Ryan McPhun of The Ruby Suns describes the tour for his latest album as “a live rock band approach to not-live-band rock music.” His fourth Ruby Suns album, Christopher (released in January on Sub Pop), is indeed a synth-laden futuristic pop album, highly polished and danceable. But McPhun made the…
There’s plenty to suggest Larry “Mud” Morganfield is the second coming of legendary bluesman Muddy Waters. First, there’s the look: that contorted expression when he sings, eyes closed and face scrunched up like a wrinkled Shar Pei. There’s the perfectly balanced mustache riding on top of his upper lip. Then…
Fadil El Ghoul — better known to dance floor princes and princesses as R3hab — is relatively new to the EDM game, breaking out in 2008, right as the genre began to experience a seismic shift in popularity. A proponent of “Dutch house” style, there’s a distinct menace to R3hab’s…
Following up last year’s New Times Soundcheck, a two-day festival at Club Red in Tempe — which featured performances by The Love Me Nots, Sugar Thieves, 2 Tone Lizard Kings, Jason Devore, The Insects, Crusher Sound System, and more — was a serious task. But challenges are cool, right? Up…
With apologies to the Paul Oakenfolds and John Digweeds of the world, the realm of electronic dance music has become more a domain for the young in recent years. So much so that it if your average bedroom producer wunderkinds haven’t conquered Beatport or Hypem with their remixes, inked a…
Thom Yorke of Radiohead isn’t into doing interviews. He prefers to be the shadowed cock-eyed intellect behind the Radiohead machine or to spout spastic lines and moan over the twitchy glitch-pop of his Atoms for Peace project. He doesn’t have much time for promotional rigmarole. But Yorke has kids, and…
It’s not easy being beautiful. Just ask Zac Pennington, frontman of experimental pop group Parenthetical Girls, whose vocal strains fall halfway between those of Perfume Genius and Lightspeed Champion, complemented with the baroque pop stylings of Belle and Sebastian. Pennington, known for his gender-neutral lyrics and his Morrissey-borrowed wit, pens…
Thursday 7 Afterlife: Touch Thursdays with DJ Tsunami, DJ Michael Ryan, & DJ Matt Fox (Top 40, EDM) AZ/88: Black Out Thursdays with Josh 1 (soulful house, lounge) Bikini Lounge: DJ Shane Kennedy (juke joint, R&B, French pop) Bobby Q’s: All Star Thursdays with DJ Dark Vader, DJ Skoolboi, &…
Following up last year’s New Times Soundcheck, a two-day festival at Club Red in Tempe — which featured performances by The Love Me Nots, Sugar Thieves, 2 Tone Lizard Kings, Jason Devore, The Insects, Crusher Sound System, and more — was a serious task. But challenges are cool, right? Up…
Punk bands have a tendency of burning out long before fading away. Pittsburgh’s Anti-Flag has proved to be an exception to the rule. The band has been writing politically charged punk and touring relentlessly for the better part of 20 years. “I really love the old records,” says vocalist/guitarist Justin…
Mill Avenue is always busy on the weekends. Just try to find a parking spot among the partying coeds and crazy cab drivers and you’ll know what we mean. Luckily, the ladies of Arizona’s Roller Derby know how to push through a crowd, like they did when they hosted a…
The sound of San Francisco’s Soft Moon is disorienting: A darkly hyperactive Neu! mixed with the dance-floor sensibility of Depeche Mode and the stark despair of Bauhaus makes The Soft Moon one cynically crafted machine. But the most disorientating tactic in frontman Luis Vazquez’s arsenal is his muted vocals. Listen…
Can you imagine how you would have turned out if The Flaming Lips — the same Christmas on Mars/crazy/insane Flaming Lips you’re thinking of — had appeared on Sesame Street? It’s a question we’ll soon be able to answer. The Lips have appeared on Yo Gabba Gabba!, arguably the hippest…
Nathan Willett of Cold War Kids says that when it came time to make the band’s new record, the forthcoming Dear Miss Lonely Hearts (due April 2), they decided to play less to what the band “should be” and more to what it “could be.” “I feel like we started…
I know you don’t care, but I made a Harlem Shake video. Don’t worry, I’m not gonna show it to you. Because I am naive when it comes to the internetz, I actually was a little surprised when it didn’t become an instant viral hit. I’ll be 100 percent honest…
In case you’ve got the memory of Mr. Magoo, Beck’s latest musical release wasn’t an album. Instead, it was just a book of sheet music. Called Song Reader, the book includes over 100 pages of original artwork and 20 songs that Beck wants you to bring to life. Already dozens,…
Singer Stan Devereaux has been playing R&B and soul in Arizona since the 1960s, growing up in Tucson before exploring the Phoenix soul scene after college, then departing for Europe, South America, and Georgia. His journey led him back to Phoenix, and since he’s settled into a groove here in…
Matt Johnson and Kim Schifino do whatever they want. They play with whatever kind of bands they want, they get naked in videos, they do the “Harlem Shake,” and they picked a band name, Matt & Kim, that immediately establishes their singular style of indie/pop. See also: -Matt Johnson of…
The most obvious difference in Hanni El Khatib’s music these days is a sense of control. The former skate punk — “playing the world’s worst guitar” (but “Guitar Hero is helping out),” he jokes — still dabbles in garage, psychedelia, punk, and blues, only now his songs are tighter, more realized…
Are you a musician? Is your group having issues? Ask Fan Landers! Critic Jessica Hopper has played in and managed bands, toured internationally, booked shows, produced records, worked as a publicist, and is the author of The Girls’ Guide to Rocking, a how-to for teen ladies. She is here to…
Once a week, Up on the Sun features a new comic strip from punk rocker, cartoonist, and full-time dad Brad Dwyer. See New Times’ print edition to check out the strip in glorious, inky newsprint each Thursday…
For someone not even old enough to drink, Sareena Dominguez sure has accomplished a lot: After signing to the River Jones Music label less than a year and half ago, she’s played South by Southwest, released an album (her debut, Moonbeams), and starred in a music video of the same…
