Bright Eyes’ fourth album starts and ends with the voice of Randy Brewer, an old country singer who frontman Connor Oberst met while on his travels. Brewer's commanding tone opens the album discussing physics, Hitler, …
August 10, 2011
Articles by Ryan Brower
The People's Key
Maximum Balloon
Maximum Balloon’s lead single “Tiger” is used in a video for an Esquire UK photo shoot with British beauty Daisy Lowe. Its beat is easy and the well-paced horn riffs and synth pulse keep the …
October 24, 2010
Expo 86 by Wolf Parade
Synthesizer guru Hadji Bakara could not join Wolf Parade for their third album, Expo 86: "Hadji Bakara's brain got so big that he accidentally got accepted into the University of Chicago to pursue a doctorate …
September 7, 2010
Brothers
The Black Keys' new full-length, their seventh in eight years, is a collection of ballsy blues-rock that punches you gut level. No duo on earth plays louder than Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney. Authoritative drums …
June 6, 2010
Beheading of the Song Bird
With beguiling rhythms and building-block layers, Oceanside-based band the Drowning Men stand out from the indie-rock pack. Over pure punk and Irish folk and through tasteful use of voice, drums, organ, guitar, accompanied by the …
January 3, 2010