Deakin feels on startlingly sublime solo debut Sleep Cycle HR Huber-Rodriguez May 1, 2016 Album Review, Reviews Animal Collective’s Deakin (real name Josh Dibb) perhaps comes across as the ‘quiet one’ of the group, a moniker attributed to shy, mysterious members of popular bands since the conception of the band as ...
An addiction worth yearning for: Låpsley at The Independent Debbie Zheng April 28, 2016 Concerts, Festivals, and Live Reviews, Reviews Amidst the hazy minds, heavy bodies, and red eyes in San Francisco on 4/20, Holly Lapsley Fletcher, otherwise known by her stage name Låpsley, performed a set more addictive than any drug. Clad in a loose deni...
SOPHIE tributes Prince at 1015 Folsom Darius Kay April 27, 2016 Concerts, Festivals, and Live Reviews On Thursday night, 1015 Folsom grooved and popped to the crystalline textures of EDM in 2016. At the decks was British “hyperpop” producer SOPHIE. Preceded by a respectable set by the forward-looking pro...
The Last Shadow Puppets: A certain bromance rouses the Bay Sofia Duarte April 25, 2016 Concerts, Festivals, and Live Reviews, Photos The Last Shadow Puppets returned to the Bay in promotion of their latest album, Everything You've Come to Expect (2016). Alex Turner, of Arctic Monkeys, and Miles Kane, of The Rascals, reprised their world-fam...
Rhye entrances and stuns at The Regency Ballroom Vivian Chen April 23, 2016 Concerts, Festivals, and Live Reviews, Reviews Despite having two members encumbered with the flu, Rhye managed to give a stunning performance last Wednesday that immersed the crowd in their sensual, soulful, and powerfully rich sound. Oakland artist I...
Classics, dissonance, and Sufjan: SF Ballet has it all Kavitha George April 21, 2016 Concerts, Festivals, and Live Reviews A night at the San Francisco Ballet conjures images of stuffy elderly couples, opera glasses, pretentious critiquing discussions in the lobby between acts, and endless classical music. You will almost certainly...
Frankie Cosmos plays stellar show at Swedish American Hall Michelle Cho April 20, 2016 Concerts, Festivals, and Live Reviews, Multimedia, Photos, Reviews The roots of indie-pop band Frankie Cosmos trace back to a collection of numerous online recordings released under the alias Ingrid Superstar. Back in 2010, Greta Kline released a wave of songs online, init...
Death Grips take us down a bottomless pit Nicholas Troughton April 18, 2016 Concerts, Festivals, and Live Reviews, Reviews Death Grips took fans to church on Thursday evening, inciting frenzy and fervor at The Catalyst Club in Santa Cruz. True to form, the group delivered a relentless performance, sending dark energy pulsing throug...
On Repeat: Bandcamp heroes’ new single Leka Gopal April 16, 2016 News, Reviews It’s hard to explain the type of music Colorado-based band On Repeat makes. You could use the words “alternative” or “indie” or “rock” or even “alternative indie rock” but they don't really en...
Basement bring wild British hardcore sensibilities to Slim’s Darius Kay April 12, 2016 Concerts, Festivals, and Live Reviews If you had a chance to go to Slim’s in San Francisco Saturday, odds are you didn’t have much of a voice the next morning. Supported by a bill of vigorous acts at a breakneck pace, Basement headlined a n...
Andrew Bird delivers expected consistency on Are You Serious HR Huber-Rodriguez April 9, 2016 Album Review “Do you need a reason we should commit treason and bring into this world a son?” Andrew Bird asks on “Valleys of the Young,” the penultimate track on his newest LP, Are You Serious, out last week via ...
M83 keep dreaming, in space and about Junk Joanna Jiang April 9, 2016 Album Review, Reviews In February, dream pop machine M83 put out a public call for a new touring keyboardist in light of Morgan Kibby’s departure from the group. A month later, a news release announced seventh LP Junk and the addi...
Father John Misty Gives Us His Blessings Jacob Elsanadi April 9, 2016 Concerts, Festivals, and Live Reviews, Reviews Father John Misty enamored loyal fans and made believers out of the uninitiated in Oakland this past April Fool’s Day. In an ironic yet undoubtedly genuine performance, the artist preached to and played with ...
The Joy Formidable enrapture fans at Great American Music Hall Vivian Chen April 3, 2016 Concerts, Festivals, and Live Reviews "You're fucking vocal. I like it." A few nights ago, Welsh rock trio The Joy Formidable continued the US tour for their recent Hitch (2016) in San Francisco's Great American Music Hall. Manchester's Every...
Yeasayer return to the lab, find mixed results with Amen & Goodbye Joanna Jiang April 3, 2016 Album Review Since 2010’s success with sophomore record Odd Blood, Yeasayer have been denounced as consistently underwhelming. Even then, between the trio’s first two albums, there stood a path of thorny critics calling...