Tsunami Bomb, and Audio Karate

Punk rock is largely a boys-only club, which makes Tsunami Bomb’s sexy lead singer, Agent M, something of a novelty. But she’s more than that. Though Tsunami Bomb’s sound is based on that of the ubiquitous Cali-punk Descendents, the quartet also delivers bouncy ska-punk, Blondie-ish New Wave, thundering hardcore and…

Ministry

Former goths can think twice about reliving their glory years with Al Jourgensen and Ministry. The acerbic dance hit “Stigmata” is not on the set list this time around. “If we were going to get to all the little club hits or whatever, we’d have to do a three-hour set…

Incubus

Some regard routine as boring, but not the rock band Incubus. Its members subscribe to the belief that “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” The band — singer Brendan Boyd, guitarist Mike Einziger, new bassist Ben Kenney, DJ Chris Kilmore and drummer Jose Pasillas — has maintained its performance…

Bad Boy Bill at the Brickhouse

A sea of lighters in the air is probably exactly what Camel cigarettes would like to see at its Roaring 2000’s Speakeasy Tour, which stops in Phoenix for “Your Password Is Your Key” on Sunday, September 5. Chicago house legend Bad Boy Bill will be dropping wax alongside acts like…

Various Artists

PolyGram, now a part of Universal Music, established a market presence in Brazil more than 50 years ago, and its back catalogue includes bossa nova, tropicalia, MPB, samba, post-samba and today’s fusions of folk and electronica. These three compilations launch a projected series designed to introduce American ears to this…

The Lashes

With more punky power-pop out there than you can shake a chain wallet at — what were there, 739 bands on this year’s Warped Tour? — this four-song debut EP from Seattle’s Lashes could easily get lost in the three-chord shuffle. Which would be a shame, really, because the high-spirited…

What’s Selling

Top 10 selling CDs at Swell Records (414 South Mill Avenue in Tempe) for August 15 through 21: 1. Braille, Shades of Grey (Syntax) 2. Sasha, Involver (Global Underground) 3. Antedote, The Neato Project #1 (Neato Records) 4. Paul Oakenfold, Creamfields (Thrive) 5. Kid Krazzy, Punk Rock Disco (One World)…

Bebel Gilberto

Dear Bebel, It has come to my attention that you’re making it a little too easy for the general public to perceive you as a Portuguese crossover artist — seven of the 12 songs on your new self-titled album are sung in (shudder) English. Clearly this is in direct violation…

Sebadoh

From the Oxford Encyclopedia of Indie Rock Mythology, page 1,174: Sebadoh (seh’-blargh-chwynugllwgg): Founded in Massachusetts in 1986 by Tascam test engineer Lou Barlow and circus magician Eric Gaffney. Both shared songwriting duties: Gaffney’s songs sounded like the neighbors being chain-sawed; Barlow’s songs sounded like kittens softly weeping. After being asked…

DJ Z-Trip at Cricket Pavilion

Former Phoenician homeboy DJ Z-Trip’s long-awaited debut CD, tentatively titled Shifting Gears, may not be dropping until spring of next year, but that doesn’t mean he’s being quiet in the meantime. Z-Trip hits town with the Projekt Revolution tour this Wednesday, September 1, once again along for the ride with…

Insight

“I use speech to bust rhymes through a concrete wall,” raps Boston MC/producer Insight on “Evolve,” the first single from The Blast Radius. Insight’s music is meant to hit like shrapnel, dousing the ears in horn stabs, rumbling bass, and careening effects. It bears a remarkable similarity to DJ Premier’s…

The Faces

“We were a fine drinking band, and most of our best work was done in the pub,” says Rod Stewart in the liner notes to the phenomenal new Faces four-CD boxed set, Five Guys Walk Into a Bar. It’s true — in their day (1969-1975), the raucous British quintet was…

Bumblebeez 81

Plenty of scribes have unloaded on The Printz, and it’s easy to see why. This compilation of two EPs is often a mess, with Aussie provocateur Chris Colonna and one-named helpers such as Pia and Surya gleefully engaging in unnatural acts of rock, hip-hop and plenty more, without the slightest…

Bob Marley Roots Rock Reggae Festival

“Repeated use of it [marihuana] has led to mental weakness, dullness and an insanity either of a violent sort in which the victim is pursued by terrible sense-illusions, with insomnia and acute mania, or of an imbecile-lethargic kind, resulting in incurable dementia. . . . Children of addicts are said…

Galactic

The funk-jazz outfit Galactic is celebrating its 10-year anniversary at the same time it is saying farewell to a major part of its act. Citing health concerns, Theryl “The Houseman” DeClouet will no longer be a permanent member of Galactic. “He can’t really hang with our touring level,” says bassist…

Projekt Revolution Tour

Linkin Park has been able to pull off what many acts have been unable to do this summer — sell tickets to its festival-style show. For its Projekt Revolution Tour, the rap-rock band pulled together a lineup worthy of an old-school Lollapalooza show, with the token rap act, novelty group,…

Mouse on Mars

Luddites, fear not — Mouse on Mars has not come to alienate you. On this, their eighth full-length, the Mice instead demonstrate a keen interest in nesting within more traditional song structures. And while no one’s going to be mistaking Mouse on Mars for, say, Harry Nilsson anytime soon, Radical…

A Girl Called Eddy

Erin Moran, a.k.a. A Girl Called Eddy, must have one heck of a record collection. This set echoes everything that made pop music exciting 40 years ago; think Burt Bacharach composing for the Velvet Underground or Ennio Morricone writing saloon songs for Nancy Sinatra. Moran’s voice, halfway between Marianne Faithfull’s…

Top 10 selling CDs at Zia Record Exchange

Top 10 selling CDs at Zia Record Exchange (3851 East Thunderbird Road) for the week of August 8 through 14: 1. Taking Back Sunday, Where You Want to Be (Victory) 2. Authority Zero, Andiamo (Lava) 3. Various Artists, Rock Against Bush Vol. 2 (Fat Wreck Chords) 4. Velvet Revolver, Contraband…

Dave Matthews Band

When the Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia died in 1995, patchouli-scented fans tapped the Dave Matthews Band to fill his shoes. Since then, DMB’s career has waxed and waned. Besides a summer playing stadiums, the South African native and his band haven’t lived up to their full potential. One-night stands are…

Dramarama

Where would we be without VH1? How could we possibly live without being hipped to the celebrity trend of “butt facials,” watching vegan reality-show contestants spar with Ted “Kill It and Grill It” Nugent in the backwoods of Michigan, or getting a snarky rehash of ’90s pop culture (sorry, but…

diverCITY at the Clubhouse

Looking for a good time this weekend? For a smorgasbord of eclectic dance ferocity, check out the impressively titled diverCITY (City Sounds: Let the Music Move You) party happening on Friday, August 20, at the Clubhouse in Tempe. DJs Seduce, Phill, Jonny Ocean, and Melissa Laine will be throwing down…