Writing and music are fueled by some of the same muses, even if they inhabit separate chambers in the maze. And so they share some of the same rules, depending on the operator. One rule that has always worked for me is: “If you are going to write while fucked up, be sure to edit […]
Music In Review
Posted inMusic
Cathedrals and Cacophony
Xiu Xiu is a band that has, for more than two decades, been the prime musical outlet for singer and multi-instrumentalist Jamie Stewart. Initially known for its DIY, bedroom-style confessional records and raucous live show histrionics, the group has over the years morphed into a solid trio, featuring fellow sound-designer Angela Seo and percussionist David […]
Posted inMusic
At the Edge of the Fall
One sleight of hand I’ve maintained over the years of writing about records is I don’t quantify them, I qualify my feelings about them. You won’t see a grade assigned here; that’s not the point of listening to music, as far as I’m concerned. My habit is to showcase a record more than review it. […]
Posted inMusic
A Tale of Two Characters
Pairing is a weird notion, particularly in art and music, where not every comparison is consonant. A lot is left up to individual taste, as well, which is the nature of critical study. My general criteria for reviewing local music is as follows: I won’t write about anything I disliked (this town ain’t big enough […]
Posted inMusic
Far-Out West
Opossum Sun Trail is a group I have championed for half a decade for their integrity, musicianship and brilliant creative output. So I didn’t want to be too overwrought with the big bag of superlatives I keep stashed for just such an occasion when I reviewed the group’s latest release. But dammit, this one is […]
Posted inMusic
Songs from Synthetic Summer Camp
Every summer has its share of feel-good albums and hits made just for the season. I don’t know when this tradition began but it had to have been during the mid-century upswing era of youth culture and its attendant flood of pop music. I can’t really imagine Mario Lanza or Maria Callas releasing hazy poolside […]
Posted inMusic
Monumental Changes
Hi, everybody! It is I, your erstwhile guide into Humboldt’s groovy and often chaotic world of music. On the topic of chaos, how is everyone since I last spoke to you in March? It is with utter sincerity that I hope that all of you and yours are safe and well. Change is rarely up […]
Posted inMusic
Ape Days A Week
I admit I wanted to like this album from the moment I saw the disgusting cover art by John Vochatzer. A bright anatomical nightmare figure tiptoes across a literally visceral landscape with brains, guts and banners of confetti all a go-go. I will also cop to a lesser but perhaps incriminating charge: Until a couple […]
Posted inMusic
The Handshakers Find Their Place
All albums have their proper element, a setting where the music makes the most sense. David Byrne once noted that music is built for specific spaces. Cathedrals were made to hold certain sacred sounds and vice versa, while stadium rock doesn’t make any sense outside of the thin PA systems of famous ballparks and the […]
Posted inMusic
Above the Noise
Blackplate’s debut on the Brooklyn-based Muddguts label is called Every Day is Sadderday and that is exactly my least favorite thing about the album. Not for any personal flaw or poverty of meaning, but simply because everything else is so strong on this album that it seems like a professional prerogative to find a crack […]
Posted inMusic
All Ways in a Good Way
Lyndsey Battle’s third and newest album All Ways in a Good Way flows between curious ukelele picks, intriguing percussion and the Caribbean sounds of a tenor pan, all with folky bass, banjo rhythms and soulful, bluesy vocals.Battle gives her hometown sounds of the Mississippi River Delta a folky, Humboldt soul. It’s enough to make any […]
Posted inMusic
Blitzen Trapper
Standing on the burnished hardwood floor, surrounded by the laughter and chitchat of the waiting crowd, I try to imagine what the Humbrews vat room looked like before they turned it into such a classy show space. The show was supposed to start at 9:30, but in true rock ‘n’ roll fashion, it’s now 10 […]