Some folks hide from their past while others are content to rehash old glories to the point of tedium. Justin Broadrick is the intriguing performer who does neither. Best known for his affiliation with metal monsters Napalm Death in the ’80s and industrial kingpins Godflesh in the ’90s, Broadrick recovered…

Although his recent output includes a relatively good acting performance in Alpha Dog and the hilarious “Dick in a Box” spoof on Saturday Night Live (the song itself does not differ significantly from the middling, phony rhythm and blues on his proper releases), former boy-toy Justin Timberlake has as storied…

In 2003, Richard Thompson was No. 19 on Rolling Stone’s list of the top 100 guitar players of all time, right between John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and James Burton, Elvis Presley’s bandleader. “I think that’s pretty good company,” says Thompson from his home in Los Angeles…

Despite a bad name (which was changed due to threatened legal action from the equally awful the Broke Down), this Los Angeles quartet is a pleasing amalgam of styles and influences that fully coalesce on their striking debut, I Can’t Go On, I’ll Go On. Throwing together classic power pop…

These two renowned minimalist composers, though thematically dissimilar, have always stood at the vanguard of what rock guitar could accomplish in a classical setting. Chatham is much less academic than Branca, preferring power and pulse to Branca’s somewhat dour embrace of cacophony and drone, although both have influenced the likes…

Listening to Can’t Go Back, the newest release Jason Quever has made under the Papercuts moniker, it’s not difficult to hear echoes of classic ’60s psychedelic pop such as the Kinks and the Beatles within the pensive melodies and haunting imagery. Even though Quever acknowledges the influences of the past,…

Side projects, especially those featuring members of nondescript emo bands, are not usually known for being earth-shattering propositions. And despite a few moments of genuinely twisted vision, Cobra Starship is no exception. Fronted by Midtown’s Gabe Saporta, the band’s videos (including the title song from the overhyped mega-flop film Snakes…

Even thought he was a member of John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers for more than a decade, Coco Montoya remains one of the most underappreciated old-school blues guitarists. Touring in support of his most recent disc, the fiery and soulful Dirty Deal, Montoya has always been an equal to genre heavyweights such…

At 60, Bob Seger should be enjoying his later years riding his Harley across Michigan, content to live on his reputation as one of the best rock singers and songwriters of the ’70s and ’80s. Despite the automobile industry’s incessant use of his music, there is no denying Seger’s notable…

Lemonheads’ founder and pop/punk pretty boy Evan Dando couldn’t care less about his upcoming birthday or about reaching an age that is often considered a dividing marker between young and old, between the hipsters and the geezers. “Turning 40 means about as much to me as turning 10,” says Dando…

Finding quality among the seemingly endless parade of faceless emo bands parading their oh-so-hip bangs and pronounced use of eyeliner is not an easy task. Oakland’s The Matches display, for better and worse, the continued influence of Green Day on today’s poppy punksters (or would that be punky popsters?). Decomposer,…

Scott Loomer, namesake and leader of this Canadian sextet, is a songwriter of unqualified vision. Like Jay Farrar, Jeff Tweedy and Blue Rodeo’s Greg Keelor, Loomer is capable of encapsulating raw feeling and humor by way of cryptic lyrics and detailed musical arrangements. Songs of the Wild West Island, the…

“I ask myself every day if depression is necessary for creativity,” says Mark Linkous, sounding characteristically withdrawn, speaking from his home atop the Smoky Mountains in North Carolina. The founder and driving force behind Sparklehorse, Linkous is a well-known loner with a history of substance abuse who has managed to…

Hailing from Longview, Sunny Sweeney is exactly the kind of old-school country singer that gives Texas its good reputation. Possessing a booming voice with just the right amount of drawl, Sweeney delivers backwoods passion in spades on Heartbreaker’s Hall of Fame, her sturdy debut. Besides clever and poignant original tunes…

When talking about Under the Skin, his first solo effort in 14 years, Lindsey Buckingham sounds like a man discussing a memoir. “There is a circular tension involved, an optimistic melancholy,” says Buckingham from his home in Los Angeles, a few days before beginning a national tour. “Being in the…

“Electronica with mistakes,” says Dosh, describing his own music. “I record everything and then take an accident and turn it into a song.” His full name is Martin Dosh, but ever since his 2003 debut, he’s favored simply his family name. On tour in support of his fine third effort,…

Horseshoes and Hand Grenades, the sophomore effort from Trent Summar, is a rough-hewn, shit-kicker’s delight, an effort that mocks the sterile country confines of Nashville and revels in the Hill Country Americana spirit embodied in the likes of Doug Sahm and Jerry Jeff Walker. Sounding like Paul Westerberg fronting the…

Born in Dallas but now an Austin resident, Vanessa Peters is the best kind of singer-songwriter: astute enough to explore the deeper recesses of relationships but tough enough to avoid the pitfalls of sentimentality. Little Films, produced by Peters along with Salim Nourallah, is folk-pop of a rare quality. Encompassing…

Ed Anderson leads this alt-country trio from Illinois, and it’s on their fourth full-length release that he moves beyond the standard blue-collar sentimentalism that dogs many in the Americana genre. Anderson still takes his cues from Neil Young, Slobberbone and Whiskeytown, but now he’s come to appreciate the finer points…

When asked how he feels about the claims that he started the singer-songwriter movement nearly four decades ago, Tom Rush answers with characteristic flippancy. “Guilty,” says Rush sarcastically, not hiding his contempt for the label that has dogged him his entire career. In 1965, Elektra Records released The Circle Game,…

Sitting in an IHOP in East Dallas on a dreary day, just over a month removed from the death of her older brother in Iraq, Kristy Kruger pops a couple of Prozac and stares at the ceiling as the questions and answers become inherently uncomfortable. She wants to talk about…

TOP 10 ALBUMS, by Darryl Smyers 1. Centro-matic, Fort Recovery 2. Kristy Kruger, Songs From a Dead Man’s Couch 3. The Cut*Off, The Rorschach E.P. 4. The Theater Fire, Everybody Has a Dark Side 5. The Drams, Jubilee Drive 6. Auto Escape, Turn It Off 7. Boys Named Sue, The…