The now-defunct New England jazz-rock outfit headed by Geoff Farina and known as Karate had led an expansive career that has left many fans in their wake. Though known for its live shows, 595 is their first official live record. As Farina states, “We’ve heard countless live recordings of the 694 shows we played between 1993-2005, but this recording of #595 is surely our favorite.” (more…)
Over a decade ago, Philadelphia-based The Asteroid # 4 came onto the music scene, playing the kind of drug-hazed psychedelia that was a dime-a-dozen back in the 1960s. After gaining some recognition after appearing on a Spaceman 3 tribute album, they quickly released their debut, Introducing… . However, the six-piece went more or less under the radar for many years, releasing five albums without managing to pinpoint a distinct sound. Instead they floated aimlessly between music scenes, never really finding a niche.
The folkronic hop moniker that Talkdemonic once proclaimed as an accurate description of their music seems altogether forgotten on their third and latest album, Eyes at Half Mast (Arena Rock). The album, brimming with everything from analog synths, banjos, fuzz violas, and rhodes is more indicative of atmospheric, instrumental chamber pop than the quieter and more subdued moments on the band’s previous two albums, 2004’s Mutinysunshine (Lucky Sunshine) and 2006’s Beat Romantic (Arena Rock). Indeed, whereas Mutinysunshine was a rougher representation of the band’s experimentation with folk instruments, electronic beats, and a hip hop ethos and Beat Romantic was a sweeping, yet softer take on the duo’s original sound, Eyes at Half Mast is fueled by a range of different sounds and instruments to create something fresh. (more…)
The major label debut from The War On Drugs is a full bodied and healthy dose of nostalgia and longing that is usually reserved for country singers. The Philadelphia quintet, led by guitarist/vocalist Adam Granduciel, sounds more at home playing in a small bar surrounded by pasture and rolling hills than the city that Rocky built. Yet, like Rocky, the music speaks to a decidedly American idea. (more…)
Takka Takka are a band with a myriad of influences. While listening to Migration, the band’s sophomore effort, it becomes apparent that although indie rock is at the core of the band’s aesthetic, the group is not afraid to experiment in terms of texture and song structure to create a warm, melodic, and rich record of folk rock more befitting of the fall than its summer release. That’s not to say that everything works. In fact, the music often blends so seemingly from one song to the next that you find the need to skip over one track and go to the next in the hopes of finding something better, only to be disappointed.
Since forming in 2000, Southhampton, UK trio Moss has become known for their penchant for writing music darker and less friendly than a medieval torture chamber. Inspired by the likes of H.P. Lovecraft and Aleister Cowley, Moss released an impressive array of demos and split albums with groups like Nadja and Unearthly Trance before unleashing their first full-length, Cthonic Rites (Aurora Borealis) in 2005. Sub Templum (Rise Above), their second album, is a four-song, hour and fifteen minute venture that is so monstrously heavy, it could quite possibly make healthy plants turn brown, shrivel up and die upon exposure. (more…)
Los Angeles-based Bodies Of Water have been under the radar for most of their short-lived career. But they shouldn’t have a problem with that anymore. A Certain Feeling (Secretly Canadian), the band’s second full-length in just two years, finds the quartet where 2007’s Ears Will Pop & Eyes Will Blink left off experimenting with song structure, utilizing a variety of instruments and becoming more and more sophisticated musically-speaking than many of their peers.
CSS made a strong impression on the international music scene by embracing a snarky and hipper-than-thou attitude that legions of music lovers lapped up eagerly. Songs that referenced Paris Hilton, Jennifer Lopez, and Death From Above became dance floor favorites with sleek bass lines and self-referential, pop culture-laden lyrics. It comes as a surprise then, while listening to the group’s latest effort, Donkey, to hear a collection of songs less eager to please and more set upon musicianship. (more…)
Although Hercules and Love Affair’s eponymous debut doesn’t necessarily fit into what’s popular in the mainstream or independent music scene, it’s not difficult to classify the group’s sound. The group proudly shows off its musical influences - with songs giving enthusiastic nods towards Chicago house and early disco - all while maintaining a unique and fresh aesthetic. (more…)
The first thing to understand about Terrible Two, the new album by Baltimore “rhythm/action” trio Thank You, is that it is background music. If that sounds harsh, try and remember some of the great records that work just as well when you’re not paying attention as when you’re digging for details. Can and Neu! are obvious. Brian Eno is too easy. And just look at all that Chicago noise released on Thank You’s venerable label, Thrill Jockey. This doesn’t mean it is music to be ignored, just satisfying music that stands up to a number of situations. (more…)
