CONCERT REVIEW: ALKALINE TRIO AT LA BOULE NOIRE (PARIS)
Alkaline Trio (Chicago, IL) and Broadway Calls (Rainier, OR)February 2nd, 2009La Boule Noire in Paris, France The Trio, along with their multitude of drummers, has posed some serious discussions over their reliability and greatness throughout the past decade. Following the&n
REVIEW: POMPEII – NOTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON (2008)
A tempered indie rock plucked my tastes after going full on with punk years back, far more calm, yet with vastly improved melodies and a concentration on the complexities of music. Pompeii fits into this world, a relaxing album akin to the melodies of such pop punk offerings on the radio t
REVIEW: FUNERAL PARTY – THE BOOTLEG EP (2008)
Adding another gift under the dance punk tree this holiday season, Funeral Party unveiled their first EP early December. Despite the genre being dominated by the likes of The Faint or, stretching, Jaguar Love, few have garnered such early overseas notice like these Californi
REVIEW: JAKE ONE – WHITE VAN MUSIC (2008)
Producer extraordinaire Jake One recently released his Rhymesayers and full on debut album, White Van Music this year, heavily anticipated due to his work with 50 Cent, Young Buck, and De La Soul. It’s a collective work featuring well over a dozen contr
REVIEW: GUNS N’ ROSES – CHINESE DEMOCRACY (2008)
Back in elementary school, the teacher told us to bring things of that time period the following day that would be put into a box to be sealed and buried, only to be opened decades later. To me, Chinese Democracy (Geffen, 2008) is the recorded embodiment of a time capsule. You speak of Axe
REVIEW: KANYE WEST – 808S & HEARTBREAK (2008)
From the university and parties of 2007’s Graduation, Kanye reigns in a distinct dark departure leaving heart and love in the spotlight. West will alienate many listeners much in the way Beck did with Sea Change in 2002 with this album, especially those seeking follow-ups to the&nbs
Review: Mumford & Sons – Love Your Ground EP (2008)
Up until recent, Mumford & Sons has been that still, crystal clear water. After their recent touring stints, people have taken to the band so that they’re starting to take their course into the currents of music. The London-based folk and bluegrass outfit, briefly, is on the heels of
REVIEW: YELLE – POP-UP (2007)
With a recent tour of the United States, aptly titled C’est l’Amérique Tour, in addition to introducing the Season 4 finale of Entourage, Yelle is on the forefront of French musicians making the jump over the pond to enrapture audiences with enticing electro pop. Yelle first
Review: Lindi Ortega – The Drifter EP (2008)
After watching the Toronto-based country-folk singer-songwriter perform before Noah and the Whale in Chicago, I sought out an EP online. The Drifter E.P. (Cherrytree Records, 2008) is a short, simple sampling of her live show with a couple gems (one polished, one rough) amongst t