Review: Gerard Way’s “Hesitant Alien”
–Written by Kevin Madert
In high school, Gerard Way got me. I was a totally normal kid with totally normal issues, but of course at the time I was the only person who’d ever felt confused, the sole target of all the world’s ire, and the first guy to ever like a girl who didn’t like him back. The singular constant in my whirling dervish of pubescent emotion was music, and Way’s band My Chemical Romance became one of my most frequented therapists. I’d slam my bedroom door, grab my first generation iPod Nano, and let Way’s tortured tones echo atop the distorted crunch of those quintessential mid-2000s emocore riffs, washing my latest crisis away.
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DJ Shadow, Cut Chemist Give Silver Spring a History Lesson (Show Review)
Written by Michael Hogan
It’s easy to become jaded as a music journalist. You’ve been to so many shows and seen so many artists that they all blend together after awhile. You get into it because you love it, because every single show is something special; while music may still be a wonderful thing, most shows have just become a little less special. I know it’s a rather bleak way to look at things, and some of you are surely cursing at me through your keyboards – something about how I’m an ungrateful little shit and I’m taking it all for granted – and you’re probably right. But if I’ve gained one skill in life it’s the ability to recognize when a show is momentousness; a once in a life time experience that has some sort of echoing effect in the history of music, regardless of the scale.
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On “This Is Cave Music,” Moon Hooch Tighten Up Without Turning Down (Album Review)
Written by Kevin Madert
Before I bought Moon Hooch’s self-titled debut album, I didn’t know the true meaning of the phrase “replay value.” From late-night drives to early morning runs, parties to study sessions and everything in between, Moon Hooch became my go-to soundtrack for basically everything. It’s for this reason the prospect of a new Moon Hooch LP stirred within me equally feelings of excitement and nervousness. My mental bar for a follow-up full-length was set to an unfair height, and a part of me fretted the trio would let me down by default.
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Frequency Of The Week No. 4: Derlee
-Written by Kevin Madert
My experiences with Bandcamp have been somewhat of a mixed bag. It’s a fantastic place for independent labels, low-key artists and bedroom producers to share their work, yet much like Soundcloud your music exploration can quickly derail into a black hole of falsely advertised accounts and underwhelming tunes. If you stay focused and go in with a plan you can find some really neat stuff, and that’s how I came across this week’s FotW: Derlee.
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Weekend Warm-Up No. 7: Hip-Hopping
–Words and list by Kevin Madert
There’s nothing quite like rapping along word-for-word with your favorite MCs, even if it’s in the driver’s seat of your beat-up Acura and not on their most recent headlining tour. From party rapper Wallpaper’s questionably serious “#STUPiDFACEDD” to the sunshine ‘n’ summertime vibes of “Coastin’” and “Ghostwriter,” these tracks are ready-made for pregames, preparties, or any other pre- you can imagine. We’ve even included a few electronically tinged numbers – Culprate lays down a rumbling rhythm for Maksim, and RJD2 crafts poignant hip-hop without any words at all.
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Album Review: This Will Destroy You – Another Language
–Written by Mike Hogan
I’m constantly amazed by how much can be accomplished with some droning, reverb-y guitar feedback and a simple, repetitive drum beat. It seems like nothing – an album skipping, perhaps – but there can be so much depth and subtlety hidden within the noise, invoking a fresh new mood with only slight adjustments in dynamics. It’s truly a phenomenon to experience when a single non-melodic sound can inspire so much emotion. Years ago, Austin, Texas post-rock band This Will Destroy You took an idea very similar to this one and cemented their place within the hearts of the post-rock community with their debut EP Young Mountain. The first track, “Quiet” encapsulated the prodigious grasp TWDY had on just a single phrase of music, showcasing how such a simplistic structure could be manipulated into a million different emotions – from despondent and melancholy to bright and uplifting, all driven by a largely unchanged drumbeat. It was a brilliant exercise in simplistic minimalism, and it became the hallmark of their sound.
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