Music

Tapes ‘n Tapes wants you to put some sugar on its tongue. Or maybe it just wants you to cut your hair and be its summer babe. With one eye winking and the other twinkling in innocence, the act captures the off-kilter mania of early Talking Heads and the insouciant…

You gotta hand it to a gal who calls her record Breasticles. Not entirely sure what she was shooting for there, but we’re guessing it’s either shorthand for a guy who has man-boobs or a woman with breasts that sag like, well, testicles. Whatever the case, Young clearly has balls…

I know this librarian who once met Tom Waits. She told me one of his favorite books was Really the Blues, which then, of course, quickly became one of my favorite books, because, well, next to Bukowski, Waits is my guy. He’s like a god to me. The book, meanwhile,…

Denver has an absolute embarrassment of riches when it comes to singer-songwriters. Attempting to determine whos the best well, thats just a fools errand, as I can tell you, because I have to do it every year for this papers annual Best of Denver issue. And its agonizing. Ultimately, my…

What a kick ass weekend for live music in the Mile High City. Started things off this past Friday night at the Marquis Theater for the Brotherhood of Dae Han’s CD release party. The scream theater commenced with a blistering set from Ft. Collins’ In Case You’re Curious, who years…

Nothing warms up the soul for a little rock ‘n roll better than reggae. Warren Haynes, a latter-day recruit of the famed Allman Brothers Band, probably learned that long ago. But regardless of when Haynes crossed paths with Toots Hibbert, frontman of the legendary Jamaican band Toots and the Maytals,…

Thank God for MySpace. If it weren’t for MySpace, I know some people who wouldn’t have any friends. At all. That’s not just a witty T-shirt slogan; it’s gospel. MySpace can be more than a little soul-sucking: I’ve seen it consume lives, World of Warcraft style. But as nefarious as…

I’m going to make a quick hypothesis here,” says Jeff Wiant. “One of us is going to die on stage tonight. This is not a large stage.” Or a stage at all, really. It’s just after 7:30 p.m. on a Saturday at Surfside 7 in Fort Collins, and the Brotherhood…

From 1997 to 2006, singer-songwriter Joseph Arthur released five albums on a like number of sizable labels, ranging from Virgin to Mega Force. But he decided to put out his latest disc, the enjoyably shaggy Let’s Just Be, on his own imprint, Lonely Astronaut Records — a moniker that references…

One of the last speed-metal bands from the golden age, Megadeth remains forever fast and furious in form and function. The band’s latest album, United Abominations, goes old-school, eschewing the overblown studio production and soaring anthems of recent efforts for straightahead, rip-your-face-off thrash. Dave Mustaine remains outspoken as he preaches…

Paul de Jong and Nick Zammuto formed the Books in 2000, shortly after being introduced by a friend. The two were drawn together by their mutual love of collecting and manipulating the sounds around them: De Jong was into sampling old movies and vinyl, while Zammuto had been making field…

Those who think that pop-music junkies represent music fandom’s lowest common denominator should read the comments left on iTunes about “Girlfriend,” Avril Lavigne’s cheerleader chant from hell. “The avril i looked up to was her own person, and proud of it. She wasn’t afraid to act like herself, and rebel…

Former Pantera pounder Vinnie Paul hasn’t made much noise of late, and for good reason: His brother and bandmate, Dimebag Darrell Abbott, was murdered on stage in late 2004. Hellyeah marks Paul’s return, and his stick work is as fierce as ever. If only this would-be supergroup were as consistently…

Standing Still is an apt title for the latest from Synthetic Elements, which celebrates the disc’s release on Saturday, April 28, at the Marquis Theater, with Animo, Saving Verona, Aloft in the Sundry and Ras Steady. There’s nothing new in the band’s sound, but the players channel old styles so…

Why does anyone play music? To feel better, to feel worse, to feel something? There are no answers, no reasonable explanations, but foolish people, beyond their better judgment, keep falling for that rock-and-roll devil anyway. Which, for the rest of us spectators, is great, because we need those breathless impulses…

Dntel, Dumb Luck (Sub Pop). Postal Service alum Jimmy Tamborello, joined by a gaggle of indie all-stars, daubs simple melodies with electronic smears and other studio-derived tomfoolery. The results can be either audacious or irritating — and at times during the title track, both descriptors apply. In the end, though,…

Although singer-songwriter Conor Oberst, whose band shares this bill with Oakley Hall and McCarthy Trenching, has been called a genius repeatedly in recent years, that designation felt premature. He’s certainly made interesting CDs, but his early efforts were more about establishing promise than fulfilling it. Likewise, his twin 2005 releases,…

On Harbor, Joel Harrison’s latest effort, it’s evident that the guitarist’s compositional scope reaches as wide as his technical prowess. He takes a song and turns it into a journey, changing moods and vibes as he leads the listener on cross-continent treks from India to Africa to Asia, incorporating hints…

In the 1990s, DJ Shadow (aka Josh Davis) revolutionized turntablism and distinguished himself as the illest sample-slinger in the West. His subsequent contributions to film scores and supergroup projects cemented his reputation as the dark lord of ambient breakbeats and trippy electronica. Unfortunately, key parts of his musical identity got…

Contorted, distorted, six-string mayhem was the hallmark of Jennifer Herrema’s previous group, the influential Royal Trux. Deconstructing guitar rock and putting it back together in oddly fascinating ways, Trux played with such a devil-may-care attitude that it didn’t matter if its evocation of classic rock’s excesses seemed like some kind…