Chicago – Imagine Dragons are back with an explosive sophomore album, which was recorded at their self-built home studio, and inspired by the world music discovered in the band’s travels. The Las Vegas foursome – made up of vocalist and guitarist Dan Reynolds, bassist and keyboardist Ben McKee, guitarist Daniel Wayne Sermon, and drummer Daniel
New York – Queens is the city’s best rap borough. The form was invented in the Bronx, dudes from Harlem and Brooklyn are best at flash and attention grabbing, and Staten Island is the Shaolin, but rappers from Queens are historically the most lyrical and have the most complex personalities. Back in the 90s, Nas
Berlin – One of the latest musical offerings to come from Ampispazi Recordings – and their first of 2015 – is Mess Me with a new release to satiate the sonic demands of his followers. “Keep On Coming” is his first track through the label and it is a dark, bold and ambitious start to
Los Angeles – There is no doubt that Father John Misty is the most interesting person living in Los Angeles. Okay, perhaps the previous statement is a bit overreaching when one considers the sheer density and diversity of artists dwelling in the oft-maligned metropolis. But the yarns which are spun on I Love You, Honeybear
Nashville – It’s difficult to pin down Breakfast In Fur, a four-piece outfit from New Paltz, NY. To put it simply, the group is soft-spoken but powerful, and their newest album, Flyaway Garden (via Bar/None), is certainly no exception. As ethereal as the title suggests, their full-length debut is a dreamy escape that combines whimsy
Los Angeles – Despite being released on riff-worshiping Exploding in Sound and kicking off with a Nevermind-worthy opening riff, the latest release from Los Angeles’s-by-way-of-Boston band Dirty Dishes is not just 40+ minutes of sheer aggression. Instead, Dirty Dishes follow in the footsteps of a variety of influences throughout Guilty. Of course, like a great
New York – Quarterbacks are based in New Paltz, New York, a cute little college town an hour and a half north of New York City. It’s even smaller than comparable college towns with lively music scenes like Olympia, Washington or Northampton, Massachusetts, but has still managed to support two independent record stores for more
London – With a band name inspired by writer Daphne du Maurier’s affair with actress Gertrude Lawrence, British female duo Eyes For Gertrude bring with it the promise that all might not be quite what it seems. Band mates Hannah Dean and Chantelle Pike appear respectively as ambivalent bride and groom on the cover of
Nashville – New York-based artist Sarah Lipstate, who records her instrumental arrangements under the title Noveller, has completed yet another impressive array of her characteristic eerie compositions. Fantastic Planet (via Fire Records) follows 2011’s Glacial Glow, which garnered a slew of favorable reviews. Nearly four years later, Lipstate has managed to maintain that same deft
San Francisco – Relative newcomers Young Ejecta have returned with a new EP—or “mini-album” as they choose to call it—entitled The Planet. The electronic duo consists of Joel Ford (of Ford & Lopatin fame) and Neon Indian’s female vocalist Leanne Macomber. Back in the late fall of 2013, the duo released their first full-length LP