The Chemical Brothers

The brothers-in-beats celebrate thirteen years of better living under chemistry with the best-of compilation Brotherhood, out this week.
The Chemical Brothers / Photo by Hamish Brown

What? As survivors of the heady rise and uneasy comedown of the '90s electronica craze, Manchester, England's the Chemical Brothers have been bringing the block rockin' beats at a consistent rate, from 1997's landmark rave touchstone Dig Your Own Hole to last year's spacey We Are the Night.

Fiery Furnaces

Restlessly creative brother/sister duo return with a catalog-spanning live odyssey, Remember.
The Fiery Furnaces / Photo by Amy Giunta

What? Avant-pop duo Fiery Furnaces have forged a career of pushing their unique sonic sternly forward -- from the multi-suite opuses of Blueberry Boat to the spoken-word psych of Rehearsing My Choir and glam-tinged glow of Widow City.

The Dandy Warhols

Despite a ho-hum new record, these Portland-based psych-rock vets still deliver the undeniable power of the pop hook.
The Dandy Warhols / Photo by RAY GORDON

What? Dig!, the debauchery-ridden documentary chronicling the band's -- and their psych-rock contemporaries the Brian Jonestown Massacre's -- trek from gutter to glitz, may have afforded a certain level of celebrity, but let's face the truth: From their 1995 debut Dandys Rule, OK? to their latest set, …Earth to the Dandy Warhols, this quartet sit atop a cannon that

Four Reasons Why Superchunk Still Matters

Break out your best flannel -- the seminal '90s band is playing a rare live set at Seattle's Bumbershoot this weekend.
Superchunk

AND THE FOUR REASONS ARE:

Every band you like owes them a debt.
Now entering their 20th (!) year, this Chapel Hill quartet virtually invented everything about indie rock worth emulating: economic self-sufficiency, creativity unchecked by careerism, perfect pop hooks, and songwriting chops that have matured at the same rate the band and their audience themselves.

The Girls

Bumbershoot '08 Performer! Seattle punk vets gear up to release their second album, Yes No Yes No Yes No.
The Girls

What? Fusing '80s-style synths and high-pitched yelps with punk aggression, this quintet is like a loosely collected hybrid of the Cars, the Voidoids, and Devo -- and would no doubt be pleased by the inherent Ramones comparisons spurred by their giddy pop sensibility. The Girls will be appearing at Seattle's Bumbershoot Festival this Saturday, Aug.

Calexico

Reliably rootsy alt-country rockers return with their latest long-player, Carried to Dust, September 9.
Calexico / Photo by Aubrey Edwards

What? For more than a decade, Southwestern indie-rock outfit Calexico have been scoring back-porch barbeques with their versatile mix of native sounds and universal melodies.

Syndicate content