Kyle Smith

#WMS 2012 recap: Vinyl Rooftop

Every year, for the Westword Music Showcase, we enlist our army of Backbeat wordsmiths to host various stages, and in addition to their emcee obligations, we ask them to pull double duty (or triple-duty in some cases) and also write up the acts that appear on their individual stages.

Brussels sprouts, quinoa salad and Odell Mountain Standard: a meal fit for a vegan metalhead

​I've always been fascinated with the discipline of being a vegan. It's doubtful I'll ever make the decision to be one myself, but I admire those who have. I especially appreciate those who choose to do so quietly, which is why I invited my good friend, fellow music enthusiast and Westword con ... More >>

Crystal Stilts at the Larimer Lounge, 5/16/11

Kyle Smith CRYSTAL STILTS Overcasters • Force Publique 05.16.11 | Larimer Lounge While it was a bit of an odd choice for Force Publique to open for a reverb-drenched indie pop band, Cassie McNeil and James Wayne's industrial-tinged goth pop sounded as good as it did when we last caught the duo a ... More >>

The Body brings the apocalypse to Blast-O-Mat, 3/7/11

Kyle SmithThe Body​ THE BODY With MjolniirDXP 03.07.11 | Blast-O-Mat "That seemed quiet to me. I dunno, was that loud?" Body guitarist Chip King asked us this earnestly after his band's set last night, worried that one of his bookcase-sized amps wasn't quite pulling its weight, perhaps due t ... More >>

Radiohead's The King of Limbs: Instant reaction

Probably would have been all right without this.​As you may have heard, Radiohead's eighth album, The King of Limbs, was released today, a day earlier than expected, and only four days after it was announced. The complicated release strategy the band has devised is no longer the novelty it was ... More >>

Aloe Blacc, Harry Nilsson, Kid Cudi fill our playlists this week

​As people who think about, talk about, listen to and make music, the most common question we encounter is, "What are you listening to right now?" Whether you're looking for recommendations, trying to get a feel for our individual sensibilities, or are just curious, we've compiled a list of al ... More >>

Pretty Lights, Ween and Jay-Z filled our playlists this week

​As people who think about, talk about, listen to and make music, the most common question we encounter is, "What are you listening to right now?" Whether you're looking for recommendations, trying to get a feel for our individual sensibilities, or are just curious, we've compiled a list of al ... More >>

The National, Bassnectar, Sleigh Bells, the Slits filled our playlists this past week

​As people who think about, talk about, listen to and make music, the most common question we encounter is, "What are you listening to right now?" Whether you're looking for recommendations, trying to get a feel for our individual sensibilities, or are just curious, we've compiled a list of al ... More >>

Sleigh Bells at the Larimer Lounge, 10/23/10

Kyle SmithSleigh Bells: Derek Miller (from left) and Alexis Krauss​ SLEIGH BELLS Pictureplane • Sundelles 10.23.10 | Larimer Lounge, Denver, CO Read interview with Derek Miller of Sleigh Bells Brooklyn newcomers Sundelles opened the show with a sort of surfy garage rock, sounding kind of l ... More >>

Air Dubai, Lil Wayne and DJ Krush fill our playlists this week

​As people who think about, talk about, listen to and make music, the most common question we encounter is, "What are you listening to right now?" Whether you're looking for recommendations, trying to get a feel for our individual sensibilities, or are just curious, we've compiled a list of al ... More >>

Grinderman, RJD2 and Dismemberment Plan fill our playlists this week

​As people who think about, talk about, listen to and make music, the most common question we encounter is, "What are you listening to right now?" So whether you're looking for recommendations, trying to get a feel for our individual sensibilities, or are just curious, we've compiled a list of ... More >>

Liars bring a sense of unsettling dread and good wholesome evil to the Bluebird

Kyle Smith​ Liars • John Wiese 07.24.10 | Bluebird Theater Props to Liars for seeing fit to bring a straight-up noise artist -- and a good one -- as an opening act. Through his solo work and his numerous collaborations with heavyweights like Sunn O))), Wolf Eyes, and Merzbow, John Wiese ha ... More >>

Introducing the Westword Knowcase all-star team

​We've been telling you about the Westword Music Knowcase for weeks. We've patiently explained how we will destroy all comers. We even took a few minutes to re-explain it, using only small words, to the conceited and confused elitists at the Donnybrook Writing Academy, who seemed to have troub ... More >>

