Blogs
DCIFF Film Review
The DC Independent Film Festival is happening from the 19th-23rd throughout the DC region and includes a host of speakers to check out. Recently, two of our Staff Writers got the chance to view two of the films playing, Brothers Hypnotic and 3 Mile Limit. Brothers...
Live in the Hive: All Dogs
Columbus, Ohio pop-punkers All Dogs stopped by the WVAU studio for a quick two song set before their show with Waxahatchee. Listen below to learn more about their songwriting process, being on the road, and hear an exclusive new untitled song! Make sure to catch All...
Nathan Roberts & The New Birds ÛÒ Nathan Roberts & The New Birds (Self-Released)
Laid back Wilco-style indie rock The debut album from this Toledo three-piece is clearly inspired by the less-adventurous but no less pleasant corners of Wilco's catalogue, a la Being There or Wilco (The Album). Featuring melodic vocals and fairly prominent...
Rainy Day Music #1: Yellow House
As I explained last week, this column will explore the favorite rainy day albums of a group of music-loving friends of mine. The first Rainy Day Album is the pick our very own GM, Max Tani: Grizzly Bear's Yellow House. Grizzly Bear's first album as a four-piece,...
Minutia: Hop Along ÛÒ "Get Disowned"
Courtesy of Ally Newbold Photography Hop Along's 2012 debut album, Get Disowned is a collage of gorgeous vignettes that trace heartbreak, joy, and wide-eyed curiosity as they transcend childhood and adult life. Frances Quinlan's lyrical stories hit everything from a...
Under the Tide: Greg Laswell
Ingrid Michaelson is probably a name everyone has heard at some point of their life. The focus though, isn't on this pop belle who has charmed many of our hearts. Her significant other, Greg Laswell, has an extensive repertoire that has charmed my heart more than...
Angel Olsen ÛÒ Burn Your Fire For No Witness (Jagjaguwar)
A beautifully crafted masterpiece that will take you on an emotional ride. Listening to this album from beginning to end, in its intended order, is the way Angel Olsen's artwork is meant to be experienced. Burn Your Fire For No Witness, being the epitome of this. Her...
Ticket Giveaway: Diarrhea Planet @ Rock N Roll Hotel
“If you measure a live show’s success by how happy to be alive it makes you, than Nashville’s Diarrhea Planet have the greatest live show on Earth.” – Pitchfork Love the quadruple-guitar shenanigans of Diarrhea Planet? Want to witness the Nashville punks’...
633 Ashland Ave.: A Not So Valentine’s, Valentine’s Day
If you're like so many of us singles, or “playas” if you prefer, that don't really enjoy seeing couples exchange sweatshop teddy bears or bitter-tasting heart shaped candies on Valentine’s day, you’re in luck. Without further ado, here are four movies to watch...
Shaken Not Stirred: Where Conor Oberst Meets Paul Simon
I have never fallen as hard in love with a complete album as I did with Bright Eyes', I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning. I remember listening to the sound of lead singer, Conor Oberst's trembling yet melodious voice and immediately falling into a deep, musical trance...
Leading Ladies: In Love with Elli Ingram
Courtesy of Urban Development I’m mad. Mostly annoyed, but also really mad. Of course, all of that anger is directed at myself for being completely ignorant of Elli Ingram‘s EP, Sober, for so long. Released in July 2013, Sober is a soulful six track debut of more good...
Live in the Hive: Speedy Ortiz, Two Inch Astronaut, Grass Is Green
In the latest Live in the Hive session, Speedy Ortiz, Grass Is Green, and Two Inch Astronaut all graciously stopped by our studio for some noisy, disjointed, and jaw dropping sets. Speedy Ortiz have been making waves lately with their poetic and distinctive take on...
The Tough Crowd: The S Word
For a while now the term “skramz” has been considered a dirty word by many a music enthusiast. I can't tell you the origin of the word and if you asked 10 people who thought they knew the definition, they'd all give you different answers. The closest to a...
Rainy Day Music #0: Prelude
I conceived this column during a particularly rainy stretch of last October. Walking down Wisconsin Ave., my ill-chosen shoes saturated in ankle-high puddles, I was lost in the throes of my favorite rainy day album. Removing the shoes to reveal ruined socks in the...
Juan Wauters ÛÒ N.A.P. North American Poetry (Captured Tracks)
Beets frontman offers up strong solo debut N.A.P. is the first solo album from Juan Wauters, first on the scene in 2006 with his folk punk band, The Beets – the first band to start the Captured Tracks label. The Wauters family came to America from Uruguay, Juan...
