Authors: Courtney Blair
National CD Reviews – December 2009
This month’s national reviews feature releases from Asobi Seksu, Beak>, Dead To Me, Evangelista, The Mary Onettes, The Prodigy, The Rakes, Skeletonwitch, Slayer and many more. … read more
Top 5: Sleigh Bells
Alexis Krauss and Derek Miller make up the raw, loud and addictive Brooklyn duo Sleigh Bells, but you should already know that. Chances are you were at their face-punching, sold-out show in October. Have you heard the story of the initial meeting of this pair? It plays out like the Brady Bunch. A chick named Alexis, who was once an elementary teacher, met Derek, a former Poison the Well member, while he was her waiter in a Brooklyn restaurant. … read more
Across the Wire: An Interview with Colin Newman and Graham...
Over three decades ago, the legendary art-punk band Wire released their debut album Pink Flag. By the mid-90s, the band once consisting of frontman Colin Newman, bassist Graham Lewis, drummer Robert Grey and guitarist Bruce Gilbert had broken up, pursued solo projects and reunited, only to break up again. Eventually, they faded into obscurity. Their music, however, left a mark inspiring a whole new generation of bands In 1999 the band reformed for good—and with a vengeance. … read more
National CD Reviews – July 2011
New releases from Black Lips, Crystal Stilts, Dox, Explosions In the Sky, Friendly Fires, Iceage, Jello Biafra, Los Vigilantes, Set Your Goals, Sol Invictus, Thurston Moore. Tyler the Creator and many, many more are reviewed.
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Top 5: PJ Harvey
I spent weeks buried behind my headphones listening to Harvey’s every word within the horrifyingly beautiful socio-political battle she created. When I came up for air, I had two words to describe this piece of work: bloody brilliant. Studying the anti-war poems of Harold Pinter and dedicating two years perfecting her writing of the lyrics, she paints disturbingly vivid images of conflict, war, death and grief over a backdrop of buoyant folk-pop melodies. … read more
National CD Reviews – January 2012
New and recent releases from The Cure, The Devil’s Blood, Errors, Kepi Ghoulie, Laura Gibson, Majestic Downfall, Mickey Moonlight, The Slackers, Tim “Love” Lee and many more are reviewed. … read more
One Model Nation Under Courtney Taylor-Taylor
The last three years have kept the members of the Dandy Warhols busy on various projects, but the most interesting project has been frontman Courtney Taylor-Taylor’s graphic novel, One Model Nation. The book was originally released in 2009 and is now being reissued as a special hardcover edition. A companion album, One Model Nation TotalWerks Vol. 1 (1969-1977), is also being released. … read more
Worshiping A Place to Bury Strangers
“We don’t try to be loud at all, we just play at a volume that feels good to us,” says Oliver Ackermann of New York noise-rockers A Place To Bury Strangers. Ackermann supplies the reverb-saturated baritone vocals to the group, who have been labeled as the “loudest band in New York” by various music critics since their formation in 2003. Over time, the label of loudness has become a bit of a nuisance for the band. “We play music, and I don’t think music should really be described.” … read more
National Music Reviews – July 2012
New and recent releases from A Place to Bury Strangers, Baroness, El-P, Mission of Burma, Nile, Public Image Ltd., Shout Out Out Out Out, The Ty Segall Band, Wintersleep, and many more are reviewed. … read more