indie Archive
09 Oct 2017
Album Review: J. Atkinson — Youth Eternal
Jonathan Atkinson has a background that includes immersion in the Asheville punk and indie scenes. The musical fingerprints of those experiences aren’t readily obvious when listening to his latest release, Youth Eternal But if one spends time with the record, they are subtly revealed. There’s an acoustic folk ambiance to “Crooked Smile” that’s slightly redolent
09 Sep 2017
Album Review: Gel-Sol — Horse Head Bookends
It’s inevitable: the first thing one notices about Horse Head Bookends, the latest album from Andrew Reichel (d/b/a/ Gel-Sol), is its stunningly original album artwork and packaging. The vinyl LP is housed in a black, die-cut sleeve with a front window that serves as a frame for a 12×12 full-color art. There’s a collage for
04 Aug 2016
Quilt: A Collective of Individuals
Though the group has released three albums since 2011, Quilt has been together since late 2008. Formed in Boston by Shane Butler and Anna Fox Rochinski – then students at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts – the group grew out of the city’s do-it-yourself musical scene. “There was a very free-form DIY
01 Aug 2016
Album Review: The Long Distance Relationship
I sometimes joke (or as Senator Al Franken says, “kid on the square”) that I avoid reviewing music made by artists local to Asheville NC “because I gotta live in this town.” I do in fact write often (for our local altweekly, Mountain Xpress) about local recording artists/performers, but those are customarily interviews/news stories. But
01 Jul 2016
Album Reviews: Five LPs from Flying Nun Records
The New Zealand-based Flying Nun Records has a well-earned reputation for interesting, largely DIY sounds, all emanating from the small island country off Australia’s east coast. You won’t find any Hobbit-themed music here; what you will find is never less than intriguing. All of these reviewed albums were provided to me in my favorite format:
16 Dec 2015
Album Review: Tall Dwarfs — Weeville
As I discussed in yesterday’s review of Chris Knox‘s Seizure, famed New Zealand independent label Flying Nun has released that title and Tall Dwarfs‘ Weeville on vinyl LP. Some might argue that mentioning Knox and Tall Dwarfs is a distinction without a difference; Tall Dwarfs is, after all, Knox plus musical co-conspirator Alec Bathgate. But
27 Nov 2015
Holiday Music Roundup 2015
Imagene Peise — Atlas Eets Christmas Let’s get a few things out of the way right up front about this holiday-themed release. First there is no Imagene Peise; despite a convoluted backstory, “she” is really The Flaming Lips. But no, that’s not quite accurate, either: This album – a reissue of a 2007 limited edition
07 Apr 2015
Festival Review: Big Ears Festival 2015, Part 2
Continued from Part One… Next, it was drone time. The minimalist work of the duo A Winged Victory for the Sullen (joined by three additional musicians) was delivered in the bright, daylit room at the Knoxville Museum of Art. The hypnotic vibe of the group’s work lent itself to simply sitting back and closing one’s
18 Feb 2015
Album Review: Dengue Fever — The Deepest Lake
The band Dengue Fever has been together for about twelve years; prior to their latest album, they’ve released six full-lenth albums (including a film soundtrack) and three EPs. But somehow I’ve missed them until now. My only prior exposure to the group was via their curating a 2010 compilation called Dengue Fever Presents Electric Cambodia.
30 Jan 2015
Hundred-word Reviews: January 2015, Part 5
There’s a never-ending stream of reissued music, too. So it’s time once again for some hundred-worders to work off some of my backlog. As always, these all deserve full reviews, but with limited time and resources, 100 words will have to do. I’ll cut to the chase. This week-long run of quick reviews wraps up