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Daniel Brockman

Latest Articles

Review: Lady Gaga at the Wang

Lady Gaga, resplendent, striding onto the stage of the Wang Theatre, has just removed an intricate half-Egyptian/half-Wagnerian headdress from her person, freeing her enormous blonde hairdo from its confinement.

By: DANIEL BROCKMAN | December 02, 2009

New attitude

The Big Pink accentuate the positive
The rock career of UK upstarts the Big Pink has been one of finding, at the intersection of sheer bloody noise and haunting melodies, the commonality of hate and love.

By: DANIEL BROCKMAN | November 24, 2009

Dropping by with an old friend

Sonic Youth + The Feelies, live at the Wilbur Theatre, November 22, 2009
Even before there were festivals like All Tomorrow’s Parties to formalize the concept, Sonic Youth have always given off a curatorial air.

By: DANIEL BROCKMAN | November 23, 2009

Take it to the limit

The minimal maximalism of Fuck Buttons
When asked to describe their own music, most bands get it horribly wrong. UK electro-noisesters Fuck Buttons, however, are not most bands.

By: DANIEL BROCKMAN | November 18, 2009

Them Crooked Vultures | Them Crooked Vultures

DGC/Interscope (2009)
One day, maybe in a decade or three, somebody will dig this LP out of the future virtual version of a record crate in a Salvation Army and be blown away by the deep grooves this supergroup generate

By: DANIEL BROCKMAN | November 18, 2009

Human touch

The Jesus Lizard, live at the Paradise Rock Club, November 14, 2009
“Get me something to stop the bleeding!” were the first words to come spilling out of David Yow’s mouth as his recently reunited Jesus Lizard tore into the first song of their triumphant set last Saturday night at the Paradise.

By: DANIEL BROCKMAN | November 17, 2009

Dirty old men

The Jesus Lizard return to rewreck rock
"We were kind of just . . . normal guys who liked to . . . enjoy stuff."

By: DANIEL BROCKMAN | November 12, 2009

Echo and the Bunnymen | The Fountain

Ocean Rain (2009)
Less dour than the Cure but more somber than New Order, with a thorny mix of sadness and sunshine, Liverpudlian gloom-pop masters Echo & the Bunnymen were far weirder than they get credit for being.

By: DANIEL BROCKMAN | November 10, 2009

Julian Casablancas | Phrazes for the Young

RCA (2009)
Someday, a great rock film will be made. The opening shot is of a wasted rock star, bejeweled and clad in the finest leather, with white panthers circling the living room of his Parthenon-esque manse as he hits PLAY on a comically large reel-to-reel.

By: DANIEL BROCKMAN | November 09, 2009

Dethklok: Even Better Than The Real Thing

With Mastodon, Converge, and High on Fire, live at the House of Blues, October 28, 2009
Heavy metal’s primary contradiction: given a fanbase that is often concerned with detecting what is and isn't "real" metal, so much of what constitutes "real" "metal" is made up of 100-percent pure fantasy.

By: DANIEL BROCKMAN | November 09, 2009

Florence and the Machine | Lungs

Island (2009)
If the current stable of UK hitmakers poised to conquer Mur’ca were a grade-school class, Florence Welch would be the girl belting the theme from Annie at the top of her lungs until she gets her damn gold star.

By: DANIEL BROCKMAN | October 28, 2009

Interview: Elly Jackson of La Roux

Red hot
La Roux is a duo, and a wildly successful one at that; their homonymous debut album blew up in their native UK and worldwide fame seems only a few short centimetres away.

By: DANIEL BROCKMAN | October 26, 2009

Brute forces

Mastodon, High on Fire, and Dethklok lead metal’s latest charge
When you get down to it, most music is an attempt to create auditory allegories for our life experiences, whether they’re joyous Maypole dervishes or nightmarish St. Vitus’ dances of doom.

By: DANIEL BROCKMAN | October 21, 2009

Flying Machines | Flying Machines

Meteor (2009)
It really is a bitch nowadays for young musicians not only to come up with their own voice but to do so in a way that will draw attention. One can go the petulant-brat route, banking on notoriety to lead to eventual absolution through some sort of awesome catharsis.

By: DANIEL BROCKMAN | October 21, 2009

Paramore | Brand New Eyes

Fueled By Ramen (2009)
If you haven’t spent time in a rock-and-roll band, you’ll probably never understand how every outfit, no matter how united in appearance, is made up of supremely self-conscious individuals continually teetering on the brink of a meltdown.

By: DANIEL BROCKMAN | October 14, 2009

Air | Love 2

Warner Bros. (2009)
The French duo of Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel captured the imagination of a subset of the listening public at the turn of the millennium with their playfully patient soundtrack music.

By: DANIEL BROCKMAN | October 05, 2009

Beauty in the beast

Dinosaur Jr. are much happier people now
"When J switched to guitar [from drums], he wanted to feel that same power. and the only way he could do that was to be, like, super loud. . . ."

By: DANIEL BROCKMAN | September 30, 2009

Girls | Album

True Panther (2009)
On their debut long-player, Girls gorge themselves on the all-you-can-eat buffet that is rock's storied past. Somehow, though, they forgot the crucial dollop of excitement or charisma, so we're left with an earful of directionless heartbreak and failure.

By: DANIEL BROCKMAN | September 28, 2009