Explosions in the Sky : The Wilderness

Listening to Explosions in the Sky for me has always been like that lump in your throat moment in a great film. The tragic losses, the triumphant successes, and the moment when you realize everything is going to be all right despite all the downs you’ve gone through to get there. They soundtrack both figuratively […]

Black Mountain : IV

I’m on my third listen of Black Mountain’s newest opus, the labyrinthine IV. It should be no surprise that I will need a few more listens before I’ve covered all the nooks and crannies of this stately beast of an album, but I can say very confidently that everything they’ve done beforehand has been building […]

Women And Van Halen First

There was a time in the early 90s where if you admitted to being a fan of Van Halen you were ostracized by everyone around you; family, friends, neighbors, that nice senior couple that lived down the street and even the clergy. There were camps set up across the US where admitted Van Halen fans […]

Damien Jurado : Visions of Us on the Land

Damien Jurado is one of the most interesting musicians working today. He may not think that, but he’s a modest guy. Jurado’s not the kind of artist that sits around thinking about how interesting he is. But take my word for it Damien, you are very interesting. Ever since he began his musical partnership with […]

New Tune : Jakob Skott’s “The Variable”

So not only does one of my favorite bands drop a new album this past Friday, their drummer is readying a new album for the end of April. Holy moly! Causa Sui have just released their new record, the mammoth chunk of molten rock called Return To Sky. That album is the grittiest, rawest form […]

Two Days Since A Lost Space/Time Accident

I’m man enough to admit it, my friend Thom turned me onto Flying Lotus. I fancy myself a guy that keeps up with music. I may not like a lot of what the majority masses pass as “good”, but I try at least to be aware of what’s happening outside my own four walls in […]

A Saucerful Of Strawberries

Last year I bought Eternal Tapestry’s album Wild Strawberries completely on a whim. Well, honestly I think Thrill Jockey Records forced me to. You see, they send me emails and entice me with “preorders” and “limited edition” things. These limited editions I speak of are only available if you buy the record a couple months […]

The Shrapnel Years…or, Where My Lunch Money Went In Middle School

Between 1986 when I discovered Yngwie Malmsteen and 1990 when I discovered Alex Lifeson I was a fledgling guitar student learning basic chords and scales. Given that it was the mid to late 80s and I was only 13 I didn’t have guys like Jimmy Page, Ritchie Blackmore, Jeff Beck, and Jimi Hendrix to find […]

LNZNDRF : LNZNDRF

Once in a great while a record comes out and completely catches me off guard. Sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. With the debut record of LNZNDRF it’s definitely for the better. It’s one of those debuts that comes out of the gate and grabs you instantly. Part euro pop, part Krautrock […]

Slave To The Rewind : Thug Entrancer’s ‘Data Slave’

If you had told me a year ago I’d be getting all excited over a damn cassette tape I would’ve told you to jump back in that Delorean and get back to 1985. As it happens, I stand corrected. I mean, I’m not having some sort of cassette tape renaissance or anything. Sure, I’ve found […]