Music

Fela Kuti | The ’69 L.A. Sessions

Knitting Factory (2010)
Amiri Baraka put it best in his poem "In the Funk World": "If Elvis Presley is King/Who is James Brown, God?" So, by that logic, is Fela Anikulapo Kuti higher than or equal to God?

By ZETH LUNDY | February 09, 2010

African Head Charge | Vision Of Psychedelic Africa

On U Sound (2010)
UK dub guru Adrian Sherwood and adventurous percussionist Bonjo I have been releasing their sonic experiments as African Head Charge since the early 1980s.

By GUSTAVO TURNER | February 09, 2010

Yeasayer | Odd Blood

Secretly Canadian (2010)
Yeasayer have created a decadent, densely produced mess of a second album.

By JONATHAN DONALDSON | February 09, 2010

Local Natives | Gorilla Manor

Frenchkiss (2010)
Afropoppy, orchestral and baroque, driven by catchy three-part harmonies, Fleet Foxes/Andrew Bird–inspired, yadda-yadda-yadda.

By CARRIE BATTAN | February 09, 2010

Midlake | The Courage Of Others

Bella Union (2010)
On this lovingly crafted follow-up, the men of Midlake have moved on to emulating the late-'60s/early-'70s British folk-rock scene.

By MIKAEL WOOD | February 09, 2010

Tom Caruana Presents: Enter The Magical Mystery Chambers | Wu-Tang Vs. The Beatles

Tea Sea (2010)
There were mash-ups before The Grey Album . (They were called "hip-hop songs.") And there will be mash-ups in the future.

By CHRIS FARAONE | February 09, 2010

Smoothed out on the R&B tip

Mary Bee and David Gonzalez’s Fiesole
"Seeing Mary Bee interact and talk on a daily basis is totally different from hearing Mary Bee sing — it's like night and day," writes producer David Gonzalez.

By CHRIS CONTI | February 05, 2010

Candles + caring

Bob Marley’s b-day + downcity benefits
Former Best Music Poll nominee Mike Gendron and uncle Pete Gendron team up and unplug at the Greenwich Hotel on THURSDAY (the 4th), rocking the lounge free of charge til 12:30 am.

By PROVIDENCE PHOENIX MUSIC STAFF | February 03, 2010

Myra Melford’s Be Bread | The Whole Tree Gone

Firehouse 12 (2010)
Few jazz players and composers can bring as broad a vocabulary to a single piece as pianist Myra Melford.

By JON GARELICK | February 02, 2010

The Soft Pack | The Soft Pack

Kemado (2010)
This Los Angeles foursome first emerged in 2008 as the Muslims, a name they elected to change after they grew disgusted with and exhausted by all the ignorant — and often racist — bullshit that came out of people's mouths during shows/interviews/conversations.

By MIKAEL WOOD | February 03, 2010

Four Tet | There Is Love In You

Domino (2010)
In the five years since Kieran Hebden a/k/a Four Tet last dropped a full-length, the playing field has been seriously leveled for sample-based electronic music.

By DANIEL BROCKMAN | February 02, 2010

Original Soundtrack | Kamasutra: Vollendung Der Liebe

Crippled Dick Hot Wax (2009)
The good news: Kamasutra is, in fact, a very early Can recording, credited to "Irmin Schmidt Inner Space Production."

By GUSTAVO TURNER | February 02, 2010

Toro Y Moi | Causers Of This

Carpark (2010)
Toro y Moi's debut is a leap into a tactile æsthetic where surreal and sometimes unstable atmospheres lure listeners into simple, soulful songs.

By JONATHAN DONALDSON | February 03, 2010

Ape & Undu | Jaw & Order

Trapjaw (2009)
This is not your typical bi-racial indie-rap duo with a whiteboy who rips and a tandem token black guy who holds the honky's jockstrap.

By CHRIS FARAONE | February 03, 2010

The Big Hurt: Everybody hurting

Warning: Scorpions content
The music industry's response to the Haiti disaster has been pretty great, since it's given some huge names a chance to complete the vital circuit between the public's heartstrings and their wallets.

By DAVID THORPE | February 02, 2010

Bring on the major leagues

Fairhaven are officially on the hunt
There ain't enough lighter fluid in your Bic to keep pace with Fairhaven's piano-driven anthems on their full-length debut Origins.

By CHRIS CONTI | January 27, 2010

The Big Hurt: Billboard Top Hip-Hop and R and B songs

Who charted?
This week, a jolly traipse through one of Billboard 's most artistically fecund charts: "Top Hip-Hop and R&B Songs." What wonders await?

By DAVID THORPE | January 26, 2010

Interview: Ozzy Osbourne

The belles lettrist tells all
Long before he bit the heads off bats and doves, Ozzy Osbourne worked in a cheerless abattoir in the hardscrabble Aston section of Birmingham, England, where for 18 months he held such titles as "cow killer," "tripe hanger," "hoof puller," and "pig stunner."

By LANCE GOULD | January 29, 2010

Those drums and wires

Off the Couch
Makeupbreakup + Jon Hope + more

By PROVIDENCE PHOENIX MUSIC STAFF | January 26, 2010

Pit Er Pat | The Flexible Entertainer

Thrill Jockey (2010)
Pit Er Pat, the minimalist duo of Fay Davis-Jeffers and the dubiously named Butchy Fuego, have pared down their sound in search of simple beauty, but the result is an icy album utterly lacking in energy.

By MICHAEL PATRICK BRADY | January 27, 2010