The Avett Brothers

The music made by North Carolina brothers Seth and Scott Avett, joined on this bill by Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside, is about as trendy as a Model-T. But their talent is undeniable, with the best of their material giving sentimentality a good name. Take the Western-themed “Murder in…

The Octopus Project

With a penchant for dense synthesizers, organic melodies and dressing up in what may well be their grandparents’ suits and dresses, Austin’s the Octopus Project looks and sounds like a beeping, bleeding contradiction. But that quirky paradox has helped the coed group rise above the indie-dance trends of this fading…

Danava

Named after enemy beings in the Rigveda and the Bhagavad Gita, the members of Portland, Oregon’s Danava are clearly adherents of the heavy psychedelic rock in vogue of late. Unlike many of their peers, however, the guys in this band were smart enough to realize that stoner rock and sludge…

Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears

Punk blues/soul musician Black Joe Lewis is apparently a man of few words, but then again, songs like his own “Bitch, I Love You” pretty much speak for themselves. The track, from his self-titled 2006 debut, marries Lewis’s foul-mouthed man-done-wrong verses (“Come home late at night/Bitch, you know it just…

The Inactivists

The biggest sin committed on the Inactivists’ all-love disc is that the first great song doesn’t hit until track four, “Song for Gary Glitter.” Before that, we get some decent material (especially the freak lounge of “Tell Me So”), but the Glitter tribute kicks off a killer stretch. “Taxi Cab”…

Motorhome

Creating fresh-sounding roots music ain’t easy. It’s a bit like trying to make a new antique. Somehow, though, the quintet riding in Fort Collins’s Motorhome manage to pull it off. Singer-guitarist Matt Thornton shakes up the formula with the gruff incongruity of his voice; on “Innocent I Know,” he recalls…

Sin Vida

That the members of Denver’s Sin Vida are of Mexican descent won’t come as a surprise to anyone listening to their recent EP, The Westwood Anthem. Besides the disc’s occasional switch from English to Spanish, the track “Mexican BBQ” even comes with a Tejano breakdown — one filtered through gruff,…

The Language of Termites

The appropriately titled In a Different Time and Place is the result of a collaboration of bandmembers across three years and disparate geographical locations, including recordings done in Romania and Egypt. But there is nothing disjointed about the results. The combination of acoustic and electric instrumentation gives the album a…

Less is more at three20south in Breckenridge

“Loud enough in there for you?” a guy asked as Lori and I stood outside of three20south (320 South Main Street) in Breckenridge. Too loud, we told him. Turned out the guy was the soundman for the New Orleans-based Dirty Dozen Brass Band, which would be headlining at the mountain…

Rift at Bar Standard

The music of Rift (aka Patrick Campbell) is complex, layered and nuanced. Each listen reveals new details in his intricate soundscapes. Drawing from the minimal sound, classic tech house and abstract electronic artists such as Autechre, Rift’s work is full of atmospheric effects and innovative percussion tones and rhythms. His…

Burn Sand Burn at the hi-dive

A band doesn’t always fit into a specific musical category even though it’s associated with one by default. Burn Sand Burn (due on Thursday, August 20, at the hi-dive) often plays with metal bands, but anyone able to listen honestly can hear that these guys do not bother to play…

Meet Natasha Khan, the alluring songstress behind Bat for Lashes

The lushly atmospheric, mysterious and richly resonant music of Bat for Lashes first caught the attention of critics with the release of the single “The Wizard” in 2006. Subsequent releases, including Fur and Gold and the recent Two Suns, have been nominated for the prestigious Mercury Prize and have earned…

Flier of the Week: Church of the Snake at Rhinoceropolis

This week’s illustration inspiration exists to inform us of a visit August 19 (that’s tonight) to Rhinoceropolis by Hot Springs, Arkansas band Church of the Snake — along with contributions from Color Club (another Arkansas band) and locals Hot White and Crack Magik. It earns its nod as top flier…

Wicked Garden taps into table keg service

While there are quite a few clubs in town that offer bottle service, Wicked Garden (1403 Larimer Street) might be the first on the block to offer table keg service. So instead of dropping a few hundred bucks a bottle of hooch and some mixers in an upscale LoDo club,…

Wendy Woo reschedules CD release party

Since rain forced the cancellation of Wendy Woo and Robin Hoch’s CD release party on July 29, the pair rescheduled it for Wednesday, September 2 as part of Swallow Hill’s Shady Grove Picnic Series at Four Mile Historic Park (715 South Forest Street). The show starts at 6:30 p.m. with…

The Out East Music Feast promises to live up to its name

Oh, and speaking of Jen Korte, she’s playing a gig next weekend that sounds utterly killer. The Out East Music Feast, as it’s been dubbed, features Korte and her band the Loss, with a slew of excellent female singer-songwriters, including two of my absolute faves, Angie Stevens and Judith Avers,…