Music
by Gary Carra | Jan 22, 2010 | Music
Veteran valley alt-rockers Spouse may not officially be releasing their Nine Mile Records debut until spring, but as founding member Jose Ayerve reports, the band is far from letting that little chronological fact preclude them from logging some serious touring miles...
by James Heflin | Jan 28, 2010 | Music
When the first track of the sprawling 10-CD set Alan Lomax in Haiti hits your speakers, something unexpected happens: the music is instantly familiar. A clarinet carries the melody, and a great rhythm section undergirds it. There's something undeniably Caribbean...
by James Heflin | Jan 28, 2010 | Music
Most of the CDs that arrive in the Advocate’s review stack fall within the bounds of what’s considered “popular” music. Some reside on the edges of that descriptor—”noise” artists, stories set to music, experiments of various...
by Advocate Staff | Jan 28, 2010 | Music
Broadcast & The Focus GroupInvestigate Witch Cults of the Radio Age(Warp)Although billed as an EP and stop-gap before the next proper Broadcast album, Witch Cults is actually a full length release and major work in its own right. It's a collaboration with The...
by Matthew Dube | Jan 28, 2010 | Music
Levin Schwartz is a busy man these days. In addition to teaching numerous music lessons each week—both in person and online—he has recently enrolled in Smith's graduate program for social work. To top it all off, he's recording and playing shows...
by Alan Bisbort | Jan 28, 2010 | Music
In the fullness of time, Vermont's two greatest exports may not be Ben and Jerry. They may just turn out to be former governor Howard Dean and Phish, the Burlington-based band who, in fact, have their own Ben & Jerry's flavor.Similarities can be...
by Alan Bisbort | Jan 28, 2010 | Music
Were the members of Phish ever Deadheads?About the many comparisons with the Grateful Dead, members of Phish have always walked a fine line. They didn't want to wholly embrace the Dead phenomenon for fear of being lost in its shadow, but they knew it was foolish...
by Matthew Dube | Jan 29, 2010 | Music
“I have hundreds of cheap little musical toys, drum machines, and Casio keyboards in my lab, waiting to be sampled and mangled and sampled again,” says Noam Schatz of Northampton band LOLFM, referring to the array of noise-making tools at the ready in his...
by Gary Carra | Jan 29, 2010 | Music
The only thing missing at josallins.com these days appears to be an over-excited voiceover proclaiming something along these lines: “Crazy Jo is not only slashing prices, he’s giving it all away! Music, money… even instruments right out of his...
by Gary Carra | Jan 29, 2010 | Music
What's the difference between performing alone, with your own band, as part of the Academy Awards musical troupe or backed by an orchestra at Carnegie Hall?Veteran valley roots rocker Tim Eriksen (timeriksenmusic.com) is in the unique position of being able to...
by Advocate Staff | Feb 2, 2010 | Music
Primate FiascoWheels on the Bus(independent) Delicate listeners, be warned. On the Fiasco’s recent supposed children’s album, there should be a neon-bright sticker warning of the many instances of naked tuba playing on the album. I couldn’t say...
by Michael Cimaomo | Feb 2, 2010 | Music
To many the practice of alchemy is merely the misguided medieval attempt to turn base metals into gold. Today it’s recognized as both a form of philosophy and as the forerunner of modern inorganic chemistry. However, many remain unaware of this alternative...
by Matthew Dube | Feb 4, 2010 | Music
Tidwell's Treasure's second Northampton gig turned out to be a fortuitous one: the East Longmeadow band walked away with a victory in its Happy Valley Showdown heat, securing an invitation to the annual battle of the bands finals on Feb. 21."Happy Valley...
by James Heflin | Feb 4, 2010 | Music
The Valley is well stocked with musicians and their eternal churn of projects that intertwine and overlap, form and dissolve. It's a challenge to stay abreast of all those goings-on, and likewise a challenge to make sense of the whole landscape of CDs and press...
by Advocate staff | Feb 4, 2010 | Music
Various ArtistsDirty French Psychedelic(D-i-r-t-y)An outstanding compilation of Gallic tunes from the 1970s, Dirty French Psychedelic avoids your typical psychedelic rock nuggets to explore a more subtle brand of trippiness. It evokes an enchanted era of briefly...