Danielle Ate the Sandwich, Otis Taylor and Trace Bundy top our weekly playlists

​As people who think about, talk about, listen to and make music, the most common question we encounter is, "What are you listening to right now?" So whether you're looking for recommendations, trying to get a feel for our individual sensibilities, or are just curious, we've compiled a list of ... More >>

Denver Noise Fest lives up to its name at Old Curtis Street

Raven Chacon makes his talkbox sing.​ Denver Noise Fest 04.30.10-05.01.10 | Old Curtis St. Friday, April 30, 2010 New Mexico's Raven Chacon performed with the expected harsh noise soundscaping at first -- a combination of pummeling and shrill sounds textured like a nearly intangible sculptu ... More >>

The Chain Gang of 1974, Jónsi, Wire Faces and more top our weekly playlists

​As people who think about, talk about, listen to and make music, the most common question we encounter is, "What are you listening to right now?" So whether you're looking for recommendations, trying to get a feel for our individual sensibilities, or are just curious, we've compiled a list of ... More >>

Q&A with Alex Scally of Beach House

Jason Nocito​ Baltimore-based duo Beach House (due at the Bluebird Theater with Bachelorette on Wednesday, April 7) is one of the rare bands that arrives on the scene with a sound so mature, singular and self-contained that you worry about its lifespan: How could something that seems perfect ... More >>

Heavy Rotation, our top spins for the week of February 1, 2010

​As music critics -- and people who generally think about, talk about, listen to and make music -- the most common question we get asked (and ask each other, for that matter) is, "What are you listening to right now?" The pervasiveness of this query is precisely what inspired Heavy Rotation. ... More >>

Backbeat writers weigh in on the year's best national releases

Heavy Rotation, our top spins for the week of November 9, 2009

​As music critics, the most common question we get asked (and ask each other, for that matter) is, "What are you listening to?" The pervasiveness of this query is precisely what inspired Heavy Rotation. For the benefit of those who happen to be curious, we've compiled a list of all the things we'r ... More >>

Heavy Rotation, our top spins for the week of October 5, 2009

​​As music critics, the most common question we get asked (and ask each other, for that matter) is, "What are you listening to?" The pervasiveness of this query is precisely what inspired Heavy Rotation, our latest feature. For the benefit of those who happen to be curious, we've compiled a list ... More >>

Heavy Rotation, our top spins for the week of August 17, 2009

​As music critics, the most common question we get asked (and ask each other, for that matter) is, "What are you listening to?" The pervasiveness of this query is precisely what inspired Heavy Rotation, our latest feature. For the benefit of those who happen to be curious, we've compiled a list of ... More >>

Heavy Rotation, our top spins for the week of August 3, 2009

As music critics, the most common question we get asked (and ask each other, for that matter) is, "What are you listening to?" The pervasiveness of this query is precisely what inspired Heavy Rotation, our latest feature. For the benefit of those who happen to be curious, we've compiled a list of al ... More >>

Q&A with Tracyanne Campbell of Camera Obscura

Early on in its career, Camera Obscura endured endless comparisons to revered fellow Glaswegians Belle & Sebastian. At this point, however, any comparison threatens to make the latter look bad: Among scholars of the heartache and growing pains of bookish, precocious youth, Stuart Murdoch's got n ... More >>

Heavy Rotation, our top five spins for the week of May 11, 2009<

As music critics, the most common question we get asked (and ask each other, for that matter) is, "What are you listening to?" The pervasiveness of this query is precisely what inspired Heavy Rotation, our latest feature. For the benefit of those who happen to be curious, we've compiled a list of al ... More >>

Heavy Rotation, our top five spins for the week of April 20, 2009

As music critics, the most common question we get asked (and ask each other, for that matter) is, "What are you listening to?" The pervasiveness of this query is precisely what inspired Heavy Rotation, our latest feature. For the benefit of those who happen to be curious, we've compiled a list of a ... More >>

Heavy Rotation, our top five spins for the week of April 13, 2009

As music critics, the most common question we get asked (and ask each other, for that matter) is, "What are you listening to?" The pervasiveness of this query is precisely what inspired Heavy Rotation, our latest feature. For the benefit of those who happen to be curious, we've compiled a list of al ... More >>

Gang Gang Dance and Marnie Stern at Larimer Lounge

Q&A with Gang Gang Dance's Lizzi Bougatsos

Q&A with Marnie Stern

TV on the Radio at Ogden Theatre

Live Review: Deerhoof at Bluebird Theater

Live Review: A Place to Bury Strangers

Mini Reviews

Live Review: Nine Inch Nails, Deerhunter at Red Rocks

Letters to the Editor

From the week of October 12, 2006