As we posted last month, the inimitable and unstoppable Robert Pollard continues to rock. One of his two latest projects is Ricked Wicky, whose first (and if this one matches the longevity of previous Pollard-led bands other than Guided By Voices, also last) release is I Sell The Circus. Pollard, joined on this project by […]
Here’s some lovely stoner/psychedelia from Los Angeles foursome Talk In Tongues. They’re working similar terrain as the Tame Impala & Pond cabal does, with nice big drums and guitars and reverbed vocals. The band changed its name from Brother Blyss a couple of months ago; other than that I don’t know a thing about them, […]
On the heels of Guided By Voices’ latest breakup comes word that Centro-matic, the Denton, Texas band led by prolific songwriter Will Johnson since 1995, is also going on a possibly-permanent hiatus. Announcing the band’s final tour “for the indefinite and foreseeable future,” Johnson writes: We’ve encountered some successes I wouldn’t have imagined when we […]
Growing up, I always thought of San Jose as the place where you went for plumbing supplies or muffler repair, not as the spawning ground of a drone & doom & dissonance art-music band that would produce 15 albums (so far) of terrifying explorations into a deeply wounded subconscious. But that’s Xiu Xiu for you, […]
In the present day, San Francisco’s Dirty Ghosts comprise singer/guitarist Allyson Baker, drummer Tony Sevener, and bassist Erin McDermott. But their history is a complicated one: the band’s 2012 debut release Metal Moon was a long-in-gestation work made by Baker and bassist Carson Binks, and produced by Baker’s then-husband Aesop Rock. Metal Moon is […]
Daniel Pujol makes stripped-down, high-energy garage rock with artful lyrics and a wry sensibility. His vocal and instrumental style evoke Rocket From the Crypt and Supergrass, but his sound is more idiosyncratically lo-fi and his material more eclectic than either. His band Pujol has produced a varied collection of 7” singles, EPs, and albums. The […]
Veteran Memphis eccentrics The Grifters, who recorded an impressive collection of albums and EPs in the ‘90s, are playing a select few shows in the coming months to commemorate the 20th anniversary of their breakout release Crappin’ You Negative. For me, the Grifters hit their creative stride two years later with Ain’t My Lookout, the […]
Dan Boeckner is an absurdly charismatic stage presence. He’s whippet-thin with haunted eyes and he throws himself completely into performing a song. He was previously in Wolf Parade and Handsome Furs; now he splits lead vocals and songwriting with Britt Daniel in Divine Fits, and their appearance on Letterman in 2012 was riveting. Boeckner’s latest project […]
Brighton, UK trio The Wytches play scary-rock that howls and swings. They make me think of the Banana Splits if those terrifying costumes had been occupied by members of 45 Grave and The Gun Club. It’s great to hear some really fun goth/horror/surf music right about now. The Wytches’ debut album Annabel Dream Reader came […]
You can tell that sisters Colette and Hannah Thurlow of the British band 2:54 are brainy because the first sentence of their Wikipedia page uses the verb “comprise” correctly, a very rare feat these days. Colette also claims to have found the inspiration for their new album’s title from the writing of Percy Bysshe Shelley, […]