Category: Reviews

I WAS THERE: Boris and Sunn O))) Prevail Over a Power Outage At Brooklyn’s Masonic Temple

September 8th, 2010 | File Under: I Was There | Leave A Comment

Boris' drummer jumps into the crowd while everyone else struggles to get the power back on

Words and Photos by Andrew Parks

The Artist and Their Latest Release: Sunn O))) & Boris, Altar (Southern Lord, 2006)

The Show: Sunn O))) & Boris present Altar, with Jesse Sykes & the Sweet Hereafter and BXI @ Brooklyn Masonic Temple, 9.7.10

The Set In a Few Sentences: “Sorry, but we blew two-thirds of the power in the building with that last riff,” said Sunn O))) guitarist Stephen O’Malley, “So it’s going to take us a few minutes to figure this shit out. Go get a beer or something.”

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S/T SURVIVED … Two Hours of Sleep Without Being Stoned Or Wearing Earplugs

September 7th, 2010 | File Under: S/T Survived | Leave A Comment

Words and Photos by Andrew Parks

Before you get the wrong idea, the above headline isn’t meant to suggest we can’t enjoy a stoner-metal show without the help of a couple bong hits. It’s just that we’re talking about Sleep here—a band known for cannabis-coated album covers and an hour-long song/thoroughly-bootlegged third album called Dopesmoker. Which made us wonder: Would the towering riffs, sucker-punch drums, and guttural basslines of “Dragonaut,” “Holy Mountain,” and Dopesmoker’s intro sound as monumental to a severally sober person?

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NOW PLAYING: A Roundup of Record Reviews, Featuring ceo, Tamaryn and James Blackshaw

September 2nd, 2010 | File Under: Now Playing | Leave A Comment

ceo

Here’s what was on self-titled’s office stereo today…

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LONG PLAYER OF THE DAY: Altar Eagle, ‘Mechanical Gardens’

August 27th, 2010 | File Under: Long Player of the Day | Leave A Comment

The Artist/Album: Altar Eagle, Mechanical Gardens (Type, 2010)

The Reason(s) We Can’t Stop Listening: Considering his last effort was a nihilistic noise record (The North Sea’s Bloodlines LP), it’s a bit disorienting to find Brad Rose suddenly making moody pop music with his wife, fellow Digitalis founder/singer/multi-instrumentalist Eden Hemming-Rose.

Disorienting but damn good. While its memories-will-fade artwork is hazy enough to pass for a Washed Out cover, Mechanical Gardens is an impeccably-produced descent into a dream world that hints at everything from dark-wave-derived narcotics (“Monsters,” “Pour Your Dark Heart Out”) to driftwood-y drone tones (“Breakdown,” “You Lost Your Neon Haze”). HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Posted in: Long Player of the Day

NOW PLAYING: A Roundup of Record Reviews, Featuring Gate, Pan Sonic and the ‘Lagos Disco Inferno’ Compilation

August 20th, 2010 | File Under: Now Playing | Leave A Comment

Some of the sleeves from 'Lagos Disco Inferno'

Here’s what was on self-titled’s office stereo today…

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NOW PLAYING: A Roundup of Record Reviews, Featuring Lorn, The Natural Yogurt Band and Thomas Fehlmann

August 16th, 2010 | File Under: Now Playing | Leave A Comment

Lorn

Here’s what was on self-titled’s office stereo today…

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LONG PLAYER OF THE DAY: Moritz Von Oswald Trio, ‘Live In New York’

August 13th, 2010 | File Under: Long Player of the Day | Leave A Comment

The Artist/Album: Moritz Von Oswald Trio, Live In New York (Honest Jon’s, 2010)

The Reason(s) We Can’t Stop Listening: While New York audiences need to learn how to shut their beer traps during shows like this—enough of the “yeah!”’s, broham—there’s no denying how special the set is. After all, where else can you hear a true Berlin techno legend lead Carl Craig, Vladislav Delay, Francois K., and that other guy right past the limits of what electronic/experimental music’s supposed to sound like? Simply put, this is the kind of shit Miles Davis’ would be playing right about now…had he not been a self-destructive cokehead.

Posted in: Long Player of the Day

I WAS THERE: Empire of the Sun Make Us Feel Gay Again

August 10th, 2010 | File Under: I Was There | Leave A Comment

Words and Photos by Andrew Parks

The Artist and Their Latest Release: Empire of the Sun, Walking On a Dream (Astralwerks, 2008)

The Show: w/ The Juan MacLean (DJ set) @ Terminal 5, 8.9.10

The Set In a Few Sentences: We met Luke Steele once—a long time ago, back when he started playing psychedelic folk tunes as the Sleepy Jackson. And, well, let’s just say he’s a special kind of crazy. The kind you can’t fake, the kind that makes you look over your shoulder—repeatedly, right in the middle of an interview—and say with a shudder, “Did you hear that?”

Actually, no, Luke, we didn’t. But we’re pretty sure you did.

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I WAS THERE: Arcade Fire Conquer Madison Square Garden, Including That 50-Something Dude In the Khaki Pants

August 5th, 2010 | File Under: I Was There | Leave A Comment

Photos by Hobo

Words by Arye Dworken

The 50-something man sitting next to me on the subway was dressed in khaki dress pants with a polo shirt tucked in. He was wiping sweat from his balding scalp with a brown paisley hand towel while talking to his wife about indie rock.

“The first two albums were really championed by Pitchfork,” he said to her, referring to Arcade Fire, the band we’d just seen at Madison Square Garden. “And I think that’s what made them so popular.”

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