Line & Circle pretty much has it all for a guy like me. First off, like me, they’re from Ohio. Secondly, they relocated to Los Angeles, just like I did, and settled in Echo Park, where I lived for nearly three years. And finally, their sound evokes a “Fables of the Reconstruction”-era REM – and, […]
Here’s a new feature where we highlight our favorite song titles from the fantastic and prolific Robert Pollard. A new one every weekday! “Everywhere With Helicopter” is on 2002’s Guided by Voices album Universal Truths and Cycles. It’s one of the poppiest Robert Pollard songs and appears on various Guided By Voices box sets and best-ofs. […]
One of the going theories on the prevalence of love songs in popular music has to do with the sheer lousiness of language. The word “love” just kinda hangs there—flaccid, overused, meaning everything and nothing. Put a slinky guitar and some aching vocals behind the sentiment, and you might be onto something. The simplest words […]
Isn’t it time you left this world today? Jane Weaver fires up the rocketship on “The Electric Mountain,” laying sunny vocals and sci-fi tones atop a repetitive two-chord jam (sampled from space-rock legends Hawkwind) to hurtle the listener into the interstellar beyond. Over its six-minute length, the effect is unexpected and delightful, like a forgotten […]
Here’s a new feature where we highlight our favorite song titles from the fantastic and prolific Robert Pollard. A new one every weekday! “Unshaven Bird” is on the fourth Boston Spaceships album Our Cubehouse Still Rocks, which came out 9/7/2010. Mr. Pollard is joined by Chris Slusarenko and John Moen in Boston Spaceships. Thanks to the […]
The list of musicians who make engaged, relevant music after 50 years in the business is, I think we’d all agree, pretty short. Marianne Faithfull secures her place on that list with her latest album, Give My Love to London. I’ll assume you know Faithfull’s story, which is far better chronicled than her remarkable discography. […]
The new single from Spires is a study in influence-soaked contrasts. On the one hand, “Sleepy Eyes” is a shaggy, shuffling blissfest with dreamy vocals that gets even slower as the track progresses. On the other hand, it’s got a bassline that moves around enough to get you moving, even if it is at half-speed, […]
Brighter Later is Melbourne singer-songwriter, radio producer, novelist and producer Jaye Kranz’ name for her collaborative musical self. Kranz might change up the line-up on occasion, but this is clearly a very personal and singular project. She just posted an incredibly lovely song from the second Brighter Later LP that’s due in the Spring. “Brace” is the perfect […]
Maybe it’s the sci-fi implications of computer-generated beats or the prevalence of masks in dance-heavy rituals worldwide, but electronic music producers’ deep love of wacky disguises, multiple aliases, and trumped-up backstories is one of the genre’s most consistent affectations. I’m sure there’s a grad school thesis or two out there on the subject. I just […]
Viet Cong hails from Calgary, and features ex-members of Women. They wrote their debut LP during a 50 date tour with all four members traveling in one car, and it sounds that way. The first single “Continental Shelf” is a combination of tight-knit and tightly-wound. It’s intense and claustrophobic and builds in unexpected and exhilarating […]