San Francisco – One of my earliest memories of Owl Paws takes place outside an obscure little art gallery in San Francisco. I’m taking rough drags off an American Spirit and talking to the band’s lead singer/guitarist Derek Schultz. He’s just finished a solo acoustic set at an event designed to raise awareness for environmental
Portland - Best Friends’ debut album is Hot. Reckless. Totally Insane. Born out of Sheffield, the foursome delivers self-deprecating garage pop that is more about music than show. Their LP, Hot. Reckless. Totally Insane consistently surprises its listeners with tracks that are littered with playfulness and attitude but never loses sight of the importance of skilled
Portland – (Publishers Note: We all reach that point where our favorite playlist starts to feel a bit tired and needs some new songs; well most of us do. Not writers for Best New Bands though, because its our job to listen to all the best new stuff. Actually the issue with being a writer
Portland - Lucy Rose’s folk pop takes a forlorn and candid turn on her newly released LP Work It Out. The UK singer songwriter’s second album is a selfless look at her viewpoint on love and attachment, which manages to recognize her listeners as much as the supposed subjects. Rose’s take on the genre is inventive
New York – London-based synth-pop trio Years & Years have already achieved widespread success since their formation in 2010. They have been slowly but steadily building up a collection of critically lauded single releases and won BBC’s Sound of 2015 (past winners of which include now household names Sam Smith, Haim and Ellie Goulding). Years
Los Angeles – Swedish noise poppers Westkust are set to make a splash stateside with their LP, Last Forever. Due out on July 10th, Last Forever is a collection of shoegazing tunes that include punk sensibilities and ethereal guitars. With their wall-of-sound style, the nine tracks featured on Last Forever cut especially deep. Last Forever
Berlin – The Unravelling are back and ready to prove themselves yet again with the release of their latest single ‘Master Drone’, the follow-up to their previous single ‘Revolt’. Released on Fat Wreck Chords, the success of ‘Revolt’ confirms that the dynamic rock duo are back in a major way. Since the release of ‘Revolt’,
Los Angeles – The latest band to join the recent trend of psych bands that sound a lot more like Hawkwind than The Grateful Dead is Philadelphia-based three-piece Ecstatic Vision. Signed to Relapse Records following an impressive demo tape and a reputation for a frenetic live show, Sonic Praise is the band’s first full-length release.
Berlin – Chris Marshall and The August Light’s new LP is out and it’s a welcome expansion of their previous work. Traditionally, Seattle has been known as the place on the West Coast to find the best emerging musical acts. But over the last few years, Portland has made its name as another city to
San Francisco – What’s that sound? It’s a punk band. No, it’s a metal band. Nah, it sounds like gritty prog-rock. Not quite – it’s Mutoid Man, a heavy hybrid of all those genres, possibly the result of some sweaty, noisy orgy featuring Black Flag, Exodus and King Crimson. Mutoid Man’s name certainly captures their