For such a breezy, feel-good band, Chelsea Days sure seems to be haunted by mortality. On track after track of its self-titled studio debut, sunsetted memories and future ghosts swirl in shimmering depths of existentialism. The songs are never outright depressed, but neither do they ever quite find joy. They simply swim with the tide, […]
Soundcheck
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Soundcheck: Primal Brain – It’s Still All a Game
Parsing through Primal Brain’s music is like trying to analyze graffiti on an empty billboard. Bordering on incomprehensible without the aid of a lyric sheet, its furiously fast-paced punk songs are brash and forceful in their rebellion. Within the noise are messages of anarchy that never beat around the bush. They are exactly what they […]
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Oklahoma Cloud Factory — Ancestral Ghosts
Like a Wes Anderson film set in the Sooner State or Belle & Sebastian scoring a Western, there’s something almost delightfully twee about the whole collection. It’s less plain-sweeping big and more playfully contained. It’s a story told while looking out the bedroom window at the wilderness outside, not while swallowed in the thick of […]
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PLSTKNOVA — Lights
His second EP, Lights, is an entrancing odyssey through the sleep cycle, pouring an ethereal dream-pop fog over mind-bending down-tempo bass grooves. Taking cues from Tycho, Baths and Four Tet, the seven-track effort focuses on aural world-building delicately built brick by brick. The adventurous but contained record is melodic and gripping all the same, its […]
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Willis — The Understanding
From the opening R&B samples and powerful horn section that triumphantly blasts the arrival of a new hero on the scene, Willis’ The Understanding perfectly captures the inner-city swagger of a blaxploitation movie icon. Strutting through these dirty streets like he is God almighty, Willis unashamedly kicks the doors in and sits at the head of […]
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Poolboy — Soda Kids
Guitarist Michael Loveland, bassist Sean Barker and drummer John Calvin are no strangers to the local scene, nor are they, apparently, strangers to good, old-fashioned rock ’n’ roll. The band’s debut EP, Soda Kids, clocks in at less than six minutes, with four capricious and impassioned tracks that mimic a bygone golden era of punk […]
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Grooms — Infinity Caller
Through these changes, Johnson remained steadfast in his approach, hammering away at a sound that pays homage to his roots and influences while, at the same time, retaining a distinct individualism. Now, with two albums released on two separate labels behind them, Grooms sound rejuvenated on their third proper full-length, Infinity Caller, their most intricately […]
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Aisha Eustache — Love & Addiction
Where are the chanteuses who once graced the charts, like Betty Wright, Roberta Flack or The Three Degrees? Where are the beautiful declarations of love and fidelity? The soul-stirring rock-bottoms of heartache and loneliness? A return to honest, resonant emotion? Those questions are answered with the five songs of Love & Addiction, the debut EP […]
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Swing sets
Looking more like a folk troubadour, Dustin Prinz doesn’t fit the stereotype of a lounge performer. But his guitar skills, ability to adapt to the crowd, and litany of original ballads and unique covers — from INXS to Bon Iver — has charmed many a restaurant, bar and lounge owner. He has standing gigs at Bin […]
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Getting a Woody
Best in Pop: Brianna Gaither Last year, Brianna Gaither won this category by winning over listeners with her debut album, Love Is Patient. Apparently, her fans are just that, because here she is again. Gaither’s been testing out some new indie-pop tracks and — here’s some good news — last month recorded an intimate, live […]