This was originally written for NPR Music’s First Listen series. Read the rest over at NPR Music or Soundcheck.
For a record about journeying deep inside the darkest recesses of the mind, there’s nothing introverted about the Cleveland duo Mr. Gnome’s new album, The Heart Of A Dark Star. Named for an evocative phrase in a Neil Gaiman book, The Heart Of A Dark Star is a bold and blustery hurricane of guitars, organs and voices, all swirling around in the night air.
Following the dissolution of Sonic Youth — due to a very public separation between Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon — each member of the beloved and influential band went their separate ways. For most artists fresh from an emotional break up, redefining yourself and finding something new outside the context of the band can come with some growing pains. For Moore, it’s been an opportunity to further explore aspects of his shape-shifting yet identifiable sound in different musical settings.
Continue reading Thurston Moore: After Sonic Youth, A New Chapter Begins
Some bands have a few songs so immediately fun they can change the air in the room. Nude Beach must have at least 20 of ‘em — each built to win over anyone in the crowd, no matter their tastes. Looking for scruffy punk bangers or spirit-lifting jangling melodies? Hoping for a few triumphantly ripping glam rock solos? What about some good old Heartland AM radio pop or souped-up muscle car rockers made for open-window drives? On its sprawling and satisfying 18-song double album, 77, the Brooklyn trio’s members — singer and guitarist Chuck Betz, bassist Jimmy Shelton, and drummer Ryan Naideau — have got you more than covered.
Continue reading Nude Beach’s Kid-Crafted Video Will Make You Smile
We had Perfume Genius in the Soundcheck studio, performing songs from his wonderful album Too Bright, so here’s some photos from the session.
Continue reading Photo Gallery: Perfume Genius, On Soundcheck
Rarely do I miss having a car. But sometimes, I do miss driving around and blasting the tape deck stereo super loud while confined inside my own private bubble. There’s something about that limitation and its ability to hold you captive; without an easy way to skip ahead to the next song, you get to know each individual fold in an album, to the point where you can sing every lyric and every guitar riff in a way that can be difficult to do now with unlimited streaming. It’s a sentiment that Radical Dads seems to embrace on its upcoming EP, Cassette Brain.
Continue reading Get Swept Away Inside Radical Dads’ ‘Cassette Brain’
Took some photos of Stars, performing songs from its latest album, No One Is Lost, in the Soundcheck studio.
Ariel Pink is notoriously divisive and off-putting (to say the least), but he occasionally channels that chaos and weirdness into some excellent songs. He came into the Soundcheck studio to play some songs from pom pom, and I took some photos.
I first discovered Blake Mills when he opened for, and then played in Fiona Apple’s band on her tour for her album, The Idler Wheel…. But Mills is one of those versatile guitar players’ guitar player types who’s collaborated with almost everyone big in some capacity, and is a skilled songwriter in his own right. I got to see his playing up close when he came to the Soundcheck studio to perform songs from his latest record, and shot some photos, too.
The amazing Ahmed Gallab, who records and performs as Sinkane, brought his smooth and worldly R&B and psychedelic rock to the Soundcheck studio to play songs from Mean Love. Here’s some photos.
It’s safe to say that few bands have had roller-coaster trajectories quite like Foxygen. Fronted by the classic rock record collection-loving duo that is longtime friends Sam France and Jonathan Rado, the Los Angeles band found success with its delightful 2013 album We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic, which won over fans with playful melodies and producer Richard Swift’s trademark Technicolor flourishes that transparently captured the breezy pop psychedelia of mid-1960’s bands like The Zombies and The Kinks. But amid considerable hype and high-pressure expectations, Foxygen almost immediately began showing signs of unravelling.
Continue reading ‘…And Star Power’ Captures Foxygen’s Wild Dark Night Of The Soul
