Although Stranger Cat is most often characterized as “electronic” music (which it is), at its core is classically beautiful and song-crafting, simply highlighted by bits of postmodern technology.  It is the solo project of Cat Martino, who has previously worked with the likes of Sharon Van Etten, Sufjan Stevens,...

Assigning a genre to Chicago’s Crown Larks is next to impossible.  However, in a recent chat with three of the band’s members, their method, ethos, and aim became very clear.  They’re very interested in the DIY process of both creating and presenting their music; the beauty that can be...

If you’re not yet familiar with Austin’s Sweet Spirit, that’s okay… they’re still pretty new (Less than two, in fact.)… Their debut album, Cokomo, just hit shelves this Friday and is, in fact, one of the year’s best, blending riffage of both ‘70s glam and Southern Rock; boasting a...

The last time I caught up with Maine’s Coke Weed was two years ago.  They were touring behind their recently released Back to Soft LP, which had them channeling psychedelic garage rock of both the ‘60s and present day revivalists… and honestly, they were doing it better than almost...

I hesitate to say that Machineheart are going to be “the next big thing,” (although I wouldn’t be totally surprised if their first full-length got them headlining the stages of mega-clubs and their second full-length possibly afforded them the opportunities to headline arenas) I certainly suspect they are going...

Although Columbus, Ohio’s Saintseneca was originally touted as a folk rock band, it’s been clear from the beginning that there’s quite a bit more to their sound than that designation connotes.  When I first met singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist/mainman Zac Little in January of 2014 the band was preparing for the release...

Atlanta’s Sydney Eloise is yet another pastiche of ‘90s alt country, SoCal sunshine folk pop, and 1960s girl-group-isms – although, to be honest, that’s one of our very favorite amalgams.  Her debut album, Faces, recorded with her band, Sydney Eloise & the Palms, was released late last month and...

Although I always appreciate the ambiguous to a pretty profound degree, I must admit that interviewing artists that seem exceptionally ambiguous has proven, through past experiences, to be a bit nerve-wracking (If artists don’t want audiences to know anything about them, I’d much rather them decline the chat than...

Rarely is “the next big thing” an act actually worth getting excited about (Kate Nash is sort of the last example to come to mind…)  However, London quartet Wolf Alice are very worth getting excited about…  The band have spent the year on the road, wowing festival audiences, blowing...

New Paltz, NY duo Diet Cig’s moniker is not only perhaps the badassely cutest I’ve heard this year, but their self-designation as “slop pop” is the most charmingly poignant I’ve heard in about half a dozen.  The relatively new band is comprised of vocalist/guitarist Alex Luciano and drummer Noah...

I must admit I was quite honored last October to get to speak with Lætitia Sadier, best known for her work in Stereolab.  She had just released her third solo LP, Something Shines, an album largely inspired by the work of Guy Debord, dealing with notions of what being...

While Philadelphia’s live music scene seems to have nearly shut down with the Pope’s visit, that’s not actually quite the case.  This Saturday, September 26th, acoustic singer/songwriter Brooke Annibale will be joining Joy Ike and Wylder for a house concert in West Philly; details can be found here.  Brooke...

This Wednesday, September 23rd, the Heavyweight World Champions of power pop, and just plain ingeniously infectious heroes of ‘90s alt rock, Ash, return to the relatively intimate stage of our very own Johnny Brenda’s.  The Northern Irish trio released their sixth studio album, Kablammo!, earlier this year, their first...

So any of our regular readers or my personal friends (or just strangers who ask me for band recommendations at coffee houses or baseball games… seriously…) know that, as far as I’m concerned, North Hampton, Massachusetts-based Potty Mouth are pretty much the greatest band in the entire world.  Not...

Although LA skate punks FIDLAR (an acronym for “Fuck It Dog, Life’s a Risk”) are not the kind of band I normally gravitate toward, their seemingly unlikely friendship with ingeniously passionate, badass, and infectious Brit feminist singer/songstress Kate Nash, arguably both the best singer/songwriter of the 20th century, in...

Superhuman Happiness are one of those entities’ whose profound beauty and/or genius is matched by how maddeningly difficult it is to characterize them as an entity in the first place.  The project, led by writer/arranger/player Stuart Bogie – known for his work with the likes of Arcade Fire, David...

Holly Miranda has been recording and releasing music for more than a decade now and has been writing music for closer to two, both on her own and with her now-defunct band The Jealous Girlfriends.  However, it had been quite a few years since we’d gotten a proper full-length...

There have been a lot of “’90s” acts of the alt rock persuasion — who seem to have been a primary influence on pretty much every contemporary band worth listening to — reuniting recently, but few have proven to be as profoundly significant as hyper-noisy Oxford, England rockers Ride. ...

The last time I saw Jenny Hval she nearly blew Swans off the stage at Union Transfer… which is no easy feat… So I’m quite excited for her headlining gig here at Boot & Saddle next Tuesday, September 8th.  However, I think I’m even more excited for the opening...

Singer/songwriter/multi-media artist Tamaryn has always dabbled in the most beautiful and subversive pop (especially of the late ‘80s and early ‘90s), however, recently there’s been a slight shift in those particular subversions… While her first two records (2010’s The Waves and 2012’s Tender New Signs, which were both collaborations...

The last we spoke to Nicki Bluhm was three years ago.  The San Francisco-based singer/songstress was currently starring in a GAP campaign and touring her band, Nicki Bluhm and the Gramblers (which features her husband Tim Bluhm, her self-professed favorite singer/songwriter of her generation, as player and musical director)...

The last time I spoke to one-time Philadelphia singer/songwriter Suzie Brown she had recently relocated to Nashville (for a gig as a cardiologist at Vanderbilt University, of all things).  She had also (even more recently) become a first-time mother.  And, at the time, she was still considered a solo...

In the age of MP3s, streaming, and digital-only EPs (Yuck…), it’s especially nice when an artist will take their time working on a full-length… especially when they’re not yet the kind of wealthy, super-established marquee name that could really stop working forever and be better off than 99% of...