A couple of months ago, my friends Diehard were playing an afternoon CMJ show. The band following them had a less-than-enticing name: Diarrhea Planet. A couple of the folks from Diehard advised me to stick around, and I’m glad that I did: DP’s sound recalled a number of irreverent, anthemic punk bands I enjoyed listening … Continue reading
Category Archives: Review
Me @ Volume 1- Afternoon Bites: Book art, Dusted and Fluxblog turn ten, Joyland on Greenpoint, and more
- There Is a Documentary About Linotype. We Think This Is Awesome.
- Afternoon Bites: Carl Wilson’s 2011, Emma Straub makes a mix, Justin Davidson on Philip Glass, and more
- Hillary Jordan’s “When She Woke”: A Discussion
- Afternoon Bites: Steve Erickson talks politics, Mikhail Bulgakov gets unreal, Pam Houston on mentoring, and more
January 19, 2012, Author: , Leave a comment
In Which Music Is Written About (part two: profane punk edition)
Categories: Music, ReviewI reviewed the latest album from The Lodger, Flashbacks, for Dusted: Siddall’s voice is in the same melancholy vein as Field Mice/Trembling Blue Stars mainstay Robert Wratten, and the Lodger’s music suggests that that influence goes beyond the vocal approach. The Lodger takes a restrained, austere approach to uptempo, jangling rock — though here, the … Continue reading
May 18, 2010, Author: , Leave a comment
At Dusted: My Education, Reviewed
Categories: Me, Music, ReviewUp today at Dusted: a review of My Education’s Sunrise. If you’ve read any recent think-piece about how the lines between rock bands and classical ensembles are blurring, you could pretty easily swap their name into the list of case studies provided without sacrificing accuracy. Besides recording their own compositions, they’ve also released their take … Continue reading
In a similar vein to the post below, I also have two new “Delorean” entries over at Tiny Mix Tapes. Samuel: Lives of Insects ““Sideways Lookerâ€� closes out the EP by essentially pushing one mood for two minutes and segueing from there into somewhere much more grim. Essentially, it’s the sound of a band teetering … Continue reading
At Flavorwire today, I have reviews of a quintet of recent albums that defy expectations of what a retro-inspired sound might be. Specifically: Clogs, Jack Rose, Evelyn Evelyn, The Tallest Man on Earth, and Eluvium.
My first encounter with Curtis Harvey’s music came via Rex’s C, around 1996 or so. Musically, I was starting to explore work that was outside the boundaries of the hardcore and alt-rock I’d previously obsessed over. It’s a fine, textured album that’s held up remarkably well, as has their followup to it, 3. Rex vocalist … Continue reading
October 31, 2009, Author: , Leave a comment
Live: Hardly Pop; Mercury Lounge, 10.24.09 [CMJ 2009]
Categories: Live, Music, ReviewEight bands, representing selections from the lineups of Hardly Art and Sub Pop. And thus, short takes on each. Unnatural Helpers: Like Idle Times, with whom they share members, it’s solid, unpretentious garage rock. Dean Whitmore’s vocals sound like a more ragged Craig Finn circa-Lifter Puller, which is a plus; the sole downside was their … Continue reading
October 31, 2009, Author: , Leave a comment
Live: Headlights, The Dutchess & The Duke, Dum Dum Girls; Music Hall of Williamsburg, 10.24.09 [CMJ 2009]
Categories: Live, Music, ReviewArrived at the Music Hall of Williamsburg a few songs into Headlights‘ set. Last year’s Some Racing, Some Stopping ended up earning an unexpected amount of listening time — it’s a solid, enjoyable pop record, at times reminiscent of Saturday Looks Good To Me, but with less of SLGTM’s overt nostalgia and evocations of fading … Continue reading
October 29, 2009, Author: , Leave a comment
Live: Girls At Dawn, Idle Times, Smith Westerns; Don Pedro’s, 10.22.09
Categories: Live, Music, ReviewThe latter part of last Thursday night was spent at Don Pedro’s, taking in an Impose-curated night of noisy rock music. Girls at Dawn took the stage shortly after I arrived, and it took me longer than expected to realize that they were not the three-piece that I took them for; there was, in fact, … Continue reading
October 29, 2009, Author: , Leave a comment
Live: The Press, Diehard; The Charleston, 10.22.09 [CMJ 2009]
Categories: Live, Music, ReviewThe Press came highly recommended via friends of mine, with suggestions that their sound was a more accessible, rock-oriented take on the improvisational/ambient-fueled pop currently beloved in many circles of this city. I’m not sure I agree — the sound I heard recalled, in places, recent Modest Mouse and The Walkmen, albeit with a distinctly … Continue reading
October 22, 2009, Author: , Leave a comment
Live: The Seedy Seeds; Trash Bar, 10.21.09 [CMJ 2009]
Categories: Live, Music, ReviewFriends who had heard The Seedy Seeds previously told me after their set at Trash Bar had wrapped up that the space’s sound system had done them no favors, that certain elements of their sound had been lost in the mix. For my part, I still liked what I heard, even knowing that certain instruments … Continue reading
October 22, 2009, Author: , Leave a comment
Live: Broadcast, Atlas Sound; Le Poisson Rouge, 10.20.09 [CMJ 2009]
Categories: Live, Music, ReviewDespite a fondness for the bands in which Bradford Cox plays, I’ve listened to both Deerhunter and Atlas Sound far more in their recorded versions than in the live setting. Tuesday’s show at Le Poisson Rouge was my first time seeing the latter, and while I found myself nodding my head to the most direct … Continue reading
Up now at The Rumpus: some thoughts on the work of Le Loup, examining their evolution from solo project to full-on band.
October 22, 2009, Author: , Leave a comment
Revisiting Rachel’s (by proxy)
Categories: Me, Music, ReviewIn the summer of 1995, shortly before leaving my hometown for college, I went to a house party in Middletown, New Jersey — memorable in part because that was where I heard numerous bands who would later become personal favorites. Seam in particular, but also the Louisville post-rock ensemble Rachel’s. All of which is prelude … Continue reading
September 18, 2009, Author: , Leave a comment
Reviews: 1990s Seattle Style
Categories: Me, Music, ReviewTwo new Delorean reviews I wrote are up at Tiny Mix Tapes: one, on the reissue of Sunny Day Real Estate’s LP2; the other, on Sharks Keep Moving’s 1998 Desert Strings and Drifters.