In the print version of Verbicide, I once declared that Flogging Molly were the best active punk band in the world. I stand by that, although I probably don’t listen to quite enough punk anymore to judge. However, Flogging Molly are now in the most treacherous phase of a punk band’s career: maturing. Somehow already [...]

Is Spoon the New Power Generation for the Pitchfork crowd? That’s the question posited by Spoon’s seventh studio album, Transference. Just think about that funky Batman soundtrack if you don’t get the connection. It’s easily to see Prince’s “Future” slipping between the one-two punch of Transference’s, “Who Makes Your Money” and “Written In Reverse.” Rob [...]

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists have arrived on the almighty Matador Records with The Brutalist Bricks, a nonstop work of musical expertise. It’s a beautiful thing to hear veterans of a genre sounding so fresh and new. And it’s not just Ted Leo’s songwriting (though that is quite strong) — The Pharmacists cannot go unnoticed. [...]

Jason Collett has one topic he wants to cover on his newest album, Rat A Tat Tat. That topic is love — the good, the bad, and the alt-country. It’s well-worn territory in that genre, yet Collett’s music never feels stale. While not every track is memorable — and oftentimes falls into easy listening background [...]

Driving melodic punk rock is what The Reveling is all about. Hailing from Brooklyn, their sound is filled with a certain working class rawness that fittingly represents their hometown environment.
Within the four songs featured on this EP it’s clear we are hearing the works of a musically tight band…

The Silver Lake quintet Local Natives have been compared to groups such as Vampire Weekend, Animal Collective, and other bands that combine modern day indie rock with international influences. However, to this lowly reviewer’s ears, there are no hints of afropop, or lo-fi calamity present on their debut full-length…

The Ruby Suns have teleported to today from a past where pop was catchy and high-spirited, but they are integrating quite well with us here in 2010. They’ve created a type of hybridized style of ’80s dance and world music that is incredibly intricate in its design. In fact, think The Smiths without any instruments [...]

Xiu Xiu are theater people. I haven’t read a line of their bios, but they are — even if they don’t know it. They’re overstated, obnoxious, and consumed with self-love disguised as self-hate. On the plus side that makes for great theater, and they also happen to be great musicians (even if their songwriting [...]

The BCASA represent a big part of the Montreal punk scene, but to every other city, they’re just another band with an unusual long name: The B*ll C*sby Anarchist Society of America (censored after receiving a cease and desist order from Bill Cosby’s lawyers). Well, that’s soon to change…

Why do we frequent coffee shops? Of course for the reward of a hot, frothy, morning treat after forking over a hefty ransom of cash. But other than that, we continue to visit our favorite java haunts to experience its traditional ambience; the dim, cool, lighting…

Okay…point blank: I have never listened to Alkaline Trio. For serious. Never. They’re just one of them bands that I’ve heard of for a while (12 years or so, I’m guessing?) and never went out of my way to stick ‘em in my ear. So I heard they were one of them there “pop-punk bands,” [...]

Man/Miracle is a rock band, an unapologetic, beer-swilling, hot-blooded, blues n’ druids rock band. They write songs about pain, misery, and no-good women, and their debut album The Shape of Things is frontloaded with record-collector classics like Mott the Hoople, Love, and Os Mutantes.

Karen Page’s music hits you like a schizophrenic grandparent: one second they are pinching your cheek and telling you how proud they are of you, and minutes later they’re swinging a broom with hate and disgust. A barrage of rapid-fire guitar licks, thunderous beats, and ferocious vocals are met with unusual tempo changes that throw [...]

You Didn’t Know I Was Alphabetical is a brilliant collection of songs ranging from Matt Pond PA to early Wilco folk-rockers. The whole album ebbs and flows from one emotional chord to another with ease. “Skin and Bones” is a hauntingly beautiful track with gorgeous vocals; PJ Bond’s voice goes from folk star to quivering [...]

Oh No Ono is trying for a fun, unpretentious vibe — think an Indian music version of the Flaming Lips. Electric guitars, strings, and powerful drums back bouncy vocals, vocals which quickly become a problem. Oh No Ono overshoots — their sound is so unpretentious, so carefree, that they sound like the background music of [...]