Portland – The first time I saw Real Estate was in 2010. The group was opening for Deerhunter in Portland, touring in support of their first major effort, Real Estate, out a year earlier on Woodsist. Although the album was released to substantial critical acclaim, it had completely missed the mark with me. At the
New York – Everybody’s talking about Nothing, about how they’re Philly’s best shoegaze band, and how they’re dark and beautiful and heavy and sad but very cool. Well, yeah. Nothing is all of that. Today the four-piece releases their debut LP, Guilty of Everything, on Relapse, a record that takes themes of serious pain and just
Austin – When a band’s sound is difficult to pin down, as is the case with Houston quartet, The Tontons, you know they’re doing something right. As their Facebook bio states, “The Tontons simply sound like The Tontons.” Since 2008, The Tontons have been crafting elegant indie tracks using no guidelines but their own taste.
Seattle – Every now and then, a band comes along to remind us why we fell in love with good old-fashioned rock and roll. On Wednesday night, those at The Crocodile in Seattle were treated to two such bands, with echoes of Led Zeppelin, Tom Petty, and The Band. True to their Texas roots, Austin’s
Chicago – On a reasonably mild winter night, rapper Probcause took the stage smiling ear to ear. Perhaps it was his warm demeanor keeping the cold at bay because his happiness and enthusiasm could be felt throughout the room. He told the packed house the last six months have been the best of his
New York – “Reconciling my conception of adulthood with actual adulthood,” reads the Bandcamp epigraph for Gilded Oldies, the new album from Seattle’s Cataldo. Gilded Oldies is the fourth album from the band, fronted always by earnest lyricist and core member Eric Anderson. With Anderson reaching the end of his twenties, it makes sense for
Nashville – ZZ Top, Spoon, Eli Young Band – you would have to be living under a rock, sanctioned off from all music of any kind to not have heard of at least one of these bands. The thing they all have in common? Texas. These bands (and many more) are from the second largest
Chicago – After the critical success of Civilized Man, the Nashville band Daniel Ellsworth and The Great Lakes are back with an exceptional and dynamic sophomore album. Kid Tiger is filled with playful piano scores, stellar drumming, fantastic guitar riffs, and of course, Ellsworth’s exquisite and powerful voice. The indie-pop album was tracked live and
Austin – Appearing on stage as a frat boy in a fedora and a slender gentleman in newsboy cap, the singer and drummer of the band Augustines (respectively known as Billy McCarthy and Rob Allen) were an instantly endearing duo. Typically a three-piece ensemble, the death of guitarist Eric Sanderson’s father turned what would otherwise
Chicago – Ryan Graveface created The Casket Girls with Phaedra and Elsa Greene in 2012 after fantastically stumbling upon the sisters, who were singing beneath a tree in Savannah, Georgia. The three would release their first collaboration, Sleepwalking, under Ryan’s label Graveface Records. After getting in a little touring and conquering the fear of performing,