Although Art vs. Science fairly shivers with the ghosts of early XTC, Devo and Shriekback, it was actually a 2007 Daft Punk show that moved keyboardist/guitarist/vocalist Dan McNamee to abandon Indie Punk and adopt a dancier Electronic Rock ethic.   

Jesse Elliott pursued a variety of ventures — international human rights law, economics writing, community non-profits, deli service — before returning to songwriting, his first and best love. Elliott formed These United States and embarked on a sonic mission to craft complex and engaging story-songs set to a soundtrack that somehow touches on a dozen different contemporary musical styles.
  

Remember Gummo Marx? The stage-shy businessman was rarely recognized as a sibling of the anarchic Marx Brothers, and in some ways, that paradigm holds equally true for Delfeayo Marsalis. Eclipsed by his more famous brothers — staunchly traditional trumpeter Wynton and garrulous saxophonist Branford — the gifted trombonist has released only a quartet of albums under his own name during the past 20 years.
  

Over the past dozen years, Beth Ditto and Gossip have finetuned their lo-fi Indie Rock presentation into a wild pastiche of fist-pumping Punk, funky Soul/Pop and Indie Dance Rock, with a stage component that blends campy theater of the absurd with thrift store chic. Ditto and guitarist Nathan Howdeshell have never forgotten their Arkansas roots but have masterfully absorbed the musical zeitgeist o...  

It has become both fashionable and profitable for artists in the later stages of their careers to release albums comprised of old standards or covers of instantly recognizable Pop hits.
Leave it to Neil Young to follow that convention and then knock it upside its head. On Americana, Young resurrects Crazy Horse, his longtime and long dormant backing band and the foil for realizing some of his...  

Given the relative proximity of his Anderson, Ind., hometown, Pop singer/songwriter Jon McLaughlin could be considered a Tri-state talent. As a youngster, McLaughlin learned piano despite his aversion to lessons, eventually studying music at Anderson University. At 21, McLaughlin released his debut album, Up Until Now, followed a year later by his eponymous sophomore disc, which he supported by relentlessly touring the Midwest.  

There are guitar slingers, guitar masters, guitar heroes and guitar stranglers, and then there are the rare guitar icons, players who possess a distinctive style that makes them immediately recognizable after just a few notes. Sonny Landreth is surely among that hallowed group.
  

When people are confronted with my ridiculously voluminous music collection, they are most often struck with its distinct lack of commonality. Growing up within 70 miles of Detroit in the ’60s will do that; anything you can imagine between and beyond Motown and The Stooges will generally light my sparkler.
In reference to music specifically and to life in general, I have often remarked, “S...  

With last year’s six-song Nightlife, Phantogram lightened their atmosphere slightly while continuing to weave a fascinating sonic tapestry colored by threads of Chillwave, ephemeral Synth Pop and beat-driven sampledelica. In the design sense, a phantogram is a two-dimensional image that appears to be multi-dimensional. In the musical sense, Phantogram is a duo that sounds like an airy yet totally engaging Pop orchestra with dimensionality to spare.   

Since the 2005 release of their impressive Pikul EP, L.A.’s Brian Aubert and Silversun Pickups have gone from strength to strength with barely a hitch in their stride. The band’s 2006 full-length debut Carnavas was a bona fide smash, artfully blending Shoegaze crackle and fuzz with frenetic Indie Rock verve to create the Pickups’ singular sonic fingerprint.
As it turned out, Pikul and Ca...