Sep 10, 2023
By Mark Redfern
Visions is akin to a mini SXSW or Great Escape, in which five different venues in the Hackney area of East London host an array of bands over the course of one day. A wristband allows you the freedom to wander in and out of the venues, which are all within easy walking distance of each other. The big draw on this year’s lineup was a headlining set from Spiritualized, but before that there were hours of other artists to see. More
Sep 06, 2023
By Austin Saalman
My dad likes to say that he earned his PhD (Parrot Head Degree) as an eighth grader in Tell City, Indiana, after purchasing a copy of Jimmy Buffett’s then-recently released eighth album Son of a Son of a Sailor at a local bait shop/record store. More
Aug 22, 2023
By Mark Redfern
Karen Gillan has come a long way since her two-and-a-half seasons playing Amy Pond, companion to Matt Smith’s Eleventh Doctor, in Doctor Who. Of all the actors to appear on the show over the last 60 years, the Scottish redhead has had the most successful Hollywood career since leaving Doctor Who. More
Jun 22, 2023
By Mark Lager
During seven weeks at Sawmills Studio on the River Fowey in Golant, Cornwall, four young men in the band Verve (singer Richard Ashcroft and guitarist Nick McCabe were only 21 years old) recorded their debut album with producer John Leckie, who had previously worked as an audio engineer for Pink Floyd in the 1970s. These seven weeks of recording resulted in 10 tracks that are deeply numinous and often oceanic. More
Jun 20, 2023
By Austin Saalman
In the hazy aftermath of 1995’s Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness—The Smashing Pumpkins’ bestselling, era-defining magnum opus once dubbed “The Wall for Gen X”—public expectations for the group either to replicate or surpass its now-fabled maximalist masterpiece were high. For the Pumpkins, such expectations would prove challenging to meet, as Mellon Collie had been a tremendous commercial and critical success for the influential Chicago-based alt rock idols. More
Jun 12, 2023
By Austin Saalman
Phantom Planet’s first album not to feature drummer and founding member Jason Schwartzman, who departed the group in 2003 to focus on his acting career, Raise the Dead finds the versatile Los Angeles-based power pop outfit treading far darker water than on its previous three releases. More
Apr 20, 2023
By Austin Saalman
Perhaps the strongest release of his iconic “glam rock” phase, which spanned from roughly 1971 to 1974, David Bowie’s sixth studio album Aladdin Sane serves as a divine culmination of his various creative aspirations. Described by Bowie at the time of its release as “Ziggy under the influence of America,” Aladdin Sane was heavily influenced by Bowie’s extensive U.S. tour in support of his monumental mainstream breakthrough The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, released the previous June. More
Apr 13, 2023
By Ian Rushbury
Web Exclusive
1982 was a turning point for R.E.M. That year, the Athens, Georgia-based four-piece teamed up with producer Mitch Easter to release an EP, Chronic Town, which showcased a dramatic improvement in the band’s burgeoning skills. But this would just be a taste of what was to come the following year. In 1983, R.E.M. delivered something truly magical with their proper full-length debut, Murmur. More
Apr 13, 2023
By Ian Rushbury
Web Exclusive
Situated among other greats from 1983 like ZZ Top’s Eliminator and Def Leppard’s Pyromania, the Femmes’ self-titled debut record sticks out like the sorest of thumbs. Violent Femmes was not “produced,” it was “recorded” with none of the tomfoolery which nails much of the music from that era to a precise moment in time. More
