“White Daisy Passing” – Rocky Votolato

Laurel Kathleen caught the “truly gifted lyricist and vocalist” at the Troubador last Saturday.

Laurel wrote, “Though I had never heard of the soft-spoken Rocky Votolato before last week, it was clear that he had plenty of fans in the audience when he walked onstage at The Troubadour Saturday night, and the room erupted in cheers and girls’ screams. With the trifecta of a scruffy beard, flannel, and tattooed forearms, he looked very much the part of modern singer/songwriter. He played the set equipped with just an acoustic guitar and harmonica, but … he could have almost just sang his songs a cappella with the same hypnotic effects on the crowd.

“The beautiful yet simple guitar arrangements also allowed the audience to focus on his voice and the lyrics, both of which were sublime. He knew how to use the microphone to his advantage in order to showcase the many subtle nuances of his voice, which ranged from a soft croon to a raspy, almost-yell and everything in between. While his vocal control was excellent and his voice like a salve on the ears, it was the profound lyricism that sold me on Rocky Votolato‘s brilliance as songwriter.”

Read the rest of Laurel’s review here.

“I Love You, Always Forever (Donna Lewis cover)” and “It’s a Beautiful Life (Ace of Base cover)” – Jukebox The Ghost

Laurel Kathleen also interviewed Ben Thornewill of Jukebox The Ghost – here’s some of their conversation:

LK: You just released Everything Under the Sun in September, but are you already planning your next trip back to the studio?

BT: It’s funny you should say that…Now that we’ve gotten this second one under our belt, we’re anxious to go back into the studio. We’re eager to record late summer, and have it come out this time next year. Hopefully we’re get the ball rolling. Between the first and the second, there was a lot of growth. So hopefully it will be a little bit easier this time.

LK: Do you have a favorite song that you love to play onstage?

BT: We tour so often and play so many shows, it really cycles through. At any given week, we love one song and another has fallen behind. We’ve been doing a wonderfully tacky cover of Donna Lewis’ “I Love You Always Forever”. There’s something really nice about playing your own version of someone else’s song. I get happy and and giddy when we play that one in particular. We covered Ace of Base for a guilty pleasures compilation as well. It’s so bad, and in such bad taste. I love it.

LK: Who would your dream tour be with?

BT: Musicians that don’t tour. We’re all huge into Harry Nilsson who never even toured, I think we just want to go to his concerts. I wish I had an answer…I guess just bands that we all love. I think Vampire Weekend would be really cool, but I don’t know if we’re quite cool enough to tour with them.

Read the rest of Laurel’s interview here.

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“Dear Dictator (Jaison Remix)” – Saint Motel

Lauren Novik has been highlighting this band in preparation for SXSW later this month. Here’s one of the videos of the band:

View more posts on Saint Motel here.

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“Automatic” – The Get Up Kids

Kelly Knapp previewed The Get Up Kids’ show this week at Webster Hall.

Kelly wrote, “If you were a teenager in the mid- to late 90s, you probably remember The Get Up Kids in their heyday, before the ‘emo’ genre became so distorted with the cringe- worthy connotations it has now. After making music for about a decade, they called it quits as a band but many members went on to different projects, such as The New Amsterdams, Hellogoodbye, and Spoon. They reunited in honor of the tenth anniversary of what many fans cite as their best album, Something to Write Home About. They have gone and released two more albums since then, the latest being There Are Rules.”

Read the rest of Kelly’s preview here.

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“Cabin Fever” – Wiz Khalifa

Rebecca Haithcoat reviewed the new mixtape from Wiz Khalifa.

Rebecca wrote, “Wiz Khalifa had samurai sword-sharp marketing tactics long before he had the kind of weight major label money carries. Gritty and grimier than the bright poppiness of his latest, very cuddly radio cut, ‘Roll Up,’ and the glittery free-fall of his breakout mixtape, last spring’s Kush and Orange Juice, Cabin Fever seems an attempt to reassure Wiz’s rabid underground fan base that regardless of the sudden and ubiquitous radio presence Atlantic’s bought him, he is not selling out.

“…The mixtape is likable, which has more to do with Wiz’s high times charisma than his lyrical ability. What other rapper, besides Curren$y, would open a mixtape with the adlib, ‘Usually I be smokin’ weed on the intro, but I’m drinkin’ water’? That’s from ‘Phone Numbers,’ featuring Trae Tha Truth and Big Sean, a memorable track due to it being produced by Drumma Boy and a funny chorus, ‘Now when I get paid, my checks be lookin’ like phone numbers.’”

Read the rest of Rebecca’s review here.

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“Butter and Toast” – Old Monk

Jesse Diener-Bennett reviewed Old Monk’s EP, Birds of Belize.

Jesse wrote, “Birds of Belize showcases a different side of Old Monk. Although most (if not all) of the songs in their live show are taken from this album, its production makes it an entirely different experience. The slashing guitars and rhythmically intricate drum patterns that dominate their live show are somewhat tamed and pushed back in the mix in favor of lead singer Josh Carrafa’s unadorned vocals.

“Perhaps the best thing about this album is that it gives the listener time to process Carrafa’s fantastic lyrics.  Often biting, sometimes playful, they sit comfortably between Punk directness and Indie Rock irony. During the chorus of ‘More Peat Moss, Please,’ a self-deprecating song about semi-success (‘…and I have a name / to express so passionately’), Carrafa sings, ‘Please be mean when I wash up,’ over a slimy, faux- Jazz beat. Other lyric gems include the sarcastic ode to small talk, ‘Telephone Bones’: ‘There’s so many expressions to make / and I like to debate on the war…’ ‘And we all agree Mary Shelley’s great;’ and the dark, hard-hitting ‘Destination Ubiquity’: ‘What a place to find such peaceful sounds/ I should have known then what I had found/ A woman who let me pay her rent / Told me men and boys are different.’”

Read the rest of Jesse’s review here.

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“God and Satan” – Biffy Clyro

Lauren Novik got some great footage of this song from Biffy Clyro’s recent performance at the Bootleg Theater:

View the rest of Lauren’s review here.