Jonathan Sakas: Albatross

Title: Debut LP AlbatrossBasics: Wait, what? An album that isn’t countrified in any way? Someone arranging tracks with a synthesizer?Sakas is from Arizona, right?Indeed he is — which makes his debut album Albatross all the more intriguing. You may be thinking: Hey, jackass, not every band from Arizona plays country or…

Album Stream: Chromeo, Blonde Redhead, The Walkmen, Of Montreal

​​September 14 is a black Friday of sorts for the music world. There is an embarrassment of riches, new release-wise, set for that Meg Tuesday. NPR realizes this, so they’re giving you a head start by offering album streams of 14 albums to be released next Tuesday. Which just so…

Interpol: Interpol

Where Bright Lights — as well as Antics and Our Love to Admire — were full of peppy, upbeat indie rock classics, Interpol decidedly slows things down and goes for the artsy effect here, much to the chagrin of some long-time fans. (Myself included). While there are some bright spots…

!!! at The Clubhouse Last Night

!!!September 5, 2010The ClubhouseNow it is finally complete – the holy quadrilogy has taken form thanks to last night’s raucous !!! show. This is the final chapter in my own little !!! saga — one that started with the band’s latest album Strange Weather, Isn’t It? leaking on the internet, the album…

Titus Andronicus at Trunk Space Last Night

Titus AndronicusSeptember 3, 2010Trunk SpaceLast night was a perfect storm, of sorts, for an incredible show in downtown PHX. For starters, it was a First Friday, meaning tons of people would be milling around the downtown area for the bevy of displays and accompanying sights. Secondly, blogosphere idols Candy Claws…

Bob Dylan Torture Test Puts Teenagers on 72-Hour Dylan Binge

The hits, they keep-a-comin’. Seattle’s The Stranger recently conducted a brilliant field test, if you will, which forced four 17-18 year olds to listen to nothing but Bob Dylan for 3 days. Specifically, the youngsters had to listen to Dylan’s exhaustive three disc set Biograph while they packed for college and…

Ain’t That Some Shit? New Cee-Lo Green Video: “Fuck You”

The former Goodie Mobber and Gnarls Barkley frontman is readying a new album, The Lady Killer, set to hit stores December 7. It will be his third solo album and his first since 2004’s Cee-Lo Green Is…the Soul Machine. Head on over to Cee-Lo’s Facebook page and click like (if you…

Jenny & Johnny: I’m Having Fun Now

August just refuses — in any ungodly way possible — to go away. We’re cursed with 31 days of the month, and today, the last and final day of this mess, just had to fall on a Tuesday. What does that mean? Another ho-hum batch of new releases, this time…

Album Tacos For Everyone

What happens when delicious Mexican food meets the album cover of Billy Joel’s 1980 album Glass Houses? Hilarity. Such is the case for Album Tacos, a fantastic new Tumblr that popped up on the radar this weekend. Rocket science, this ain’t, but it yields some very funny and innovative results…

Bob Dylan’s Ticketless Warfield Show Finds Underwhelming Support

America’s favorite old man/recording artist Bob Dylan tried to stick it to the man this past Wednesday night at San Francisco’s Warfield Theater.The 69-year-old folk legend decided he was going to rebel against Ticketmaster and surplus ticket charges and nix issuing tickets to his show altogether.It’s a noble experiment in…

Joanna Newsom Plots American Tour, Includes Date at the Orpheum

It’s not often a world-class musician is kicking off their American tour in Arizona, so try to understand that the recent announcement that Joanna Newsom has a fall tour planned and is starting out in Arizona is a big, big deal. Newsom will play Tucson’s Rialto Theatre November 6 before…

!!!: Strange Weather, Isn’t It?

Why all the effort for just one album? There’s really no rhyme or reason to it — the fact that it leaked so early helped me write a post about the album when it was still fresh to my ears. By this point, however, I have completely consumed the thing…

Album Stream: !!! – Strange Weather, Isn’t It?

[jump] All four !!! albums have their own standout moments (“Feel Good Hit of the Fall,” “Hello? Is This Thing On?” and “Must Be The Moon,” respectively) and Strange Weather is no exception. The heavy-handed-yet-insanely-funky “Even Judas Gave Jesus a Kiss” is one of the strongest tracks amid a strong…

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin: Let It Sway

Hell, a lot has changed with indie rock/pop since 2005. Where Broom captured the innocence of a slowly building scene, Let It Sway finds itself mired in a chronological crisis — struggling to find its footing with these modern times. Fans of the band will mostly appreciate the band’s tweaking…

Roll Acosta: The Dawn EP

​Artist: Tucson three-piece Roll AcostaTitle: The Dawn EPBasics: Lead by their namesake Jake (Roll), Roll Acosta pound the sensibilities with light, airy rock/pop music.Their sound takes a lot of credit from Acosta’s vocals, which are reminiscent of John Ondrasik — better known to the world as Five For Fighting. As…

Arcade Fire Outduels Eminem, Lands Top Spot on Billboard Charts

Big news from last night/this morning — The Suburbs, the third album from Montreal indie rockers Arcade Fire, landed on the top of the Billboard 200 this week.The Suburbs sold 156,000 copies in its initial week, edging out Eminem’s Recovery by 4,000 units. Thanks to a lofty $3.99 pricetag at…