After spending the past seven years building their reputation as a no-frills bluesy grit-rock duo, Black Keys vocalist/guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney felt they needed a fresh perspective. So they turned to Brian Burton, better known as Danger Mouse, half of Gnarls Barkley, and a recent go-to producer…
A mere 16 minutes of recorded music shot the Canadian kids in Tokyo Police Club into the indie-rock spotlight. Since the release of the seven-song EP A Lesson in Crime in 2006, Dave Monks (vocals, bass), Josh Hook (guitar), Graham Wright (keyboards), and Greg Alsop (drums) have amassed an impressive…
Naming no names, but after listening to an album by a certain “alt-bluegrass” combo, a mini-epiphany alighted: Why listen to a half-assed, smug-hipster version of bluegrass when the real thing — Ralph Stanley, Gibson Brothers, even Alison Krauss — is available? Listening to the Avett Brothers posed a similar argument…
With their show at Clubhouse Music only days away, Music Editor Niki D’Andrea thought a preview of this Canadian indie rock band was in order.
The doods at MySpace have an offer for Valley punk fans that they can’t refuse.
When not relaying one of her tales of love and loss vocally, she would dance away from the microphone and raise the neck of her big hollow-bodied guitar as a queue for her band to release a country hell-storm.
When Aubrey sings lyrics like “with whiskey on my breath I demanded you to undress” there is no question that she’s speaking from experience.
THURSDAY 20 Axis/Radius: Ladies Night (Top 40, rock, dance) Blooze Bar: DJ El Dedo (rockabilly) Bunkhouse: DJ Doom (dance) Casey Jones: Da Gutter Thursdays with DJ Soulman (hip-hop, Top 40) Club Red: The Blunt Club with Pickster Uno, DJ Element, Emerg McVay, Dumperfoo, & guests (hip-hop, breaks) Crown Room: Crush Thursdays with DJ Gable (mash-ups, Top 40) Draft…
Some Native Americans believe peyote puts them in touch with divine powers. “The white man goes into his church and talks about Jesus,” says Quanah Parker, founder of the Native American Church Movement. “The Indian goes into his tipi and talks with Jesus.” Mescaline, the engineer behind such holy chitchats,…
Every Easter, millions of Americans celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, a rebirth that, if you follow the tenets of Christianity, saves the believer’s soul. We music lovers here at New Times, however, can’t help but wonder what musical artists could be resurrected this holiday to save their genres instead?…
The HorrorPops have been called psychobilly for years, but these genre-hopping Danish rockers don’t like boxes. We chatted with a few of the bands’ members about their rebellious streak, their homeland, and their new album, Kiss Kiss Kill Kill. New Times: Your music has always been defined by an anti-status…
It’s a rainy Tuesday afternoon in central Phoenix, and I’m hanging with TJ Jordan, co-owner of the Valley’s newest vinyl shop, Revolver Records. Aromatic candles give the space a warm, cozy vibe. Others must think so, too, because there’s a steady flow of shoppers competing for space in the snug,…
Before punk rock worked its way onto the airwaves via pop-infused bands who paid more for a single pair of pants than all four Ramones spent on their entire wardrobes, diehard fans of the genre could be downright scary — volatile creatures with safety pins through their noses who used…
After scoring a couple of songs on TV shows like Smallville and One Tree Hill (and briefly frolicking with Mandy Moore), one would think Greg Laswell might be a pretty cheerful guy. But this San Diego singer-songwriter’s latest six-song EP, How the Day Sounds, is dripping with melancholy and tension…
Ode to the Ghetto is Guilty Simpson’s debut LP, but independent hip-hop heads will be familiar with the cocksure delivery from this Detroit-raised affiliate of the late J Dilla. Check “Clap Your Hands” from the Chrome Children comp for an airtight testimony of a guest spots-heavy résumé, or even beatmaker/emcee…
Times New Viking takes a cue from fellow Ohioans Guided by Voices, recording its fuzzy indie rock under a thick gauze of guitar noise. There’s little to no production on the feedback-soaked Rip It Off, which includes zero bottom end to balance out the meter-tipping squall. It’s an inspired move…
While musicians who play “old time” music tend to be reverent toward bygone traditions, reverence is just about the last thing the Asylum Street Spankers have on their minds. An almost entirely acoustic ensemble that revisits old-timey forms and updates (read: skewers) them with a modern twist, the Spankers come…
Punk Bunny peddles smutty, slutty, über-cheesy ear candy that sticks to orifices like a pink feather boa on a fresh fly strip. But the Hollywood trio’s throbbing love songs about blowjobs, prostitution, and mustache rides are too silly to sicken — their odes to oral joy would fall in the…
There are some sort of natural bridges among prog rock, thrash and heavy metal, and grunge, and Phoenix trio Sectas attempts to cross them. The band’s latest album, Voices of the Damaged, manages to mix disparate elements from each genre and still sound cohesive. From the prog-rock world, we have…
Your social schedule for this weekend is looking quite barren, and the probability of you scoring with that hottie from that costume party is running about 2:1 against. But don’t panic! There’s still a possibility of having a really hoopy time on Saturday, March 22, at The DJ’s Guide to…
Well, I managed to survive another fun and frantic SxSW festival. While I’m laid up at home recovering, I thought I’d bring you some of the highlights from this year’s fest.
Dax Riggs is humble. Okay, that’s an understatement – the former frontman for indie sensations Dead Boy and the Elephantmen (championed by Henry Rollins on his IFC show), is downright soft and shy. When I shook his hand after a stellar set at the Cedar Door tonight, it was like stroking air.
