All Night Radio
Spirit Stereo Frequency
Sub Pop (2004)
Imagine driving down an endless highway in a thunderstorm while listening to your favorite AOR station. Suddenly lightning strikes the antenna and the gaps between the songs are erased. The songs of the Beatles, the Doors, Pink Floyd, Three Dog Night and even the Gypsy Kings all begin to coincide with one another, creating intricate, lengthy tracks. Through some variety … Read more
Chad VanGaalen
Shrink Dust
Sub Pop (2014)
It’s 11 o’clock on a Saturday night. You’re lying in your bed, craving some late night music. You want something dreamy, but not Panda Bear dreamy; something minimal, but not Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy minimal; something that comfortably sits in the middle of it all. Try out Chad VanGaalen.The Calgary singer/songwriter has been making awesome psych folk since 2001. After a few demos, he released … Read more
Constantines
Shine A Light
Sub Pop (2003)
I'm from California. I live near the ocean. I like driving. I like watching baseball. I'm the outside world's perception of a fairly typical American guy (except for my slightly unhealthy obsession with noise-rock, but this is neither the time nor the place to get into that). And like most Americans, Canada isn't really something with which I find myself … Read more
Dum Dum Girls
End Of Daze
Sub Pop (2012)
Ah the Dum Dum Girls… the Dum Dum Girls are in serious danger of transcending the shtick that the band is partially and maybe unfairly saddled with as the End Of Daze certainly shows pushing back at the boundaries of songwriter Dee Dee’s previous songs for the band without losing any of the charm or panache with which those other efforts were imbued, but, then … Read more
Father John Misty
I Love You, Honeybear
Sub Pop (2015)
I saw Father John Misty in concert about two years ago. Josh Tillman sauntered onto stage in an all-white suit—wild and mustachioed—advertising the caricature of a drug-addled, disillusioned troubadour that he had created for himself. He lit a cigarette almost immediately and somehow, in the carcinogenic chokehold, sang in a way that sent shudders through every vertebrate in Terminal 5. … Read more
Flight of the Conchords
Flight of the Conchords
Sub Pop (2008)
When a friend sent me a YouTube link for some live Flight of the Conchords footage a couple of years ago, I was very skeptical. "I don't like comedy music!" I screeched, flapping my arms up and down. Which I don't. It's very rarely as funny as it believes itself to be, which is always made worse when it inexplicably … Read more
Hot Snakes
Jericho Sirens
Sub Pop (2018)
Hot Snakes first formed in 1999 and ran until 2005. They re-formed in 2011 for some tours and finally bring the rock in the new album Jericho Sirens, released in early 2018. For those unfamiliar with the group, members also play in Rocket From the Crypt, Drive Like Jehu, Obits, The Night Marchers, and more. There’s a familiar overlap in style between all these groups, … Read more
Iron and Wine
Around the Well
Sub Pop (2009)
As a long-time Iron and Wine fan, I was intrigued by the announcement of this double-disc release that spans the spectrum of Sam Beam's musical career. What most call a rarities and b-sides album, I see more of an insight into the progression of Beam's collaborative sound, compiling many of his strongest tracks that never made it onto his full-length … Read more
Iron and Wine
Our Endless Numbered Days
Sub Pop (2004)
Recently, I've made a pact with myself to never again purchase an album with an oxy-moronic title. This is due solely to the fact that usually the majority of emphasis can be placed on the word moronic. But, like any rule there exists a few exceptions, and surprisingly this album is one of them. Rather than sending my life into … Read more
Iron and Wine
The Shepherd's Dog
Sub Pop (2007)
I should never set expectations when it comes to music. When was the last time an album was exactly as good or as bad or as neutral as you thought it would be prior to its release? It never works out the way you want it to. Take Iron and Wine's latest release, The Shepherd's Dog. Coming off of the … Read more
Iron and Wine
Woman King
Sub Pop (2005)
Judging an artist based on another's artistic merit is an unfair and pretty bogus way of looking at music, but whenever I listen to Iron & Wine (and/or almost any other artist that could be considered part of this whole "neo-folk" mini-movement), I honestly can't help but think: "This is pretty good, but it's no Will Oldham." It's difficult to … Read more
Low
Drums and Guns
Sub Pop (2007)
Low are known as pioneers of the slow-core genre, or what I like to call "intense sleepy-time music." They reached their noisiest peak in the winter of 2005 with The Great Destroyer, an album that boomed with huge percussion and the most distortion they had ever put on guitar. Pushing their sound to such a loud extreme must have tired … Read more
Mogwai
Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will
Sub Pop (2011)
Mogwai is a band that is extremely difficult to like. Though they are one of the cornerstone bands of the post-rock genre, their discography lacks a lot of the consistent strength found with acts such as Explosions in the Sky or Long Distance Calling. Don't misunderstand me; they have released some fine albums (Mogwai Young Team and Ten Rapid in … Read more
Mudhoney
Digital Garbage
Sub Pop (2018)
2018 marks the 30th year of existence for Seattle stalwarts, Mudhoney. 30 years on for most bands usually means one or two tired original members clinging to the past - Rewarming leftover albums on tour while an even more tired and bleary-eyed audience leaves early because they have to work the next day. Not so with The Mudhoneys. Digital Garbage is … Read more
Mudhoney
Vanishing Point
Sub Pop (2013)
25 years later, Mudhoney still know how to kick out the jams. Drummer Dan Peters gets the festivities started with a drum-roll, no less and is shortly joined by bassist Guy Maddison and guitarist Steve Turner for "Slipping Away" - a burner of an opener and the perfect song to remind us just how cool these cats are. Let's talk … Read more
Patton Oswalt
Werewolves and Lollipops
Sub Pop (2007)
For the most part, humor is always subjective. Not in this case, however. If Patton Oswalt doesn't make you laugh, then you, my sad little friend are wrong. Dead wrong. So wrong in fact, that I can't even look at you. Go on. Get out of my sight. Go to Target and buy the new Bill Engvall album, you jagoff. … Read more
Pissed Jeans
Honeys
Sub Pop (2013)
I enjoyed King of Jeans. It wasn’t great and it didn’t break much ground, but it was a solid play that I still throw on from time to time. What I find peculiar with its follow-up, Honeys, is that I don’t find myself thinking back to the last record often. Instead I mostly think about how I should be listening to Black Flag (and … Read more
Pissed Jeans
Hope for Men
Sub Pop (2007)
Ask somebody why they like the music they like, and you can get more or less the same answer. We have certain expectations from music, and we judge its quality by how well it meets those expectations. But then along comes a band like Pissed Jeans, throwing a proverbial wrench into the formula of musical enjoyment. Not seeming to care … Read more
