LOOK WHAT I GOT TO GO SEE.

KYLIE AT THE HAMMERSTEIN BALLROOM IN NEW YORK!

Japandroids live at the Barbary

Sometimes it seems like the world is out to get you, doesn’t it? Japandroids were given about 45 minutes before Barbary’s YachtRock party took precedence at 9:15pm to put on a barreling rock show. But their tour’s theme “Everything is Fucked” reared its ugly head last night. “Par for the course,” guitarist and primary screamer Brian King explained as sound man Joe got his mic up and running after it blew. Maybe it’s Philly that has it out for the Vancouver, BC lo-fi guitar and drums duo. The last time JPNDRDS were in Philly their amp exploded on stage and they had to buy another one “down the street so we could continue the tour.”

Nevertheless, King and his kickass drummer David Prowse managed fill the room with their blasting, energetic fuzzy garage sound. Opening their set with the aptly chosen “No Allegiance to the Queen” from their Lullaby Death Jams EP with the opening “We need aiiiiiirrrrrr” howl felt fitting. It was our first chance to hear King really wail and, boy, can he. He can go loud, harsh, long and, well, he must know how to fill those lungs and let em’ out right.

The all-ages no-booze crowd seemed about right: teenage angst was present and at the front of the stage screaming back almost every lyric and moshing a little at the singles. “The Boys Are Leaving Town”—the high-energy drum-rolling anthemic opener to their first full LP Post-Nothing—was no disappointment. King gets really into it, jumping around, whipping his hair along with his spastic playing, jumping onto the platform in front of Prowse’s drumset to wave his guitar around and up in his buddy’s face. It was endearing. When sound was not an issue King let out intermittent “Wooooo!”s and “Yeah!”s between bouts of guitar-trashing.

After a new, slower song, they did “Rockers East Vancouver,” a song the drummer sings and it killed. After “Cold as Ice,” a favorite of mine from Post-Nothing with the lyric “Your heart as cold as ice/ I should know/ I’ve been to the North Pole,” they dove into “Darkness On The Edge of Gastown” from Lullaby. An angrier tune with a “Tell her!” reprise.

Unfortunately, this is where the shit started to hit the fan. This was our longest pause to figure out technical difficulties where the drummer was forced to entertain us with chit-chat while King’s mic got fixed. “Does anybody here like parties?” he asked sheepishly. “Can you tell us where to get a good cheesesteak?” he asked to shouts of “Tony Luke’s!” before a “Jim’s! Jim’s! Jim’s!” chant broke out.

We thought we were good to go again when they ripped into the single, “Young Hearts Spark Fire.” The crowd was pumped. “OK, here we go for a rousing second wind.” No. Mic went out again. “Start again!” came shouted from the crowd. After another pause for sound help, we were back on track for them to finally wail out the single like it should be. “I don’t wanna worry about dyin’/ I just wanna worry about sunshine girls,” never sounded so good.

It seems like the air was pretty much let out of the room, though. Being nice Canadians they apologized profusely, and informed us they had time for only one more song. “Crazy Forever” was the overwhelming request from the crowd, so they ended with it. And it ruled. Next time they tour maybe they’ll be as big as No Age or Vivian Girls and get their asses to Johnny Brenda’s or the Church to put on a proper face-melting set. But it was good while it lasted.

By Bill “The Shit” Chenevert, PW music intern and Real Boss Hoss.

REAL DEAL.

30 Second Reviews from 10/14

Hockey
Mind Chaos
SOUNDS LIKE: Portland, OR new wavey rock quartet (plus a fifth keys guy) with buzz and a dumb band name, music's alright/almost disco
Free Association: We think these guys don't play hockey, maybe NHL 94 on SNES
For Fans Of: LCD Soundsystem, Phoenix, Strokes

The Lovemakers
Let's Be Friends
SOUNDS LIKE: High energy electrified pop rock that blends bands that shouldn't be blended: Tegan & Sara meets Avirl LaVigne plus Blink 182
Free Association: Their debut was much more fun, this, their third, not so good
For Fans Of: Ladytron maybe? Hard K Clarkson?

