It’s not easy being in a band that’s labeled pop-punk. Not only do fans of other, more “mature” genres look down on you as sophomoric, but there are divisions within pop-punk itself. Forget the distinction between underground (bands inspired by the Ramones and Screeching Weasel) and mainstream (those who dig…
Hyped as the next big thing by British music rags and blogmobs alike, Foals comes out of the starting gate with heavy expectations on its full-length debut Antidotes. This upbeat, guitar-fueled post-punk dance band churns out an exciting sound just when you were beginning to think such characterizations could be…
Having taken a brief detour into North Africa on his 2005 album La Kahena, San Francisco globalist DJ Cheb i Sabbah returns to the South Asian milieu that served him so well on his first few albums. Devotion finds Sabbah again toying with elegant, ethereal structures, compiling traditional instrumentation and…
A certain amount of insurgency might be expected from an artist whose last name is Earle and whose debut comes courtesy of Bloodshot Records, a repository of upstart Americana. Surprisingly, 25-year-old Justin Townes Earle, son of Steve, veers away from the renegade regimen that distinguishes other famous alt-country offspring —…
Argentina’s Flavio Mandinga, one of the founding members of Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, has crafted a solo project that explores various sonic textures and defies genre classification. Simply listen to “Ministra,” a rocksteady-tempo track seemingly inspired by early UB40 with a touch of psychedelics. Later comes “Polaroid 66,” which draws from…
When you first pop in Cat Shell’s debut disc, Cat’s Outta the Bag, you can’t help but notice the retro sound of the lead-off track, “I’m Torn.” It’s full of simple and subtle guitar work, winsome sax, and the alluring vocal style that Shell is turning into her trademark. While…
Crossing the line isn’t always a difficult task when you’re a ‘shock jock’ personality hosting a morning radio show, who garnered a following by being crude, rude and all things beyond. But two of the most successful at the craft agree there’s tasteful and then there’s tasteless, while defending what…
Just got this press release about an award show party that’s jumping off tomorrow night at Spirits Nightclub. Puerto Rico’s Black Guayaba will be on hand rocking as will a host of other performers. The Annual Billboard Latin Music Conference is being held at the Hard Rock Casino this year…
A couple of months ago, we reported that Ali Campbell, long-time lead singer of British reggae band UB40 was leaving the group. They’d been together for nearly 30 years as a band and losing their lead singer was a major blow for UB40. One that could have sent them all…
Like most tales of triumph and tragedy, the life, career, and untimely passing of reggae pioneer Mikey Dread at age 53 will live on long beyond his time on earth. There aren’t many artists in the history of the genre who were able to gain acceptance for reggae the way…
As rock ‘n’ roll reunions go, the New York Dolls’ get-together is as unlikely as they come. For one thing, two members of the original quintet’s early-’70s lineup (guitarist Johnny Thunders and drummer Jerry Nolan) were long dead before the outfit’s 2004 reformation, and a third, bassist Arthur “Killer” Kane,…
The club life isn’t all sex and glam. It’s also expensive drinks, sleazy swinger dudes, uncomfortable clothes, self-doubt, and unpredictable music. Of course, I love the super-sexed, Mai Tai-sipping meat-market mating dance of youth bar-hopping. But sometimes I just want to listen to music from before my time, sip beer,…
The Snoopster uses his ultra-cool stoner persona to make up for a multitude of sins — and Ego Trippin’ will only enhance his increasingly cuddly image. Thanks to his charming obliviousness, he generally gets away with lyrics and arrangements that range from timeworn to ridiculous. Despite his current reality-show stardom,…
Dengue Fever call themselves a “Cambodian pop band,” but as astute observers have likely noticed, the only obviously Asian member of the L.A.-based band is singer Chhom Nimol. The tunes the group creates, however, are well within the pop music tradition that aficionados of underground international music have become accustomed…
Ode to the Ghetto is Guilty Simpson’s debut LP, but independent hip-hop fans will be familiar with the cocksure delivery of this Detroit-bred affiliate from the work he did with the late J Dilla. Check “Clap Your Hands” from the Chrome Children comp for an airtight testimony of a guest…
As one of the most punishing live acts ever to emerge from the heavy music landscape, Jucifer presents a real physical challenge to its audience. Frontwoman Amber Valentine uses a wall of amplifiers for a sound so huge, dense, and loud that you’re basically guaranteed to damage your hearing if…
Listening to the music of local singer Jacob Jeffries has a way of putting life in perspective. Whether you’re catching him live or listening to his newest EP, Life as an Extra, his songs about love, relationships gone bad, and braving the rigmarole aspects of daily existence are potent enough…
By ANDY VIHSTADT D.C. Cab Death Cab for Cutie returns with Narrow Stairs on May 13. Listen to the first single “I Will Possess Your Heart” at the group’s MySpace page, and check out a live acoustic version of another new one below. Death Cab for Cutie: “Cath…(acoustic live)” MP3…
With the month of March drawing to a close, a bar-hopping people-watcher like me has had her fill of sightings of sunburned youths in Greek-lettered T-shirts. Scores of them. They leave beer cans on the beach. They stumble along A1A. They’re raucous, super friendly, and brimming with college dorm energy…
If the Southern-rap money train ever ran out of steam, it would be fitting for that end to take place in the land of its Technicolor, reality-detached origin: Miami. Flo Rida, proprietor of the most hyped-up album release of this bleak commercial down-cycle, started his career as a hypeman for…
Xavier de Rosnay’s honesty is refreshing — even if the words he’s just uttered won’t exactly go down as the most artistically inclined assertion ever made. “We make electronic music,” the musician confesses, “because it’s accessible and easy.” Rosnay is one-half of international dance-floor phenom Justice, whose suave yet glitchy…
When music industry experts advise fledgling musicians how to achieve success, few probably suggest developing a weird blend of rock, pop, and exotic folk music. DeVotchKa has done so anyhow, and A Mad & Faithful Telling, its latest album, is the highly enjoyable result. Because the group stays true to…
