Ladies and gentlemen, introducing Snow Patrol — an alternative for those of you put off by Chris Martin’s floppy Muppet histrionics and questionable baby-naming skills. This Scotland-via-Ireland quartet is led by Gary Lightbody, who is also known in indie circles for leading the low-key supergroup Reindeer Section, which comprises members…
Philadelphia-based singer/songwriter Jill Scott doesn’t indulge in the sweeping generalizations that sometimes bog down work by her peers in the neo-soul scene — moon-June appreciations of honey-dripped thighs and eyes like God’s skies. In tunes like “The Fact Is (I Need You)” and “Family Reunion” she does the opposite, writing…
The main question here is not “Is it good?” but “Is it necessary?” Ever since pent-up indie kids learned to stop worrying and love the Rasta, British labels like Trojan and Soul Jazz have been offering prime, pure lumber to meet the growing demand. And while it’s valuable to have…
Why a trio with such a sunny, uplifting vibe named itself after one of the most annoying insects on the planet is anybody’s guess, but on its second outing, it offers up another generous 15-track helping of twinkling pop gems that fuse the bright, cheery vibe of ’60s bossa nova…
Inexplicably, La Tarea’s nine-song demo finally found its way to this column two seasons after the local shows it was sent in to promote. Pulling back the shroud of mystery deflates the fun somewhat, but know this — Chris, Cory, Devon and Sam are young. They are gifted (Devon can…
If you lived in Manhattan during the ’80s, it was almost unthinkable that you could go out to a club or bar and not hear the blues. The generous called it a blues boom, but aesthetically it was a blues glut — too many musicians playing too many shuffles in…
Galway County lads a long way from their Irish hearths, these boys have been hammering and crooning and rocking for nigh 15 years or more, and have suffered through some fairly devastating lineup changes of late. That said, they are — and always have been — a cracker live act…
Top 10 selling CDs at Eastside Records (217 West University Drive in Tempe) for September 20 through 26: 1. The Dwarves, Dwarves Must Die (Sympathy for the Record Industry) 2. Leftover Crack, Fuck World Trade (Dig) (Alternative Tentacles) 3. The Cramps, How to Make a Monster (Vengeance) 4. Knights of…
The lines are just beginning to be drawn at the Battle of the DJs spin-off competition at Flip Flops in Tempe (216 and 222 East University). This Saturday night, October 2, marks another installment of the first-round eliminations, and next Saturday will be the last chance for you to put…
Like Sloan, the Tragically Hip’s massive success in Canada and anonymity here is more vexing than Alanis and Celine’s popularity here — and that’s saying something! Like Sloan, the Hip have a rich, arena-ready sound that captures the power-pop punch of Cheap Trick. But unlike the Beatles-inflected Sloansters, the Hip…
Disc one: London Calling, the original, remastered and all that. Brilliant, beautiful, nostalgic, powerful and perfect. Disc two: “The Vanilla Tapes,” lost and found rehearsal and demo tracks. A sketchbook jam pad pile of tasty odds and ends. A Clash fan’s dream. Disc three: a DVD containing a 45-minute documentary…
I hold in my hands the newly mastered Stereotyperider album, Prolonging the Inevitable, on a CD-R, the Sharpie permanent marker ink barely dried, with no artwork or bio or anything. Fine by me — my ears tell me this is a seismic follow-up to their debut, Same Chords, Same Songs,…
For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, and the ascendancy of edge-sanded, pop-friendly punk has sent underground iconoclasts into the grimy garage sound that was one of punk’s main inspirations. With a raw primitive attack, The Husbands’ Sarah Reed and Sadie Shaw deliver surf-guitar thunder with gale…
On Demons, its second album, this Baltimore band demonstrates that emo needn’t be the sound of 15-year-old guys complaining about a dateless prom night. Liars Academy plays a muscular post-punk hard rock that’s distinguishable from the alternative rock of Bush and Live because it’s not as catchy or as memorable;…
Here’s the line no one can resist quoting in reviews of Wet From Birth, the fourth album by the Omaha-based electro-punk act the Faint: “I was acting indifferent at the merch booth putting on makeup,” singer Todd Baechle sneers nonchalantly in opener “Desperate Guys.” People excerpt the line because it…
Top 10 selling CDs at Hoodlums (ASU Memorial Union Building in Tempe) for September 13 through 19: 1. Nelly, Suit/Sweat (Universal) 2. Authority Zero, Andiamo (Lava) 3. Flogging Molly, Within a Mile of Home (USA Side 1 Dummy) 4. Various Artists, Garden State soundtrack (Sony) 5. The Faint, Wet From…
I vote for change — to this lousy bill! It doesn’t bode well for Arizona’s image in the national arena that the rest of the country (the “battleground states”) gets Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, R.E.M., the Dixie Chicks, Pearl Jam, and the Dave Matthews Band for this…
Hirsute anti-fashionista DJ Stefascope is back on the scene for the first time in years, hosting his own night, Mopery at the Sail Inn in Tempe (26 South Farmer Avenue). Stefascope is one-half of the Cute Lil DJs (complementing My Friend Andy, who calls Portland home now), the duo that…
One thing we know about this lineup of punky malcontents is that they don’t want George W. Bush to become president again. In order to achieve this aim, they’ve all agreed to put aside all bipartisan spitting and mosh-pit shoving for a cause they can all rally behind — good,…
Steve Earle created a firestorm when he wrote a sympathetic song about John Walker Lindh, the “American Taliban,” so he’ll probably take monster flak for this anti-Iraq war, anti-Bush set. With the exception of “Rich Man’s War,” an atypically folky and acoustic ballad that delves into the economic and social…
A punk rock club with its own record label promises great things, and that’s just what Rogue Records — named after the Scottsdale nightspot — aims to do. Of course, its first release by The Half Empties isn’t going to reinvent the punk prototype of loud and fast tunes, but…