The Dutchess & The Duke
Sunset/Sunrise
SOUNDS LIKE: Dark folk from Seattle goin' back to the days of Leonard Cohen and Dylan with simple, strummy songs filled out by organs and drums
Free Association: This isn't your dad's folk but it's not yours either
For Fans Of: Belle and Sebastian, Joan Baez

Basement Jaxx
Scars
SOUNDS LIKE: The UK duo drops another dose of weirdo electric but stepping up their game with guests: Santigold, Sam Sparro, Yo Majesty, and Kelis
Free Association: If you took away the guest vocals, it'd just be shit euro disco beats
For Fans Of: Daft Punk, M.I.A., raves

Jamie T.
Kings & Queens
Sounds Like: Brilliant South Londoner dubbed a one-man-Arctic-Monkey has high energy hooks, quick delivery and loads of talent
Free Association: There's a nice touch of hip hop glazed over his punishing lyricism
For Fans Of: Strokes meets Dizzee Rascal, Beasties

Fool's Gold
Fool's Gold
SOUNDS LIKE: Delightful debut of L.A. collective specializing in afro-pop but not in the trendy way, this is world music from America with Hebrew singing
Free Association: Born of barbecues and backyards, this is joyous sunny times on disc
For Fans Of: Authentic Vampire Weekend, Blk Jks

Espers
III
SOUNDS LIKE: Philly quintet's third LP of acid folk is a variety pack of weird influences: baroque, traditional folk, prog, and jazz improv
Free Association: The milk-eyed mender has taken too many pills and she's pissed
For Fans Of: Donovan meets Tool, Joanna Newsom

AFI
Crash Love
SOUNDS LIKE: Surprisingly not terrible post-punk power rock from bad-haired Californians eschewing the pitfalls of emo, barely
Free Association: So many bands do it 100x worse than you, so points for that
For Fans Of: Rise Against, Pennywise, tattoos

SUPER REAL.

30 Second Reviews from 10/7

Girls
Album
SOUNDS LIKE: Two druggy 29 year olds making ethereal California pop with asides in garage and psychedlia and it's as dank as their herb
FREE ASSOCIATION: Good thing you ran away from your Children of God childhood
FOR FANS OF: Ariel Pink, Holy Shit!, No Age

Wild Beasts
Two Dancers
SOUNDS LIKE: Quirky, breezy indie rock from Britain with equal moments of lightly bouncy and theatrically dramatic; quite good, cheerio
FREE ASSOCIATION: The lady voice, Hayden Thorpe, has a Kate Bush thing goin' on
FOR FANS OF: Happier Antony & Johnsons + Queen

The Hidden Cameras
Origin: Orphan
SOUNDS LIKE: The gay boys from Canada fill out their sound some taking queer political ditties and making them big, dark and symphonic
FREE ASSOCIATION: I miss the simpler days of "Boys of Melody" and "Awoo"
FOR FANS OF: Magnetic Fields, gayer Belle & Sebastian

Dodos
Time to Die
SOUNDS LIKE: The San Fran duo's third and follow-up to the effing amazing "Visiter" is a slightly calmer version of their guitar/drums explosiveness
FREE ASSOCIATION: Yup, pretty much screwed yourself with that badass sophomore
FOR FANS OF: Vampire Weekend, slow Animal Collective

Amy Milan
Masters of the Burial
SOUNDS LIKE: A soft and spare collection of simple folksy songs from our Stars girl, usually just her and a guitar with splashes of country and blues
FREE ASSOCIATION: She's got a cute transmitter lodged in her vocal chords
FOR FANS OF: Broken Social Scene, slow Metric

Air
Love 2
SOUNDS LIKE: A slowed down version of the Frenchies' electronic futuristic space pop crafted for lounging, soundtracks and making love
FREE ASSOCIATION: Dippin' into the red wine, haven't you? Or you're turning 40, or both!
FOR FANS OF: Boards of Canada, Phoenix/Daft Punk

Kurt Vile
Childish Prodigy
SOUNDS LIKE: Local boy done good with this epic rock record that is somehow punk and pop, sloppy and neat, harsh and sweet at the same time
FREE ASSOCIATION: Behind all that distortion and reverb lies a romantic gentleman
FOR FANS OF: M. Ward x J Cash + My Bloody Valentine

Melvins
Chicken Switch
SOUNDS LIKE: Experimental remixes of the post-punk minimalists that range from dancy electro to unlistenable grindy, crunchy noise
FREE ASSOCIATION: What the hell is that... Is something wrong with my stereo?
FOR FANS OF: Brian Eno PISSED/on acid

SO REAL.

