Superwad
Wad Gets Shirt.
Andrew Womack
Hot Snakes, Suicide Invoice
Full-throttle, straight-up Rock and Roll. Blow-your-mind, wreck-your-house Rock and Roll. This is Rock and Roll. At least, what we think of when we say ‘Rock and Roll’ these days. That’s to say, no—it’s not Elvis. Nevertheless, if I put this album
Sonic Youth, Murray Street
Sonic Youth’s new album—their sixteenth—is named after the block in Lower Manhattan where their studio is located. Murray Street is also where a jet engine landed on September 11. This album, however, seems to have little to do with any of that. Produced by Jim O’Rourke
Redesign
It’s always had the headlines. That was how it started. That was really why it started. And, naturally, it had to have a nice design. Blogger was our first publishing tool. This site’s first design was a three-column ditty pulled straight from the Blogger stock templates. Had
DJ Shadow, Private Press
This, the long-awaited follow-up to 1996’s monumental Endtroducing…, was worth it. Worth every month, worth every day. It’s catchy, it’s spontaneous, it’s gorgeous. (Again) Shadow generates tracks that utterly defy categorization. It’s definitely more mature and there are a number of instances where
Xiu Xiu, Knife Play
This is a very personal album. A look at singer Jamie Stewart’s message on the cover sticker says it immediately: ‘When my mom died I listened to Henry Cowell, Joy Division, Detroit techno, the Smiths, Takemitsu, Sabbath, Gamelan, ‘Black Angels’ and Cecil Taylor.’ Nothing held back here. No real
Shy Child
New York City ‘Synth-rock’ duo Shy Child makes a unique type of music, an amalgam of synthesizer and live drums, with energy and precision. They spoke with us about what’s happened, what’s next, and what’s in a genre.
John Vanderslice
John Vanderslice—Tiny Telephone studio and MP3 hub owner, ex-MK Ultra lead singer, current solo artist behind the very beautiful “Life and Death of an American Fourtracker”—answers our questions.
Interpol, Interpol EP
Three new songs from New York City’s Interpol. Their recent signing to Matador has definitely given them access to higher production values, and it’s immediately apparent, right from the first track—the re-recorded ‘PDA.’ A well-written song any way you cut it, it’s had new
The Mere, The Mere
Athens, Georgia’s The Mere is Jacob Flint. Oh, the name? It’s because he ‘wanted a band name that was short and said nothing about him at all.’ The Mere? Yes, and it’s among the best new music you’ve likely never heard. The Mere sounds like a