On the Record
Noise-pop trio Wavves deshackulates above the critic-infested waters of popular music. “You're never gonna stop me!” resounds San Diego native Nathan Williams on the title track, a single-finger salute to those who dismissed Wavves’ debut …
“I have a degree in music from the University of Pittsburgh,” says singer-songwriter John Miller. “I studied jazz vocal...and I was president of the glee club. I know, laugh it up!” Miller arrived in San …
After years of delay and a label change, Big Boi's solo career is finally out of the gate. While Sir Lucious is a solo record, Speakerboxxx found Big Boi operating under the Outkast framework with …
Grace Potter's got legs, and in the deathless words of ZZ Top, "she knows how to use them." Fortunately, for the visually impaired, she's got pipes too, and she uses them superbly on Grace Potter …
I was getting bored with Tom Petty's music, but when I heard all the hype about his new album, Mojo, I decided to buy it. Wow! If I had to pick one word to describe …
L.A. septet Ozomatli delivers such engaging, energetic shows that their studio work can be anti-climatic in comparison. Their fifth disc opens on a Latin house party spilling into the street. “Are You Ready?” is an …
Here is the perfect soundtrack for your next dark-alley dance party. Flirty, flamboyant, and flagrantly sleazy, Night Work channels the sweat of a thousand dripping discos into a lean 45 minutes of new wave, retro-pop …
Charlotte Gainsbourg put forth 5:55 with some help from her French compatriots (electroduo Air) and her U.K. ones to boot (Nigel Godrich at the board, Jarvis Cocker and Neil Hannnon on lyrics). She brought forth …
Hot Hot Heat's latest offering screams, “We are unique, damn it!” With their desire to play multiple styles of music, make up words (“Implosionatic”), and spell ghettoized versions of real ones (“Buzinezz Az Uzual”), it …
What's up with the platypus? It's like a duck smeared over a beaver, but then it swims like an otter and, really, what sort of mammal lays eggs, anyway? It's totally ridiculous and probably alien, …
The Smoke Fairies had me at "Frozen Heart." Actually, on more comprehensive listening to their collection of bits ’n’ pieces, they had me at "When You Grow Old." Will you remember me, the singer wonders. …
Steve Miller is back with his first new studio album in 17 years, featuring the Gangster of Love's re-discovery of his Chicago blues roots. This album showcases the signature Miller Band sound with the addition …
Hoarse vocals delivering 12 mid-tempo or slow, contemplative songs with well-trodden folk-rock structures usually earn a quick "No" from this quarter. McGraw grapples with grand topics: the death of a loved one and/or the Meaning …
The four-piece rockabilly band Causing Problems was founded in 2000 by singer/guitarists Andy Killion and Branden Gerbracht. “We both picked up guitar after our old ska band broke up,” says Killion, who also plays clarinet …
Ariel Pink's audience has been growing over the last several albums of shambolic, four-track pop zaniness, to the point that Before Today's release was met with feverish fanfare (and a feature in the L.A. Times). …