Music Review Pitchfork August 2009 Link 5.0 Modern life can be rubbish. Or so says Esser, an English electro-pop troubadour who sports a flattop that’s vintage mod (or exaggerated Jordan Knight). Despite a nonchalant delivery and mostly sunny melodies, he seems down. On opener “Leaving Town”, he says, “It feels like I’m drowning, so I […]
Music Review Pitchfork June 2009 Link 6.4 Franz Ferdinand singer Alex Kapranos’ vocals are often wry snapshots of hedonistic nights spent with mysterious, mercurial women. It’s an example, perhaps, of a globetrotting pop star singing about what he knows (his food writing doesn’t translate into three-minute singles quite as well). But the band isn’t nearly […]
Music Review Pitchfork May 2009 Link 6.1 “I’ve played every kind of gig there is to play now,” intones Sixto Rodriguez on the track “A Most Disgusting Song”. “I’ve played faggot bars, hooker bars, motorcycle funerals… in opera houses, concert halls, halfway houses.” Not sure where opening up for Animal Collective in Chicago this past […]
Interview Pitchfork May 2009 Link When the Canadian electronic duo Junior Boys began work on the music that would become Begone Dull Care, vocalist and co-producer Jeremy Greenspan analyzed his artistic process. While scrutinizing the methodology behind the intricately crafted and occasionally icy pop music he makes with Matt Didemus, he came upon an unlikely […]
Music Review Pitchfork April 2009 Link 8.0 Despite all the superlatives lobbed at the Numero Group’s catalog, the descriptions that really stick often come from the reissue label’s own liner notes. Along with the warm patina of age emanating from re-mastered recordings and the cracked, yellowing photographs, these narratives are prime examples of music anthropology, […]
Interview Pitchfork January 2009 Link While the mantle of punk rock elder can be uncomfortable and ultimately a bit awkward, the members of the Buzzcocks have managed to maintain their dignity and humility three decades into their career. Perhaps it’s because, even with solo careers and a shifting lineup, the Manchester band keeps churning out […]
Interview Pitchfork October 21, 2008 Link Well Lord, I’m still on the case. I’m still doing what Dr. King and Pops want me to do. I’m still on that freedom highway, and I’m going to walk on it until Dr. King’s dream is realized.” When Mavis Staples sang in an a cappella choir in grade […]
Interview Pitchfork July 2008 Link Prague’s Palác Akropolis, the concert venue where the Notwist started it’s current tour, is located in a patchwork neighborhood of slightly faded buildings which sit in the shadows of the Žižkov TV tower, a spaceship-like structure and the lone eyesore in the city’s quaint skyline. It’s a fitting contrast for […]