AltWeeklies Wire
Dwele's Got a New Album and Label but the Soul Remains the Samenew
Sketches of Man is a smooth, melodic 20-track disc that showcases a lot of growth on his part since his last project, Some Kinda, came out three years ago. For some musicians, that would seem like a long time between albums. But for Dwele, his frenetic work schedule and creative process have made it all seem like a blur.
Metro Times |
Jonathan Cunningham |
07-01-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Dwele, Sketches of Man
Alex Maas of Black Angels on 'Directions to See a Ghost'new
"We're actually going on tour with Roky Erickson in the fall. We're going to be his opening band and backing band," says Maas.
NOW Magazine |
Jason Keller |
06-30-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Stevie Wonder on the Death of Ray Charles and His Hopes for Barack Obamanew
His 2007 U.S. tour, A Wonder Summer's Night, is his first broad-based national tour in over a decade, inspired by the 2006 death of his mother, Lula Mae Hardaway, a sharecropper's daughter born in Alabama in 1930.
Boulder Weekly |
Ben Corbett |
06-30-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Kansas City Art Punks Ssion Go Popnew
Ssion, coming from an art background, are an over-the-top multimedia extravaganza featuring synchronized video projections, edgy theatrical performances, crazy costumes and an upcoming full-length movie to accompany their recent album, Fool's Gold (Sleazetone).
NOW Magazine |
Benjamin Boles |
06-30-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Gnarls Barkley Never Meant to Go Crazynew
How do you follow up a signature hit for the entire decade? Easy. Stop trying.
Westword |
Michael Roberts |
06-30-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Unlikely Pairing of Earth and Jeese Sykes Bring Ambient Doom Metal and Roots Music Closernew
Since Sykes and Earth front man Dylan Carlson met, the individual styles of both Earth and Sykes' band, Jesse Sykes & the Sweet Hereafter, have begun to resemble each other.
Seattle Weekly |
Brian J. Barr |
06-30-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Katy Perry on Kissing Girls, Dissing Boys and Making it Bignew
Between her hit single and her gossip-fueling relationship, it seems Perry has already reached full-blown pop star status. But the Santa Barbara-raised youngster asserts that her road to fame has not been easy. Prior to recording and releasing One of the Boys, Perry was just another pretty girl struggling to make it in the industry.
Santa Barbara Independent |
Aly Comingore |
06-30-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Katy Perry, One of the Boys
Prophetic Bridges Milwaukee's Disparate Hip-Hop Scenesnew
Like just about everything in the city, Milwaukee’s hip-hop scenes are divided by racial and geographical boundaries. Without pandering to either demographic, his upcoming album, Mo Profit, Mo Progress, holds appeal to East Side backpackers and North Side trappers alike.
Shepherd Express |
Evan Rytlewski |
06-27-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
The Constantines Get Older, and Betternew
Kensington Heights, their new album, is still rigidly post-punk and sharp as a shimmering blade, but the pace of the record is deliberately restrained and the band's gnashed-teeth anger is more focused, and less wild, than ever before.
The Portland Mercury |
Ezra Ace Caraeff |
06-27-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
No One Does It Better Than Spinderellanew
She's uncharacteristically humble in light of her membership in the iconic rap group Salt-n-Pepa, whose relevance has possibly been overshadowed by Cheryl "Salt" Wray and Sandra "Pepa" Denton's recent reality TV appearances.
The Portland Mercury |
Jalylah Burrell |
06-27-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Seattle's Fleet Foxes Make Languid, Woodsy Rocknew
The group like their timpani, and their echo, love the sound of waves bouncing off walls, dig the high, lonesome wail of falsetto in harmony. Can a flutist be far behind?
L.A. Weekly |
Randall Roberts |
06-27-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Public Enemy's Chuck D on Nas, Obama and Rhetoricnew
"I think for about six months after, if he gets elected, there will be a sense of euphoria all around the world. Then the real world will set in. He might take some right-wing stances, he's going to try to appease certain elements in society that I don't necessarily gel with. But also, the support and belief in him could lead those factions to sway away from the right."
Montreal Mirror |
Narcel X |
06-27-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Emperor X Speaks a Private Language that Remains Accessible to Allnew
I watched Matheny, who records and plays out solo under the Emperor X moniker, strum a charmingly small six-string acoustic as pedal-delayed tones pouring out of his tiny amp.
New York Press |
Greg Burgett |
06-26-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Jeremy Jay's Present Vintage Rock on His Debut Full-lengthnew
Recorded by Calvin Johnson at his Dub Narcotic Studio in Olympia, Wash., A Place Where We Could Go presents Jeremy Jay as the K Records version of Buddy Holly--classic, vintage rock, but delivered with that K Records raw and relaxed aesthetic, which, said Jay, comes partly from the vintage equipment in Johnson's studio.
Tucson Weekly |
Annie Holub |
06-26-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
The Fleet Foxes Embrace Varied Source Materialsnew
The group's sound is an intricate architecture of baroque, psychedelic rock with addition of the infectious melodies of classic pop music. They accomplish this with not only the standard weapons of rock 'n' roll, but with instruments such as tympani, mandolin, organ, dulcimer and koto.
Tucson Weekly |
Gene Armstrong |
06-26-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Fleet Foxes
