Archive for the ‘ Music ’ Category

[STREAM] Halmos – “Datura”

Halmos’ debut EP is 5 tracks of blunt, thick sludge metal delivered with a stoner rock ethos.  The songs are centered around dense riffs generously stretched across mostly 5+ minute running times, with the tempos rarely rising above a crawl.  It’s stoner metal pared down to its most essential elements.  Lean, bruising opener “Datura” is [ READ MORE ]

[MP3] The District Attorneys – “Confusion of Trust”

The first single from The District Attorneys’ forthcoming full length moves the band’s California country rock sound a little closer to classic power pop.  ”Confusion of Trust” squeezes vocal harmonies and hand claps into a sun-drenched package that breezes by in a tidy 3 minutes.  When I wrote about the band’s last EP, I worried [ READ MORE ]

Valentine’s Day Pop Up Show at Mint Gallery

Flyer after the jump[ READ MORE ]

This week’s shows (2/13/12-2/19/12)

Royal Baths, Abby Gogo, Spirits and the Melchizedek Children - Tuesday (2/14), 529, free. San Francisco’s Royal Baths released Litanies back in late 2010, a nasty little collection of garage rock dirges that didn’t get nearly as much attention as it deserved.  I can’t say I’ve spent much time with followup Better Luck Next Life yet, but it’s definitely [ READ MORE ]

[STREAM] Shook Foil – “Little Significance”

Shook Foil are worth keeping an eye on.  The 5 songs on the Little Significance EP show a confident band finding room to breathe within the overworked boundaries of guitar/bass/drums indie rock.  This is slippery, dynamic guitar pop, packed with big, dynamic shifts and an excellent sense of restraint.  Their flexible jangle is paired with genuinely [ READ MORE ]

[STREAM] Nomen Novum – “Briar Hills”

The collision of caffeinated loops, bright guitar lines, and oddball lyrics produces some truly singular moments on If You Look For It, It’s There, the latest full length from local pop alchemist Nomen Novum. The songs are incredibly detailed, built brick by brick with sampled snatches of sound that add up to a shiny, dizzying [ READ MORE ]

This week’s shows (2/7/12-2/12/12)

Thurston Moore, San Agustin - Wednesday (2/8), The Goat Farm, $15. With the future of Sonic Youth in jeopardy, it’s good to see Thurston Moore keeping busy.  Last year’s Demolished Thoughts is probably the quietest album he’s ever released, but it’s far from the pensive strum of most acoustic singer-songwriter efforts.  He approaches his instrument much the same [ READ MORE ]

This week’s shows (1/30/12-2/5/12)

Jeff Mangum - Wednesday (2/1), Variety Playhouse, $36 (sold out). What’s left to say about Neutral Milk Hotel’s Jeff Mangum at this point?  He disappeared, and now he’s back.  Rumors of his return were obsessed over for years, and his re-emergence has been dutifully covered in all corners of the internet.  It’s a good story, particularly [ READ MORE ]

[STREAM] Mice in Cars – Good Men Are Monsters EP

There’s a healthy amount of aggression on Good Men Are Monsters, the new two track EP from local post-punk outfit Mice in Cars.  It’s just not always on the surface.  Opener “Exit Interview” is mostly sustained menace, drawing tension from a muscular rhythm section that threatens rather than pummels.  It sounds a little like June [ READ MORE ]

[VIDEO] Book Club – “Cold Cold Year”

  Book Club just released a video form “Cold Cold Year,” one of the best tracks from last year’s excellent Ghost.  The footage was shot in Paris at the end of 2011, but the grainy black-and-white makes many of the images feel well-worn, like they could have plausibly come from decades past.  It’s a good [ READ MORE ]

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