All vivacious jangle, thigh-slapping stomp, and grinning, good-ol’-boy charm, North Mississippi All Stars are the band Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer would’ve started if they knew where to get an electric guitar. Not to say that NMA’s fourth effort is at all rustic or simple: On the contrary, its compact,…
From the childlike front-cover drawing of a unicorn humping a horse (that’s in turn humping a zebra that’s barfing all over the place) and the back-cover photo of the sister duo dressed like two Native American Boy Georges (we couldn’t make this stuff up), CocoRosie’s Noah’s Ark is out there…
The Juan Maclean’s “Give Me Every Little Thing” stood in melancholic contrast to the rest of DFA Records’ second compilation. On a disc full of aggressively human percussion, tangible vocals, and feasibly live instrumentation, “Every Little Thing” was artificial and futuristic — the best song on a great album. The…
In their two years of growth and exploration, Miami alt-rockers Modernage have set out to thrive amid the city’s notorious schmaltz and glitz. With an influence list including Joy Division, Fugazi, and Gang of Four, Modernage strives to be more than just another entry into the post-punk annals, churning out…
Incredulous, primed to take the stage in front of a packed house of diehard fans, Z-Trip wanted to know one thing only: “Did that motherfucker just grab his dick at me?” That motherfucker was big-time raver DJ Icey, and, yes, that motherfucker had, in fact, just grabbed his dick at…
Last Wednesday’s sold-out crowd at Mizner Park was floating along on a sea of huge beers and pungent weed. SoFla’s notoriously rambunctious audience was in full form, with brawny dudes high-fiving and bleach-blond Bettys woo-hooing to Jack Johnson’s mellowed, front-porch acousticisms. As casual and assured as the North Shore breeze…
Rising star Na’sha (Natasha Watkins) took over South Florida radio last fall when her DJ Khaled-produced “Turn It Up” became a favorite with local choreographers. Since then, the Ohio native and Ft. Lauderdale resident has signed to a local Sony subsidiary and become one of Shaggy’s primary collaborators. She trekked…
“Wake up, Mr. West!” Bernie Mac yells to open Late Registration, and the command is fitting — this album is an awakening. More raw than College Dropout, Kanye West’s sophomore release puts his vocals on center stage and further develops his identity as a socially aware MC. Sure, he’s still…
It’s been a brilliant year for the rejuvenation of British post-punk icons. First, New Order resurfaced with the surprisingly vital Waiting for the Sirens’ Call, and now Echo and the Bunnymen are back with Siberia, a rousing return that finds co-founders Ian McCulloch and Will Sergeant channeling their trademark angst…
The subtitle of this compilation, “Lost Songs and Loose Ends 1995-2001,” might very well be replaced by a big, blood-red “FANS ONLY” stamp. The 12 tracks collected here bring together the band’s stray seven-inch sides and unreleased tracks — a fact that, by design, will attract only the most obsessive…
If hip-hop is dead, somebody forgot to tell Little Brother. The North Carolina-based affiliates of the Justus League crew have gone from regional up-and-comers to nationally recognized stars, aided by the well-deserved critical acclaim for their 2003 ABB records debut, The Listening, and producer 9th Wonder’s work on Jay-Z’s Black…
At the head of the borderland movement of Tijuana, Mexico, is a group of musicians, VJs, filmmakers, and graphic designers known as Nortec Collective. Nortec’s name, like its art, is a fusion of First and Third World elements and explains the group’s approach to making music. Norteño is a form…
Sure, we could follow the lead of nearly every story ever written on Weezer front-man Rivers Cuomo and spout off about what a weird guy he is. The heralds at Rolling Stone even said so on their cover just a few months ago. Yeah, we could pile it on, maybe…
Long ago, in his biography of seminal jazz composer Jelly Roll Morton, my great-uncle Alan Lomax equated New Orleans’ contribution to American music to Florence’s involvement in the Renaissance. But another Italian city seems closer to the mark now. ”We’ve lost our city,” said Marc Morial, a former mayor of…
Just because singer Stavros Polentas garbles his words like a shit-tanked, heartbroken Joe Strummer doesn’t mean Secret French Kissing Society sounds anything close to the Clash. On the contrary, despite Polentas’ obvious, loutish affectations, he writes profoundly powerful, cinematic, alt-rock vignettes, gothic tales of harsh life, harsher love, and unlikely…
There it is again, that staccato beat copped from Joy Division’s “She’s Lost Control,” which is rapidly becoming the “Funky Drummer” of indie dance rock. It’s the pulse behind Windsor for the Derby’s “Empathy for People Unknown,” which harnesses luscious synths and subdued vocal harmonies atop the familiar broken thump…
For the past couple of years, Hervé Salters has been the secret weapon of the Quannum crew, supplying vintage keyboard sounds for Blackalicious, Lyrics Born, and Lifesavas. Now, the French-born, Berkeley-based musician steps out front, releasing a solo album of playful, funky hip-hop, composed entirely with Clavinet, Hammond, Rhodes, and…
We rely on Black Rebel Motorcycle Club for pervasive distortion, a drone buzzing with feedback and dirt. But on the Cali trio’s third long-player, that entire train of thought has disappeared, replaced with a folksy blues sound packed with gospel undertones and country tendencies. Seriously. Initially, it’s an ugly shock,…
The recent passing of Six Feet Under, HBO’s morbidly profound funeral-home drama, brings an opportunity for reflection on our music scene’s vitality. For residents of the Mississippi Delta, religious pilgrims in Iraq, and felonious record moguls in Miami, it’s been a rough couple of weeks. But for right now, we’re…
Recently declared “the coolest record label on Earth” by Riviera magazine, California’s Ubiquity Records should eclipse perennial UK slicksters Ninja Tune in the forward-looking hip-hop game. Ubiquity’s banner-carriers in that arena are the Detroit production duo of Waajeed and Saadiq, better-known as the Platinum Pied Pipers. Years before they had…
Secret P.E. Club came to be shortly after a 2002 Street Miami collaborative article among Emma Trelles, Mindy Hertzon, and Andrea Vigil about Spy-Fi Records mogul Ed Artigas. The story goes that post-interview, Artigas was plagued with fantasies of an all-girl, power-pop, literary/artsy trio and approached the girls with intentions…
It’s a recent Saturday night, and as the band sets up at Club M in Hollywood, there’s a definite party vibe in the air. Flaunting her assets in a blood-red prom dress, a blond-locked musician wraps a feather boa around her mic stand. Another, in a red-on-black suit-and-tie combo, slides…
