Mar 18th, 2010 · Written on a laptop, Sleigh Bells' songs rely heavily on bombastic beats that are pushed as far into the red as they can go. Combined with Alexis Krauss' sultry vocals and Derek Miller's trashy guitar riffs, their blown-out beats leap out of the speakers. The electro-pop duo performed at The Parish as the headliner at NPR Music's daytime party.
Mar 17th, 2010 · "Beat the Devil's Tattoo" finds a subtle, down-tempo side of BRMC's style. Taking a cue from The Velvet Underground, the song opens with the bare twang and drone of an acoustic guitar and the steady jangle of a tambourine. The crunch of electric guitar arrives almost as an afterthought, giving weight to singer-guitarist Peter Hayes' sneering remark that "everyone is king when there's no one left to pawn."
Mar 12th, 2010 · He's kicking off a concert tour with a full orchestra. The band he founded, Genesis, will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And, at age 60, Gabriel has just released Scratch My Back, on which he reworks great pop songs across the ages.
Mar 11th, 2010 · Emily Rodgers has one of those haunting, unforgettable voices that radiates with a surreal beauty. On her latest CD, Bright Day, the Pittsburgh-based singer-songwriter pairs her gently plucked guitar with spare, brushed rhythms and strange sonic textures, and soaks the whole mix in a heavy wash of reverb.
Mar 11th, 2010 · "Albatross" finds Olga Goreas singing sweetly while accompanied by insular, shoegaze-tinged fuzz. Yet as the song cakes on layer upon layer of glorious harmonies, overblown guitars, swirling feedback and the propulsive thunder of drums, "Albatross" begins to buckle like a collapsing star.
Mar 10th, 2010 · For 25, Patty Larkin recorded voice and guitar for 25 songs, then let friends such as Rosanne Cash, Erin McKeown and Martin Sexton do the rest. Twenty-five not only represents the number of songs and collaborators, but also how many years it's been since Larkin made her first recordings.
Mar 9th, 2010 · "Lion Face Boy" is the first single from Seabear's sophomore album, We Built a Fire, and it's a perfect display of the band's knack for constructing mountains of instrumentation on a simple idea. The track opens with understated vocals and drums, but eventually bursts into a swarm of piano, horns and guitar.
Mar 5th, 2010 · Forget the air guitar solos, go electric for under $10. Sound artist Ranjit Bhatnagar, a member of NYC Resistor, specializes in building cheap, DIY instruments. He explains how to make an electric guitar from a plank of wood, some wire, a magnet and a guitar string.