Truth be told, bands are generally most innovative early in their career — unless you’re talking about Green Day, that is. In 1994, several years after establishing themselves on the Bay Area punk scene, Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tre Cool went national with Dookie, a disc that mashed…
Cartel hasn’t done anything underhanded or illegal, as its name might imply. The Atlanta-based quintet has avoided all misdemeanors by trekking down the decidedly less wanton path of guitar-driven rock with an underlying pop-punk spirit. Singer Will Pugh’s vocal delivery commands a listen and bolsters the band’s precise and well-executed…
On Thursday, September 15, the Dale Bruning Quartet heads to Dazzle to interpret the music of prolific modern-day composer Michel Legrand, who produced such classics as “The Summer Knows” and “Watch What Happens.” Sounds like an ideal fit for the Longmont-based guitarist and his ensemble — bassist Ken Walker, drummer…
In the drum-and-bass scene, Paul Harding, Rob Swire and Gareth McGrillen, known collectively as Pendulum, are an anomaly. While most drum-and-bass DJs and producers readily cite hip-hop as a primary influence, Pendulum swings in a vastly different direction. For these three musicians, who earned their stripes playing in metal bands…
“Every civilization is known by its culture, and jazz is America’s greatest contribution to our world,” says Tony Bennett. “It is our classical music. Jazz is spontaneous, honest and natural, and it is a celebration of life itself.” Dozens of performers (not Bennett, however) will celebrate the birthplace of jazz…
We’re an all-lesbian band if you need to label us, but we don’t go out promoting that,” says Laura Coleman, drummer for folk-blues power trio the Dearly Beloved. “The whole gay thing is pretty minor. As far as I know, this is the only all-female band in town, but we…
Long ago, in his biography of seminal jazz composer Jelly Roll Morton, my great-uncle Alan Lomax equated New Orleans’s contribution to American music to Florence’s involvement in the Renaissance. But another Italian capital seems closer to the mark now. ‘We’ve lost our city,” said Marc Morial, a former mayor of…
Sure, Dressy Bessy might wear polka dots and have a song on the Powerpuff Girls soundtrack. But the act’s new disc, Electrified, rocks some serious balls. Ventilating its bubbly pop with slashes of new wave, surf, folk and punk, the disc has a dark edge that can be oh-so-sweetly unsettling…
Late-’60s Brit rocker Terry Reid was Jimmy Page’s first choice to sing for Led Zeppelin. Now 57, the legendary band’s unsung architect (who also passed on the chance to front Deep Purple) lives in Palm Desert, California. Reid, whose latest disc, Superlungs, is being released this week on Astralwerks, took…
If there’s one thing in the world that doesn’t make sense, it’s how most offspring cringe at the discussion of Mom and Dad making sweet, sweet love. For most of us, revulsion ensues when the parental units lock the bedroom door to “turn in early.” And menopause, high blood pressure,…
It would be easy to call Coco Rosie’s music an acquired taste. The twisted sisters who make up the group, Bianca and Sierra Casady, sing with miniaturized voices, like Bjrk in jammies, and the music — nursery-rhyme rosaries banged out on toy pianos and spliced with neighing ponies — frequently…
Folks out there remain so hungry for rock that they’ll gobble up almost anything — even Staind’s Chapter V, which entered the Billboard sales charts at number one despite being as generic as white-label aspirin. Not that listening to the disc is apt to cause a migraine. Sure, lead singer…
John Vanderslice has always brought a cinematic flair to his storytelling techniques. His best songs double as short films, with enough of a story line to get you hooked, and enough mystery to keep you guessing. Pixel Revolt uses these juxtapositions to great effect: “Exodus Damage” segues from reports of…
The hard and soft sides of Opeth’s dark, enveloping sound were showcased separately on its last two albums, Deliverance and Damnation. On Ghost Reveries, the band’s Roadrunner debut, they’ve merged. Keyboardist Per Wiberg is a major presence on this record: On “The Baying of the Hounds,” he slams the keys…
Bands in Denver’s indie scene always wonders why they rarely manage to break out of Colorado. The answer is simple: Even our most promising bands are often weak, desperately opportunistic copies of what was cool on the coasts two years ago. There are exceptions to the rule — like Vaux…
Few local recordings are as skillfully played and cleanly produced as Savage Henry’s self-titled debut. Too bad the CD lacks the spark of originality that separates capable discs from truly memorable ones. The quartet of Damon Guerrasio, Mike Rice, Stuart Miller and Ryan Morrow gig consistently; they’re part of the…
Beautiful Creatures, Deuce (Spitfire). These cats have gotta be creaming their acid-wash jeans. Thanks to the Crüe, who showed up just as the Velvet was starting to rub off the Revolver, cock rock is once again viable, which means these refugees from the Revlon era (vocalist Joe Leste previously lent…
Beatmaker Elvin Estella, otherwise known as Nobody, made a ripple in the mix-tape underground ten years ago, becoming a frequent Prefuse 73 collaborator and Mars Volta tourmate by the time his second full-length dropped. But where Pacific Drift: Western Water Music Vol. 1 found the mixologist revisiting his hip-hop roots…
The Weather Machines may be from Rapid City, South Dakota, but the power-pop quartet almost feels Coloradan. Besides the fact that the bandmembers’ earlier outfits, the Reddmen and the Bee Eaters, made Denver a favorite stop, the Machines’ debut disc was mastered by local studio wizard Jeff Merkel at 8…
Given the godforsaken cold that grips Calgary, it’s little wonder that Alberta named her professional hockey team the Flames. For Canuck Chad VanGaalen, any sanity not otherwise found busking the streets likely took place in the warmth of the basement — building pianos, saxophones, clarinets, violins and various found-object munitions…
Dear Dave: We welcome you to town with open arms and full hearts. Admittedly, though, this wasn’t our first plan. In the beginning, we were going to write something snarky about your three-night, sold-out Red Rocks run, alluding to a brilliant article in the August 25 Onion headlined “Dave Matthews…
Washington, D.C.-based trumpeter Michael Thomas brings his smoking-hot quintet to town for a night of blistering hard bop meets Philly swing. After graduating from Grambling University, Thomas performed with Frank Foster, who was directing the famous Count Basie Orchestra at the time. He sharpened his chops and technique playing with…
