Jane's Addiction | The Great Escape Artist

CD Reviews

Various Artists | Are You With the Band?

Paper + Plastick (2011)

By LIZ PELLY | October 18, 2011

3.5 Stars

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. Out on Gainesville, Florida's Paper + Plastick, each band's take on pop-punk is distinct, ranging from the Velocity Girl–inspired shoegaze vocals of "Things You Say" by California '90s-indie-pop revivalists Sourpatch, to the pissed-off grrrl-punk melodies of "Two Face" by Long Island's Cheeky. The compilation is an excellent intro to the sounds and ethos of the DIY-devoted scene surrounding labels like Quote Unquote, No Idea, and Don Giovanni — artists who punx nationally have bounced around to in basements for years. Also featured are Noun, the slower-tempo solo project of Screaming Females's Marissa Paternoster; the addictive hooks of Brooklyn's P.S. Eliot; and the bouncy, grungy pop-punk of guitar-and-drum duo Shellshag. Denitzio's effort is a result of the frustrating truth that, even after years of playing and touring, women are still often mistaken for merch girls or girlfriends in the male-dominated music scene. All proceeds will be donated to Planned Parenthood.

Various Artists | Johnny Boy Would Love This ... A Tribute to John Martyn
If Nick Drake was Britain's ultimate forlorn folkie, John Martyn was his jazzier bro, a pub crawler with an intoxicating way of creating richly desolate moods.
Trans Am | What Day Is It Tonight? Trans Am Live, 1993 - 2008
Trans Am are distillers of guilty pleasures, mixing fat AOR riffs with sleazy electronic accents and a propulsive attitude typically reserved for arcade soundtracks. What Day Is It Tonight? covers the DC-area band’s 20-year history with high-quality, high-energy live cuts taken from their many tours.
Various Artists | Where the Action Is: Los Angeles Nuggets 1965 - 1968
More than three years in the making, the most recent installment of Rhino's legendary archival garage-rock series offers an amazingly comprehensive excavation of an absurdly fertile scene.
Various Artists | Nippon Girls: Japanese Pop, Beat & Bossa Nova 1966–1970
Girl-group records are great and everything, yet the countless compilations out there were becoming a little hit-or-miss until 2005, when the great Girl Group Sounds Lost and Found box set finally gave this diverse genre a proper taxonomy.
Various Artists | Casual Victim Pile: Austin 2010
The notion that regional musical flavors exist independently in American cities is quickly becoming an archaic truism, seeing as how the world really is a stage these days, at least in the digital sense.
Bearstronaut | Broken Handclaps
There's a distinct absence of wildlife or astronauts on Lowell electronica quartet Bearstronaut's latest release.
Avi Buffalo | Avi Buffalo
Look, I get it: the last thing we need right now is yet another band who can be described as “sun-baked,” “reverb-soaked,” or even just “psychedelic.” But Avi Buffalo (I know! An animal name to boot!) are worth your attention for a few reasons.
Review: Brandon Flowers | Flamingo
Brandon Flowers has gone on record saying he brought the songs on Flamingo to his fellow bandmates for the next Killers album and was given the brush-off.
Review: Kevin Dunn | No Great Lost: Songs 1979–1985
Casa Nueva Industries (2010)
Review: Crocodiles | Sleep Forever
With remarkable swiftness, Crocodiles tick off all the key characteristics of a band in the thriving lo-fi indie/punk/garage scene.
Review: Teengirl Fantasy | 7AM
If the demise of traditional record making is designed to foster any band’s fruitful existence, it’s that of Teengirl Fantasy.
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Topics: CD Reviews , Music, CD reviews, compilations

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Six-legged robots, mechanical snakes, and a friendly dino-bot by the name of Butch will make new friends in Somerville this week at two free events.

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Victoria Legrand opened her notebook and saw the word "Myths." "There were no other words on the page," says the Beach House singer and keyboardist. VJust JMythsM. . . . I hadn't even remembered writing it. It was magical. A total sign."

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Given his sartorial stage name and his ear for R&B beats and avant-pop minimalism, Tom Krell of How to Dress Well certainly sounds like someone who could compose an excellent soundtrack for a runway show.

SHOPPING WITH KITTY PRYDE | October 02, 2012
A few weeks ago, Florida’s Kitty Pryde — everyone’s favorite red-haired teen-girl rapper — stopped by Brighton Music Hall for her much-anticipated first Boston show.