Robert Ham

In recent years, massive gatherings and festivals such as Burning Man, Lollapalooza and Coachella have become destination events that draw thousands. However, the roots of these cultural juggernauts are far humbler. That honor goes to Desolation Center, an early-'80s DIY venture that booked concerts in off-the-grid locations...

Protomartyr Relatives In Descent ROCKS LIKE: The Hold Steady, Life Without Buildings, Pere Ubu WHAT’S DIFFERENT: This Detroit outfit have restrained their post-punk intentions somewhat, playing with more textured compositions rather than the blunt assault of their earlier material. This ...

Broken Social Scene Hug Of Thunder FILE UNDER: (Other) Great Canadian supergroup strikes again ROCKS LIKE: Chvrches, the New Pornographers, Grizzly Bear WHAT’S DIFFERENT: It only took seven years, but they finally got the band back together—all 15 original members of the group, too, including Leslie Feist and Metric frontwoman Emily Haines. Their secr ...

Public Service Broadcasting Every Valley FILE UNDER: Sociopolitical art-pop ROCKS LIKE: Spoon, Radiohead, Tunng WHAT’S DIFFERENT: This U.K. prog-pop duo set aside cheeky nostalgia for at least one album to address a more serious topic: the rise and fall of the coal industry in Wales. A ni ...

Ride Weather Diaries FILE UNDER: A working shoegaze reunion ROCKS LIKE: Title Fight, Nothing, Beach House WHAT’S DIFFERENT: For their first new album in over two decades, this U.K. quartet don’t dare to try and replicate past glories. Just as th ...

The Mountain Goats Goths FILE UNDER: Spritely tunes about dark music ROCKS LIKE: Spoon, Prefab Sprout, Portastatic WHAT’S DIFFERENT: The 16th full-length by this always reliable indie-pop project finds leader John Darnielle exploring the weird and wonderful world of goths, applying the same sort of arch yet empathetic songwriting eye to this subgroup as he has done with metalheads and tweakers on

Wire Silver/Lead FILE UNDER: Post-punk promise made manifest ROCKS LIKE: Beach House, Interpol, the Chameleons WHAT’S DIFFERENT: The creative hot streak that these post-punk pioneers have been on since reuniting in the new millennium continues. With ...

Spoon Hot Thoughts FILE UNDER: Future pop, Veteran rockers ROCKS LIKE: Franz Ferdinand, Animal Collective, Destroyer WHAT’S DIFFERENT: Britt Daniel and co. move further beyond their jagged indie rock roots with flashes of disco-pop flair, nimble production from Dave Fridmann (Thursday, Flaming Lips) and a lot of synthesized accompaniment. WHY... Read More ...

Minus The Bear VOIDS FILE UNDER: The Northwest comes of age ROCKS LIKE: Death Cab For Cutie, Silversun Pickups, Patrick Stump WHAT’S DIFFERENT: A return to the label that nurtured them and the addition of new drummer Kiefer Matthias find this venerable Seattle outfit both moving forward and stepping back, resulting in a propulsive, mature sound. WHY... Read More ...

Body/Head No Waves Body/Head No Waves The teeth-rattling noise and detuned guitar glory of ex-Sonic Youth member Kim Gordon and guitarist Bill Nace is captured here in a live performance, recorded during the 2014 Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, Tennessee ...

Frank Iero And The Patience Parachutes Frank Iero isn’t trying to be slippery with his decision to change the name of his solo venture from frnkiero and the cellabration to the more straightforward Frank Iero And The Patience. It is drawing a line in the sand between the two albums—2014’s Stomachaches and the recently released Parachutes—and a recalibration of his internal clockworks. Stomachaches

Simple Plan Taking One For The Team After relying on an array of guest stars and co-writers to help reinforce their 2011 album Get Your Heart On!, Simple Plan are, for the most part, trusting their own instincts again on their brand new LP Taking One For The Team ...

The Black Queen Fever Daydream The cloud of Nine Inch Nails, Front 242 and the entire school of early ’90s industrial synthpop hangs heavy and thick around the debut album of the Black Queen. But damn if doesn’t look good on them: Dillinger Escape Plan vocalist Greg Puciato is given space he rarely gets in his other band, and it allows him to try on a few different personas: sexy crooner, agitated

Nevermen Nevermen The supergroup known as Nevermen boasts the elastic vocals and curious minds of TV On The Radio frontman Tunde Adebimpe, Faith No More leader Mike Patton and underground hip-hop artist Doseone. Combining their powers, the trio have concocted a brutalist symphony of high-octane sonics, low-hanging beats and squirrelly moments that border on pop ideals ...

New Years Day Malevolence If 2013’s Victim To Villain was a huge step forward for this Chino Hills, California, band, the follow up is one gigantic leap into the inky black depths. Working yet again with producer Erik Ron, the quartet play to the listeners who feel both broken and defeated (“Suffer”) and defiant and bloodthirsty (“Anthem Of The Unwanted”). It’s a delicate balance, but ... Read Mor

Titus Andronicus The Most Lamentable Tragedy You’re gonna be hard-pressed to find a more ambitious 2015 release than this one. Over the course of 90 minutes and 29 tracks, Titus Andronicus explore the many details and facets of frontman Patrick Stickles’ clinical depression. The New Je ...

The Story So Far The Story So Far A new band naming its first album after itself is a sensible move. It’s a statement of purpose: the purest vision of where the group is starting from before other influences begin to muddy the waters. But when a ban ...

Prurient Frozen Niagara Falls This is Dominick Fernow’s most high-profile release in his long career recording under the name Prurient, and it’s akin to an epic compilation of his life’s work. Over the course of two discs and 90 minutes, he experiments in every genre he has tried his hand at over nearly 20 years: gut-throbbing industrial techno (“Traditional Snowfall”), uncompromising noise (the t

She & Him Classics It’s really a wonder that She & Him didn’t record an album like this sooner. This is, after all, an outfit who have spent their existence fighting against the modern tide, with a transistor radio-ready pop and country throwback sound that should be familiar to anyone with a musty Burt Bacharach or Skeeter Davis record in their collections. What took Zooe ...

CJ Ramone Last Chance To Dance Apparently, even if you’re not one of the original quartet that started the peerless punk band 40 years ago, if you’re a Ramone, you’re a Ramone for life. At least that’s what Chris Ward (aka CJ Ramone) would have us believe. Though he joined the g ...