27.Jun.2011 “Dry Ice” by Pure X
A lot of modern bands are good at mimicking blasted out guitar tones of the Reid Brothers and just as many excel at following the interstellar sounds of Spacemen3 and Spiritualized. Few, however, show themselves capable of adding any new ideas to that base, UK shoegaze sound. The Austin trio, Pure X, are an exception. [...]
02.Jun.2011 Moving Pictures: “Only in My Double Mind” by Centro-Matic
The art of Texas artist Will Johnson is on full display in the video for “Only in My Double Mind,” the first single from Centro-Matic’s forthcoming album, Candidate Waltz. The song is classic Centro-Matic, burly and brooding, rustic Rock ‘N’ Roll with Johnson’s soulfully, gruff voice providing the punctuation marks. The song, however, is only [...]
14.Apr.2011 Moving Pictures Triple Feature With Spindrift’s Classic Soundtracks
In 2009, the LA band, Spindrift re-released the soundtrack to The Legend of God’s Gun, a movie written by lead-singer Kirpatrick Thomas, inspired by his admiration of director Sergio Leone’s Spaghetti Westerns and the scores of Ennio Morricone. While the film itself wasn’t much to speak of, the soundtrack was a wondrous suite of music [...]
19.Jun.2009 “Close Every Valve to Your Bleeding Heart” by Ha Ha Tonka
Ha Ha Tonka sure know how to pull those tattered heart strings of an unemployed man who spends too much time pondering his lot. “Close to Every Valve of Your Bleeding Heart” is a sad song, and a drinking song, with the added punch of some Doestoevsky name dropping. At first its, “Only Doestoevsky would [...]
“When the Devil’s Loose” by A A Bondy
While A. A. Bondy may have plugged in for “When the Devil’s Loose,” the title track to his forthcoming sophomore release, he hasn’t lost the intimacy which made American Hearts such a delightful listen. Like much of his debut, “When the Devil’s Loose,” is rustic and hushed, birthed in rural America, and delivered with plain [...]
13.Jan.2009 “The Mountain” by Heartless Bastards
The Heartless Bastards’ Erika Wennerstrom has an unmistakable voice. It’s a big, brassy voice. One which conveys the power of a woman who’s seen plenty of hard times, and rocked them all. It’s not a perfect voice in the American Idol sense, I’m pretty sure it’s flat and a bit pitchy, yet, if we’re talking [...]
17.Sep.2008 “When it Reins” by The Builders and The Butchers
Like the best recommendations, I didn’t hear about The Builders and The Butchers from Pandora, Last FM, iTunes Genius, or even the Zune. No, I first heard about this Portland roots-music ensemble when I was talking shop outside The Beachland Ballroom during a concert one evening. The story I heard, about a band leading a [...]
18.Apr.2008 “Evil Urges” by My Morning Jacket
While a recent scientific study may have revealed 2:42 to be the perfect length for a pop song, the same isn’t true for a rock song. If My Morning Jacket’s “Evil Urges” had cut off before the three minute mark, you’d be missing the best part: the jam. Sure, “Evil Urges” would be pleasant enough [...]
