Of Montreal ditch sanity, pick up Bowie on Paralytic Stalks
January 31, 2012 • Nick Mitchell ('13)/Eastside staff
“We Will Commit Wolf Murder. Exorcismic Breeding Knife”. “Authentic Pyrrhic Remission”. These somewhat intricate and foreboding song titles appear on the band Of Montreal’s new album, Paralytic Stalks, and definitely represent the overall mantra of the band’s style and approach to their... Read more »
Florence and the Machine track reviews
November 1, 2011 • Jenna Wilson/Eastside Staff
Florence and the Machine, is the brainchild of singer Florence Welch, an import from Britain, who is changing the face of the music industry with every song she sings. The international star is dropping her highly anticipated sophomore album, Ceremonials, on November 1, but for all those fans that can’t... Read more »
Wilco grows up
October 20, 2011 • Alexa Garber ('12)/Eastside staff
Wilco, a group from Chicago, Illinois, reached our hearts in the late 90’s with their alternative rock-country style and heartbreak-infused lyrics. Recently they signed to their own label, dBpm (Decibels per Minute), leaving Nonesuch Records. A lot of loyal fans were skeptical to how they could handle... Read more »
Das Racist Relax album review
September 28, 2011 • Angie Nguyen ('13)/Eastside Staff
Das Racist is back with Relax, their first official commercial album! Finally. Das Racist is a stellar Brooklyn-based, 1/3 Afro-Cuban, 2/3 Punjabi, hip-hop trio (formerly duo) consisting of Kool A.D., Heems, and Dapwell, whose real names are Victor Vazquez, Himanshu Suri and Ashok Kondabolu. It has been... Read more »
Strange Mercy album review
September 15, 2011 • Jack Braunstein ('13)/Eastside Online underground editor
Marry Me, indeed. St. Vincent is the project of principle songwriter Annie Clark and a rotating cast of supporting musicians. The band burst out of obscurity with a thrilling performance on The Late Show and the release of their second full length, Actor, in 2009. Clark’s performance is an enigma:... Read more »
Sonic Youth at the Williamsburg Waterfront
August 18, 2011 • Jack Braunstein ('13)/Eastside Underground editor
Sonic Youth has been kicking for quite some time. Since the early 1980s, the band has torn the rock music formula into shreds and pieced it back together in their own manic image of expression. Having helped supply the blueprint on which the entire independent music scene built itself upon, Sonic Youth... Read more »
Iceage- New Brigade review
July 7, 2011 • Jack Braunstein ('13)/ Underground Editor
Iceage is a group of fiery Danish teenagers, currently riding a cloud of internet buzz in the States. Have no fear, even though the band hails from the land of the Viking, New Brigade saw a release date much earlier this year in the band’s homeland, but was recently pressed in the U.S. on What’s... Read more »
Battles – Gloss Drop review
June 4, 2011 • Jack Braunstein ('13)/Eastside underground editor
Earlier this year, NBC’s widely popular sitcom satire of the mundane, The Office, said goodbye to Steve Carrell, who played Michael Scott, the Regional Manager at Dunder Mifflan Paper Company and focal point of the show. After six seasons, Carrell moved on, leaving a breakroom full of very funny and... Read more »
Hot Sauce Committee Part Two review
May 15, 2011 • Mia Holley ('12)/Eastside photo editor
The Beastie Boys have come back into the music scene with a brand new album to shake things up. The legendary hip-hop trio brings old school quality back to the table on their latest album Hot Sauce Committee Part Two, satisfying those listeners with a craving for vintage 80’s and 90’s beats. Members... Read more »
Cymbals Eat Guitars on their new album, the state of New Jersey and fleas
May 4, 2011 • Jack Braunstein ('13)/Eastside underground editor
Cymbals Eat Guitars are in Headgear studios in Brooklyn recording their sophomore album, but it appears they have hit a major roadblock: “Incubus has a new record coming soon. John, better delete all those DJ scratch tracks. Looks like it’s back to the drawing board. ” That comes from the... Read more »
Cherish the Light Years album review
April 23, 2011 • Joe Incollingo ('13)/Eastside staff
Sometimes it feels like the 80’s, with all of their tight clothes, Kevin Bacon, and synthpop, never left. While Spandex and Footloose deserve as much attention as anything, one must appreciate that, while society was quick to gracefully evict the likes of hair metal from its Walkmen, the aching-hearted... Read more »
Share the Joy album review
April 23, 2011 • Sydney Gore ('11)/Eastside staff
