AltWeeklies Wire
Emerging Brooklyn Duo Recruits Bandmates, Gets a Label, and Hits the Roadnew
Although they live and work in Brooklyn, Mark Heyner and Josh Kolenik had to get out of the city to record as Small Black. Last year, the duo holed up at Kolenik's uncle's house on Long Island, recording a handful of fuzzed-around-the-edges pop songs away from the diversions of the city.
The Memphis Flyer |
Stephen Deusner |
03-12-2010 |
Profiles & Interviews
Bill Callahan Balances Uncertainties on His New Albumnew
With an eye for such tragic ironies as Cain's ignoble fate, Callahan has written toward various shades of darkness and light, from pitch black to only slightly dim.
The Memphis Flyer |
Stephen Deusner |
12-07-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Wolf Parade's Followup Lacks Nervy Zipnew
Wolf Parade has spawned countless offshoots, including Sunset Rubdown, Handsome Furs, Swan Lake, Megasoid, Johnny & the Moon, and the still-active Frog Eyes. Perhaps they have stretched themselves too thin locally.
The Memphis Flyer |
Stephen Deusner |
07-07-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Wolf Parade, At Mount Zoomer
The Black Keys Expand Its Sound -- Slightynew
Attack & Release, the Keys' fifth album, may be a reaction to those accusations of repetitiveness; it's a small step out of their little room and into something larger.
The Memphis Flyer |
Stephen Deusner |
04-11-2008 |
Reviews
The Raconteurs: From Studio to Storesnew
The marketing of Consolers of the Lonely, the second album from Jack White's side project the Raconteurs, threatens to overshadow the music.
The Memphis Flyer |
Stephen Deusner |
04-04-2008 |
Reviews
Be Your Own Pet Refuse to Grow Up and That's Goodnew
The group's second album sounds like a promise that even though she's no longer a teenager, we can still expect the Muppet-punk brattiness that animated the band's eponymous 2006 debut, which was known to blister paint at high volumes.
The Memphis Flyer |
Stephen Deusner |
04-04-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Be Your Own Pet, get awkward
'Field Manual' Doesn't Live Up to the Controversynew
Despite the customs dust up and seizure of his hard drive, Chris Walla's social and political indictments are hardly harsh.
The Memphis Flyer |
Stephen Deusner |
02-08-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Chris Walla, Field Manual
Levon Helm Mines His Arkansas Roots for Comebacknew
The story leading up to the making of Helm's first album in 25 years is filled with so much triumph over adversity that you might think it's made up.
The Memphis Flyer |
Stephen Deusner |
12-14-2007 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Dirt Farmer, Levon Helm
The Black Lips Digs Deep, Even After the Gold Rushnew
Good Bad Not Evil is the band's fourth and arguably best album, concocting and sustaining an ideal blend of humor, chops, and even a little gravity.
The Memphis Flyer |
Stephen Deusner |
10-29-2007 |
Reviews
Tags: The Black Lips, Good Bad Not Evil
The Sea and Cake's Post-rock Enduresnew
Everybody is predictably hushed and underplayed, with all the jazzy breezes of brushed snare and lazy-Sunday vocals we've come to expect.
The Memphis Flyer |
Stephen Deusner |
09-14-2007 |
Reviews
Tags: Everybody, The Sea and Cake
Wilco Gets Personal; Dinosaur Jr. Comes Back Strongnew
Sky Blue Sky is Tweedy's first since going to rehab for painkillers, and Dinosaur Jr. stands up well.
The Memphis Flyer |
Stephen Deusner |
05-25-2007 |
Music
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah Can't Quite Recapture the Magicnew
Some Loud Thunder indulges in indie-rock's middling tendencies: willed obscurity and challenging arrangements with no payoffs.
The Memphis Flyer |
Stephen Deusner |
02-23-2007 |
Reviews