Yesterday I wrote a short thing for NPR Music’s Songs We Love series on the brilliant mad scientist and dance-off ringleader Dan Deacon, and his fantastic and very poppy new single “Feel The Lightning” — which you can read over here.
I wrote a quick couple paragraphs about Waxahatchee’s amazing new song “Air” from her upcoming album Ivy Tripp. You can read that as part of NPR Music’s Songs We Love series.
You can also read a slightly different version that was used for NPR’s Heavy Rotation series.
Below, here’s a much longer, and unedited ramble about Katie Crutchfield’s music, about being in transition and embracing change, even when it’s hard.
Continue reading Waxahatchee’s ‘Air’ Embraces Change And A Broader Palette
Another year, another fantastic year of comics. And, another year where comic book characters demonstrated their dominance in pop entertainment.
There isn’t a more gorgeously unsettling score this year than Mica Levi’s hair-raising soundtrack to Jonathan Glazer’s 2014 film, Under The Skin. Based on the Michel Faber novel of the same name, the film follows an alien in the guise of Scarlett Johansson — a cipher and seductive predator who travels Scotland enticing men into a darkened building-turned-inky black void.
Continue reading Mica Levi Gets ‘Under The Skin’ With Her Unsettling Score
For the last few years, the task of making a Best Music list has become a trickier prospect. I’m notionally open to listen to anything; I like to dabble in other people’s recommendations, try to hear what they’re hearing or find merit or craft in things that aren’t for me. But by December, it’s difficult to narrow down to a list that encompasses juggernaut pop stars, mid-career veterans, and relative unknowns. All can be great, and all deserve some accolades. But they’re operating with different goals and aiming for different audiences.
With a thick, face-concealing beard, stringy long hair and black t-shirts galore, Timothy Showalter would not look that out of place fronting a metal band. But for many years, his band Strand Of Oaks crafted woodsy American folk songs that stirred emotions more with their intimacy than intensity. Yet the Philadelphia band’s latest album, Heal, represents a turning point, both sonically and cathartically, with folk rock songs that let Showalter and company show off a richer and mightier palette that may just capture some of that metal spirit.
Continue reading Strand Of Oaks: Blustery And Cathartic Guitar Rockers
One would think that after years of constant touring, a hiatus between albums would be a welcome respite to decompress from music — or at least allow time to catch up on a little TV. For Yukon Blonde frontman Jeffrey Innes, it meant getting back to work, writing songs intended for a new collaborative project. But when his friends ended up being busy on the road, the Vancouver songwriter instead recorded the songs himself under a new moniker, High Ends.
Continue reading High Ends’ Woozy And ‘Intoxicated’ Animated World
Electric Youth first won over scores of fans with “A Real Hero” — a collaboration with French musician David Grellier (a.k.a. College) — which was prominently featured twice in Nicolas Winding Refn’s Ryan Gosling-starring 2011 film Drive.
Continue reading Electric Youth’s ‘Runaway’ Captures The Cinematic Feeling Of Young Love
I wrote this short capsule review of “Milkman” by Bully — an excellent new band I first came across during this year’s CMJ Music Marathon, in a crazy early noon slot at Baby’s All Right in Williamsburg. You can read that over at NPR Music’s Heavy Rotation.
Below, you can find the longer version.
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.
