Aug 12th, 2008 · Published on the verge of the author's 89th birthday, Doris Lessing's Alfred & Emily is an idiosyncratic combination of personal history, public history and fiction — all about her father and mother.
Jun 13th, 2008 · Athens, GA band Mass Solo Revolt hasn't lost sight of its predecessors — Pavement, Built to Spill — harnessing those raw sounds from the early '90s to create a less polished, yet still infectious, throwback indie rock sound. The opening chords to the band's debut CD, Easy Mark could have been pulled straight off Pavement's Slanted and Enchanted, offering the same lazy, off-kilter sound. Lead singer Martin Brummeler's idiosyncratic lyrics about "crooked teeth" and "rubber knives" add to the song's quirky feel; the track proves uniquely poppy with catchy hooks.
Apr 9th, 2007 · The Chicago band infuses guitar-heavy post-punk music with idiosyncratic pop hooks. On the new Turn the Lights Out, The Ponys' members craft their most disciplined and powerful release yet.
Apr 3rd, 2007 · It's hard to decide what to make of The Bad Plus, whose sound has no pretense of operating at either extreme of jazz and rock, but instead plays with the colors in between. The band made its name playing idiosyncratic, rock-influenced covers of Nirvana and Black Sabbath.
Mar 7th, 2007 · Eric Bogosian and Spalding Gray became well-known for their one-man shows in the 1980s and 1990s. Two shows opening in New York this week aim to prove that the work of these idiosyncratic authors can be taken on by other actors.
Jun 8th, 2006 · As a fiercely independent and idiosyncratic singer/songwriter who plays the piano, Regina Spektor draws easy comparisons to Tori Amos. But her work feels less remote and more versatile, thanks to a singular songwriting voice that spans genres and personas with grace and apparent ease.
May 19th, 2006 · This week's concert features two singer-songwriters whose idiosyncratic approach to music has won them increasingly large audiences. The pairing of Keb Mo and Mason Jennings showcases the guitar in two of its most basic states: free-flowing blues and pared-down folk.
Jan 7th, 2006 · Swedish pop star Jens Lekman sounds more like Lawrence Welk and Burt Bacharach than his American counterparts Kanye West and Ashlee Simpson. His deep, silky voice and instrumentation lends his music a retro pop feel, but the lyrics are too odd to be throwbacks.