Blossoming in the midst of the early ’80s Arizona punk rock scene, experimental and improvisational band Sun City Girls could not have existed farther outside the realm of their context. Although the band recently saw its end with the passing of drummer Charles Gocher, the musical spirit of the group lives on through brothers Alan and Rick Bishop, as they sift through SCG’s enormous unreleased recording backlog, as well as catalogue the music of the world through their Sublime Frequencies record label project. With both wit and honesty, Sun City Girls “bassist” Alan Bishop took some time answer our questions.

image//todd owyoung There is no better way to start a riot than with Semi Precious Weapons!   The New York rockers finish their Japanese tour with Lady Gaga on the 19th of April and they start again with her in Europe on the 7th of May. Rather than going on a holiday, the band has [...]

first saw Joanna Newsom in November 2007. She played with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and I sat in awe as she performed her album Ys straight through. I was enraptured to the point that I didn’t know what to do with myself- I tried closing my eyes, I tried to watch the orchestra musicians, but my gaze would quickly waver back to Joanna. She positively glows on stage. Her fingers move quickly and deftly on her harp, her mouth makes odd but appropriate contortions as she sings; she is incredibly exciting to watch.

I’ve always been one to believe that you don’t fix something that isn’t broken; however, I wish that She & Him duo Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward had taken more risks with their sophomore effort, Volume 2. Don’t get me wrong- Volume 1 is one of my favorite albums, and Volume 2 is in no way a bad album– it’s just redundant.

The set was a healthy combination of old and new. The highlights for me were Teen Dream jams “Used to Be” and “Walk In the Park,” and the [barely] oldies-but-goodies “Gila” and “Heart of Chambers.” In any case, the songs felt a lot bassier and more fitting for the live setting than I remembered. This time around, the crowd was swaying, dancing, and doing everything a seated venue prevents.

Real Estate offer a generous and dreamy set. The songs sound as vibrant as ever. The set consists of all things a Real Estate fan would expect of a live show from the New Jersey band; lulling, beachy, guitar rifts (rendering up love infested, warm summer nights) and endearing vocals from lead singer and guitarist Martin Courtney.

Dr. Dog’s new highly-anticipated new record Shame, Shame will not be released until April 6th, but you can hear it in its entirety via NPR today. To listen to the album, check out NPR’s First Listen. The band will hit Jimmy Fallon on the record’s release date and has a whole tour lined up. These [...]

Mark your calendars, Bostonians! Canadian indie-pop/rock band Stars announced that their US tour will start June 1, 2010 in Boston at the Paradise Rock Club. The tour will serve as a special introduction to their new album, The Five Ghosts, which goes on sale June 22. The June gigs will allow fans to catch a [...]

Fresh off of their stellar performances at SXSW, YACHT has released the music video for “The Afterlife”, the second single off of their debut album See Mystery Lights. Self-described as “an exercise in the new tradition of non-denominational baptism,” the video is certainly worth a view or two! YACHT – The Afterlife from Jona Bechtolt [...]

There are certain bands that work relentlessly to release an amazing album, but the songs just don’t end up translating well in a live performance setting. Fanfarlo is definitely not one of those bands: they posses an incredibly captivating stage presence and combine raw musical talent with harmonized vocals to execute an alluring and energetic performance. Lead singer Simon Balthazar started the project in Sweden, and the band–formed in 2006–gradually grew to five members, enabling the original vision of combining multiple instruments to create a more harmonious, intricate sound.