[The Past Presents] The Modern Lovers – The Modern Lovers (1976)

The Past Presents is typically where I take a fresh look at an older album, either because it’s regarded as a classic album and I’d like to see if it still holds up, or because it’s an album I feel is special and it never really got the love it deserves. For me, this column… Continue reading [The Past Presents] The Modern Lovers – The Modern Lovers (1976)

TRAAMS

“That’s it, right there,” I said to myself, “right when the bass line hits, 40-seconds in, the sound grabs you like a hungry beast looking for satisfaction. ” The crunching guitars and driving drums on “Swimming Pool,” the opening track on the FatCat debut of West Sussex trio TRAAMS, is a bodacious opener that lures… Continue reading TRAAMS

Nothing Romantic About UK’s Savages

“The world used to be silent / Now it has too many voices.” – Savages (Silence Yourself Manifesto) As I prepare to see Savages at the Fonda Theatre in L.A. tonight, I look back at my first experience seeing this band earlier this year. Jerking her head back-and-forth, with sudden and purposeful movements, Jehnny Beth’s dark, piercing… Continue reading Nothing Romantic About UK’s Savages

Palehound: “Pet Carrot”

The ’90s were the last, and in fact, the most definitive epoch in the music discovery evolution that grew from early DJs introducing new singles on the radio, to the music streaming ‘arms race’ that has managed to reduce the experience of finding a new band to a Google search, a click of the mouse,… Continue reading Palehound: “Pet Carrot”

I don’t have a witty pun to describe Parts & Labor, but their music is awesome

These lovely guys (and girl) go by the name Parts & Labor, and they’re from the ridiculously fertile music grounds of Brooklyn. Technically, their music is some mishmash of indie, punk and noise, but with their latest album, Receivers (released in late 2008), they’ve injected their noisy tendencies with some more poppy song structures. What… Continue reading I don’t have a witty pun to describe Parts & Labor, but their music is awesome

Electric Six at the Black Cat

On November 19th (Tomorrow Night), Electric Six will be playing at the Black Cat in DC. Electric Six is a six-piece disco, garage, fusion punk-rock metal orgasm from Detroit. You may know them from the single “Danger! High Voltage!” that features guest vocals by someone that sounds mysteriously like Jack White. Although they can “neither… Continue reading Electric Six at the Black Cat