King Charles: Loveblood

I took a trip to New Hampshire this weekend and grabbed a handful of CDs for the ride. Included in this pile (of course) were my most recent favorites: Kishi Bashi, Brian López, The Shins, The Beach Boys, and King Charles. Surprisingly, one of our pals riding along in the car mentioned that he had […]

King Charles: Daytrotter Session

Not to step on ShuaiBaJ’s toes, but one of my current favorites stopped by Daytrotter this morning (9am EST) and gifted the world three more simple gems. Since releasing his first full-length album, Loveblood (which apparently we never reviewed!?), King Charles has been continuing his never-ending European tour and, as he is European, we cannot […]

Brian Lopez: Ultra

They say its going to feel like 109° today in Cambridge, MA. And – as I have a pile of CDs waiting for me now that I’m back from the lovely West Coast – the ridiculous weather is pushing me straight towards the Brian Lopez albums that arrived from a baking Tucson, AZ (115° today). I requested […]

Julio Y Agosto: Self Titled

What do you get when you blend Ozomatli, Squirrel Nut Zippers, and Where the Wild Things Are? Argentinian sympho-rockers Juilo Y Agosto‘s eponymous first album. The music speaks for itself and, as the PaisleyEast office will be closing early this afternoon for a Phish show, we will leave it at that. Enjoy.  

The Beach Boys: That’s Why God Made the Radio

Of the many manifestations of California throughout the years – Gold Country (1849), Yosemite Valley & Natural Beauty (1864), Ravaged by Earthquake & Fire (1906), Glamorous Glenn (1947), Anti-War & Free-Speech Protests (1964), Valley Girls (1980), Silicon Valley (1971-present) – perhaps the most valuable & long-lasting image has been that of tanned beauties lounging on […]

Bishop Allen: November & December EPs

It was 2006. I was an idealistic Californian chasing dreams of utopia on a South facing East Bay hillside. Bishop Allen, a band I had recently discovered, was in the midst of a novel experiment in which they would release a new EP every month for a year. In October of that year I purchased […]

The Intelligence: Everybody’s Got It Easy But Me

Where is the threshold beyond which lies cacophony? Slightly proud of the discordant horizon lies frenetic, post-punk-garage-rockers The Intelligence, a mish-mash mix of artists pulled together by the oscillations of a star spinning between Los Angeles and Seattle. Lars Finberg is responsible for the insane level of output, 14 singles/splits/eps & 8 full albums since […]

Allah-Las

Another Daytrotter pick, the Los Angeles based California band, Allah-Las, were just another one of the many until their annoying familiarity struck me. With clean simple guitar, no back-beat, and audible arm-chair vocals, they’re reminiscent (to this author) of Mick Jagger and his Stones. Beyond my general annoyance with the droning of The Rolling Stones, I’m happy to […]