REVIEW ROUNDUP: B.O.B., MUSE, JACK JOHNSON, DROWNING POOL, WE ARE THE FALLEN, THE BLACK KEYS, KATY PERRY, BLACK SUNSHINE
The Black Keys – Tighten UpAccelerating into the song akin to Spoon, the dirty blues rock duo returns with a Rubber Factorysounding single. Patrick Carney’s drumming tugs you in like Hugo and a black mysterious chord before Dan Auerbach’s grunge-tinged blues seizes you from behi
REVIEW: CLARA PLUME – MES FILS D’ENCRE (2010)
Concurrent with Dessa Darling up in the Land of 10,000 Lakes mixing poetry with rhymes, across the ocean you have Clara Plume illuminating the City of Light. The two are quite similar in blending styles around verses, often in a rapid-fire delivery, but while one can get quite vi
REVIEW ROUNDUP: MGMT, KORN, COHEED & CAMBRIA, CIVIL TWILIGHT, PAPER TONGUES, GREEN DAY
Civil Twilight – Letters from the SkyThe way Andrew McKellar’s voice strains recalls classic Bono, just with a touch of Chris Martin. It is ambitious, beginning with a punctuated piano just dolling out heavy note after note weighed down by a driving-yet not overwhelming-drumming toward
REVIEW: DEFTONES – DIAMOND EYES (2010)
Trauma has a peculiar way of turning up at the worst moments. Scotland Yard Gospel Choir underwent a horrific traffic accident that led Elia Einhorn into a neck brace to heal an injured spine…not mentioning the rest of the band that folioed Elia and rolled over five times. Or in the Deftone‘
REVIEW: SOPHIE HUNGER – 1983 (2010)
Monday’s Ghost carved out a deep precedent for the Zurich-born singer/songwriter who intricately and expertly borrows facets of jazz and folk to chip and shape her unique sound. First discovered at the Montreaux Jazz Festival, I had the chance to attend one of five consecutive performanc
REVIEW: NUMÉRO# – SPORT DE COMBAT (2009)
In the tradition of French electro-pop comes yet another duo making sure those symbols get the spotlight, Numéro#. However they ain’t from Paris, but across our border in Montreal. Sport de Combat skews towards dance in taking queues from Simian Mobile Disco more than fel
REVIEW ROUNDUP: STONE TEMPLE PILOTS, TIËSTO, NICKELBACK, CHIDDY BANG, PUDDLE OF MUDD, SKILLET, LINKIN PARK AND 2CENTS
2Cents – Get What?Given the following review’s mentioned tendency, 2Cents leans towards the harder end of the speed vs. heaviness spectrum. They cite Pennywise as influences, heard in the perfect start/stop ability perfected by their fellow Los Angeles musicians. Think “Bullet With A
REVIEW: SIRIUSMO – THE UNINVITED GUEST (2009)
Setting this straight, American’s viewpoint of German music is woefully limited to Rammstein and commercials of college kids stuck with the Germans’ techno industrial dance music. Outside of that I can’t really say much more about it all, at least until Berlin’s Siriusmo
REVIEW: WE WERE PROMISED JETPACKS – THE LAST PLACE YOU’LL LOOK (2010)
I’ll admit I’m late to We Were Promised Jetpacks. Been slow at keeping up with Huw Stevens‘ stellar recommendations, of which I’m sure the Edinburgh outfit was one such. Yet thanks to a recent brilliant bill at Lincoln Hall, they eluded my ears no longer. Just before and