30 Second Reviews from 9/30

The Black Heart Procession
Six
SOUNDS LIKE: The droney, dramatic indie rock powerhouses drop their much-anticipated Sixth but it’s slower, darker and moodier than ever before
FREE ASSOCIATION: This definitely requires black; all black, dye, denim, makeup
FOR FANS OF: Explosions in the Sky + sleeping pills

Turbo Fruits
Echo Kid
SOUNDS LIKE: Be Your Own Pet spin-off that’s a trio from Tennessee - sloppy and chunky, bluesy and rambunctious, thrashy and a little much
FREE ASSOCIATION: There are just so many other bands that do this better than you
FOR FANS OF: Monotonix down a notch, Black Keys

Orenda Fink
Ask The Night
SOUNDS LIKE: Azure Ray singer’s second solo effort is a beautifully sad and tender collection of spooky southern and bluegrass heart-wrenchers
FREE ASSOCIATION: You must’ve had a lot of heart-ache to be singing like this
FOR FANS OF: Neko Case, Loretta Lynn, Beth Orton

Califone
All My Friends Are Funeral Singers
SOUNDS LIKE: Chicago’s folk rock outfit has given us another gem of experimental bluesy indie rock infused with starry-night country western flavors
FREE ASSOCIATION: This is what happens with Funeral Singer Friends? I need some
FOR FANS OF: DeVotchka, Will Oldham, campfires

Royal Bangs
Let It Beep
SOUNDS LIKE: Tennessee boys with a buzz to them whose second LP is a super-listenable blend of arty, proggy, electro-garage rock that the kids are gonna love
FREE ASSOCIATION: Add a dash of trendy folk art and a tour with label-mates Drummer, you rich
FOR FANS OF: Radiohead, Passion Pit, Hot Chip

Karl Blau
Zebra
SOUNDS LIKE: Weird white boy from Washington’s a producer and man of many bands, but this is a great record of jazzy, quirky, rhythmic compositions of freak folk rock
Free Association: Hoped that crazy record cover would a good sign; and it is
FOR FANS OF: Beck, Brazil, bossa nova

Kill Hannah
Wake Up The Sleepers
SOUNDS LIKE: Shiny, plastic-wrapped emo power rock from Chicago who did indeed get their name from a romance gone bad and presumably all of their romances are still going bad
FREE ASSOCIATION: Hard to imagine who still listens to this ish; Papa Roach fans?
FOR FANS OF: Chevelle, HIM, Dashboard

Drummer
Feel Good Together
SOUNDS LIKE: The Black Keys drummer brings together other drummers to not play the drums, too, and you can pretty much tell; it’s a decent but not great record
FREE ASSOCIATION: Those drum kit microphones might be giving you the wrong idea
FOR FANS OF: Watery Band of Horses, Pearl/Yamaha

REALEST DEAL ON EARTH.

30 Second Reviews from 9/23

Jay-Z
The Blueprint 3
SOUNDS LIKE: The living hip hop legend's third LP since his 'retirement' is a sick collection of club-bangers, guests and slow jams
FREE ASSOCIATION: Hove, where's that Beyonce collab? You can't have her to yourself
FOR FANS OF: Yankee hats, hip hop, Blueprints

The xx
xx
SOUNDS LIKE: 20-year-old Brits writing brilliant eerie, sexy and ambient rock songs about sex, love, dating and doing so whispy-like
FREE ASSOCIATION: Show me this record and I'd crawl into your dirty bed, crooked teeth and all
FOR FANS OF: Interpol, Portishead, sexy times

Sondre Lerche
Heartbeat Radio
SOUNDS LIKE: The Norwegian indie darling gives a softer record than Phantom Punch but not as jazzy as Two Way Monologue, it's just right
FREE ASSOCIATION: Why'd you have to go and marry some Scandinavian model?
FOR FANS OF: Jens Lekman, Lykke Li, Royksopp, Lindstrom

