When a reviewer cites a band’s “maturity,” it frequently means the group has exchanged spontaneity and freshness for calculation and predictability. That’s certainly the case with the Peppers, whose latest has generated raves from easily pleased scribes, even though it’s basically two discs’ worth of been-there-done-that-better-in-the-past. Stadium features loads of…
Hailing from the “kitchen sink” school of composition, Mike Patton has a sizable body of work that demonstrates his commitment to the theory that more is more. More styles of music, more layers of sound, more collaborators, more albums released — not since George Clinton’s heyday has one man been…
The men of Minneapolis’ Tapes ‘n Tapes create an indie-rock mélange that recalls at least a dozen acts from the genre’s past — and, relatively speaking, that’s a good thing. Rather than aping a particular group, Josh Grier and company draw from oodles of inspirations, and if they don’t quite…
Regina Spektor’s tricky tongue and fading Russian accent separate her from the ever-expanding crowd of Tori Amos/Fiona Apple wannabes who sport “funky” hats and own well-worn piano stools. Begin to Hope might be less histrionic than 2004’s Soviet Kitsch, but it’s still great fun to bear witness to this New…
Since combining forces in the Bikes, Rick Ambrose (Postface, Ex-Cretins) and Dan Hosker (Doersam, Holy Terrors) have been peddling their eclectic, violin-coated indie rock to South Florida audiences for quite a few years now. So it’s high time the group churned out some recorded output. With its debut album, Get…
Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers is what you’d call a live band. The recording studio may capture the band’s sound in all its Southwestern roots-rock twang, but the vibe is something that can be felt only in person. That’s not to say the Arizona band hasn’t had its taste of…
Fort Lauderdale’s club-lined Himmarshee area can be an exciting backdrop for a night of cocktails and cockteases. Staggering around the scantily clad females and bustling specimens of masculinity, one soon finds that there’s really one thing on everyone’s mind: sex. And what better day than Hump Day to let your…
Run D.M.C. and Grandmaster Flash are often credited as the founding fathers of hip-hop. But when it comes to influencing modern rap culture, Big Daddy Kane, Slick Rick, and Biz Markie were undeniably da men. Take Markie, the human beatbox, whose off-kilter anthems like “Just a Friend” legitimized humor and…
There may be only one way to rock, but there’s more than a few to party down with the Red Rocker, AKA Sammy Hagar. Be it fronting Van Halen, driving past 55, or getting his drink on with his own signature brand of tequila, this sports-car-loving, block-phrasing, blond-locked barrel of…
Jamie Lidell is, as he sang on last year’s Multiply, a “walking, talking question mark.” And on the more recent Multiply Additions, he seems even dottier and loopier. The ten-track album of redos and remixes finds Lidell straddling his most pronounced personas — the electronic enthusiast of his 2000 IDM-slanted…
“Today is 6/6/06 — Emo Kid Beatdown Day,” said the thin, teenaged brunet to the two girls next to her. It was part of a conversation I overheard at (no shit) an emo show at Uncle Sam’s Music in Lauderhill. I just had to butt in. “Really? Is that a…
Middle America can be hell for the touring rock band — especially one from the big city. But when New York City’s Theo and the Skyscrapers began their first U.S. tour last month, it’s like they never left the Big Apple. Even Utah felt like home. That much was confirmed…
Born in Communist Georgia where she played “I Want to Break Free” on air guitar, raised in Belfast where she fell in love with the singer-songwriter aesthetic, and a certified pop star in the U.K. before the age of 20, Katie Melua quite literally burst onto the music scene by…
The revolution will not be televised. It will be streamed, podcasted, and portable. The Recording Industry Association of America is bitching again this spring over the news of last year’s sales numbers. For the fifth year of the last six, CD sales were down. The RIAA probably wanted to bust…
The Church lost many fans in the 1990s when it began to favor meandering grooves that seduced via atmosphere rather than hooks. But while the absence of accessible pop gems meant that the prolific Australian quartet disappeared from the airwaves, its ability to bend melodies into heart-fluttering beauty never wavered…
Let’s be honest: Despite the perceived sensitivity injection (courtesy of tear-stained emo and indie artists), radio is no more welcoming to female musicians now than it was during the days of frat-mook nü-metal — well, not to female musicians of substance, at least. Save for Kelly Clarkson and KT Tunstall,…
Don’t let the tackily generic, low-budget packaging fool you — these three collections are packed with the finest old-school Southern R&B/soul you’re likely to hear in two lifetimes. On Deep In My Soul, Roscoe Shelton’s impassioned, Solomon Burke-style vocals bridge older styles of Southern blues with the fervent, gospel-charged vibe…
If you’ve been paying attention, you’ve known it for a while now: It was only a matter of time before John Ralston broke big. The twentysomething Lake Worth local just might be South Florida’s best songwriter — many scenesters, including longtime pal and emo hero Chris Carrabba — say so…
It’s been a while since the feel-good pop-rockers and American Idols took the caged animal known as arena rock captive. And listening to a band like Big City Rock, it’s obvious they’re aware of this fact. Sure, the Los Angeles-based five-piece chose a name straight out of the Monsters of…
He runs two record labels, tours feverishly, and has more side projects than you can shake a tail feather at. So what if Orlando’s DJ Icey is a busy man? He always makes time to venture down south to wax nostalgic for his anxious fans. After all, it’s where his…
Don’t worry about Josh Wink — he’s not going away any time soon. The Philadelphia-based electronic music pioneer has remained a blinking blip on the ever-shifting sonar screen of big-room dance sound enthusiasts for more than a decade now. From his emergence as a live-recording college favorite in the early…
When the Talking Heads’ David Byrne sang Memphis/Did I forget to mention Memphis?/Home of Elvis and the ancient Greeks, he was celebrating a major wellspring of Western Civilization — and we’re not talkin’ about Athens. Memphis, Tennessee, has long been a massive musical incubator, from Booker T. & the MG’s…
