Aug 6th, 2008 · Black Osin is the solo home-recording project of Seattle-based artist C. Blake Osin. Osin originates from Vladivostok, Russia, and the country's influence shines through in his music. Black Osin's debut album, Terrifics, is a wonderfully lo-fi set of songs that fall in line with the work of Beirut, DeVotchKa and Neutral Milk Hotel.
Jul 31st, 2008 · Los Campesinos! is a seven-piece Welsh indie-pop band with an exciting, multilayered debut called Hold on Now, Youngster. Already soaking up international buzz, Los Campesinos! visits World Cafe with host David Dye.
Jul 30th, 2008 · The Los Angeles City Council imposed a moratorium on new fast food franchises in south L.A., where healthy dining choices are slim and obesity among young children is a growing problem.
Jul 16th, 2008 · Chicago actress LO has taken it upon herself to find out the answer to "What would Oprah do?" She's spending a year following the advice Oprah Winfrey dispenses on television, her magazine and her radio show. LO is blogging about her experience.
Jul 16th, 2008 · Minneapolis-based indie rockers Tapes 'n Tapes playsongs from their second full-length release, Walk It Off. Following up their critically-acclaimed debut, Tapes 'n Tapes have achieved a more cohesive, but still resolutely lo-fi, sound.
Jul 7th, 2008 · Apollo Sunshine blends '60s psychedelic folk with the arena rock hugeness of the '70s and the lo-fi noise pop aesthetics of '90s groups like My Bloody Valentine or the Olivia Tremor Control. The cover art for the Boston, Mass.-based trio's third record, Shall Noise Upon, depicts a Jackson Pollock-like, color-splattered globe surrounded by constellations of religious and spiritual icons from every corner of the earth. The image suggests the record somehow takes the disparate cultures of a large world and unifies them into a single, genre-breaking, stargazing album. It may seem like an impossibly lofty goal, but the songs deliver.
Jun 27th, 2008 · A band named for Shakespeare's character, Titus Andronicus is erratic, frenzied, and at times borderline psychotic. The group's debut album, The Airing of Grievances, meanders from blitzkrieg punk to lo-fi post-punk to psychedelic rock, while mixing in spoken-word renditions of some of the play's most dramatic lines.
Jun 26th, 2008 · For 35 years, the East Los Angeles band has been mining the intersection of folkloric Latin music and modern rock. Here, Los Lobos' members play original songs about the immigrant experience (and a host of dance jams) live from their hometown.