The Antlers
Hospice
SOUNDS LIKE: What started as low-fi folk in a Brooklyn bedroom became a chamber pop force of nature and it's fully realized on this gorgeous record
FREE ASSOCIATION: Damn, you're on some eerie Grizzly Bear tip; but slower and creepier
FOR FANS OF: Dept. of Eagles, Grandaddy

Rain Machine
Rain Machine
SOUNDS LIKE: TV on the Radio's guitarist Kyp Malone's solo record is a long, meandering meditation on his crazy pseudo-yodle
FREE ASSOCIATION: Some Joanna Newsom shit done by a black man with an afro and big glasses
FOR FANS OF: Dear Science, Desperate Youth

The Shaky Hands
Let It Die
SOUNDS LIKE: Portland's jangle-pop indie darlings' second LP on Kill Rock Stars is non-stop strummin', singin' and bangin' all sad but sunny
FREE ASSOCIATION: If only all dudes who move to Portland and started a band sounded like this
FOR FANS OF: Blizten Trapper, better Decemberists

Monsters of Folk
Monsters of Folk
SOUNDS LIKE: A super-quartet includes two Bright Eyes dudes (Conor), M. Ward and Jim James of My Morning Jacket hatch a project; doesn't suck
FREE ASSOCIATION: It's not all Kumbaya or "Blowin' in the Wind," this is sick modern folk
FOR FANS OF: Jenny Lewis, younger Wilco

Flying Machines
Flying Machines
SOUNDS LIKE: New York boys' debut is hyped, not totally undeserved, and sounds like a Queen, ELO, the Jam and Weezer burrito
FREE ASSOCIATION: Sounded totally shitty at first (emo/tired/done before), but this one's a grower
FOR FANS OF: Moody lyrics, shiny modernism

REAL DEAL!

I made a video.

The video quality is garbage. The sound is not. Don't squint too much.

PW feature on Benni E.

Rapping With A Queer Twist
Gay female rapper Benni E.’s success is imminent.

by Bill Chenevert

The 941 Theater, a BYO venue on North Front St. in Northern Liberties, is filled with girls looking like boys and boys dancing like girls. Twenty-somethings with beards and decked in plaid dance like sissies. Dykes in tank tops and pompadours rub up against their girlfriends. They’re smiling ear to ear and bumpin’ as Sgt. Sass drop their latest EP, Body Rock, with the help of their girl Benni Emilia.

If Sgt. Sass is the beating heart of Philly’s queer hip-hop scene, then Benni E. is the blood pulsating through it. The 25-year-old rapper is here, she’s queer and she doesn’t give a fuck about the homophobic and mysognistic attitudes that characterize most big money rappers. She’s on a journey to become the first gay rapper to hit big.

“I want mainstream success. I’m talkin’ about breakin’ barriers,” says Benni. 


The South Philly native sees the power in music—just rapping about gay life becomes an act of protest, musical activism—and she won’t let the masculine posturing of the rap game, claims of riches and Cristal-fueled mega club-bangers keep her at arms length.

“Right now, going mainstream and being a queer hip hop artist are exclusive things. I think that’s why we push ourselves and we push our envelope because it shouldn’t be.”

“Gay boys, making hip hop is a revolutionary act,” raps Deep Dickollective. “Gay girls, making hip-hop is a revolutionary act.” Revolutionizing hip-hop is what Benni hopes to accomplish with her latest mixtape, Microphone Influenza. Some of the perfectly produced and studio-polished gems from Influenza were the tracks that floored at 941: “I’m Good,” “Sickest Emcee,” Girlz to Church” and “Fashion Scene” to name a few. 


Like many queer rap artists including Sgt. Sass, Benni is taking the hip-hop’s homophobia and spinning gold out of hate. Consciousness doesn’t have to mean boring. Gay artists intend to take conscious rap where Common and Talib took it, but with more color and fierceness. Benni’s trim head sometimes gets covered in a colorful bob wig or with just a fresh New Era hat, stickers on and everything. Fashion is actually important to the Art Institute alum. “People judge you before they know who you are,” Benni explains. “Fashion is a way to make a statement.” So she rocks jeans, high-tops, and fly printed T-shirts, not the dresses and skirts her Panamanian mom expected her to wear as a kid. That’s just the packaging though; the message from Benni is the real product.

