New York-based singer-songwriter Regina Spektor is in the middle of answering a question, cell phone to her ear, when she suddenly unleashes a squeal. “Ooooh!” she exclaims. “I’m walking near my house in the Bronx, because I went to my grandparents’ house, and there’s a little black cat! What a…
One of the most volatile and acclaimed bands to rise out of the Washington, D.C., hardcore punk scene in the early ’80s, Bad Brains overcame novelty status (four men of color playing punk) by mixing blazing speed and virtuosity with reggae riddims and social consciousness. Fronted by the often unpredictable…
Personally, I just can’t stand doing the same thing all the time,” says Soulive drummer Alan Evans. “And all of us feel the same way. I think a lot of musicians, no matter what you’re doing, you always feel the need to reinvent yourself.” Subsequently, to keep from stagnating, Evans…
At this point in her career, Björk probably isn’t going to win over any new fans. Those who didn’t like her before won’t start with this release. Volta is challenging, confusing and likely to grate on the nerves, similar to the beatbox-driven Medulla. Björk has always relied on the patience…
On 2005’s Howl, the Rebels stepped sideways, turning down the fuzz tone in favor of a more acoustic-based take on folk and blues. But don’t come to Baby 81 expecting additional twists. The disc marks a return to BRMC’s signature sound, and while it’s likely to please the combo’s longtime…
Deca probably has one of the most distinct voices in local hip-hop. His gruff and rigid vocal style, which recalls an alto-voiced Supernatural, is one of his strengths; it grabs your attention instantly, even if it’s a bit monotonous. Lyrically, Deca’s as solid as they come. On The Hedonist, his…
Thanks for the warning — not that a heads-up was really necessary. After all, Dreaded Concept Album, which will be feted at a 5 p.m. show on Saturday, May 5, at the Larimer Lounge, isn’t a rock opera in the traditional (i.e., pretentious) sense. Instead, it’s a heaping helping of…
Betty Davis, Betty Davis (Light in the Attic). This funky diva is best known for being married to Miles Davis for a year and turning him on to the psych-rock that likely inspired Bitches Brew. But the girl could also sing. Slathering sensual stickiness over her words, Davis grinds out…
When Keigo Oyamada, aka Cornelius, performed at Austin’s South by Southwest confab in 1998, he was touted as “the Japanese Beck” — an honorific that was as dopey as it was inaccurate. In truth, Fantasma, his first recording to be widely distributed within the U.S., defied categorization thanks to its…
A Brazilian by birth, Amon Tobin rose to the fore as one of the more experimental members of the ’90s drum-and-bass contingent, and his love for fiddling about with technology has only grown with the years. The title of Foley Room, a CD/DVD package, references the spaces where movie sound…
Florida is probably the last place you’d expect to find a French-pop-influenced, trip-hop-tinged indie band. The place isn’t exactly a wellspring of sophisticated bohemian music. It’s much better known for churning out a seemingly endless supply of rap rock and crap rock. Nonetheless, that’s where the Postmarks hang their hats…
Tapes ‘n Tapes wants you to put some sugar on its tongue. Or maybe it just wants you to cut your hair and be its summer babe. With one eye winking and the other twinkling in innocence, the act captures the off-kilter mania of early Talking Heads and the insouciant…
You gotta hand it to a gal who calls her record Breasticles. Not entirely sure what she was shooting for there, but we’re guessing it’s either shorthand for a guy who has man-boobs or a woman with breasts that sag like, well, testicles. Whatever the case, Young clearly has balls…
I know this librarian who once met Tom Waits. She told me one of his favorite books was Really the Blues, which then, of course, quickly became one of my favorite books, because, well, next to Bukowski, Waits is my guy. He’s like a god to me. The book, meanwhile,…
Denver has an absolute embarrassment of riches when it comes to singer-songwriters. Attempting to determine whos the best well, thats just a fools errand, as I can tell you, because I have to do it every year for this papers annual Best of Denver issue. And its agonizing. Ultimately, my…
What a kick ass weekend for live music in the Mile High City. Started things off this past Friday night at the Marquis Theater for the Brotherhood of Dae Han’s CD release party. The scream theater commenced with a blistering set from Ft. Collins’ In Case You’re Curious, who years…
Nothing warms up the soul for a little rock ‘n roll better than reggae. Warren Haynes, a latter-day recruit of the famed Allman Brothers Band, probably learned that long ago. But regardless of when Haynes crossed paths with Toots Hibbert, frontman of the legendary Jamaican band Toots and the Maytals,…
Thank God for MySpace. If it weren’t for MySpace, I know some people who wouldn’t have any friends. At all. That’s not just a witty T-shirt slogan; it’s gospel. MySpace can be more than a little soul-sucking: I’ve seen it consume lives, World of Warcraft style. But as nefarious as…
I’m going to make a quick hypothesis here,” says Jeff Wiant. “One of us is going to die on stage tonight. This is not a large stage.” Or a stage at all, really. It’s just after 7:30 p.m. on a Saturday at Surfside 7 in Fort Collins, and the Brotherhood…
From 1997 to 2006, singer-songwriter Joseph Arthur released five albums on a like number of sizable labels, ranging from Virgin to Mega Force. But he decided to put out his latest disc, the enjoyably shaggy Let’s Just Be, on his own imprint, Lonely Astronaut Records — a moniker that references…
One of the last speed-metal bands from the golden age, Megadeth remains forever fast and furious in form and function. The band’s latest album, United Abominations, goes old-school, eschewing the overblown studio production and soaring anthems of recent efforts for straightahead, rip-your-face-off thrash. Dave Mustaine remains outspoken as he preaches…
Paul de Jong and Nick Zammuto formed the Books in 2000, shortly after being introduced by a friend. The two were drawn together by their mutual love of collecting and manipulating the sounds around them: De Jong was into sampling old movies and vinyl, while Zammuto had been making field…
