Music

Duffy is like a kinder, gentler Amy Winehouse: Her blond hair, English-rose complexion and the lack of any real edge to her music ensures marketability. Witness the use of “Mercy,” her international smash, in numerous commercials prior to her debut release. But Duffy’s story doesn’t begin and end here. There…

The music of Cloud Cult is big, exuberant and packed full of sounds, ideas and influences. With themes as weighty as environmental degradation and as intimate as familial relations, no subject is too big or too small for this cult. At the heart of its songs lies the catchy, if…

Like Guitar Wolf before it, Montreal’s CPC Gangbangs takes a primal punk-rock formula and distorts it far beyond its original shape. The result is a jagged, noisy, harried sound that hurtles forward, careering nearly out of control, then shudders with the waves of powerful emotions harnessed against its will. Touring…

Don’t let him fool you: Alex Brown Church is Sea Wolf. Sure, he hasn’t been through as many lineup changes as the Avs, but Church just likes to keep his options open. That’s the sort of thing you’re allowed to do as a musician if you have the songwriting ability…

Overtly ambitious musicians open themselves up to ridicule when they shoot for the stars and fall short — but their attempts can pay dividends anyway. Witness The Alchemy Index, a multi-part magnum opus released by Thrice, a quartet joined on this date by Circa Survive and Pelican. Dustin Kensrue, Teppei…

On Delayer, the latest CD by the Heavenly States, Ted Nesseth, who sings, plays guitar and writes tunes for the Oakland, California-bred group, doesn’t wait long to demonstrate his lyrical cleverness. The first track, “Morning Exercise,” finds him yelping “This goes on the record! And it hurts so bad!” over…

Yet another Denver band has officially been spoken for, and for once, the rumors were actually true: Breathe Carolina has indeed inked a deal with Rise Records, the Oregon-based imprint that previously released the debut recordings of Fear Before the March of Flames and Drop Dead, Gorgeous…

Classic theme songs might seem to be a thing of the past. Some shows, like LOST and My Name is Earl, don’t have them at all. And even among those that do still have theme songs, it might seem that not enough shows boast the timeless classics of Sanford and…

Here’s a selection of the best of last week’s music blogging from around the Village Voice chain: Panic at the Disco become the Warped-Tour-era answer to “Listen to the Flower People.” You can judge for yourself whether that’s a good or bad thing…

Does It Offend You, Yeah? and Yo Majesty Saturday, May 10, 2008 Bluebird Theater The evening went up, up then crashed hard Saturday night. Electro pop, electro rock and some god-awful hip-hop took over the Bluebird, leaving this reviewer asking, “How the hell did Yo Majesty snag a tour headlining…

Photo Courtesy of Kara Davidson/Urban Outfitters The Chain Gang of 1974 Saturday, May 10, Urban Outfitters, Boulder Better Than: The last show you saw at the Gap You wouldn’t expect a chain retail store to support local live music, but this weekend, on the increasingly homogenized and decreasingly unique Pearl…

Photo by Aerin Film School, Monofog, Fucking Orange Saturday, May 10, 2008 hi-dive Better Than: That time I saw Mind Bomb at 7 South. Yikes. While I was ultimately pleased with the music I heard Saturday night at the hi-dive, I was initially less than certain that I’d walk out…

Laura Veirs and Liam Finn Friday, May 9, 2008 The Walnut Room Better Than: Six Months in a Leaky Boat. Digital looping pedals, which have been around for at least the past two decades, have made it fairly simple for one musician to sound like multiple musicians. A guy can…

Photo by Tom Murphy Nudity with Temples and Outer Neon Friday, May 9, 2008 Glob Glob Glob, Colorado Springs Better Than: Most of the neo-classic rock out there. Tight Bros. From Way Back When only played Denver once during its entire career, and that was on June 15, 1999 at…

Phil Lesh and Friends Friday, May 9, 2008 Fillmore Auditorium Better Than: Crying into your beer at Sancho’s Broken Arrow next door because you couldn’t find a ticket. Walking into the sold-out Lesh show was interesting; there was an ice-cream truck parked out front, people selling various psychedelic paraphernalia and…

Detroit Cobras, Super 400 and Yerkish Friday, May 9 The Falcon You’d never know that Yerkish was missing a guitar player. Down an axeman, Nate Huisgen pulled double-duty — not an easy task considering the band’s complex song structures that border on math-rock. But with his creative approach, Huisgen relied…

Betcha didn’t know that Dylan played the piano for a stripper in Central City once. Okay, so maybe some of you did, but I certainly didn’t. Not until I stumbled across this Times Online article touting unreleased photos of the young troubadour taken by his friend Barry Feinstein (none were…

LOCALS ONLY The online Colorado hip-hop show Out Tha Box TV will celebrate two years on air next month and they’re beginning their third year with a bang. The online show will be heading to television sets on May 14 on the ION Network at 3 p.m. “We were looking…

Wilco Thursday, May 8, 2008 Pikes Peak Center, Colorado Springs Better Than: The last time I saw Wilco at the Fillmore. The first time I heard the live version of Wilco’s “Handshake Drugs” from Kicking Television I was floored by the guitar solo in the middle and the pure sonic…