AltWeeklies Wire
Through Sixteen Years Quasi Has Endurednew
We could all learn a lesson in staying power from Portland band Quasi. When Sam Coomes and Janet Weiss formed the band 16 years ago, they were married. They aren't anymore, and haven't been for years. Coomes and Weiss have both been members of other, better-known bands that have long since broken up.
Tucson Weekly |
Annie Holub |
03-17-2010 |
Profiles & Interviews
Good Background Music: Efterklant's 'Magic Chairs'new
If Denmark exists primarily in the imagination of Hamlet's "unweeded garden" of "things rank and gross in nature," then Efterklang is here to put a shiny veneer over those dark currents.
Tucson Weekly |
Sean Bottai |
03-17-2010 |
Reviews
Tags: Magic Chairs, Efterklang
Changing Their Tune: The Low Anthem's Stylenew
The Low Anthem loves old instruments, new microphones and creating their own style.
Tucson Weekly |
Linda Ray |
03-17-2010 |
Profiles & Interviews
The Lords of Altamont Are All About the Rock 'n' Rollnew
When the Los Angeles band Lords of Altamont began about a decade ago, they set out to strike a balance between purist garage-rock traditions and a heavier hard-rock sound.
Tucson Weekly |
Gene Armstrong |
03-03-2010 |
Profiles & Interviews
Muted Melancholy: Tindersticks' 'Falling Down a Mountain'new
After 18 years of releasing elegantly dark mood music, Tindersticks sound happier than ever. The slow-dance Keep You Beautiful is an enchanting love song that comes off as a tender lullaby, and the R&B-flavored Harmony Around My Table shuffles appealingly along.
Tucson Weekly |
Gene Armstrong |
02-24-2010 |
Reviews
Former Jazz Students Strive for Distinctive, Unique Musicnew
It's by design that Midlake's new record weaves its spell from ancient days, conjuring that same sense of elemental, shrouded powers at play that drives fantasy art. The band worked to craft The Courage of Others into an escape, the type of music that suggests it might cast some magic on the listener.
Tucson Weekly |
Eric Swedlund |
02-24-2010 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: The Courage of Others, Midlake
Precise Narratives, Courtesy of Darden Smithnew
This retrospective collection of 16 of the Austin singer/songwriter's best tunes focuses primarily on midtempo and nearly twangless folk-pop tales of small towns, heartache, dreams and desire.
Tucson Weekly |
Gene Armstrong |
02-17-2010 |
Reviews
Obscurely Accessible: In Mourning's 'Monolith'new
Monolith is either a beautiful way to say goodbye to a broken world, or a chance to enjoy metal done right and - dare it be said - accessibly. Vocalist Tobias Netzell could be singing about flowers and bunnies, but methinks he's actually obsessed with end times.
Tucson Weekly |
Jarret Keene |
02-17-2010 |
Reviews
Tags: In Mourning, Monolith
Sade's 'Soldier of Love' Worth the 10-Year Waitnew
On her long-awaited new album, Sade continues to practice a now-classic style of exquisite heartbreak and desperate desire while slipping from blissed-out funk to heady R&B revivalism.
Tucson Weekly |
Gene Armstrong |
02-17-2010 |
Reviews
Tags: Sade, Soldier of Love
Ólöf Arnalds: 'Við og Við' ('One Little Indian')new
Icelandic multi-instrumentalist Ólöf Arnalds' solo debut was originally released in Iceland back in 2007, and is only finding a U.S. home this week. Arnalds' songs invite you to listen closely, sway, hum along and get sucked into her world.
Tucson Weekly |
Annie Holub |
01-13-2010 |
Reviews
Tags: Við og Við, Ólöf Arnalds
Fluffy Fun: Vampire Weekend's 'Contra'new
The frenetic buzz surrounding the band — the blogosphere debates over the band's merits — has made them into the Jonathan Safran Foer of indie rock. On Contra, debates about Vampire Weekend will not be settled, only recycled. If anyone still cares.
Tucson Weekly |
Sean Bottai |
01-13-2010 |
Reviews
Tags: Contra, Vampire Weekend
Mark Growden Kicks Off a Monthly Concert Series at the Screening Roomnew
Mark Growden admits that he might never have started singing and writing songs had he not been ripped off. Growden was a jazz saxophonist and music teacher in his adopted hometown of San Francisco—until in 1997, when his instruments were stolen. So he started writing songs on accordion and singing. Soon, he was playing banjo, piano and guitar.
Tucson Weekly |
Gene Armstrong |
01-13-2010 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Mark Growden, Saint Judas
'Black Future' Will Make You Feel 16 Againnew
One small label, Heavy Artillery, has thrash-metal down pat, scooping up young, ambitious, intelligent metal bands that honor yesteryear's greats while striving for a semblance of originality in a genre that blew its wad 25 years ago.
Tucson Weekly |
Jarret Keene |
01-06-2010 |
Reviews
Tags: Black Future, Vektor
Lymbyc Systym's Michael and Jared Bell Blend Post-Rock Influencesnew
Lymbyc Systym's songs captivate instead of falling into background noise. On Shutter Release, Michael and Jared Bell blend their Sigur Rós and Explosions in the Sky influences; room-filling drums give way to microbeats, and dramatic guitar hooks give way to quieter and more contemplative synthesized melodies, often within the same song.
Tucson Weekly |
Annie Holub |
01-06-2010 |
Reviews
Exmortus' Blend of Neoclassical Melodicism and Brutal Thrashnew
Rare is the metal band that can shred your face clean off while using virtuoso techniques worthy of Italian violinist Niccolò Paganini — with all the sonic subtlety of a pissed-off Japanese giant monster. Which is why Whittier, CA's Exmortus tends to stand out amidst the current thrash-metal resurgence.
Tucson Weekly |
Jarret Keene |
01-06-2010 |
Profiles & Interviews
