“Folk music” is a term used loosely these days; hard to differentiate as something feasibly unique to its own genre — “folk” pertains to a broad spectrum of separate cultures and their own unique qualities, stylized by “roots” or “Americana,” yet continually evolving from its traditional roots.
The traditional formation of folk music was a bare [...]

Like the static in between radio stations, a person’s initial reaction to the disorganized, fuzzy, throbbing noise is often irritation and annoyance. Occasionally, the whisper of a distant opera or talk show will beat a couple decibels through the fog and fade in and out with reception. In reference to Tobacco, the new album Maniac [...]

The debut of the new self-titled album by Everyone Everywhere is a pulsating tingle of sooth and electricity. Oftentimes harkening back to what sounds like the roots of early Death Cab for Cutie and then occasionally popping some mid-‘90s geek rock into the mix with their adolescent lyrics and fuzzy guitars, Everyone Everywhere is one [...]

Boyish and small, but packing a deep pool of R&B soul in his effervescing delivery, Joe Worricker is…well, he’s something else, that’s for sure. EP (appropriately named) starts off its run with “Little Man,” a cool, bluesy/jazz hybrid number that evokes the image of some poor soul crouched over a piano in the dark, playing [...]

The Forecast? Cloudy with a chance of indie pop from our outgrown high school playlists. Be sure to pack an umbrella, because the superficiality is going to accumulate in a torrential downpour.
The new album from The Forecast (their third and self-titled) comes heavy with a constant tone and does little to garner attention to itself. [...]

If you’re into anything that rocks its way to the radio with the comfort food of familiarity, then (Damn) This Desert Air is for sure the winner of the year. It’s really not bad, though. I stand by it, I do. It’s a bold new mixer of heavy levels, flourished with effect-laden fuel.
The lineup is [...]

The Hipster Invasion is nigh on the horizon. What began as the subtle higher worth of skinny jeans has become a full blown counterculture of the 21st century — it has its own language, its own fashion, and, yes, it has its own music. Among which, Male Bonding’s new record, Nothing Hurts, may find itself [...]

CocoRosie is an eclectic sister act with pop and sizzle. Put simply, they’re in the business of entertainment, and with the incorporation of nearly every style of popular music, Grey Oceans is an interesting take on mass appeal. There’s everything from modern jazz, hip-hop, pop-rock, and sweet childlike wonder packed into this piece of new [...]

Every now and then, artists will get one of those ideas — the kinds of ideas we like to refer to as “concepts.” When these floating, surreal concepts are integrated into the music world, they often intersect the line that separates genius and madness.
Enter Anais Mitchell to challenge everything you thought you knew about the [...]

The Unmistakable Man is clearly an outlaw. Everything is in excess and always, refreshingly, bipolar. It’s an unfocused mess of spitting, fiery, rough, and organized chaos. It’s truly expression in that sense, albeit an amateur expression.
Each song on River City Extension’s The Unmistakable Man embodies its own self. It is a shuffle of a single day’s [...]

Quiet whispers and schoolyard chants, innocence and simplicity — simply beautiful, that is. This sweet menagerie of inspiring ballads found me at just the right time. After a rough and busy week, I have been able to unwind and uplift under the influence of Sally Seltmann’s Heart That’s Pounding.
Seltmann has given us a little gem [...]

Cari Clara: is it a name, a place, or a state of being? The argument could be made its all three, but I’d like to leave that decision up to the good people who wrote, recorded, and produced the sounds heard on You Better Run. Only five songs build this record — this tangible collage [...]

Instrumentation, instrumentation! You astound me with your noise. The Death of the Sun in the Silver Sea is hard rock for the troubled mind and its soul for the young masses.
As I was touching upon before, I am completely taken aback by the strength of this album. Its not your run-of-the-mill rock these days. You [...]

Oh yes, oh yes, Harlem is loaded. Take it however you like it, but this threesome have bred a homely blend of punk, pop, rock, and good vibes — pure and simple. The group is an underground goldmine of rough and raw (but melodic as hell) with solid rhythm and ferocity of an angelic summer’s [...]

When it comes to girl bands pumped up on electricity and menstrual emotion, my general feeling is that the time has come and gone for the pissed off cheerleader banging around in the garage. At least, nothing good has come out in this vein in at least a good 20 years.
But along comes the Dum [...]