With a name like Two Cow Garage, you’d be excused for thinking this band was yet another Americana or neo-Southern rock band beating that horse to death. Instead, what this Columbus, Ohio, quintet does is continue with the punk-roughened rock and roll championed by acts such as the late I…

TeamAWESOME! probably wasn’t for everyone, but if there was one thing that was undeniable about the group, it was the sheer catchiness of Chuck Potashner’s songs. It was obvious to anyone willing to go along with the Team spirit that Chuck wanted no more than to write great pop songs…

Technically, Howl at the Moon is a re-release of material from Eyes and Ears’ debut. Still, the vinyl brings a warmer sound to what were already excellent songs. This band and these tracks bridge the gap between raw rock and punk: “Howl at the Moon” sounds less like a throwback…

Although Alex Lilly sings backup for the well-known indie-rock outfit The Bird and the Bee, she fronts this charming lounge-pop act, whose pacing and atmospherics are reminiscent of late-’80s XTC with lush, soothing tones bolstering sharp, incisive lyrics. The odd yet entrancing melodies should appeal to fans of Helium’s rich…

When an act gets dropped by a major label, its album typically gets shelved and the band implodes. The Little Ones bucked that trend. Instead of parting in a fit of acrimonious melodrama, they decided to focus on writing songs that would only be released if everyone in the band…

A lot of bands throw out the artistic trope that their music doesn’t really fit into a category — and more often than not, it’s nonsense perpetrated by those who are definitely writing music in a specific style. In contrast, Spoke Shaver shamelessly lets fly with its influences, from the…

My Sister Outlaw once considered using the title of this record as its moniker, which makes sense; the feisty material here certainly fits. From the shimmeringly psychedelic “Aphrodesiac” to the hard-edged “Bus Stop” to the latter-day riot-grrrl rock of “Whatever,” the remarkable variety of sounds is reflective of the input…

Hailing from San Diego rather than Louisiana, Delta Spirit writes the type of music that will always be lumped in with some strain of Americana. A casual listen to the band’s music reveals roots in the folk, blues and soul that is very much a part of that tradition, but…

Oh, sure, profane, sexually explicit hip-hop is nothing new. Peaches made the most ridiculous extreme of that type of thing artistically respectable — even confrontational and political. Yo, Majesty! isn’t content to be a mere curiosity either. The primary aesthetic of this act is hip-hop, but a more than cursory…

With an imposing array of guitar gear, including at least one full stack and a variety of pedals, many obviously modified, Warren Bedell, former frontman of the well-regarded Zombie Zombie, looks like he might be the lead player in a Sleep tribute band. As Spellcaster (due at Rhinoceropolis on Sunday,…

Hot Congress Show 1: The Jim Jims, Lil Slugger, The Pseudo Dates and Vitamins Friday, January 30, 2009 Moe’s Original Barbecue, Denver Better Than: A bill where a random group of bands is thrown together. Opening this show was the Jim Jims. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but…

There is much more to Salt Lake City punk than some silly movie set in the ’80s. The real thing is very much alive and well in hard-edged experimental bands such as Form of Rocket and the decidedly more poppy but just as energetic and fiery Fail to Follow. These…

Although this record was put to tape around a decade ago, the resurgence of psychedelically tinged indie pop has made the Christines’ music both ahead of its time and eminently contemporary. Uniting elements of space rock, indie pop, psychedelic garage rock and power pop, the band has progressed beyond its…

Sometimes songwriters take well until adulthood to reach a level of creative maturity warranting attention by anyone beyond their peer group. Cody Crump got a jump start, through extensive experience in his youth, being an old soul, or both. Whatever the source of his preternatural wisdom, he reaches surprising depths…

Meat Puppets with Shaky HandsSaturday, January 24, 2009Bluebird TheaterBetter Than: Not seeing such a deservedly legendary band.Shaky Hands from Portland, Oregon, opened the show with its own brand of countrified indie rock. There was nothing languid about the performance of this four-piece: Bright, chimy guitars and thick, heady leads locking…

Dirt Nasty has become something of a YouTube sensation with his absurdly profane lyrics and equally ridiculous videos. Although his given name, Simon Rex (Cutright), may not be immediately familiar to most, he’s probably been in at least a few movies you’ve seen — or perhaps you remember his stint…

Although roughly half of this album was recorded at the legendary Inner Ear Studio in Arlington, Virginia, and the other half at Denver’s Helmet Room, there’s an impressive consistency throughout. In an era when many artists try to fit into a narrow niche, the Construct splices together elements of ambient…

Some musicians wear earnestness like a badge, and it becomes as much a pose as anything KISS has ever done. But Los Dos and the New American Ramblers are the geniune article, with no need for airs, and that quality has meant that the act has flown largely under the…

THE FLUID @ MAXWELL’S | 1/6/09 It was a painfully cold night in northern New Jersey, but the legendary Maxwell’s was plenty warm, and any thoughts of harsh weather were eclipsed once the show got started. Opening, oddly enough, was Overcasters from Denver. The band had been invited to share…

Adam Baumeister, aka Littles Paia, can often be seen as the pedal steel player in Bad Weather California. But those lucky enough to have seen him perform experimental folk-blues-rock know him to be a talented songwriter and sonic innovator in his own right. With a vintage reverb unit and a…

Former Raleigh frontman Bryon Parker displays his keen sense of melancholic melody on this release. Joined by Jesse Nesbitt of the sadly defunct Anti-Glacier Movement, Parker has crafted an intriguing set of seven songs, grounded in both the indie-rock tradition of slightly off-kilter sound dynamics and the aesthetics of folk…