REVIEW: GROUP OF THE ALTOS – R U PERSON OR NOT (2015)
Sometimes it is impossible not to be derivative in music. The Group of Altos, structurally and sonically, seems largely influenced by Canadian post-rock ensembles Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Do Make Say Think (all part of the terrific Constellation Records) with their large personnel, use of roa
REVIEW: RIVER CITY EXTENSION – DELIVERANCE (2015)
River City Extension knows how to win an unfamiliar crowd over. I’ve seen it. It was in August 2012. New Jersey’s River City Extension was touring as openers for enchanting Portland rockers Blind Pilot. I was covering the Milwaukee concert for Mezzic, primarily to review headliner Blin
MAX’S TOP ALBUMS OF 2014
What a year 2014 has been! In fact, I can’t remember a recent year that has brought us as much fantastic music as we have gotten in 2014. While I was disappointed by the lack of a new Wilco album, it seems as if every single Wilco side project had a release this year. I
LUCAS’ TOP ALBUMS OF 2014
10. Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett – Cheek To Cheek I swear this album was supposed to come out on New Years of 2014. I’ve always been a sucker for jazz music and the combination of Lady Gaga and jazz is too good. I wish Lady Gaga would make a solo jazz album or something stripped dow
BRANDON’S TOP ALBUMS OF 2014
10. St. Vincent – St. Vincent Drawing from her work with David Byrne, Annie Clark combines social analysis with complex and almost alien sounding music. 9. The War on Drugs – Lost In The Dream While the band has kept the model of classic rock injected with con
Dan’s Top Albums of 2014
2014 felt like the fastest year of my life; it began with an eager attitude to accelerate and outlast the worst winter I could remember in my 29 years of living in the Midwest. And from there, even as warmer weather finally rolled in, the year, unsurprisingly, never slowed. Following 2013, a year in
REVIEW: FIELD GUIDES – BOO, FOREVER (2014)
On their debut album, Boo, Forever, Brooklyn-based Field Guides deliver a collection of songs that merge literary inspirations with charming pop likeability. The album was a decade in the making for Field Guides creator, Benedict Kupstas, and his revolving jam of contributing musician
REVIEW: PEAKING LIGHTS – COSMIC LOGIC (2014)
Peaking Lights is made of married couple Aaron Coynes and Indra Dunis. The pair used to be based in Madison and ran favorite local thrift store, Good Style Shop. The space was located near East Washington and the Capitol but has now moved to the Project Lodge’s old real estate on Johnson Street. B
REVIEW: INTERPOL – EL PINTOR (2014)
“All the Rage Back Home” the lead single off of Interpol’s fifth album, El Pintor, recalls an excitement, a fevered energy that hasn’t been notably prominent in the band’s most recent releases, especially the epic and atmospheric previous effort, 2010’s self-tilted Interpo