Beach House : 7

It took me a bit before I truly could appreciate the magic of Beach House’s music. The Baltimore band’s appeal eluded me their first couple records. What I’d heard off of Teen Dream and then Bloom was nice in a passerby sort of way, but I didn’t know what all the accolades were about. What […]

Language : Plymouth EP

For those not in-the-know, singer and guitarist Omar Afzaal of the New York-based post-punk band Language is a Fort Wayne native, born and bred. He’s been a part of some of the most creative and progressive bands to come out of Fort Wayne in the last 15 years until he moved to the Big Apple […]

Phantom vs Fire : Swim

I’ve been sitting here trying to wrap my brain around the beautiful and mysterious Swim by Phantom vs Fire for a few days now. I’m still struggling to put into words what’s going on here. While it could sit comfortably in the imagined soundtracks genre, I think to label it as such would be doing […]

Dr. Dog : Critical Equation

I can remember driving 5 hours one way to Louisville, Kentucky to see Wilco at Slugger Field back in late summer of 2007. My wife and I were deep into Jeff Tweedy’s world at that point. I’d lost count of all the times we’d seen the Chicago band by then, but what was one more […]

Landing : Bells In New Towns

Connecticut’s Landing are a band that seem to evolve and reshape with every new album. On their 2015 El Paraiso Records debut Third Sight it was a slightly psychedelic, slightly ambient affair with hints of delicate dream pop thrown in for good measure. But the velveteen hushes on that great album were just a fraction […]

Speedy Ortiz : Twerp Verse

I’m not sure I’m smart enough to truly ever get into Speedy Ortiz. I mean, I listen to the Sadie Dupuis-fronted band and I hear really intelligently put together indie pop rock. The guitars are jangly, jagged, and possess angular riffing you’d hear in early Pavement, Archers of Loaf, and Sleater-Kinney. The songs are put […]

Sleep : The Sciences

For the longest time Sleep were more legend than reality. A trio of young California stoners in the late 80s/early 90s that worshiped at the alter of Black Sabbath, fueled by massive amounts of the best bud little money could buy, started a whole new genre of music: stoner metal. Matt Pike, Al Cisneros, and […]

Steve Reich : Pulse/Quartet

Steve Reich is the kind of musical figure that lives within several different worlds. He began in tape experimentations, looping, and sound phasing while making social and political statements in the mid-60s. His piece “Come Out” is a dizzying and hallucinogenic piece of sound manipulation that also served as a voice for the civil rights […]

Communion by Various Artists

Compilation albums are a lot like a mixtape. The best ones are built of different artists and vibes, but when set together in one singular time frame form a truly inspiring listening experience. Compilation albums can be as intimate and involved as that homemade mixtape you made back in high school for a friend. You […]

Rival Consoles : Persona

Ryan Lee West’s music as Rival Consoles feels far more lived in and worn than many of his producing peers. He makes electronic music that sounds and feels organic. Past records like Howl, Kid Velo, and Night Melody evoked a truly emotional heft, while still drawing you into sultry grooves and heady electronic rhythms. There […]