AltWeeklies Wire
Monsters of Folk Offers a Master Class in Supergroup-ismnew
Instead of sounding like a lumpy blend of styles, Monsters of Folk sounds like an album from a new band with four familiar members.
Tucson Weekly |
Annie Holub |
11-04-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: Monsters of Folk
The Nurses' 'Apple's Acre' is Instantly Invigoratingnew
On paper, the Nurses' formula sounds a shade of awful: hootenanny percussion, two guys singing in layered high-pitched caterwauls, and plinking pianos topped with synthesizers. But what music ever sounds good on paper?
Tucson Weekly |
Annie Holub |
10-29-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: Apple's Acre, Nurses
The Metal Shakespeare Company Brings the Ax Down on the Bardnew
Jason Simms is quick to point out that the metal the Metal Shakespeare Company invokes is neither death nor thrash, since "methinks our death-metal-and-thrash cousin wouldst suit perhaps another poet."
Tucson Weekly |
Annie Holub |
07-23-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
The Portland Cello Project Strings Us Alongnew
Cello versions of indie, pop, metal and/or rock songs, can't be boring -- but The Thao and Justin Power Sessions is, sadly enough, a little boring.
Tucson Weekly |
Annie Holub |
07-16-2009 |
Reviews
Pete Yorn's Fourth Album is a Series of Conundrumsnew
Back and Fourth is definitely Pete Yorn's most commercial-sounding record -- but the lyrics are all too often cringe-worthy.
Tucson Weekly |
Annie Holub |
07-08-2009 |
Reviews
Atlanta's The Coathangers Simply Want to Dress Up Like Themselvesnew
For the four girls in the Coathangers, starting a band wasn't about paying homage to any sort of musical deity, nor was it about some kind of artistic/musical vision. It was just about doing something with friends that sounded fun.
Tucson Weekly |
Annie Holub |
07-02-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Blind Pilot Makes Soft Music Out of Chatternew
Any duo who can cart around all of their equipment on bicycles obviously plays stripped-down music; Blind Pilot's sound is acoustic-guitar-focused folk-pop, with sparse, quiet drums. Their music is so essentially simple and so immediately loved by many because of that resonance of bareness.
Tucson Weekly |
Annie Holub |
04-02-2009 |
Reviews
Israel's Monotonix Is Setting America on Fire -- Literallynew
"You hit my girlfriend in the head with a trash can, and as much as I love her, you were still the best fucking band I've seen in ages," one fan wrote on Monotonix's MySpace page. This says a lot about the rock 'n' roll of Monotonix.
Tucson Weekly |
Annie Holub |
03-19-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
U2's 'No Line on the Horizon'new
No Line on the Horizon follows big, time-tested U2 themes--The Edge's crystalline guitars against Bono's lyrics of love and hope.
Tucson Weekly |
Annie Holub |
03-12-2009 |
Reviews
Husband-and-Wife Duo Discover that Working from Home Can Greatly Increase Productivitynew
Having their own studio separate from their house, but still at home, allowed Viva Voce to live their lives without dealing with the gigantic wad of cables.
Tucson Weekly |
Annie Holub |
03-12-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Arms and Sleepers Rely on Their Accurate Musical Intuitionsnew
A common theme persists throughout Max Lewis' discussion of his Cambridge, Mass.-based electronic duo, Arms and Sleepers: doing what feels right.
Tucson Weekly |
Annie Holub |
03-05-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Origami Ghosts Are Neither Complicated Nor Scary; Discussnew
Origami Ghosts' music is not complicated nothingness, and it's far from frustrating--it's actually quite the opposite: minimalist everythingness, if you will, easy to listen to and surprisingly playful.
Tucson Weekly |
Annie Holub |
02-20-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Andrew Bird's Dissertation Worthy 'Noble Beast'new
As a composition, Andrew Bird's latest is as complex and gorgeous as a George Eliot novel.
Tucson Weekly |
Annie Holub |
02-12-2009 |
Reviews
Playful Design: Obi Best Is All Dressed Up With Everywhere to Gonew
Obi Best invokes the usual suspects--'60s and '80s pop, indie-rock preciousness and musical theater--but make no mistake: Lilly is a talented songwriter and producer who can craft a song with focus, precision and an incredible attention to detail.
Tucson Weekly |
Annie Holub |
01-22-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Listen to Thesenew
It's time to make some lists of the best albums of 2008.
Tucson Weekly |
Gene Armstrong, Annie Holub and Linda Ray |
01-02-2009 |
Music
Tags: Year in Review, Best Albums
