“Whenever, Wherever,” Shakira’s 2001 English-language breakthrough, managed to irritate much of the planet’s populace, thanks to its moronic hook and singing that seemed to emulate the bleat of a sheep stuck in a barbed-wire fence. Thank goodness Fijación Oral isn’t nearly that ba-a-a-a-d. The Spanish half of a planned two-disc…
With Blinking Lights, the reliably melancholic and irresistibly melodic Eels deliver a packed-to-the-gills, two-disc album that roams roads both worn and new. Songs worth pulling over for include the wistfully shimmering “In the Yard, Behind the Church,” the nursery-school-sweet “The Stars Shine in the Sky Tonight” and the knee-pumping “Hey…
Forget neo-soul: Jamie Lidell resurrects the old school so effortlessly you barely notice that Multiply is essentially a one-man orchestra of expressive electronic splicing and dicing. Wielding a voice that alternates between gruff Otis Redding purrs and tight James Brown breakdowns (with moments of Prince’s pre-Jehovah’s Witness sonic orgasming thrown…
When bands in the ’90s like Grade and Boy Sets Fire first employed a jarring mix of tuneful whining and cathartic screams, it felt like a smack in the face — the good kind. Since then, the recipe’s become as rote as reality TV, with the same sense of fabricated…
Truth be told, most bands here and elsewhere fall into a few narrow categories. Planetary Nebula, in contrast, busts through descriptive barriers with aplomb, and the combo’s unpredictability makes Ornamental a lively listen. The group’s instrumentation is hardly radical: two guitars, bass and drums intermittently supplemented by saxophone, cornet, strings…
World Leader Pretend, Punches (Warner Bros.). There is a land where rock groups care more about marketing themselves and aiming for the Coldplay-listening demographic than, well, rocking. World Leader Pretend is its secretary-general. Some advice: No matter how hip you think irony is, it’s never a good idea to put…
As indicated by George Is On, a just-released set on the Thrive imprint, Ali “Dubfire” Shirazinia and Sharam Tayebi are eager to cross over by any means necessary. The package’s blatantly commercial ploys include the dubious “Flashing for Money,” which mashes together “Flashdance,” the twosome’s irresistible club fave from last…
More people have heard Holly Golightly duet with Jack White on “It’s True That We Love One Another,” a highlight of the White Stripes’ 2003 disc Elephant, than have checked out any of the dozen or so discs she’s released under her own name. Yet she doesn’t appear to chafe…
What do Willie Nelson and Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips have in common? Besides resin-caked brainstems, both legends have handpicked the same unknown singer-songwriter as an opening act: Travis Graves, otherwise known as Mt. Egypt. And while his upcoming sophomore disc, Perspectives, is already sparking up a buzz on…
Younger generations have come to view the Jack Daniel’s-guzzling, copious-drug-abusing, groupie-violating rock lifestyle as a myth, an impossibility in the age of political correctness, wuss-tastic indie rock, debilitating STDs, an overriding respect for human life, and common sense. But Mtley Crüe once embodied it, and now, incredibly, appears hell-bent on…
Ian Svenonius has been many things to many people. But mostly, the enigmatic frontman of Weird War has served as a source of emulation. While every outfit he’s been involved with over the past fifteen years, from Nation of Ulysses to Cupid Car Club to the Make-Up, has met with…
Kathleen Hanna formed Bikini Kill, the most visible product of the early-’90s riot-grrrl movement, to disrupt the orthodoxy, juicing go-go garage rock with sarcastic drill-team choruses and enough teen spirit to inspire a nation of fanzine-writing followers. After Bikini Kill ran its course — just as the potency of the…
The Bravery was recently provoked into a well-publicized feud by the leader of its fellow new-wave-cannibalizing nemesis, the Killers. Apparently, Brandon Flowers asserted that the Gotham quartet wouldn’t have a record deal if it wasn’t for his synth-driven Sin City-based combo. Meanwhile, the Bravery’s manicured mouthpiece, Sam Endicott, fired back…
The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien’s semi-fictional memoir of Vietnam, is considered one of the greatest war books of all time. Although Fort Collins’s The Things They Carry hasn’t quite reached that level of acclaim, its gritty, relentless post-punk is every bit as visceral. The troupe formed in 2002 from…
Jason Amm, better known to the experimental dance music contingent as Solvent, creates some of the most melodic and beautiful techno-pop music since the heyday of Kraftwerk and New Order. His attention to melody and sweeping synth lines is what distinguishes him from just about every other producer on the…
Here’s reason to celebrate: Bender’s 13th Avenue Tavern (314 East 13th Avenue) marks its one-year anniversary on July 22 and 23 with performances by the Railbenders and Slim Cessna’s Auto Club, just two of the many acts that have passed through its doors in the past year. Bender’s has worked…
If you didn’t cry a little back there,” says Lisa Gedgaudas, “there’s something wrong with you.” Gedgaudas’s boyfriend, Born in the Flood frontman Nathaniel Rateliff, has just finished an especially moving set at the Acoma Center. As he steps off the stage, his own tears are nearly indistinguishable from the…
Singer and provocateur Gerard Way considers My Chemical Romance to be the “odd band out” on the Warped Tour bill. “A majority of indie bands, emo bands, hardcore-punk bands, whatever, look the same, act the same and write about the same stuff,” he points out. “As much as people go…
DJ Vajra is surprisingly stoic when I inform him that he has no talent. “I’m not really insulted by that,” the DJ responds. “I try not to get insulted by much of anything that people say.” Vajra, aka Chris Karns, is even less ruffled when I point out that he’s…
For this particular fan, the Pixies’ reunion tour, 2005 edition, was a bit underwhelming. It was nice to see the group receive some long overdue recognition, but the players seemed hemmed in by the restrictions placed upon them by the large, nostalgia-hungry crowd. This impression was reinforced by Honeycomb, in…
After a decade of innovation that electrified urban music, Missy Elliott and Timbaland have mostly gone their separate ways on The Cookbook. Save for a couple of tracks, Missy made this disappointing album on her own. Of course, it’s a letdown only by comparison with her five previous groundbreaking efforts…
There’s a girl sitting across from you in class, chewing on her eraser, chestnut hair draped across carved-soap cheekbones as she fidgets and squints at the math exam on her desk. Smartest kid in the class, and the cutest, but still sweet enough to glance up, catch you staring and…
