There’s some weird shit going on in the minds of The Daredevil Christopher Wright’s songwriters. They’ve seen fit to spill it all out for us—everything from death at the hands of cancer to falling in love with an airline stewardess. Through all this, though, In Deference To A Broken Back…
Gallows: Grey Britain / Reprise
Right now, Gallows is the only British band that matters. Fuck Mika and Robbie Williams; they’re pussies. Gallows are truly national treasures, and if you needed any more proof after listening to their 2006 album, Orchestra Of Wolves, their latest work has the raw, blood-drenched intensity of a classic political…
Two Fingers: Two Fingers
Created in Montreal, Two Fingers is a collaboration between a British synthesist and a Brazilian vocalist. The album they’ve created feels like a collision of the worlds each of the musicians inhabit, combining Afro-Brazilian attitude and funk with the cold futurism of British electronic music. While rap with a British…
Interview with Dave Wakeling of The English Beat
If there ever was a band that embodied the spirit of working-class Britain, it was The English Beat. Formed in Birmingham during the fertile period of social upheaval in the late ‘70s, The English Beat were punk royalty, rubbing elbows with The Clash, The Specials, and The Talking Heads. The…
The Proclaimers Encourage Scottishness
The Proclaimers are, undoubtedly, the most awesome Scottish one-hit wonders ever. It’s not just because of their famous (or infamous) hit, “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles),” or because they both look like infant turtles. It’s because their music is among the most beautiful and heartfelt modern folk music. Experience them…
Official Amp Of Approval
We all know that it’s not the guitar that matters, but the person playing. But what guitarist out there doesn’t love obsessing over the latest in high-tech, shiny, glowing, futuristic-looking gear? Feel free to unleash your inner gearhead at the Amp Show on May 9, a…
Fever Ray: Fever Ray
Formerly the vocalist for The Knife, a profoundly disturbing Swedish electronic band, Karin Andersson strikes out on her own with Fever Ray, a continuation of the themes she’s explored on her work with her other bands. Much like the album’s cover, the record is melancholy, meticulously detailed, and, occasionally, bitterly…
The Everyday Visuals: The Everyday Visuals
Hailing from Boston, The Everyday Visuals ooze the hazy, wintry ennui that New England is famous for. Their second album is a pretty logical next step for the band; their melodies have hardened and the rhythms have become a little faster and bouncier. It’s not a masterpiece, but it’s a…
MSTRKRFT: Fist Of God
A band with a rather incestuous and bizarre history, MSTRKRFT was originally the side project of Jesse Keeler, formerly the bassist of Death From Above 1979, which eventually became his only project when DFA ’79 broke up in 2006. Despite the ugly divorce, The Looks, made with Keeler and his…
I Was A King: I Was A King
Oslo, Norway, is a place of darkness and long, cold winters, but the warm, sweeping psychedelic rock of I Was A King seems to completely ignore the homeland of its members. Indeed, if anything, it’s more derivative of the California pop of the early ‘60s, with simple rhythms and high-pitched…
