Of Note
Colourmusic, from Stillwater, Oklahoma, is said to be Wayne Coyne’s favorite new band. Coyne is the frontman for the Flaming Lips, is also from Oklahoma, and is often seen crowd-surfing arenas during concerts from within …
Playing White Hills through desktop speakers or earbuds won’t cut it. This is a live band, and it takes a wall of giant speakers to get the full White Hills experience. This New York band …
George Lewis Jr., who performs under the name Twin Shadow, has a distinctive look: pompadour, mustache, clothes that are flashy but in a muted color palette. He has said he’s aiming for a style that …
Lorin Ashton’s transformation into Bassnectar the DJ began when he was a teen. “Being 16 and playing guitar in my death-metal band was an amazing way to learn the ins and outs of harnessing energy …
Los Amigos Invisibles was discovered by accident. Their story begins in Venezuela in 1991. There they found a hometown audience still hungry for ’80s American disco, complete with glittery synth blasts, ubiquitous slap bass, and …
Dan Boeckner has a great rock ’n’ roll voice, a craggy, croaking sound with a piercing tone on the top and some wavering vibrato on the low end. It sounds like a guy who’s shouting …
Seapony’s music is a classic indie-pop mix of jangling three-chord rhythm guitars, a clean, melodic lead guitar, a minimalistic drum machine, a barely noticeable bass, breathy, sleepy female vocals, and intentionally simple lyrics. The Seattle …
The Butthole Surfers proved they weren’t just another punk band with a foul name when they released Electriclarryland in 1996. “Pepper” was a chart topper then, and it still gets radio play. “Some will die …
Here’s what you’re supposed to do if you want to make it as a rock band: Record with big-name producers, build an online presence, tour constantly, work with the most buzzed-about record labels, partner with …
“Alberta Cross hasn’t had an original idea since the day they started,” if you follow music blogs or the rock press. The Cross sound is favorably compared to Van Morrison, the Black Crowes, the Band, …
Dave Alvin, the Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, guitarist, and younger brother of Phil Alvin, was at one time a Pleasure Baron. The Barons were a San Diego band formed in 1989 by Country Dick Montana, who …
Larry and His Flask are rehabilitated punks from Oregon. What was started as a scream-fest trio is now a six-piece fleshed-out hillbilly band that puts a torch to bluegrass and country and folk. The kicker …
Last year, Seattle rocker James Burns started a halfway-serious online campaign to raise $10 million to get Weezer to break up. He didn’t raise a lot of money, but he got a lot of attention, …
When I first heard of Kurt Vile, I thought he must have taken his stage name in honor of Kurt Weill, the composer best known for The Threepenny Opera. (Weill’s name is pronounced “vile.”) I …
Slightly Stoopid says the band is a master of the “stealth groove.” That’s when you sneak a melodic hook or two into a long-winded jam. Otherwise, the laid-back Jack Johnson imprint abides. More skatepunk in …
Toronto’s prolific Fucked Up is simultaneously the most punk rock and most un-punk rock band in the world. On the punk side, of course, there’s a name that’s unutterable on the radio or TV. There’s …