The Best of Denver Readers’ Poll closes today

Our thirtieth Best of Denver issue will bring a new cow to your newsstand in a little under two weeks. In the issue, you’ll find several hundred of the best ways to spend time in our city, whether you’re looking for fine art or cheap booze, whether you’ve got three…

The best EDM in Denver this weekend

FRI | DOCTOR P at BETA | 3/14/14 My dubstep has a first name, and it’s D-O-C-T-O-R-P. Having established himself as one of the originators in bringing dubstep to the masses, Doctor P’s early hits still get regular play in the biggest sets. To boot, his Circus Records imprint is…

The seven best band tour documentaries

The Black Lips are heading to Denver April 2 in support their new album Underneath The Rainbow and also a new documentary featuring their 2012 tour of that took them through Egypt, Cypress, Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates. Watching this rough yet intimate look at what it’s…

The ten best shows in Denver this weekend

Hooo buddy. There are shows this weekend in Denver. Who needs Austin when you’ve got the legendary New Orleans Suspects, the even more legendary De La Soul and a bunch of dudes with laptops, right here in your hometown? Not us. We’ll be here, seeing what Chris Adolf is up…

Anticon co-founder Sole finds inspiration in Denver’s activists

I look at it like I’m leaving a trail of crumbs,” says artist, label founder and Denver transplant Tim Holland about the dense, politically informed content of his lyrics. “I’m referencing books, authors, ideas, concepts and historical moments the same way that Boogie Down Productions, X Clan and Public Enemy…

I Sank Molly Brown

“All Mom Blues Band,” the second track on I Sank Molly Brown’s The Age of Pretzlcoatl, starts out with a Slint-like bass line but quickly escalates into more dissonant sonic territory as the song progresses. The band also continues to deliver its signature tempo shifts on the just-released album. Caleb…

As the Sky Darkens

As the Sky Darkens spent the last year-plus hunkered down in the studio, writing and recording Freedom, its latest full-length. Although the album incorporates every element of metalcore — crunching breakdowns, hellish growls, intricate guitar work and clean vocals — followers of heavier genres should not be discouraged. As the…

Cody Yantis

“Brightness,” from Cody Yantis’s new album, Resonant Memory, begins with pastoral guitar work and samples of birds and other ambient sounds, giving the track the feeling of a Daniel Lanois song. But by the time “Brightness III” comes through your stereo, the tone has darkened. On “Brightness IV,” the music…

King Cardinal

There are only four tracks on King Cardinal’s self-titled debut EP, and all four give a clear idea of what this alt-folk sextet is capable of. Even so, it’s hard to get past the hauntingly beautiful opener, “A Short Trip to Mackinac Island,” because the song demands repeat listens. With…

What happens when a ’90s star gives up on his music career?

Critic Jessica Hopper has played in and managed bands, toured internationally, booked shows, produced records, worked as a publicist and is the author of The Girls’ Guide to Rocking, a how-to for teen ladies. She is here to help you stop doing it wrong. Send your problems to her –…