by Tom Sturm | Feb 4, 2010 | Music
The faces of Yes are surely chiseled into the Mount Rushmore of progressive rock, staring down from psychedelic thrones and conducting the intricacies of their high art in confusing, Lewis Carrollian dialogue. An English band at its core, the group was among a handful...
by Matthew Dube | Feb 11, 2010 | Music
On a rainy night in Cornwall, England in 1966, a young Michael Chapman offered to play guitar in lieu of an admission price he couldn't afford. The pub offered him a regular paying gig and he's been at it ever since. Starting with the release of Rainmaker on...
by Advocate Staff | Feb 11, 2010 | Music
Orchestre Poly Rhythmo de ContonouEchos Hypnotiques: From the vaults of the Albarika Store 1969-1979(Analog Africa)It's hard to believe that Orchestre Poly Rhythmo de Contonou has been unknown outside its native Benin for so long. In 2008, Analog Africa began an...
by Matthew Dube | Feb 11, 2010 | Music
A lot of things can happen when a spouse leaves town for a couple of weeks, and few of them tend to end up in the good column. When that situation arose for Matt Hebert—veteran of local stalwarts like Haunt and Ware River Club—he decided to do something...
by James Heflin | Feb 11, 2010 | Music
Perhaps it shouldn't have surprised me to receive an email from a Northampton musician fundraising to produce an unrecorded album. Things are tough all over, and there's never been much of a gravy train for artists of any stripe in America. Certainly, in a...
by Gary Carra | Feb 11, 2010 | Music
Your friendly neighborhood Nightcrawler recently caught up with Staind singer Aaron Lewis just prior to the golden-throated, multi-platinum-selling artist's annual solo show at the Mohegan Sun. Per usual, the famous Bay State baritone did not disappoint. He was...
by Gary Carra | Feb 11, 2010 | Music
Life handed him Lemonheads… not to mention gigs with Ben Kweller, Albert Hammond, Jr. (The Strokes) and James Taylor along the way.And through it all, journeyman bassist/guitarist/singer Josh Lattanzi says he soaked up as much of each experience—and style...
by Tom Sturm | Feb 18, 2010 | Music
The Pioneer Valley has already proven its amazing capacity for giving in the wake of the local arson tragedies and more recently in efforts to aid Haitian victims of a disaster the gravity of which is perhaps difficult to comprehend from our removed vantage point....
by Matthew Dube | Feb 18, 2010 | Music
Eddie Holly has lived a nomadic existence for the better part of the last decade, pursuing work wherever it leads. But the musician, who spent the '90s in the Valley, has never given up his dream of settling here for good."I work as a fry cook in the resort...
by James Heflin | Feb 18, 2010 | Music
It's hard to say what was more startling: receiving an honest-to-goodness vinyl record for review or being unable to figure whether I had a crackly stereo switch when the first track of Unknown Brain Vol. 1 kicked in. I was concerned for the switch in part because...
by Gary Carra | Feb 18, 2010 | Music
Considering the fact(s) that Lindsay Mac was born to "bohemian, party-hungry parents" who fed her pork tenderloin and microbrew for breakfast; that she began her formal training in the church choir, then went on to study medicine at Dartmouth; and that she...
by Matthew Dube | Feb 25, 2010 | Music
Jesse Smith grew up with sisters who could all sing the daylights out of an Irish ballad. Yet despite an adulthood spent jamming with just about every musician in town, he never thought to invite one of them to join him on stage or on record. “We grew up singing...
by Gary Carra | Feb 25, 2010 | Music
Like all parents, Ed Balon admits he is no stranger to receiving the dreaded “look.” That’s when a pie-eyed child stares up with equal parts understanding and sorrow before offering a meager “goodbye” to a work-bound mommy or daddy. For...
by Advocate Staff | Feb 25, 2010 | Music
Titus AndronicusThe Monitor(XL Recordings)The sophomore release by New Jersey-based Titus Andronicus takes its title from the first ironclad warship commissioned by the U.S. Navy. It's a Civil War-themed album that seeks to be punk's answer to...
by Gary Carra | Mar 4, 2010 | Music
With the dust still settling from the recent conclusion of his third annual Happy Valley Showdown, area talent buyer Mark Sheehan says he is now setting his sights on… Ziggy Stardust? “This year’s showdown was quite possibly the most eclectic year...