Warpaint ÛÒ Warpaint (Rough Trade)
Cool and psychedelic 2014 is a highly anticipated year for the all-female, psychedelic band, Warpaint. The quartet embodies a spectrum of emotions with songs that can seem dark and sinister while others reveal a raw vulnerability. This vulnerability can be...
Quilt- Held In Splendor
Sweet, psychedelic pop-rock Quilt's newest release, Held In Splendor, showcases the band holding life in splendor indeed. Much of the album seems like a springtime trance, with dreamy vocals over rolling bass and poppy percussion. Delicate guitar melodies...
Childish Gambino – Because The Internet (Glassnote)
A soundtrack without a film, but not without value Listening to this album without the accompanying screenplay provides a different experience than Gambino intended. For example, the groan-inducing hash-tag rap punchlines (“I got penthouses on both coasts, pH...
together PANGEA – Badillac (Harvest)
Rawk On Not wanting to go down as just another So-Cal garage punk group, together PANGEA tack the familiar trappings of the genre and marry it with the muscle and mania of grunge, creating a sonic beast on a mission to drink, party and feel like crap about it...
Hospitality-Troubled (Merge)
Indie-Rock, Pop, Groovy The problem I find with a lot of indie-pop and indie-rock these days is a lack of originality. Thankfully, on Hospitality's new album Troubled there is everything but generic pop music. Amber Papini is the lead singer of this Brooklyn...
Cloud Nothings ÛÒ I’m Not Part of Me – Single (Carpark)
The boys are back Dylan Baldi is a genius. With each Cloud Nothings album, he expands his musicality. It's hard to believe that less than four years ago he recorded his first LP in his parents' basement and released it as a solo album. Since then, he has...
Mozes and the Firstborn- Mozes and the Firstborn (Burger Records)
Dutch dudes making seriously infectious garage rock Don’t let this band’s name overshadow their potential. The four rockers from the Netherlands debut with a record packed with energy, rebellion, and seriously impressive playing. There’s something to be said...
Streight Angular – Super Party Fun Time! (Polk Records)
“Hooky-punk rock’n‘roll neon explosion into the futureÛ Super Party Fun Time! is the most appropriately named album a DJ could ask for and I would argue one of the most universally appealing. The band might be a bit of a joke, but it's so worth the...
The Haden Triplets ÛÒ The Haden Triplets (Third Man)
Rootsy traditionalism It's no secret that Jack White is a sucker for old timey roots music, and the latest release from his Third Man Factory of Dreams is a clear reflection of that. Produced by roots guitar hero Ry Cooder, The Haden Triplets is a treasure...
Band of Horses ÛÒ Acoustic At The Ryman (Brown)
What happens when you strip down Known for writing sweeping, generously produced pseudo-anthems like “The Funeral” and “No One's Ever Gonna Love You,” Band of Horses might not seem like the first choice to play an acoustic set, let alone an acoustic set at...
Mt. Royal – Mt. Royal (Bella Union)
Mellow dreams and power vocalist With consistent low-fi energy and soulful female vocals, this indie-pop Baltimore group sounds like the best night's sleep you've ever had. With steady and tame drums and lullabye organs, the Mt. Royal creates a great dynamic...
Thumpers – Galore (Sub Pop)
Alt-pop London power duo Coming off a tour with Chvrches, this London duo had more than enough steam to release debut album Galore and jump right back into a headlining tour. If nothing else, the alt-pop album radiates a feel-good energy akin to blooming spring...
Kasim Keto – Long Car Rides (Babygrande)
Instrumental cuts for a journey to nowhere This no-frills instrumental album couldn’t have a more fitting title. Long Car Rides plays like a mixtape of short, pleasant beats to accompany a trip to who-knows-where. Producer Keto creates a dreamy vibe throughout...
I Break Horses -Chiaroscuro (Bella Union)
Minimalistic electro pop Chiaroscuro, Swedish band I Break Horse's sophomore album minimalistic approach to the usually blaring electronic indie scene. Starting out with “You Burn” which is a slow burn that drifts into “FadeÛ, I Break Horse's creates a...
Jack Name – Light Show (God?)
Abrasive, guitar-driven post-punk with the occasional soft spot It’s pretty bold to claim, as Jack Name does in the title of the first song on his new album Light Show to have your “own Electric Ladyland.” It’s even bolder when you consider that the song in...