Favorite Albums

1. Ghost Wave, Ages (Flying Nun)
With Ages, Aukland five-piece Ghost Wave proved themselves the heir apparent to the Flying Nun legacy. Like The Clean, Verlaines, Tall Dwarfs, et al. before them, the band combines jangly guitars with pop smarts and VU overdrive. It all amounts to a debut that show the New Zealand label’s best days aren’t behind it.

2. Toy, Join …

It’s that time of year again, when it’s hard to miss the ubiquitous airings of familiar refrains either celebrating the holiday season or

With last year’s self-titled debut, London’s Toy showed the kind of honest to goodness promise that seems more and more rare to hear in these days

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If you are one of the minions patiently holding your breath until the Sisters of Mercy release a new album, asphyxiation has either already come or is

One thing you learn right off the bat at even the most beginner community college creative writing class is to write what you know. This is a lesson Mrs. Magician

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While these days Portland has earned such a reputation as a hipster mecca that it is parodied in mainstream media, there was a time

If Travis’ show at Webster Hall seemed like more of an event than merely another night of live music, it is perhaps with good reason

Punk rock reunions are big business, and has been proven time and time again, most differences between former bandmates can usually be put aside for the almighty dollar