In direct contrast to, say, Grizzly Bear, Animal Collective thrives on being inexact, and to come so close to re-creating the formula nonetheless is impressive. Centipede Hz is not half as catchy; nothing resembles “Summertime Clothes” or “My Girls,” save for “Applesauce.” What you’ve got instead are nearly a dozen jarring pop songs that split […]
indie
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Depth test
Photo: Laura Raczkowski Owning a recording studio and heading a small, Oklahoma record label gives Chris Harris, front man of local shoegaze three-piece Depth & Current, a certain perspective on what it takes to survive in the world of independent music: Namely, adapt or die. To that end, the Norman-based “nightmare-pop” band decided to include […]
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Searching for Sonny
They were both shot in Texas and, hell, they even share a character name in “Future Man,” but by no means am I suggesting Sonny should be held anywhere near the level of Bottle Rocket‘s giddy brilliance. Jason Dohring (TV’s Ringer) stars as Elliott Knight, who’s accomplished a big bunch of nothing a decade after […]
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Shadow of no doubt
Photo: Alex John Beck George Lewis Jr. — the New York City-based New Wave musician who performs as Twin Shadow — is in a different place than he was in the time surrounding the release of his 2010 debut, Forget. Touring behind that record found him abusing drugs, canceling some shows and waking up in […]
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Foreign Home — How Strange the Night
From the sounds of it, that’s a place where Tulsa outfit Foreign Home would like to call home. Its debut album, How Strange the Night, is big, layered, engrossing and just enough offbeat to not reside firmly in the mainstream. That can be a death trap for some bands who drown in that wall of […]
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Getting a leg up
Indie-rock trio Limber Limbs was having a bit of a Googleability problem before it switched its name from People, People. “We realized that people couldn’t find us on the Internet,” singer and guitarist Ben Bowlware said. “There’s a million results with people in it.” Added bassist Derek Moore, “It’s the comma that killed us.” “There […]
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Colin Nance — Warmth
The aptly named “Dream Cove” launches the effort with an expertly arranged froth of synthetic washes, cavernous percussion and his wistful, measured vocals. The following “Awakening” is more playful, bouncing with Casio beeps and a more vivacious melody that soars at the chorus; had this song come out 30 years sooner, I’m certain it would […]
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Sugar sugar
Few things can be more terrifying than an out-of-control mob at a rock concert — especially when that mob hasn’t had a nap. Chris Wiser of kiddie-rock duo the Sugar Free Allstars nearly shudders at the memory of one such show, when he and his fellow Allstar, Rob Martin, faced a crowd of unruly children […]
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Everything’s Jake
Singer-songwriter Jake Germany took a comical approach when it came time to write, record and release his debut full-length album, Cardboard Kids. “We already had this story concept laid out for the album, so we thought, ‘Why not just go ahead and make it into a book?’ Then, with a couple of us being big […]
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All in the family
Photo: Chris Phelps It won’t be hard to spot indie-rock act Eisley’s tour bus out on the road this summer. It’ll be the one with the “Baby on Board” sign. “It’s going to be funny, with my sisters both pregnant,” said singer and guitarist Sherri DuPree-Bemis of her siblings and bandmates Stacy King and Chauntelle […]