Chromatics – Kill For Love
Chromatics started in Portland a long time ago and had a noisy lo-fi punk sound. Then it ended. Then it came back with a hipper new-wave blend of rock and pop. Now it's better than it was before. Kill For Love, the album, is a bit of a roller coaster, running through loops of excited...
Utah Salt and Dirt Deposit – Unwanted Dogs
Utah Salt and Dirt Deposit is the pseudonym used by PeerValidated's Andy Plank for his musical endeavors. Unwanted Dogs -- originally written for a friend -- is one of two tracks providing the soundtrack to an upcoming play called The Chalky White Substance.
Adelyn Rose – “Never Get Tired”
“Never Get Tired” is a centerpiece of the album, and not just because it’s catchy and located snugly within the record’s midsection. The song also bears within its lyrics the album’s name sake.
Perfume Genius – “All Waters”
As the title suggests “All Waters” uses elemental imagery to construct a hopeful, heartfelt vision of the future where love is accepted in all its genuine forms. The vision is palpable despite appearing, for the moment at least, an unattainable reality.
Pop. 1280 – The Horror
It may be that we can’t actually will sea monsters and the like into existence, but Pop. 1280’s The Horror is a product of the same kind of twisted imagination that wishes that we could.
The Shins – “Simple Song”
The track is built on a mechanized version of the barndance-ballad rhythm that The Shins test drove on Wincing (see tracks "Phantom Limb" or "Turn On Me" for reference, as well as any song off The Jesus and Mary Chain's Darklands.) "Simple Song" begins as an unadorned announcement of this beat, but it quickly...
Porcupine – “Rooftops”
Hear "Rooftops" by La Crosse based Porcupine. "In “Rooftops” Porcupine has collected a sequence of notes from the institution of the almighty rock riff, removed the swagger and pretense (leaving in the patented chuck and grind), and used this as the foundation for the assemblage of an otherwise unassuming pop-rock tune. The lyrics then...
Colin Stetson – New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges
Vol. 2: Judges is loosely crafted around a surrealistic narrative (which Stetson may eventually turn into a graphic novel) in which a man who has been lost at sea washes up on an island populated by a pack of blind horses (these are the “Judges”) who charge wildly about the land firing cannons that...
Kurt Vile – “The Creature”
“The Creature” comes from the EP So Outta Reach (Fall 2011), which was recorded in the same session as the full length Smoke Ring For My Halo (Spring 2011), all of which was produced by John Agnello, whose previous work includes bands like Dinosaur Jr, Sonic Youth, the Hold Steady, etc.
Rogue Valley – “Onward and Over”
This Minneapolis band is writhing with creative energy, begetting albums with a reproductive vigor to match a motel full of Catholic newlyweds. Between April 2010 and April 2011 they release four full albums, each corresponding to a season.
Polica – “Dark Star”
The track is a danceable blend of soul and trip-hop - taking the grimier side of Massive Attack and adding the brooding lyrics and tactile instrumentation of Portishead - but "Dark Star" has an overall feel that is much more relaxed than either influence.
Wisconsin Built – One of Many Alternatives to the Charlie Brown Christmas Soundtrack
Wisconsin Built has released the first local-artist Christmas music of the year, in the form of the EP One of Many Alternatives to the Charlie Brown Christmas Soundtrack.
Slothbear – Canter On EP
As the title lets on, the freshly written music maintains a similar gate and bearing to previous releases, that is a unique blend of college rock and noise pop. In Slothbear’s case the uniqueness is partially due to the irreproducible modulations the sound that accompanies self production.
A recollection of 4onthefloor playing House of Rock
I was iffy about the show at first. It was mostly over; I’d missed the Heartpills and most of Crankshaft. Through the front window I could see the gray cash-box lying on a table. Behind it was an antsy looking gentleman, twisting uncomfortably on his stool, trying to get a look at what was going...
Halloween, Alaska – All Night the Calls Came In
Longtime favorites of the Chippewa Valley Halloween, Alaska recently released All Night the Calls Came In. The album now has the full fall season to incubate in our i-pods. It will spend these first few months, so critical to an album’s...
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