Is mankind hurtling to its ignominious end, like so many lemmings over a cliff? Simon Neil is sure he’s seen the telltale signs. And the gallows-humored Biffy Clyro anchor isn’t afraid of covering the extinction topic on his trio’s surprise, lockdown-sculpted new album, The Myth of the Happy Ever After. With no apology, it opens […]
Trying to be all things to everyone is a fruitless pursuit. It’s impossible on a logistical scale, much less an imaginative one, and no one ends up being satisfied. That being said, Mastodon’s latest album Hushed and Grim (out Friday through Reprise) is, in a way, a Mastodon record for all Mastodon fans. Whatever era […]
Twelve years ago, Enjambre was on the brink of breaking up before taking off due to another pandemic, 2009’s swine flu pandemic. Fortunately, the band hung in there and have released seven albums that blended the romanticism of Mexican folk music with rock and roll that’s rooted in the U.S. Amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, […]
“Balance and Surrender” is apparently the name of a yoga studio in Tamworth, England. It also could have easily been the title of My Morning Jacket’s ninth LP. First, the balance: It’s the only reason we even have this self-titled project, their first new album since 2015’s The Waterfall (and its temporarily shelved sequel from the same sessions, […]
When actor, novelist and musician David Duchovny was 10 years old, he failed his Grace Church School choir audition in front of a bunch of his friends. Even worse, they’d assured him that nobody gets rejected. As Duchovny tells it, he misunderstood the instruction. When he was told to sing the note “after” the one […]
Way back in the ancient days of October 2009, Dave Hause hit the road with Chuck Ragan (Hot Water Music), Jim Ward (At the Drive-In and Sparta), a slew of other revolving artists, and their acoustic guitars. It was the second annual Revival Tour — an alcohol-fueled romp featuring punk rockers playing acoustic, folksy versions […]
Sitting in a car to obscure the noise from a shoot for an upcoming music video while donning shades, a white shirt, and a pair of flame-emblazoned black shorts, Ice Nine Kills frontman Spencer Charnas is eager to talk about the start of his love of slashers, the catalyst that would eventually become the band’s […]
Interviews are a bit of a tricky proposition for Maxo Kream. Sure, like any rapper ascending the pantheon of the music industry he knows they’re advantageous if not entirely necessary to promote his music. But, as he contends when we speak via phone one October afternoon a few weeks before he’s set to release his […]
There’s something to admire about the effervescent gleam that radiates from BLACKSTARKIDS. From the bravado they proudly carry on songs like “Britney Bitch” to an aesthetic consisting of neon clothes and flowing afros, the group’s inherent charisma stems from simply being their authentic selves. The trio—consisting of Ty, The Babe Gabe and Deiondre—manages to infuse […]
Concept albums are a thing of the past in country music. High-minded conceits like Johnny Cash Sings the Ballads of the True West and Willie Nelson Red Headed Stranger were much en vogue in the 1960s and ‘70s. Today, an album like Sturgill Simpson’s The Ballad of Dood and Juanita are the exception, not the […]