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On the Record

Memphis, by Boz Scaggs

The first time I saw Boz Scaggs perform live was at the Matrix club in San Francisco in the early ’60s. Scaggs and another unknown, the future "gangster of love," Steve Miller, were fronting a ...

Phoenix's Bankrupt!

Phoenix's 2009 album, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, was a commercial and critical hit. It brought the French band to the world stage. This year, fresh off a headlining spot at Coachella, they keep up the pace ...

Beth Orton's Sugaring Season

“Alive, alive, alive, alive/ Alive, alive, alive, alive-o/ Alive-o,” she finishes. And if that sounds too simple, remember it’s shorn of her melody. Remember, too, that after Boston, after Waco (again), after Washington D.C. (why ...

Comedown Machine, by the Strokes

When The Strokes released Is This It in 2001, it wasn't uncommon to hear them proclaimed as the saviors of modern rock ’n’ roll. Their sound was gritty and focused but also loose and impossibly ...

The Terror by Flaming Lips

What does a Flaming Lips album written and recorded in a matter of days sound like circa 2013? Pretty much as one would expect: loose, psychedelic, jam-heavy, and LOUD! For all the complaints leveled at ...

Ride Your Heart, by Bleached

The Clavin sisters, members of L.A.-based indie act Mika Miko, have released their first album as Bleached. Jennifer (vocals/guitar) and Jessica (guitar) can affect deep, raw feeling as well as a cheery summer vibe through ...

Afraid of Heights, by Wavves

The first quarter of 2013 has brought with it strong releases from the likes of Jim James, Foxygen, Serengeti, and Atoms for Peace, yet perhaps none catchier than the latest record from San Diego pop-punk ...

Denitia and Sene: His and Hers

Denitia, a modern-day folkie from Texas, and Sene, a neo-classicist NYC rapper, met by accident and began recording together almost on a whim. They’ve since forged an unlikely union, but the result is nothing like ...

Justin Timberlake's 20/20 Experience

“Timbalake” is back! From the opening seconds of “Pusher Love Girl,” you can sense a new brand of swag. Luscious strings, sick beats, filthy vocals. It’s 9:23 a.m. and “Don’t Hold the Wall” is grooving ...

Further Explorations: Corea, Gomez, and Motian

Drummer Paul Motian died in New York City in 2011, on the 48th anniversary of John Kennedy’s assassination. He carried one cymbal around with him for the last 30 of his 80 years on Earth, ...