When you imagine a modern supergroup, it’s more or less a watered-down version of each member’s music blending haphazardly in an attempt to mirror Cream or, dare anyone say, Asia-like success. Gayngs falls into the indie collective category and their debut album, Relayted, boasts quite a brilliant, cohesive throwback to late ’80s soft radio rock. Read more…
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It’s been 8 years since the beginning of “The Amory Wars,” the official title of the George Lucas-esque space opera comic book series introduced by Coheed & Cambria’s 2002 concept album The Second Stage Turbine Blade. While geek-friendly frontman Claudio Sanchez closes the storybook with the prequel to Coheed & Cambria’s four albums, Year of the Black Rainbow gives birth to the events leading up to the fictional story of the Kilgannon family, protagonists of “The Armory Wars.” Read more…
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Take a kid trained in the D.I.Y aesthetic of San-Francisco’s indie playground, drop him in the math rock/post-hardcore mecca that is San Diego, and you get the intensely honest musical musings of Rafter Roberts, otherwise known as Rafter. His latest release, Animal Feelings, is a bittersweet pop cavalcade of home production, soulful nods to Prince, and the indication he’s having a hell of a good time doing both. Read more…
Posted in High Fidelity, Reviews
Hand it to Jack White. Not a lot of musicians these days can up and start a new band every couple of years and not have them go the way of the buffalo (or Methods of Mayhem). Though each group sounds remarkably true to White’s style – a touch of ’60s blues rock and modern psychedelia – supergroup The Dead Weather remains the most focused. They must be having a blast, releasing Sea of Cowards less than a year after their debut Horehound. Read more…
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What? A jam-y, bluesy, stoner act out of San Francisco? Unheard of. Quips aside, Sleepy Sun delivered some amped up jams last year for the Deadhead at heart. This summer will definitely favor the patchouli-scented flower child ears with Sleepy Sun’s upcoming release, Fever. Read more…
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Who even thinks it’d be remotely funny to spout nonsensical rants on why nothing can ever compare to The National’s 2007 release, Boxer? Who wants to even admit they haven’t heard of The National until Boxer? Ah, but many a hip liberal arts student can admit The National’s latest release High Violet is the logical answer to Boxer’s critical success. Read more…
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Whether it’s synched to Judy Garland musicals or re-released in quadraphonic sound, Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon seems to resurface time and time again amidst a music world seeking album solidarity. Officially titled The Flaming Lips and Stardeath and White Dwarfs with Henry Rollins and Peaches Doing The Dark Side of the Moon, The Flaming Lips collaborate with a collection of undoubtedly talented artists for an interesting trip and review of today’s pop music; they touch the generally untouchable. Read more…
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Black Francis has always handled heavy pop tunes with a fine balance of ’90s Gen X aggression and noise, but with a little less chaos than his Pixies conditioning. With the advent of Nonstoperotik, Francis delivers a softer approach to his otherwise angsty portrayal of alternative rock. Read more…
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Owen Pallett has recently dropped his moniker Final Fantasy in favor of using his own name to separate himself from the video games everyone loves and adores. Despite this, his recently released Heartland boasts a cinematic and theatrical quality most role-playing game fans are accustomed to. Read more…
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There’s nothing better than fitting album names like The Morning Benders’ latest release, Big Echo. The album is 10 tracks of indie pop that the Facebook generation has come to love: 25% spacey ambiance, 20% softly strum guitars, 30% Beach Boys-esque vocals, 15% Ringo’s thumpy and stumbly drumming, and 10% fitted denim. Of course, it’s not to say that Big Echo isn’t original, but just enough that it might take a listen or two to distinguish it from the recent flock of post-punk and folk fiends. Read more…
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