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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
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Mylo Xyloto, Coldplay’s latest album, was supposed to be a new name, two undefined words pieced together. But it seems like a gross misrepresentation to give a new name to an album that is simply a rehashing of old music. Mylo Xyloto is not that much different from the albums
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Two years since Kelly Clarkson last released new music, fans were thinking that the idol queen was beginning to fade into the dark abyss of pop star has-beens. But here she is, back with her fifth studio album, Stronger, a collection of 14 (18 on the deluxe version) stale, stuck-in-your-head
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Everything about Justice’s image screams rock star, from the gothic cross right down to the leather jackets. It was only a matter of time before the French electronic duo would attempt to craft some rock music of their own. I’ll admit I was skeptical when I heard that this was
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While October generally means frights, candy, Halloween raves, there’s one show that stands out from the standard fall festivals. The Treasure Island Music Festival is one of the newer annual music festivals to arrive in the Bay Area. Since 2007, the festival has been quietly gaining attention. Now in its
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The notes emanating from the string section of the Mariinsky Orchestra danced through the air of Zellerbach Hall like ballerinas showing off their most stylish spins and twirls. Vivid and commanding, the ensemble seized the attention of the audience immediately as it launched into Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 1. Like a
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Biophilia is not easy listening. The Icelandic singer and electronic composer has outdone herself on her eighth album, and the end product is brilliant but also intense. Since her debut in 1992, Bjork has conjured a reputation for pushing the envelope and pioneering new experimental sounds. But not even the remixed
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“Life’s a Bitch,” but hey, just remember, “The World is Yours.” These are two of the tracks from Nas’s classic platinum LP Illmatic. The songs also appear on the recently released The Elmatic Instrumentals by the funk/jazz/soul/hip-hop-inspired Detroit band known as Will Sessions. Will Sessions are led by twenty-six year
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Scottish quartet We Were Promised Jetpacks have the intriguing ability to simultaneously pound your eardrums with a massive, speaker-shattering fury while still retaining an air of playful ambiance. The band’s second studio album, In the Pit of the Stomach, is no exception. Filled with rapid-fire drums and deep guitar swells,
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Anticipating Feist’s latest album, four years since the release of her last, has been relatively frustrating. It took patience to wait for some more of those smooth, synthy jazz tracks heard on Let It Die, or the lighter lyrical pop that colored The Reminder. Granted, Feist and crew did release
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