Review: Kittens Ablaze – The Monstrous Vanguard
I wrote about Kittens Ablaze and their Hot Litter EP last year and was super stoked to hear their new album The Monstrous Vanguard. It sounds like a cross Between Okkervil River and Defiance, Ohio with a little bit of Bloc Party thrown in for good measure if you can imagine that. This Brooklyn sextet (Read more…)
It’s A(nother) Girl
I know that I’ve mentioned before that not only do we have a crazed (but adorable) little 3 year old daughter, but we have another one on the way. That shouldn’t be a surprise to any of you regulars. Well, we found out earlier this week that we are having another girl. That’s right IT’S (Read more…)
Review: Liquid Limbs – Orquid
So what the fuck is with this Liquid Limbs record, Orquid? It is dark, heavy, and mathy without being any of those things. It’s weird. This Gainesville, FL duo (and what the fuck is up with duo’s being the new power trio?) plays rock music that is noisy and sludgy and, well, just a bit (Read more…)
Review: The Sea And Cake – Car Alarm
I remarked earlier today that despite being insanely and consistently great, there is something utterly unassuming and almost overly confident about The Sea And Cake. I mean, Car Alarm, their latest, and eighth, full-length is, like its predecessors, played and produced with the sort of impeccable attention to detail usually reserved for modern architecture and (Read more…)
Review: Joan Of Arc – Boo! Human
Tim Kinsella. He’s a polarizing force in music and has been for quite some time, at least here in Chicago. From his days as in Cap’n Jazz through his time in Owls, Make Believe, and (yes) Joan Of Arc. Kinsella’s work (despite occasional melodic bursts) is challenging and something that 99% of most people just (Read more…)
A month or two in the life of…
So let’s see, what has been going on around here lately? Lately as in since December or so. Yeah, right before Christmas I mentioned that the wifey is pregnant and she has basically had some sort of morning sickness almost every day since then, so yeah, that’s been tons of fun. We will (hopefully) find (Read more…)
Review: The Shaking Hands – The Shaking Hands
The Shaking Hands are a punk band from Gainesville, FL that is both melodic and a bit abrasive. Imagine that. The band also features members of Young Livers so that’s got to count for something, right? Anyhow, The Shaking Hands (previously known as The Horror) have released their self-titled debut as The Shaking Hands and (Read more…)
Review: Little Joy – Little Joy
Upon first listen to Little Joy’s self-titled debut I immediately thought, “This band sounds kinda like a way more sublime and breezy version of The Strokes,” so I was surprised to find out that Little Joy is the side project of Strokes drummer Fabrizio Moretti (along with Brazilian singer Rodrigo Amarante and Binki Shapiro). First, (Read more…)
Certain People I Know – Live in Urbana 2/13/09
Friday night I drove down to Champaign-Urbana for the first time in a few years to meet my brother and see the first ever Certain People I Know (CPIK) show and also the Smoking Popes. Coincidentally (or not) I also saw the first Hey Mercedes show back in 2000, and even though it has been (Read more…)
