There’s something to be said for scarcity, the way something becomes more special as it becomes more unattainable. That’s how it is with elusive Valley duo Reubens Accomplice, who manage to play out about as often as it rains here — if even. Last time the band graced a local…

On a typical weekend night, it’s not at all unusual to see dozens of people socializing on the sidewalk in front of Modified Arts, or smoking in the parking lot at The Trunk Space — spots on Roosevelt Street and Grand Avenue that, not so long ago, were vacant. What…

Man, I wish they’d had Roadtrip Nation in 1997, when I was fresh out of college and wondering what to do with myself. My roommate and I were scraping by from paycheck to paycheck with entry-level office jobs, and student loan payments on our overpriced educations hadn’t even kicked in…

Saturday night is overrated. More often than not, I find myself having the most fun on a school night. After all these years, there’s still a naughty thrill to going out in the middle of the week. Maybe it’s because there are lower expectations and people loosen up. Maybe folks…

When did DJs stop being tastemakers? I’m not talking about scenesters who play songs for nightclub crowds, or vinyl junkies who juggle beats on a couple of turntables. Those are the newer notions of what a DJ is. Instead, I’m thinking of the faceless folks who deliver music over the…

I have some married friends who send out genius homemade holiday cards, so funny and meticulously planned I’m sure I’m not the only person who looks forward to getting one in the mail, wondering how they’ll outdo their previous creations. These two are obsessive collectors of various hard-to-find goodies –…

The self-titled debut album from She Wants Revenge isn’t due out ’til the end of January, but Halloween would’ve been a better time to drop music this dark. With lascivious lyrics about damaged relationships (“These Things”) and moonlit sadomasochism (“Monologue”), Justin Warfield sings in a brittle monotone that could freeze…

The travel bug bit Stereo Typed hard on the Phoenix hip-hop trio’s debut full-length. As the album title suggests, these guys get around — but they’re more globe trekkers with a message than bling-seeking jet-setters, delivering political criticism (with minimalist bass grooves on “Energy Raw Power”), social consciousness (weaving words…

Back in the spring, when I first heard Fine China’s new album, The Jaws of Life, I fixated on the idea of hidden Phoenix treasures. The album’s great from the first listen — moody, Brit-styled pop, but by a band based here. The album’s easily one of the best local…

Right at that loud, sweaty moment when the crowd’s ready to crawl on the stage from too much anxious waiting and too much beer, the lights go dark and the house music switches over to some blaring, swaggering tune fit for a movie about 1950s delinquents. Everyone cheers and hoists…

To celebrate 10 years in the concert promotion biz, Charlie Levy tried to give Phoenix a really cool present: a big indie rock festival, the city’s first. But without even saying thanks, Phoenix blew Charlie off. There’s got to be a reason the Grand Cayenne Music Festival — scheduled for…

Punk’s not dead, and thanks to the booming local music site AZPunk, it’s not exploited, either. AZPunk.comp Volume 4 offers equal-opportunity aggression from a mind-boggling 37 bands from across the Valley and such far-flung punk enclaves as Tuba City and Yuma. In almost 75 minutes of music, there’s old-school anarchy,…

Aside from a bottle of wine and my couch, something that really makes a Friday night for me is music. Loud music, with hypnotic, booming bass. On a Friday night not long ago, I’ve found it right in downtown Phoenix. I’m in the groove with hundreds of warm bodies at…

Talk about a thrill ride. After two self-released EPs and a third out this summer on Sub Pop, Wolf Parade’s anticipated debut full-length is the kind of heart-pounding, emotional roller coaster we’ll gladly take again and again — except the line to jump onboard is bound to get longer. Hailing…

There is such a thing as sophisticated simplicity, and Let Go’s self-titled debut makes a sly example. With its soaring vocal harmonies, shimmering drums, and rich, driving guitar, it feels comfortably familiar at first listen. But on second thought, how many new bands are giving a 21st-century, indie spin to…

From the Hellacopters to the Hives, Swedish rock bands have been getting a good amount of buzz for well more than a decade now. And since Dungen is only the latest in a long line of European acts with an American cult following, it’s finally hitting our shores frontloaded not…

The Glass Heroes proudly proclaim their allegiance to “unadulterated and undiluted punk,” and listening to their self-titled Malt Soda debut, it takes no guesswork to trace their influences straight back to the late ’70s. For one thing, they’ve completely nailed covers of two of the best songs from that era…

This Avenue of the Arts MC may have shortened his moniker to Anglo-Saxon, but you can still call him Ill Al — he sure lives up to the name with incredible rhymes on his new disc, Unplug, which is being jointly released by two up-and-coming local indie labels, Grave 9…