1. Gorillaz, Demon Days (Virgin) 2. Coldplay, X&Y (Capitol) 3. Black Eyed Peas, Monkey Business (A&M) 4. Foo Fighters, In Your Honor (RCA) 5. Various Artists, Look At All the Love We Found: A Tribute to Sublime (Cornerstone) 6. System of a Down, Mezmerize (Sony) 7. Dredg, Catch Without Arms…
There’s plenty of musical experimentation going around, thanks to the mounting trend of laptop recording, but when was the last time you actually heard something new, as in an identifiable flavor you’d never tasted? Well, here it is: The guitar/drums/upright-bass trio Asmodeus plays a precise combination of rockabilly and metal…
Bottom line: Judas Priest forged, in iron and molten steel, the very foundation of heavy metal. The stoned-out, low-end pummeling of Black Sabbath seems a distant cousin to Priest’s screeching-eagle sound. Unlike their neo-satanic brethren, historically the Priest boys have largely concerned themselves with individual rights — specifically, the right…
In early June, we carry with us a touch of the reverse Midas. We are the black cat in your path. We are the ladder you walk underneath. Yea, verily we say unto you, everything we touch turns to shit. And it just might be contagious. Two months into a…
Well-scrubbed and enunciating clearly, the master entertainers in the Clumsy Lovers offer few concessions to the affected tastes of our time. Even the hook of authenticity, so fruitfully proffered by most bands with rootsy-folksy tendencies, is traded for Nashville-caliber professionalism by this Vancouver quintet. Armed with such uncool moves, the…
While shrieking, hanging-from-the-rafters front man Ian Svenonius and groovy bassist/chanteuse Michelle Mae led the Vespa-riding, white-belted indie kids in a gospel yeah-yeah revolution with The Make-Up during the late ’90s, their latest act, Weird War, has evolved — or is it devolved? — into a purveyor of glorious psych sleaze…
Scout Niblett is the nom de indie rock of one Emma Louise Niblett, a native of Nottingham, England (though currently residing in Oakland, California), whose raw, ranging, unhinged blues moans and wails place her in the same ballpark as fellow Brit Polly Jean Harvey, circa Rid of Me. Like ol’…
The Knitters — X members John Doe, Exene Cervenka and D.J. Bonebrake, augmented by then-Blaster Dave Alvin and current Red Devil Johnny Ray Bartel — recorded Poor Little Critter on the Road in 1985. The album consisted of the country and folk songs that inspired the music of X as…
Perhaps the only thing more self-indulgent than issuing a double album is planning a surprise party for yourself and then feigning astonishment when your guests emerge. Many such releases have been ostentatious excursions of masturbatory significance, while others (Bitches Brew, London Calling, Sign of the Times, Life After Death) have…
When Stephen Marley soulfully croons “Let me out, let me out, I’m an angry lion” during “Iron Bars,” strains of Nesta sparkle in the indifferent rage. Indifference, for the Marley family, does not imply a lack of compassion. It’s their laid-back assessment of social and spiritual topics that made reggae’s…
Blessed with exquisite musical taste and an enviably large record collection, Four Tet (a.k.a. British producer Kieran Hebden) has maximized those assets over four increasingly accomplished albums since 1999’s Dialogue, while incidentally becoming the foremost proponent of “folktronica.” Four Tet’s mastery of the laptop and sampler culminates on Everything Ecstatic,…
Governor Janet Napolitano put a quick end to the bill that would have allowed you to take your guns into bars around the state, but that’s not stopping Niños Con Pistolas (Children With Guns) from setting up shop at the Old Brickhouse Grill (1 East Jackson Street) on Saturday, July…
Two of the most promising bands in the local metal scene are performing together this weekend. Autumn’s End keeps it dark and heavy, and pretty much exemplifies Arizona metal: shredding guitars and growling guys in black cowboy hats. The band was formed by vocalist and guitarist Chris Cannella, former N17…
The Lawrence Arms are three Midwestern guys who know how to party. These Chicago punk rockers keep with the old-school style of short songs played fast, and on Cocktails & Dreams, vocalist and bassist Brendan Kelly (formerly of the Broadways) preaches the joys of a good night at the bar…
So often have the similarities between punk rock and country/folk been stated that acoustic guitars have become nearly as colloquial as reggae in the language of punk. But this dozen-song set by Florida hardcore veterans Rumbleseat is exceptional for its palpable melancholy and consistent quality. Broad and ringing, the dual…
What’s a suicidally named band to do but make undeniably good records? In the tradition of every quirky crew that’s as beloved by its audience for shooting itself in the foot as for its creative heights, Florida’s Grabass Charlestons have risen to the extraordinary occasion made necessary by their own…
Thursday 7 Acme Roadhouse: College Night with DJ J. Alan (Top 40) Ain’t Nobody’s Bizness: DJ Suzy (hip-hop, dance) Anderson’s Fifth Estate: Area 51 with AKA (gothic, industrial) AZ 88: DJ P-Body (jazz fusion, funk) Barcelona: DJ Rob (dance) Draft House: DJ Dave outta NYC (hip-hop) E-Lounge: DJ Domenica (high…
1. Mike Jones, Who Is Mike Jones? (Warner) 2. Ying Yang Twins, United State of Atlanta (TVT) 3. Mariah Carey, Emancipation of Mimi (Universal) 4. Common, Be (Universal) 5. System of a Down, Mezmerize (Sony) 6. Cassidy, I’m a Hustla (BMG) 7. Pretty Ricky, Bluestars (Atlantic) 8. 50 Cent, The…
Bane frontman Aaron Bedard can wear a purple sweater with an appliqué teddy bear onstage and the tattooed folks in the crowd won’t say a word. Bane just has that kind of rep. This Boston hardcore band, started in 1995 as a side project for Converge guitarist Aaron Dalbec and…
When I was a teenager working in a skateboard shop called G&B up in Anchorage, Alaska, skateboarding was an insular scene that even had music of its own: a blend of punk, hardcore and thrash known as skaterock. Personified by acts like Arizona’s own J.F.A., Gang Green, Suicidal Tendencies, Drunk…
Pouyan Afkary is oblivious to how successful he is. He’s a 19-year-old kid who graduated from Highland High School in Gilbert two years ago and immediately left for a life on the road with five of his classmates — the other members of emo-rock band Scary Kids Scaring Kids. After…
The Saddle Creek collective in Omaha remains as busy and intriguing as ever, swinging between solo and group projects. This tour brings together two of Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst’s cronies, Denver Dalley and Maria Taylor. Dalley is Oberst’s songwriting partner in Desaparecidos, but his side project, Statistics, offers a dramatic…
