Despite his announcement late last year that he had fathered an illegitimate child, Alejandro Sanz remains an internationally beloved Latin balladeer. An aging heartthrob and the bestselling pop star to ever come out of Spain, Madrid native Sanz is not yet a household name in America, despite hitting big with…
Chris Martin recently said that Scottish band Travis “invented” Coldplay, and repeat listens to Travis’ fifth album, The Boy with No Name, provide ample evidence of Travis’ influence on a whole slew of UK bands, from Coldplay to Keane to Snow Patrol. Perhaps if Travis frontman Fran Healy had married…
In the fast-and-loose world of alt-journalism, filled with clever quips and erudite observations, it’d be all too easy to make some sort of salacious wordplay out of that fact that harmonica-playing blues savant Jason Ricci is openly gay (and likely incorporating the phrase “mouth organ” in some fashion). Frankly, that…
We drink a lot. And in an attempt to keep from getting fat from all the extra calories, we’ve switched to the low-sugar, low-calorie (and low-tasty) citron and soda. It takes an effort to swallow that swill all night, so we decided to take an opportunity to sample some more…
Has our ‘Shell gone all “born again” or something? Nope — eclectic folk-rocker Michelle Shocked has discovered the joys and power of the African-American gospel tradition. Although she’s being singing in an African-American church choir for a while, with the live recording To Heaven U Ride, Ms. Shocked has avidly…
On La Cucaracha, Ween continues its tradition of delivering polymorphous albums full of brilliant, warped pop songs graced with lyrics that range from the nonsensical to the silly to the outright offensive. Sliding effortlessly among styles, genres, and sounds, the album finds the Brothers Ween making odd juxtapositions and placing…
The first lyric on Jimmy Eat World’s new album, Chase This Light, is a self-assured (if not presumptuous) one-word imperative: “Stay.” But an enormous wall of distorted guitars then sucker-punches the listener, just before a raucous burst of power-drill-buzzing guitars bolts the listener to the chair. (In other words, vocalist/songwriter…
Sammy Wiley, a.k.a. The Wiley One, is the brother of Cristiana Cole and Marta Wiley (of local esoteric rock group W.O.M.B.), and judging by his new CD, there’s some serious talent in the genes. Wiley’s album opens with “Possibilities,” an upbeat acoustic song reminiscent of Jack Johnson’s work on Brushfire…
There’s so much about Coheed and Cambria’s work that cries out for ridicule, especially the ’70s-art-rock-derived instrumental wankery and the skyscraping, get-your-Geddy-on vocals. Somehow, though, the act’s latest release works in spite of itself. No World for Tomorrow represents the final chapter of “The Armory Wars,” the epic tale of…
It’s been a tumultuous year for Phonte and Big Pooh of Little Brother, the Durham, North Carolina, group that became one of underground hip-hop’s brightest stars at the beginning of the decade. This year saw them part ways with producer 9th Wonder, who seemed to have his hands full producing…
Despite an amazing five-decade career, Herbie Hancock remains an enigma to most. But only the great Miles Davis can lay claim to reinventing jazz with crossover pop appeal as many times over. From hard-bop wizardry with Davis’ second great quintet in the ’60s (some of the best music ever played)…
It’s been almost 20 years since Queen Latifah recorded her first song, “Princess of the Posse,” an assertive rap with Jamaican inflections. She was the definitive strong-minded female rapper of the ’90s, and at the time it seemed unlikely that she’d be anything other than the Afrocentric feminist construct that…
If one wanted to gauge the anticipation for Wonder 4, merely peeping one of the local EDM message boards would reveal the kind of fervor that’s building around the annual rave extravaganza, which takes place on Saturday, November 17, at the Icehouse, 429 West Jackson Street. “This fucker looks sick!”…
Gemini Soul takes jazz and injects it with a heavy, rhythmic dose of funk. Bass player André Marcel Ajamu Akinyele’s four-string coils itself around the steady snare percussion with a springing and throbbing reminiscent of Me’shell Ndegéocello’s low-end jams on softer songs like “Gypsy” and “Hang on to Your Love,”…
As much fun as warehouse raves can be — what with all the thrill of thrashing around in some anonymous location that could be visited by the po-po at any moment — occasionally, we dig on getting some after-hours dance action in a legal venue. Such will be the situation…
There are certain holidays that call for a celebration extension, and Halloween is definitely one of them. We partied it up over the pre-Halloween weekend, but we just didn’t get our fill of costumed dudes and whore-ish ladies. So we decided to check out the Ruby Room on Wednesday, October…
Are the Resonars a “real band” or aren’t they? Only Matt Rendon knows for sure, and he’s not saying (yet). To paraphrase the immortal Bard, what’s in a band . . . as long as platters as nifty as Nonetheless Blue result? Tucson’s Resonars is basically singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Matt Rendon (Vultures,…
Scott Johnson’s new release is a fusion of all that is local. While the Gin Blossoms’ guitarist has risen to national success and recognition, this album truly does feel homegrown. That might have something to do with the album’s being recorded primarily at local studios or, perhaps, it’s a result…
Although fans of his multiplatinum vehicles Tool and A Perfect Circle like to paint him as an arcane, poetry-drunk, Jim Morrison-esque frontman, Maynard James Keenan is one puerile sonofabitch at heart; and with Puscifer, his long-in-the-making solo vehicle, Keenan shows just how dirty (and funny) he can be when he…
Chicago-based DJ Felix Da Housecat takes a journey back to disco with his new release, navigating through sonic textures from that bygone era. Hearing it, you notice that Felix carefully researched the genre when it was at its highest point (circa 1979) and now acknowledges how it influenced today’s dance…
We miss Buck Owens. Genial, shrewd, goofy, and incredibly gifted, Owens shared the pop and country music stage with the vast crowd of ’60s musical wunderkinder. He stood his Top 40 ground with the Beatles, who liked him enough to cover him (“Act Naturally” was Ringo’s signature theme), while performers…
If you like tales of cocaine and depravity mixed with gospel/soul tinges and down-home twang, Old Crow Medicine Show has just what you’re looking for. The members of the bluegrass-meets-blues outfit are fervent — one might even say fanatical — disciples of Gillian Welch’s partner in crime, David Rawlings, and…
