Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks : Sparkle Hard

I think it’s safe to say that Stephen Malkmus the solo artist has outlived the legend of Stephen Malkmus the dude in Pavement. His output with Pavement, which lasted between 1992 and 1999, was five Pavement records, several singles, and two Silver Jews albums(I’m sure there were one-offs here and there.) From 1999 on Malkmus […]

Yo La Tengo : There’s a Riot Going On

I got into Yo La Tengo pretty late. Like my first record experience with them was 2009s Popular Songs. I don’t know what took me so long to jump into the Ira Kaplan, Georgia Hubley, and James McNew world, but as soon as the the nearly 16-minute album closer “And the Glitter Is Gone” ended […]

Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile : Lotta Sea Lice

Maybe you were like me(or maybe you weren’t) that when you heard Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile were making a collaborative album together it just seemed like the perfect match. There’s a care-free quality about both of them that a coming together of these two seemed like the right thing. The essential thing, even. I’ve […]

Queens of the Stone Age : Villains

I’m not the biggest QOTSA fan in the room. There are others that their love and admiration for Josh Homme and crew far outweigh my own. I really didn’t come around to them till Lullabies To Paralyze. Even the massive Songs for the Deaf wasn’t enough to peak my interest in the desert rock monoliths. […]

Hot Thoughts In My Mind

So Spoon is dropping a new album called Hot Thoughts in March. Whenever there’s a new Spoon album I always get a little geared up, know what I mean? There’s just something about this Austin band that exudes cool and slickness. Now normally that would keep me away from a band, cause who needs all […]

Body/Head : No Waves

I remember being pretty floored by Coming Apart, the first record by the Kim Gordon/Bill Nace avante noise band Body/Head. In fact, I can remember thinking how on the edge that album was. Piercing, jagged guitar squalls mixed with Kim Gordon’s improvised vocal belting made for a compelling listen back in 2013. The record felt […]

Car Seat Headrest : Teens Of Style

I recently read a rather poignant article over at Pitchfork about Sparklehorse’s Mark Linkous. In it they talked about when he’d write a song that was deemed to “poppy” by his inner critic he’d add sonic grime over top to dirty it up. He’d also use $20 junk yard mics to record his vocals with […]

Kurt Vile : b’lieve i’m goin down

Kurt Vile comes off as a bit of a mystery at first. You listen to the guy as he mumbles and shrugs his way through a song, surrounded by some really great music. You wonder is this guy for real? You listen some more and little details, shaded nuances, and sly phrases begin to make […]

Yo La Tengo : Stuff Like That There

In the scheme of things, I have to be honest and say I’d prefer a new Yo La Tengo album filled with original songs. That’s just how I feel. Sorry Ira, James, and Georgia. I’d much rather hear newly-penned, original tunes coming out of the YLT camp any day of the week over covers. But […]