If “now” were the mid- to late 1960s, Jana Hunter’s There’s No Home would likely be released on the legendary ESP-Disk label. It was one of the most uncompromising American labels ever, and the New Weird America/Free Folk scene with which Hunter is identified has roots (at least in part)…
Leave it to Trent Reznor, a musician who probably doesn’t need to hype his art at this point, to trump every other viral marketer with the Internet-heavy promotional campaign for Year Zero. (It’s a concept record; think the Big Brother mentality of George Orwell’s 1984 combined with the drugged-out society…
With a hard mash of breaks, dubstep, and anything else that buzzes and beckons asses to the dance floor, Tayo’s Fabriclive.32 mix packs consistent, convulsive shudders. The South London producer spotlights his neighbors when a handful of dubstep VIPs appear toward the adjournment of the track list, with entries from…
Swati, a thirtysomething lesbian from Manhattan, is a powerful singer/songwriter, but her amazing guitar technique is winning her as many critical raves as her songs. Her 12-string guitar has been restrung as an 8-string with doubled B and high E strings, and the sounds she wrings out of the instrument…
Rai (pronounced “rye”) is the name given to the popular music that dominates Algeria’s streets and nightclubs and that is present among immigrant communities throughout America. In its original form, rai was a simple folk music made with improvised lyrics and accompanied by flute. The genre evolved over the years,…
Musicians who invent stuff are way cool. There’s Boston’s Tom Scholz, who developed the hugely popular Rockman headphone amplifier; New Orleans soul-punker Quintron and his bizarro, light-activated Drum Buddy; and, of course, Junior Brown, who, two decades ago, came up with his signature “guit-steel” — a Frankensteinian double-necked instrument that’s…
The most powerful introduction to Lucinda Williams’ new record, West, comes not from the languid, repetitive opener “Are You Alright?” but from the liner-note inscription by her poet father, Miller Williams: “You do not know what wars are going on down there where the spirit meets the bone.” As one…
Apparently, breaking up helped Black Rebel Motorcyle Club more than it hurt. After losing drummer Nick Jago, remaining members Peter Hayes and Robert Been took an abrupt, well-received detour into acoustic-based folk on 2005’s Howl, which soon led to Jago’s return. The time apart must have worked some sort of…
Reflecting the urban polyglot of its Los Angeles home, Ozomatli purveys a Latin dance party fueled by horns and covering a seamless expanse of hip-hop, jazz, rock, funk, and salsa. The vibrant sound is impressive live, and the band won a Grammy for its third album, 2004’s Street Signs. Like…
Bright Eyes’ latest effort, Cassadaga, takes its name from a psychic community. The first voice you hear as the orchestra makes like “Revolution 9” is a clairvoyant going on about centers of energy, and there are references to cleansing and communing with the dead. Although there’s nothing here as obviously…
The piñatas and Patrón will be poppin’ as the yearly case of Cinco de Mayo fever grips the Valley this weekend, with an eff-load of fetes and fiestas planned for Saturday, May 5 (peep our guide for proof). We’ve planned out our whole day, wey, and it gonna be muy…
Since this Saturday is Cinco de Mayo, a totally cracker-ass holiday which happens to cause bands to play in excess all in the same day, I’m pimping some of this weekend’s shows early. Friday night, if I’m not at the Ghostlife show, then I’ll be checking out the Earps’ CD…
It’s pretty goddamn rare that when I get a random local CD with only my name printed on a white slip-sleeve and a flyer for an upcoming show in it that the band’s any good. Actually, sometimes it’s rare that the disc will get more than thirty seconds of playing…
I hadn’t heard from my old pal Marshall “Fucking” Beck in a while, so I was pleasantly surprised to find a comment on my Myspace page from him today. Apparently his old band Rebirth is releasing a CD soon (he’s got a band called Reign of Vengeance these days). Here’s…
Don’t let the photo above scare you, it’s only my homeboy Ryan Breen, a.k.a. the one-man electronic machine known as Back Ted N-Ted. He’s just finished up his debut album, Pop Animal, that’s scheduled to be released soon by Ohio indie Abandon Building Records. If you click on the tag…
I missed the Crowded House/Liam Finn show last Thursday at the Marquee, but one of the swell guys who occasionally takes photos of bands for my column was there, and sent me these shots as well as a pretty rave review of the gig. The photog is Luke Holwerda, and…
As a music critic, it’s a given that I see a shitload of local bands. I also see a lot of bad local bands, or at least ones that could really use some adjustments. Even talented acts around town bore the hell out of me if I see them a…
Now that extreme metal with an arty edge hardly seems trailblazing anymore, the concept of super-short albums stocked with blink-and-you’ll-miss-it bursts of noise is losing its postmodern thrill. Though several acts have worked this angle with fresh results, including Daughters and the Locust, both of which appear with Cattle Decapitation…
There is no better way to dismissively sum up a rock band than by labeling it “emo.” This has almost universally worked for the past six or seven years, with few exceptions. But when those few exceptions do occur, music aficionados and pop culture, in general, have to scramble to…
Popularity, in a Yogi Berra-esque paradox, alienates some music fans. They either don’t want to be sheep or they simply want to avoid being trampled by the existing sheep in an eerie frenzy inspired by, let’s say, the bouncy sweatball of performing energy that is Treasure Mammal’s Abelardo Gil III…
A patchwork of film and TV samples, scratches, and elegant baroque instrumentation on Hope & Sorrow follows French turntablist/producer Wax Tailor’s 2005 debut, which isn’t entirely different from this latest effort. Two years ago, Tailor employed looped keyboard melodies and cello flourishes on his breakout Tales of Forgotten Melodies LP,…
At some point in rock ‘n’ roll, creativity got confused with originality — bands and singers were suspect if their songs weren’t self-penned. Performers recording others’ songs were often seen as less “genuine” by the terminally hip. That kind of thinking is responsible for tons of rock albums containing two…
