REALIZER & MATT TONDUT – “MEMORIES” This collaboration between two guitarists Realizer and Matt Tondut showcase the two trading melodic leads, lines soaked in warm reverb, washes of delay and a sense of lived in sonic space that feels comfortable and nostalgic, making up for some of the more dynamic push-and-pull found in guitar duos …
Fantastic musical ventures have formed out of two people in love. We have: John Lennon & Yoko Ono, Yo La Tengo, Sonic Youth, Bjork & Matthew Barney, Handsome Furs, Mates of State, etc… All of these aforementioned artists tend to be on the loud, messy side. Each collaboration being marked with the same roller coaster …
On a cold night circa 2007 I wandered into a coffee shop and encountered a young man in a confrontation with his guitar and his gentle, fragile voice. After cutting the show short and mumbling a heartfelt apology to the 10-15 of us there I walked back out into the biting cold and the name …
GRIZZLY PROSPECTOR – OLD MOUNTAIN RADIO (MAGIC GOAT, 2009) Read More »
shy away from the equation like this: x + x + x = band. But really I shy away from any math equation. Not my thing. I tend to view the for section or most RIYL not as signifiers of an obvious sound that is easily reduced to two or three artists in a similar …
What if we lived in a culture devoid of referentiality. What would our music sound like? What would we talk about? How could music critics survive? I did an interesting thing on my 1,000,000th listen of Dragonslayer, I made a quick and dirty list of musical touchstones and direct influences I could find in Mr. …
SUNSET RUBDOWN – DRAGONSLAYER (JAGJAGUWAR, 2009) Read More »
One of my favorite and most-listened to albums of the year so far is also the hardest to pin down and describe. I’m not sure if this is due more to the fact that Here We Go Magic’s self-titled debut is all over the place stylistically, or if I’m just not as clever as I …
HERE WE GO MAGIC – HERE WE GO MAGIC (WESTERN VINYL, 2009) Read More »
This summer has been watershed year for cross-over metal acts putting out super solid albums, June saw Wolves in the Throne Room, Isis, and Human Quenna Orchestra laying down some thick slabs of pure heavy-ness winning over tons of new fans in the process. While I have been eager to jump on those releases, SunnO))) …
SUNNO))) – MONOLITHS AND DIMENSIONS (SOUTHERN LORD, 2009) Read More »
“It was very still. The tree was tall and straggling. It had thrown its briers over the Hawthorne-bush, and its long streamers trailed thick, right down to the grass, splashing the darkness everywhere with great split stars, pure white…The dusk came like smoke around, and still did not put out the roses.” D.H Lawrence, Sons …
CABINET OF NATURAL CURIOSITIES – SEARCHLIGHT NEEDLES (CINCOPE, 2009) Read More »
The symbol of the beehive has a special meaning that is largely forgotten in Salt Lake City. Once a symbol used by the settlers of this great valley to remind them of the necessity of cooperation, communal empathy, and fortiteous industry to survive in this far flung desert, the power of the beehive’s influence in …
GERMAN SHEPHERD – BEEHIVE: SYMBOL OF COOPERATION AND INDUSTRY (FALL, 2009) Read More »
This past weekend, I had the pleasure of playing in and attending the 9th annual Denver Post Underground Music Showcase where I saw perhaps one of the most earth-shattering performances of my career as a music geek and lover: Kingdom of Magic. Kingdom is about the most powerful power trio I’ve heard in years – …
MEGAFAUN – GATHER, FORM AND FLY (HOMETAPES, 2009) Read More »