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JONATHAN DONALDSON

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The tight post-punk structure of Autochrome

Polished finish
Sitting around the kitchen table listening to music with Autochrome bassist/singer Jeff Bartell and guitarist Richard Murillo, I realize that before we even started talking, we certainly agreed on this: when the guitar kicks in on "Senses" from their forthcoming self-released album, Separation Realms, it sends chills down the spine.

By: JONATHAN DONALDSON | March 30, 2012

La Sera | Sees The Light

Hardly Art (2012)
Sees the Light, the second album from this side project of Vivian Girls' Katy Goodman, is a surprisingly difficult album to review.

By: JONATHAN DONALDSON | March 28, 2012

Miike Snow | Happy to You

Downtown/Columbia (2012)
Miike Snow's Swedish production team of Christian Karlsson and Pontus Winnberg first won acclaim working on Britney's regal but sonically kooky "Toxic."

By: JONATHAN DONALDSON | March 21, 2012

Devil Music Ensemble heads to China

"Red Heroine" chic
When Boston's Devil Music Ensemble began their quest to write a live soundtrack to the 1929 Chinese silent film Red Heroine , they never would have guessed that they would end up in Beijing.

By: JONATHAN DONALDSON | March 07, 2012

Exploring staged improvisation with Javelin

Ping-pong sounds
In the spicy euphoria following a Valentine's Day dinner date last week (real-deal bibimbap), Javelin's Tom Van Buskirk and his date tried to hold their own in a Los Angeles Korean table-tennis club.

By: JONATHAN DONALDSON | February 21, 2012

Hunx | Hairdresser Blues

Hardly Art (2012)
The idea of Hunx and His Punx's Seth Bogart doing a solo album is kind of silly.

By: JONATHAN DONALDSON | February 21, 2012

Field Music | Plumb

Memphis Industries (2012)
The buzz about Britain's Field Music has been growing for some time.

By: JONATHAN DONALDSON | February 27, 2012

Cate Le Bon stars in her own folk reality

Life vérité
There is a trend among critics to describe the songs of Welsh performer Cate Le Bon as something new, but with a bit of listening the music of the 28-year-old songwriter is actually pleasantly familiar.

By: JONATHAN DONALDSON | January 31, 2012

Powering up with the Smith Westerns

Bye-bye lo-fi
Sometimes when we settle into the tattered sofa of lo-fi pop music, it's easy to imagine that the artists intended for it to be made this way.

By: JONATHAN DONALDSON | January 25, 2012

Teddy Thompson becomes his own man

About a boy
Sometimes a writer winces at the thought of having to ask the obvious but necessary question. So I'm grateful to Teddy Thompson for answering before I can even ask.

By: JONATHAN DONALDSON | January 18, 2012

The Scud Mountain Boys are back for one more round

Burying the hatchets
It only took 15 years, but Joe Pernice is finally on the road to making amends with the friendships he left behind when he quit — and effectively dismantled — the Scud Mountain Boys in 1997 to focus on the Pernice Brothers with a rotating cast of musicians, including his brother, Bob.

By: JONATHAN DONALDSON | January 11, 2012

On the eve of a Codeine reunion, Chris Brokaw reflects on an ultra-prolific path

Promiscuous love
When it comes to making music, Chris Brokaw is an easy lover.

By: JONATHAN DONALDSON | December 29, 2011

Fang Wizard | Pure Hex

Teen Beat (2011)
Who really cares about evaluating the long-term importance of how a record fits into an artist's oeuvre?

By: JONATHAN DONALDSON | December 14, 2011

Charlotte Gainsbourg | Stage Whispers

Elektra
Released almost exactly two years ago, Charlotte Gainsbourg's brain-injury inspired IRM (French acronym for MRI) was a late entry on many critics' 2009 best-of lists.

By: | December 06, 2011

John Doe and the thinking man's punk rock

Germination X
For a movement that was rooted in a deep hatred for everything that had become plastic and tame about youth culture, punk rock was supposed to be about the music before anything else.

By: JONATHAN DONALDSON | November 29, 2011

Once jilted, Halle Petro abandons Broadway

Rock audition
As an actor-turned-songwriter trying to find success fronting a band, Halle Petro knows that jumping into the new world of music, with its über-knowledgeable geeks and coarsely seasoned players, makes her feel a little "uncool."

By: JONATHAN DONALDSON | November 16, 2011

Brian Eno | Panic of Looking

Warp (2011)
For those who enjoyed Brian Eno's collaboration with English poet Rick Holland from earlier this year, Drums Between the Bells, this follow-up EP may be a nice digestif.

By: JONATHAN DONALDSON | November 16, 2011

Atlas Sound | Parallax

4AD (2011)
If 4AD were to send a memo to Bradford Cox saying "not so much reverb" and "please write more than two-chord vamps," he'd be screwed.

By: JONATHAN DONALDSON | November 09, 2011

The restless Nashville pop of Caitlin Rose

Stone pony
It's late Sunday afternoon and singer-songwriter Caitlin Rose is folding laundry and watching a movie on BET in her Nashville home.

By: JONATHAN DONALDSON | November 03, 2011

Inside the dual Japanese rock of Boris

Double bubble
Double releases, double-necked guitars, double mirrors, and double rainbows. When it comes to interviewing the unclassifiable Japanese group Boris, nothing can be single-minded.

By: JONATHAN DONALDSON | October 24, 2011

The Vandelles ride a different kind of wave

Technicolor noir
If you were listening to the audio version of this interview, you might find yourself sifting through lots of reverb and the rumble of a passing motorcycle.

By: JONATHAN DONALDSON | October 05, 2011

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