Nashville – When I think of a live album, I think of the screaming crowd, the distorted sound, the difficulty hearing. It’s unusual for me to enjoy these types of albums simply because I find it overwhelming and annoying. Dynamo has completely shifted this way of thinking for me with their debut live album, Live
Chicago – Real talk: I saw one of the best shows of my life the other night. When I’m old and gray, and looking back on my most memorable musical moments, I know that July Talk will make my top ten list for the greatest live performances. Now, I had heard that Peter Dreimanis and
New York – Swinging 60s, beach parties, spaghetti westerns, The Village People, and Pretty in Pink are just a few cultural signifiers that French electro-pop band La Femme seem to emblematize in their live show. When the first band member came out dressed like a Hollywood cowboy, I was immediately reminded of that recent photo
New York – With sprawling soundscapes that would stretch the length of the nation if unfurled, and that could soundtrack that endless road acutely, the latest record from The War On Drugs is a full-fledged triumph. The most intricate, emotive and affecting LP to date, Lost In The Dream showcases Adam Granduciel at his point
Nashville – It has been far too long since we’ve had a real, true, honest-to-god British Invasion: the last one we really had was when the Beatles and the Rolling Stones marched onto American soil as if it was a Revolutionary War reenactment. Given that it’s been roughly fifty years since that happened (and One
Chicago – Vance Joy is a man after my heart. The Australian lawyer turned singer-songwriter not only has musical chops parallel to Jeff Buckley and Matthew Santos, but he’s also an avid reader, who just so happens to have taken his stage name from a novel. After graduating law school, James Keogh decided to follow
Austin – In preparation of a 20 date European tour, Elijah Ford headlined The Sahara Lounge sans his usual band, The Bloom. He will be playing acoustic on tour, so an acoustic set is what we got at The Sahara. Always an interesting crowd, the venue caters to world musicians but also holds rock shows.
Austin – It was the calm before the storm here in Austin with the anticipation of SXSW growing. Though it seems to begin earlier every year, it seemed Austinites weren’t so eager to begin the fest on a cold Wednesday evening. The show, dubbed Holy Hell @ Holy Mountain, was listed as a “killer rock-n-roll
New York – With a new record on the horizon, Wye Oak is branching out from the heavy guitar work that characterized their sound over the course of three studio albums. The forthcoming LP is due out on April 29th and the duo has already made public two cuts from Shriek. The first single was “The
Chicago – Peter Dreimanis walks into a bar… now, wait a minute. I swear, this isn’t some bad joke. It’s more like a beautiful black and white movie, in which you might find Bogart and Bacall partaking in some feisty yet charming banter. The story goes like this: one night Dreimanis sat in dark Toronto