There’s something rather, uh, funky about neo-Eastern European music. Not funky in a Clyde Stubberfield-backing-up-James Brown kind of way, but then again, when you combine a Slavic blend of accordion, tuba, darabouka, and clarinet with the trombone, it’s hard not to smell the funk in the air no matter what…
Kings of Leon are commanding quite a racket these days. Hailed by some as the saviors of Southern rock, these four — three of them the sons of a Pentecostal preacher — managed to turn their third album, Because of the Times, into an ironic little mixture of hellfire and…
The least-known and perhaps most talented son of Bob Marley is finally stepping into the limelight. Though usually working behind the scenes on his family members’ projects, Stephen Marley’s long-awaited solo effort, Mind Control, lives up to its musical lineage with 11 tracks of pure roots-rock reggae. He produced the…
Ozomatli’s latest effort, Don’t Mess With the Dragon, is a fusion of Spanish rock, hip-hop, reggaeton, and funk, the perfect crossover release. The nine-man Ozomatli has put together a dozen tunes for its fourth full-length CD, most of them happy dance tracks. The opening song, “Can’t Stop,” is polished and…
The music industry is generally not too kind to butch black women. They’ve got two strikes against them from the start, and that third pitch headed toward home plate is a nasty curveball lathered in spit and Vaseline. Although plenty of artists may shy away from the challenge, Tampa hip-hop…
The cover art for the Village Voice’s 2006 year-end music critics’ poll — that thing called Pazz & Jop — shows the two top artists in fairly unflattering positions. Bob Dylan, in caricature — hook-nosed and hunched on a motor scooter — sneers over his shoulder at TV on the…
Following the critical acclaim garnered by 2005’s simultaneous release of I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning and Digital Ash in a Digital Urn, Bright Eyes seems eager to confirm its status as indie overachievers. With anticipation building for a follow-up, the band’s mainstays — boy-genius Conner Oberst joined by Mike Mogis…
Victor Jara was one of Chile’s top folk composers, educators, and political activists until the time of his murder in 1973 during a military coup. On a newly released CD, Chilean vocalist Francesca Ancarola has found an amorous way of paying tribute to the fallen songwriter by revisiting his work…
Detroit rappers/producers are entering an age of acclaim. Now that late Motown rapper/producer extraordinaire J Dilla is getting posthumous props all over the globe, the rap world seems hungry for anything with an authentic Detroit sound. It’s a fine time for former in-house Slum Village producer Black Milk to release…
Imagine a planet where two of your favorite artists from various genres are constantly smashed together on one track. Rick James and Busta Rhymes. Sean Paul and the Temptations. Arrested Development and Jay-Z, for Christ’s sake. It’s an odd world, but Brooklyn’s funky DJ collective the Rub pulls it off…
Aw man, I love challenges like that!” It’s a Sunday morning, and Pigeon John is piloting his tour van toward Memphis, Tennessee, and gleefully recalling his gig two nights earlier — a South by Southwest Festival showcase during which he and his threepiece backing band opened for such disparate acts…
Ravi Shankar may be India’s best-known musical export, but it’s also safe to say most people would be stumped if they were forced to identify another. Put out a poll on sitar virtuosos and chances are it would be the late Beatle George Harrison who’d top the tally. Then again,…
Norah Jones is still searching for her perpetual groove. Since garnering instant acclaim at the top of the jazz and pop charts with her multiplatinum debut album, Come Away With Me, Jones’ forward momentum hasn’t been all that successful. Though undeniably sensual and seductive, her second album, Feels Like Home,…
The Weirdness ain’t punk-classic like Fun House, but let’s be fair — nothing the recently reunited Stooges can do will ever match their early-’70s peak. This band does rock, however. Ax-man Ron Asheton is not only a funky-ass rhythm freak but the dude’s piercing feedback screech on “Greedy Awful People”…
The world of indie rock has never really embraced the concept of the instrumental jam band. The few exceptions that (barely) fit into that category — Godspeed You Black Emperor!, Mogwai, Tortoise — don’t really follow the genre’s rules, instead occupying a space between the Fall’s deconstructed rock and the…
Otep, the L.A.-based metal fusion quartet led by singer/poet/self-described “mental pugilist” Otep Shamaya, released one of the densest, most disturbing debut albums in the history of metal with 2002’s Sevas Tra, a fiery confessional wherein Otep screams about being raped by her father against a searing sonic backdrop of eerie…
Last things first: If you like Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, or the Pixies, chances are you’ll go apeshit for Lake Worth’s zany rock outfit Black Finger. Combining a nomadic mix of bluegrass, punk, and Southern rock, its music has gypsy veins and wanderlust woven into most of the material. The…
You don’t often hear gospel music at an outdoor hippie gathering. Much more likely to cater to the stoner crowd are hip-hop artists with crossover appeal, like the Beastie Boys. But church music? That’s never been a big draw at jam band concerts. Maybe it’s the proselytizing or harmonized shout-outs…
Do you want to see what’s in the box or what’s behind door number three? The latest episode in the radio payola version of Let’s Make a Deal is looking like a zonk. The heroic crusade of then-New York Attorney General (now Governor) Eliot Spitzer against payola — netting more…
Ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr knows a little something about dealing with strong-willed vocalists (ahem, Morrissey), so it’s no surprise that his contributions to the poppiest Modest Mouse record yet are solid. But it’s still a treat to hear how focused Isaac Brock and Co. are on the lushly arranged Ship,…
Afrobeat is an often imitated music form, but few bands approach it with the respect and creativity that Brooklyn’s Antibalas has over the years. When the band was created nearly a decade ago, their music picked up where the genre’s architect, Fela Kuti and his son Femi respectively left off—taking…
Rebel music is ensconced in the DNA of Malian nomad group Tinariwen. Started in the early 1980s as a band of drifter-turned-guerrilla musicians, this septet of African blues players is essentially a group of political refugees creating their own liberation anthems one note at a time. Alchemizing traditional Tuareg blues…
