THERE ARE FEW THINGS more rewarding than settling the score. To paraphrase an old saying, writing well is the best revenge and Atmosphere’s Slug knows how to level the playing field. On the indie hiphop star’s great new record, You Can’t Imagine How Much Fun We’re Having, it’s all about spitting powerful, vindictive rhymes. A […]
Bart Schaneman
Posted inMusic
They Built Another World
Wolf Parade’s Demon Church Nightmare
A WOODEN GAVEL in the shape of a wolf’s head strikes the dais. The meeting has been called to order. Bishop Spencer Krug presides. At his right hand sits Dan Boeckner, his fellow songsmith. On the agenda for tonight’s meeting, under new business, action item IA reads: Community Manifesto. Krug unrolls a long scroll that […]
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Summer Thunderstorms
The Rolling Hooves of Band of Horses
FROM MY PORCH SWING, I can see dragonflies hunting mosquitoes on the lake. Cotton from the trees floats on the wind like snowflakes. I take a drink and walk inside the cabin to turn the stereo up. I set the glass on the table and sink into my chair. The album’s Everything All the Time […]
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Don’t You Interpol Me, Boy
ILYBICD Sidesteps the Fad
WITH SO MANY BANDS trying to out Interpol each other, and siding with style over substance, the Austin-based I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness are close to falling in the same trap. But there’s something here that keeps me from lumping them in with the terrible likes of Panic! at the Disco and She […]
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Let Them Love You
Mates of State Spread What We All Want
MATES OF STATE SOUNDS like love. That’s an abstract idea, but stay with me and it’ll play out. Kori Gardner and Jason Hammel are the two behind this happy, joyous, loving group. Gardner plays keyboards and sings; Hammel drums and matches vocals. The simple arrangement works because of their relationship. There aren’t any shadows cast […]
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Here Comes the Sun
Kelley Stoltz Rocks the Solar Power
TURN THE STICK and open the blinds until they spread and strips of gold light bisect the room. Now you’re ready. In 2005, Kelley Stoltz signed with Sub Pop to release this year’s Below the Branches. Before that, he was DIY in the San Francisco scene, pressing his own records and figuring out his sound. […]
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Slack-Jawed, Stupid, and Boring
Why Psychedelic Music Makes Me Think of Guns
Pullout: Mercury Music Issue