A loose aesthetic unifies the crackling, fuzzy melodies of the songs on American Haiku’s debut EP, called, simply, e.p. Imagine a band like noise-pop phenom Versus writing lo-fi power pop. Or one of those Louisville, Kentucky, bands from the early ’90s, like Squirrelbait — except with the influence of emo…
With its streams of tone possessed of a slippery physicality, “0001 capillary,” the first song on Formant’s Amino, is reminiscent of the recent work of German electronic artist Pole. There’s a spacious and luminous quality to it, like that of a secret subterranean dance club lit only by dim floor…
On her 2012 debut, Snapshot, Katie Glassman, who has won numerous fiddling championships, clearly showed she knew her way around Western swing, vintage jazz and bluegrass. On her eleven-song sophomore release, Dream a Little Dream, Glassman is more refined both musically and vocally, leaning more toward Western swing with her…
Hip-hop in today’s scene is fast and racy. An electronic overload of new-age sounds floods the market as more and more artists race to keep up with commercial trends. Musa’s latest project, How to Survive When You’re Dead, ignores all of that, creating a modern hip-hop Western that transports the…
In the years since it became Lost Lake Lounge, the strip-mall bar sitting on Colfax just west of Colorado Blvd. has maintained a low-key, log-cabin-like atmosphere; beers were sipped at the front room’s small crescent-shaped bar, and bands played in the back room on the floor. The space has a…
While Jonathan Bitz originally planned to have Syntax Physic Opera up and running by last November, construction delays and having to obtain new permits have extended the timeline. He’s now hoping that his music venue, eatery and art bar open by the end of April. After a five-year stint as…
Editor: As she has in years past, Kalyn Heffernan from Wheelchair Sports Camp is documenting the band’s trip to Austin for SXSW. Today, she’s sent us portraits of each of the four outfits she wore at the festival this year. “I packed a good twenty-plus shirts/tanks, too many hats, shoes,…
It’s not so tough to spot the link between the Arvada Center’s 2014 recently announced concert series and Swallow Hill Music, who partnered with them to construct the lineup. The series owes a lot to the music school’s deep roots in folk music — performances by Don McLean and Judy…
Editor’s note: As she has in years past, Kalyn Heffernan from Wheelchair Sports Camp will be sending us dispatches from the band’s trip to Austin for SXSW. An Austin blog asked me to, “describe SXSW in 15 seconds.” I did it with only two words: shit show. But that’s not…
At this show at Seventh Circle Music Collective, Tim Holland (a.k.a. Sole) commanded a crowd that stretched well beyond his (storied) hip-hop roots. In addition to those fans, there were supporters of the punk bands that played on either side of his own set, there were people involved in the…
De La Soul, the iconic Long Island hip-hop trio, performed last Saturday to a capacity crowd at Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom. It was “nuts-to-butts crowded,” as my Tennessee friends like to say. Consider now the fact that the group hasn’t released a proper album in five years (2009’s obscure Are You…
The SXSW floodgates probably extend as far as Denver, and regardless this week brings an exceptionally strong crop of bands to town. Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, subjects of a recent cover story in our sister paper in St. Louis, play the Gothic tonight. There are plenty more below…
FRI | DOCTOR P at BETA | 3/14/14 My dubstep has a first name, and it’s D-O-C-T-O-R-P. Having established himself as one of the originators in bringing dubstep to the masses, Doctor P’s early hits still get regular play in the biggest sets. To boot, his Circus Records imprint is…
Hooo buddy. There are shows this weekend in Denver. Who needs Austin when you’ve got the legendary New Orleans Suspects, the even more legendary De La Soul and a bunch of dudes with laptops, right here in your hometown? Not us. We’ll be here, seeing what Chris Adolf is up…
Sleeping in the van. Editor’s note: As she has in years past, Kalyn Heffernan from Wheelchair Sports Camp will be sending us dispatches from the band’s trip to Austin for SXSW. She sent her first report, which you see here, Wednesday afternoon, before a drunk driver crashed into a crowd…
I look at it like I’m leaving a trail of crumbs,” says artist, label founder and Denver transplant Tim Holland about the dense, politically informed content of his lyrics. “I’m referencing books, authors, ideas, concepts and historical moments the same way that Boogie Down Productions, X Clan and Public Enemy…
“All Mom Blues Band,” the second track on I Sank Molly Brown’s The Age of Pretzlcoatl, starts out with a Slint-like bass line but quickly escalates into more dissonant sonic territory as the song progresses. The band also continues to deliver its signature tempo shifts on the just-released album. Caleb…
As the Sky Darkens spent the last year-plus hunkered down in the studio, writing and recording Freedom, its latest full-length. Although the album incorporates every element of metalcore — crunching breakdowns, hellish growls, intricate guitar work and clean vocals — followers of heavier genres should not be discouraged. As the…
“Brightness,” from Cody Yantis’s new album, Resonant Memory, begins with pastoral guitar work and samples of birds and other ambient sounds, giving the track the feeling of a Daniel Lanois song. But by the time “Brightness III” comes through your stereo, the tone has darkened. On “Brightness IV,” the music…
There are only four tracks on King Cardinal’s self-titled debut EP, and all four give a clear idea of what this alt-folk sextet is capable of. Even so, it’s hard to get past the hauntingly beautiful opener, “A Short Trip to Mackinac Island,” because the song demands repeat listens. With…
The best Denver band is playing Red Rocks on July 17, and it will feature songs by and collaborations with Gregory Alan Isakov and DeVotchKa. Tickets are $27.50 to $65 and on sale now. The Colorado Symphony Orchestra announced the show last month, but the addition of Isakov to it…
Update, 3/12: Frank Ocean has now delivered a check for the full $212,500 to Chipotle. But it wasn’t the one posted to his tumblr on Monday, on which he’d written a certain colorful greeting. “Curiously, the memo line was blank,” says Chipotle spokesman Chris Arnold. Original post follows… Frank Ocean…