by James Heflin | Mar 4, 2010 | Music
If you peruse the painting of Renaissance masters, you’ll frequently spot misty-eyed musicians languishing in rapturous poses, plucking at lutes in a sylvan glade or some such. It’s easy to imagine the sonorous tones that must have wafted out of those...
by Matthew Dube | Mar 4, 2010 | Music
The Original Cowards began life as the recurring daydream of a local sixth grader. “The band started in my mind circa sixth grade, Williams Middle School, in Longmeadow,” recalls John Crand. “I used to make up fake album covers, songs and band names,...
by Advocate Staff | Mar 4, 2010 | Music
Vampire WeekendContra(XL) Following up a near-perfect debut is no enviable task, but Vampire Weekend make it look easy. Contra smartly splits the difference between exploiting the band’s proven strengths and exploring new musical terrain. The group’s...
by Mark Roessler | Mar 11, 2010 | Music
The same night Tim Burton released his version of Alice in Wonderland to screens across the nation, Northampton’s very own The Primate Fiasco was guiding its audience at the Iron Horse down a rabbit hole that proved to be curiouser and more fun than anything a...
by Gary Carra | Mar 11, 2010 | Music
“Why did he have to do that?” your friendly neighborhood Crawler remembers thinking. We had been getting along so well, grabbing drinks after work. Then he had to come into my office, hear me listening to Living Colour and say, “Dude, you have to...
by Matthew Dube | Mar 11, 2010 | Music
“I was kind of considering that me playing music and recording music was kind of over with, that that phase had closed,” says Northampton cartoonist, graphic designer and radio personality Tom Pappalardo. “[In] ’07 and 08, I didn’t do...
by Advocate Staff | Mar 11, 2010 | Music
James KeyesRuminations(DIY) Any record that boasts of being recorded “in the basement of an old brothel& where Babe Ruth used to get his bootleg liquor,” is certainly worth a closer look. Ruminations is the debut solo release from New England...
by Advocate Staff | Mar 11, 2010 | Music
Beach HouseTeen Dream(Sub Pop) After two records of gauzy dream pop, Beach House’s combination of hazy tunes and ethereal organ and guitar textures had reached a musical cul-de-sac. For their Sub Pop debut, the Baltimore duo refocus their sound, up the emotional...
by Matthew Dube | Mar 18, 2010 | Music
The band Graph likes to call Whately’s Fillin’ Station Diner home, using it as a centralized base of operations and a late-night resting place after countless shows and practices. Former Franklin Pierce College students Ry Amidon (bass, keyboards,...
by Gary Carra | Mar 18, 2010 | Music
For Valley reggae fixture Noel Noel, being asked to contribute on a special project with Manou Dalomba of The Black Rebels was high praise enough. After watching the process of recording Dalomba’s “War Is Not The Answer” at Northfire Studios in...
by Matthew Dube | Mar 18, 2010 | Music
He stole the entire Bob Dylan section. The grizzled and affable gentleman—think Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart—in the oversized Celtics warm-up jacket was a fixture for several days in early 2001. He’d come into the Northampton Turn It Up! soon after...
by Gary Carra | Mar 25, 2010 | Music
Like the semi-aquatic egg-laying mammal from whom its name was derived, Hadley’s Platterpus Records is a truly an evolutionary wonder. While its fellow endangered species—i.e., brick and mortar record shops—have systematically dropped off the local...
by Advocate Staff | Mar 25, 2010 | Music
Ted Leo and the PharmacistsThe Brutalist Bricks(Matador) Ted Leo’s latest release is a shot of crowd-pleasing punk with reggae and folk overtones. First track and likely single “The Mighty Sparrow” gets matters off to a rollicking start, and from...
by Matthew Dube | Mar 25, 2010 | Music
When Amherst band The Frills needed help naming their soon-to-be-released debut album, they turned to their online friends and fans. “We got some fantastic ideas for the name of our album,” says bassist Meagan Day. “But we’ve discarded such...
by Advocate Staff | Mar 25, 2010 | Music
GirlsAlbum(True Panther Sounds) Many of the songs on Girls’ debut feel instantly familiar. San Francisco’s Christopher Owens and J.R. White have crafted a series of deceptively simple tunes that are disarmingly sincere, filled with sturdy riffs and catchy...
