Feature EQ April 29, 2010 Link Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings showcase the instinctual way Daptone does soul with I Learned the Hard Way. The Daptone story already has its share of legendary characters: There’s bassist/producer/co-owner Gabriel Roth, who turned a two-story house into a recording studio for the Daptone Records label; then there are […]
Review Pitchfork April 13, 2010 Link 7.6 To Rococo Rot’s skill lies in making electronic-infused post-rock engaging where most other bands fiddling with sculpted synths and cyclic bass lines settle for crafting something tasteful. Berliners Stefan Schneider and Ronald and Robert Lippok often sound as balanced and precise as their reversible band name. But they […]
Review Pitchfork April 12, 2010 Link 7.6 While Matthew Herbert’s methods of recording audio samples are inspiring and outlandish, he always captures a bit of the human element. It’s not just because his discography includes a noisy digestive tract turned into a euphoric house melody; there’s an appreciation for randomness, mistakes, and chaos that runs […]
Feature EQ Magazine April 2010 Link The music of Denton, Texas, band Midlake sounds labored over in the best possible way, an artful, sepia-toned style of folk rock exuding the craftsmanship of a handwritten manuscript. But the band’s airy, languid delivery masks the precise arrangements and extensive effort expended during composition and recording. Making The […]
Review Pitchfork March 26, 2010 Link 6.1 As a teenager in Kiel, Germany in the early 90s, Ulrich Schnauss discovered bands like Ride and My Bloody Valentine by tuning in to British armed forces radio. “As soon as I put the headphones on,” he says, “the world seemed to be a nicer place.” Nearly 20 […]
Review Pitchfork March 22, 2010 Link 6.9 Georgia Anne Muldrow’s latest album, Kings Ballad, was supposedly crafted against the backdrop of Barack Obama’s early days in office. And just as Obama is, for better or worse, an inspiring figure whose influence isn’t quite in sync with his accomplishments, Muldrow can sometimes come across as an […]
Review Pitchfork March 22, 2010 Link 7.2 After more than two decades of recording together as Autechre, Sean Booth and Rob Brown can still create the aural equivalent of whiplash if they want to, or showcase a deep knowledge of dance music. The production duo’s energetic 12-hour online radio broadcast from earlier this month– joyfully […]
Feature EQ Magazine March 2010 Link English band Hot Chip has a particularly kinetic take on dance music. It’s funky machine music with pop soul, a combination cheekily referenced by a recent band shirt boasting an image of R&B eccentric R. Kelly sporting a red Devo hat. The group’s myriad influences came to play on […]
Review Pitchfork March 16, 2010 Link 7.8 You can only be the dark horse once. The Besnard Lakes may have been a (mostly) unknown quantity when they broke out to a wider audience in 2007, but they were also insiders of sorts– guitarist/vocalist Jace Lasek had done production work with Montreal heavyweights Wolf Parade and […]
Review Pitchfork March 11, 2010 Link Casey Dienel doesn’t stay put for very long. The singer’s last full length with White Hinterland, 2008’s Phylactery Factory, swayed to brushed drums, dainty piano, and perky vocals. Later that year, she created prickly, sophisticated art-lounge on the Luniculaire EP, a collection of originals and covers all sung in […]