I have no doubts that the news of Merge Records’ forthcoming reissue of Superchunk’s 1994 classic, “Foolish,” has my friend George Lang at The Oklahoman nervously checking his inbox every four or five minutes, anxious to download that remastered 50 minutes of 90s indie-guitar glory. The re-done edition is accompanied by never-before-heard bonus material and […]
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Collections of Colonies of Bees — GIVING
How’s that, you figure? Well, COCOB’s taken instrumental post-rock where it needs to go by completely eliminating all the typical boring moments from their formula. “Giving” is a short album that’s constantly barreling forward and never stalled out by a single breakdown or pause, ethereal jam session, or instrumental solo. Even when the guitars, so […]
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Vending machines
When The Venditos roll into a venue, they do it big. The humble rock band hailing from Oklahoma City doesn’t have a record deal or any sort of other financial backing, but it does enjoy a full-on tour bus, an old Greyhound that looks like the full shebang from the outside. Inside? Well, that’s a […]
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Soundcheck: Klipspringer, ‘The Trouble with Sebastian’
Words about a girlfriend who “likes to play chess in her birthday suit” belong most anywhere in its discography, from 1996’s “The Mind of Mandy Moon” (where the line resides within the delightfully raunchy “She Likes That Shit”) to “The Trouble with Sebastian,” the pop-rock quartet’s seventh album, which it digitally released July 26 through […]
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Switch on
Switchfoot’s songs are meant to be so much more than melodies. “It’s more than just catchy hooks that grasp a listener for a month out of their life,” said bassist Tim Foreman. “It feels like people are really on the journey with us. Music got me through a lot of tough times. Fortunately, I think […]
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Parade’s route
The parade’s in town! The David Mayfield Parade, to be exact. It’s something the bluegrass musician has been building toward all his life. Although Mayfield’s released albums, he’s never toured for them. His experiences as a sideman built his confidence to broaden his horizons, resulting in an album that covers his widest musical expanse to […]
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Color of blight
There are several reasons why Norman’s Rainbows Are Free describes its sound as “heavy devil music.” There’s the heavy riffage, pounding percussion, mind-bending psychedelia, rants against religion and … well, this. “There’s the sacrifices, and our love for the dark lord,” bassist Chad Hogue said in deadpan. “You kind of need the devil to help […]
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Small Sur — Tones
Small Sur sounds nothing like any of these bands. Literally, nothing. They’ll probably never achieve the same level of notoriety, which is very sad. They’ve recorded the most beautiful, lovely slowcore folk music these ears have ever heard, but unfortunately, that particular sub-genre isn’t in high demand among audiences much larger than what could fill […]
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Jackie-O Motherf***er — Earth Sound System
They’re kindred spirits to Waka Flocka Flame in that sense. And that sense only. But enough teasing about Jackie-O’s name. Let’s tease them for recording a patience-trying album. “Earth Sound System” contains a pair of tracks — one exactly seven minutes and eight seconds in length, and one sitting right at nine and a half […]
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Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks — Mirror Traffic
If you answered with “an improvement on Malkmus’ last effort flashing some of his funniest, snarkiest songwriting to date,” then you’re correct. Beck effectively tossed out the Jicks’ 2008 LP, “Real Emotional Trash,” replacing an album constituted of skilled, but too-far-extended guitar jams with one that paces more like Pavement’s “Wowee Zowee,” and draws influence […]