Music

This Holiday Inn parking lot in the heart of Hollywood feels like the surface of the sun. It’s just after 10 a.m. on Wednesday, February 8, the beginning of the Fray’s first national headlining tour. But while the mercury will rise to a record-breaking ninety degrees before the end of…

I’m not clairvoyant, but I’ll bet I know what you’re thinking right now. The Fray? The Fray! Enough already! For crissakes, how much more ink are you going to spill on these guys? The answer’s simple: I’ll keep writing about the Fray until the band’s tale ceases to be compelling…

Rilo Kiley frontwoman Jenny Lewis should be thrilled. After all, the February edition of Spin features a multi-page profile of her by notable scribe Chuck Klosterman. Unfortunately, though, the spread shortchanges Rabbit Fur Coat — a new side-project CD (made with the Watson Twins) that qualifies as her finest platter…

It’s only early evening, but the smoke in Sputnik is already hanging low when Erin Roberts shows up clutching a beat-up, pre-Oprah’s Book Club copy of John Steinbeck’s East of Eden. In her other hand is the eponymous debut full-length by Porlolo, the semi-acoustic project that revolves around her and…

A voice in the background is telling Thurston Moore to turn left. The muffled command wafting through the static of the cell phone could be anyone, but my inner gab immediately fantasizes Kim Gordon in the passenger seat navigating Moore through New York traffic. That’s the thing about celebrity, even…

Back in the early days of Mogwai’s career, an album titled Mr. Beast would have matched the band’s Category 5 noise hurricanes perfectly. But as the Scotsmen refined their sound over the next decade, moments of levity and clarity — airy synths, strings, eerie silences — made their emotional maelstroms…

A candidate for best and longest new band name of the millennium, Austin’s I Love You but I’ve Chosen Darkness has finally released its much-anticipated full-length debut. During the nearly three years since issuing its 2003 Britt Daniels-produced EP, the quintet has focused on sharpening its sound and building a…

Mark Lanegan was once a major player on the rock scene, but that was a long time ago. Ask the average person about Screaming Trees, and he’ll probably assume you’re referring to the Ents in The Lord of the Rings, not Lanegan’s grunge-era group. That’s just as well, though, since…

Growing up, Blake Sennett was just another Corey Feldman, destined to milk the reality-television circuit as an adult. With roles such as Pinsky on Nickelodeon’s short-lived Salute Your Shorts and Joey the Rat on Boy Meets World, his acting career was about as promising as G-Dub’s chances for re-election in…

With her squelched sensuality, sandpaper howling and sweet whispers, April Parks wields a powerful and multi-faceted voice. Unfortunately, that voice is already taken. If a reality show is in the works for Rock Star: No Doubt, Parks is a shoe-in. Despite the uncomfortable shadow of Gwen Stefani, her rich warblings…

Stoned Emotion’s freshman release drips with echoes of My Morning Jacket, John Mayer, Warren Haynes and even ’80s alt-rockers the Feelies. Lushly produced, the disc moves from one pleasing track to the next. Vocalist, lead guitarist and principal songwriter Phil Dudden’s everyman voice proves flexible, whether biting into the Southern-rock…

Richard Cheese, The Sunny Side of the Moon: The Best of Richard Cheese (Surfdog). Yes, lounge versions of rock songs are an old joke (see New Morty Show, Pat Boone, etc.). But as long as the arrangements are as well done as these, the joke doesn’t get old. Cheese sends…

At its peak, Stereolab was among the most distinctive combos on the planet. Throughout a succession of discs capped by 1996’s unimpeachable Emperor Tomato Ketchup, the act, led by multi-instrumentalist Tim Gane and beguiling French-born singer Laetitia Sadier, offered up an irresistible blend of electro-dabblings, twisted kitsch and left-wing ideology…

This year marks the thirtieth anniversary of Exene Cervenka’s arrival in Los Angeles and the fiftieth anniversary of the punk grande dame’s arrival on earth. To prove she’s still going strong, Cervenka has released a brand-new album with her “band,” the Original Sinners — made up of collaborator Jason Edge…

As evidenced by his last two albums — Pigeon John Dates Your Girlfriend and Pigeon John Sings the Blues! — Pigeon John is the kind of guy who talks about himself in the third person. Narcissism is not an unusual trait for a rapper — heck, Eminem’s entire career is…

The difference between Gilmore Girls and The O.C. is that the former’s too-fast-to-be-believed witty banter is obviously fueled by writers well versed in punk rock, whereas five minutes into the latter self-serving teen drama, no one over the age of 21 cares one iota for the misguided characters. Stole Your…

It’s one to thing to say that Band of Horses is influenced by Built to Spill, the Flaming Lips and the Shins. But there isn’t a single sound on Everything All the Time, the Seattle group’s debut, that doesn’t come from one of these three influences. Still, it’s a pretty…

Judging by the moniker under which he performs, Jackie-O Motherfucker leader Tom Greenwood isn’t interested in impressing middlebrow music lovers — but the collective’s name is only the most obvious example of his outsider tendencies. He founded the project circa 1994, and over the course of ten releases, he’s studiously…

Musicians who are fortunate enough to experience longevity in their careers are sweet on experimenting in order to keep themselves from losing interest and becoming completely sterile. This often upsets longtime fans who would prefer that each album simply sound like an extension of their favorite. Experimentation, however, is necessary…

A few years back, the Casualties were accused of punk-rock misconduct over a couple of cans of Aqua Net. Rumors were that the New York-based foursome had hired a personal hairdresser to pomp up its members’ cowlicks. Known for their three-foot-high Mohawks and Liberty spikes, the Casualties were easy to…

With an acronym that could either stand for Piece of Shit or Product of Society, P.O.S. sounds more ’80s hardcore throwback than hip-hop backpack. As it turns out, the latest MC from the Rhymesayers crew to bust out of the Twin Cities is a little of both. While rap-rock hybrids…