The music on Out of Harm’s Way isn’t just all over the map — the CD sports enough twists and turns for an entire atlas. But if singer-songwriter Nicole Torres’s feverish eclecticism makes for an inconsistent listening experience, her meanderings are never less than interesting, and her best moments are…
Bear Hands, Golden EP (Freedom in Exile). With ironic wit, cautious optimism and plenty of nostalgic glances over the shoulder to the early ’90s, this Brooklyn quartet hits the ground running with an irresistibly catchy and endearing EP. It’s amazing that New York hasn’t run out of practice spaces for…
In addition to being a renowned jazz artist, bassist Christian McBride is an in-demand sideman who’s proven his mettle in a slew of styles. The thirty-something’s resumé includes performances or recordings with popsters such as Carly Simon, funkateers like James Brown and hip-hop artists exemplified by ?uestlove of the Roots…
Normally, when a bunch of Crescent City all-stars such as Russell Batiste from the Funky Meters and Papa Mali and Big Chief Monk Boudreaux of the Wild Magnolias get together with the likes of Page McConnell from Phish and Reed Mathis from Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey, you can expect one…
“We are Maggie and Terre and Suzzy/Maggie and Terre and Suzzy Roche” sang the Roches on the opening track of their acclaimed 1979 debut. “Sometimes our voices give out,” the sisters continue, “but not our ages and our phone numbers.” While this bit of lyrical tomfoolery held a certain degree…
When beatboxing emerged in the early days of hip-hop, it probably came across to many as a cute novelty. From the Fat Boys to actor Michael Winslow, the notion of vocal percussion seemed more funny than cool. Rahzel grew up going to see his cousin, who just happened to be…
On his latest disc, Carnival Vol. II: Memoirs of an Immigrant, onetime Fugee Wyclef Jean takes his reputation as the king of collaborators beyond the logical extreme. He sees his music as a tent large enough to cover performers of every stripe — a worthy ideal. Yet the guest stars…
With unhinged twanginess, unabashed spaciness and unapologetic snottiness, deadbubbles plays raunchy, raucous rock and roll that exists out of time. The Broomfield-based outfit’s psychedelic rhythm-and-blues-a-billy seethes, surges and snarls as it spans the rock decades, comprising the rhythmic romp of the Crickets, the sassy swagger of the Yardbirds and the…
When the machines finally take over and wipe humanity off the face of the Earth, they won’t have much use for our music, but the work of Falko Brock-sieper will live on. His clean, efficient, minimal techno creations might be one of the few things that make our cold robot…
The shots that rang out in LoDo last November, killing one and injuring six, had a lasting effect on Hush (1403 Larimer Street), the club a few blocks away where the shooter and his victims had been earlier in the evening. “In my professional opinion, we handled that situation very…
Alright, I’m as positive as Jamie Lynn Spear’s pregnancy test that tix for this thing are going to be gone quicker than a free flat screen on Craigslist, but I figured I’d put it out there for you just in case the Fray isn’t one of your friends on MySpace,…
Some big-name rock stars were expected to receive music-related Academy Award nominations on January 22, including Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood, the man behind the astonishing score for Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood, and Eddie Vedder, who composed original songs for the Sean Penn-helmed flick Into the Wild. However,…
Here’s a selection of the best of last week’s music blogging from around the Village Voice chain: Glorification of violence, misogyny and lots of angry white kids all figure prominently in this Necro review…
Update: A memorial service celebrating the life of Nick Williams is scheduled to take place at 4.p.m. this Sunday, January 20, at the Paramount Theatre. The gathering will feature a video montage, as well as words and memories offered up by many of Nick’s lifelong friends and those from his…
LOCALS ONLY Veteran Denver emcee D.O. The Fabulous Drifter is still putting the finishing touches on his new album D.irector of O.perations while working overtime for a collaborative venture. He connected with Canadian songbird JaQe for a project called His and Hers, a combination of hip-hop and soul that D.O…
Peña w/ Side-Fi Noise, Blue Angels. Wednesday, January 16, 2008, Larimer Lounge Better than: Doing trigonometry at a bus stop. One chord. Yes, one chord. One sweet, loud, savory guitar chord. That’s all it took. And the next thing everyone knew, “Blitzkrieg Bop” took over a nation. So what is…
Why give anything an earnest listen, when you can make snap judgments? Raheem DeVaughn Love Behind the Melody Zomba Records 01:00-01:45 of “Customer” I had to stare at the cover of this record for a few minutes before I realized that it wasn’t called, “Love From Behind.” I’m not sure…
I’m going to double-check the calendar just to be sure, but I think this could be the year of the Swayback. At least, that’s the sense I get from listening to Long Gone Lads, the act’s absolutely killer new platter, which Eric Halborg blessed me with last week. More than…
Most artists don’t consider premature retirement until after they’ve made it big — really big. But Lupe Fiasco isn’t most artists. His first album, 2006’s Food & Liquor, earned excellent reviews, a trio of Grammy nominations and sales that remain just shy of gold status, and his entertainingly scattershot new…
Art Blakey had a knack for finding young jazz talents and grooming them in his Jazz Messengers group. He helped jump-start the careers of Wayne Shorter, Lee Morgan, Wynton Marsalis, Terence Blanchard and alto saxophonist Donald Harrison, who was just 21 years old when Blakey reached out to him. More…
Some things are best in small doses, including synth-laden dance punk. That may be why Professor Murder sticks to EPs rather than full-length albums. Despite the critical acclaim that followed last year’s five-track debut, the New York City quartet has opted to give away Professor Murder on a Desert Island…
Sounds Under Radio was still unsigned when the producers of Spider-Man 3 heard its song “Portrait of a Summer Thief,” from the then-unreleased album Cinematica, and determined that the Austin-based act’s driving, slightly gloomy yet still accessible sound would be a good fit for the soundtrack. Singer/guitarist Lang Freeman says…