OutHipHop.com owner and editor Camilo Arenivar is launching his own LGBT indie hip hop label and has his eye on Benni. “Her flow is just incredible. Her stage presence and her delivery, she just got up there like a class act as if rapping and rhyming was like breathing to her,” he commended. “I think she has an appearance, an appeal that will work. She’s fire.” 


Philly could be the home of the first queer rapper to achieve big things and take hip-hop to a new and exciting place. 


Benni’s been proactively affecting change at large and in Philly for years now. She began reciting conscious poems and lyrics, which she first performed at Duiji Mshinda’s Poems Not Prisons in West Philly at the age of 20. She’s marched in rallies for peace and queer rights, and recently completed work with City Year, a non-profit that’s embedding full-time volunteers in schools as tutors and after-school care providers. 


But at the end of the day, says Benni, “the pen is mightier than the sword,” and right now she’s focused on the rap game. She recently accompanied the members of Sgt. Sass to San Francisco’s Homo-A-Go-Go, a big gay festival of arts and performance. She met up with Philly’s DJ Bunnystyle, her longtime collaborator and live DJ, and Steven Bloodbath to talk about future tracks they’ll be putting down together. Last week she emceed and performed a short set at local FTM Parker Gard’s ByeBye Boobies Benefit, a queer open mic and performance night to raise money for top surgery. Next week, she embarks on a Boston adventure headlining a queer night at Zuzu, put on by DJ D’hana and Paul Foley, and then joins a roster of performers for Aliza Shapiro’s TraniWreck at the Middle East. She’s busy. 


Right now it’s a collection of songs for a mixtape called The Ninth Oz Child. “I’m breaking away from the party-hearty hip-hop,” she says. It’s a prologue to a future full-length, a testing of the waters to generate press and create more opportunities to get on the mic. It’s going down with the help of Neal Dexter, the RUINIT producer she met through Philly’s Chang Chang, in his Jersey studio. Benni’s not into playing to an audience just looking for the next hot electro beat. She’s going to do it lyrically and not with songs about booze, but injustices. 


She’s following through on a struggle that began in Southern California in the mid-’90s with queer hip-hop legends Rainbow Flava and Deep Dickollective (D/DC). “People made the way for us like D/DC, Deadlee, Tori Fixx. These cats laid the groundwork and it’s time for us to pick up our weight and do what we’re supposed to do,” she says. 


The infiltration of gay rappers in hip-hop is now a multi-city movement with over 100 out LGBT rappers and producers thriving in three primary urban pockets: New York, L.A./San Francisco and Atlanta. “I use hip-hop as my venue as an artist—it’s what I use to get whatever I’m going through in my life out,” says Sgt. Sass’s DaQuan. “I happen to be queer so that’s what I’m gonna talk about.” “Faggot Snappin’” might be the perfect example of Sgt. Sass’ gay ways: “First you gotta limp your wrist with attitude and snap it back,” DaQuan raps. “Flip your hair like you don’t care, roll your back and snap right/ Some don’t like the term I use to label up this brand new dance/ I hear the word everyday, they call me it at every chance.” 


Benni’s battle won’t be easy, she’s got two industry strikes against her: Hip-hop continues to take pride in lyrical gay bashing and misogyny. To be a queer rapper reaching for mainstream exposure you’ve got to be pretty damn amazing and Alex Hinton’s Pick Up The Mic documentary revealed the struggle for gay hip-hop artists across the country. From homo-central New York City to Houston, Texas’ Miss Money, to Madison, Wis., there’s a whole stable of gays, lesbians, trans and bisexual men and women grappling with the crushing truth that they’ll probably never achieve the stardom they hope for. 


It’s the reason most queer rappers are content to just play to their own crowd. “Sissies will go buy a sissy record,” says Juba Kalamka of Body Rock, one of the two masterminds behind Deep Dickollective. With over twenty years of emceeing under his tube dress, he has a firm grasp on what success for a queer rapper means and knows that artists like Benni will be hard-pressed to sell 15-20,000 records, the kind of numbers major labels want to see as proof that you can sell. 


Some homo hip-hoppers may be content to dwell in the success of their respective underground cultures, but Benni wants more. “If you make good music you make good music,” she says. “It doesn’t matter what genre, what your background is. If you’re makin’ good music people are gonna support you.” 


