THE WAR ON DRUGS-“ Barrel Of Batteries EP”

One of my personal fave labels, Secretly Canadian, recently signed Philadelphia’s The War On Drugs, and they’re offering an EP, “Barrel Of Batteries,” for free as a zip file. Picture Byrdsy jangle and a delivery somewhere between Bob Dylan and Warren Zevon (and, on “Pushing Corn,” a little Arcade Fire crawl) and you’ll get the [...]

PICTURE OF THE DAY

THE LAST TOWN CHORUS

It’s a little late for me to rave about Last Town Chorus‘ 2006 album, Wire Waltz, so instead I’ll tell you about their new single, Loud and Clear, featuring Megan Hickey’s wonderful voice and steel guitar. Listen for yourself–it’s easily as good as any Cowboy Junkies or Edie Brickell single. And check out a few [...]

10 REASONS TO LOVE KINKS COVERS

I’ll tell you what, next to The Clash, my favorite group of all time just might be The Kinks. Not because every album (or every song on most albums) is a gem, because the band has sure had their clunkers. But because those albums and songs that did hit, stayed with me. The first cassette [...]

BIG BUILDINGS-“Wampum”

I don’t think I’ve had the opportunity to write much about Chicago’s Big Buildings since I arrived at wordpress, but on my old site I interviewed them and found them to be genuine, funny guys (I also found Michael Wood to be a bit of a wiseass). The last time I talked with them, I [...]

2 from WE ARE SCIENTISTS

I am a huuuuuuge fan of Love & Squalor, even if the band did sign with Virgin for it. It’s a fantastic album–nonstop fun and thrills. As for Brain Thrust Mastery . . . Eh. Not so much. It’s got a few good tunes, but it’s a little too slick. They’ve lost their indie sound [...]