For the band’s 40th anniversary, Hollywood Records has reissued deluxe remasters of Queen’s second round of studio albums with bonus EP discs fortifying each release. This batch of five begins with 1977’s “News of the World,” which proceeds regally with the double A-side single “We Will Rock You” and “We Are the Champions.” Besides these […]
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Dream Theater — A Dramatic Turn of Events
A very public dispute with drummer and founding member Mike Portnoy developed when he wanted the band to take a hiatus while he continued touring with Avenged Sevenfold in support of that band’s most recent album, “Nightmare,” on which Portnoy played drums after original drummer James “The Rev” Sullivan passed away in 2009. When the […]
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St. Vincent — Strange Mercy
No longer girlish in her vocal performance, Annie Clark grips a “horsehair whip” brought to life by her sinister voice that’s simultaneously desperate for intimacy and confident expressing it. The line “no kisses, no real names” makes it pretty clear that she’s playing the dominatrix here. All that’s missing is a black mask on the […]
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Portugal. The Man — In the Mountain in the Cloud
“In The Mountain In The Cloud” doesn’t sound much like a band treading new sonic ground, or even experimenting with the recontextualizing of others before them, but more on that later. Also, they ditched the small label, Equal Vision Records, for Atlantic Records in April of last year. I wonder if producer John Hill’s (who […]
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Neon Indian — Era Extraña
Case in point: “Era Extraña.” After 2009’s laughable, infectious debut album, “Psychic Chasms,” Palomo’s dropped into minor keys, thickened the wall of sound and reinforced his drum machines for greater impact. All signs in this description point to some bizarre, electronic-Goth-dance hybrid, but I’ve left out one important sonic quality that turns that on its […]
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Name value
Band-to-band comparisons are a necessary evil in the universe of emerging acts. However, media outlets like NPR and Interview take a little of the sting out by making comparisons to Radiohead, Arcade Fire and Bon Iver. “From a musician’s standpoint, you want to be your own thing and not necessarily compared to anyone,” said Kyle […]
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Stoney LaRue — Velvet
The song opens Edmond resident Stoney LaRue’s second studio full-length, “Velvet,” six years after “The Red Dirt Album.” At times, LaRue and his band (which features CMA favorite Randy Scruggs on guitar) kid themselves with the limited singer’s range, but they really nail the dark, smooth feeling suggested by the title, with soft-rock guitar fills […]
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Wylde thing
Few people can claim Ozzy Osbourne as the godfather to their child. Guitar icon Zakk Wylde might be the only one; the 44-year-old leader of Black Label Society and ex-Osbourne guitarist resides in the upper echelon of the metal gods, even if he laughs at the very idea of being voted one. “It’s hysterical. Sure, […]
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Auss-ome
After years of relentless touring and 13,000 records sold independently, self-made minstrels The Wishing Well show no signs of slowing. A festival fixture in Europe and its native Australia, the orchestral-rock act remains relatively unknown here, but the group hopes its maiden tour of the States will change that. Founding members, vocalist/guitarist Jai Larkin and […]
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Math test
The clouds menaced Tulsa’s Brady Street Block Party in August, eventually spawning fat droplets of rain spread around by Oklahoma’s signature winds. Suddenly, Mutemath drummer Darren King feared the worst. “We were about two minutes away from playing, 111 degrees, sunny. And then all of a sudden, God’s wrath comes through,” King said. “It was […]