Charles Michael Kittredge Thompson IV, aka Black Francis, aka Frank Black, has a reputation as one tough band leader, whether in the TNT-volatile Pixies of the late ’80s and early ’90s or the hardworking roots rockers known as the Catholics. We’ve seen him seriously tear into a hapless drummer on one occasion, and berate a would-be stage diver on another. We’ve heard the firing-by-fax story. He scares us a little. Read More »

Summertime means weird street smells, rooftop barbecues, and the inevitable Sonic Youth tour. And if the past is any guide, you can expect to see some of the most interesting opening bands on the circuit. This year’s acts include The Entrance Band, Awesome Color, Endless Boogie (DC only) and Kurt Vile (Philadelphia only). Not sure you care? We’ve got 15 big reasons why you should. Read More »

New Zealand-bred pop is on the uptick, albeit a few decades after the movement’s original era. And, in the wake of the recent rediscovery of acts like the Clean, the Bats, Tall Dwarfs, and the Chills, two of Kiwi-land’s best-loved bands are ready to return.

Known for wistful, understated guitar pop, the Bats will release The Guilty Office in June. A few years older and a bit more experimental, the Clean will unleash Mister Pop this September (it’s their first release of new material since 2001’s Getaway). In anticipation of this sudden surge in Antipodean creativity, we rang up the Bats singer/songwriter and the Clean bassist Robert Scott to talk Flying Nun, fallen stars, and what it’s like to juggle two seminal underground acts.

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A good ear is hard to find. John Parish and PJ Harvey have relied on each other for decades, trading demos, contributing to albums, and enjoying an uncomplicated, no-holds barred ability to critique without worrying about offense. Featuring Parish’s music and Harvey’s lyrics and singing, their new album, A Woman a Man Walked By, represents only the second of two formal collaborations after half a lifetime of close partnership.

“We’re both really solitary writers. We like to experiment with things by ourselves, to get it to a certain stage, so that we can play it for somebody,” said Parish in a recent phone interview. “But we almost always play things for each other first… We’re always curious what the other thinks, because we use each other very much as sounding boards for our own work.”

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Live at the Yard in Brooklyn, on a sticky summer day, Crystal Antlers is cranking out a sludgy 1960s groove; bassist, singer, and songwriter Jonny Bell in shorts, bobs in time with the heavy beat, his long hair flying. Victor Rodriguez flails at an old Farfisa, his body locked in an up and down motion as he pounds the keys, while guitarist Andrew King is bent over his amps, wheedling a high, space-echo’d feedback out of the sound system. Shirtless drummer Kevin Stuart pounds a relentless cadence of toms and cymbals, and somewhere auxiliary percussionist Sexual Chocolate (Damian Edwards to his mom) is slapping a set of well-worn bongos, nailing a cymbal occasionally for emphasis. There’s a wild centripetal swirl to the band’s performance, as parts seem to fly off in all directions, yet also an undeniable, rock-steady core. Read More »

Richard Bishop isn’t exactly a stranger to Middle Eastern music. After all, the guitarist grew up in a partly Lebanese family and heard traditional Arabic folk music at his grandfather’s home from an early age. And, Sun City Girls, Bishop’s band for decades, incorporated all sorts of ethnic influences. He even owned a couple of Moroccan chanters, the drone-y oboe-like instrument found in many varieties of North African and Egyptian music.

Still, Bishop says he had never focused on the Arabic tradition in a sustained way. Not, that is, until the winter of 2008, when he landed at Sublime Frequencies head Mark Gergis’ apartment in Oakland. In a recent interview, we chatted with Bishop about the experience, delving into the new album, The Freak of Araby, visa issues with his backing band, and the implicit controversy of creating an album with a Middle Eastern influence.

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