Phosphorescent’s Matthew Houck has hit a career high with the release of his sixth full-length album, Muchacho, which creates the perfect blend of electronica and Americana. The album opens with bubbling electro synth and harmonized vocals in “Sun, Arise!,” which, along with its sister song “Sun’s Arising,” bookend the album.[Read More…]
Music
Suuns: Images du Futur
Suuns’ lead singer Ben Shemie refers to the environment in which his Montreal band recorded Images du Futur—the Quebec student protests of last year—as, according to the press release, “a climate of excitement, hope, and frustration.” But if the album is a political statement, it would be best described as[Read More…]
Brighton MA: Oh Lost
“We weren’t built to last; we were built to explode,” croons Matt Kerstein. The lead singer of Chicago-based quintet Brighton MA delivers the line evocatively in “Bulletproof,” the opener for the group’s sophomore release Oh Lost—and at first, one is tempted to believe him. Unfortunately, the sonic vitality seen in[Read More…]
Foals: Holy Fire
With Foal’s newest release, Holy Fire, the British indie rockers have succeeded in producing a multitude of tracks that emphasize their unique sounds. Although it does not quite reach the sheer magnitude of their masterpiece “Spanish Sahara” from their previous album Total Life Forever, they have still created a fantastic[Read More…]
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds: Push the Sky Away
Australian alternative rock band Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds have been a consistent musical force over the past 30 years. Their newest album, Push the Sky Away, proves that they’re still relevant, using haunting, minimalistic instrumentation to create an eerie atmosphere that holds steady over the album’s nine tracks.[Read More…]
Kate Nash: Girl Talk
Kate Nash seems to embody what London is all about. Although she was born in the northwest of the city, her thrift-shop dresses are more East End and Shoreditch, with their small art galleries and open air markets. When she released her first album Foundations, her distinctive cockney accent and[Read More…]
Maston: Shadows
Frank Maston has created a fast-paced, intriguing, and peculiar album with his band Maston’s latest release Shadows, one calling to mind The Beatles, The Beach Boys, and 2012’s breakthrough act Tame Impala. The album is whimsical and dreamy, zipping through to its conclusion before you know it—only one of the[Read More…]
Walk The Moon: Tightrope
Following the release of their self-titled breakout album, pop outlet Walk The Moon (WTM) garnered quite the fan following, and toured around the U.S. festival circuit this past summer. After attracting festival-goers with their playful, sing-along inducing indie-pop, WTM briefly returned to the drawing board to throw together a follow-up[Read More…]
Josh Groban: All that Echoes
Josh Groban has a new album ready to go, and it’s going to hit listeners like the opposite of a freight train. That’s not because All that Echoes is weak, nor because Groban’s voice is weak. Quite the contrary—his is the most majestically gentle voice in music today. Straddling the[Read More…]
Biffy Clyro: Opposites
With the charts dominated by catchy pop stars, and the occasional indie group who has broken through to the mainstream, it is refreshing to listen to actual rock ‘n’ roll. Biffy Clyro, a Scottish band currently touring with Muse made it big in 2007 with the release of their album[Read More…]
