[ rock/pop ] Marina Diamandis attempts an odd, fraught and rather confusing conceptual tightrope walk on Electra Heart (679/Atlantic), endeavoring to critique the vapidity and corruption of American popular culture by symbolically/theatrically embodying those very qualities in the guise of…
[ hip-hop/meme ] Think-piece lightning rod, anonymous-comment hater-bait, rap game co-sign collector freckle-faced Daytona Beach teen Kitty Beckwiths been having quite a summer. Since inadvertently touching off a hype-wave and backlash back in May with the giggling,…
[ rock/pop ] From the Woody Guthrie-referencing title and artwork, and a straight-faced (if playfully skronky) cover of Merle Travis’ “16 Tons,” you might suppose that This Machine (The End) would be the Dandy Warhols’ stab at a folk-influenced record.…
[ rock/pop ] There’s something almost quaint about this show. Since when do rock bands (OK, make that rock bands under 40) play stadium concerts anymore? It fits, though, with the rather anachronistically gradual, grassroots path the Black Keys have…
[ rock/pop ] Here they come … from all over the world! This season’s fun-lovin’ indie-pop triple-bill to beat is a truly global affair. Secretly Australian headliners Architecture in Helsinki, coming around again to double your pleasure, are touring on…
[ rock/folk ] Over the course of England Keep My Bones (Epitaph), his thoroughly righteous fourth solo album, folk-punk troubadour Frank Turner raises a musical glass to Dylan, Springsteen, Johnny Cash and Freddie Mercury and sure, they’re all in…
Oh My Goodness What That Man Can Do With A Crossfader Along with the sudden onset of sweltery (pretend) summer, this Monday kicked off one of the most dizzying and jam-packed weeks of shows this town has seen in months.…
[ folk ] Lion Versus’ new record, Five Hearts, which arrives in a beautifully crafted hand-printed package complete with wax seal and calligraphic insert, runs a compact 25 minutes, but that’s plenty enough time for the sweetly brooding sounds of…
[ electronic ] Essex, England’s Derwin Panda (as he dubiously claims is his given name) can be likened to the current wave of Los Angeles beatmakers (Flying Lotus, Nosaj Thing) for his fluidly choppy, subtly hip-hop-inflected grooves. But he’s also…
[ rock/pop ] Nicole Atkins’ first record, 2007’s Neptune City, was a swoony, string-laden affair with echoes of Roy Orbison and Phil Spector. The considerably grittier, noir-ish Mondo Amore (Razor & Tie) retains that distinct retro flair (and her penchant…
