Author Archives: Tess Fairbanks

of Montreal, the American rock band whose music ranges from psychedelic pop to electronic funk, is on tour in support of their latest releases Paralytic Stalks and Daughter of Cloud. They will be performing at the 9:30 Club this Friday, and we’re giving away tickets.

Founded by Kevin Barnes in 1996, of Montreal’s style combines musical experimentation with pop. Their sound has continued to evolve from the upbeat twee pop of their 1997 debut Cherry Peel to 2007’s well-received Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer? to this year’s Paralytic Stalks. Recorded in Barnes’s own Sunlandic Studios, he had the help of Kishi Bashi and a number of other session musicians.

Consequence of Sound reviewed the new album and concluded with this: “While many will be quick to tag this album with descriptors like “divisive,” “difficult,” and, of course, “pretentious,” the mere fact is that Kevin Barnes—easily one of the most compelling musical minds in the business today—and his unbridled ambition are well-intact, and indeed still evolving. More than a decade and half into his career, Paralytic Stalks is a fascinating listen, for both old fans and new.”

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Nada Surf, American alternative rock band known for their 1995 breakout hit “Popular,” released their seventh studio album in January. On tour for their latest record The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy, the band is making a stop at 9:30 Club on Tuesday December 11, and we’ve got tickets to giveaway.

A Brooklyn band before the hipster scene of neighborhoods like Williamsburg became prominent, Nada Surf departs from the softer, passionate sound of their previous records. This latest album is more cheery and upbeat, giving it a reminiscent feeling of old ‘90s college radio of the likes of R.E.M and the Counting Crows.

“Through all their stages, frontman Matthew Caws’ gift for melody has remained firmly intact, allowing the band to churn out solid record after solid record. For a rock outfit often seen as a one-hit wonder, Nada Surf’s discography is nearly flawless,” reports Consequence of Sound in the review of The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy.

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The Smashing Pumpkins, known for their diverse, densely layered, and guitar-heavy sound—and that 1995 mega-hit album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness—is on tour in support of their recent release, Oceania, with a stop at DC’s Patriot Center this Sunday (12/9), and we’ve got a pair of tickets to give away to one of you.

The album is the band’s first full-length effort with their new line-up, which now features Mike Byrne on drums, Nicole Fiorentino on bass, Jeff Schroeder on guitar, and the only original member Billy Corgan, who emphasizes the album’s production as a whole band.

Corgan explained to NME, “I’ve been adamant in stressing that, as a group, first and foremost, we are here to make new music together. Jeff, Mike, and Nicole have all made significant contributions to the tone and texture of Oceania, which is an album that is unlike any I’ve ever made. Yet at the same time I believe it upholds the same musical values I’ve always pushed for with the Pumpkins, be they progressive, emotional, epic or restless.”

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9:30 Club Presents Matthew Dear, Detroit-based producer and electronic-pop musician, next Thursday at U St. Music Hall. And we’re giving you a chance to win a pair of tickets to see Dear’s show.

Dear initially rose to underground fame a decade ago while making minimalist house music as False and Jabberjaw and hard-edged electronica as Audion. Now releasing music under his own name, Matthew Dear continues to evolve with his use of pop and rock archetypes that have a steady avant-garde sound, revealing more of himself with the increase of his singing voice in his work. The 2012 release of Beams, Dear’s fifth solo full-length album under his own name, is described by the artist as more “positive” than 2010’s high-water mark Black City.

Described by Pitchfork as “Dear’s most consistent work yet,” Beams shows Dear’s effort to mix high art with deeply personal revelations, allowing him to express a more unified persona. As Consequence of Sound’s review says, “That’s what Beams is truly all about: that chance for Dear to break himself down, to boil everything he is emotionally, musically, and creatively to its most essential. With that achieved, regardless of the name it’s created under, you’ve got yourself a truly unified, coherent record.”

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The show has been postponed due to weather conditions. A winner will be contacted when more details are announced.
—Ed.

Xavier Rudd, a singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist from the land down under known especially for his didgeridoo-playing and spiritual sound, is performing at Sixth & I next Tuesday, October 30th—and we’ve got an opportunity to win a pair of tickets to see Rudd’s energetic, warm, and soulful live performance.

Supporting the release of his most recent record Spirit Bird, Rudd continues to explore his connection to the world. Not only does his use of multiple instruments including the slide guitar, regular guitar, percussion, drums, and didgeridoo (an indigenous Australian wind instrument), with the ability to play as many as possible at once, but also his vocals both display the deep emotions he connects and pushes through his music.

Consequence of Sound gives the record a thumbs up: “Spirit Bird is exactly what any musician would want out of a seventh record. It’s representative of Rudd’s career, [with] the sparse and warm ‘Follow The Sun’… [the] quiet ‘Mystery Angel’ [that] represents his sentimental side… and the nearly instrumental, ten-minute ‘Full Circle’ dedicates itself almost solely to the guitar, which Rudd has an enormous talent for… as the musician continues to enjoy and process the beauty and wonder of life.”

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