No one said relationships were easy, and Raleigh, N.C.-based band the Rosebuds would back that statement. For a band whose origin derived from romance, it takes bravery to realize not all types of bonds can survive. Separating to save the band, Ivan Howard and Kelly Crisp stepped into a territory that is both familiar and […]
[Birthday greetings today to Jason Mraz and KT Tunstall. Now for the daily dose …] Top picks on the first of many busy Thursdays the rest of the summer: ‣ One national magazine calls Will Sheff “Dylan for the Facebook generation.” Don’t know about that, but his band Okkervil River has made another fine album, […]
Rival Sons, “Pressure and Time” – When Jay Buchanan first surfaced, he was a pop songsmith trading in “middle-of-the-road adult alternative” (iTunes’ description), and he did it better than most. Whatever Kool-Aid he drank with new bandmates Scott Holiday, Robin Everhart and Michael Miley … well, bottle it. The L.A. quartet’s debut album “Pressure and […]
The first time I heard an advance of Cold War Kids’ third album “Mine Is Yours” last fall, “Skip the Charades” stood out as its thematic core. A simple plea for emotional truth, deftly executed, spiked with Jonnie Russell’s pinprick guitars and soaring on Nathan Willett’s aching vocals. Willett has not been a married man […]
In 2007, Trevor Beld-Jimenez had a handful of melodies, but didn’t have any other place besides his head to keep them until the Ventura-based multi-instrumentalist was offered some studio time at Beehouse Records. Fast forward to four years later, and his resumé under the moniker Tall Tales and the Silver Lining has racked up on-stage […]
Singer-songwriter-composer Keren Ann is something of a quiet riot. The 37-year-old globetrotter, born in Israel to Russian and Dutch parents and reared in the Netherlands and Paris, sings in hushed tones, amid lush orchestration, about frequently stark (if not dark) themes, her keen melodic sense often exuding the innocence of a French chanson. American audiences […]
Seattle may have mourned the loss of the Cops, but their “last-wave” punk scene has prevailed thanks to Michael Jaworski’s newest project Virgin Islands. With the help of drummer Aaron Ball, bassist Charles Keller and guitarist Christopher Meyer, Virgin Islands have been offering audaciously angular rock since 2009 with their EP, “The Age of Anxiety.” […]
Happy Wednesday, have fun: ‣ My Morning Jacket roars into the Pantages Theatre behind its new album “Circuital,” and if you aren’t lucky enough to see the sold-out show, there’s plenty of footage online – including director Todd Haynes’ narrative for the “Unstaged” series from MMJ’s May 31 show in Louisville (which included a guest […]
A couple years ago, Django James & the Midnight Squires – a young band fronted by Django Stewart – made some noise around Hollywood with their Bowie-inspired rock. Not long after, Django’s older brother Samuel Stewart perked some ears himself with the elastic pop on his EP “The Beginner.” Now they are brothers in arms […]
The Kooks’ brand of Britpop never seems to go out of style – it’s romantic, wry and biting, almost impossibly filled with hooks, and like myriad quartets that preceded (and are sure to follow) them, they live and die by the chorus. The Brighton foursome’s third album “Junk of the Heart” is on the way […]
