pop Archive
13 Apr 2021
Different by Design: tUnE-yArDs Get Comfortable Being (a little) Less Weird
When Merrill Garbus made Bird-Brains – the 2009 debut recording from her Oakland-based project tUnE-yArDs – part of what earned the album critical plaudits was its quirky, offbeat character. Eleven […]
01 Apr 2021
30 Days Out, April 2021 #1: Alexa Rose, Brie Capone, David LaMotte, Eric Gales
I’ll spare you the April Fools Day jokes and instead move on to letting you know about foru live-and-in-person music performances happening in the next 30 days in Asheville. Three […]
25 Mar 2021
Album Review: The Tummies — 9:30 Girl
I love beat groups. Cue up anything from early Beatles to obscure ‘60s acts like freakbeat combo the Renegades (you haven’t lived until you’ve heard their cover of Bill Haley […]
19 Mar 2021
Hundred-word Reviews, March 2021
Hey, kids: collect ’em all! Five new albums, all highly recommended. Here’s the lowdown on each, in exactly 100 words per. Maxwell Farrington & Le SuperHomard – Once If you’re […]
07 Mar 2021
The Moon and You: Curious About What Happens Next
This feature appeared previously in Bold Life. Ryan Furstenburg and Melissa Hyman each had things going as singer-songwriters before they met in 2011. But once they combined their creativity, the […]
04 Mar 2021
Always Finish What You Started: Van Dyke Parks on ‘Orange Crate Art’ (Part 3 of 3)
Continued from Part Two… Parks recalls a visit to a friend in rural Virginia, nearly 2500 miles due East from southern California. “I went past, Galax, where the Old Fiddlers […]
03 Mar 2021
Always Finish What You Started: Van Dyke Parks on ‘Orange Crate Art’ (Part 2 of 3)
Continued from Part One… Parks recalls how the germ of the project came about in or around 1990. “I had a piano exercise, and it was fun for me,” he […]
02 Mar 2021
Always Finish What You Started: Van Dyke Parks on ‘Orange Crate Art’ (Part 1 of 3)
Though he never sought the role – nor does he wear it comfortably – Van Dyke Parks is something of a cult figure in music. An idiosyncratic musical storyteller of […]
01 Mar 2021
30 Days Out, March 2021 #1: Chelsea Lovitt, Aditi and Jay, TV Girl, The Jakob’s Ferry Stragglers
Live music is coming back! Who knew? To be sure, it’s not everywhere, and when it’s indoors it’s subject to social distancing protocols – we’re not out of the woods […]
02 Feb 2021
Album Review: Tenant From Zero — Flight
With a sound halfway between late-period Roxy Music and ‘90s triphop/chillwave/downtempo a la Massive Attack and Zero 7, Brooklyn-based Tenant From Zero makes moody, hauntingly romantic music for the ages. […]