REVIEW: TY SEGALL – EMOTIONAL MUGGER (2016)
Ty Segall has had another beautiful baby in album form – this time without a mommy, apparently. An abrasively noisey baby with a lot to say, Emotional Mugger is possibly the most unique of Segall’s releases to date. While it may lack the accessibility seen in
REVIEW: MIDNIGHT RERUNS – FORCE OF NURTURE (2015)
Midnight Reruns’ sound is one that is compellingly carefree. The Milwaukee quartet creates songs perfect for soundtracking a roller-coaster ride, a Pete and Pete episode, or anytime you decide to blow off your shitty job and go do something a little more fun. The overall genre is a bit
REVIEW: BORN RUFFIANS – RUFF (2015)
RUFF is the Born Ruffians fourth album and it documents a band channeling through the refusal, frustration, unrest and even some acceptance of becoming just another middling rock band. You never thought life as mid-level rock stars could be so rough, but Born Ruffians deliver a convin
REVIEW: JUICEBOXXX – HEARTLAND 99 (2015)
The first time I ever saw Juiceboxxx was at the now defunct Darling Hall in Milwaukee in 2006 (it was close to Conejito’s if you know where that is). His live performance was an ecstatic mix of in your face MC brashness and crowd manipulation not far removed from Dan Deacon performances (here is a
REVIEW: DJANGO DJANGO – BORN UNDER SATURN (2015)
I deem myself lucky to have witnessed some of the very early days of Django Django surrounding the January 2012 release of their debut album. It was in Europe, well before their 1960s sounds harmoniously bubbled over the ocean into sold out tours in the States. The quartet united while at
REVIEW: THIRD EYE BLIND – DOPAMINE (2015)
After years of prolonged and unfulfilled anticipation, Third Eye Blind finally releases their new album, Dopamine. It’s the San Francisco band’s first album since 2009’s Ursa Major, and only their fifth studio album since the band’s formation in the mid-1990s. Over the ye
REVIEW: SURGEONS IN HEAT – DISASTER (2015)
It is quite serendipitous that Milwaukee/Madison musician John Mayer has the name John Mayer. In his band Surgeons in Heat he has a strong ability to write catchy and smooth pop songs (check out “Better On Your Own” from Surgeons in Heat for a prime example). Mayer also lends