Latest Posts

Imagine Dragons – Smoke + Mirrors

February 17, 2015

Night Visions may have blown Imagine Dragons into the upper reaches of the stratosphere, largely on the heels of one unbelievably overplayed atomic-themed song, but a sizable chunk of music critics chided the young mega-stars for their safe, middling pop-rock approach, glossy production, and perceived lack of originality. Naturally, for LP No. 2, ID aimed for more “stripped back … rock-oriented” songs – a common-enough progression for groups in their position, taken by artists from MGMT to NIN. These shots at earthier, heavier and more stylistically diverse music is evident throughout Smoke + Mirrors. But they’re more decoration than excursions – means of dressing up songs that, at their core, are cringingly stale and uninspired. Opener “Shots” is unabashed dance-pop that hits cheese when aiming for cool, the trip-hop spaz of “Gold” falls back all too quickly on its big dull chorus, and ballad “It Comes Back to You” brings[...]

Tonight: The Public Presents Mr. Boneless

February 12, 2015

Buffalo’s new alt-weekly is holding its second installment of The Public Presents tonight at Nietzsche’s – and they’re serving up a night of simple, down-home American rock with fixings of blues, bluegrass, country, folk, Americana, and everything in between. For headliners, The Public brought out one of WNY’s best folk-rock outfits in Mr. Boneless. This Queen City via Fredonia quartet melds gentle, woodsy folk with hard guitar blues, noise rock, punk, and grunge. With a true, authentic revivalist spirit, this group brings the honest passion and grit of its classic influences while  invigorating it with all the muscular energy of 90s DIY punk. Opening the night is the bluegrass-influenced Rear View Ramblers (featuring former members of the CPX), country-rockers Leroy Townes Band, and Jaye Bartell, on first, who admirably takes after the stoic, gritty deadpan of Johnny Cash. The show starts at 8pm at Nietzsche’s, with a $5 cover.

Bob Dylan – Shadows in the Night

February 3, 2015

Shadows in the Night is certainly one of Bob Dylan’s most confounding projects. From one of the greatest and most innovative architects of modern music – the man who redefined the scope and sound of what an artist could do, and stands still as the voice of the 1960s counter-culture movement – probably the last thing we would expect is a full disc of music that pre-dates his own towering influence, while also avoiding the music that informed most of his career – namely, folk, country, blues, gospel, and Americana. Instead, Dylan goes entirely pre-rock on Shadows, offering us 10 covers of traditional pop standards made famous by Frank Sinatra. But, as even the most casual observers know, Dylan is no stranger to throwing left field efforts. And he’d hinted at his inner Frank in more recent releases; see the slow-dance swooner “Soon After Midnight” from 2012’s Tempest, and the[...]

Tonight: Scajaquada Creeps

January 31, 2015

Don’t let the name unnerve you. The Scajaquada Creeps are as far from dark or unsettling as could be. The quartet’s eclectic take on electronica – fusing elements of funk, free jazz, and neb-psychedelia along the way – is both spacey and dancey; music that equally moves brain and body. Frequently donning costumes when they take the stage, the band follows in the vein previously explored by Primus, showing off a funky, quirky irreverence in their performances. Meanwhile, their wide range of conflicting bleeps and bloops suggests influence from modern electronic groups, like Animal Collective and early-Aughts Radiohead. In other words, expect fun and expect weird. See the Scajaquada Creeps perform tonight starting at 9pm at The Jungle Gym. Admission is $5.

Even Limp Bizkit Hates Limp Bizkit Fans

January 30, 2015

For most of us born in the late ’80s or early ’90s, the name Limp Bizkit brings to mind two things: the group’s almost laughably awful and contrived bro-metal, and the groups fans, which could be politely described as “roided-out, tribal-tattooed, spray-tanned, Jell-O shot filled bohunks.” In fact, it was none other than Wes Borland, Limp Bizkit’s lead guitarist/mascot, who so kindly described said fans of his in an Instagram caption. Then, perhaps in the briefest moment of self-reflection (you know, reflection that these people made you rich as hell), apparently later deleted it. According to MetalInjection.net, Borland wrote: “Getting all packed up this week for Broatchella 2015. It’s the same as Brochella but it’s off land. Can’t wait to see me some roided out tribal tattooed spray tanned Jell-O shot filled bohunks do their best drunk MMA impressions in the top deck mosh pit. Whenever we aren’t on stage, I’ll be curled[...]

Marilyn Manson – The Pale Emperor

January 27, 2015

The Pale Emperor sure is shaping up to be the Marilyn Manson reinvention we didn’t know we needed. Facing a slate of lackluster records and diminishing stature in the mainstream media, Manson made a number of bold decisions leading into the recording of Emperor, his ninth studio effort. He parted ways with his longtime bassist-guitarist Twiggy Ramirez, choosing instead to record with Tyler Bates, an accomplished film-and video game-composer in his own right, having scored dozens of high-profile horror and action flicks. Perhaps more significantly, he largely abandoned whatever remained of his shock shtick, and stripped down his high intensity brand of industrial metal to a grinding, bluesy stomp. The LP opens with “Killing Strangers” – a knuckle-dragging death march over which Manson moans like a self-assured serial killer, sounding almost regretful as he proclaims, “You better run / cause we’ve got guns.” It could be a kiss-off to the[...]

The Decemberists – What A Beautiful World, What A Terrible World

January 20, 2015

“But we’re not so starry-eyed anymore,” Colin Meloy croons on “Make You Better,” the surprisingly radio-ready lead single off The Decemberists’ seventh studio album, What a Beautiful World, What A Terrible World. Indeed, while the group broke through with its heady, academic – and, yes, geeky – brand of historically-literate prog-folk, this latest record finds the Portland, Ore. quintet embracing a simpler, gentler format. It’s hardly a surprising artistic shift. After finding success in the mid-Aughts with rock-operas about an old Japanese folktale and a woman’s unlikely romance with a forest-dwelling shape-shifter (2006’s The Crane Wife and 2009’s The Hazards of Love, respectively), Meloy conscientiously stripped down the group’s progressive approach and high-minded concepts. The result was the howling, rustic Americana of 2011’s The King Is Dead. But where King was stark, driven by loud beats and hard-edged alt-country textures, Beautiful World is lush and serene, heavy on ballads and slightly[...]