With the growing list of punk-turned-roots acts (see Greg Graffin of Bad Religion’s excellent 2006 effort, Cold as the Clay, or anything John Doe of X and Mark Lanegan of Screaming Trees have been up to for many years for further evidence…) one could assume that an acoustic singer/songwriter project is the going retirement plan for punks seeking solace from the hustle and bustle of crusty noise and leather. (more…)

The Francophile New Yorkers of Nous Non Plus have given us American indie rock sung almost exclusively in French. Many hip musicians have long been obsessed with the nation that gave us both the pencil and duck-vomit cracker spread.

On its second album, Menagerie, the six-piece Nous Non Plus expresses a desire to “imagine Gainsbourg and Bardot as indie rockers in 2008.” (more…)

In a city often overshadowed by its DC neighbors, Baltimore has quietly contributed to many musical movements. From new wave and hardcore in the Eighties to a rise in the club scene this century, the town has shown a knack for producing forerunners of the tide. A prime example is avant-garde rock band Wilderness. (more…)

Japanese Motors inhabits that mythical Gotham of our rock fan imagination; of tuff boys and tuffer girls, of leather jackets and tight denim and “I Heart NYC” tees, of Lou Reed and Debbie Harry and Richard Hell. (more…)

Yay! That’s All I Have To Say. (more…)

Melancholy Americana would be a better denomination than freak folk, the tag that has clung to Viking Moses since the band’s appearance on Devendra Banhardt’s 2004 Golden Apples of the Sun (Bastet) compilation. The band’s newest offering, The Parts That Showed, should rectify that reduction. (more…)

photo by Jo Weldon

I had started this scrapbook blog, but it doesn’t make sense to run two at the moment when I haven’t had time to do one, so here’s a scrapbook post for the holiday. Happy Halloween!! (more…)

The Voodoo Music Experience celebrated its 10th anniversary in New Orleans with its most ambitious lineup ever and crowds from all over the country. Mixing a tableaux of both international touring bands with local acts that embody the New Orleans indie/alternative/traditional culture, the 3-day weekend continued proudly once again in its City Park homestead which had been underwater during Hurricane Katrina. (more…)

Photo by Kevin J. Bradley

Chicago’s own Riot Fest made its return this year, once again kicking down doors to several venues for the annual punk rock festivities. Things started in high gear on Friday, October 12 at the House of Blues with the lineup of The Frankl Project, Das Kapital, Shot Baker, The Bouncing Souls, and The Lawrence Arms. (more…)

Drone, Drugs, and Harmony, the self-released debut by Kanas City, Missouri’s I Love You is unlikely to inspire the (unwarranted) hand-wringing,  post-colonial guilt in which critics indulged over Vampire Weekend this last year, but both groups are equally indebted to past masters of African pop. (more…)