Save the massive excitement surrounding what was claimed to be his first and only show in the U.S. (though it seems he played Chicago three nights prior), everything about Wolfgang Voigt’s show at Columbia University’s Miller Theatre on Friday night was minimal. Performing under the name of his popular ambient electronic project, GAS, Voigt was...
Pattern Is Movement have certainly lived up to the Movement part of their name, touring relentlessly since the release of their excellent fourth album, All Together. Seeing them for the third time since October, Pattern Is Movement’s set at Webster Hall last Wednesday was yet another in a line of charged, exciting performances. The duo...
It’s Spring, and the album releases are heating up! Expect more of these coming soon. Over at Popdose, I talk about the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ glitzy new album, It’s Blitz!… I make a triumphant return to Bullz-Eye with a dissection of Cursive’s latest, Mama, I’m Swollen… I stop in to the Contrast Podcast again to...
After seeing jam-freak-avant-folksters Akron/Family put on an incredible show at Brooklyn’s Union Pool in March, there was only one thing left to do: Go home, go online, buy tickets to see them again. After seeing Akron/Family put on an incredible show at Manhattan’s Bowery Ballroom last night, there’s only one conclusion that can be made:...
If anyone other than Throbbing Gristle had been playing the Brooklyn Masonic Temple on Tuesday night, the fact that the crowd was older and stranger and on more drugs than the average New York City crowd might have been off-putting. And if anyone other than Throbbing Gristle had been on stage, the fact that they...
Former MK Ultra front-man and current solo artist/singer-songwriter John Vanderslice is nothing if not consistent. At his “worst,” Vanderslice is simply pleasant — at his best, he’s transcendent. It’s been awhile since he’s hit transcendence, though. Since Cellar Door, arguably his most alluring and diverse album, he’s lost a bit of the aesthetic and lyrical...
I don’t really do traditional reviews here on T-Sides, because my reviewing is usually covered by Popdose and Bullz-Eye. So, when friend of T-Sides (and top-notch drummer!) Chris Enriquez said he wanted to do a write-up of Cursive’s new album, Mama, I’m Swollen, I jumped at the chance! Here’s what Chris, a long-time Cursive fan,...
The webmistress has been a little preoccupied with looking for paying work, but I’m still out there, spreading the T-Sides love! Over on Popdose, I reviewed two albums that have a decent shot at making it to my year-end list: Neko Case’s Middle Cyclone, and the solo album from the Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach, Keep...
“You are no longer a river to me,” Miles Seaton sings on “River,” the new single from Akron/Family’s upcoming album, Set ‘Em Wild, Set ‘Em Free. Akron/Family: “River” (download) He compares his lover to several bodies of water – a docile stream, a glassy bay, a vast and open sea. And though his lover and...
The album art for Bitte Orca, the Dirty Projectors’ upcoming fifth album, shows band members Amber Coffman and Angel Deradoorian, their faces painted over in connecting red and blue circles. It harks back to the cover of Slaves’ Graves & Ballads, the band’s 2004 release, which some consider to be their strongest to date. But...
Part of the reason why it’s nice to have contributors here on T-Sides is to get different perspectives and tastes. What’s covered on T-Sides is what most appeals to us in a wide sea of culture, but it’s impossible to thoroughly cover everything that’s worthy of attention. There are things we – gasp! – might...
Cursive: “From The Hips” (download) [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgJfr-195xk[/youtube] “From the Hips” is one of the tracks that most echoes the band’s earliest sentiments on their excellent new album, Mama, I’m Swollen. Opening slow and somber, front man Tim Kasher wearily sings, “I’m at my best when I’m at my worst,” used as a line on a date...
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