Gig Alert: Blouse
ARTIST: BlouseDOWNLOAD:Blouse, "No Shelter"GIG: Wednesday night at 8:30pm at Music Hall of WilliamsburgPortland, Oregon, band Blouse plays driving indie rock laden with woozy, room-spinning effects...
View ArticleGigstock Alert: Conor Oberst
ARTIST: Conor OberstLISTEN:Conor Oberst, "Hundreds Of Ways"GIG: Gigstock, Thursday, April 10These Gig Alerts tune you in to the best show in New York each night. Well, if we do say so ourselves, the...
View ArticleGig Alert: The New Mendicants
ARTIST: The New MendicantsDOWNLOAD:The New Mendicants, "Sarasota"GIG: Thursday night at the Mercury Lounge ($15)The New Mendicants is a new trio out of Canada, but its members are pop music veterans....
View ArticleThe 'Doolittle' Challenge: Summarize a Pixies Classic in Six Words
In April 1989, the Pixies released their second full-length album, Doolittle, earning raves from critics, college radio and British audiences, but performing poorly on the charts. (It peaked at No. 98...
View ArticleGig Alert: Josh Berwanger
ARTIST: Josh BerwangerDOWNLOAD:Josh Berwanger, "Baby Loses Her Mind"GIG: Friday night at the Knitting Factory ($12)Josh Berwanger used his First Communion money to buy a cassette of Motley Crue’s Shout...
View ArticleSummer Jams; 'Epic Music' In Movie Trailers; Tokyo Police Club
In this episode: Memorial Day is a week off, so it’s time to start thinking summer. And every summer has its jams. Writer Rich Juzwiak asked his readers at Gawker: “What Will Your Summer Jams Be?” and...
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Check Ahead: Mr. Gnome, 'The Heart Of A Dark Star'
For a record about journeying deep inside the darkest recesses of the mind, there's nothing introverted about the Cleveland duo Mr. Gnome's new album, The Heart Of A Dark Star. Named for an evocative...
View ArticleGig Alert: Midnight Faces
ARTIST: Midnight FacesGIG: Wednesday night at the Music Hall of WilliamsburgCombine the instrumentals of 80s British post-punk with the vocals of 70s classic Americana and you get Midnight Faces. The...
View ArticleSideshow Podcast: Boots, Before and After Beyoncé
Beyoncé’s surprise self-titled album in 2013 was a giant hit, thanks to collaborations with super-producers like Timbaland, Pharrell, and Frank Ocean. But it was some guy named Boots who was credited...
View ArticleBoots, Before and After Beyoncé
Beyoncé’s surprise self-titled album in 2013 was a giant hit, thanks to collaborations with super-producers like Timbaland, Pharrell, and Frank Ocean. But it was some guy named Boots who was credited...
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Jon Fine: Indie Rock is Beautiful, Even When Your Band Sucks
In 1986, three kids at Oberlin College formed a band. For the next four years, Bitch Magnet would streak across the pop music sky like a rocket, enthralling millions, minting cash and... and...Jon...
View ArticleLou Barlow: Bracing For Change
This session has ended. Follow us @soundcheck on Twitter or subscribe to our podcast in iTunes, and we'll let you know when the audio is ready for download & streaming!Lou Barlow describes his...
View ArticleSharkmuffin: Jagged, Riotous Power Pop
To hear Sharkmuffin’s session live, click on the player below at 2 p.m. ET.In film, they call it the "meet cute" - the moment when two strangers lock eyes and ignite a cinematic classic. In music there...
View ArticleGig Alert: Osso String Quartet
ARTIST: Osso String QuartetGIG: Monday night at Fat CatOsso String Quartet can do your standard classical stuff, but they really turn heads in their many collaborations, from Jay-Z and Kanye to The...
View ArticleAngel Olsen Live In-Studio
If you draw a Venn diagram of “cool indie music” and “earnest folk music,” Angel Olsen falls right in the middle. The St. Louis native’s sophomore album, “My Woman,” has a bouncy energy that is...
View ArticleKevin Devine's Magical Indie Power-Pop
The prolific and poetic Brooklyn-based songwriter Kevin Devine (without the Goddamn Band) offers up his latest storytelling indie rock in the studio. Devine’s influences are said to range from Elliott...
View ArticleGolden Suits Let the Joy In
The Brooklyn band Golden Suits is led by singer and guitarist Fred Nicolaus. You may know him from his earlier band Department of Eagles, or perhaps his duo with Grizzly Bear’s Daniel Rossen. Fred...
