It’s easy to stereotype Kurt Vile as just another psych-rock dude who loves reverb, smokes weed and has a propensity for using the word “yeah.” Accented by backing band The Violators, whose members’ long brown locks evoke an Addams Family vibe, Vile certainly looks the part of the shiftless, folk-influenced Read More…
In an age of endless touring and interviewing and Tweeting, Bradford Cox — the indie wonder-boy behind solo project Atlas Sound — has developed an enigmatic persona that’s both distant and within reach; he gives few interviews, but will drop demos, thoughts and entire albums on his blog. He allows Read More…
Moon Duo didn’t have to make a Halloween EP for them to sound like Halloween. Formed in San Francisco in 2008 by Wooden Shjips guitarist Ripley Johnson and keyboardist Sanae Yamada, Moon Duo has consistently created catchy keyboard patterns, drum beats and fuzzy guitar riffs that drag listeners through their Read More…
For those who have not heard Tom Waits’s voice, it’s basically audibly analogous to a wailing ghoul eating gravel topped off with some hot fudge syrup. That’s to say: It’s unique, intriguing and wholly entertaining. Back with Bad As Me, his first album of entirely new material in seven years, Read More…
Surfer Blood is the kind of band you dance to in your bedroom. High socks on, Molly Ringwald in “The Breakfast Club”-type moves and some giant speakers blasting (or headphones, if you have a roommate), there’s no denying their infectious hooks. But if Surfer Blood’s debut album, Astro Coast, evoked Read More…