2.5.2013

Thao Nguyen began her last full-band album with the double-timed handclaps of an ominous, fatalistic field holler, a chorus of voices rising as the...

The way that elite film critics are used to stories being told is different from the way rural audiences are used to hearing them, and vice versa. Maybe that’s part of the reason some critics haven’t...

Ultimately, great art is born out of uncontainable expression—it’s created because the artist has no choice but to create it. Great art wills itself into existence, whether the artist even wants it to...

A simple way to look at everything, which allows for fewer hang-ups regarding perfection and precision, is by reminding yourself every so often that what you’re doing is working through these days...

Before this review goes any further, let’s reflect: It’s 2013. After years of hype, rumors, heartbreak, internet hints and untimely server crashes, you just opened a review of a new My Bloody...

Imagine you’re the frontman for a successful rock band. Over the course of your career, you’ve somehow managed to acquire not only indie credibility but a fan base sizable enough to pack arenas. You...

On its fourth studio album and first major label release, Scottish quintet Frightened Rabbit—comprised of Scott Hutchinson on vocals, Grant Hutchison on drums, Billy Kennedy and Andy Monaghan on...

The other day my dad asked me what Thao Nguyen was like. Despite the cynically accepted perjorative definition, I felt the most fitting word was...

“I’ve had enough of being complacent,” sings indie-rock outcast Mark Oliver Everett at the offset of his band’s 10th studio album, his trademark smoker-cough croon nestled over muted tom-toms, spook...

Last year The dB’s released their first record in almost three decades, applying a fresh coat to their slightly nerdy, paisley power-pop. The Jersey four-piece’s bread and butter has always been to...

Richard Thompson recorded Electric with Americana producing pro Buddy Miller in a Nashville studio. And man, does Music City bleed through the album, leaving a hushed honky-tonk throb with gritty...

The shroud of mystery surrounding Unknown Mortal Orchestra after the appearance of the “Ffunny Ffriends” single on Bandcamp in 2010 inadvertently revved up the ol’ hype machine. That eventually...

Tegan and Sara Quin have decided seven albums in that it’s time to throw down the pop gauntlet and see where seven albums gets you. Saying yes to sawtooth synths and no to Dr. Luke, their lean, 10...

Besides squeezing out endless cash wads from the wallets of music buyers (an ever-diminishing breed), what’s the point of a fancy-ass remastered deluxe box-set reissue? In the case of Fleetwood Mac’s...

Justin Benson and Aaron Scott Moorehead’s feature directorial debut is an invigorating reminder that talented, original voices occasionally surge forth from the festival circuit grind. (Their film was...

It’s difficult enough to develop compassion for cinematic characters in the long form. It takes the combined effort of cast, crew and a little of that old movie magic to create enduring feelings for...

I have to credit Downton Abbey for finally having an episode without a huge dramatic hook. “Episode Five” worked to develop ongoing stories from the season, deepening previous intrigue and resolving...

For the last time, viewers went to there. 30 Rock signed off in a one-hour series finale that featured a plethora of guest stars, shout-outs to the show’s pilot, inside jokes, biting social...

We form such a relationship with TV characters that often it’s hard accept it when actors who have been on long-running TV series return to TV playing not only new characters but characters who are...

Platform: iOSPrice: Free To say that I’m a newcomer to streaming music and radio apps is an understatement. Call me old-fashioned, but I’m still in many ways attached at the hip to my iTunes library...

Platform: iOSPrice: Free In the past few years, Twitter’s stance towards third-party applications hasn’t exactly been open.In fact, Twitter has been publicly preparing third-party developers for the...

Is the truth … flexible? When it comes to creative non-fiction and memoir writing, this question has long been the source of debate and controversy....

Willie Nelson’s new book, Roll Me Up And Smoke Me When I Die, takes us on an amusing romp through the past and present of one of country music’s...

The first in a series of small-batch bourbon reviews, Wendell Brock tries Belle Meade, an upstart brand steeped in history. Over the holidays, I decided to give a special person a bottle of a favorite...

Guards is just now releasing debut album In Guards We Trust, but the band has long been serving up the kind of energetic live show that leaves songs bouncing around in your brain. Check out their...

Roadkill Ghost Choir has that kind of bluegrass-tinged harmony that feels familiar before you’ve even heard a track. For Jaime Margary, the animator behind the music video for their track “Bird in My...