View ArticleJuly Talk's Tale of Opposites
This session has ended. Follow us @soundcheck on Twitter or subscribe to our podcast in iTunes, and we'll let you know when the audio is ready for download & streaming!Good things come in twos for...
View ArticleGrandaddy Launches a Comeback
Born in Modesto, CA in 1992, Grandaddy consists of Jason Lytle, Aaron Burtch, Tim Dryden, Jim Fairchild and Kevin Garcia. But, in 2006, it seemed as though the band Grandaddy had run its course, and...
View ArticleWeekly Music Roundup: Black Rose & Whiteout Conditions
Week of March 27: This week, new songs from Blondie, The New Pornographers, and Gorillaz.The New Pornographers Journey Through “Whiteout Conditions” The indie-rock supergroup The New Pornographers will...
View ArticleGig Alert: Huh at Shea Stadium
Gig Alert: Huh at Shea Stadium, the Shea Holidea PartyTickets: $7-$8, Show at 8PMNaming your new rock band must be such a hard thing to do. All the good names are taken, and all the weird ones too. At...
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Cloud Cult — Music Is Medicine
The band Cloud Cult is hard to categorize — both musically and lyrically — though it’s been called an “orchestral indie rock collective.” Less in question is the profound and life-giving force of its...
View ArticleSt. Vincent’s Seduction
Annie Clark, known as St. Vincent, launched her career as a guitar virtuoso—a real shredder—in indie rock, playing alongside artists like Sufjan Stevens. As a bandleader, she’s moved away from the...
View ArticleGig Alert: Elizabeth and the Catapult at Le Poisson Rouge
Gig Alert: Elizabeth and the Catapult at Le Poisson RougeTickets: $12 advance | $15 day of show. 18+ Show at 8:30PMElizabeth and the Catapult is a band led by singer, songwriter, and...
View ArticleGig Alert: Japanese Breakfast – The Body Is A Blade (Weekly Music Roundup)
Gig Alert: Japanese Breakfast – The Body Is A Blade (Weekly Music Roundup)Japanese Breakfast is not really a band; it’s the solo project of Michelle Zauner, who was the lead singer of the band Little...
View ArticleGig Alert: Mister Heavenly at Le Poisson Rouge
Gig Alert: Mister Heavenly at Le Poisson RougeTickets: $15-18. 18+, Show at 9PM.Mister Heavenly is a band that used to include the actor Michael Cera on bass, and still features Nick Thorburn, who...
View ArticleManchester Rock Band elbow Makes Joyful, Emotive, Orchestral Songs
The rock band elbow (small "e") hails from greater Manchester and makes subtle, sensitive, anthemic, joyful music, sometimes augmented with the strings of the Hallé Orchestra, (which they did not bring...
View ArticleSweet Guitar-Driven Power Pop By Eyelids
Watch the full Facebook Live Session:Portland, OR collective Eyelids play "lopsided" rock with a great jangly-buzzy guitar sound – kind of a classic indie rock sound – and why not: the band’s members...
View ArticleNew Music by Guitar Band Luna, Sometimes With Words, In-Studio
See Luna's session live via Facebook:Hear guitar-drenched dream pop by Luna, the New-York-City-based band, now scattered around the country. Yes, that Luna. The one that was “formed in 1991 by Dean...
View ArticleThe Wombats and Their Guitar-Drenched Pop Take Wing
The Liverpool-born trio known as The Wombats make catchy, guitar-saturated pop with riffs on twisted love songs, or detail-rich bad choices. With all members, Dan, Tord, & Murph now residing in...
View ArticleWatch: 'Swimming Pool' by Emmy The Great (Live In Studio)
Emmy The Great has always had a way with words. Her big break came in 2009 when she contributed the song “Seattle” to the Brighton Port Authority, an album by famed producer Fatboy Slim that also...
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From Indie Rockers to Full-Time Caregivers
In 2010, Johnny Solomon's band, Communist Daughter, was on the rise. But behind the scenes, Johnny was struggling—he was drinking heavily, and abusing meth to the tune of $600 a week. "People see it...
View ArticleSpeedy Ortiz Delivers Pop Stingers For the Times
The latest music from American pop band Speedy Ortiz, ‘Twerp Verse,’ speaks smartly to political and social situations of the present from a feminist perspective of truth-telling and is designed, on...
