I’m addicted to stress, that’s the way that I get things done When I’m not under pressure then I sleep too long and I hang around like a bum I think I’m going nowhere and that makes me nervous A confession, then, to kickstart this edition of “Songs in the Key of Life”: I am stressed. I hear the familiar chorus rising once again. “Join the club,” you all say, unimpressed. “Welcome […]
Posts tagged "indie"
The Popblerd Halftime Show: Drew’s Best of 2013 So Far
Halfway through 2013, we’ve come to an interesting impasse: moreso than the last several years, the music of this year has been largely awesome. I don’t say this to suggest that I’m one of those curmudgeonly sorts that thinks new music blows; it’s just, we’ve been in a bit of a lull. Much of 2012 was boring on the album front, and 2011 was only marginally better. And yet, here we are at unlucky ’13, and I’ve already doled out […]
Iron & Wine, Ghost on Ghost: Album Review
It’s interesting that being a fan of Iron & Wine isn’t necessarily a prerequisite for enjoying (or not enjoying, for that matter) Sam Beam’s latest album, Ghost on Ghost. Artistic evolution (and devolution) happens all the time — how different could Ghost on Ghost be? Well, for longtime fans of the hirsute folkie, the answer is: very. Beam — who performs as Iron & Wine — made his reputation on a host of recordings that caused the rock-crit elite to […]
Popblerd’s Best Albums of 2012: Drew’s List
Drew unleashes a typically diverse best-of 2012 list, featuring everyone from fun. and Miguel to Regina Spektor. Oh yeah, Kendrick Lamar is here too!!
The Popblerd Halftime Show: Drew’s Best of 2012 So Far
James Mercer and The Shins have created one of 2012’s best albums, according to Drew. Who else made his list? Read on to find out…
Spin Cycle: Mount Carmel’s “Real Women”
Indie rockers Mount Carmel hail from Columbus, Ohio, and, like many things Midwestern, nearly fooled me into thinking they were one thing when they were really something else. Their handle sounded to me like they would be hipster pop or some other ironically-named alt-rock-nuvo-art-thing. But noooo – they are straight-up, four-chord seventies rock, those sneaks. As if I weren’t already thrown off enough, once they launched into their opening track, “Swaggs”, and I heard those gritty vocals coming through a classic condenser mic, […]
Spin Cycle: Florence + the Machine’s “MTV Unplugged”
Florence + the Machine are, in theory at least, pretty ideal candidates for an installment of MTV Unplugged. Listening to the official CD releases of these shows, artists like Neil Young hew fairly close to their on-record sound (rendering the discs rather inessential), while artists like Alice in Chains and Jay-Z were forced to operate slightly left of their centers, lending an appealing air of excitement to the corresponding discs. Florence Welch is a naturally gifted singer – always a […]
Spin Cycle: fun.’s “Some Nights”
You’ve heard “We Are Young” all over the place, now check out what we think about fun.’s new album.
Spin Cycle: Shearwater’s “Animal Joy”
It’d be a shame if Shearwater’s ultimate legacy was as Okkervil River’s de facto kid brother. Originally envisioned as an artier side project for the wordy indie-rock artisans of Okkervil, Will Sheff and Jonathan Meiburg, Shearwater has evolved considerably. A lot that’s due to the amicable division of labor between the two bands: Meiburg has emerged as Shearwater’s figurehead, while Sheff generally keeps to Okkervil River these days, and under the tutelage of their respective artistic directors, both outfits have […]
Spin Cycle: Joseph Arthur’s “Redemption City”
Joseph Arthur is a prolific mad genius. Like contemporaries Ryan Adams and Robert Pollard, Arthur is a man who simply can’t seem to help making music. He once described songs that made up the four EPs he released in 2008 as “strange animals in a cosmic cage begging for release”; he released an album a scant seven months ago; and now, seemingly out of nowhere, he’s dumped Redemption City on his devoted fanbase as a free digital download, and surprisingly to […]
Spin Cycle: Craig Finn’s “Clear Heart Full Eyes”
Craig Finn’s new solo album is out tomorrow. Does it measure up to the standard set by The Hold Steady’s catalog?
Spin Cycle: Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin’s “Tape Club”
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin are easy to like, but they’re unlikely to be anyone’s favorite band. They’re a little too unassuming for that: Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin write simple, unadorned pop songs. Classifying them as indie is difficult since, beyond their unwieldy band name and reasonably lo-fi take on things, their songs are generally catchy and devoid of pretense; lumping them in with groups that tread the indie/pop dividing line like Death Cab For Cutie or […]