Music

Jim McTurnan is astounded by how well his band’s new record is doing. Released at the beginning of May, Past Lies and Former Lives has already cracked the top 50 on CMJ’s Top 200 chart. “Given the enormous flood of new records out, I didn’t think this was even a…

Dinosaur Jr.’s June 1991 tour was its most famous thanks to what’s now seen as a historical anomaly: The opening act was Nirvana. But in those days, no one looked askance at the billing. Although Nirvana’s early work (for a rising indie called Sub Pop) had inspired Geffen Records to…

The 15th Street Tavern (623 15th Street) is an ideal spot for drinking on a weekday, as I was reminded last Thursday afternoon when I saw six guys and a gal sitting at the U-shaped bar, each with a pitcher of beer in front of them. It took me back…

Welcome to the thirteenth edition of the Westword Music Showcase! This year’s Showcase, set for Saturday, June 16, in the Golden Triangle, is bigger and better than ever (yes, I know we say that every year, but it happens to be true). For starters, the all-ages Outdoor Stage has moved…

CacheFlowe, Joe Sampson, Nathan & Stephen and George & Caplin Hi-Dive Friday, June 8 Slide Show Live Review…

There are well-documented differences between the British and us Yanks: They reportedly eat kippers for breakfast, keep the spare tire in the boot, smoke fags, live in flats and drive on the left in tiny cars. It seems they’ve also mistaken soccer for football. But when it comes to the…

Every half hour or so, the U.K. music press proclaims that another new group deserves a spot on the pantheon of all-time greats. Still, few acts experience hype of the intensity absorbed by Bloc Party. New Musical Express named Silent Alarm, the outfit’s breakthrough disc, as the top CD of…

In the late ’70s, when pianist/keyboardist Wayne Horvitz moved to New York City, he and his wife, Robin Holcomb, and three other musicians rented a rehearsal space on Morton Street in Greenwich Village. There was a big sign outside the basement space that read “Call Henry,” which prompted the group…

In the late ’90s, after a mutual friend was murdered, MC Vursatyl (aka Marlon Irving) and producer/MC Jumbo the Garbageman (aka Solomon David) formed a group called Lifesavas to honor his memory. Portland audiences quickly embraced the duo, but its big break came when Chief Xcel of Blackalicious inked the…

People who try to change the ones they love rather than accepting them as they are typically wind up wedded to disappointment — and the same concept can be applied to British singer-songwriter Carina Round. The Disconnection, Round’s 2004 American debut, was a raw wonder, but because it racked up…

Breakfast in Bed finds Joan Osborne once again reworking classic R&B numbers to varied effect. Icons such as “Midnight Train to Georgia” and “Ain’t No Sunshine” should not be trifled with, but trifle she does. And the leprous “Sarah Smile” should likewise be considered untouchable, simply because of its skin-crawling…

Lo-fi is sort of de rigueur in DIY indie rock, but when that affectation is used to cover up poor songwriting, it can be wearisome. Fortunately, Transistor Radio Sound’s Nick Houde isn’t lacking in that department. Throughout Squares, Transistor’s latest release, Houde and company take an array of sounds and…

As a self-described “singer/songwriter/guitarist/teacher/activist,” JT Nolan takes a more-is-more approach to life, and his music follows suit. No wonder the new CD by the Lovely & Talented can seem a bit unwieldy at times. More often than not, however, Nolan is able to keep his ambitions in balance. The Talented…

Beatallica, Sgt. Hetfield’s Motorbreath Pub Band (Oglio Entertainment). Ever since the Beatles broke up, the act’s music has been repackaged and reimagined in numerous ways. Here its most mind-bending opus, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, is spliced together with the riffs and imagery of Metallica, resulting in a parody…

Figuratively speaking, the planet is shrinking by the day, and Manu Chao is singularly qualified to capture this contraction in song. Born in Paris of Spanish parents, he grew up listening to sounds from across the globe, and his recordings have managed to encompass these influences without diluting his personal…

It’s a given these days: Major labels are filled with worse decision-makers than the Bush administration. Columbia Records, however, looks dumber than most for dropping Lovedrug before the release of its sophomore album. Everything Starts Where It Ends — picked up by the Militia imprint, which released the act’s debut…

Consistency is considered to be an attribute — but for Richard Thompson, it’s been a drawback, too. He was first championed during the late ’60s for his contributions to Fairport Convention, among the most interesting English folk-rock groups of the era, and he saw his star rise again in the…

When MxPx got its start in 1993, it was known as Magnified Plaid. Back then, the Bremerton trio was little more than a replicate of its influences, specifically groups like NOFX. But the threesome never dreamed it would go on to be as influential in the Christian punk scene as…