Benni knows that there’s no money in keepin’ it local and has been able to make a living performing and with Yo Majesty's success, a Tampa, Fla.-born outspoken lesbian trio of rappers, it doesn't seem so far off. Their explicit and often nudity-filled stage performances have been well-received by critics, homos and forward-thinking straights. It’s a spotlight that Benni may be able to capitalize on, though she’s definitely not getting naked. She doesn’t have to. Benni Emilia’s got the goods, the flow, the beats and the charm.

THE REAL DEAL (Look! Comments!).

Monotonix are effing nuts.

The Israeli punks in Monotonix are something else. They sing in English but it might as well be Hebrew. It’s nearly unintelligible. But that doesn’t really matter – their brand of garage rock is dirty, gritty and heavy on the guitars and wails. Where Were You When It Happened? is their first proper LP after their successful 2008 Drag City EP Body Language. Clocking in at half an hour with eight songs, it’s a rollicking bundle of energy full of screams, moans, drum rolls, feedback, crescendos and lulls.

Their live show reputation precedes them. Notorious for lewd, crude behavior (pouring beers on heads, climbing walls and lighting things on fire) resulting in audience members likely heading home with bruises and scratches, the question is if their antics live up to a record of substance. From the first track, a barreling two-minute introduction called “Flesh And Blood,” you get a Black Keys vibe but more like if those Ohio boys got wasted, pissed off, and took it out on their guitar and drums.

It’s not easy to assert levels of punk in hard, guitar-heavy rock, but these guys are somewhere between Royal Trux, angry Led Zeppelin and Thin Lizzy. They’ve done a couple tours with the Silver Jews but at their gnarliest moments, Where Were You sounds like a Black Sabbath record. Album standout “I Can’t Take It Anymore” is a more digestible rock song. Despite lead singer Ami Shalev’s muffled screams, it slows at the chorus and its churning guitar and syncopated drumbeat are damn near classic rock. You can actually decipher some lyrics on the following “My Needs,” when Shalev moans “what are my neeeeds, what are my neeeeeds.” “Something Had Dried” is the closest the trio get to straight up blues. Each verse gets its due punk treatment of thrashes and freak-outs but it keeps coming back to a rolling blues lick. “Set Me Free” is probably the most radio-friendly tune; another slower, deliberate rock song with a catchy drum beat and a minimal sense of anarchy.

This is not for the faint of rock heart. The nastiness is not far from the trio emerging from a bush of pubic hair spilling out of un-zipped jeans on the cover of the record. But late at night with some alcohol-fueled gusto, I’m sure pushing around the drummer and his bass drum as he surfs the crowd and pounds on his tom would be the sweetest thing on earth. Even if you bruise a wrist.

The REAL DEAL.

30 Second Reviews from 9/16

Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson
Break Up
SOUNDS LIKE: Yorn was going for a Serge Gainsbourg/Brigitte Bardot thing and ScarJo doesn't ruin his emo guitary duets completely
FREE ASSOCIATION: Babe, these aren't Waits songs, you have to really sing
FOR FANS OF: Match Point, L.A., "Life on a Chain"

The Proclaimers
Notes & Rhymes
SOUNDS LIKE: The '500 Miles' twins are still making ultra-Scottish records that are equal parts pub rock, Nashville, Beatlemania and UK folk
FREE ASSOCIATION: How many songs into their set do drunks start yelling '500 Miles!'?
FOR FANS OF: The '80s + the movie Once

Sea Wolf
White Water, White Bloom
SOUNDS LIKE: Literary chamber pop full of strings and organs, inspired by a love affair in Montreal and executed in Omaha with a Bright Eyes producer
FREE ASSOCIATION: Shoulda recorded it in Canada, woulda sounded less like Conor Oberst
FOR FANS OF: Sad Stars, orchestral Rilo Kiley

Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers
The Bear
SOUNDS LIKE: Western MA native and road warrior who writes sappy country-tinged folksy songs that could be terrible but manage to be charming
FREE ASSOCIATION: A band that could somehow fit in at state fairs, the Opry, and Mercury Lounge
FOR FANS OF: Jackson Browne, the Band, Rhett Miller

