One man project by Portland's Phil Spirito, who evidently has a lot of musician friends that helped out with this recording. Sparse, subtle arrangements are the norm for this outing. If I had a dream about this record, I would think it is either Tom Waits or Neil Young crashing an Alan Lomax recording session. Apparently there is such a thing as a tenor banjo. Who knew?
There’s a fine line between being a quirky emo band with scene references and something that actually sticks. On Keyframe, Columbus trio Palette Knife don’t just flirt with that line but sharpen it, name it after a Final Fantasy item, and build ten huge choruses around it. The band’s self-described “Nerd-Core-Mid-West-Emo” tag could easily read like a gimmick, but this … Read more
There is a specific kind of sultry, salty sweat that only happens in a room with low ceilings and a tube amp screaming a warm hum for forgiveness. You can smell the lingering kerosene and the stale beer on The Downstrokes’ latest LP, The Furious Hours, before the needle even hits the groove. It’s the sound of a band that … Read more
It's been a short lifetime since the last Arrivals record, Volatile Molotov, but in many ways the new Payload picks up exactly where the last one left off. It straddles the mid-tempo punk spectrum while drawing influence from seemingly all realms of the rock 'n' roll cannon. I'd state that mod, power-pop, Brit Invasion, and even R&B are some of … Read more
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