At the urging of a friend I went to see North Carolina band Lost in the Trees. I never heard their music and was glad I got to check them out. Their symphonic indie folk was elegant and brooding. Singer / songwriter, Ari Picker’s ghostly falsetto was supported by his acoustic guitar (with distortion), 2 [...]
I think I may have been playing it safe when I used the word pageantry to describe Of Montreal‘s live performance. It was more like Liza Minnelli’s dream Vegas show if she was twisted up on acid. Baby skeletons, giant pac-man dragon caterpillar things, phallic figures spewing confetti feathers, sequins, pig people riding inflatable rafts [...]
There is something in the Athens, GA water that nourishes alternative music or something. From the breakthrough sounds of the B-52′s and R.E.M to the country rock of Drive-By Truckers or the new pop of Danger Mouse to the hip indie power of Neutral Milk Hotel Athens is home to a wide range of great [...]
The swagger, misogyny, antics, tight Lip Service pants, and even the hairless, chubby/skinny Vince Neil-ishness of Steel Panther’s lead singer completely capture the pomp of 80′s hair metal. This satirical comedy act comes so close musically to a Sunset Strip metal band that they could pass for one of them at quick glance. Songs like [...]
The Coolest Song Ever! … Right Now is basically a recurring feature of Kisses & Noise that allows me to highlight a song. Sometimes these songs are yet-to-be-released, brand new, a few months old, or from a completely different decade, but all are deserving of attention. Some may be new to you or an old [...]
As a sucker for sad and mopey shoegaze SOARS grabbed my attention several months ago while breezing through the outstanding Shuffler website. The dark, ambient tones of the music seem to carry the distant and forlorn vocals of Briana Edwards on a dreary and mystifying fog. “Throw Yourself Apart” haunted me with the dark intro, [...]
Orlando Alt Rock powerhouse, Plain Jane Automobile, dropped by their home base venue this past Saturday. The band recently emerged from being sequestered in a downtown Atlanta basement as they recorded their upcoming album, Your Tomorrow. Although band members mentioned needing to hit the road to tighten up, they sounded pretty damn good as they [...]
Greg “Girl Talk” Gillis released his latest album (mix tape), All Day, as a free download. It is meant to be listened to as one continuous track, but you have the option of downloading it parsed into individual songs. He brings the party as usual. I was actually listening to this at work and nearly [...]
Billy Corgan and Company are slowly but surely delivering on a promise made. That promise is the epic Teargarden by Kaleidyscope, a 44+ song collection released one at a time for free via the Smashing Pumpkins website. Every 4 songs a new collector’s edition EP is released. Teargarden by Kaleidyscope Volume II: The Solstice Bare [...]
Over the past 20 years or so The Black Crowes carved a niche as the quintessential American rock n’ roll band. They did this by studying and practicing to receive an honorary PhD from the School of Rock. The Crowes are students of the trade, learning from the songwriting nuance of bands like The Beatles, [...]