When rapper/actor Ice-T released the first Body Count effort in 1992, critics snickered at the formulaic metal as the world at large hollered about “Cop Killer,” the “pivotal” track that was eventually removed from future pressings by the record company. Ironically, neither the rap nor metal audiences ever responded to…

The first thing you notice when talking with singer-songwriter Richard Buckner is how cheerful he sounds, quite in contrast to his bottomless singing voice and brooding stage presence. “It must just be all the coffee I’ve had today,” Buckner deadpans. Speaking from his Brooklyn apartment a few days before starting…

Nick Nowell, guitarist and front man for Thorn vs. Side, one of Dallas’ freshest mixes of punk, pop and metal, is a literate and sometimes stern individual who wills this rather homely quartet beyond the generic blare that accompanies most things emo. The band’s recently released Arson, produced by local…

“Mark Farner hasn’t played with us for nearly eight years,” says Don Brewer, not hiding his animosity. Brewer, the drummer and co-founder of Grand Funk Railroad, one of the most critically panned yet immensely popular bands of the late ’60s and early ’70s, has come to grips with keeping the…

Daughter of Billy Swan (known primarily as a sideman for Kris Kristofferson but who also had a wonderfully sublime ’70s pop-country hit with “I Can Help”), Sierra is a Kate Bush-inspired chanteuse who trades in confessional balladry and high-pitched theatrics, stuff that might send most reasonable sorts scurrying in search…

Hailing from Cincinnati, this eccentric but muscular quartet features ex-Afghan Whigs bassist John Curley, but the soul of the group is singing guitarist Austin Brown. Brown’s jittery personality, fiery lead work and darkly impressionistic lyrics make All of This and More, the band’s sophomore effort, more than a sum of…

Dead American Radio, the third album by L.A. quartet Left Alone, seems like your standard punk rehash, complete with two members sporting mohawks bigger than Gene Simmons’ tongue and ego. But first impressions are decidedly misleading as Left Alone’s brand of ska/pop/punk is a refreshing and uncommon noise, a rejection…

Judging by the intrinsic eccentricity of the Flaming Lips, Starlight Mints and now Norman, Oklahoma’s Evangelicals, there must be something in that Red River water. So Gone, the trio’s fittingly titled debut, is music of an alternative frame of mind, songs filled with a schizophrenic abandonment that has ties to…

Possessing one of the most recognizable voices in rock, Richard Butler has delivered his stylish rasp for nearly three decades. With the Psychedelic Furs, Butler helped bridge the gap between punk and art, between the Sex Pistols and Roxy Music. His sexy mix of power and fashion continued in Love…

This British singer’s eponymous debut has created quite a buzz in her homeland, becoming only the fourth release by a female to ever debut at the top. Now, the 27-year-old Rae brings her sweet and rich voice to America, anxious to show that her relatively recent embrace of classic soul…

It’s nice to catch an act before everyone knows what’s going on and enjoy that giddy satisfaction of having a pocket band all your own. San Antonio’s poorly named Snowbyrd (the moniker suggests an awful Jimmy Buffet cover band from Denver) offer the rare chance to get in on the…

Alasdair MacLean, front man for British retro mope rockers The Clientele, is as unapologetic about his band’s signature sleepy sound as he is unafraid to share his opinions about pop in his homeland. The band’s 2005 release Strange Geometry was a melancholic marvel, an effort that should have come with…

In his Brooklyn apartment, Eric Elbogen creates detailed narratives based on classic science fiction and horror themes and somehow manages to make his paranoid vision work. Ferocious Mopes was one of 2005’s best collections of warped indie-rock, an amalgamation of ambient electronica and angular pop played with a joyous garage-rock…

The Life You Always Wanted, the sparkling full-length debut from San Francisco quintet The Bittersweets is music of an uncommon, almost upbeat melancholy. Amidst the ringing guitars and Hannah Prater’s hauntingly sincere vocals roams sadness tinged with hope, a depth of feeling and appreciation of repentance that speaks well for…

Reissued the way John Lydon requested, Metal Box gets magnificently de-digitalized as three 12-inch 45s sealed in a metal faux film canister (The set is also being issued as two CDs in a smaller metal container). It has been argued that this format offers the best sound, and while that’s…

Inspired by fellow showbiz folk turned politicos (Schwarzenegger, Ventura, Friedman), one Theodore Nugent, aka The Motor City Madman, is said to be contemplating a run for president. It’s the kind of idea that begs just one question: Why the hell not? Besides making a ranchload of money by conning legions…

In the late ’80s and early ’90s, Kevin Welch, much like his friend Steve Earle, never fit any major-label marketing scheme. Lost between rock and country before Uncle Tupelo ushered in the Americana alternative, Welch has now found surprising success touring and recording deep-rooted acoustic blues with Keiran Kane. The…

nspired by seeing the Ramones at CBGBs, noted composer Rhys Chatham was one of the first to see the value of the electrified guitar in a neo-classical setting. His early ’80s work, including most of what’s included on this impressive reissue, was a bracingly loud, textured assault that influenced a…

As part of the big three Minneapolis godsends of the ’80s (along with Hüsker Dü and the Replacements), Soul Asylum, despite significantly higher sales figures, always played third fiddle in that triumvirate. Once they became big stars via “Runaway Train,” lead singer and pretty boy Dave Pirner always seemed a…

Of all the labels to be unfairly saddled with, the oxymoronic “Christian punk” tag has dogged this Pacific Northwest trio for more than a decade. Sure, these fine, not-so-young lads don’t spew expletives like hard-core legends Black Flag nor do they wallow in sexual depravity like punk godfather Iggy Pop,…

Along with Uncle Tupelo, Missouri’s Bottle Rockets have to be considered the godfathers of the ’90s alt-country/roots-rock revival. Their sophomore effort, The Brooklyn Side, stands alongside Too Far to Care from the Old 97’s as a landmark recording made during the movement’s brief heyday. Since 1994, singer/guitarist Brian Henneman has…

Peregrine, the monumental sixth effort from Kansas’ Appleseed Cast, represents not only a stylistic shift from their regrettable emo past but a grander development that borders on transcendent. Eclectic hardly describes the proceedings as electronica mixes surprisingly well with their more usual guitar-driven fare, all in the service of a…