AltWeeklies Wire
Shoegaze Meets Hip-Hop, Againnew
Apollo Heights' decades-long mission to combine seemingly disparate genres.
New York Press |
Saby Reyes-Kulkarni |
02-16-2011 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Hip-Hop, Apollo Heights
Shellshag, the Duo You Just Can’t Knock Downnew
Shellshag is Johnny Shell and Jen Shag. He sings and plays guitar and she sings and plays drums. For years they lived in San Francisco and ran Starcleaners, a record label and public arts space. They were in bands together and apart, but all that matters now is that they are Shellshag.
New York Press |
Adam Wisnieski |
02-04-2010 |
Profiles & Interviews
Kim Deal Talks About the Pixies' 'Doolittle' Anniversary Tournew
"I like albums and I’m kind of a geek anyway, so starting something from the beginning and then doing every song in order is appealing to me."
New York Press |
Adam Rathe |
11-19-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Brooklyn's Grooms Have a New Album and a Distinctive Take on Today's Soundnew
The band doesn't quite fit in with the current, decidedly '60s and '70s signifiers of indie rock cool. "Sometimes people will listen to our music and say, 'It’s kind of '90s, and it reminds me of Pavement,' and I really don't think it does. We sometimes worry that we're out of step with the trend."
New York Press |
Adam Rathe |
10-15-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Diet Kong Fizzes With Fun and Ominous Undertonesnew
Countless bands can trace their beginnings to one or maybe two significant and serendipitously accidental meetings, but Diet Kong, the collaborative effort between the Brooklyn-based, husband-and-wife team of Keith Gladysz and Jenn Penn is highly unusual and touching, even for the most cynical music fan.
New York Press |
William Ruben Helms |
08-28-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Forget Bushwick: NYC's Next Big Band, The Beets, Hails From Queensnew
Just over a year old, the band plays so many shows that it barely has time to practice. That kind of effort, along with a recent stint in a TV ad for clothing designer Cynthia Rowley's Fall 2009 line, consistent buzz from all the right press and recent dates supporting Oxford Collapse has put The Beets at the top of several lists of bands to watch.
New York Press |
Andrea Bussell |
08-20-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Bypassing Record Labels, Jill Sobule's New Album is Funded by Fansnew
Sobule has had a hard time with record companies. The singer/songwriter has been dropped by MCA and Atlantic, not to mention the two indie labels she recorded for are now defunct. Naturally, Sobule was hesitant about shopping her latest album to another label; but without any money of her own, other options were few and far between.
New York Press |
David Chiu |
05-14-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Obits Serve a Death Notice to Indie-Rock Clichesnew
On the band's debut, I Blame You, myriad shades of punk, post-punk, new wave and even '80s pop begin to materialize from amidst the sheen of guitar reverb.
New York Press |
Saby Reyes-Kulkarni |
03-19-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tindersticks Are Out to Reclaim Americanew
Tindersticks is apparently huge in Europe, and in the Obama era that has to mean something, right?
New York Press |
Carter Maness |
03-05-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: indie pop, Tindersticks
The Dark Side of Extra Lifenew
Extra Life’s 2008 debut Secular Works strikes a curious balance between angular instrumentation and ancient melody.
New York Press |
Chris Richards |
02-05-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
What Pop Music Sounds Like Coming From the Pure at Heartnew
The charms of The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, the jangly guitars, dreamy boy-girl harmonies and atmospheric distortion, are hard to resist.
New York Press |
Amre Klimchak |
02-05-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Army of Two: Au’s Dynamic Duo Does the Work of 30new
Verbs, the latest record from expansive experimental pop group Au, pulses with the unbridled passion of an exuberant mass of people, nearly 30 collaborators in all. Its manic keyboards, swooning horns, complex percussion and manifold other instruments combine with Luke Wyland’s voice and at times an ebullient choir to generate a sweeping feeling of propulsion.
New York Press |
Amre Klimchak |
01-22-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tune In to the Turned-On Dropouts, Asa Ransomnew
"I Like to walk to the center of an intersection!" wails Jacob Bills, lead singer and sole guitarist of Brooklyn-based four-piece rock noisemakers Asa Ransom, a touch of whimsy and madcap paranoia in his voice. Playing up on the extreme highend of his guitar’s neck, his bandmates musically swirling around him, Bills's description of playing amidst traffic seems pretty apt.
New York Press |
Greg Burgett |
01-22-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Doll Parts: The Making of Lissy Trullienew
Plenty of models have tried their hands at music; the architects behind Lissy Trullie have done a smooth retro take on hookladen pop. A bisexual teenybopper fantasy is being built, but there are no buyers yet.
New York Press |
Matt Harvey |
01-22-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Flying High with Side Project-Turned-Superstars Department of Eaglesnew
On a break from mixing an album with Grizzly Bear, in which he plays guitar, Daniel Rossen was marveling at the aftermath of his other band's appearance in a recent episode of the teen drama.
New York Press |
Nicole Brydson |
01-15-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