The Rifles
Great Escape
SOUNDS LIKE: East London boys' second LP and US debut is full of punchy, short, mod rock reminiscent of every 21st century UK indie rock band
FREE ASSOCIATION: Don't young Brits grow up listening to more than Oasis and the Clash?
FOR FANS OF: Straighter Bloc Party, the Kooks

Thrice
Beggars
SOUNDS LIKE: Anaheim, CA quartet of prog rockers' follow up their epic Alchemy EP cycle with serious cerebro-rock taking themselves very seriously
FREE ASSOCIATION: Opening for Brand New and Rise Against might seem like a good idea but...
FOR FANS OF: Slower Muse, Warped Tours

Miley Cyrus
The Time of Our Lives
SOUNDS LIKE: Disney and Walmart team up to re-package the 16-y.o. puppet's Avril-wannabe whiney bullshit, minus "Party In The U.S.A." - pure gold
FREE ASSOCIATION: The world waits for her Jonas Bros. gang-bang sex tape with baited breath
FOR FANS OF: Taylor Swift, Hillary Duff

Karl Denson's Tiny Universe
Brother's Keeper
SOUNDS LIKE: The Cali funk guru got some help (Ndegeochello, funky as hell on the bass) but his Greyboy Allstars ish was more electrically fun
FREE ASSOCIATION: You can almost smell the herb and envision the hoola-hoopers
FOR FANS OF: Festivals of groove, Curtis Mayfield


The real deal.

30 Second Reviews from 9/9

Ladyhawke
Ladyhawke
SOUNDS LIKE: Nicely packaged re-release of the New Zealand chick's popularized pseudo-dance electro emo pop that's boring
FREE ASSOCIATION: Cute drawings, headbands, and album art won't work on me, this is a snooze
FOR FANS OF: Imogen Heap, Tegan & Sara

Castanets
Texas Rose, The Thaw & The Beasts
SOUNDS LIKE: Quiet, gentle and creepy freak folk with breezy little flourishes of country and blues that'll haunt you good and slow
FREE ASSOCIATION: What if a drunk Loretta Lynn stumbled into a Portland open-mic night?
FOR FANS OF: WIll Oldham, Devotchka

The Get Up Kids
something to write home about reissue
SOUNDS LIKE: Kansas City band's big deal '99 re-release that combines elements of timeless powerpop and avoids the pitfalls of ultra-emo crap
FREE ASSOCIATION: They make these whippersnapper long-hairs with their tattoos and celeb GFs look stupid
FOR FANS OF: Lil' Weezer, lil' Jets to Brazil, lil' Superchunk

Throw Me The Statue
Creaturesque
SOUNDS LIKE: Jangly, poppy sophomore effort from a Vassar boy using a computer and guitar to make happy times tunes that are casually spoke/sang
FREE ASSOCIATION: Secretly Canadian was all over this one, he's so indie he had to tour with Jens Lekman
FOR FANS OF: Shins, Say Hi To Your Mom, Sufjan

Os Mutantes
Haih or Amortecedor
SOUNDS LIKE: The kings of Brazilian tropicalia, who debuted in '68, rolled some reunion shows into a record of new material - muy bueno
FREE ASSOCIATION: Moody, rhythmic, spicy and joyous; ultra-authentic Latin flavor
FOR FANS OF: Sweaty tequila nights, hip shaking

Manic Street Preachers
Journal For Plague Lovers
SOUNDS LIKE: Legendary glam-punk rockers of '90s London put missing member's lyrics to music with Nirvana producer at the helm
FREE ASSOCIATION: You say you sold more copies of Generation Terrorists than Appetite for Destruction? Bollocks
FOR FANS OF: In Utero, The Verve, Smashing Pumpkins

Billy Talent
III
SOUNDS LIKE: Repetitive un-interesting powerpop-punk from Canada's third LP whose lead singer's voice is brutal, every song's the same
FREE ASSOCIATION: How the hell did they win a Juno? Oh wait, Nickelback won 12
FOR FANS OF: Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance

Le Loup
Family
SOUNDS LIKE: D.C. indie collective's second LP of wicked soundscapes: slowly built loops, banjo and guitar, chanty and choral vocals
FREE ASSOCIATION: Finally someone's figured out what Animal Collective has been doing right
FOR FANS OF: Fleet Foxes, Panda Bear


An image.

I love this woman.