Austin – In the endless debate over the true purpose of art, I have encountered two opposing schools of thought. Vaguely put, the first revere’s art as sacred and inimitable. Hence the existence of museums. The second aims to make art user-defined and accessible in every way. Art can either be contained, or it can
Nashville – There must be something in the water causing the musical renaissance “Down Under.” Add Streets of Laredo to a budding list of new bands from Australia and New Zealand who’ve come out recently. The Naked and Famous, Vance Joy, Tiny Ruins, Courtney Barnett, Hiatus Kaiyote, and Lorde (a contender in our Newbie Awards)
Seattle – I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – there’s nothing quite like when a new band plays a show to their hometown. There’s something, dare I say, magical about the energy of a band’s show in the place where they were born and bred. The old friends, the initial fans, the
Nashville – The Weeks don’t have a problem being compared to Kings of Leon. Lead singer Cyle Barnes told Irish Music website GoldenPlec, “If you’re going to be compared to somebody, that’s not a bad band to be compared to.” It’s a good thing they don’t mind because Barnes’ voice and his band’s wily guitar
New York – One part El Perro del Mar, two parts Beach House and seven parts incomparably emotive dream pop, Pure Bathing Culture will win the war for your heart with their penchant for nostalgia and the sense of glory that surrounds their work. Following their debut, self-titled, EP last year on Father-Daughter Records, the
London – Half Moon Run travelled to London for the opening night of their hotly anticipated UK and Ireland tour. After an explosive year for the band which saw some high profile festival appearances (SXSW, Glastonbury, Reading + Leeds) and massive support slots (Mumford & Sons, Metric, Of Monsters and Men) you’d have allowed the
Seattle – The name Cumulus is just asking for cloud puns, but I’m going to resist because the band is far worthier than even the best pun could deliver. The Seattle trio was born out of singer/songwriter Alexandra Niedzialkowski’s (nee-jul-KOFF-ski) solo project. Lance Umble (guitar) and Leah Julius (bass) joined Niedzialkowski and with that, Cumulus
New York – The biggest news this past week was the announcement of our 2nd Annual Newbie Awards, where we (and you) vote on your top picks in four categories for the artists who made the sounds and put on the shows that grabbed your attention the most. If you haven’t voted yet, there’s just a
Chicago – It was a serene homecoming for Chicago natives Smith Westerns, something that seemed to bother front man Cullen Omori. “You guys still alive out there? You look like you’re sleepy,” he quipped between songs. Perhaps the culprit behind any perceived lack of energy was the bands’ solid hour’s worth of dreamlike glam rock that produced more
Seattle – I will always love a band that can take us back to the days of high school basement shows while bringing that mature flair of high sound quality. For this reason, but not for this reason alone, I love PAWS. The Scottish trio played Barboza (a venue that’s been just killing it with