Omaha indie rockers Cursive are no strangers to making concept albums. From Domestica’s tale of Sweetie and Pretty Baby to the religious town in Happy Hollow, each album has its own narrative thread. This is abundantly clear on the band’s seventh album, I Am Gemini. “I was writing really jerky…
[Editor’s note: In this week’s issue, Eric Swedlund chats with Swedish singer/songwriter Jens Lekman, and explores his critically acclaimed new record, I Know What Love Isn’t. Here, Swedlund breaks down the title track. Lekman is scheduled to perform Friday, November 9, at Crescent Ballroom.] Love isn’t about faking a marriage…
Hate him or love him for it, there is no question that UK-born producer Christopher Mercer (a.k.a. Rusko) helped change popular notions of dubstep, making the genre ubiquitous in American dance clubs. In 2009, American tastemaking indie EDM label Mad Decent started pushing Rusko’s UK bass stateside. By that time, American…
It’s not clear whether Reverend Peyton actually is an ordained minister or just likes the moniker, but his Delta-blues-meets-moonshine-fired-hillbilly songs are undeniably sermon-like, with an all-or-nothing fire-and-brimstone delivery. Then again, all that hootin’ and hollerin’ also makes him sound like a man possessed. In any case, it’s the spirit of…
Matters of the heart exist, of course, in an emotional realm, but for singer/songwriter Jens Lekman, heartbreak has a bit of a scientific component, too. For his follow-up to 2007’s Night Falls Over Kortedala, Lekman didn’t want to make an album about a difficult breakup. But the songs had other…
As the old saying goes, what do you get the man who has everything? Or more specifically, what sort of gift could you possibly buy a cat like Steven Chung (a.k.a. DJ Tranzit) in honor of his 32nd birthday this weekend, given that he already owns a pimp ride, a…
Sera Cahoone is hilarious. Don’t believe it? Ask. “I am a pretty hilarious person,” the singer/songwriter laughs, discussing “Rumpshaker,” one of 12 excellent country rock songs on her latest record, Deer Creek Canyon. But “Rumpshaker” isn’t exactly a joke. Lyrically, it’s far from it. “I know you, at the time…
Thursday 8 AZ/88: Black Out Thursdays with Josh 1 (soulful house, lounge) Bar Smith: International Thursdays (hip-hop, Latin) Bobby Q’s: All-Star Thursdays with DJ Phlava, DJ Dark Vader, & DJ Skoolboi (hip-hop, reggae, R&B, dancehall) Cadillac Ranch: Thirsty Thursdays (Top 40, hip-hop, house) Dollhouse: Thursdays de Besitos (world beats, dance)…
Right now, some kid is listening to Enter the Night, the 2012 release from Drop the Lime (NYC-based producer/DJ/pop artist Luca Venezia), and it’s blowing their dubstep-addled mind. They’re pressing play on his cover of Bruce Springsteen’s stark 1982 classic “State Trooper” and thinking, “Oh, my God, this is brilliant…
Taalib Johnson, better known as Musiq Soulchild, or sometimes just Musiq, released his debut album, Aijuswanaseing, in 2000, at the apex of the neo-soul movement. The term, coined by then-Motown president Kedar Massenburg, described a particular streak of black American music. As with any name given to a diverse and…
There’s no better illustration of the fine line between brilliance and madness than Daniel Johnston. Indeed, the childlike simplicity and directness of his lyrics suggests the two are inseparable at times. A talented cult fave who spent years and years listening to and dissecting the Beatles, Johnston has a gift…
“Don’t rock the boat, sink it!” commands the anonymous scribe behind I Hate Indie Rock, a fiery Twitter account that has been launching crust-punk-tinged salvos at publicists, nostalgia and vapidity in the indie rock realm. The account has been around only since October, and at this point, the feed has…
Do you hear that? Off in the distance? It’s the sound of a bass guitar being slapped. Furiously slapped. That’s kinda what Les Claypool (Primus, Oysterhead, Frog Brigade) does, and I’m betting that’s what he’ll be doing with his Duo de Twang (Claypol plus MIRV) on Sunday, March 24. The…
Titus Andronicus and Ceremony @ Crescent Ballroom, 11/6/12″Good night, good luck, and four more years!” said Patrick Stickles as he high-fived fans from the stage as Titus Andronicus wrapped up a solid set that ran almost two hours. The night wasn’t as political as it could have been, both bands…
Retox and Regents @ Yucca Tap Room|11/6/12By Mike Bogumill While most people were at the Titus Andronicus and Ceremony show enjoying a bar rock act and a hardcore band, both of which escaped their respective niches to achieve crossover success among general indie audiences, two bands with similarly prefixed names,…
The Blasters will be hitting The Rhythm Room on Saturday, December 15th. They’ll no doubt be pushing their latest album, Fun on Saturday Night, a 12-track joyride through rockabilly and blues territory. The album also includes a June Carter Cash cover of “Jackson” with X’s Exene Cervenka. After thirty years…
Football fans can be a rather crazy lot. Setting aside the fact they spend around four months out of every year obsessing over a single team and practically living and dying on their every move, pigskin addicts are more than willing to watch games in the freezing cold, while wearing…
Are you a musician? Is your group having issues? 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 help you stop…
The journey known as “Vintage 2012” is almost complete. Not finished, but it’s most certainly arriving at a fairly calm station. No more 2 a.m. panic-related insomnia attacks, where I stare at the ceiling going over and over the logistics of a tiny workspace. I’m not about to kid myself;…
Well folks, this is it. Election day is here and that means one thing: regardless of how you vote today, campaign season is over. Uncoincidentally, local hip-hoppers Random a.k.a Mega Ran, Mouse Powell, Mr. Miranda and DJ DN3, wrapped up their campaign tour a few weeks ago and as a…
It’s easy to write. Learning to edit, however, takes time. It’s a lesson IAMWE is intimately familiar with. When we last talked to the local indie rockers in depth, they fully anticipated pushing out a record in December of 2011. Today, nearly a year later, they release Run Wild, or…
Seattle math rock-meets-electronic indie band Minus the Bear has been going strong for 12 years now, spending most of its time on the road or in the studio. As a testament to how much the band tours, take a look at how many times we’ve reviewed the band over the…
