Denver garage rockers Sauna dreamed that meeting one of its musical heroes would lead to a record deal. And it kind of did, if not in the way the four members had expected. “We were 16, just a few months after the band formed,” said guitarist CJ Macleod. “We saw Hunx and His Punx were […]
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Kali Ra — Electric Living
“Black Leather Demon” is a cranium-pounding opening that recalls a time when Marilyn Manson wasn’t a bloated joke, but the album really kicks things into gear with the second cut, the title track, a song so sweeping and beautiful that it would be on my playlist for traversing a futuristic wasteland of death and darkness, […]
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Mountain Smoke — Roads Well Traveled
Maybe enough time has passed that I can enjoy this truly American art form once again. How can songs like the Brooks & Dunn cover “Brand New Man” or the redemptive “Wild Horses” not make you fall in love with this Oklahoma group? The original “American Dream” is a patriotic spiritual that isn’t cloying or […]
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Plan of action
Crowds at a Dillinger Escape Plan show can expect to hear booming drums, roaring vocals and heavy guitar played at breakneck speed. And maybe, if you’re lucky, the cruel snap of bones. “A Dillinger show is always unpredictable … and always full of bumps and bruises,” said guitarist Ben Weinman, who is wrapping up rehab […]
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Them Hounds — Them Hounds
Given the parameters of what actually constitutes the blues, it’s easy to see why: There just aren’t that many variations of the genre’s 12-bar framework that retain that “bluesy feel.” Instead, its divergences usually come in the form of vocal variance and guitar solos, and Them Hounds thrive within these confines. Two things immediately jump […]
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Boyz to Men
The music made by Oklahoma City’s The Hitt Boyz isn’t exactly what founding members/guitarists Will Ogletree and Adam Thornbrugh intended: to be the next At the Drive-In or Mars Volta. Instead of fighting what came natural, the two decided to roll with the punches. “We wanted a high-energy, punk-rock band, but when we started writing, […]
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Juggin’ out
The Great American Jug Band Photo: John Thomas For calling itself The Great American Jug Band, the Norman-grown group is conspicuously light on the jug part. “We own a jug,” front man Will Gardner said. “We just don’t have anyone to blow into it.” But really, the jug always was meant to be more than […]
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‘Vital’ signs
Eleven years in, and few alternative bands can claim the sort of consistent success and stability that Anberlin has. With six successful studio albums and tours with 30 Seconds to Mars and Taking Back Sunday under its belt, the group has enjoyed a smooth ride. “A lot of bands can’t keep together a year, let […]
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Smith Westerns — Soft Will
Traditionally, bands aren’t really supposed to hit rock ’n’ roll puberty until they approach their 30s. And you’re definitely not supposed to sound as primed and polished as Smith Westerns do on Soft Will — their third studio album — when you’re barely into your 20s. Admittedly, the act’s youth and the notion of trad-rock […]
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Gimme the Loot
Equally affable as they are gruff, Sophie and Malcolm hustle the streets by day. By night, they’re a relentless tag-teaming duo. Literally, they tag the streets of New York, leaving their mark as would-be graffiti masterminds. When some Mets fans start spray-painting over their turf, Sophie and Malcolm come up with the idea to break […]