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LIZ PELLY

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Ava Luna | Ice Level

Infinite Best (2011)
Ava Luna is an experiment in off-kilter pop songcraft that melds R&B, soul, and synth-funk into an unusual shade of noisy post-punk gold.

By: LIZ PELLY | February 28, 2012

Memoryhouse | The Slideshow Effect

Sub Pop (2012)
When Evan Abeele and Denise Nouvion created Memoryhouse, they never intended to start a band.

By: LIZ PELLY | February 21, 2012

Anarchistic and self-trained, are street medics the future of first aid?

Medic alert
April 25, 2009: outside of the IMF/World Bank meeting in Washington, DC, police with batons are attacking a group of protesters.

By: LIZ PELLY | February 15, 2012

Out: Preparing for one H.E.L.L. of a weekend in Cambridge

Protecting your interests
Next weekend at the Democracy Center in Harvard Square, Vermont DIY label Get Stoked! Records and bike safety group Helping Everyone Live Long (H.E.L.L.) will co-host a weekend with a stacked line-up of Northeast punk, hardcore, indie rock, pop-punk, and emo bands.

By: LIZ PELLY | February 15, 2012

At home with Sharon Van Etten

Lady and her Tramp
Sharon Van Etten is peeling an orange in her South Brooklyn apartment.

By: LIZ PELLY | February 15, 2012

All emo is local

Five scenes that grew organically
Remember the years before blog-rock, when scenes and sounds developed geographically?

By: LIZ PELLY | February 08, 2012

Ladyfest is coming!

. . . and it's not just for ladies!
Chris Strunk was 15 years old when he experienced the "fairly life-changing" momentum of the early-'90s riot-grrrl movement, escaping the conservative suburbs of Philadelphia for Huggy Bear and Bikini Kill shows in the city.

By: LIZ PELLY | January 25, 2012

As Occupy Boston struggles with a sex-offender ban, its weaknesses have been laid bare

Temperature check: Will the movement stabilize? Or will it splinter?
It was after 10 pm on Tuesday, January 10, in the stale, bright basement of the Arlington Street Church, where now-nomadic Occupy Boston was holding a meeting.

By: LIZ PELLY | January 18, 2012

Out: Piecing together New Year’s Eve at O’Brien’s Pub

Allston promwave
Allston never felt more promwave than Saturday night at O'Brien's Pub, as the Earthquake Party, Fagettes, and the New Highway Hymnal rang in 2012 on a stage set with twinkling lights, prismacolor streamers, and a homemade "Age of Aquarius" banner.

By: LIZ PELLY | January 04, 2012

Indie labels fill the majors' void in 2011

DIY or die
During a year when political conversations are increasingly focused on the widening gap between the rich and poor, the corporate elite versus the rest of the world, it makes sense that arts criticism follow.

By: LIZ PELLY | December 20, 2011

Name that non-lethal weapon

Police state
When Boston Police stormed Dewey Square last week in an early morning raid, arresting protesters and destroying the last of Occupy Boston's tent city, they brought with them a frightening, seldom-used weapon.

By: LIZ PELLY | December 14, 2011

Review: From the Back of the Room

Amy Oden's documentary about sexism in the punk rock community
Chronicling the past 30 years of women in DIY punk, Amy Oden's documentary deconstructs the myth that punk is an ideal world free of gender prejudices.

By: LIZ PELLY | December 06, 2011

After the occupation

#OccupyBoston
From Oakland to New York, city police departments and their elected overlords are crushing lawful Occupy movements in their midst.

By: LIZ PELLY | November 16, 2011

Out: Parasol and Inky Skulls soundtrack the Anarchist Bookfair kickoff party

Sweet democracy
"This is a song to put on a mixtape for the next person you have a crush on," laughed Parasol singer/guitarist Lily Richeson last Friday night before launching into "Firecracker," a super-cute two-minute love song that balanced big distorted riffs and driving drums with doo-doo-doo's and baa-baa-baa's.

By: LIZ PELLY | November 16, 2011

How microfunding is feeding the creative economy

Hacking philanthropy
Erika Hess showed up at Voltage Coffee & Art in Kendall Square last spring with an idea: she wanted to combine art and activism to teach people about urban gardening. But first, she needed funding.

By: LIZ PELLY | November 14, 2011

Papercut Zine Library & the Lucy Parsons Center re-open

Radical reading
Zinesters perused hand-stitched books and photocopied pamphlets on topics ranging from punk politics and parenting to feminism and freeganism, while local musicians played folksy tunes on acoustic guitars, mandolins, and cello between floor-to-ceiling shelves of used books.

By: LIZ PELLY | November 09, 2011

Quilt stitch sonic gold

Dream weavers
The first track on Quilt's homonymous debut — out this week via Brooklyn label Mexican Summer — is "Young Gold," a three-minute cinematic jam stitched with the band's signature swirling group vocals, temperate drumming, and a sophisticated patchwork of '60s-twangs and Eastern-inspired tones.

By: LIZ PELLY | November 03, 2011

Review: Refuge Café

Allston gets its favorite hangout back — with good food and beer
When the 26-year-old Herrell's-turned-Allston Café closed its doors this past fall due to an unexpected rent hike, the neighborhood lost a favorite hotspot for meeting friends, passing out show flyers, and eating hangover brunch.

By: LIZ PELLY | October 19, 2011

Various Artists | Are You With the Band?

Paper + Plastick (2011)
With this new comp, Lauren Denitzio — former vocalist/guitarist of New Brunswick pop-punk outfit the Measure — has collected tracks by 17 of the best current underground female-fronted pop punk bands.

By: LIZ PELLY | October 18, 2011

Occupy Boston takes a page from the radical underground

The Anarchist's Playbook
In fact, the Occupy movement is deeply rooted in anarchist traditions and values. Many of the national Occupy movement's organizational tools — the lengthy general assemblies, the finger-waggling exercises in consensus-building, the free food and clothing available throughout camp — come from anarchist models of direct action, horizontal organizing, and gift economies.

By: LIZ PELLY | October 12, 2011

Prince Rama rise from Boston's underground

Spiritual guidance
Before Animal Collective's Avey Tare discovered their bouncy, Bollywood-inspired psychedelia at SXSW 2010, the group Prince Rama channeled "Now Age" chants and sang Sanskrit in Jamaica Plain houses and DIY art spaces.

By: LIZ PELLY | October 05, 2011

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