Tim Heidecker : Slipping Away

Tim Heidecker, one half of comedy duo Tim and Eric, is secretly a pop songwriter and musician. Well, it’s not really much of a secret these days. After releasing albums like What The Brokenhearted Do and High School the comedian/actor known for his absurdist humor and surreal characters has established himself as a great songwriter, […]

Japandroids : Fate & Alcohol

Canada’s Japandroids were, at one time in the early 2010s, the saviors of rock n roll. While Williamsburg was the hub of all things indie – which included bands like Grizzly Bear, The National, and Dirty Projectors – Vancouver’s Japandroids(which included guitarist/vocalist Brian King and drummer/vocalist David Prowse) arrived in 2009 with Post-Nothing. That album […]

Peel Dream Magazine : Rose Main Reading Room

Peel Dream Magazine is what I would call intellectual pop. The L.A.-based band has effortlessly swayed through Krautrock, shoegaze, twee pop, and dream pop throughout their four full-length albums. Each one saw sonic expansion and a deeper connection to storytelling via band leader and songwriter Joseph Stevens. Stevens incorporates everything from early 90s college rock […]

Juicer : Retire The Fences

Once in a while I come across an album that hits me hard with a quiet, melancholy simplicity. It locks into gorgeous pop sensibilities while never being too sweet and sunny for its own good. Bands like Wild Nothing, DIIV, Shy Boys, and Beach Fossils to name a few lock into sounds of old and […]

Mr. Big : Ten

At the end of my freshman year of high school the supergroup Mr. Big dropped their debut, self-titled album. Supergroup you say? Well, if you were a 15-year old fledgling guitarist that worshipped at the alter of Vai, Satriani, and Gilbert then yes, they were a supergroup. The band consisted of David Lee Roth’s former […]

Chris Cohen : Paint A Room

Chris Cohen is one of those musicians/songwriters that seems to ride a completely different wavelength than the rest of the world. As a collaborator he’s worked with everyone from Deerhoof to Ariel Pink to Cass McCombs to Weyes Blood. But as a solo artist is where his magic truly lies. His solo work feels aged […]

Fir Cone Children Return With Tenth Album ‘Jig Of Glee’, Out 7/12; Listen To Single “Malin”

Alexander Donat is a man creatively in bloom. With so many musical ideas he needs to spread them out amongst many different projects; Vlimmer, Fir Cone Children, Assassun, Feverdreamt, as well as music released under his own name all build a discography rich in sound, mood, intent, and with a through line that is Donat’s […]

Eels : EELS TIME!

Mark Oliver Everett has quietly amassed an impressive discography over the last 30 years, first with two albums under the moniker ‘E’ and then in 1996 debuting EELS. Despite the shift from singer/songwriter pop-inflected songs to a more gruff, alternative vibe both iterations of Everett’s curmudgeon poet laureate remained steadfast. Sad and melancholy but with […]

Strand Of Oaks : Miracle Focus

Timothy Showalter has been kicking around as Strand of Oaks since his 2009 debut Leave Ruin. Starting out with a folksy, singer/songwriter vibe he shifted focus into more synth and pop touches on the project’s breakthrough record Pope Killdragon. His Neil Young affectations were replaced by Tangerine Dream and Kate Bush as influences on his […]

Lenny Kravitz : Blue Electric Light

Lenny Kravitz has had a long, successful career. 35 years to be exact. While never creating something truly original or singular, he’s successfully built a decades-spanning discography on the shoulders of innovators like Sly and the Family Stone, John Lennon, Prince, Stevie Wonder, and the list goes on. His take on 60s free love, 70s […]