Vivian Girls are an indie rock band from Brooklyn, New York circa 2007. Their first album Vivian Girls was released back in 2008, followed by Everything Goes Wrong in 2009. Their upcoming album, Share The Joy was released on April 12. The album contains ten songs which run for approximately 35 minutes... Read more »
Badlands by Dirty Beaches Review
April 5, 2011 • Hannah Feinberg ('12)/Eastside community editor
As someone who hiccoughed her way though childhood in Buddy Holly EPs, and thinks it would be just swell to share a chocolate malt with James Dean (or Steve McQueen), to this reviewer, nostalgia is a near marketable service. Kindred spirit Alex Zhang Hungtai, aka Dirty Beaches, shares the affinity... Read more »
James Blake – James Blake
March 16, 2011 • Sydney Gore ('11)/Eastside staff
If Burial and Imogen Heap procreated, James Blake would be their offspring. James Blake is a musician from London, England. His new self-titled album James Blake was released last month and contains 11 songs — 12 if purchased on iTunes. It’s the kind of album that has tunes about falling in love... Read more »
Lykke Li, Swedish artist, returns with Wounded Rhymes
March 6, 2011 • Mia Holley ('12)/Eastside photo editor
The Swedish indie pop princess is back and on the move! The sweet voice of an angel, Lykke Li, has returned with her new knockout album Wounded Rhymes, a powerful semi-sweet follow up from her first album Youth Novels. Li packs a punch, letting her conflicting range of emotions from her recent breakup... Read more »
Gil Scott Heron & Jaime XX – We’re New Here
March 6, 2011 • Hannah Feinberg ('12)/Eastside community editor
The album cover for I'm New Here, courtesy of prettymuchamazing.com Gil Scott-Heron is sacred territory for music geeks and revolutionaries alike, and messing with his deliberately sparse and gripping tracks is a bold move, even for British post-dubstep wunderkind, Jamie Smith of the xx. Did Scott-Heron’s... Read more »
Toro y Moi – Underneath the Pine
March 6, 2011 • Hannah Feinberg ('12)/Eastside community editor
Underneath the Pine album art. What is that, grapefruit or something?. Courtesy of Gorilla vs Bear. In the newly developed recipe for homebrewed electropop — sounds of the past sampled with the bleeps and bloops and blips of Barcelonan elevators of the future – music like that of multi-instrumentalist... Read more »
Bright Eyes – The People’s Key
February 28, 2011 • Nick Mitchell ('13)/Eastside staff
Conor Oberst, the leader of a folk band called Bright Eyes, lyrically challenges the music industry with his poetic compositions of foreboding yet honest anthems. His beautiful lyrics combined with soft melodies can supply one with a portal into Oberst’s curious mind and imagination. Their new album,... Read more »
Gimme Some Peter Bjorn and John
January 24, 2011 • Nick Mitchell ('13)/Eastside staff
Peter Bjorn and John, an indie-rock band hailing from Sweden will soon debut their sixth album Gimme Some this March. Peter Bjorn and John’s fusion of catchy chorus lines, psychedelic combinations of drums and guitar, and bouncy beats make Gimme Some a noteworthy album for 2011. The album cover of... Read more »
Destroyer’s new album: it’s not kaput, it’s Kaputt
January 20, 2011 • Jack Braunstein ('13)/Eastside Underground editor
The first time I listened to Kaputt, I was on an airplane. About three songs in, I realized the person next to me was trying to get my attention. I took out my left earbud. “What are you listening to?” What a generic question. I love answering that question. “Destroyer’s new album.” “Oh... Read more »
Mog(wai)uls of Music: Mogwai stuns with new album
January 19, 2011 • Bryan Sheehan ('13)/Eastside editorial assistant
Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will, courtesy of postrockxchange.com Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will, the newest album from post-rock band Mogwai delivers nothing short of a musical journey throughout the songs. The album is made up of ten tracks, the majority of which are instrumental monsters.... Read more »
Girls – Broken Dreams Club EP
December 4, 2010 • Hannah Feinberg ('12)/Eastside Community Editor
Since their debut Album last year, San Francisco’s residential life-lusting cool kids, Owens and Chet “JR” White (and their much less talked about band mates) have garnered the unquestioned adulation of critics and built a fan base in the trend-obsessed masses (i.e. people who read Pitchfork).... Read more »
Arcade Fire lights up the Mann Center
August 7, 2010 • Jack Braunstein (’13) / Underground Editor
When I bought tickets to see Arcade Fire at the Mann Center, anxiety was the very last emotion I expected to be feeling— their 2004 album Funeral proved itself to be one of the seminal indie rock albums of the past decade and has the power to freeze most in revelry at first listen—In fact, what... Read more »
