Where Else to Find Us
Empires: Live in Chicago
Empires, scrappy little band of my heart (North American division) have made a live album. Recorded last September at Lincoln Hall in Chicago, it showcases Empires in all of their grimy, bluesy glory. Check it out: Surrenderer (Live) by empires Hello Lover (Live) by empires We Lost Magic (Live) by empires … Read more
Willow Sea: Across the River and Into The Trees
The songs on Across the River and Into The Trees by Willow Sea (Willy O’Connor) are, collectively and individually, balm for the weary soul. I listened to them a lot this winter, because this winter was very, very long. Here are two I especially like. This one is a ray of cheery sunshine on cold … Read more
White Fence: To The Boy I Jumped in Hemlock Alley
A couple of years ago, I went to a White Fence show for New Year’s Eve. They were in the middle of the bill. At the end of the show my friends and I agreed, that while the headliners were good, we would have been happy to listen to Tim Presley and friends noodle around … Read more
Mud, Blood & Beer: The Sweet Life
On their second record, Mud, Blood & Beer have added some hard rock muscle to their country bar band sound, and the results are fantastic. For example, there is this tune, which I love in part because they manage to make nasturtiums sound kind of dirty: Nasturtiums in Bloom by Mud, Blood & … Read more
Video: Rob Zombie, Dead City Radio and the New Gods of Supertown
There’s a lot going on here – hippie!Zombie, zombie!Zombie, breakdancing skeleton, various kinds of freaky ballerinas – and it is ALL AWESOME. The song is Dead City Radio and the New Gods of Supertown, from his new record Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor due out at the end of the month. Metal Hammer has a tracklist … Read more
The Big Nowhere: Don’t Burn the Fortune
Pull Down the Moon (2012) rollicked and rolled; Don’t Burn the Fortune, the second record from The Big Nowhere, is contemplative, quieter, and a little melancholy, more evocative of a piano bar than a frontier dance hall. Whatever kind of heartbreak you have, they probably have a song for you. The following are three … Read more
Video: TimLee3, Devil’s Rope
Watch out, baby girl, preacher man is coming for you and it isn’t loving he has on his mind: There is more where that came from; Devil ‘s Rope is the title track of TimLee3‘s new record, which is some A++ swampy, bluesy rock and roll. Devil’s Rope has been stuck in my … Read more
[strangers], Something New
Something New, from [strangers] featuring Eleanor Fletcher (Crystal Fighters), music for: Here we go over the falls, one more time. Maybe this is a terrible idea, but we don’t care. We can see the white water and the rocks but it doesn’t matter, we have each other. We’re too busy making new universes every time … Read more
Video: The Almighty Rhombus, She Didn’t Want Me
Some thoughts while watching the video for She Didn’t Want Me, from the new self-titled EP by The Almighty Rhombus: 1. How awesome is “The Almighty Rhombus” just as a band name? SUPER AWESOME. A++ use of geometry in band-naming. 2. These dudes and ladies are SERIOUSLY committed to grilling out. (They are my kind … Read more
The Honorable South, Hide & Go Seek
Do you need to kick yourself into gear today? The Honorable South have a song for YOU. It is their take on a 1962 classic by Bunker Hill. "Hide & Go Seek" Single by The Honorable South DON’T FORGET TO TAKE OUR READER SURVEY!