A new Radiohead album is an event, a holiday for my depression, a time when my melancholy is paid the respect it is owed. Radiohead's eighth full-length, however, starts off emotionless and weak. "Bloom" is …
April 2, 2011
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Stories by Rollo Cabeza
Radiohead's The King of Limbs
Yuck by Yuck
London’s Yuck is one of several new acts to lean on the ’90s indie-rock formula of distorted, busy guitar hooks, simple bass lines, and literate lyrics. But on their s/t debut, Yuck accomplishes something that …
February 20, 2011
The Wonder Show of the World
Bonnie “Prince” Billy's latest pairs Will Oldham's backwoods bark and Cairo Gang frontman Emmet Kelly's streaming folk and blues guitar. The result is stripped-down folk songs with flourishes of classic-country melodies and gospel harmonies. Oldham's …
May 16, 2010
The Brutalist Bricks
"When the café doors exploded, I reacted to...reacted to you," sings Ted Leo in his nasal-core croon over James Canty's distorted guitar strum before the drums, a loping bass line, and Leo's triple guitar strum …
April 21, 2010
Volume Two
Actress Zooey Deschanel has nailed a role that legitimizes her as a singer-songwriter, not just some hipster starlet testing her cred. Backed by songsmith M. Ward, She & Him's new LP is loaded with stripped …
April 11, 2010
Broken Bells
Certain things just don't mix: oil and water, laxatives and sleeping pills, indie rock and electronica. The latter is apparent on the debut album from Broken Bells, which features James Mercer, front man for indie …
March 20, 2010
Cutting Teeth
It's St. Patrick's Day, a few dozen people crowd Whistle Stop's bar trying to find a pint on the other side of the rainbow. While they clamor, 30 others surround San Diego mellowcore band Little …
March 18, 2010
Folk This
The Cave Singers’ Derek Fudesco grabbed his sunburst Gibson hollow-body and took a seat on a stool. Singer Pete Quirk stood at the mic and peered out from under a trucker hat, his face shrouded …
March 14, 2010
We All Got Out of the Army
For his tenth release since Guided by Voices disbanded, singer-songwriter Robert Pollard stays with the formula that made him an indie icon, penning obtuse, albeit infectious lyrics to British invasion-influenced melodies in stripped-down, simple guitar …
March 6, 2010
Odd Blood
Odd Blood, the new LP from Brooklyn band Yeasayer, doesn't sound new at all. It's a transporter to the ’80s of big hair and keyboard scarves. The album starts off with a dark, rumbling, experimental …
February 27, 2010
Make It Sound in Tune
For the new EP, Portastatic's Mac McCaughan taps into his Merge catalog, covering songs from Spoon, Destroyer, Magnetic Fields, Lambchop, and lesser-known acts from Merge's past: Matt Suggs, Spent, and the Renderers. If you've followed …
February 16, 2010
Teen Dream
The third album from Baltimore duo Beach House should be renamed Instant Dream, as track one, "Zebra," doesn't waste time in putting you into a hypnotic state. Victoria Legrand's tough but gentle voice is backed …
February 10, 2010
Astro Coast
Florida four-piece Surfer Blood might have spent too much time lying in the sun, listening to '90s indie-rock. On their debut album, Astro Coast, the similarities to Weezer, the Shins, Sebadoh, and Pavement keep crashing …
February 3, 2010
Soft Pack 'Em In
Ten days before the Soft Pack take the stage on the David Letterman Show, the San Diego band formerly known as the Muslims returned to the Tower Bar in City Heights to release their s/t …
February 3, 2010
Transference
Spoon started losing that choppy, melodic, bluesy swagger on their last album, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. The band lost that beat that dominated previous albums like Kill The Moonlight. The beat that made me …
January 31, 2010