Outlaw In Peru – OIP (75orLess Records) This record has been kicking around for awhile but I popped it into my CD player the other day and it floored me. I don’t know when — or if — this band will ever play again, but that is part of the fun. They dress up in masks […]
2016 is still only in its infancy but it seems like we’ve lost a lot of people. I want to send this out to the memory of Joe Moody, the owner/operator of Danger Studios who passed a couple of weeks ago. I did not have the pleasure of knowing Joe personally, but I know his […]
It’s that time again — the finals of this year’s WBRU Rock Hunt take over The Met Café this Saturday night. The great thing about the WBRU Rock Hunt is every year is completely different. Sure, there are some years where there is an obvious favorite, but this year it’s wide open! Last year’s champs, […]
Sage Francis This is a gem of a show that is flying under the radar with acclaimed hip-hop artist Sage Francis coming to The Knickerbocker in Westerly. Sage Francis has accomplished a ton with his most recent release, 2014’s Copper Gone, which came out on his own Strange Famous Records. This show also includes one […]
Pixels – Hello (P.O.P. Records) With their new EP, Hello, the Pixels have created a throwback pop gem. Hello starts out with “Memory Boy” that tells the tale of moving to New York not knowing anyone. It’s ’50s rock played with an indie rock band feel. To give you an idea, some bands I think […]
Brrr! Winter is finally here. I miss the old days when it would begin in December and then that one warm day in February came like a beacon of hope that winter was waning. Now we just get three months of suck in the wasteland between fall and spring only to get walloped in February. […]
We’re going to start off this one paying homage to John (Johnny Rotten) Lydon on his 60th birthday. Outside of Joey Ramone, he’s the single most influential figure in how I view music and life. Stay tuned for my best of column at motifri.com for more on Public Image Ltd. My last column was kind […]
I had planned to start with a brief tribute to Lemmy Kilmister of Motorhead, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t include a few words about David Bowie, whose passing I haven’t had time to really process. As far as Lemmy, people always talk about Keith Richards being the personification of the rock ‘n’ roll […]
Atlantic Thrills – Vices (Almost Ready Records) The Atlantic Thrills serve up another plate of surf-smoked garage rock on their sophomore LP, Vices. “Hold It Down” is a catchy tune, but it’s hard not to view it as beach bonfire re-writing of Deer Tick’s “The Bump.” Better is “Bible in a Bowl” that in my […]
Blackletter – Digital Vinyl Nobody is ever going to accuse Blackletter’s vocalist/keyboardist/songwriter Dave Laros of lacking ambition. The band’s debut release, Digital Vinyl, is a concept EP about a gunslinger’s descent into Hell. Concept albums have their pros and cons. The upside being the possibility for the album to tell an engaging story through great […]