A few years ago, the unlikely pair of Isobel Campbell (of Belle and Sebastian) and Mark Lanegan (of Screaming Trees) released “Ballad Of The Broken Seas,” and walked away with a 2006 Mercury Music Prize nomination. Now, they’re back. The difference in “Sunday At Dirt Devil” is mostly in the compositions themselves. The album isn’t [...]

Who the f-k is Community Gun? I’m glad you asked! They’re a self-described “folk/blues/punk band from Highland, New York.” The band is a foursome, who list Tom Waits as one of their influences. And although you can hear it in their music, it’s not a direct parallel. The band’s sound is gruff and dirty, but [...]

Last Year, Mick Jones of The Clash released the official, physical Carbon/Silicon album, “The Last Post,” after releasing a series of free digital EPs on their website. (For those who don’t know, the band also includes Tony James of Generation X, but this is my Clash-related post for this week, so Mick gets top billing.) [...]

Broooooooooklyn!!! Bella Noir are one of the best things since bagels to come out of the Big Apple’s best borough. And they’re not at all what you’d expect—there’s no growling over hooks, they’re not a power trio, they’re not even terribly masculine. So what are they? They’re a quartet that leans towards swirling atmosphere, turn-on-a-dime [...]

When you listen to The Heys, you’re gonna hear Arctic Monkeys. And, just like when you listen to Arctic Monkeys, you’ll hear The Kinks. It’s a British four-man rock band, making songs 3-4 minutes long about love, alcohol, and regret (and occasionally about left-wing politics), featuring power chords and hooks. Not that there’s anything wrong [...]

In January 2000, a couple cool dudes got together to form a Stooges tribute band. Now, there’s been lots of tribute bands in the past: Lez Zeppellin, Mini ACDC, Pink Fraud, and so on. But this one was a little different. This one was founded by the great Mike Watt, who, while recovering from an [...]