What is the perfect driving music? You can probably rattle off a ton of names–my list, past and present, would include: Sing Along With The Acid House Kings by Acid House Kings, Up Against The Legends by The Legends, and Friend And Foe by Menomena. Surely we can all name great music to drive to, but what about bad music to drive to? This is a bit more difficult.
Read More »Nire: Vespers [Album Review]
Quick, furious, and externally tempting are the best available adjectives to describe Forever and their self-titled debut EP. Their songs seem to focus on the triumph and/or tyranny of love. Vocalist Shenna Corbridge spends an electrically-fused 15 minutes screaming truths she makes you believe are self-evident. This is a group that says what they want, when they want. And in 50 words or less at times. Read More »Forever: Forever [EP Review]
Casper And The Cookies (MySpace) are an interesting bunch. Modern Silence demonstrates their agility in creating bizarre pop songs in the vein of early Of Montreal and Apples In Stereo, the Elephant 6 entourage, and underground glam pop. While front-man Jason NeSmith had a brief stint in Of Montreal, it should be noted that Casper And The Cookies were already in existence, and had been, for nearly half a decade. Read More »Casper And The Cookies: Modern Silence [Album Review]
There’s nothing like driving at night to regather your thoughts and emotions. It’s dark, the road winds on and on, and if you live in the country like I do the stars hang patiently above on clear summer nights. The imagery is stark: I remember a time where I drove off into the middle of nowhere just to drive. It was pitch black out but for the stars and moon and my headlights. Speeding past farms with barking dogs and hills covered in wheat fields with my windows down, letting the cool evening summer air wisp by my ears and blow in my hair—it’s an amazing feeling; one that Arco easily brings home with the A-Side chorus of this single. Read More »Arco: Driving At Night [7″ Review]
Xiu Xiu‘s Jamie Stewart has done a few 7-inch splits where he covers the other artist and vice versa. There’s one with Devendra Banhart and another where Xiu Xiu and Paper Chase do covers of Nick Cave. Here, Xiu Xiu covers “Fake Soul” by Bunkbed. On the other side, Bunkbed covers “Fallen Angel II†by Xiu Xiu. Both tracks are down-tempo and quietly beautiful.
Read More »Xiu Xiu Vs Bunkbed [7″ Review] 
Look at the laundry list of names associated with the Team B project and you are likely to concoct an idea of how the group may sound. The list: Arcade Fire, Beirut, Stars Like Fleas, The Jealous Girlfriends… others. Read More »Team B: Team B [Album Review]
You probably wouldn’t recognize the name David Skirving unless you are the most die-hard of Camera Obscura fans. Yes, he did write select guitar parts for Biggest Bluest Hi-Fi, but his Camera Obscura legacy resided in the founding days prior to that more well-known early album. After breaking from Camera Obscura he founded California Snow Story, releasing the One Good Summer EP on Shelflife in 2002 before taking another break from music. That brings us to Close To The Ocean, the first full-length by the group, recorded in ’05 and ’06 but not hitting stores until ’07. Read More »California Snow Story: Close To The Ocean [Album Review
How many bands these days have a xylophone? Very few. It’s just one of the many things that make Bears (MySpace) special. On their self-titled debut, the Cleveland, Ohio pop group mixes its pop sensibilities with light psychedelia on par with early Of Montreal and Elephant 6 style-recordings. Lumped into that somewhat classic era in more modern pop music would make it seem like Bears have a lot to live up to, but with such a strong debut, the group appears to have already succeeded. Read More »Bears: Bears [Album Review]
No Go Know’s sophomore release Time Has Nothing To Do With It epitomizes what every garage rocker and experimental noise consultant of this day and age have been tirelessly trying to create. Once again, they have proven that they can be as perfect as their pleasant imperfections will allow. And as rebellious to the fact these guys may be, they have created a two disc collection of tunes that are, shall we say, timeless. Read More »No Go Know: Time Has Nothing To Do With It [Album pReview]
When Shawn Fogel ditched his parent-given name as band title, and instead grasped the moniker Golden Bloom (MySpace), one may have speculated how, if at all, this change would alter Fogel’s sound. With a few band-leaked singles, it was obvious that Fogel and company had progressed, but now, a few eves before the release of Fan The Flames, we are now able to hear that our suspicions are correct. Read More »Golden Bloom: Fan The Flames [Album Review]
