Times. Steve Stoute — CEO of marketing company Translation and a veteran record executive — took to The New…
Title: Loss For Words EPBasics: I think I was getting far too cocky atop my YAFI perch. Here I was about to collect my two month chip for being pop punk sober. Thanks to power punk trio No Gimmick, I’m off the wagon yet again. I give up — it’s a…
Title: Lesson Number OneBasics: The Father Figures are appropriately named — I don’t know the exact ages of member Tom Reardon, Michael Cornelius and Bobby Lerma, but this photo I saw upon opening the CD case let me know roughly just how old they might be. Usually I cringe at…
You see, The Dears were among the first bands to popularize what has become a viable Montreal indie rock sound. The released their first album, End of a Hollywood Bedtime Story, in 2000 — four years prior to Arcade Fire’s debut. Lead by the enigmatic vocals of Murray Lightburn, The…
Someway, somehow you’ve probably heard over fifteen different Foreigner songs on the radio in your lifetime — it’s just a inevitable formality of life. Whether you love the band or hate them, you can’t knock them for having such a long and celebrated career. Sure, 2011’s Foreigner isn’t quite the…
But wait — what’s wrong with being single? Certain people enjoy living this way, and there’s absolutely nothing at all wrong with living alone.Well, perhaps every day but February 14. However, Valentine’s Day has recently taken on a more cheeky moniker, that of “Singles Awareness Day.” So why the hell not…
Artist: Lisa SavidgeTitle: Lisa SavidgeBasics. Lisa Savidge. Nah, I’m just messing with you. Phoenix shoegaze/post rock/post punk quintet Lisa Savidge marks a first for YAFI — an album that comes out within a day of getting the YAFI treatment. There’s been plenty of healthy hype surrounding Lisa Savidge — five guys…
Artist: Liam’s ProblemTitle: Liam’s Problem EPBasics: Liam’s Problem describes themselves as a “musical journey through rock, soul, funk and blues” and “as likely to be influenced by The Allman Brothers or Parliament Funkadelic as they are Led Zeppelin or Pear Jam.”There is definitely a Pearl Jam/Soundgarden influence mixed with some…
YuckThursday, February 10, 2011Rhythm Room, PhoenixMy ears are still ringing as I write this, and I couldn’t be happier. Normally, I loathe doling out such large amounts of damage to my eardrums, but if it was at the hands of North London buzz band Yuck, then I think I can…
Can one man exist in the realm of buzz bands his entire career? Well, why the hell not? It’s easier than it seems — simply lead one band to the top of Buzz Band Mountain, ditch that band with your bass player after a critically successful debut album, and lead…
“Under Cover of Darkness” is now available for download via The Strokes’ official website. Offer up your email and birthdate and you’ll get the band’s first new material since 2006’s First Impressions Of Earth — remember that album? Worry not if you’re struggling to name that album’s lead single (“Juicebox”) — Angles,…
Tennis Rhythm Room Tuesday, February 8, 2011 So it was — a waif, diminutive indie chanteuse and her prim, penny-loafer adorned husband took to the stage last night. The local crowd came out in impressive numbers for a Tuesday night in February. People were dancing, nodding their heads in appreciation of the laid-back, effervescent music. And…
Zonoscope is quite a departure from 2008’s far-too-brilliant In Ghost Colours. The band pretty much had no choice on the matter. Almost anything similar would pale in comparison — it’s rare to hear a band hit their stride in such a magnificent fashion as Cut Copy did on In Ghost…
Mixed in amongst this week’s indie rock plethora is a Slick Rick show at The Clubhouse. The British born, New York raised M.C. is best known for being a story-rap innovator, coming of age in what many consider to be the Golden Age of hip-hop. Songs such as “Children’s Story,”…
Title: Touch My Beer and I’ll Kill Ya Basics: Let’s start with what Catfish Mustache isn’t (thank God): Countrified rock, emo, pop-punk. What we do have — in lieu of all those super fun genres — is some funk rock with some hip-hop sprinkled in for good measure. Warning –…
A band named Tennis has to be a bunch of Ivy League 20-somethings with penchants for deck shoes and cable-knit sweaters, right? No, bands full of those guys usually feature names inspired by monsters — vampires, even. Tennis is actually Denver husband-and-wife duo Alaina Moore and Patrick Riley. The two…
Ticketless Coachella-type music fans in Phoenix, worry not: a good number of bands playing the festival are coming through the Valley before and after Coachella.At the top of this list has to be French dance/electro/pop trio Yelle. Once they wrap things up at Coachella, Yelle will embark on a small…
