Theo and the Skyscrapers
So Many Ways to Die
Dark Daddy (2007)
It really is a double-edged sword to be visually compelling and a bit theatrical as a musician. If you're not Bowie and it isn't 1972, it's a pretty fine balance to strike with any success. Sometimes the visuals distract and obscure, and that's all there is to it. It seems to me that New York City's Theo and the Skyscrapers have suffered a bit from this - frequently reviewed on the basis of vocalist Theo Kogan's striking appearance at the expense of the material, and things go curiously awry from this point: more often than not, it's determined by reviewers for reasons that aren't entirely clear that one component doesn't live up to the promise of the other. The sophomore effort from Theo and the Skyscrapers, So Many Ways to Die on Dark Daddy Records, came to my attention again when the band recently did a one-off date opening for Rancid at the Fillmore. It still strikes me how under reviewed and underrated the album continues to be, a bare year after its release. It's like that old adage about farm fowl: if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's probably a duck. And hey, once … Read more
Have Heart
Songs to Scream at the Sun
Bridge Nine (2008)
From the get-go Have Heart has had a rabid and devoted following. Beginning with their demo in 2003 and What … Read more
Transistor Transistor
Ruined Lives
Level Plane (2008)
A towering full stack stands alone in a winter-worn forest of New England. Dead branches have routinely fallen in a … Read more
Know the Score
All Guts, Still No Glory
Eulogy (2008)
We don't care about your labels and your fucking trends / We only care about the music and hanging out … Read more