View ArticleThe Sea and Cake at Elsewhere
The Sea and Cake at ElsewhereTickets: $20. Ages 16+. Show at 8PM The Chicago band called The Sea and Cake is a part-time endeavor, because the three central members of the band are all full-time...
View ArticleAn Horse at Baby's All Right
An Horse at Baby's All RightTickets: $14-16. 21+. Show at 8PM.The oddly-named Australian duo called An Horse makes sturdy, pounding rock songs about love and lust and, occasionally, lungpower....
View ArticleStirring, Epic, and Intimate Cinematic Songs of DeVotchKa
Having made their way through Eastern European gypsy cabaret leanings, mariachi horns, and Bollywood string stylings, the multi-instrumentalist band DeVotchKa— Nick Urata (vocals, guitars, Theremin,...
View Articlenêhiyawak – 'page' (Weekly Music Roundup)
nêhiyawak – page (Weekly Music Roundup)The indigenous Canadian band called nêhiyawak (pronounced ne-HEE-oh-wuk) ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐊᐧᐠ is a trio of Cree musicians from amiskwaciy (Edmonton) who blend grand,...
View ArticleArt-Indie-Rock Band Cloud Cult, In-Studio
The cinematic Minnesota band Cloud Cult is a creative collective who continually celebrates life and love, and catharsis through music and multimedia performances, usually involving painting from...
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[Unedited] Cloud Cult with Krista Tippett
The band Cloud Cult is hard to categorize — both musically and lyrically — though it’s been called an “orchestral indie rock collective.” Less in question is the profound and life-giving force of its...
View ArticleLaura Cantrell at the Rubin Museum
Laura Cantrell at the Rubin MuseumTickets: $25-30. Show at 7 pm. Nashville-born but New York-based, Laura Cantrell is a country singer, songwriter, and sometime radio host. She’s built up a loyal...
View ArticleLucy Dacus at White Eagle Hall
Lucy Dacus at White Eagle HallTickets: $20-22. Show at 8 pm. Singer and guitarist Lucy Dacus made her first album as a school project with a friend. Then last year she released Historian, which...
View ArticleSons Of An Illustrious Father at Rough Trade
Sons Of An Illustrious Father at Rough Trade, July 23Tickets: $15. Show at 8:30 pm. The band called Sons Of An Illustrious Father is a trio of equal partners. That’s important to say when one of the...
View ArticleModern-Day Troubadour Pete Yorn's Jangly-Pop
Multi-instrumentalist singer/songwriter Pete Yorn’s latest record of anthemic, lyrical jangle pop is called Caretakers. It’s also the first release on his own new label, Shelly Music. The New Jersey...
View ArticleLove Fame Tragedy at Rough Trade
Love Fame Tragedy at Rough Trade, Wed. Sept. 25Tickets: $18. 16+. Show at 8:30 pm.AND at Mercury Lounge, Thurs., Sept 26Tickets: $18-20. 16+. Show at 9:30 pm.Love Fame Tragedy is the name of a solo...
View ArticleBombay Bicycle Club Finds Solace in Music
British guitar band Bombay Bicycle Club cites New York bands like LCD Soundsystem, The Strokes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs as inspiration. But since they signed to Island as teenagers more than a decade ago,...
View ArticleOvercoats Fight To Feel Excited for the Future
Overcoats And Friends Benefit on Tiltify (Live Stream) on May 21Benefit for Association to Benefit Children7PM EDT via Amazon-music's Twitch channelThe indie-pop duo Overcoats is curating and...
View ArticleWaxahatchee via Noonchorus (Live Stream)
Waxahatchee, Live Sessions via Noonchorus (Live Stream) June 15, 22, 29, and July 6 at 9PM EDT, $15. Katie Crutchfield records under the name Waxahatchee. She’s doing a series of live stream concerts...
View ArticleHAIM
Este Haim and Alana Haim of the band HAIM discuss their new album Women in Music Pt. III.
View Article[Unedited] Craig Minowa and Cloud Cult with Krista Tippett
Music is a source of solace and nourishment in the best of times and the hardest of times. It has been for so many of us in this year of pandemic, and Cloud Cult is on every playlist Krista makes....
View ArticleCraig Minowa & Cloud Cult — Music As Medicine
Music is a source of solace and nourishment in the best of times and the hardest of times. It has been for so many of us in this year of pandemic, and Cloud Cult is on every playlist Krista makes....
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