Greg Laswell doesn’t have instant name recognition quite yet, but if you watch certain popular television shows like Grey’s Anatomy, True Blood, Friday Night Lights and Dollhouse, you’ve probably heard his music. Laswell came up in the independent music scene in San Diego and Los Angeles and played in the…
Two Cow Garage from Columbus, Ohio, makes you forget that a ton of people have done the country-rock thing before — mainly because the band’s songwriting is smart and delivered with un-ironic conviction. Although the act’s recorded output is remarkably strong on its own, on stage Two Cow always seems…
In recent years, with bands ransacking the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s for musical ideas and sounds, it’s becoming increasingly easy to dismiss many musicians as being little more than throwbacks mimicking their artistic ancestors. But some of those songwriters aren’t just inspired by older music; they explore the possibilities inherent…
People who have never been to Albuquerque or come into contact with music from that town have no idea that it’s one of America’s best-kept secrets. The Shins, the Rondelles and Scared of Chaka all came out of the Duke City. These days, Albuquerque is home to a vibrant and…
Crimes of Passion comprises five songs of melodic hardcore that sound like they draw inspiration from Hot Water Music and that ilk — you know, that kind of anthemic, fist-pumping punk rock that plays well with people who missed out on the silver age of hardcore nearly a decade in…
The Eames Era was a promising indie-pop band from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, with songs appearing on commercials and TV shows when it broke up in 2008. Out of the ashes of that project, Grant Widmer and Ted Joyner formed Generationals with Tess Bruneh. With a retro-’60s sound element being just…
Christian Atencio and Sean Payton formed Gritch in the spring of 2006, brought together by a mutual love for well-crafted, well-produced pop songs informed by simple melodies. The band’s debut album, The World Was Asleep, is full of refreshingly spare songs with subtly lush atmospheres and a penchant for taking…
TIM KASHER With Azure Ray and Tim Fite 11.01.10 | hi-dive Tim Fite was equal parts comedian, provocateur, performance artist, filmmaker, MC, hip-hop producer and indie-pop songwriter. At least that’s what his energetic and compelling set felt last night like at different points — and sometimes all at once. The…
While they were still living in their hometown of Birmingham, Alabama, Orenda Fink and Maria Taylor first played in a band together called Little Red Rocket before moving on to Athens, Georgia, where they formed another outfit called Azure Ray, and then eventually settling for a time in Omaha, Nebraska…
GARY NUMAN With Blackcell 10.28.10 | Gothic Theatre, Denver, CO Local IDM/experimental electronic duo Blackcell kicked off this show with synths and maybe drum machines and computers as sequencers. As deeply textured percussion filled the room, various other generated noises created a techno-organic melody occasionally punctuated by mechanistic vocals. Visually,…
The modern bluegrass revival might not have happened if not for Hot Rize, the members of whom met each other through the Denver Folklore Center in the mid-’70s. Kindred spirits in their appreciation for the folk music they were exposed to as kids, the members of Hot Rize made bluegrass…
Alejandro Ocana, who performs as 2MEX, also performs in the politically conscious hip-hop group the Visionaries and the similarly minded Look Daggers, with Ikey Owens of the Mars Volta. In all of his projects, solo and otherwise, Ocana’s beats bring a heightened sense of atmosphere to the songs that, on…
In their hearts, Shane Trostic and Dash Render clearly haven’t lost what is great about hip-hop, as is obvious on every song on this album. The hypnotic beeping of the opening track, “New Voodo,” provides a constant even as the two rappers come in with a slightly frayed delivery, rhyming…
As a founding member of Pocahaunted, Bethany Cosentino had a direct hand in that act’s ability to bring together spooky drones and what can best be called “outsider funk.” In 2009, she parted ways with the band and began to write the kind of sunny pop songs heard on Best…
My Sister Outlaw was an eclectic, all-female band that played poppy rock music and possessed a stage presence with a theatrical flair. In 2008, when that band broke up, Suzi Bromfield, Jocelyn Holst and Andrea Allen kept in touch and continued to experiment with music together with a new drummer,…
GATHERING OF THE CLOUDS Overcasters • Swayback • Buckingham Squares • Gangcharger Achille Lauro • Light Travels Faster • Glass Homes • Juliet Mission Action Packed Thrill Ride • Hearts in Space • Anna.Martina.Ross 10.21.10 – 10.23.10 | The Weather Center, Denver, CO Overcasters put together a great sound system…
OF MONTREAL With Janelle Monae 10.24.10 | Ogden Theatre, Denver, CO After seeing Janelle Monae perform on Saturday night, it’s no wonder that she was picked by Erykah Badu to open her most recent tour. Monae isn’t just a great soul singer; her songwriting and her band set her far…
So the story goes: Derek Miller met Alexis Krauss one day when he was serving her and her mother at a restaurant, and Krauss’s mom pushed her into working on music with Miller. Until a few years ago, Miller had been living in southern Florida where he was a member…
HOLY FUCK Indian Jewelry • Gauntlet Hair • Peter Black 10.20.10 | Larimer Lounge, Denver, CO As usual, Peter Black set the stage for what was to come with what seemed like sonically appropriate remixes. Right before the first band took the stage, it sounded like some kind of experimental…
When Derek Miller was in pioneering metal-core band Poison the Well, he probably didn’t think he’d be a member of an up-and-coming noise-pop band from Brooklyn, especially one that released its debut album on M.I.A.’s label. However, it was Miller’s desire to do an entirely different style of music that…
Since 1980, the Legendary Pink Dots have been creating some of the most inventive, darkly imaginative and emotionally stirring music around. Based originally in London, the Pink Dots relocated to the Netherlands in the mid-’80s, and its lineup has long included both English and Dutch membership. Last year, longtime members…
THE LEGENDARY PINK DOTS Munly & The Lupercalians 10.19.10 | Gothic Theatre, Denver, CO Even if you’ve seen Munly play anytime within the past two decades, nothing really prepares you for this whole Lupercalians thing. For one, it takes some chutzpah to name yourself after a now-obscure ancient Roman rite…
