If you’ve never been shaken to the core at a Mogwai show, the perfect consolation is Government Commissions, an hour-plus survey culled from the band’s six best albums, recorded live for the BBC. While a foreign concept here, governmental support of art and culture is common elsewhere, with institutions rather…
If you take the LSD and drone out of the “New Weird America,” you’re left with the prosaic songs of Iron and Wine, the nom de rock of Miami-based family man Sam Beam. Since his musical debut a little more than two years ago, Beam has been more interested in…
With Arular, her breakout debut, world refugee Maya Arulpragasam has finally found a home. Born in London, raised in Sri Lanka and India, and finished back in London as an art school student and hip-hop devotee, the 27-year-old Renaissance babe brandishes an intriguing patchwork of urban influences and political awareness…
After essentially establishing its own future-forward genre through years of relentless touring, Sound Tribe Sector 9 finally drops an album that reflects its innovative, enigmatic musical approach. The Santa Cruz-via-Atlanta quintet’s live shows seamlessly dissolve instrumental musings into fine-tuned sonic sculpture, veering from lengthy, jazz-driven improvisations to laptop-enhanced downtempo suites…
Among hipsters in the late ’70s and early ’80s, admitting you liked Fleetwood Mac was enough to get you sent into exile. But damn it, those Lindsey Buckingham tunes were captivating. And while never cool (read: elite/outré), the fusion of folk-inspired melodies, restrained rockin’ crunch, and winsome vocals endures, and…
Seems like P Diddy isn’t the only impresario capable of throwing down attire-demanding soirees in South Florida. Miami-based DJ Nyce brings his inaugural Blue & White Party (emphasizing clothing, not Israeli homage) to Hollywood’s Club XIT. The two-floored venue, which hosts a melting pot of events — from weekly fetish…
During the seventh-annual Afro Roots World Music Festival, local artists will showcase Mama Africa’s life-giving reach into the community through vibrant performances. A cappella Haitian gospel ensembles the Heavenly Brothers and Young Witnesses for Christ voice praise for soulful synchronism on February 25 at St. John’s. Finally, the flavorful concoction…
To Americans, Oakenfold, Sasha, and Digweed were British dance ambassadors. Truth is, their homeland has always sprawled with like-minded, big-time talent. One glaring example is the aptly named Tall Paul, a 20-year veteran of the 1s and 2s. Already a DJ for his dad¹s club, Turnmills in London, at age…
On a summer day in 2003, nomadic b-boy Mario Treadway embarked on a shamanistic journey — what he calls his vision quest. It was in that mystical space that he encountered the spirit guide who bestowed the name he uses today. “He approached me while I was in a trance…
Throughout the packaging for Wilco’s latest album, the title is listed so that it reads Wilco ≤ A Ghost Is Born. The equation suggests that the album itself takes precedence over the band. Fitting, because as it has continually made clear through its music, Wilco is a vehicle for its…
The fable of “The Rabbit in the Moon” transcends cultures and ages, spanning ancient Egyptian, Mayan, Chinese, and Japanese societies. All of these traditions connected the rabbit’s famed fertility and the the nighttime sky’s ephemeral centerpiece. Rumor has it that electronic music outfit Rabbit in the Moon was named after…
One of the first female DJs in South Florida, DJ Hana is used to fighting an uphill battle because of her looks. “People would come into the club and say, ‘Oh my god, what is she doing behind the mixer?’ ” the Valkyrie-esque she-jay recalls of her early days. “But…
It’s the same pessimistic diagnosis I’ve been hearing since Elvis Presley got drafted: Rock is dead. Punk is dead. Disco is dead (OK, that last one’s a bit optimistic). So this week, as the Ska Is Dead Tour skanks through a town fixated on Bright Eyes and Simpson sisters –…
You love to hate ’em or you hate to love ’em — the glam-metal peacocks of Mötley Crüe were the ’80s most infamous musical hedonists. If you’re like us, you’ve been dying for the fornicating foursome to tease their tresses, stuff their jeans, and hit the road one more time…
Having known each other since forever, it’s no surprise that the Walkmen make intensely intimate music. Featuring ex-members of the semi-hyped band Jonathan Fire*Eater, they sound utterly singular while waxing familiar, like forgotten words on the tip of the tongue. 2002’s sleepy Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me is Gone…
The cool thing about being a brainy, one-man bedroom band is you don’t have to share the groupies. The sad thing is that the groupies often consist of your mom and your cat, one of whom just isn’t impressed. Based on the sound of his music, though, I’m betting Aqueduct’s…
Declaring yourself “the world’s mightiest live funk and soul revue,” as the Dap-Kings have done, bears all the cultural import of being anointed “the world’s fastest horse-drawn carriage.” But the critics and radio programmers who employ the simple refrain of “don’t look back” are missing out on a lot of…
Don’t be misled by the deliberately cartoonish, yokel-meets-bling cover art — the Drive-by Truckers are no joke. From their Athens, Georgia, and Muscle Shoals, Alabama, origins, the ace roots-rock outfit laces its crazy-quilt Americana with barbed, satirical wit, and plenty of spirit. Gangstabilly and Pizza Deliverance are DBT’s first two…
Long considered the secret, sultry weapon of the Massive Attack collective, Daddy G had been something of a recluse in recent years. Fatherhood kept him from appearing on the band’s disappointing 2003 effort 100th Window, which might explain its mediocrity. But after returning to the fold in ’04, G began…
South Florida’s veteran, gold-throated troubador, Matthew Sabatella, was born to make an album like Ballad of America. This low-key, acoustic opus is more a Folkways Smithsonian-style history lesson than a random assortment of wispy, coffee shop folk. Casual listeners, watch out: If you pay attention, you might learn something. Ballad…
It’s said that the best way to be heard is to be misunderstood. Who gets more press than an intentionally vague artist? If this approach works, it might be the only explanation for the cataclysmic success of Hoobastank. The first time their music echoed out of your stereo, maybe there…
When most folks hear the word blues, mind’s-eye images are of ragged old men bellowing sluggish “my baby done left me” tunes on smoke-shrouded stages. Yet blues is as diverse as folk or rock. Case in point: the Winter Blues Bash. Atlanta-based guitarist/singer Roger “Hurricane” Wilson has traded riffs with…