by James Heflin | Mar 26, 2010 | Music
As I write these words, it’s a gorgeous spring day, the first truly warm day since, it seems after this expansive winter, the late Jurassic. It’s also the day upon which most people in America celebrate themselves and/or others being Irish. I am personally...
by Advocate Staff | Mar 26, 2010 | Music
Various ArtistsNext Stop… Soweto, Vol. 3: Giants, Ministers and Makers: Jazz in South Africa 1963-1978(Strut) The latest in this series focuses on the “silent years” of South African jazz. Starting in the 1960s, increasingly dire apartheid policies...
by James Heflin | Mar 26, 2010 | Music
Some CDs just sound right on the old vacuum tube-driven stereo cabinet in the basement. It mellows sharp edges, warms high notes in a retro sort of way, glowing a soft yellow all the while. That doesn’t matter too much most of the time, but when it comes to Girl...
by Matthew Dube | Apr 1, 2010 | Music
Bella’s Bartok comes from the streets—literally. Its members were busking in Great Barrington in the summer of 2008 when they were asked to put together a band to appear at a local festival. “This promoter fellow approached me two summers ago about...
by Advocate Staff | Apr 1, 2010 | Music
RafterAnimal Feelings(Asthmatic Kitty Records) Make no mistake, Rafter Roberts is feeling sexy. He’s also here to start the party, and here he does just that. Animal Feelings is an experimental, eclectic pop album that seeks to excite as well as intrigue. With...
by James Heflin | Apr 1, 2010 | Music
Gypsy jazz, the genre largely invented by one man, Django Reinhardt, simultaneously elevates and ruins guitar players. It’s a phenomenon I’ve learned about firsthand. Gypsy guitarists have a thing for speed; notes fly out of their instruments with...
by Gary Carra | Apr 1, 2010 | Music
Many are the artists who have longed to shed a small town existence… and did just that as soon as they could make bus fare. While, in a literal sense, Chris O’Brien does partly fit that description in that he relocated to the decidedly bigger pond that is...
by Gary Carra | Apr 1, 2010 | Music
Local notable Tim Eriksen has worked on a film set and appeared on network television, but when it came to selecting the locale for his band’s CD release party, he didn’t need to enlist the services of any of the professional location scouts he has met...
by Gary Carra | Apr 2, 2010 | Music
The year was 2008, and your friendly neighborhood Nightcrawler can still recall thinking, “You may just get your chance very soon, boys,” as he listened to the anthemic chorus of “If I Were To Rule The World” from what was supposed to be the...
by James Heflin | Apr 2, 2010 | Music
Lately, I’ve spent a lot of time with obscure Youtube videos. Most of them star some maniac or other, alone in a bedroom, probably late at night, with the camera cropping out the face. The creepiness of that particular cropping is (slightly) lessened when you...
by Advocate Staff | Apr 2, 2010 | Music
The Roadkill OrchestraLive at the Emporium: Greatest Hits Volume 3(independent) This album from the Worcester-based house band of Dr. Gonzo’s Uncommon Condiments Emporium is replete with keys-driven, jazz-influenced classic rock. The entire album was recorded...
by Matthew Dube | Apr 2, 2010 | Music
There is a fungus called Cordyceps that works its way inside an ant, controls its brain, and then bursts out of its skull, sending infectious spores out. It can kill an entire colony. Not only is this an interesting entomological fun fact, it’s also the subject...
by James Heflin | Apr 2, 2010 | Music
Little did Valley percussionist Tony Vacca know what would come of trading talking drum riffs with Massamba Diop. Diop plays with Senegalese superstar Baaba Maal, and back in 1995, Vacca found himself backstage at the Iron Horse, drum in hand, playing with Diop while...
by Gary Carra | Apr 8, 2010 | Music
John Lennon famously caught holy hell for declaring himself and his bandmates “bigger than Jesus.” And while making almost any allegation like that is certain to attract the ire of the masses, perhaps Lennon’s biggest problem was that he really had...
by Advocate Staff | Apr 8, 2010 | Music
LiarsSisterworld(Mute) These Australian art-rockers deliver the unexpected, but Sisterworld doesn’t represent a radical shift so much as a summation. It splits the difference between the successful experimentalism of Drum’s Not Dead and back-to-basics rock...
