The only way that Corgan was going to achieve what he wanted with these residencies was to keep in mind that for every two people who just wanted to hear the old hits, there were a few young (or old) fans who still cared, and play the hell out of the new songs for them and them only. …
Eagles of Death Metal are Jesse “Boots Electric” Hughes and, moonlighting from Queens of the Stone Age, Josh “Baby Duck” Homme. And Eagles of Death Metal are rock, bottled. Take a little ’70s strut-groove cock rock, mix it with some ’80s style hedonism, and you’ve got EoDM in your glass. …
The first time I heard Cold War Kids’ excellent “Hang Me Out to Dry”, thinking that they sounded like at any second they might lose the rhythm and devolve into some ponderous, off-key Radiohead-worship. That they continue to hold onto that steadily bouncing groove throughout the track and match it with a loose Bono-ish warble is part of what made them the apple of every blogger’s eye for about 5 minutes. …
On her new solo record, Acid Tounge, Lewis steps confidently into her solo role. This record genre-hops more than Rabbit Fur Coat (and almost as much as Rilo Kiley’s excellent Under The Blacklight, from last year), but it keeps itself rooted in the country and soul of the ’60s and ’70s. …
I’m gonna lay it out for you, Everlast. What people liked about your solo work was that it was stripped down, gritty, raw and acoustic. I’ll give you some credit for tryin’ to spread your wings a little, but this album is overproduced and it just doesn’t work for your style of songwriting. …
It seems strange to say that a group of tattooed white boys could play reggae and be genuine, but sincerity is the name of OPM’s game. On Golden State of Mind, these guys make absolutely no pose for what they are. …
Unwritten Law have staked their claim for most of their careers through touring. While a lot of bands fall into the Frampton Comes Alive trap and make a live record that is sprawling and ponderous, UL keeps the pace and energy sprightly on Live and Lawless. …
Of the summer’s two comedy juggernauts, Pineapple Express was clearly going to be the one with the bitchin’ soundtrack. Judd Apatow’s films aren’t necessarily known for their soundtrack awesomeness in the way that, say, a Tarantino film would be, but he and his people have good taste and usually throw in some surprises…
Even those soulless kids at the mall are gonna call b.s. when any power-chorders don’t pick one genre and play the hell out of it. Zebrahead have a populist strategy, but when you cast too wide a net, you’re gonna pull in a lot of seaweed. …
I knew it would happen eventually. Around 2001, when the garage-rock renaissance came roaring in as a reaction to the hyper-technologized sounds of nu-metal, rock fans were in a tizzy over the idea that rock was getting back to basics; ditching all the techno and hip-hop affectations and bashing out a few chords in a garage, like it used to be. …