The Velvet Underground

This month marks 20 years since I moved to the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection.  I was the typical suburban alternative teen, migrating to University of the Arts to study among likely the only fans of The Velvet Underground and Nick Cave hailing from upper-middle-class, yuppie-breeding...

“A lot of reviewers in the UK seem to really get what I’m going for, to move out of the female singer/songwriter thing and more into the Joy Division/Velvet Underground thing,” says Sub Pop recording artist Lael Neale during a recent phone chat.  For instance, The Guardian says, “Half...

Shilpa Ray’s recent singles “Heteronormative Horseshit Blues” and “Bootlickers of the Patriarchy” obviously reflect a focus on recent social tumult (She’s described her latest single, “Lawsuits And Suicide,” as, “a diss track to my abuser from a relationship I had suffered through in my mid to late 20s.”), despite...

This year marks the 20th anniversary of Stars’ debut LP, Nightsongs.  It also sees the Montreal-based intellectual indie poppers bringing back their customary holiday shows, after last year’s painful drought of live music.  Torquil Campbell, Amy Milan, Evan Cranley, Chris Seligman, Patrick McGee, and Chris McCarron will bring The...

“As my first headlining tour, I set manageable expectations, but I’ve been utterly blown away,” says Madison Cunningham.  She’s chatting with me over the phone, en route to her next gig.  Although just on her first headlining tour, the folk-pop singer/songwriter already has a laundry list of achievements of...

So, Kate Nash hasn’t exactly been missing, but it has been a while since we’ve heard from her… musically, at least.  Last month the British singer/songwriter released Yesterday Was Forever, her first full-length since 2013’s Girl Talk, and earlier this month she kicked off her first US tour in...