Let me get to this straight away; I love the movie, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, so naming yourself after Lee Van Cleef's character in that movie, makes you a-okay in my book. and for a Roof a Sky Full of Stars is the third record from …
This year, Moon Duo released their seventh album, Stars are the Light, on Sarced Bones. Many of their signature spacey psychedelic elements are here: droning saturated guitars, looping synths, dual hypnotic vocals. But Moon Duo have another motive this time around -- getting our bodies moving.As they depart …
Amy Winehouse. Lily Allen. Jenny Lewis. All are media darlings. Despite any and all current public backlash, neither lady could release an album of humming in an aluminum coffee tin without the pundits all standing and cheering - the applause deafening. Carrie Biell deserves this adoration more than any of …
A post-rock review is always a challenge. If you think it’s tough to capture the attention of an audience and carry them on your journey, musically, for 45 minutes without lyrics or choruses then try writing about that action. The successes and failures of the genre come in the ebb …
I’m always up and ready for some good prog, especially when we’re looking at a concept piece. I’m tempted to say something along the lines of ‘they don’t make’em like they used to’, but we’re talking about music, not audiophile grade consumer electronics so that doesn’t ring true. It’s just …
Forgive me, for a moment, while I take some time to explain that sitting down to write this piece was difficult. I stopped and started several times and that’s not counting the amount of days I spent just thinking about writing a review. You see, Katatonia are an institution and …
The preamble about Hard-Fi is something about DIY, self-financing, self-promotion and the dole. There's something about the middle-English wastelands in which the band live. Something else about inner city tower blocks adds weight to the working class credentials about which, no doubt, Virginia Woolf would have something or other to …
After being slowly consumed by the subtle graces of In Fades (the debut cassette from this project), the longing for another recording from Greys similarly began as a slow ache until thinking about it became a weird tic (ask certain people that I will not name and they can corroborate …
The Book Of Knots are an anomaly in music. They are a super group of sorts entailing members of many different groups (Including Skeleton Key, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, Shiner, Battle of Mice, Sparklehorse, Elvis Costello, Unsane, Pere Ubu, Frank Black, They …
"Ladies and gentlemen, set yourself on fire!" exclaims novelist Ibi Kaslik on the inside cover of Stars's sophomore album, Set Yourself on Fire. This begins a rather brief but punchy tirade about how we should not laze about while fascist dictators, ahem Bush, are in power. While there are …
When it comes to currently running ambient acts, they do not get any more prolific than Stars of the Lid. Having released material since 1995, the duo made up of Brian McBride and Adam Wiltzie have relocated since releasing their last album and absolute masterpiece The Tired Sounds Of... and …
Is this what you kids call "screamo" nowadays? I don't know and I don't care. As far as I'm concerned all music should be split into two genres: the one I like and the one I don't. This album would then fall under the second category, well the first band …
There are few things worse in this world than a record composed by a group of people that are intensely passionate about the contents, but that doesn't live up to the enthusiasm with which it is crafted. Such is the case with the latest release from Stars, the Montreal pop …
This is the catchiest Three One G release I have ever heard. Coming from a label that normally specializes in the extreme outer reaches of noise punk, this is practically a pop album. Yet, this still has the classic bratty Three One G art-school vibe. Named for the 1980s epidemic …
Sacramento's Stars are Falling are yet another in long line of bands coming out of California and inking a deal with Blood & Ink Records, an imprint of Facedown Records. So you basically know what you are going to get here even before you listen to it. Yup, you guessed …
The whole Midwestern punk sound is something you either love or hate. I, personally love most of the main bands that have come from this genre but when it comes to newer bands, they have to do something to stand out among the others. It's a given fact that I'll …
Mark this down. This is the comeback record of the year for me. Planes Mistaken for Stars dropped the ball with Up in Them Guts right when they seemed poised to take the indie scene by storm. It was so lackluster for me that I did not have especially high …
One might be hard pressed to envision a band that seems to exemplify a road warrior type touring ethic than that of the hard working group, Planes Mistaken for Stars. It is a sad day to see these stalwarts finally calling it a day after three albums and numerous EPs, …
Bands that are difficult to pin down to a particular genre are great. They might have a distinctive sound and there might be comparisons that can be drawn, but you can lose yourself in the safe knowledge of something fresh and abstract. Then some idiot music critic comes along and …
Git Some is a band which has been around a bit and actually predates the participation of two of its members (Chuck French and Neil Keener) in the much vaunted group, Planes Mistaken for Stars (even though many will consider this a new band featuring ex-members of said well known …